New Indie Rock Songs, June 2008: The Fleet Foxes, Celestial, The Afternoons, The Mars Volta, Destroyer, The Jukebox Ghost, Tyler Ramsey and More
Summer brings the heat and long days, and with that the music industry shifts into full throttle - music concerts, tours, festivals and new releases.
It is literally impossible for any one blogger - much less a staffed music publication - to seek, listen to, review, write and post all of the great music that comes from the 'indie' music world.
So, in the spirit of supporting indie music, here is a collection of recent free MP3 songs from indie artists, including one of this year's new 'buzz' bands (and well deserved at all), The Fleet Foxes, plus Celestial, The Afternoons, The Mars Volta, Destroyer, The Jukebox Ghost, The April Skies and Band of Horses guitarist Tyler Ramsey.
MP3:"White Winter Hymnal" by The Fleet Foxes from Emerald City, Washington off the self-title debut album. Perhaps a strange title for a song premiering in the summer. Yet it is also odd to hear a song about winter time from a band that is so strongly influenced by The Beach Boys.
Of course, The Beach Boys are famous for creating some of the biggest summer time hit songs in rock history. Nevertheless, Fleet Foxes has carved out its own piece of the musical landscape, and were a favorite at this year's South by Southwest festival in Austin.
MP3:"Ships" by Tyler Ramsey (guitarist for Band of Horses) from Asheville, North Carolina off the album A Long Dream About Swimming Across the Ocean (Echo Mountain Records)
Note: MP3 links may expire or be removed. A label or artist who wants an MP3 link removed, see IRC's MP3 policy below. IRC encourages listeners to buy music, and attend concerts, from artists and bands they enjoy.
Increasingly, rock radio stations play 'indie rock' and more so-called indie bands and artists are getting mainstream press as the popularity of indie grows. One sign of the explosion of indie rock is the number of rock festivals that are overwhelming packed with what are mostly indie music artists and musicians.
The definition of what constitutes indie music is definitely not set in stone, and it means different things to different people, but it's generally accepted that indie music is created by bands and artists who are signed, or not signed at all, with an independent record labels.
Stay tuned to the best indie music and events by subscribing to the Feed Me Indie RSS feed.
Weezer's new YouTube video for "Pork & Beans" has been viewed an astonishing five million times on YouTube alone in just one week!
Few bands were as successful and influential during the post-grunge explosion of alternative rock during the mid-1990's as was Weezer.
The band's eponymous self-titled "Blue Album" debut in 1994 made them a near-overnight sensation, helped along by a series of enormously popular MTV music videos. Critics and fans were instantly attracted to Weezer's refreshing, yet somewhat geeky and poppy brand of alternative rock music.
Soon after the release of the "Blue Album", Hollywood legend Spike Jonze directed the group's first hit video, "Undone (The Sweater Song)", featuring films of the band spliced with scenes from the generational hit TV series Happy Days. The "Undone" music video put the band on a nearly endless rotation on MTV for months.
Other songs from the debut album, including hits like "Buddy Holly" and "Say It Ain't So", dominated college radio station playlists, and even seeped into the otherwise "cookie-cutter" rock radio markets from Los Angeles to London and New York to Melbourne.
Now, 14 years since their historic "Blue Album" debut, Weezer - with only a couple of original band members remaining and large gaps in the creation of new material - have released their long awaited new release.
The self-titled "Red Album" (aka, #6) was officially released this week. Already, "Red" has received largely positive reviews from the music press, bloggers and fans, following months of anticipation, rumors, leaks and wild speculation.
MP3s are not guaranteed to work and have been provided by the blog Quick Before it Melts - the hint is in the name. If you enjoy these songs, definitely show your love and purchase the band's albums whichever way you obtain your music - whether via an online music service or by visiting your local record shop.
The limited Deluxe Edition of "Red" contains four bonus tracks with a special digipak featuring a deluxe booklet of lyrics, photos, liner notes and the band members' thoughts about the new songs.
Red Album Track Listing (from Geffen Records): 1 - Troublemaker 2:45 2 - The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn) 5:52 3 - Pork And Beans [Album Version] 3:11 4 - Heart Songs 4:06 5 - Everybody Get Dangerous 4:03 6 - Dreamin' 5:12 7 - Thought I Knew 3:02 8 - Cold Dark World 3:51 9 - Automatic 3:08 10 - The Angel And The One/Non Musical Silence 6:46 11 - Miss Sweeney [Bonus Track] 4:02 12 - Pig [Bonus Track] 4:03 13 - The Spider [Bonus Track] 4:43 14 - King [Bonus Track] 5:11
Interestingly enough, MTV has named Weezer the "Buzzworthy Artist of the Week" (for June 2, 2008) and produced a series of video clips (see below) to celebrate the band's new release.
Yet, in 1997, MTV pretty much abandoned the "Weezer sound" after years of a mutually rewarding relationship by changing its format to embrace the emerging popularity of hip-hop.
The legendary AllMusic Guide summed it up by describing how Weezer's sophomore album, Pinkerton, failed to generate the enthusiastic response that "Blue" had, and "MTV and modern rock radio had withdrawn their support not only to Weezer, but their style of guitar-driven punk-pop in general."
Years after its release, Pinkerton - now considered a classic by some hardcore Weezer fans - was unearthed by a new generation of so-called 'emo' lovers, and "their audience grew despite not having a new album in the stores" for five long years (until 2001's "Green Album" and the 2002 release of Maladroit).
Following Maladroit, the band set off for another hiatus (releasing only one mediocre album Make Believe in 2005 that contained the mainstream radio single "Beverly Hills") consumed by side projects. The temporary parting of ways by the band members fueled speculation that the band had broken up.
Weezer has certainly gone through a metamorphosis since 1994, yet the release of the "Red Album" is proof that the band can still deliver a quirky and unique brand of alternative rock to the pleasure of long-time fans while also appealing to a new generation of media saturated music lovers.
DJ James Pants Emerges from the Forest to Release Welcome
Infusing elements of dance, hip-hop and funk, Spokane, Washington's one-band and DJ James Pants (born James Singleton) has released his debut album Welcome.
MP3: James Pants - "We're Through" from the album Welcome on Stones Throw Records
If you like what you hear, purchase Welcome from iTunes. After meeting Stones Throw Records head Peanut Butter Wolf, Pants' recording of "Do A Couple of Things" was included on Wolf's compilation Chrome Children.
Pants has a penchant for recording humorous and fun mixtapes, which have been the catalyst behind much of his popularity in the indie music underground.
In 2007, Pants has released a 12" EP titled Kash and a follow-up single track "Murder" on Chrome Children, Vol. 2.
Recently, Pants has toured as a DJ with Peanut Butter Wolf and Jamie Lidell.
Frightened Rabbit's New CD 'The Midnight Organ Fight' Slated for April 29th Release
Since their formation in 2004, and a widely applauded debut album and series of performances at the South by Southwest festival, Glasgow, Scotland's indie pop band Frightened Rabbit has emerged in greater frequency on music websites and blogs in the past few months, largely based on their new sophomore release The Midnight Organ Fight.
2008 Music Festival News, Line-Ups, Media and Features
(photo via Coachella; Roger Waters of Pink Floyd)
Based on visitor traffic, comments and your email requests, people want more music festival news, updates, line-ups and more for 2008 music festivals - perhaps the biggest year for music festivals worldwide.
Coachella, less than two weeks away, has just added Prince as a headliner. It's really helpful that he returned to his original namesake rather than that symbol (thanks Prince). Also the Coachella line-up rumors that Goldfrapp and Aphex Twin have been added have been confirmed.
The Virgin Mobile Festival, set for August 9-10, 2008 at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, has yet to release the official, full line-up of artists for this year's festival, but the headliners already announced include Foo Fighters, Jack Johnson, Kanye West, Nine Inch Nails and Stone Temple Pilots.
Tickets for the UK Reading and Leeds Festivalsold out in record time. To see why, here’s the official line-up for 2008.
Video: The Killers - When You Were Young
Headliners for both fests include include Queens of the Stone Age, Rage Against the Machine, The Killers, Metallica, The Raconteurs, Editors, Bloc Party, Manic Street Preachers, Justice and Bullet for My Valentine. The dates of the festivals are from August 22-26, 2008.
Organizers have canceled the Isle of Skye Festival in Scotland due to mounting debts. Nice work, guys! The Flaming Lips have announced that they plan to debut their long-awaited movie "Christmas on Mars" at this year's Sasquatch Festival in Washington State on Sunday, May 25. The following day, Monday, May 26, the Flaming Lips will close out the festival with a predictably flashy set.
Other headliners set to play the Northwest's largest outdoor festival - and voted by Pollstar as the best outdoor fest in the U.S. - include Modest Mouse, The Cure, Death Cab For Cutie, Built to Spill, Rodrigo y Gabriela, MIA, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, The Mars Volta, REM and The National.
Video: Modest Mouse: Dramamine (many of MM's vids on YouTube have been disabled for embedding; hmmmm....)
Non-headliners, but not less note-worthy, include bands such as Mates of State, Rogue Wave, Beirut, Okkervil River, Grand Archives, Cold War Kids, The Kooks, White Rabbits, Throw Me the Statue, Ghostland Observatory, The Hives, Battles, Yeasayer and many more. Here's the full line-up.
The Celebrate Brooklyn summer music concert series kicks off for the 30th year in Prospect Park beginning in June.
Artists and bands slated to play Prospect Park include Issac Hayes (June 12); Cold War Kids (June 26); Brazilian Girls (July 11); Beth Orton and Matt Munister (July 12); Deerhoof (July 18).
SXSW Buzz Duo Wye Oak Releases Debut Album If Children
They made a splash at South by Southwest, which says a lot nowadays in the world of 'indie' music. With their soft harmonies and breezy melodies, Wye Oak have risen in popularity on music blogs in recent months. Not only that, but Wye Oak can also rock, demonstrated by the indie rock song "Warning".
Now the band, consisting of members of Jenn Wasner (guitar, vocals) and Andy Stack (drums, vocals), have released their debut album If Children on the popular independent label Merge Records.
The Baltimore duo's music has been compared to Stars and Bodies of Water and their music role models include Elliot Smith and Yo La Tengo (that's some awesome influence!), which is evident in listening to their tracks.
MP3: Wye Oak - Family Glue from If Children via Box.net
MP3: Wye Oak - Obituary from If Children via from Box.net
MP3: Wye Oak - Warning from If Children via Merge Records
Stream more songs from If Children on the band's official mp3 page
Wye Oak's Tour Dates:
4/10 - The G-Spot (CD Release Party), Baltimore, MD 4/11 - The Sugar Tank, Lancaster, PA 4/12 - Union Hall, Brooklyn, NY 4/13 - The Black Cat, Washington, DC 5/01 - Garfield Artworks, Pittsburgh, PA 5/02- Over the Top Festival, Toronto, ON 5/03 - Valentine's Downstairs, Albany, NY 5/04 - Great Scott, Boston, MA
Portishead's New Video MP3 "Machine Gun" To Hype First Release in a Decade
Few bands in today's highly competitive and saturated music market can remain popular without having new material for fans on a regular basis.
But veteran indie electronic rockers Portishead have managed to overcome those odds for nearly a decade.
On April 28th, Portishead will release their first original collection of new material since 1997's self-titled 'trip hop' classic, which propelled the band to celestial heights, and kept them going for years, thanks in large part to a loyal fan base and numerous performances at big music festivals over the last few years.
The new album, Third, (which may refer to the fact that this is only their third album since 1994's classic Dummy) has been kept under tight wraps in hopes of preventing a leak, but just to make sure they don't miss having some control over the "blogger buzz" that is so important nowadays, the band has just released their new video called "Machine Gun."
MP3: Portishead - Machine Gun from upcoming release of Third.
See the Portishead official website for more information, ordering details and news updates. Just a quick note: The band needs to create a new and more dynamic website and definitely get rid of the frame-navigation of their site's pages.
Six-Pack MP3 Stack: New Songs from Band of Horses, Ruby Suns, Helio Sequence, Steve Malkmus
This week's indie music playlist features recent releases from musicians and groups that are creating buzz among the music bloggers.
The single "No One's Gonna Love You" by Band of Horses appeared on their latest album released almost six months ago. Yet, it wasn't until yesterday (March 19, 2008) that the single was 'officially' released.
The psychedelic and Middle Eastern influences of The Ruby Suns is apparent on their latest single and The Helio Sequence returns with a new single after a four year new material drought (but the wait was worth it for HS fans).
Each of this week's songs and the artists who created them were selected not just because they are recent notable releases, but their unique talent and important contributions to the silly thing we like to call 'indie' rock, aka independent music, helps keep the spirit, freedom and creativity of music alive in an age when overly polished and marketed music dominates the mainstream media.
Check out these free and legal MP3s from Band of Horses, The Ruby Suns, The Gutter Twins, The Helio Sequence, What Made Milwaukee Famous and Steve Malkmus and the Jicks.
Stay tuned for a complete band profiles of each of this week's playlist winners or subscribe to the feed to get them as they are published.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: Musicians, bands, promoters and labels, please submit CDs and music to review to POB 722, RE, CA 95044. To leave a comment, please click on the Post Comment link.
Grand Ole Party Touring With Rogue Wave Throughout US in April
Riding on the sails of their 'critically acclaimed' debut album Humanimals, San Diego's indie trio Grand Ole Party has announced a slew of concert dates with indie rockers Rogue Wave and punk old-timers New York Dolls (do they get MediCare?) for the month of April with a final show in San Francisco on May 3rd.
Question: Is this band really good enough to tour with the likes of Vampire Weekend, Rilo Kiley and Rogue Wave? (I don't think so, but you be the judge.) Plus, the name; that's the best they could come up with? GOP? Maybe they'll get a spot at a McCain rally.
April 2 Denver, CO - Hi-Dive 3 Omaha, NE - Slowdown Jr 4 Lawrence, KS - Replay Lounge 5 Nashville, TN - The Rutledge 6 Birmingham, AL - Bottletree 7 Mt. Pleasant, SC - Village Tavern 11 Boston, MA - Paradise # 12 New York, NY - Fillmore at Irving Plaza # 15 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church # 16 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club # 18 Chicago, IL - Schubas # 19 Chicago, IL - Schubas # 20 St. Louis, MO - Gargoyle Club # 22 Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre # 24 Phoenix, AZ - Rhythm Room # 27 Indio, CA - Coachella
May 3 San Francisco, CO - The Fillmore #
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Radiohead Will Headline Two Nights at All Points West Fest, "Coachella East"
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".
Get the full story (released on 2/21), plus the full lineup, ticket sale dates and prices, transportation and the whole skinny at a new site ironically called CoachellaEast.com.
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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Bright Eyes Hot New EP and U.S. Tour and Show Dates
The super-talented emo-rock indie band Bright Eyes, flying on the success of the release of the Four Winds EP and a string of hot shows in New York City two weeks ago, are teasing fans with the upcoming full-length release of their long anticipated album Cassadaga scheduled for official release by the band's own indie label, Saddle Creek Records.
Cassadaga is Bright Eyes' first full-length album in two years. The album is titled after the name of a town knof psychics in Florida.
If you can't wait until April 10, you can stream the entire Cassadaga album from the band's record label website. Just in the past few years, the band has achieved enormous success worldwide. In fact, their stardom rivals that of "Big Five" label artists who have worked decades to reach the same level of popularity and record sales.
In 2004, the band hit the Billboard Hot Top 100 twice within two weeks of release with their singles "Lua" and "Take It Easy (Love Nothing)." While they have not released a new album since 2005, rumors say it's in the works.
The new EP, Four Winds, currently No. 5 on Billboard's Top Independent Albums charts, is a pre-ample for the upcoming release of Cassadaga, which critics call the band's best work to date.The album is as American as anything Oberst has ever created with intricate observations of American history - good and bad - as he travels across the country.
In the single "Four Winds", Oberst writes "off to old Dakota where genocide sleeps, in the Black Hills, the Badlands, the calloused East, I buried my ballast, I made my peace."Other notable songs include the ironic "Soul Singer in a Session Band," the energetic "hot Knives" and a show favorite "I Must Belong Somewhere".
On the Saddle Creek Records website, the fun song "Make A Plan To Plan To Love Me" is described as "Bright Eyes at their most playful; a straight-up love song, replete with girl group vocals and Burt Bacharach strings.
From the website: "Oberst, the fumbling guitarist whose impassioned prose tumbles out under stark stage spotlights, is still recognizable in every track, but the songs are rich with elaborate production, cinema-sized orchestration and, at times, sprawling, almost psychedelic, atmospherics. "
Here is the official track listing for Cassadaga:
1. Clairaudients (Kill or Be Killed) 2. Four Winds [mp3 link above] 3. If The Brakeman Turns My Way 4. Hot Knives 5. Make A Plan To Love Me 6. Soul Singer In A Session Band 7. Classic Cars 8. Middleman 9. Cleanse Song 10. No One Would Riot For Less 11. Coat Check Dream Song 12. I Must Belong Somewhere 13. Lime Tree Bright Eyes is the creation of guitarist, singer and songwriter Conor Oberst and producer and instrumentalist Mike Mogie and Nate Walcott.
The band is also frequently joined by many indie artists from the Omaha scene and beyond, including Andy LeMaster (Now It's Overhead), Ben Kweller, Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, Maria Taylor, Rachel Yamagata, M. Ward, Janet Weiss (ex-Sleater Kinney), Jason Boesel (Rilo Kiley) and John McEntire (Tortoise).
Bright Eyes is somewhat like Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene - they have rejected Big Five contracts and make wonderful, creative and experimental music that involves artists from other bands or disciplines in a rotating-type fashion.
Fame and experience in the business world is nothing new to these guys, especially for Oberst who caught the attention of the indie rock world in 1994 at the age of 14! as the founder, singer and songwriter of the indie outfit Commander Venus.
Summer brings the heat and long days, and with that the music industry shifts into full throttle - music concerts, tours, festivals and new releases.
MP3: "White Winter Hymnal" by The Fleet Foxes from Emerald City, Washington off the self-title debut album. Perhaps a strange title for a song premiering in the summer. Yet it is also odd to hear a song about winter time from a band that is so strongly influenced by The Beach Boys.
The Flaming Lips have announced that they plan to debut their long-awaited movie "Christmas on Mars" at this year's 
