New music

• The Knife, free stream of Tomorrow, In a Year (Mar 1st), Drowned in Sound
• Drive-By Truckers, "This Fucking Job," Big To-Do (Mar 16th), Metro D
• Hot Chip, full stream of One Life Stand (Feb 9th), Stereogum
• Yeasayer, free download of "O.N.E.," Odd Blood (Feb 9th), Stereogum
• Erykah Badu (ft. Lil Wayne), "Jump Up in the Air (Stay There)," New Amerykah, Part II: Return of the Ankh (Mar 30th), Gorilla vs. Bear
  

The Low Anthem on NPR

I caught the Low Anthem in December opening for Josh Ritter and got a chance to meet 2/3 of the band after their set. Since that time, they've been on Letterman twice (okay, the second time was a rerun), incorporated a fourth member in the band, recorded material for their third album and secured a bunch of dates for their first headlining tour in the US. Yesterday they kicked off a dozen dates in Europe and this Sunday, they begin The Trala-Lala Radio Hour, a weekly show they're hosting on WOXY. Why can't we all have a two month stretch like that?

NPR's Tiny Desk Concert web-series just posted a pretty cool three song set. They sure do make some beautiful music, even with two cells at the end of their second song, "This God Damn House."

This week's late night TV lineup

Jimmy Kimmel

• Tues - Silversun Pickups
• Wed - Mayer Hawthorne
• Fri - John Mayer

Jimmy Fallon

• Thurs - Ringo Starr with Ben Harper and Relentless7

Carson Daly

• Wed - Cold War Kids
• Fri - Phoenix

Letterman

• Tues - The Low Anthem
• Wed - Findlay Brown
• Thurs - The HotRats
• Fri - Julian Casablancas

Craig Ferguson

• Thurs - Wilco
  

This week's late night TV lineup

Jimmy Kimmel

• Fri - Heartless Bastards

Jimmy Fallon

• Mon - The Cribs
• Tues - Mountain Goats
• Fri - Beach House

Carson

• Mon - Weezer
• Tues - The xx

Conan

• Tues - Spoon

Letterman

• Mon - The Heavy
• Tues - The Swell Season

Craig Ferguson

• Fri - Hotrats
  

New music

• Dirty Projectors, free download of Acending Melody 7", Gorilla vs. Bear
• Spoon, free stream of Transference (Jan 19th), NPR
  
• Shearwater, "Castaways," The Golden Archipelago (Feb 23rd), Aquarium Drunkard
• Rogue Wave, "Good Morning," Permalight (Mar 2nd), MOKB

This week's late night TV lineup

Jimmy Fallon

• Tuesday - Ringo Starr
  
• Friday - Hot Rats

Conan

• Monday - Vampire Weekend

Carson Daly

• Monday - David Gray
• Tuesday - Ravonettes
• Thursday - Pete Yorn

David Letterman

• Monday - Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses
  
• Tuesday - Findlay Brown
• Wednesday - Hot Rats
• Thursday - The Low Anthem
• Friday - Matt Morris

AD's Decade

Aquarium Drunkard just wrapped up their Decade series which began in October. In all, 60 albums were highlighted - tops on their list for the 00's was Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (not a bad selection). This was my favorite best of the decade lists. AD not only reviewed the albums, but gave a little history lesson with each by dropping some k on where the albums fit into the artists' careers and the decade as well. Enjoyable (and informative) reads.

New music

• Vampire Weekend, full album stream of Contra (Jan 12th), NPR
• The Knux, free download of F*ck You EP (out now), MOKB
• Shout Out Louds, "Fall Hard" and "Walls," Work (Feb 23rd), NPR
• The Drums, "I Felt Stupid," Summertime EP (out now), Ultra 8201
  

This week's late night TV lineup

Jimmy Fallon

• Monday - Japandroids
• Wednesday - Clipse

Letterman

• Monday - David Gray
• Tuesday - Vampire Weekend
• Wednesday - Julian Casablancas
• Friday - The Dodos

The merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation

Last week, I got the below email from the 9:30 Club. I don't have many nice things to say about Ticketmaster or Live Nation, so I have a hard time believing Ticketmaster CEO Irving Azoff when he told the LA Times, "if our plan happens ... it can, should and will result in lower ticket prices in the primary market." Riiiiight.

There’s a train wreck about to happen and consumer groups say YOU will be the victim if the two most powerful corporate interests in the live concert business get their way. But you can help stop the merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation. The government needs to hear from music fans now. Tell the Department of Justice that you’re against these monopolies amassing illegal power over consumers, before it’s too late. antitrust.complaints@usdoj.gov

As a concertgoer you have already felt the pain, and if Ticketmaster and Live Nation get their way, it’ll get worse. In the last 12 years, since Live Nation and its predecessor started its widespread takeover of the concert industry, concert ticket prices have shot up 82% while the consumer price index has gone up just 17%*. We are concerned that if the two concert industry behemoths, Live Nation and Ticketmaster, are permitted to merge, the variety and quality of artists coming to local venues will be affected, and your costs could rise further and faster.

Five of the nation’s most prominent public interest groups called on the Department of Justice to block the proposed merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation:

“Consumers deserve a fair deal in the entertainment marketplace, not the fewer choices and higher prices that would result from this merger,” said Susan Grant, Director of Consumer Protection at Consumer Federation of America

“This merger is an insult to both musicians and consumers,” said James Love, Director of Knowledge Ecology International

“We cannot envision a remedy that would ease this chilling impediment to competition… In the absence of other effective, expeditious remedies, the proposed transaction should be prohibited.” American Antitrust Institute White Paper

As described by Senator Herb Kohl (WI) in the House Antitrust hearing, “This merger will not only expand Ticketmaster’s control of the ticketing market by eliminating a competitor, but it is also creating an entity that will control the entire chain of the concert business – from artist management to concert promotion and production to ticketing and ticket resale.”

“This merger would be a disaster for consumers. Nothing short of blocking this takeover of the ticket market by two industry behemoths will be acceptable,” said National Consumers League Executive Director Sally Greenberg

“As president, I will direct my administration to reinvigorate antitrust enforcement. I will step up review of merger activity and take effective action to stop or restructure those mergers that are likely to harm consumer welfare…,” said Senator Barack Obama when he was campaigning for the presidency.

If you agree with the consumer groups and lawmakers, make a difference and LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD NOW.

Send a message to the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice telling them you support President Obama’s campaign promise to protect the American public from abusive monopolies.

antitrust.complaints@usdoj.gov

To learn more, check out:

ticketdisaster.org

Public Interest Groups Call on Justice Department to Block Ticketmaster/LiveNation/Comcast Merger

American Antitrust Institute's White Paper TICKETMASTER - LIVE NATION

Philadelphia Weekly’s cover story “Monopoly Rules”