New music

• My Morning Jacket, "Circuital," TBD, You Ain't No Picasso
• Klaxons, "Echoes" and "Flashover," Surfing the Void (Aug 23rd), Stereogum
  
• The National, "You Were a Kindness," Live on MPR's the Current
  

New music

• The National, "Ashamed of the Story I Told" (Polaris cover), Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy (Sept 29th), P-fork
• Thom Yorke, "All for the Best" (Miracle Legion cover), same album, Stereogum
• Artic Monkeys, "Crying Lightning," Humbug (Aug 25th), Ultra8201
• Yim Yames (aka MMJ's Jim James), "Long, Long, Long," Tribute to (Geroge Harrison tribute out now digitally, Aug 4th hard-copy), Ultra8201
• Spoon, "Got Nuffin," Got Nuffin EP (out now), Ultra8201
  

New music

• Yim Yames (aka MMJ's Jim James), "Behind That Locked Door," Tribute to (Geroge Harrison tribute out July 7th), MOKB
• Modest Mouse, "The Whale Song," Autumn Beds (limited edition 7" out now), The Tripwire

Celebración De La Ciudad Natal - April 18th

MMJ is releasing an EP in both CD and limited edition double 10″ vinyl to coincide with Record Store Day on April 18th. Excerpt from mymorningjacket.com (where you can also find a nifty video and list of stores that will carry the EP):

hello friends. we are proud to announce and release a lil live ep that was recorded right in our very own hometown of louisville, ky. a few songs were taken from our in-store appearance at our beloved and fabled record haven “ear-x-tacy” and a few of them were taken from our concert at the fabled “waterfront park.” see if you can guess which is from which. we are excited to make this a special release that you can only get at your favorite local independent record store, as now more than ever we all need to take the time to celebrate what our favorite local record stores and businesses mean to us - the value of community/human to human non- internet related physical and spiritual contact and supporting the hardworking people in your community who strive everyday to keep it unique and keep it local.

Hooray Friday!

- New music:

• Pete Yorn, "American Blues, Vol.1," American Blues (TBD), I am Fuel

- Much love this week from Aquarium Drunkard...

• My Morning Jacket session on KVRX radio, 2000
• Jim James acoustic "Steam Engine" video
• Beach Boys rehearsal, 1967
• Ryan Adams concert in Seattle, 2000

- Listen to the Of Montreal concert from the 9:30 Club on NPR's All Songs Considered and get a sneak peak of tracks from their upcoming album, Skeletal Lamping (Oct 21st).

My Morning Jacket - D.A.R. Constitution Hall (9/3/08)

Recently I was discussing upcoming concerts with someone who knows a fair bit about music and I mentioned that I was really looking forward to finally seeing MMJ. Her response was, "They're too serious. They need to lighten up." At the time I didn't quite understand what the hell she was talking about, and after Wednesday night here are my observations:

• If music is a person's/band's livelihood, I hope they take it seriously.
• Anyone who wears a towel on their head/moon boots/cape (whether it be on or off stage) can't be too serious.
• If too serious is defined as 2+ hour concerts, then more bands should be more serious.
  

Back to the concert. After scoring floor tickets on eBay for a whopping $5.50 (yes, the decimal is in the correct place), to say I was even more hopped up for "An Evening with My Morning Jacket" would be an understatement. They blazed a trail by opening with "Evil Urges" and "Anytime" and followed that son of a bitch for almost 2 1/2 hours. Songs from Evil Urges (which admittedly took me awhile to truly appreciate) came off even better live. Jim James and Carl Broemel have the harmonizing guitar thing down to a science and the whole band just feeds off of each other. Best part is that they waste very little time - Jim James kept his comment to a minimum and they just roll from one song to the next. Efficiency at its best!

SETLIST: Evil Urges, Anytime, Off The Record, Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Pt.1, Two Halves, Golden, Thank You Too!, I'm Amazed, The Way That He Sings, Sec Walkin, War Begun, Phone Went West, Cobra, Librarian, Dondante, Gideon, Lay Low, Steam Engine

ENCORE: Wordless Chorus, Highly Suspicious, Smokin From Shootin, Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Pt.2, Run Thru, One Big Holiday

Hooray Friday!

- Band of Horses played the Accelerator Festival this week in Stockholm and let loose on an unreleased song. Check out the video at P-fork.

- All reports from Bonnaroo are that MMJ killed with a 3+ hour set. I've been back and forth on seeing them when they swing through DC for their "An Evening with..." tour and I think this sealed the deal for me. Have a listen for yourself at You Ain't No Picasso.

- If you're looking for some new music to check out, head over to Sixeyes who has the list of nominees for the Polaris Music Prize which is given to the best Canadian album released in the last year.

- Not sure if I've already posted this, but Radiohead's April concert at the BBC Radio Theatre is available for download on Sixeyes.

- And the trifecta for Sixeyes! Some Shins live tracks from a concert last year are up and available for your listening/downloading pleasure.

- Spoon recorded a Daytrotter session which includes a cover of Paul Simon's "Peace Like a River" and three other songs.

- The Editors cover Calvin Harris' "Acceptable in the 80s". Thanks to Lets Sexy Fighting for the love.

- More covers from Lets Sexy Fighting. Grizzly Bear takes a crack at "Owner of a Lonely Heart" - can't wait to hear to this one.

- Take a listen to Blitz Trappen's title track off of their upcoming release Furr, due out in September. Thanks to You Ain't No Picasso.

- Another Peel Session from Aquarium Drunkard, this one courtesy of Fugazi from 1988.

- Aaaand the first of the 1/2 year lists are out.

Hooray Friday!

- Coldplay fans can stream Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends on their mySpace page starting tonight (it actually might be just tonight). Thanks to NME for the K. In other news, it sounds like they in the process of finishing up a follow-up album to be released in the near future ala Kid A/Amnesiac according to Twisted Ear.

- The Kooks cover Peter Bjorn & John's "Young Folks" and MOKB provides the love.

- M Ward, Jim James of MMJ and Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes got together in 2004 for a "Monsters of Folk" tour. The bootleg has individual sets and a threesome (not that kind, you pervs) jam at the end. Thanks to I am fuel.

- If you're looking for a live Radiohead fix, look no further. Okay, you'll have to make a few more clicks of the mouse, but I can't imagine it's not worth the effort. Ultra 8201 as always is on top of it.

- Same blog, different band. NIN is all about giving free shit away nowadays. This is an EP containing songs from bands that will be opening for them on their tour: A Place to Bury Strangers; Does It Offend You, Yeah?; Crystal Castles; and Deerhunter.

- The trifecta from Ultra 8201! I've heard about this before, but it got lost somewhere in my mind. If you haven't done so already, check out Black Cab Sessions for nifty performances from Bon Iver, MMJ, Death Cab, Spoon and others.

Hooray Friday!

- More fallout from the Radiohead concert at Nissan Pavilion. From the band's choice of venue to Live Nation's handling of the situation... I'm sure nothing will come out of it, but you never know. Thanks to Metro D and P-fork.

- Okkervil River stopped by WOXY and broke out a new tune, "Lost Coastlines" and dusted off some older ones. Thanks to Butter Team for the heads-up.

- If you missed MMJ on SNL last weekend, check out Metro D for the videos. I'm slowly getting into Evil Urges, but I think it's much different from their previous offering.

- The countdown to the Raconteurs concert at the 9:30 Club next Wednesday has officially begun. I have a feeling this is going to be mindblowing. Ultra 8201 has video of them performing "Consoler of the Lonely" on Later with Jools Holland. Hot shit!

- More late night clips. The Black Keys perform "Strange Times" on Conan. Thanks to Brooklyn Vegan.

Hooray Friday - down and dirty style!

- Acoustic Artic Monkeys over on Butter Team.

- Calico covers Radiohead on MOKB.

- Acoustic Hot Chip from BBC Live Lounge on I am fuel.

- The Black Keys cover Captain Beefheart on I am fuel.

- New Weezer tracks on Ultra 8201.

- Duffy covers Hot Chip on Ultra 8201.

- Looking for info on the Radiohead tour? Ultra 8201 with the triple shot.

- NIN has released The Slip and it's available for free on their website.

- Don't forget, MMJ is on Saturday Night Live this week.

Hooray Friday!

- If you haven't been to NPR is a few weeks like myself, prepare yourself for sensory overload. All Songs Considered has a shitload of concerts up to include Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, My Morning Jacket, Yo La Tengo, The Whigs, Vampire Weekend and more. Enjoy!

- Check out some new music to include Wolf Parade's "Call it a Ritual" and MMJ's "Evil Urges" on MOKB. There's a Scarlett Johannson track on there, but I'm staying away from that one... don't want to tarnish her hotness.

- A new Nine Inch Nails track is available for free on their website and I am fuel.

Hooray Friday!

Sorry for the late post, but I got sucker punched at the bar last night. Okay, I had no plans to do this last night anyway, but I figured I'd use the black eye and split lip I'm now sporting to my advantage.

- My Morning Jacket covered The Velvet Underground's "Head Held High" at SXSW and An Aquarium Drunkard has the video.

- Feist and The Constantines got together and gave us their take on the "Islands in the Stream". I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan. But it's a free country - take a listen for yourself at I am fuel.

- Eddie Vedder, you tease! Everyone knows he's going to be great live... including him. So he only schedules seven dates. And doesn't even venture away from the West Coast. But thanks to I am fuel, you can stream/download his Berkely concert and read a detailed review.

- Three times a charm for I am fuel. Tracks and a review from the Springsteen concert in San Jose.

- I am fuel had a busy week. The National covered the Boss' "Mansion of the Hill". Yes please.

- Speaking of the National, A Skin, A Night is their DVD to be released on May 20th. Ultra 8201 teases us with the trailer.

- NPR's All Songs Considered previews the upcoming releases. And from the looks and sounds of it, it's going to be a good Spring.

- Check out Tapes 'n Tapes performing "Hang Them All" on Conan this week. I need to dig into Walk It Off statim. Only 2 weeks until their concert at the 9:30 Club - hells yeah!

- Vote for the greatest rock 'n roll band ever. Cool concept, poor execution. NME has taken on task, but it's too time consuming. How many bands are there to rank? When I was asked to rate Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, I called it quits.

Catching up rapid-fire style

- New Pete Yorn track with Mexican band Kinky thanks to I am fuel.

- Same blog, different band. The Kooks cover Peter Bjorn & John's "Young Folks".

- Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks performs three songs in studio for Minnesota Public Radio. You betcha!

- Death Cab for Cutie's new single "I Will Possess Your Heart" from their upcoming album Narrow Stairs out May 13th courtesy of Ultra 8201.

- Cat Power's Black Session tracks from French radio's France Inter are available on Aquarium Drunkard. Just make sure you don't listen to these under a ladder.

- Peter Moren's (from Peter Bjorn & John fame) solo effort The Last Tycoon is out April 8th and the first single "Social Competence" is available for your ears on Let's Sexy Fighting.

- New Birdmonster track "I Might Have Guessed" had it's coming out party at SXSW. Thanks to the Music Slut.

- More from SXSW. Jim James and M. Ward give us a little acoustic love and Aquarium Drunkard has it zipped up nice and neat like.

- Muse's HAARP DVD/CD is out April 1 and will be screened in a handful of cities. Ultra 8201 has the dates.

- R.E.M. covers the Editors for BBC's Radio 1. Thanks to You Ain't No Picasso for the video.

The concert that was just not meant to be

I had a nice little Tuesday night planned. I hadn't been to a concert since the last time I saw the National at the 9:30 Club in the beginning of September. The Cold War Kids were playing at the 9:30 Club, but it was sold out. I saw them open for Muse in August and was mildly impressed, although I think it had more to do with the fact that the venue (Patriot Center) dwarfed them. I felt like being a bit adventurous, so I decided on heading to the Black Cat instead to catch Dinosaur Jr. No ticket in hand, but it wasn’t sold out. I figured they would hit the stage around 10, so if I got there by 9 I’d be money.

Flashback to 8:15 PM. I was ready to walk out of the house when I looked down and saw a little critter sneak under the closet door. Being the man of the house (ha ha), I felt like it was my obligation to investigate further and empty out the closet. Houston, we have a mouse!

I headed to Target and picked up a few mouse traps and set those bad boys up in the kitchen. By now, it was 9:15 but I was still confident that I could make the concert. Unfortunately, I lost my bearings in DC and parked way far from the Black Cat. By the time I found an ATM machine and finally made it to the Black Cat, it was sold out. DAMN!

I briefly considered hanging around to see if I could scrounge up an extra ticket from someone, but figured that I’d be better off cutting my losses and calling it a night. Luckily, I had My Morning Jacket’s Okonokos in my car so at least I got to hear some live music. Great album by the way - thanks for that LBJ.

I guess I had this coming. I’ve lucked out at the last few concerts I’ve attended by getting either tickets to sold out shows or good seats at the last minute. Nothing against Dinosaur Jr., but I’m not too broken up that my luck ran out for this show.

Hooray Friday!

- An Aquarium Drunkard has My Morning Jacket covering Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" and a few Steve Earle tunes worth checking out.

- NPR continues to give me live music to stream while wasting the days away at work. The past week was a barn-burner with Josh Ritter, Jose Gonzalez, Okkervil River, Animal Collective and Iron and Wine getting some love on NPR's Live Concert Series. Looks like Spoon and the New Pornographers will be popping up in the next few weeks as well. Stay tuned...

- I've never been a Smashing Pumpkins fan, so their pseudo-reunion meant next to nothing to me. Reviews of their current tour are average at best and MOKB doesn't hold back either. I like the way they went about it though - they blasted the Pumpkins, but then gave some suggestions to improve the show. Not that Billy Corgan is reading, but still.

- The Flaming Lips are projecting a March release for their latest experiment, the film Christmas on Mars. If this is going to be anything like their concerts, you might want to start preparing your brain for sensory overload directly. Thanks to You Ain't No Picasso for the report.

- If you don't know what I'm talking about when I refer to the Flaming Lips concerts, check out the pics on MOKB from the Monolith Festival. The post also has a few tracks, to include their cover of Pink Floyd's "Lucifer Sam".

Hooray Friday!

- My Morning Jacket released At Dawn & Tennessee Fire Demos Package (Amazon link) earlier this month. It combines the At Dawn and Tennessee Fire demos (amazing how that works, huh?) in one neat little 20 track package. From the track listing, it looks like they threw a few live nuggets in there for good measure as well. You can listen to a few of the tracks courtesy of An Aquarium Drunkard here.

- Pearl Jam played their cover of The Who's "Love Reign O'er Me" for the first time live this week in Copenhagen (and it was their first return since the 2000 Roskilde Festival tragedy). This cover ranks up there as one of my Pearl Jam favorites. I am fuel, you are friends provides the live audio here.

- Mid-year favorite lists are starting to hit blogs. Check out Metro D's and MFKWCRG's. The standards are always going to be there (The National, White Stripes, Arcade Fire), but what I always like about these lists are the gems you can find. The best of's from last year led me to Silversun Pickups, Clipse and The Format - for which my ears are truly grateful. Guess who'll be hitting up the music store this weekend?

- The Weather Channel is forecasting low to mid 90s in Greece all of next week, which is where the LOML and I will be vacationing. I've added extra baby power to my packing list - I'm sweating just thinking about it.