The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Black Cat (2/18/10)

This was a tremendous show - and unexpected, which makes it even better. I had heard of The Soundtrack of Our Lives before, but honestly had never paid much attention to them. Led by their big, sweaty, unpredictable teddy bear-esque frontman Ebbot Lundberg, the Swedes sure do know how to bring it. And the pair of blonde firecrackers that scooted their way in front of us added to the entertainment by shaking their moneymakers and whipping their hair all about. A quality night all around.

Check out their website, scroll towards the bottom and click on "Enter the TSOOL Dimension" - whoa.

New music

• Thom Yorke, "The Daily Mail," Mouse Dog Bird" and"Give Up the Ghost," video from a Green Party benefit in Cambridge on Feb 25th, NPR
• Prince, "Cause and Effect," Minnesota Public Radio exclusive via NPR
  
• She & Him, "Thieves," Volume Two (Mar 23rd), Pfork
• Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, "Good Enough," Mojo (this Spring), Metro D
• The Morning Benders, "Excuses" and "Promises," Big Echo (Mar 9th), Aquarium Drunkard
• Rogue Wave, "Solitary Gun," Permalight (Mar 2nd), I am Fuel
  

This week's late night TV lineup

Kimmel

• Mon - Mayer Hawthorne

Letterman

• Mon - Ben Harper and Relentless7
• Fri - The Blind Boys Of Alabama With Lou Reed

I get lost even in the places that I know...

There's nothing like finding good music by accident... okay, maybe that' s overshooting it a bit, but you catch my drift. I originally recorded Austin City Limits a few weeks ago to check out the Avett Brothers and see what all of the fuss was about. After a few songs, I was still trying to figure it out. In my state of disappointment, I almost deleted the episode before giving the Heartless Bastards a listen. That would've been a gross error in judgment.

Right out of the gate, "Hold Your Head High" blew me away - so much so that I rewound it a few times before moving onto the rest of their set. Five songs later, I sat there pleasantly surprised and want more. I downloaded their latest release, The Mountain and it's been getting some frequent play on my iPod. It's nothing revolutionary, not mind-altering either - but I like their old-school sound and the stank of Erika Wennerstrom's voice sure is addicting. Unfortunately, they just finished touring with Wolfmother so who knows when I'll get a chance to catch them live. Until then, do me a favor and give "Hold Your Head High" a whirl, by clicking here and starting just after the 30 minute mark of the video.

New music

• Muse, "Prague," b-side to "Resistance" (and a Mega City Four cover), NME
  
• Dr. Dog, "Shadow People," Shame, Shame (Apr 6th), Aquarium Drunkard
• Clem Snide, free stream of The Meat of Life (Feb 23rd), NPR
• Josh Ritter, "Change of Time," So Runs the World Away (May 4th), I am fuel
• Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, "I Learned the Hard Way," I Learned the Hard Way (Apr 6th), MOKB

This week's late night TV lineup

Jimmy Kimmel

• Fri - Wale

Dave

• Mon - Fanfarlo
• Wed - Mumford & Sons

Tonight on Austin City Limits

This week's late night TV lineup

SNL - Them Crooked Vultures

Jimmy Fallon

• Tues - Motion City Soundtrack
• Thurs - Hot Chip

Jimmy Kimmel

• Thurs - The Bravery

Letterman

• Tues - Ben Harper and Relentless7
• Fri - The Swell Season

Conan

• Mon - John Mayer Trio
• Tues - Neko Case
• Wed - Incubus