The Noise Pop Festival 2008 in San Francisco is coming to a close this weekend after an amazingly successful run (Feb. 26-March 3, 2008).

Some of the most anticipated shows of Noise Pop are happening this weekend, including British Sea Power, The Mountain Goats, Vampire Weekend, Cursive, Gutter Twins, Holy Fuck, Tilly and the Wall and She & Him - all of which are sold out and nearly impossible to find tickets for (check Craigslist - there are plenty of RE: Wanted ticket pleas, hardly any for sale though).

In fact tickets for shows that originally sold for $15-$30 are now selling (where you can find them) for $75 and up. Check out the Noise Pop lineup, locations and show times for the remainder of the fest.

Here's a video clip from the Magnetic Fields playing "California Girls" last night - 2/28/08 - at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco. Notice the audience laugh at the band's dissing them, well at least the girls. The show has been sold out for weeks.

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Labels: Music Festivals

The Bamboozle Left Festival will take place during the weekend of April 5-6, 2008 in Irvine, California. The Bam Left lineup is pretty much set, but of course new artists can be pulled or added at the last minute.

Some of the most popular indie rock and pop artists set to perform at BLF include (the following links will take you to each artist and band profiles on LastFM - see IRC's page on LastFM):

My Chemical Romance, The All-American Rejects, Billy Talent, Alkaline Trio, New Found Glory, Paramore, Finch, Reel Big Fish, Saves the Day, Anti-Flag, Armor for Sleep, The Starting Line, MxPx, The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Bouncing Souls and nearly two dozen others.

If you are interested in more information about the Bamboozle Left Festival, including dates, locations and venues, check out the official Bamboozle Left Festival website.

There is also the Bamboozle Roadshow 2008 touring the U.S. and headlining groups like Saves the Day [ tickets ], Armor for Sleep [ tickets ], Set Your Goals and Metro Station.



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Labels: Bamboozle

In the chatter and noise about Coachella, Bonnaroo, Lolla and other major festivals, it's easy for the 'other fests' of 2008 to get lost in the crowd.

Hopefully not taking their name too seriously, promoters of the Bamboozle Festival, both east and west, have finalized the lineups, dates and ticket sales information for each festival.

Jimmy Eat World, Panic at the Disco, Alesana, MXPX, Motion City Soundtrack, Phantom Planet, Bret Michaels, Academy Is..., Red Jumpsuit Apparatuas and nearly two dozen other indie artists and groups playing during the two-day Bamboozle Festival in East Rutherford, New Jersey, May 3-4, 2008.

Here's the lineup, ticket details and videos from Bamboozle East Festival 2007. (Bamboozle West post coming soon)

MP3s from Bamboozle East Performers:

Jimmy Eat World - Praise a Chorus (mp3)

Motion City Soundtrack - Even If It Kills Me (mp3)

Phantom Planet - The Happy Ending (mp3)

Here's Phantom Planet's music video for "California":

Bamboozle has a Roadshow tour traveling around the continental United States as well, but the lineup is no where close to the festivals.

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Labels: Bamboozle, Music Festivals

For months now, festival and music lovers, bloggers, musicians and the mainstream media have speculated, floated rumors, predicted and even made false 'confirmations' about 2008's Lollapalooza's lineup. Rumored artists include Black Lips, Bloc Party and MGMT.

Bottom line: There has not been one artist or group confirmed for the Chicago-based festival in 2008 by Lollapalooza organizers.

Apparently, part of the reason for the delay is to keep 'the buzz' going to help sell tickets (when they go on sale) and to try to drown out all the chatter surrounding many other music festivals this year, two of which are new festivals for 2008: Rothbury (more on that later) and Coachella East (aka APW).

Radiohead will headline two of the three nights of Coachella East, so that should be amazing. The fest is being held Aug. 8-10, 2008 at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey.

It is very possible that Lolla organizers' delay in announcing a lineup could ultimately kill ticket sales, so if the delay is to keep fest goers in suspense to sell more tickets, that strategy may just end up doing the opposite.

Closer Look at Lolla

In 2004, the Lollapalooza music festival tour was canceled due to low ticket sales. Since then, the fest has stopped touring and landed in Chicago for an annual festival.

While Lollapalooza 2007 was considered a come-back of sorts, organizers of the event must be nervous about ticket sales for 2008. What they seem to fail to realize is that the sooner they announce the lineup and ticket sales, music lovers around the country - and world - can start making their plans to go.

On the other hand, and this is not hypothesizing, waiting much longer than the end of February to announce the lineup - or even a headliner tease - means that many people will either make plans to go to another music festival (some already have), or just forget it altogether (others have already done this).

Nevertheless, the rumors and speculation continue (when the lineup is announced, it will be published here first).

You can also check out more about the Lolla fest 08 and sign up to get the latest news, plus artist profiles, tour schedules, MP3s, articles and more from artists and groups playing at music festivals in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Europe and around the world.


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Labels: Lollapalooza, Music Festivals

With a new album out and an eclectic and exciting discography behind them - albeit it's only a few dozen songs over six years - IRC's artist of the week is Minneapolis band Vicious Vicious. (photo above: the band looking really vicious.)

Originally a solo project and moniker of musician Erik Applewick, who recorded a set of songs on a four-track 2002 self released album titled Blood and Clover, Vicious Vicious sparked a passionate reaction from their hometown Minneapolis indie community, thanks to the additions of band members Darren Jackson, Alex Oa, and Martin Dosh, who helped provide the musical talent that made Applewick's songs even more impossible to ignore.
"2 Much Time on My Hands" - Vicious Vicious

Since the release of their latest album Parade in September 2007, songs like "Rain Parade", "Ho Baby" and other well-produced indie pop songs have increased the band's popularity.

According to Vicious Vicious' official website, Applewick and the others are working on new material for yet another album to possibly be released in 2008. Let's hope so, because these guys are on a serious roll.


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Labels: Indie Songs 2008, Vicious Vicious

Labels: All Points West Festival, Festivals

For the first time in major music festival history, one band - the iconic Radiohead - will headline two of the three nights of the All Points West Festival, commonly referred to as APW and "Coachella East".




+ Radiohead - Videotape (Mojib Remix)


Radiohead 2008 Tour Dates:

05-05 West Palm Beach, FL - Cruzan Amphitheatre
05-06 Tampa, FL - Ford Amphitheatre
05-08 Atlanta, GA - Lakewood Amphitheatre
05-09 Charlotte, NC - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
05-11 Bristow, VA - Nissan Pavilion at Stone Ridge
05-14 St. Louis, MO - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
05-17 Houston, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
05-18 Dallas, TX - Superpages.com Center
06-06 Dublin, Ireland - Malahide
06-07 Dublin, Ireland - Malahide
06-09 Paris, France - Bercy
06-10 Paris, France - Bercy
06-12 Barcelona, Spain - Parc del Fòrum
06-14 Nimes, France - Arenes
06-15 Nimes, France - Arenes
06-17 Milan, Italy - Civica Arena
06-18 Milan, Italy - Civica Arena
06-20 Neuhausen ob Eck, Germany - Southside Festival
06-22 Scheeßel, Germany - Hurricane Festival
06-24 London, England - Victoria Park
06-25 London, England - Victoria Park
06-27 Glasgow, Scotland - Glasgow Green
06-29 Manchester, England - Lancashire County Cricket Club
07-01 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Westerpark
07-03 Roskilde, Denmark - Roskilde Festival
07-04-05 Werchter, Belgium - Rock Werchter Festival
07-06 Arras, France - Main Square Festival
07-08 Berlin, Germany - Wuhlheide


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Labels: All Points West Festival, Festivals, Radiohead

One of the notable indie label Saddlecreek Record's (home to Bright Eyes, Two Gallants, The Faint) hottest artists right now is the Toronto band Tokyo Police Club.

The band's 2006 debut album, A Lesson in Crime, was well received by music critics and indie rock bloggers. The album was so popular that it has nearly carried the band for the past 18 months while they have been touring and working on their sophomore release.

The new album, which the band's official website has announced will be released on April 22, is called Elephant Shell. In Europe, it will the new TPC release will be available May 5th on Memphis Industries.

Labels: Tokyo Police Club

Over the next couple of days, IRC will publish complete updates on the latest news for 2008 music festivals, including Bonnaroo, SXSW, Coachella, Rothbury, Bamboozle, Sziget, Glastonbury, Austin City Limits, Virgin Festival and many others.

Next month, a comprehensive guide will be published and feature all of 2008's indie-relevant music festivals including the latest news, ticket info, line-ups, artist profiles, discussions, photos, MP3s and videos of past performances.

Lollapalooza (August 1-3, 2008) - While ticket sale dates and the line-up for Lollapalooza 2008 have yet to be announced (as of 2/26/08), rumors are flying everywhere about which artists and groups might be playing at this year's Lolllapalooza.

If the lineup is anything like last year's (see flashback to 07 below), there will be more lolla than looza.

The following artists are rumored to be set for Lollapalooza, according to the official website's board moderator sixtimes:

The rumor mill seems to be favoring the following artists as headliners: The Smashing Pumpkins (not a SP reunion, so it's really Billy Corgan and the band), Radiohead (who wouldn't love that, especially since In Rainbows is crazy popular in and of itself with a whole new generation), Wilco, Bjork, The National, Tom Petty and The Police.

Rumor mongering is dangerous, so let's just say that as soon as the line-up is announced, it will be published here (got folks in the mix but they are staying mum right now).

In the meantime, let's warp back to six months go for a memory fest of 2007's killer lineup:

Headlining Lollapalooza 2007 was an eclectic mix of popular alternative, indie, rock, mainstream and electronica artists like Pearl Jam, Daft Punk, Modest Mouse, Ben Harper, Muse, Interpol, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Patti Smith, The Roots, Amy Winehouse, LCD Soundsystem, Spoon, The Black Keys, Kings of Leon and others.

The headliners did not come at the expense of 'second-bill' artists and groups Tokyo Police Club, !!!, My Morning Jacket, Yo La Tengo, Ted Leo and Pharmacists, Snow Patrol, CSS, Annuals, Blue October and many other indie artists who rocked Grant Park.

Where is Lollapalooza? The annual event is held in Chicago's Grant Park on the shores Lake Michigan right off the Miracle Mile. Here's a map of last year's festival grounds.

Last year, festival goers endured blistering heat and suffocating humidity (as did festival attendees at the Austin City Limits fest in Austin).

Some folks may not realize this, but it's a fact that festival organizers deliberately schedule such outdoor summer events during the 'doggiest' days of summer. Why? They sell more drinks at ridiculous prices.

Now, in fairness to event organizers, there are tremendous costs to put events like popular music festivals together. Still, don't shed a tear for the organizers, corporate sponsors and vendors, they are raking in money.

The other point is that most music festivals are attended by students - whether college age or under - who obviously have the most free time during the summer months.

Labels: Lollapalooza 2008, Music Festivals

Have Cat Power fans been let down by the band’s newest release, Jukebox? Some have been, but the honest music critic has to appreciate the bold step, especially since, in my opinion, the final result is that it's another step-up in the career of the mysterious Chan Marshall (aka Cat Power).

For starters, Jukebox, officially released on Jan. 28, 2008, is a bland title for such an inspiration work, but it makes sense in the end because the tracks represent a cross-section and blend of music genres from blues to jazz and soul to country.

The feel of the album is much more like a tour de musique of Americana than the hauntingly anguished sound that made Chan (pronounced "Shawn") so beloved in the alternative and indie music community. Moreso, Jukebox demonstrates Chan's maturation musically, lyrically and spiritually.

With a set of songs ready to go, Chan marshaled together some of the finest musicians in soul, blues, jazz and country music, coralling folks like Jim White, drummer for The Dirty Dozen, Matt Sweeney of Chavez, Judah Bauer of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, members of the Dirty Delta Blues Band, and others.

The biggest question of all may have been answered when Gregg Foreman, who played piano and organ on Jukebox with Chan, and is currently on tour with Cat Power, was asked by the Philadelphia City Paper to shed some light on the “grittiness” of the sound on Jukebox compared to their previous works.

Foreman acknowledged a shift in sound from the brilliant release MoonPix - an album filled with hearting-wrenching, melancholic songs of failed love - and put it this way:

Yeah, well, we've had a few complaints from fans that want to hear [more of the sound found on Moon Pix]…It'll take time.”

As for Chan’s feelings about the “new” sound, Foreman said:

“She's happy. There hasn't been one show where she's left the stage. She's smiling. The "old sad Chan" is nowhere to be found. And this album's the biggest-selling CD in Matador history. She's blessed.”

Download, listen and upload to any MP3 player the following free and legal MP3s off of Jukebox, curiousity of the great Matador Records:


MP3: Cat Power – "Song to Bobby"
MP3: Cat Power – "Metal Heart"

- Cat Power's official website (I think this is the official site)
- Matador Record's Cat Power profile
- All Music Guide's profile of Cat Power

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Labels: 2008 Indie Releases, Cat Power, Chan Marshall

There is so much music festival news coming out right now that it's like trying to watch three horses races at once.

To some people it may seem early in the year to be planning for summer rock festivals, but just the opposite is true. This is the time.

In the case of the south's popular Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, plenty of music fest fans have been holding their breath waiting for ticket and artist line-up news. Bonnaroo 2008 has been set to take place June 12-15.

Breaking now: Bonnaroo tickets are set to go on sale Feb. 19, 2008 at 10 a.m. EST and the first list of confirmed artists has just been issued.

Someone should write a song to this next block of text (the challenge is on) and put it on YouTube or wherever.

Anyways, artists from the official line-up that are linked are artists that have been featured on this blog and those in bold print are artists I like and plan to write about soon. Regretably, I must admit, like any music blogger, there are probably excellent artists in the line-up that I have yet to discover.

Artists listed in bold are artists and groups that will be featured in the weeks to come.

Official Bonnaroo Fest line-up (no times yet)

Pearl Jam, Metallica, Jack Johnson, Kanye West, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Phil Lesh & Friends, My Morning Jacket, The Allman Brothers Band, The Raconteurs, Willie Nelson, Death Cab for Cutie, B.B. King, Sigur Rós , Levon Helm and the Ramble on the Road, Ben Folds, O.A.R., The Bluegrass Allstars Feat. Luke Bulla, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer and Bryan Sutton, M.I.A., Umphrey's McGee, Iron & Wine, Yonder Mountain String Band, Swell Season, Talib Kweli, Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi’s Soul Stew Revival, Gogol Bordello, Broken Social Scene (pictured at right), Robert Randolph’s Revival, Rilo Kiley, Mastodon, Lupe Fiasco, Against Me!, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Pat Green, Ozomatli, Tegan & Sara

Solomon Burke, Drive-By Truckers, !!!, The Avett Brothers, Israel Vibration, Abigail Washburn & the Sparrow Quartet featuring Bela Fleck, Larry Campbell, Jackie Greene, Aimee Mann, Ladytron, The Fiery Furnaces, Orchestra Baobab, Ghostland Observatory, José González, Dark Star Orchestra, Minus the Bear, Donavon Frankenreiter, State Radio, Battles, Jakob Dylan, Two Gallants, The Sword, Vampire Weekend, Little Feat, Nicole Atkins, The Felice Brothers, Mason Jennings, MGMT, The Lee Boys, Black Kids, Serena Ryder, Steel Train, Grupo Fantasma, Back Door Slam.

The folks at Bonnaroo have yet to release the schedule, times and stages for where and when the artists will be playing, but stay tuned and the details will be posted as soon as they are available.

During the next few months, there will be more profiles published of artists appearing at various festivals around the world in 2008.

The following MP3s are from three indie outfits scheduled to place this year:

Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

Iron & Wine - Boy With A Coin

Ladytron - AMTV

IRC MP3 Policy: All MP3s are for evaluation and to help promote the artists. MP3s featured on this site are the property of their owner. If any musicians or labels want a particular MP3 removed, please contact me and it will be done immediately.

Labels: 2008 Music Festivals, Bonnaroo

Labels: Coachella, Music Festivals

As one of the most popular new bands to hit the music scene in the past few years - so much so that they made the cover of Time magazine - the many band members of Arcade Fire sure don't appear to act like musical super stars.

One example of this is the band's genuine nature, spontaneity and innovativeness, as the following video clearly shows.

Labels: Arcade Fire

Despite the fact that it is somewhat pretentious and plain nutty to say that any one song was the "best song of 2007", there are still dozens of music websites, news and entertainment organizations and blogs that are relentless in their self-righteous pursuit to announce to the world '2007's best song!'

Beyond that, to assemble a top songs list in order of No.1 to No. 20, for example, is literally impossible and disingenuous, especially when there are thousands of great songs that come out each year, most of which never get air play, except on blogs and sites like this one and an occassional radio station, usually college radio. (photo, top left: Spoon)

2007 Playlist II - Arcade Fire, Andrew Bird, Panda Bear, Modest Mouse, Western States Motel, Starlet, All American Rejects and Rouge Wave's enchanting and memorable "Lake Michigan" [mp3].

2007 Playlist III - Of Montreal, Architecture in Helsinki, White Rabbits, Okkervil River, Beirut, Lucky Souls, The Raveonettes, St. Vincent, Oh No! Oh My!, The National, Interpol and Bright Eyes' 2007 indie classic "No One Would Riot For Less" [mp3].

Labels: Best Alternative 2007, Best Indie 2007