Peep the treats for the eyes and ears after the jump, featuring Eels, the Faint, Sally Shapiro, Cass McCombs, Julie Doiron, Coconut Records, the Twilight Sad, Andrew Bird, Blitzen Trapper, and Conor Oberst.

Eels - “In My Dreams”

The Faint - “Mirror Error”

Sally Shapiro - “Love in July”

Cass McCombs - “You Saved My Life”

Julie Doiron - “Consolation Prize”

Coconut Records - “Microphone”

The Twilight Sad - “I Became a Prostitute”

Andrew Bird - “Oh No” (live on Conan)

Blitzen Trapper - “Black River Killer”

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band - “Spoiled” (live on Letterman)

I saw Moon the other day and not only is it a great movie, but I was completely enthralled by the soundtrack. After a little investigation I found out it was the work of composer Clint Mansell, whose credits include Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler and π. The full soundtrack will be available July 21st - recommended for fans of post rock.

Check out the song “Welcome to Lunar Industries” on Mansell’s myspace.

File this under “supergroup.” The Almighty Defenders, a collaboration effort that consists of the Black Lips, King Kahn and BBQ (Mark Sultan), is set to release their self-titled LP on September 22, 2009 via Vice Records.

The project apparently got underway after the Black Lips made their notorious escape from India and killed some time in Berlin with Kahn. “Bow Down and Die” is the group’s first single.

MP3:

Album track listing after the jump…

The Almighty Defenders track listing:

1. All My Loving
2. The Ghost With the Most
3. Bow Down and Die
4. Cone of Light
5. Jihad Blues
6. 30 Second Air Blast
7. Death Cult Soup n’ Salad
8. I’m Coming Home
9. Over the Horizon
10. She Came Before Me
11. The Great Defender

Cass McCombs — Catacombs
Discovery — LP — “Osaka Loop Line”
The Minus 5 — Killingsworth
Oneida — Rated O — “I Will Haunt You”
The Rural Alberta Advantage — Hometowns — “Don’t Haunt This Place”
Son Volt — American Central Dust — “Down to the Wire”
Stellastarr* — Civilized — “Freak Out” [CLick through]
Tiny Vipers — Life On Earth — “Dreamer”

Sigur Rós frontman, Jonsi Birgisson, and his boyfriend, Alex Somers, are set to release Riceboy Sleeps on July 21st.  The two began working on the album after collaborating for years on visual art projects. “Boy 1904″ is the beautiful first single that has been making the rounds on the internet — fans of Iceland’s post-rockers shouldn’t be surprised.

This one is for Stranger Jay. “Got Nuffin” is the title track off of the new Spoon EP and was reportedly recorded with Deerhunter soundman Nicolas Vernhes, which scores major points in my book. The driving sound is nothing new (hard to believe that this is the first new material since 2007), but I’m liking the sloppy guitar and piano play toward the end. Pick up the entire EP here.

The Dead Weather (another Jack White side project) have done an incredible job of creating an artistic milieu that’s thick with sinister, murderous blues. Exhibit A: the trailer for their upcoming video by Jonathan Glazer features two people walking towards each other with assault rifles - a scene that seems like it could be straight out of No Country for Old Men or There Will Be Blood. “Hang You From the Heavens” is a track off their upcoming LP, Horehound, due out July 14th.

I really like where Beck’s new project, Record Club, is headed. The premise: Beck will lead a group of musicians to cover an entire album of their choosing in one day. The tracks are recorded and then released once a week on his website for fans to enjoy.

Wired reports:

“An album will be chosen to be reinterpreted and used as a framework. Nothing rehearsed or arranged ahead of time… Musical cohorts will include folks like Devendra Banhart, Jamie Lidell, Nigel Godrich and MGMT.”

AWESOME. I really hope this goes on for a while and doesn’t fizzle. For their first project, the group choose The Velvet Underground & Nico, which provides a lot of room for getting experimental — check out the tune “Sunday Morning” after the jump.

Yep, it’s time again for the quintessential “so far” list — no music site is complete without one! 2009 is shaping up to be an interesting year, with old favorites and newcomers alike issuing strong releases. In an attempt to make some sense out of everything, our staff got together to vote on our favorites.

We’d love to hear your thoughts as well — what did we get wrong or miss? (For better or for worse, our cut-off date was June 15, 2009 — leaks DO count).

Results after the jump…

The Best of 2009 So Far:

1. Various Artists – Dark Was the Night [Compilation]
2. Grizzly Bear – Vecakatimest
3. St. Vincent – Actor
4. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
5. Passion Pit – Manners
6. Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
7. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
8. Laura Gibson – Beasts of Season
9. William Elliott Whitmore – Animals in the Dark
10. Fanfarlo – Reservoir
11. Wilco – Wilco (the album)
12. Steve Earle – Townes
13. Vetiver – Tight Knit
14. The Wooden Birds – Magnolia
15. Bill Callahan – Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle
16. Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Everything with you
17. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz
18. Madlib – Beat Konducta Vols 5 & 6
19. Dan Deacon – Bromst
20. A.C. Newman – Get Guilty

If that’s not enough, here’s a list of honorable mentions that missed the big list (in alphabetical order):

• Allen Toussaint – The Bright Mississippi
• Andrew Bird – Noble Beast
• Asher Roth – Asleep in the Bread Aisle
• Bon Iver – Blood Bank [EP]
• The Crocodiles – Summer of Hate
• Dan Auerbach – Keep it Hid
• The Eels – Hombre Lobo
• Grand Lake – Nevermint
• Here We Go Magic – Here We Go Magic
• J. Tillman – Vacilando Territory Blues
• Junior Boys – Begone Dull Care
• Justin Townes Earle - Midnight at the Movies
• Lotus Plaza – The Floodlight Collective
• Patrick Watson – Wooden Arms
• Peter, Bjorn and John – Living Things
• The Thermals – Now We Can See
• Wavves – Wavvves

You know the drill. Tonight, the eve of July 2nd, Stranger Dance is presenting a trio of excellent bands for your listening and viewing pleasure at the Rickshaw Stop: Moondoggies (from Seattle), Harbours (LP release), and Sarah Bethe Nelson. The fun starts at 8:00 p.m., costs $8, and all ages are welcome. See you there!

[Locals Only is a weekly feature where the Stranger Dance staff focus on the best and brightest of the San Francisco Bay Area music scene. Feel free to hit us up with any information on local bands, musicians, shows, and other music-related events and projects.]

Here’s your standard setup for celebrating the 4th of July: enjoy BBQ, freedom, beer and good company out in the sunshine. It’s a pretty tried-and-true formula - so what’s missing? Well, the Bay Bridged, Tartufi, Thread Productions and the SF Bay Guardian would like to add rock and roll to the mix, and hey, who’s to argue with that? Full details and mp3s after the jump.

The Fourth Annual Big Time Freedom Fest will take place this Saturday, July 4th on El Rio’s fabulous outdoor patio. Eight bands will take the stage, four of which are some local favorites: Murray the Thief, Writer (San Diego), Birds & Batteries, D Numbers (Santa Fe), Finn Riggins (Boise), Low Red Land, Two Sheds, and Birdmonster.

$8 and a 21+ age gets you all the rock and roll you could possibly need, plus free BBQ from Sneaky’s. Score!

Full schedule:

2:00 - 2:30 Murray the Thief

2:40 - 3:10 Writer

3:20 - 4:00 Birds & Batteries

4:10 - 4:50 D Numbers

5:00 - 5:40 Finn Riggins

5:50 - 6:30 Low Red Land

6:40 - 7:20 Two Sheds

7:30 - 8:15 Birdmonster

MP3s:

Since the unexpected death of his wife last year, visionary Mark Mulcahy has been struggling to continue writing music and raise his three-year-old twin daughters. Thankfully, he has friends who can lend a hand. An amazing cast will appear on the tribute to Mulcahy’s wife, Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy. Set for a September 29th release date, all proceeds from the album will go towards helping Mulcahy in his time of need.

Track listing after the jump…

Track Listing:

1) Thom Yorke: “All for the Best”
2) The National: “Ashamed of the Story I Told”
3) Michael Stipe: “Everything’s Coming Undone”
4) David Berkeley: “Love’s the Only Thing That Shuts Me Up”
5) Dinosaur Jr.: “The Backyard”
6) Chris Harford and Mr. Ray Neal: “Micon the Icon”
7) Frank Black: “Bill Jocko”
8) Vic Chesnutt: “Little Man”
9) Unbelievable Truth: “Ciao My Shining Star”
10) Butterflies of Love: “I Have Patience”
11) Chris Collingwood of Fountains of Wayne: “Cookie Jar”
12) Frank Turner: “The Quiet One”
13) Rocket from the Tombs: “In Pursuit of Your Happiness”
14) Ben Kweller: “Wake Up Whispering”
15) Josh Rouse: “I Woke Up in the Mayflower”
16) Autumn Defense: “Paradise”
17) Hayden: “Happy Birthday Yesterday”
18) Juliana Hatfield: “We’re Not in Charleston Anymore”
19) Mercury Rev: “Sailors and Animals”
20) Elvis Perkins: “She Watches Over Me”
21) Sean Watkins: “A World Away From This One”

As the frontman of Miracle Legion and Polaris, Malachy is perhaps best known for the opening theme song to the television series, “The Adventures of Pete and Pete.”