Updated : Sep, 04 2010 19:16:04 EDT
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Reuters - Rapper T.I. has been released from jail after being arrested on suspicion of possessing ecstasy, police said on Thursday.
Publ.Date : Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:13:42 GMT
 AP - "American Idol" is expanding the talent search for its next season with an audition in Los Angeles later this month.
Publ.Date : Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:26:08 GMT
Reuters - Rosanne Cash has worn many hats through the years -- country music star, acclaimed singer-songwriter, mother of five and firstborn child of the legendary Johnny Cash.
Publ.Date : Sat, 04 Sep 2010 01:04:04 GMT
Publ.Date : Aug, 12 2010 16:45:00 EDT
AP - A German court ruled Friday that Google Inc.'s subsidiary YouTube LLC must pay compensation after users uploaded several videos of performances by singer Sarah Brightman in violation of copyright laws.
Publ.Date : Fri, 03 Sep 2010 21:40:07 GMT
Reuters - American rock band Guns N' Roses incurred the wrath of a crowd in Ireland after showing up almost an hour late -- and then left the stage after being pelted with plastic glasses.
Publ.Date : Fri, 03 Sep 2010 04:11:43 GMT
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 The Year: 2001
The Album: The Langley Schools Music Project, Innocence and Despair
Who It Influenced: Karen O and the Kids, Dead Man's Bones, The Dears, Architecture in Helsinki, Magic Kids
It seems strange billing this Langley Schools Music Project LP as being from the 200s, given that these recordings —in which a rag-tag choir of rural Canadian school children yell out versions of classic pop-songs in a cavernous school gym— hail from 1976 and 1977.
But, given they were unreleased in their day, made only publicly available via a CD release in 2001, they don't really belong in the '70s. And, in truth, they really do belong in the '00s. For, the last decade wasn't just about the future —blurring of genres, the rise of new musical forms, and the explosion of the digital era— but about the past.
The 2000s were, in many ways, the reissue decade. Labels like Sundazed, Cherry Red, and Rev-ola made their name through unearthing albums strange, wonderful, and forgotten. Never-popular folk-sirens like Vashti Bunyan and Linda Perhacs became retrospective cultural touchstones. Everything old was new; everything forgotten was remembered; the long-held notion of albums being 'lost' to time rescued as the indie music realm at times resembled a massive virtual thrift-store.
If they had been widely released in their day, these Langley Schools Music Project recordings wouldn't have had the same impact, been heard the same way, meant the same thing. It was only with a quarter-century of time passed that they were granted a haunted quality; this strange, wondrous, terrifyingly beautiful record less about Innocence than innocence lost. From the Vaults Friday: The Langley Schools Music Project, Innocence and Despair (2001) originally appeared on About.com Alternative Music on Friday, August 27th, 2010 at 08:00:00. Permalink | Comment | Email this
 Back at the start of the year, I introduced you to Memphis's Magic Kids, and exhorted you to check them out at SXSW. Since then, those Kids have come along way, graduating from scrappy, indie-pop beginnings to unexpected grandeur on their debut LP, Memphis.
Drawing openly from the production of Phil Spector, the songwriting of the Beach Boys, and the sweetly-naïve optimism of the Langley Schools Music Project, Memphis is a pretty impressive debut for a fresh-faced crew barely out of high-school.
I recently spoke to Magic Kids' Will McElroy about the band's beginnings, their debt to Spector, and graduating to hi-fi grandeur when making Memphis.
The conversation came before Magic Kids left their album-enshrined hometown for bouts of touring that'll take up most of the rest of 2010. Kicking off with a run of record-store in-stores this week, their extensive itinerary will find the Kids sprinkling their Magic across the globe, spreading sunshine in their dorky wake...
Do You Believe in Magic?:
August 25: Knoxville, TN - Disc Exchange
August 26: Atlanta, GA - Criminal Records
August 27: Charlotte, NC - Lunchbox Records
August 28: Cincinnati, OH - Shake It Records
August 29: St. Louis, MO - Vintage Vinyl
August 30: Nashville, TN - Grimey's
September 1: Lubbock, TX - Foundation
September 3: Phoenix, AZ - Trunk Space
September 4: Los Angeles, CA - FYF Fest
September 5: San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill
September 8: Vancouver, BC - Media Club
September 9: Seattle, WA - Vera Project
September 10: Portland, OR - MFNW
September 11: Garden City, ID - Visual Arts Collective
September 13: Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court
September 14: Denver, CO - Hi Dive
September 16: Lawrence, KS - Reply Lounge
October 1: London, England - Barfly
October 2: London, England - Camden Proud Gallery
October 3: Bruges, Belgium - Botanique/Witloofbar
October 5: Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
October 6: Tilburg, Netherlands - 013
October 7: Hamburg, Germany - Molotow
October 8: Helsingar, Denmark - Musikhuset Elvaerket
October 9: Oslo, Norway - Cafe Mono
October 10: Gothenburg, Sweden - Pusterviksbaren
October 11: Stockholm, Sweden - Landet
October 12: Copenhagen, Denmark - Lades
October 13: Berlin, Germany - Magnet
October 14: Cologne, Germany - Werkstatt
October 15: Munich, Germany - Atomic Café
October 16: Zurich, Switzerland - Club Zukunft
October 17: Milan, Italy - Rocket
October 18: Paris, France - Le Point Ephémère
October 19: Oxford, England - Jericho Tavern
October 21: Bristol, England - Louisiana
October 22: Bristol, England - The Social
October 23: Cardiff, Wales - SWN Festival
October 24: Newcastle, England - Cluny
October 25: Leeds, England - Nation of Shopkeepers
October 26: Birmingham, England - Hare and Hounds
October 27: London, England - TBA
October 28: London, England - Lexington
November 5: Dallas, TX - The Cavern
November 6: Austin, TX - Fun Fun Fun Fest
November 7: Houston, TX - Numbers
November 8: Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon
November 10: Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
November 12: New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
November 13: Ridgewood, NY - Silent Barn
November 15: Cleveland, OH - Beachland Tavern
November 16: Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
November 17: St. Louis, MO - Firebird
November 18: Nashville, TN - The End
November 19: Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone
Photo © Alejandra SabillonMagic Kids Tour, Talk, Hawk Memphis originally appeared on About.com Alternative Music on Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 at 08:00:32. Permalink | Comment | Email this
Reuters - American rock band Guns N' Roses incurred the wrath of a crowd in Ireland after showing up almost an hour late -- and then left the stage after being pelted with plastic glasses.
Publ.Date : Fri, 03 Sep 2010 04:11:43 GMT
 Name: Twin Shadow
From: Brooklyn, New York
Story: High-haired hipster styles clothes, music
Sound: Big songs, big choruses, big synths, big echo
One of my favorite songs of 2010 has been "Castles in the Snow," an eerie, dramatic, nocturnal ballad that was one of the first publicly-issued cuts by Twin Shadow.
Twin Shadow is the work of one George Lewis Jr., an adventurously-haired Brooklynista who was just named one of Time Out New York's Most Stylish New Yorkers.
As Twin Shadow, Lewis authors a kind of retro, electro-tinged soul-balladry; peddling big songs with big choruses, big synths, big echo, and big drama (and, y'know, big hair). Whilst Lewis obviously owes a debt to the 1970s output of ELO and David Bowie, there's a distinctly '80s vibe to his jams. The armies of synths, snarling guitar solos, octopad drums, and not-entirely-judicious use of gated reverb colors Twin Shadow's music various shades of neon, dry ice, and pastel casuals.
The sheen on the debut Twin Shadow album, Forget, was given extra shine by Grizzly Bear's in-house producer, Christopher Taylor. Taylor produced the LP, and will be releasing it unto the world via his Terrible Records imprint on September 28. Remember:
September 11: Brooklyn, NY - Glasslands Gallery
September 18: New York, NY - Le Poisson Rouge
September 20: Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
September 21: Asheville, NC - Orange Peel
September 22: Atlanta, GA - The EARL
September 24: Austin, TX - Antone's
September 25: Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
September 27: Phoenix, AZ - Rhythm Room
September 28: Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up
September 30: Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex
Introducing: Twin Shadow originally appeared on About.com Alternative Music on Monday, August 23rd, 2010 at 08:00:47. Permalink | Comment | Email this
 Back at the start of the year, I was speaking to Hutch Harris, wordy frontman of The Thermals. The band were still touring on their 2009 LP Now We Can See, but already his "post-power-pop" trio were finishing up their next record, Personal Life.
Things've moved pretty fast for The Thermals since signing with Kill Rock Stars in 2009: in addition to knocking out two albums, they've issued five singles, toured Europe five times, and made their maiden voyages to China and Australia.
Now, here comes Personal Life, an album produced by Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie, and whose single "I Don't Believe You" you can have gratis.
With the set set for release next week, on September 7, The Thermals have lined up a suitably thorough run of American tour dates. Opening for pretty much the whole of October will be fellow indie-rock true-bloods Cymbals Eat Guitars. Alright.
Public Life:
September 6: Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot Festival
September 8: Bend, OR - The Tower Theatre
September 9: Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
September 12: Portland, OR - Kennedy School
September 25: Bellingham, WA - Wild Buffalo
September 26: Spokane, WA - The Seaside
September 27: Billings, MT - The Railyard Ale House
September 29: Fargo, ND - Dempsey's Upstairs
September 30: Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Social Club
October 1: Iowa City, IA - The Mill
October 2: Madison, WI - The Annex
October 3: Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium
October 4: Bloomington, IN - Rhino's
October 6: Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
October 7: Cincinnati, OH - Northside Tavern
October 8: Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
October 9: Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
October 10: Ithaca, NY - Castaways
October 12: Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
October 13: New York, NY - Irving Plaza
October 14: Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
October 15: Washington, DC - Black Cat
October 17: Mt. Pleasant, SC - Village Tavern
October 19: Athens, GA - 40 Watt
October 20: Nashville, TN - Exit/In
October 21: Birmingham, AL - Bottle Tree
October 22: New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jack's
October 23: Austin, TX - Red 7
October 24: Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
October 28: Denver, CO - The Bluebird Theater
October 29: Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
October 30: Boise, ID - Neurolux
Photo © Thomas OliverThe Thermals Take Their Personal Life Public originally appeared on About.com Alternative Music on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 08:00:51. Permalink | Comment | Email this
 That's it. August is over. Two-thirds of 2010 are now in the books. And, as happens when you start flipping pages of a calender over, the passing of time brings with it those sentimental feelings.
And, so, I took a look at my albums-of-the-year-thus-far countdown, first posted on the 1st of June, and realized lots of stuff was missing. All those start-of-the-year hits were in there —Newsom, Pallett, Beach House et al— but what of all the amazing LPs that'd come out in the last three months? And where on Earth was Zola Jesus (pictured!)?
Thus, I figured it was more than time to make this countdown truly resemble its name, and swell the ranks from 10 to 20. And, here they are, the Top 20 Albums of 2010 So Far...
Photo © Indra DunisTop 10 Tuesdays: Top 20 Albums of 2010 So Far originally appeared on About.com Alternative Music on Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 at 08:00:35. Permalink | Comment | Email this
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