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2013-12-27T23:17:00.001-06:00

Roots, Mates of State, Ting Tings to Rock Nick Jr.

2008-09-17T19:02:00.004-06:00

Re-affirming its place as the coolest kids show around, is Nick Jr.'s Yo Gabba Gabba which alternately terrifies and thrills.
"The Roots, Jimmy Eat World, Ladytron, MGMT, Mates Of State, Datarock, Mixmaster Mike and the Ting Tings are among the musical guests confirmed for the new season of Nick Jr.'s award-winning kids show "Yo Gabba Gabba," which premieres Sept. 22. Rapper Biz Markie will return with his "Biz's Beat of the Day" segment, while Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh will reprise "Mark's Magic Pictures," a drawing segment. Film/TV stars Jack Black, Jack McBrayer, Rachel Dratch and Amy Sedaris will also appear throughout the new season."
via Billboard.com earlier today.

Watch Now - The Shins "Try Again"

New Music: Kanye West's "Love Lockdown"

2008-09-17T19:02:00.001-06:00

Kanye West is streaming the proper studio version of his new single “Love Lockdown” on his blog now. West also revealed the single’s deflated-balloon artwork. Sounds like Kanye's making the best of his work with Daft Punk.

He's also asking Jenny Lewis, among other airport travelers, what she thinks of his new single.

Ben Folds Five reunites for MySpace concert

2008-09-03T17:16:00.001-06:00

The members of now defunct piano rock trio Ben Folds Five will reunite for a one-off show for a performance of their final album, 1999’s The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner.

The trio will perform September 18 at UNC's Memorial Hall in the band's hometown Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and marks the band's first concert since disbanding in 2000. The reunion is all part of MySpace’s new “Front to Back” series which features bands performing a signature album in its entirety. The shows are recorded and are later posted on MySpace.

“Of our three albums, this one brings back the most vivid memories, Folds recently told Rolling Stone.
“It was actually written to be one song of many movements, which is why there are motifs that appear throughout the album. That should make Reinhold a natural to be played front to back.”

Tickets go on sale Monday, September 8, with all proceeds to benefit Operation Smile.

Mp3: Ben Folds Five - "Army"

Previously on Lost makes beautiful music

2008-09-02T19:14:00.001-06:00

People either love LOST or hate it. Scads of fans spend hours dissecting each frame. Or not. The point being that there's not a whole lot of middle ground regarding ABC's groundbreaking drama. And as with any cultural phenomenon, there is no lack of fan created material, most of which is subpar with scant few exceptions. Harry and the Potters for example. But a duo from Brooklyn has taken fanboy love to an unusual extreme. Adam Schatz and Jeff Curtin, who together make up a band called Previously on Lost, recently toured the West Coast with their own unique brand of homagery for the series. Namely, a song for every episode of season four, with what the band calls “recap-rock.”

Like Sufjan Steven's/Flaming Lips/Beck's incredibly nerdy child, each jangly and joyous track reviews a week’s episode, and though the lyrics are often tongue in cheek, “Ladies and gentlemen, we lost a few friends this week / And something has to be said / For these best lost friends of ours”, the gentlemen are clearly devotees.

Highlights of their album The Tale of Season 4 and the Oceanic 6, include "Wherever Sun Go", "Be My Constant", "Ballad of Sayid Jarrah" and our favorite "The Island Won't Let You Die." Consider this a must for all Lost fans as they look for something to tide them over until next February.

MP3: Previously on Lost - "Just Wink"
MP3: Previously on Lost - "Be My Constant"

Best use of the Muppets: Bonus Points

2008-08-31T20:29:00.001-06:00

This was posted by Sound Advice friend Po Safe Beats in response to our previous statement regarding Muppets on the Internets (a statement we standby incidentally). Actually, this is pretty awesome too.

Watch Now: Bert & Ernie - "Ante Up"

I was not aware of that Toby Keith

2008-08-31T20:06:00.000-06:00

From the out of left field desk comes the following. Truck salesman and Country Western singer Toby Keith, perhaps best known for his post-Sept. 11 song "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue," says he's a Democrat, and furthermore that he was impressed by a certain senator from Illinois recently.

While promoting his new movie "Beer For My Horses" Mr. Keith was asked about the role of patriotism in the upcoming presidential election. He responded, "There's a big part of America that really believes that there is a war on terrorism, and that we need to finish up.

"So I thought it was beautiful the other day when Obama went to Afghanistan and got educated about Afghanistan and Iraq. He came back and said some really nice things.

"So as far as leadership and patriotism goes, I think it's really important that those things have to take place. And I think he's the best Democratic candidate we've had since Bill Clinton And that's coming from a Democrat." Did you feel your paradigm shift just then? Curiously, Keith did not play at the Democratic Party's National Convention that concluded Thursday.

Two songs here, Keith's and a comparable form of jingoism.

MP3: Toby Keith - "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue" (The Angry American)*

*seriously, that's the title

MP3: Team America: World Police - "America F*ck Yeah"

The Award for best use of the Muppets on the Internet goes to...

2008-08-28T17:42:00.001-06:00

The internet is home to many wonders. Witness the wonders of this, this, and this. But after an extensive and exhaustive search, we at the Sound Advice Labs have finally found the best thing ever created on or for the internets.

Behold!

There's also another, slightly less cool take here.
This should make up for our previous slight on the muppets.

Your 2008 NFL Playlist

2008-08-26T19:39:00.001-06:00

Imagine if you will a movie devoid of a soundtrack. Or a child who has forgotten how to laugh. While certainly adequate without, we can agree that both these scenarios are missing something. They feel incomplete. And this is why music is so important. It serves to heighten emotion, add tension and/or suspense, or otherwise enhance an intimate moment. It's just not the same without it.

So clearly music an integral part of any gathering and nowhere is this more apparent than while attending or watching a sporting event. How else is a true believer to show his or her allegiance if not shrieking a familiar anthem at the top of his or her lungs? How is the other team to know we are the champions if we do not tell them through song? As the NFL season is upon us, it is essential to have a finely crafted playlist created for those trying and often thrilling times. Game on.

Your NFL Mini-Playlist

"Renegade" - Styx
"Blitzkrieg Bop" - The Ramones
"Crazy Train" - Ozzy Osbourne
"Hell's Bells" - AC/DC
"Hammer to Fall" - Queen
"Mama Said Knock You Out" - LL Cool J

China blocks iTunes over Tibet album

2008-08-20T20:29:00.001-06:00

Apparently, the goodwill part of the goodwill games is in short supply as China has reportedly cut off access to iTunes. Apparently, Chinese officials received word that people were using Apple’s music service to download the The Art of Peace Foundation’s Songs for Tibet compilation, featuring tracks by Alanis Morissette, Sting, Moby and other artists.

According to the non profit foundation, album proceeds will support, “peace-related projects that are dear to the Dalai Lama” (read Free Tibet) and China doesn’t take to kindly to people trying to free anything, least of all their beloved Tibet.

Most upsetting for the powers that be was the announcement that over 40 athletes at the Olympic Games downloaded the compilation. Thus, the "Great Firewall of China" began restricting access to iTunes on Monday.

Some Chinese are upset with Apple’s involvement with the Free Tibet campaign, calling for an outright company boycott (iPhone included), and are seeking to prevent Sting, John Mayer, Dave Matthews, and nearly everyone else involved with the album from ever entering China.

Listen Now: Bob Marley and the Wailers - "Get Up Stand Up"

Pandora to go silent

2008-08-20T20:01:00.000-06:00

This truly could be the day the music died...again. According to founder Tim Westergren, music genome project and recommendation service provider Pandora may have no choice but to close up shop because of high royalty fees. Despite an estimated one million daily listeners and a new iPhone application that attracts roughly 40,000 new customers per day, Pandora’s founder said in a recent Rolling Stone interview, “We’re approaching a pull-the-plug kind of decision. This is like a last stand for webcasting.”

Pandora's demise stems from last year's decision by a federal panel, the Copyright Royalty Board, that doubled the per-song performance royalty of tracks played on Internet radio stations. The board decided that the fee to play a music recording on Web radio should increase from 8/100 of a cent per song per listener to 19/100 of a cent per song per listener by 2010. Multiplied by the millions of songs in the catalogue and the thousands of listeners Pandora serves worldwide, this translates to roughly $17 million this year according to Westergren.

“I was on the bus when I get this message on my Treo,” Westergren tols the Washington Post. “I thought, ‘We’re dead.’ ” This year Pandora could lose 70 percent of its $25 million revenue made primarily through ads appearing on the site to royalty fees. Pandora is currently part of a negotiation between Webcasters and SoundExchange, who represents artists and record companies, to lower said fees.

Streaming radio stations such as Pandora are subject to per transmission fees while traditional radio stations do not pay any royalties. Satellite radio stations face a much smaller fee. On June 26th, 2007, thousands of Internet radio stations went silent to protest the higher fees.

What's on athlete's playlists?

2008-08-18T19:42:00.002-06:00

MSNBC finds out what's on olympian ipods. Some very interesting selections.
Watch Now - "What's on Athlete's iPods?"

Olympic Playlist Winners

Beyonce
Eminem
Lil Wayne - "I'm Me"
Garth Brooks - "The River"

Jackson Browne sues John McCain

2008-08-16T15:35:00.001-06:00

Singer Jackson Browne is suing U.S. presidential candidate John McCain for copyright infringement, accusing the presumptive Republican nominee of using the his hit "Running on Empty" in a campaign ad without permission.

On Thursday, Browne filed the complaint in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. The suit also names the Republican National Committee and the Ohio Republican Party as defendants and includes a permanent injunction against further use of Browne's music and at least $75,000 in damages.

The campaign ad mocked Democratic rival and Illinois senator Barack Obama for suggesting that the nation conserve gasoline by properly inflating tires, with Browne's famous song, "Running on Empty," providing the soundtrack.

The suit claims the unauthorized use of the song is a copyright violation as well as a breach of the U.S. Lanham Act falsely implying that Browne is both associated with and personally endorses McCain for president.

Brian Rogers, a spokesperson for McCain's campaign, told Reuters news that the Arizona senator was unfairly targeted in the lawsuit because the ad was the work of the Ohio Republican Party.

"We had nothing to do with the creation or distribution of this ad whatsoever," Rogers told Reuters. "Mr. McCain's name should quite simply be removed from this lawsuit immediately."

Iser said the Republican Party of Ohio, "acted as an agent and in concert with Sen. McCain and the Republican National Committee" adding, "It certainly looks and smells like a McCain campaign piece,"

Though this is not the first incident of a song used without permission by a campaign, this issue is especially heated because Ohio is one of eleven so-called battleground states in the presidential race.

Iser said the ad, the Ohio Republican Party removed from the Internet in response to a cease-and-desist demand from Browne.

Listen Now: Jackon Browne - "I am a Patriot"

When two substances collide: Andrew Bird kicks off U.S. tour

2008-07-23T09:28:00.002-06:00

“I’m tired of playing all these instruments. It’s quite taxing,” lamented indie music superstar and whistling champion Andrew Bird toward the end of his July 16 show at the Grand Sierra Resort’s Grand Theatre in Reno, Nev. As a featured artist for Reno’s 2008 Artown festival, Bird kicked off his national tour performing fan favorites including “Fiery Crash”, “My Skin Is” and “Nervous Tick Motion of the Head to the Left” and five songs from his upcoming untitled album, two of which the had never played for an audience.

Decked out in striped green and pink socks, three piece tweed suit and tie and tousled hair Bird looked more like a mad scientist than a classically trained violinist turned indie darling, and to some extent he was. Flanked by his band, a sock monkey, glockenspiel and a modified gramophone, Bird looped Theremin-like whistles, staccato guitar riffs, and driving rhythms with his voice that impressed with its strength and range. Bird’s creations weave together music layers into a sonic tapestry that seems to move forward as if under its own power. In two hours Bird performed on the glockenspiel, violin, guitar and keyboard several times looping a track and switching instruments mid song.

Bird’s articulate phrasing and effective dynamic use, created an altogether unique sound that soared and fluttered as a leaf on the wind unpredictable and scattered but also purposed and graceful. The evening brought to mind sonic chaos of Radiohead and My Morning Jacket but also the harmonies of the Beatles and Beach Boys.

This was particularly evident on “First Impossible” a tune Bird himself described as, “tricky.” owing to a complex beat pattern that took advantage of the offbeat employing them with both skill and elegance, as Bird often does. The song conjured telegram rhythms coming to full and unexpected stops and starting again just as quickly creating a disorienting, fractured piece whose rhythms eventually broke down washed over the audience in waves ending miles away from where it stared.
Bird was full at ease with his audience whom he treated more as guests in his living room rather than paying audience members disarming them with humor and engaging them with colorful anecdotes. Several times during the evening Bird asked the audience for patience and leniency as the band ironed out some bumps and kinks in the set list. And though there were minute missteps in the newer tunes, Bird and company handled trademark complex rhythms and melodies, intricately and delicately designed with Swiss watch precision at dizzying and sometimes breakneck speeds.

Though there were only four people on stage they seemed backed by a virtual symphony of sound layering ethereal whistling skills, eccentric rhythms and to create an organic and distinctive sound and one of the most original and entertaining voices in music.

Andrew Bird Photo Gallery

2008-07-21T09:53:00.000-06:00

Last Wednesday, indie rocker and world champion whistler Andrew Bird kicked off his 2008 US tour at the Grand Sierra Resort's Grand Theatre in Reno, Nevada. Bird premeired five songs from his upcoming album. A full review will be forthcoming as soon as I get a free second. Until then, enjoy the gallery.

New Radiohead Video Premieres

2008-07-14T14:19:00.000-06:00

Aaaargh! The new Radiohead music video for "House of Cards" is insane. A more objective review coming soon. Posting may be spotty for the next few days as more professional duties call for now. In the meantime, prepare to be dumbfounded as this video uses no cameras. Details to follow.

Watch Now: Radiohead - "House of Cards"

All Star Cast, VH-1 Honour The Who

2008-07-11T14:34:00.000-06:00

Tune into VH1's annual Rock Honors concert tomorrow for an all star tribute to Brit rock legends and CSI theme songsters The Who featuring Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, The Flaming Lips and, of course, Tenacious D. The guests of honor will wrap up the show with a 40 minute set which should include classic Who standards, but may also feature the first live performance of "Slip Kid" since 1976. Though you may have to be in the LA audience to hear it as the performance may be cut down for time.

A candid Roger Daltrey told Rolling Stone recently, “What they use on the TV will probably be the same old stuff...They’ll probably just show ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again,’ ‘Baba O’Riley’ and ‘Who are You?’”

Daltrey also revealed in the same interview that the Flaming Lips are working on a Tommy medley and that Pearl Jam will cover “Love Reign O’er Me” which also appeared on the soundtrack for the film "Reign Over Me." “It’s gonna be weird having them play Who songs while we’re there,” says Daltrey.

Proceeds will be donated to multiple charities, including the Teenager Cancer Trust, an organization that builds hospital wards for teenagers with cancer with which Daltrey has been involved for years. Check here for local listings.

mp3: The Who - "Magic Bus"

Fleet Foxes Premiere Video for "White Winter Hymnal"

2008-07-10T07:46:00.000-06:00

Fleet Foxes, SXSW wunderkinds and current critical darlings, are striking while the iron is still hot by releasing their video for "White Winter Hymnal". The video, which blends equal parts harmony, mysticism, and claymation is a perfect complement to the song's ethereal nature.
Directed by Foxes frontman Robin Peckenpold's brother Sean, the video examines a life gone by and how quickly it can come and go. As fleeting and fragile as fame itself.

Watch Now: Fleet Foxes - "White Winter Hymnal"

White Winter Hymnal from Grandchildren on Vimeo.

Obama to Crowd: You Are Not Lil' Wayne

2008-07-09T18:16:00.004-06:00

Because when you're a presumptive nominee absolutely everything that you say gets national attention is it a surprise to anyone that, when Barack Obama name-drops current pop music chart king Lil' Wayne, people start talking?

The presumptive Democratic nominee and avowed Dylan and Steve Wonder fan demonstrated the depth of his pop culture knowledge by referencing Lil' Wayne during a speech discussing the importance of staying in school as opposed to pursuing a career in the recording arts.

"You are probably not that good a rapper. Maybe you are the next Lil' Wayne, but probably not, in which case you need to stay in school," Obama told a cheering crowd during a town hall style meeting in Powder Springs, Georgia while lamenting high school drop out rates and encouraging students to continue to pay attention to academic studies in order to pursue a career.

Obama added that he knows that some young men think that they cannot find a good job unless they choose music or basketball. This message continues Obama's "tough love" message that encourages parents to "turn off the video games, get off the sofa, and if their child is in trouble in school, not cuss out the teacher."

mp3: Lil' Wayne - "Playing With Fire"

WTF: Turbo Tooth Tunes

2008-07-09T15:38:00.000-06:00

From the WTF desk: Much has been made in recent days about bands operating as corporate schills from the Beatles' catalog on Guitar Hero (not happening by the way), Ludacris getting in bed with AT&T, and a host of others. But just when it appears that things cannot possibly get more surreal than pretending to be Aerosmith, along comes this.

Introducing Turbo Tooth Tunes from Hasbro. The toothbrush that pumps music into your head while you brush. Devo, with their re-worked "Brush It", joins the ranks of Miley Cyrus, Smash Mouth, the Transformers, and other brush-safe pop icons to help get those whites pearly once again.

The best part about the whole deal is the diagram that shows "science" in "action". That should be more than enough to convince people to plunk down ten bucks (each add'l track extra) for theirs. Happy brushing!

Mp3: Devo - "Watch Us Work It" (sadly, not available for Turbo Tooth Tunes)

Ben Folds Announces New Album

2008-07-08T17:39:00.001-06:00

Everyone’s favorite Dre covering, blue streak swearing, piano-rocking rock star Ben Folds has a new album hitting record store shelves Sept. 16.

Way To Normal is Folds' first studio LP since 2005’s Songs For Silverman and will be released on Epic Records. Though Folds has played some high-profile shows over the past couple years from opening for John Mayer to being backed by a symphony orchestra, the new album is still an unashamedly rock and roll record.

“It’s a fairly un-orchestral record,” Folds told Paste magazine in a recent interview. Folds continued, “It’s a fairly lyric-driven rock record. We’ve looked at taking a few of the songs on the new record and scoring them for orchestra and, uh, it was kind of slim pickins.”

Notable tracks include titled “You Don’t Know Me”, an eccentric duet with Regina Spektor (is there any other kind)? Also on the album, a experiment that hearkens back to Fear of Pop called “Free Coffee” on which Folds gets an electronic effect on his trusty piano by taping Altoids cans to the strings and running it through a distortion pedal.

Folds’ trademark irreverence is still in full effect on several tunes includin “Bitch Went Nuts,” which tells the story of a relationship that went wildly wrong after the song's narrator’s lover goes crazy and stabs his basketball. The song, according to Folds, is a comment on relationships from the male point of view. Says Folds, “If you ask loads of women what went wrong in a relationship, they’re going to give you a variety of answers. But you ask men, especially at a bar somewhere, and they’re gonna go, ‘Uh, bitch went nuts!’”

Check out tour dates here.

MP3: Ben Folds: Such Great Heights (Postal Service cover)

Springsteen Releases Digital Charity EP

2008-07-07T15:38:00.001-06:00

Bruce Springsteen, who led a digital revolution of sorts by pressing the first Dual Disc album is now putting the internet to use for something other than viral videos and online contests: namely a Digital Charity Live EP. Springteen's Magic Tour Highlights collects four live tracks with corresponding videos from this spring's E Street Band tour supporting the Boss' newest album Magic.

The EP features collaborations with Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello, the Byrds' Roger McGuinn, and Alejandro Escovedo, as well as E Street keyboardist Danny Federici's (photo right) final performance with the band.

Columbia records is set to release Magic Tour Highlights to digital retailers July 15, with a portion of the proceeds will benefiting the Danny Federici Melanoma Fund.

Magic Tour Tracklist:

"Always a Friend" [ft. Alejandro Escovedo] (live in Houston, April 14, 2008)
"The Ghost of Tom Joad" [ft. Tom Morello] (live in Anaheim, April 7, 2008)
"Turn Turn Turn" [ft. Roger McGuinn] (live in Orlando, April 23, 2008)
"4th of July, Asbury Park" (Sandy) (live in Indianapolis, March 20, 2008)

Guitar Hero Update: World's Best Pretend Guitarist, Zep Says No

2008-07-07T12:08:00.001-06:00

In the interest of full disclosure, I think the Guitar Hero video game series is a scourge that often destroys lives by having gamers invest hours in the game rather than actually learning how to play the proper guitar. That being said, I love video games and love being amazed and normally I wouldn't post a video of someone playing a game (especially GH), but Chris Chike's perfect 100 percent score on Guitar Hero 3's Expert-Level "Through the Fire and Flames" is surreal to put it lightly.

Said Chike of his Guiness record breaking effort, "I was almost in shock when I finished the song and had hit the 100 percent -- I am so glad I caught it on video or even I wouldn't have believed it happened."

Check out the video below for full aggro amazement!

How I Feel About Guitar Hero: South Park "Guitar Hero"

In other GH news, despite the game's success, you won't see any of Led Zeppelin's iconic tunes being mutilated any time soon, this according to the Wall Street Journal.

The band, specifically guitarist Jimmy Page, is "not comfortable" giving gaming companies access to the group's master recordings, a necessary step in adding a band to any game.

This is welcome news especially since Robert Plant has started schilling for JCPenny's, and the Beatles and Aerosmith have already caved to the Guitar Hero pressure.

The List: Top Songs About States

2008-07-05T18:27:00.015-06:00

In observance of the July 4 weekend, this week's edition of "The List" examines the best songs about states.

The Rules: songs must be about about states or commonwealths (songs about territories or provinces are ineligible), only two songs may be country songs, 5 song limit.

Sound Advice List: Best State Songs

1."Washington Bullets" - The Clash
2."Nebraska" - Bruce Springsteen
3. "California Love" - 2Pac and Dr. Dre
4. "Ohio" - CSNY
5. "Kentucky Woman" - Neil Diamond

Dig through your vinyl collection and mp3 backlog and see what you come up with. Post your favorites here or tell us what some of your favorite state songs are.

Born on the Fourth of July

2008-07-04T14:42:00.000-06:00

Happy Fourth of July to all. Take a minute today to think about what this holiday meant, means, and what we can do to make things better in the future. Though there are many versions of this song, from Jimi Hendrix to the Dixie Chicks, this is my favorite.
Watch Now: Marvin Gaye - "The Star Spangled Banner"