Editors B-Side - French Disko

Editors live show has been wowing the NYC kids as the Mercury Lounge and Rothko hosted sold-out shows by the band recently. Their newest album, The Back Room will soon be released in the US, so, if you haven't all ready, you should start feeling the buzz around these guys. They've drawn numerous comparisons to Interpol, but I actually think I like them more than Interpol. This song is great, it's the B-Side to Munich.

Editors - French Disko

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White Light Riot

White Light Riot is another band from talent-rich Minneapolis, MN and their debut release, The Dark is Light Enough EP, is a collective effort between the band and, MOKB fav, producer Erik Appelwick of Vicious Vicious. Applewick also helped produce Tapes 'N Tapes' The Loon.

WLR's music is full of energy and ambition, with powerful drums and bass that set the foundation, and distinctive vocals and interplaying guitar lines. Most of the guys aren't even 21, but they want to be rock stars and they have the stuff it takes be one. They and their music are mature beyond their years, especially with the guiding hand of Applewick behind them. White Light Riot's MySpace.


For fans of bands like Franz Ferdinand. Thanks to Dee for introducing me to this band.

And then, like a ton of bricks, White Light Riot descended upon the audience. From the first furious note, they took the control of the room and made their presence known: WLR demanded attention. Drummer Mark Schwandt looked like a madman behind his kit, and armed with a maniacal grin he seemed to teeter on the edge of control. The rest of the band followed suit, proving that teetering on the edge of control sounds fucking great. The four members of the band broke into a sweat halfway into their first song. - howwastheshow.com

White Light Riot - Out Of Sight (Highly Rec'd!)
White Light Riot - Stars
White Light Riot - Bitter Beginning

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New Bishop Allen - Corazon

Bishop Allen's new EP, January, comes out tomorrow, but you can hear one of the songs here now. Matt posted this a few days ago because Bishop Allen, understandably, really loves him. They contacted me today and since I really like them, I'll repost it.



Bishop Allen - Corazon

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Belle & Sebastian Contest - Limited Edition

Mirroring YANP today with this, but I have the same offer. (and you can try and win there too!) Belle & Sebastian's new album, The Life Pursuit, is out February 7th and you can win a limited edition free copy. This copy is a rare digi-book with a live BBC sessions bonus disc.

Here's what you gotta do to win: name your favorite tandem in the comments. (ie. Belle & Sebastian or Turner & Hooch) It doesn't have to be music related. My favorite wins the digi-book.

Belle & Sebastian - We Are The Sleepyheads

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The Raconteurs

The official website of The Raconteurs went live today. You can hear two songs on it! You can even download one of them at YANP.

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The Like Young - Last Secrets

Amanda and Joe Ziemba are another one of those married duos that we are seeing become more prevalent in indie rock these days. These two have a little more edge than some of the other groups, and in their latest effort they touch on everything from self doubt to sexism to exhilarating hope in 13 songs in just 36 minutes. Their relationship and closeness is evident in the lyrics and vocals of each of these songs and while they are a small band, they make a big noise.

"Loosely connected, the songs of Last Secrets chronicle the realization, confrontation and eventually victory over major problems within one's life."

"...perfect immutable proof of the shared, secret world of two people." - Punk Planet

The Like Young - Something Fell Through
The Like Young - All The Wrong Reasons
The Like Young - Obviously Desperate

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The Gossip - Standing in the Way of Control

Lead singer of The Gossip, Beth Ditto, has a powerful soul/blues-rock voice that Joplins over powerful dance-punk drums and over-driven bass lines to create something powerful and fun. They blend soul, funk, punk, dance-pop and blues better than ever before on their latest effort, Standing In The Way Of Control.

Standing In The Way Of Control is The Gossip’s first release in almost three years, and with new drummer Hannah Blilie as well as a new producer, Fugazi’s Guy Picciotto.

"Our mission is to make you dance, and if you’re not gonna dance, just stay at home and listen to the oldies station." The Gossip's MySpace.

For fans of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Le Tigre, and Dance-pop/punk Janis Joplin.

The Gossip - Standing In The Way Of Control (big bassline, lots of hi-hat)
The Gossip - Yr Mangled Heart (big bassline, power Joplin-esque vocals)
The Gossip - Coal To Diamonds (a slower, bluesy low-burner)

Some older efforts from Kill Rock Stars (their label):
The Gossip - Sweet Baby
The Gossip - Fire Sign

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New(er) Gorillaz

Reader K. of Analog Giant sent in these two tracks which are off the Gorillaz new EP. Both songs have been made available on foreign releases, but this is the first time in the U.S.



'The Feel Good Inc.' EP was released only via iTunes.

Gorillaz - Bill Murray
Gorillaz - Spitting Out The Demons

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More Gnarls Barkley Demos...

Best Foot Forward sent me over the rest of the six Gnarls Barkley Demos he received, so I'm reposting the last three in case you missed them over there the first time around. In case you've been under a rock, Gnarls Barkley is the collaboration of DJ/producer, Danger Mouse, and the "Soul Machine" himself, Cee-Lo Green.



EDIT: We'll make it easy, since there was some mixup in the track numbers, and since they were all made available out there anyway...here's all six.

Gnarls Barkely - untitled 01 (m4a)
Gnarls Barkely - untitled 02 (m4a)
Gnarls Barkely - untitled 03 (m4a)
Gnarls Barkely - untitled 04 (m4a)
Gnarls Barkely - untitled 05 (m4a)
Gnarls Barkely - untitled 06 (m4a)

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Cleaning out this week's mailbox...The Apparitions and more...

The good find of the bunch are local boys, which excites me...The Apparitions are from Lexington, KY and were they not, you might be hearing a lot more about them...which is exactly why you need to check them out.
The Apparitions - God Monkey Robot
The Apparitions - Electricity & Drums

Another one that was sent to me that I like was Wintergreen, a L.A. based pop/rock band that, based on this song at least, are making some high quality tunes. Left me wanting more.
Wintergreen - When I Wake Up - Watch The Video.

The Prix (pronounced The Pree).
The Prix - It's All in the Way that You Trip
The Prix - Sweet Blood Volcano

Fluxblog had some new Knife up for you fans out there.

New Neko Case...Neko Case - Star Witness from Chromewaves.
New Suburban Kids With Biblical Names......Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - Noodles from Songs:Illinois or Swedesplease...both are worth visiting.



One of my favorite finds this week was Four Tet covering Black Sabbath's Iron Man...
Four Tet - Iron Man from Rock Insider via Marathon Packs.

CTASLS has Colin Meloy from his Shirley Collins cover album:
Colin Melloy - Turpin Hero
Colin Meloy - I Drew My Ship

...but YANP had my favorite that I've heard so far:
Colin Meloy - Charlie

Big news from The Raconteurs at The Modern Age. I got an achin' in my bones for this!

You know I like Goldspot, and my girl Liz Jones posted 3 tracks from an older now out of print EP they did called Beta.

The Smudge Of Ashen Fluff has three live radio performances from this week. The Elected, Rocky Votolato and The Go! Team from KCRW and KEXP.

More from the mailbags:
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Young Shields
Gregor Samsa - Young & Old
Ryan Smith - California
Ryan Smith - That Girl

Man, 15 songs in one post! You owe me an orange cream push-up popsicle.

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Music News & The Rap Game...

Grandaddy calls it quits. In an interview with Pitchfork yesterday, frontman Jason Lytle revealed that Just Like the Fambly Cat, due out May 9 on V2, will be the last Grandaddy album, and that the band has no plans to tour.

Decemberists fans, myself included, can rejoice for a second time, as Colin Meloy's solo show at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia this Saturday, January 28, will be the latest webcast in NPR.org's "All Songs Considered" program. Both Meloy's and opener Laura Veirs' sets will be streamed live in their entireties on NPR.org starting around 7:30 PM EST Saturday, and will be available as a free mp3 download from the website's permanent archive starting Sunday, January 29.



Diddy Says 2006 Is The Year He'll Get Bad Boy Back On Track : Seriously Diddy, the game has passed you by. No one cares about the Notorious B.I.G. anymore. Do they? I don't. Actually, I know they do as Duets: The Final Chapter, is approaching platinum status and will be the first Bad Boy album to reach that million-plus plateau in some time, but seriously, it's time for something new. Diddy is a good guy, he does good things overall, but he and Bad Boy haven't been pertinent in the rap game for many years.

Via Spine Magazine, I like all these:
Speaking of rap, here's a preview of what to expect on Ghostface's forthcoming album Fishscale produced by MF Doom.

Ghostface - Charlie Brown

New single from Mobb Deep, taken from their forthcoming album Blood Money out in March.

Mobb Deep - Put 'Em In They Place

Finally, here's a new track from Tha Alkaholiks, produced by Dangermouse. Taken from their final album Firewater, out this week.

The Alkaholiks - Chaos

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New Look : My Old Kentucky Blog

Whatch'all think? Looks like there are still a few bugs and kinks to work out, but it's almost there. If you do like it, tell me! If you don't like it, be sure to tell me too and please tell me why.

Big thanks to Garrison @ Indie Interviews for helping me with the whole process!

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Elvis Perkins In Dearland & MOKB Contest Winners

Elvis Perkins In Dearland plays a soothing, warming, yet heartwrenching brand of folk pop/rock. You see Elvis is the son of famous actor Anthony Perkins (Norman Bates in the original Psycho and who died of AIDS in 1992) and actress Berinthia (Berenson) Perkins, who was tragically killed aboard the hijacked American Airlines Flight 11, which was deliberately crashed into the World Trade Center's North Tower on September 11. This life marked by tragedy has been eloquently stitched into his body of work, but it is obvious that also through these tragedies, Elvis has found an appreciation of and outlet to express the joys of life as well.

This amazing new ensemble combines Perkins's lyrically sprawling songs with a minaturized-Spector meets Basement-Tapes-era-Dylan sound, to create a timeless, mysterious aesthetic both heart wrenching and body moving.

Elvis Perkins In Dearland - Sleep Sandwich
Elvis Perkins In Dearland - Without Love
Elvis Perkins In Dearland - Ash Wednesday

MOKB Contest Winners:
Well, after much debate, the winner of the Cat Power digipak is Tom Thumb. He kept the proper structure and made me laugh the most...others may disagree, but this is my blog damnit! And he's sent me free stuff before and I have to return the favor after a solid haiku effort on his part.

The winners of the Bloc Party DVDs are J. Lit and Justin Power.

The winners of the Crystal Method autographed 'London' discs are Josh Eyre and Corbin Otwell. I had been saying Chemical Brothers all this time for some reason, but it's actually Crystal Method who did this soundtrack...sorry about the mixup.

The winner of the Robert Pollard Haiku contest is Tollie. Contact me via email.

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Mylo - Destroy Rock and Roll

Hailed in the U.K. by NME and Q as "the saviour of dance music" and "whip-smart electronic eclecticism", Scottish producer/artist Mylo will cross the Atlantic, or at least his latest album will, and make his stateside debut with the innovative Destroy Rock Roll on Breastfed Records February 7th. This album is full of funky, body swaying, staccato hopping beats that are sure to get you moving. Drop The Pressure is probably my favorite track and I'm sure it sets some kind of record for number of f-bombs dropped in one song.

Stateside Dance and French House music has seen a rapid decline in popularity, at least in the midwest, but this is an album you can listen to from start to finish and find many tracks you'll enjoy. Mylo was forced to cancel his forthcoming tour dates in the U.S. due to a viral hearing condition.

Mylo (aka Myles Macinnes) is an Oxford educated and former BBC researcher from Scotland's Isle of Skye. This year has seen him remixing tracks for the likes of The Scissor Sisters, Sia, Kylie Minogue and The Killers.

Get a taste of Mylo's world with this E-Card. Stream 5 tracks here.

Mylo - Drop The Pressure
Mylo - Doctor Pressure
Mylo - In My Arms

There was a complaint or two about the amount of posters The Poster List has, but come on, gig posters for only $7!!! Are you kidding me?! Anyway, they have way more than 4 and I'm sure they'll be getting more in. When you sell for that low, you sell out fast! BUT...they are far from sold out, so go check out the still impressive collection of cheap and good gig posters.

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Eef Barzelay - Bitter Honey

Bitter Honey by Eef Barzelay is a solo acoustic record by the singer/songwriter of Clem Snide. I am a big Clem Snide fan and have been excited to hear anything from this since I heard Eef's rendition of Joy To The World from Chris (also off Bitter Honey). The release date is February 21st, 2006. His sense of humor mixed with harsh truth is what attracts me so much and this song starts out hilarious from note one and then fluidly around moves in it's tone and subject matter.

Anyone familiar with Snide's previous 5 records and live shows knows with just his voice, his words, and an acoustic guitar Barzelay only confirms that he is one of the most uniquely talented songwriters around. Eef & Clem Snide are on spinArt Records.

Eef Barzelay - A Ballad Of Bitter Honey

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Foreign Born & The Minor Canon

Today we feature a couple of bands from bright and sunny Southern California and while the L.A. bloggers are way ahead of me on this, we will soldier on...



Foreign Born has two new tracks available and are playing a small California-only tour. Foreign Born is a Los Angeles based 4-piece that has slowly been building a national fanbase. The band was originally formed in San Francisco when Matt Popieluch and Lewis Pesacov became roommates. They moved to L.A., where they hooked up with Lewis' old high school pal, Ariel Rechtshaid and his friend and drummer Garret Ray. They were soon playing shows and opening for such bands as the Futureheads, Black Mountain and the French Kicks. In The Remote Woods is their latest EP and you can pick it up through Startime Records...here is their MySpace.

Foreign Born - Holy Splinter
Foreign Born - Into Your Dreams
Foreign Born - We Had Pleasure



A band that will be playing shows with Foreign Born is the new Paul Larson project, The Minor Canon. Larson was a member of Strictly Ballroom, a band that also included Beachwood Sparks/Mystic Chords of Memory member Chris Gunst and Postal Service/Dntel/Figurine whiz kid Jimmy Tamborello. Larson has played shows with The Shins, Modest Mouse, Death Cab For Cutie, Jimmy Eat World and a lots of other great bands, moreover, the older demos are getting airplay on KXLU, KCRW, and Indie 103.1 in Los Angeles. The Minor Canon will also being playing with MOKB fav, Jose Gonzalez. Their MySpace.

A new project by former Strictly Ballroom member Paul Larson, Minor Canon sounds like Memphis soul on a indie bender. With music influences like Muddy Waters, the Beatles and Wilco, it's easy to see how the modern sound can accommodate a down home sensibility. - Black Book Magazine

The Minor Canon - A False Start
The Minor Canon - Good Luck

On The Tube:
I hate to call out one of MOKB's ad sponsors, but after two episodes of Love Monkey, I can officially say it really pisses me off. This unholy incest between Sony and CBS is geared only at selling Sony artists and product and being as vanilla shite as possible...Eric @ Marathonpacks sumed it all up way more intelligently that I will after the first episode: Love Monkey Throws It's Own Crap At Rock Fans.

Scrubs is still the best comedy on television. Last night's Wizard of Oz episode was a classic.

Cheap Rock:
Just wanted to give love to The Poster List again and remind you that you can get gig posters for only $7!!. Damn! Go get some!

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Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Ballad of the Broken Seas

Isobel Campbell sings in wispy, ethereal tones and is an original member of the Glasgow pop collective Belle & Sebastian, while Mark Lanegan is the grizzly-voiced, drug-guzzling simian and former frontman of Screaming Trees (and more latterly guitarist with Queens of the Stone Age). The two have come together to record Ballad of the Broken Seas.

Much of the album was recorded with Isobel in Glasgow and Mark in Los Angeles, but the two finally got together in L.A. and recorded and wrote a number of tracks together. The two met while Mark was on tour in Scotland with Queens Of The Stone Age, and Lanegan professed to her that he was a big fan of her music and would love to work with her. Isobel took the idea and ran with it, writing a number of songs with Lanegan in mind, communicating with him over the internet and posting a number of tracks for him to add his vocals to. The results are both side of a coin...angelic and rough coming together to make something beautiful. This is definitely a 4+ star record on a scale of 5.

If you want to know what a duet between Mary Poppins and Satan sounds like then 'Ballad of the Broken Seas' is surely a close approximation. - Playlouder

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - The False Husband
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Ramblin' Man
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Saturday's Gone

View the video of Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Ramblin' Man.

In The Blogs:
I Guess I'm Floating is a gig poster lover like most show-goers and pointed me towards The Poster List which has a huge selection of gig posters for only $7!!! Are you kidding me?! You can get three for the normal price of most gig posters!

Everyone loves the idea of Gorilla Vs. Bear, but find even more interesting matchups at VERSUS. Prince Vs. Mick Jagger? Oooh, Jagger would cock-walk all over Prince, but I love them both! The drawings kick ass on this site!

New Ben Kweller:
This really deserves it's own post, but since I don't have an mp3 of it I won't. I do have a stream of it. Ben is in France finishing up the Pierre Guimard album. Live tracking and overdubs are finished and Pierre and Ben are focusing on the lead vocals and harmonies. Wanna hear what the fuss is about? Click here [mp3 stream] to hear a demo of "Je T'ecris D'angleterre", which translates as "I'm Writing You From England". Thanks go out to J-bobo for this news!

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Ohmega Watts - The Find

The most overlooked hip-hop release of 2005 was, without a doubt, Ohmega Watts' The Find. Ohmega is a throwback to the golden age of hip-hop who takes his own shots and stabs at hip-hop's current state of bling. Ohmega remembers and reminds us of a day when it was about what was most important, the rhymes and the beats. Blending soul and funk with his hip-hop beats, the most important thing Ohmega does, and I am sincere in this, is bring back what mainstream hip-hop and rap have been missing for quite some time...CREATIVITY. His songs, his record, they are thought out, pondered on, evident that the work has been put in...not some cash grab like way too many of the records being thrown out there today in the hip-hop genre. I saw him open for Digable Planets not too long ago and he was amazing...really got the crowd hyped for the Planets.

Digital Underground and Eric B. and Rakim clearly influenced this Brooklyn native, who spends his free time designing of Adidas. Creative is an understatement as Watts (aka Milton Campbell) gives old-school rap a new school sample-heavy swagger. - Giant Magazine

This whole album is awesome and highly rec'd!
Ohmega Watts - Mind Power
Ohmega Watts - A Request
Ohmega Watts - The Find
Ohmega Watts - Where It All Started

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Polysics - Now Is The Time!

Polysics debuted in 1997 and released their first record in 1999. They are like a crazy Japanese electro-punk Devo. Polysics, founded by Hiroyuki Hayashi, actually began as a cheeky Devo homage, but have blossomed into a phenomenon in Japan and beyond. Their live show is full of crazy costumes and pulsing energy

They say their sound is, "A super hyper pop techno computer-stuffed barrel of insanity." or "technicolor pogo punk" which is performed in a variety of languages including Japanese, English and their very own "space language".

Now Is The Time! is Polysics' second release by Tofu Records and hits the streets in the U.S. on February 21st, 2005. Read more about Polysics in this interview.

Polysics - Tei! Tei! Tei!
Polysics - Ceolakanth Is Android
Polysics - I My Me Mine

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Micah P. Hinson / Chin Up Chin Up - releases...

Sorry for being so late today, lots going on at work and all. I'll have more towards the afternoon, but for now, here are some notes on bands I've seen and was impressed with and bands I will be seeing and am sure to be impressed with. All have new releases scheduled this year...



While his tales of addiction, bankruptcy, tough love, and brushes with the law are all pretty bad, but it's hard to get past the most miserable and degrading thing Micah P. Hinson will tell you he had to face in his pre-fame existence: working as a telemarketer to make ends meet. Jade Tree will re-release Hinson's debut EP, The Baby and the Satellite for the first time in the U.S. in these next couple months.

Micah P. Hinson - The Leading Guy

Bonus Track:
Chin Up Chin Up are currently writing material for their Suicide Squeeze debut and are scheduled to begin recording in May at Chicago's Engine Studios, under the watchful eye of Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine). The album has already been given the firm release date of October 10, 2006.

Chin Up Chin Up - Tanning Salons

In Concert:
Feist & Jason Collett will be here Wednesday @