4/24/07

The reissue of The Blow's "Poor Aim" with added remixes comes out today. Originally a limited edition CD released by State's Rights Records, it is now getting the exposure it deserves. One of my favorite EPs ever by the band who put out my favorite album of 2006- "Paper Television". Yes- I will be buying it twice.

4/23/07

As great as the Okkervil River show was on Saturday, one of my favorite parts was the opener. I didn't even know there was going to be anyone opening and have to admit I was a little bummed out when a guy with a guitar came on. His voice reminded me a bit of Daniel Johnston but his performance was honest and emotional. Two songs in I realized he was Jordan Geiger, the singer/guitarist from The Minus Story. If you've never heard The Minus Story and are a fan of The Microhones or any Elephant 6 bands- please check them out. They have a new album out soon on Jagjaguwar. A very nice surprise indeed!

4/18/07

Sashwap has a great Neutral Milk Hotel sounds page here with many unreleased and live downloads.

Another great NMH site is here. They are now featuring a video download of a 1997 NHM Halloween performance in Athens, GA.

Okkervil River plays a unique show this Friday, April 21st, in Austin at the Hogg Auditorium. I will be there!

"...looks set to be one of the most exciting shows we've ever played, as we'll be playing with a much broader instrumental palette than ever before, including a live string and horn section, performing brand-new songs, old favorites, very rare tracks, and probably some stuff we've never done before"

More details here. You can buy tickets here. Only ten bucks!

4/16/07

Lily Allen cancels most of her North American tour- I have to say I saw this coming with her recent myspace blog about how she was bored with the songs and wondered why she was killing herself with non-stop touring in America.

The New YorkTimes profiles musician Leslie Feist.

Video of Of Montreal karaoke performance- doing Boston's "More than a Feeling" with comedians Paul Rudd and David Wain singing!

4/6/07

$50 3-day passes to ACL are going on sale April 10th! There are a few changes this year: instead of first-come they are randomly choosing email addresses who sign up here and there are no service fees. Good luck everyone!

Stylus Magazine examines the internet's effect on independent record labels here.

"The Internet has forced record labels to move beyond the ambit of traditional marketing. Eschewing time-honored strategies such as street teams and print advertisements, labels often utilize online social networking sites, mp3 music blogs, and online journals for identifying pop trends and promoting product."

The Austin Chronicle details the fire marshals' duties during SXSW.

"Considering that the marshals made more than 300 inspections during the week, nine citations is remarkably few – the shutdown parties seemingly would've merited little more than a footnote to an otherwise successful week. But when word got out that SXSW officials had printed out a list of 80 or so parties not affiliated with SXSW and had provided the list to the Fire Department, the nonevent took on a life of its own..."