It has been nearly three years since Norah Jones’s last album, Not Too Late, was released. Her unique jazzy pop sound has won her numerous awards since her 2002 debut album, including numerous Grammy’s, which is why many were curious when she spoke about her upcoming album The Fall and said it “has taken a new direction … [and she's] experimenting with different sounds and a new set of collaborators,” which included the likes of Ryan Adams and Okkervil River’s Will Sheff. Here is the first single off her album, which is delightfully catchy. I’m really looking forward to getting my hands on this album.

Here is the second brand spakin’ new song off the Foo Fighters upcoming Greatest Hits album. I’ve listened through it a few times and I’m already a huge fan. I want your babies, Dave Grohl.

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Recorded at Jack White’s “Third Man Records and Novelties” that popped up in the city in August, “Live From Third Man West” is a new five-song/four-video digital EP from The Dead Weather that is now available on iTunes. Along with highlights from the band’s debut LP “Horehound”, the EP features a cover of “Forever My Queen”, originally recorded by doom metal overlords Pentagram. Full tracklist is below.

01 Forever My Queen (Pentagram cover) (audio)
02 Hang You From the Heavens
03 I Cut Like a Buffalo
04 So Far From Your Weapon
05 Treat Me Like Your Mother
06 Hang You From the Heavens (live video)
07 I Cut Like a Buffalo (live video)
08 So Far From Your Weapon (live video)
09 Treat Me Like Your Mother (live video)

Thanks to PitchFork for the heads-up.

Appropriate titled “This Is It,” Michael Jackson shows us that even in the last weeks of his life and at his creepiest, he can still make a good tune.

If you are yet to check out Muse’s latest album title The Resistance – the follow up to their masterful 2006 album Black Holes and Revelations – you are really missing out. Surely to divide fans, the album is their most unconventinal and ambitious yet, starting off with two absolutely head-bangingly beautiful tracks and closing with a three-part thirteen minute song titled “Exogenesis” – a brilliant song comprised of over forty musicians. It’s different than a lot of their previous work, but it is just as good.

Below is the awesomely zany video for the album opener and their first released single, “Uprising.” Check it out and be sure to pick up a copy of the album. It’s well worth the bucks. These guys are some of the best in the business today.

While they have only officially been around for less than a year, Radio Empire – comprised of two members of the now defunct Stillframe Sky – has made quite the ruckus in the northwestern Pennsylvania music scene after their multi-state tour this past summer. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing these guys rock out in concert twice now and they put on a real energetic live performance, with the 23-year-old lead vocalist and guitarist Tyler James having quite charming and crowd-pleasing interactions with the crowd.

Check out their MySpace with tons more of their music right here and while they have an EP already available for purchase for $5, look for a full-length album with new material in 2010. Here’s a live concert video for one of the band’s more mellow songs, “Dress to Impress.”

One of my many honorable mentions from last year’s great record was “Visiter” by The Dodos. Looks like they’ve been busy in the studio and have added a musician to the band: 21-year-old Keaton Snyder on vibraphone. The third and newest album is called “Time To Die” and is, previously unbeknownst to me, available now.

Now for the really good news. Thanks to this thing called the internet and labels getting smarter about music distribution, you can listen to the entire album free. Sample the product before you buy; what a novel concept! Check out the tracks over here and buy the album over here.

I never would have thought that going into a concert for Spoon and The Walkmen that the show would just about be stolen by the little relatively unknown opening act, White Rabbits. The six-piece dual vocalist indie rock band took the stage, knowing that most people were there for the two acts following them and that they were going to have to put on a hell of a show to win the crowd over – and win the crowd over they did. They had an insane amount of energy on stage, pounding away some piano-infused rock in their button-ups and blazers, switching instruments mid-song, and the best part? Two drummers. Oh yeah!

Their second album, It’s Frightening, was just released and it is absolutely addicting (and not surprisingly if you listen to it, produced by Spoon frontman Brit Daniels) and I have a feeling that come the end of the year, you’ll be seeing it make plenty of “best album” lists.

Check out their video for “Percussion Gun” below. It’s incredible. You can listen to the rest of their album on their MySpace.

Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
An intoxicating blend of the “classic” with the “modern” highlight this superb release from Grizzly Bear. By embracing classic elements and making them their own, they have created a remarkably modern sounding record and made their own classic album. A 2009 must have.

White Rabbits – It’s Frightening
Not many songs are named as aptly as “Percussion Gun” but that’s exactly what you get and what kicks off this record from White Rabbits. More of a minimalist approach (think Spoon) than many current bands, it’s a good record and definitely worth some of your time.

Tuesday saw the release of the new record from Neko Case: “Middle Cyclone.” Neko has been high on my list of daily listening choices since early 2007. After really getting into the greatness that was The New Pornographers‘ “Electric Version” (of which Neko has a strong presence with) and then their follow-up, “Twin Cinema” I discovered Neko’s solo efforts. The first album I became aware of was “Fox Confessor Brings the Flood” of which I instantly fell in love with. Going back to her earlier works I was equally enthralled with those previous efforts. But “Fox Confessor” just seemed to have a little more ‘oomph’ and little less ‘twang’ than the others; so I always went back to that record and as I mentioned, it was always on my list of possibilities for the “what shall I listen to today” daily conundrum.

So needless to say I was quite excited when I found her new album was being released. Neko Case has a very distinct act. It sort of reminds me of the 70′s and early 80′s country music the folks in the north country were listening to when I was a kid, but it’s got much more deep tonal qualities and a just slight edge to the music. Some slightly darker chord changes give Neko’s sound the feeling as if it were from a lost Quentin Tarantino soundtrack.

Take a little bit of a Patsy Cline feel, add a dash of Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star) with the slight indie edge of someone like Ani Difranco and then light it all up with a deep, rich musical back-up and damn if you don’t have one of the sweetest sounding acts playing today. I’ve heard live recordings and can’t wait to experience it first hand. The new album is entitled “Middle Cyclone” and is available now everywhere.

iTunes
Amazon
Official Site
Facebook

Here is a little taste of goodness from Neko. The first two tracks are from the new record.

People Got a Lot of Nerve

Magpie to the Morning

…and my favorite Neko Case song from the album “Fox Confessor Brings the Flood”:
Hold On, Hold On

White Rabbits rock my socks. They’re a six-piece indie rock band that released their debut album, Fort Nightly, back in 2007 and quickly gathered a following, touring with the likes of Spoon (who I was fortunate enough to see them play with), The Walkmen, and Kaiser Chiefs.

I was pumped to learn today from their MySpace blog that they will be ready to release a new album in May with TBD Records, which they are hoping is just as dark and original as their debut album. From the official announcement:

After​ spend​ing the bette​r part of two years​ on the road,​ White​ Rabbi​ts hunke​red down in their​ Brook​lyn pract​ice space​to set about​ re-​envis​ionin​g the dark pop of their​ debut​ Fort Night​ly,​ while​ addin​g new sound​s and influ​ences​ to achie​ve an origi​nal work.​ The result is It’s Frigh​tenin​g,​ their​ secon​d full-​lengt​h album​.​ …​ [E]nlis​ting tourm​ate,​ frien​d and songw​riter​ Britt​ Danie​l (​Spoon​)​as producer,​ …​ White​ Rabbi​ts recor​ded It’s Frigh​tenin​g over the cours​e of four weeks​.​ The sessi​ons were recor​ded by visio​nary engineer Nicho​las Vernh​es (​Anima​l Colle​ctive​,​ Deerh​unter​)​ at Rare Book Room in Brook​lyn,​ NY. Takin​g speci​al care to recre​ate the unhin​ged natur​e of the origi​nal demos​,​ the band utili​zed the wide range​ of tools​ in the analo​g-​frien​dly studi​o to shape​ the perso​nal spiri​t infused in the new track​s.​ Upon the compl​etion​ of track​ing,​ White​ Rabbi​ts trave​led to Austi​n,​ TX to mix the recor​d with studi​o wizar​d Mike McCar​thy (​Spoon​,​ Trail​ Of Dead)​ using​ his excep​tiona​l ears to trans​form It’s Frigh​tenin​g into a uniqu​ely rewar​ding headphone experience​.​ The lineu​p remai​ns the same:​ Steph​en Patte​rson (​vox/​piano​)​,​ Jamie​ Levin​son (​drums​)​,​ Matth​ew Clark​ (​drums​,​guita​r)​,​ Alex Even (​guita​r)​,​ Grego​ry Rober​ts (​guita​r/​vox)​ and Adam Russe​ll (​bass)​.​ A U.S. tour will follo​w the May relea​se of It’s Frightenin​g.​

I look forward to catching them again when they go on tour. They put on an awesome, energetic show and their music sounds just as good live as it does recorded. Here’s a song off their old album, so you can get a taste of what they’re like. Give it a purchase, the album is well worth the price.

White Rabbits – The Plot
Link

You can also check out their last.fm or MySpace for more.

There is a brand stinkin’ new band about to take the indie pop punk scene by storm. In the demise of his old band, Stillframe Sky, lead vocalist and guitarist Tyler James, along with another Stillframe Sky alum Johnny Riot, quickly scooped up a few like-minded individuals in Jess Scutella (drums) and T-Woody (bass) to form a new band titled RadioEmpire.

Citing the likes of Muse, Weezer, and Mae as some of their biggest influences, RadioEmpire just announced that their debut show will be in Erie, Pennsylvania on March 14th at Forward Hall, opening up for some pretty big nationally renowned indie pop-punk bands such as The Wonder Years, Mandy K, and In the Day.

Along with the announcement came the worldwide debut of three songs off their upcoming album, titled “Memories pt. II” (a spiritual sequel to an old Stillframe Sky song), “Tour Song” (about the hardships of touring whilst in the indie scene), and a call-out to the hypocrisy of many religious folks titled “Untitled (If I Showed Up at Your Door).” It’s catchy pop-punk at its finest, particularly “Tour Song” which I enjoy more and more each time I listen to it. I highly look forward to their album’s release and I’ll be front row at their debut show, which is only about half an hour from where I’m located.

Do check out their official MySpace, songs included, right here – because mark my words, you’ll be hearing them on the radio before long and then you can snobbishly put your nose in the air and proclaim to your friends, “Yeah, I knew of them before their first album was even released. Poser.”

Title: Horizon
Artist: Hiroshi Sugimoto
Release Date: March 3
Track listing:
1. “No Line on the Horizon”
2. “Magnificent”
3. “Moment of Surrender”
4. “Unknown Caller”
5. “I’ll Go Crazy if I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight”
6. “Get On Your Boots”
7. “Stand Up Comedy”
8. “Fez — Being Born”
9. “White As Snow”
10. “Breathe”
11. “Cedars of Lebanon”

Discuss.

A couple years back a good friend introduced me to “Band of Horses” and their debut album, Everything All the Time quickly became my favorite record of the year (2006). Then in 2007 they released Cease to Begin which also quickly rose near the top of my 2007 top ten.

Now word comes that 2009 will be a big year for “Band of Horses.” The year kicks off with two shows on sunny California’s west coast. Tickets go on pre-sale to fans only over at Ticketbastard on Thursday (1/15). You’ll need the password, which is “GHOST.” General public tickets go on sale on Friday.

More exciting is the news that the band is getting into the studio to lay down a new album. New Year’s Eve fans in Atlanta already got to hear some of the new tracks and I can’t wait to get my ears on the new tunes.

If you’ve not graced your ears with the delicious sounds of “Band of Horses,” I’ve prepared a couple of .mp3 below for you to feast on before purchasing the record. Enjoy!

“Is There a Ghost in My House” (from the album, Cease to Begin)
Beethoven

“Ode to LRC” (from the album, Cease to Begin)
Beethoven

“Funeral” (from the album, Everything All the Time)
Beethoven

I still vividly remember the first time that I saw the music video for Eminem’s My Name Is. I was a pretty young fellow and at my friend’s house playing some Goldeneye on Nintendo 64. After a few hours, we got bored and turned it off and flipped over to MTV, where they were premiering some new rap song by some new cat. We then proceeded to watch the video and we laughed all the way. At the time, it was fresh, it was funny, and it was catchy. It went on to become one of the biggest hits of 1999. His next album, The Marshall Mathers LP went on to break records, and his following two albums would be chart-toppers as well. Since 2004, when his last album Encore was released, he’s been pretty mum and declared he was taking an indefinite hiatus.

It was fine by me as I had grown out of my enjoyment of the man and had tired of his antics in the public eye. I passed through my rap and hip hop phase back in junior high, although I’ve never particularly enjoyed much outside of the likes of Dr. Dre and Tupac. I was a fan of much of Eminem’s work then, but generally found his radio play singles to be grating. Still, it is undeniable to recognize the man’s talent and that he helped reshape the rap world (for better or worse), large in part due to the help of his friend and mentor Dr. Dre (who he has collaborated with on many occasions in the past).

Now Eminem’s first single, which includes both Dr. Dre and the 50 Cent, from his upcoming album release Relapse has hit the net. You won’t ever see me jamming out to this music in the car. This isn’t my niche, but it’s causing a huge stir, so something like this is just begging to be commented on (but don’t worry, I won’t make a habit of talking about music such as this). This is what I call “bar music” (music I will inevitability hear playing on the jukebox when I go out) and I view it much differently than I view the music I would choose to listen to on my own.

I’m legitimately curious. First of all, what do you think of Eminem as an artist? Secondly, what do you think of the new single?

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