Music

This is the first year that the biggest selling album of the year sold under three million copies and the first year that digital sales outsold hard copies. More major artists have made the move towards self-releasing their albums. Major labels have finally started to adjust to the changing industry by embracing digital formats, early releases and 360 deals.

While this wasn't a mind-blowing or inventive year for music, it did provide some solid releases. Here's our sixty favorite records of the year. Enjoy.

60. 4:13 Dream – The Cure
59. The Slip – Nine Inch Nails
58. Skeletal Lamping – Of Montreal
57. Black Ice – AC/DC
56. The Rhumb Line – Ra-Ra Riot
55. Feed the Animals – Girl Talk
54. Heavenly Bender – Sam Champion
53. Disco – Health
52. Walk it Off - Tapes ‘N Tapes
51. Accelerate – R.E.M.
50. Evil Urges – My Morning Jacket
49. Momofuku - Elvis Costello & the Imposters
48. Modern Guilt – Beck
47. Warpaint – Black Crowes
46. Chemistry Of Common Life - Fucked Up
45. We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed - Los Campesinos!
44. At Mount Zoomer - Wolf Parade
43. Off & Away – Rocketship Park
42. New Amerykah, Pt. 1: 4th World War – Erykah Badu
41. The Visiter - The Dodos
40. Only By Night - Kings of Leon
39. Brown Submarine – Boston Spaceships
38. Anywhere I Lay My Head – Scarlett Johansson
37. Little Honey – Lucinda Williams
36. Little Joy – Little Joy
35. In Ghost Colours - Cut Copy
34. To Survive - Joan as Police Woman
33. You & Me – The Walkmen
32. Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst
31. Fate - Dr. Dog
30. Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust – Sigur Ros
29. April - Sun Kil Moon
28. Stay Positive - The Hold Steady
27. Devotion - Beach House
26. Everything That Happens Will Happen Today – David Byrne & Brian Eno
25. Oracular Spectacular – MGMT
24. Home After Dark – Neil Diamond
23. Heretic Pride - The Mountain Goats
22. Third – Portishead
21. Antidotes - Foals
20. Made in the Dark - Hot Chip
19. For Emma, Forever Ago - Bon Iver
18. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
17. Volume One – She & Him
16. Lie Down In The Light – Bonnie “Prince” Billy
15. Hercules And Love Affair - Hercules And Love Affair
14. Hold On Now, Youngster - Los Campesinos!
13. Songs in A&E - Spiritualized
12. Nouns - No Age
11. At 89 – Pete Seeger

Check out our top ten after the jump.....

With Phish and The Dead back in action, one may ask, will this be the year of the jam bands?

The Allman Brothers Band will play 10 shows at New York's Beacon Theater in March after scrapping the 2008 edition of its annual residency while frontman Gregg Allman recovered from hepatitis C.

The veteran southern rockers will kick off the 2009 edition on March 9, and will also play March 10, March 12-14, March 16-17 and March 19-21. Ticket information will be unveiled in mid-January.

The band has played the Beacon 175 times since 1989...

DOWNLOAD: Allman Brothers - "Trouble No More"

After reuniting for an Obama benefit in October, the living members of the Grateful Dead will be reuniting for an arena tour.

The Allman Brothers opened for The Dead's Obama show.

The Dead tour dates after the jump......

Chicago venue The Hideout is taking their Inauguration celebration to Washington, DC's Black Cat. Headlining the event is Andrew Bird, who was the subject of a major profile in Sunday's New York Times Magazine.

The Big Shoulders Inauguration Ball

The "The Big Shoulders Inauguration Ball" will feature Andrew Bird w/ Tortoise, Ted Leo, Waco Brothers, Eleventh Dream Day, Jon Langford, Sally Timms, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Ken Vandermark, Freakwater, Icy Demons and Judson Claiborne

Andrew Bird is also touring the U.S. starting after the inauguration, including a date at New York's Carnegie Hall. Tour dates after the jump....

DOWNLOAD: Andrew Bird - "Heretics"

News comes that Morrissey's "Year of Refusal" LP has leaked.

Also today comes news that tickets for the remainder of the Mozzer's U.S."Tour of Refusal" will go on sale this Friday, January 9th. This includes dates at New York's Bowery Ballroom, Webster Hall and Carnegie Hall, where the tickets will set you back $75 (+ fees). Most other shows on the tour, including the Wellmont Theater, are in the $35 - $50 range.

The Courteeners are slated to open all U.S. dates. All dates after the jump....

DOWNLOAD: The Courteeners - "No You Didn't No You Didn't"

This should be a big day for Radiohead and Kraftwek fans, but it's a bit bittersweet. Here's why:

Radiohead has drafted legendary German electronica act Kraftwerk to support its spring tour of Latin America, which begins March 15-16 in Mexico City. Kraftwerk will also play headlining shows April 25-26 in Wolfsburg, Germany.

However, the group's lineup appears to be in flux. Founding member Florian Schneider, who did not appear onstage with Kraftwerk during its 2008 world tour, has left the group, according to Kraftwerk's official fan Web site.

Lone remaining original member Ralf Hutter told the New Zealand Herald in September that Schneider has spent the last few years "working on other projects; technical things."

To be honest, will anyone even notice that Florian is no longer in the band?

DOWNLOAD: Kraftwerk - "Trans Europe Express"

Rolling Stone gives a track-by-track preview of U2's upcoming lp, No Line on the Horizon. Here's what they say.

In early December, Rolling Stone traveled to London to visit U2 in the studio as Bono and Co. worked on the upcoming No Line on the Horizon. For the full story, see the new issue, which hits newsstands Wednesday, January 7th. Here's a first report on 10 of the album's tracks:

"Get On Your Boots"
The likely first single, this blazing, fuzzed-out rocker picks up where "Vertigo" left off. "It started just with me playing and Larry drumming," the Edge recalls. "And we took it from there."

"Stand Up Comedy"
Another hard rock tune, powered by an unexpectedly slinky groove and a riff that lands between the Beatles' "Come Together" and Led Zep's "Heartbreaker." Edge recently hung out with Jimmy Page and Jack White for the upcoming documentary It Might Get Loud, and their penchant for blues-based rock rubbed off: "I was just fascinated with seeing how Jimmy played those riffs so simply, and with Jack as well," he says.

"Crazy Tonight"
"It's kind of like this album's 'Beautiful Day' — it has that kind of joy to it," Bono says. With the refrain "I know I'll go crazy/If I don't go crazy tonight," it's the band's most unabashed pop tune since "Sweetest Thing."

"Unknown Caller"
This midtempo track could have fit on All That You Can't Leave Behind. "The idea is that the narrator is in an altered state, and his phone starts talking to him," says the Edge.

"Tripoli"
This strikingly experimental song lurches between disparate styles, including near-operatic choral music, Zooropa-style electronics, and churning arena rock.

"Cedars of Lebanon"
"On this album, you can feel what is going on in the world at the window, scratching at the windowpane," says Bono, who sings this atmospheric ballad from the point of view of a war correspondent.

"Magnificent"
"Only love can leave such a mark," Bono roars on what sounds like an instant U2 anthem. Will.i.am has already done what Bono calls "the most extraordinary" remix of the tune.

"Moment of Surrender"
This seven-minute-long track is one of the album's most ambitious, merging a Joshua Tree-style gospel feel with a hypnotically loping bass line and a syncopated beat.

"Every Breaking Wave"
A swelling soul-pop song, with bright synth sounds influenced by OMD and, Bono says, "early electronica." "You don't hear indie bands doing blue-eyed soul [like this]," he adds.

"No Line on the Horizon"
The title track's relentless groove began as a group improvisation. "It's very raw and very to the point," says the Edge. "It's like rock & roll 2009."

DOWNLOAD: U2 - "She's Gonna Turn Your Head (Salome - Ver 2)"

Davis Guggenheim, who won an Oscar for directing Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, has shot a documentary starring U2's The Edge, Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and The White Stripes' Jack White. Similiar to Guggenheim's previous doc, this one also is very dialogue heavy with its stars in one room.

Who hasn't wanted to be a rock star, join a band or play electric guitar? Music resonates, moves and inspires us. Strummed through the fingers of The Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White, somehow it does more. Such is the premise of IT MIGHT GET LOUD, a new documentary conceived by producer Thomas Tull.

IT MIGHT GET LOUD isn't like any other rock'n roll documentary. Filmed through the eyes of three virtuosos from three different generations, audiences get up close and personal, discovering how a furniture upholsterer from Detroit, a studio musician and painter from London and a seventeen-year-old Dublin schoolboy, each used the electric guitar to develop their unique sound and rise to the pantheon of superstar. Rare discussions are provoked as we travel with Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White to influential locations of their pasts. Born from the experience is intimate access to the creative genesis of each legend, such as Link Wray's "Rumble's" searing impression upon Jimmy Page, who surprises audiences with an impromptu air guitar performance. But that's only the beginning.

While each guitarist describes his own musical rebellion, a rock'n roll summit is being arranged. Set on an empty soundstage, the musicians come together, crank up the amps and play. They also share their influences, swap stories, and teach each other songs. During the summit Page's double-neck guitar, The Edge's array of effects pedals and White's new mic, custom built into his guitar, go live. The musical journey is joined by visual grandeur too. We see the stone halls of Headley Grange where "Stairway to Heaven" was composed, visit a haunting Tennessee farmhouse where Jack White writes a song on-camera, and eavesdrop inside the dimly lit Dublin studio where The Edge lays down initial guitar tracks for U2's forthcoming single. The images, like the stories, will linger in the mind long after the reverb fades.

IT MIGHT GET LOUD might not affect how you play guitar, but it will change how you listen. The film is directed by An Inconvenient Truth's Davis Guggenheim, and produced by Thomas Tull, Lesley Chilcott and Peter Afterman.

The film is slated to be released sometime in 2009, but no real details have emerged about exactly when that will happen. It will have it's U.S. premiere at the Sundance film festival later this month.

Video of the three stars answering questions at the film's premiere at the Toronto Film Festival after the jump........

The Israel-Hamas conflict has also silenced the world's premiere Israeli/Arab orchestra.

Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim and his orchestra of Arab and Israeli musicians say they are canceling performances in the Middle East this weekend because of fighting between Israel and Hamas.

Instead, they will play in the German capital.

Barenboim says they are canceling the shows in Qatar and Egypt amid concerns for the musicians' safety.

The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra will perform works by Beethoven and Brahms at the Staatsoper in Berlin on Monday, the opera house said in a statement Tuesday.

Argentinean-born Barenboim has advocated peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But he is a contentious figure in Israel for his provocative performances of Wagner operas and accepting honorary Palestinian citizenship.

DOWNLOAD: Beethoven - "Symphony 9 rem op"

David Byrne has sold out his February 27th show at Radio City Music Hall, so he's added a second show on February 28th at the same venue. Tickets go on sale Monday at 10am. A presale begins Friday at 9am, the password is "BOWBYRNE".

As we mentioned earlier, tickets for Morrissey's four area shows go on sale this Friday at 11am.

Tickets go on sale on Wednesday, January 7th, at noon for Lykke Li at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on February 3rd and Lambchop at the Bowery Ballroom on February 12th.

The Geen Ween Band will make up for their cancelled December New York City date with a make-up date of February 26 at the HighLine Ballroom. They also added a new show on February 7th at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Tickets on sale January 8th at noon.

Tickets go on sale Saturday at 11am for the Dave Matthew Band at Madison Square Garden on April 14th.

The Dropkick Murphy's play the Roseland on March 7th. Tickets go on sale Friday at 6pm.

N.A.S.A., who are rumored for Coachella 2009, will be touring to promote their new album, The Spirit of Apollo.

The list of names assembled for the forthcoming N.A.S.A. album The Spirit of Apollo, out February 17 on Anti-, makes our heads hurt. Somehow, the production duo of Squeak E. Clean (Spike Jonze's brother Sam Spiegel) and DJ Zegon (pro skateboarder Ze Gonzales) has corralled a list of 41 bold-faced names (I counted) for its debut album. Among those joining the clusterfuck: David Byrne, Kanye West, Ghostface Killah, Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O and Nick Zinner, M.I.A., Santogold, E-40, Sizzla, and Scarface. Tom Waits and Kool Keith show up on the same track on this thing. Jesus Christ.

Check out the video for "Money (featuring David Byrne, Chuck D, Ras Congo, Seu Jorge & Z-Trip)" after the jump.

N.A.S.A. TOUR DATES
02-26 San Diego, CA - Casbah
02-28 San Francisco, CA - Mezzanine (Noise Pop)
03-02 Portland, OR - Holocene
03-03 Seattle, WA - Nectar
03-06 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock
03-07 Chicago, IL - Abbey Pub
03-09 Toronto, Ontario - El Macombo
03-10 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rosa
03-11 Boston, MA - Harper's Ferry
03-12New York, NY - Le Poisson Rouge
03-13 Philadelphia, PA - Barbary
03-14 Washington, DC - Rock N Roll Hotel

Here's a look at the albums we're most excited to hear in 2009:

The Crying Light by Antony & The Johnsons (January 20) ***Leaked***
Merriweather Post Pavilion by Animal Collective (January 20) ***Leaked****
Grand by Matt & Kim (January 20)
Tonight: Franz Ferdinand by Franz Ferdinand (January 27) Franz seem to acknowledge that You Could Have It So Much Better was not the hit they wanted and have spent lots of the last year out promoting Tonight. The songs they've previewed are catchy as hell.
Working On A Dream by Bruce Springsteen (January 27) Bruce has released four songs in advance of the release, including "Life Itself", "Working on A Dream," "My Lucky Day" and "The Wrestler." The songs sound on par with the Magic material. You can decide if that's a good or bad thing.
The Ecstatic by Mos Def (February 10)
March of The Zapotec by Beirut (February 17)
Hold Time by M. Ward (February 17) I've always thought M Ward is at his best when he's working with other people (see She & Him). Hold Time has lots of potential considering it features guests like Grandaddy's Jason Lytle, Lucinda Williams, DeVotchka's Tom Hagerman, among others.
Years of Refusal by Morrissey (February 17) ***Leaked**** A return to form for the Mozzers. Stronger than You Are The Quarry, but still no Your Arsenal.
Blueprint 3 by Jay-Z (March 3) I doubt this can compare to the original Blueprint or it's sequel, but here's hoping it's his big comeback.
Middle Cyclone by Neko Case (March 3)
No Line on the Horizon by U2 (March 3)
Invaders Must Die by The Prodigy (March 4)
Face Control by Handsome Furs (March 10)
Beware by Bonnie "Prince" Billy (March 17)
Crack the Skye by Mastodon (March)
Untitled by Depeche Mode (April 21)
Untitled by Rancid (Date tk) For their first album since 2003, the punks seem poised to deliver a strong album. In the last couple of years, Tim has loosened up at live shows by playing acoustic versions of Operation Ivy tunes. Fan speculation is that the new record may lean towards a ska/pop-punk direction.
Untitled by Beastie Boys (Date tk) The Beasties first vocal album since the dissapointing To the 5 Boroughs.
Untitled by Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Date tk)
Untitled by Green Day (Date tk) Big expectations as the punk trio attempts to follow-up their awesome American Idiot. Not an easy task.
Untitled by Blikk Fang(Date tk) MGMT's Andrew VanWyngarden and Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes join forces for what could be either psychedelic brilliance or total stoner crap. With working song titles like "Hypnotic Agents" and "Pleasure Cunt," we're kind of unsure which way this will go.
Untitled by Elton John (Date tk) I wouldn't have cared about a new Elton John record, except that Mark Ronson has signed on as producer, which seems like a great pairing.
Untitled by Built to Spill (Date tk)
Untitled by Wilco (Date tk)
Untitled by Radiohead (Date tk) The Oxford Five have hinted that they have started recording their follow-up to In Rainbows. With Spring tour dates already lined up and a notoriously slow recording process, it's unlikely that a proper full-length will be complete by years end, but you never know.
Untitled by Black Crowes(Date tk) The Crowes will be recording their new album (working title is Cabin Fever) over the course of four days at Levon Helms' Woodstock, New York, studio. As a bit of an experiment, the Crowes invited fans to attend the record sessions. So a new studio album recorded in front of a live audience.

And lot's not forget about the rumored Jack White & Bob Dylan album of Hank William covers or Oasis' Noel Gallagher solo debut. Also, here's hoping 2009 see''s new releases from She & Him, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!, Modest Mouse, Arctic Monkeys, Flaming Lips, The Strokes, Peter Bjorn & John and the potential for a new Arcade Fire release.

One of the best tracks on one of our top ten records of 2008.

Jay-Z is among that acts who will be heading to DC for Obama's inauguration. He'll headline his own pre-inauguration show at the Warner Theatre, as well as throwing a big pre-inauguration party on the 16th at Club Love in DC. He is also rumored to be involved in Russell Simmons Hip-Hop Inauguration Ball.

Live Nation has confirmed an inauguration concert in Washington D.C., featuring Mogul/rapper Jay-Z on January 19.

The rapper will be backed by a live band when he hit’s the stage at The Warner Theatre in D.C., which is located on 13th Street.

Prior to Barack Obama’s historic election as the first African-American of the United States, Jay-Z championed the president’s bid for office via concerts, voter registration drives nationwide and through his celebratory track “History.”

"I need y'all to be really, really quiet for this. I need you to really understand what I'm telling you,” Jay-Z told young fans during a rally at The Uptown Theater for Obama in Philadelphia in early November.

“Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther King could walk. Martin Luther King walked so Obama could run. Obama's running so we all can fly," Jay-Z aid.

For Obama’s part, he has already expressed that he is a fan of Jay-Z’s music and admitted to listening to the popular rapper on his iPod.

He even gave a nod to Jay-Z, when he “brushed dirt off of his shoulders” in response to jabs directed at him from former presidential hopeful, Senator Hillary Clinton.

Tickets for the event are slated to go on sale January 9 at 10:00 am via ticketmaster, Livenation.com or the Warner Theatre Box Office.

Barack Obama will officially be inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States on January 20 in Washington, D.C.

A presale for Citi Card members is happening now.

As Phish end their hiatus, a summer tour and multiple tour dates seem to be lining up.

This morning, LiveNation.com was listing a Jan. 30 on-sale date for a Phish show on June 18 at the Post-Gazette Pavilion outside Pittsburgh, which lines up nicely alongside rumors of an appearance at the Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, Tenn., the previous weekend. The link has since been removed.

The Bonnaroo Festival rumor has Phish possibly headling the first two night with Bruce Springsteen headlining the third night. While Phish would likely mean a sold out Bonnaroo this year, I don't think it would help the fest shed the hippie image it has worked so hard to lose over the last few years.

Meanwhile, Michigan's Rothbury Festival will return this summer for their second festival and they don't seem to mind being labeled a hippie festival. Rumors are they've booked Phish and Tom Petty to headline this year's festival.

The 24th annual Winter Music Conference at Bicentennial Park in downtown Miami will take place March 27th and 28th.

The line-up will feature The Prodigy, Bloc Party, Ting Tings, Cut Copy, Deadmaus, Hercules & Love Affair, Simian Mobile Disco, Crystal Castles, The Presets, Carl Cox, Moby, Perry Farrell, Tiga, Late at the Pier, Pete Tong, Rabbit in the Moon, Tiesto, Santogold, Paul Van Dyk, Pendulum, Armin Van Buuren, The Whip and Roni Size & Reprazent, making their first U.S. appearance in seven years.

The $99 ticket alotment are sold out. Tickets are now priced at $130 for the weekend.

DOWNLOAD: Late of the Pier - "Heartbeat"

Moz's three NYC shows officially go on sale Friday, but there will be an iTunes presale for all the shows beginning today, January 8th, at 10am.

UPDATE: Both the Bowery Ballroom and Webster Hall presales were sold out by 10:00am. Hahahahaha.

Bon Iver's follow-up to For Emma, Forever Ago comes out later this month. Have a listen:

Bon Iver have made their forthcoming EP, 'Blood Bank', available to listen to in its entirety online.

The EP, set for official release on January 19 after being available as a tour-only vinyl release, is available to hear at MySpace.com/boniver.

In a MySpace message the band said the EP, featuring the songs 'Blood Bank', 'Beach Baby', 'Babys' and 'Woods', would be available online for "a few days" only.

Indie supergroup Swan Lake is set to release their sophomore album:

The release of SWAN LAKE's new album is imminent! It is called "Enemy Mine", to be released on Jagjaguwar on March 24th, 2009 (March 23rd in the UK).

For those unfamiliar, SWAN LAKE is the musical group featuring celebrated songwriter-mystics Daniel Bejar (of Destroyer and New Pornographers), Spencer Krug (of Sunset Rubdown and Wolf Parade) and Carey Mercer (of Frog Eyes and Blackout Beach).

Together they recorded Enemy Mine, their nine-song second album, in Victoria, British Columbia, in early 2008, a little more than a year after the release of their well-received debut collaboration, "Beast Moans", also on Jagjaguwar.

While their debut album was a beautifully-weaved mash-up of their disparate song-writing styles, often with layer upon layer of various melodies and stylistics thrown into a collaborative cauldron to magical, and at times discordant effect, their second album "Enemy Mine" reflects a more stripped-down, more deliberate approach to collaboration. It's as if they really tried to just make nice songs together. To quote Krug, "There's architecture here." Not that the lyric is about collaboration--it fits nicely though.

It is the band's contention that this is the first known use of a "court painting" as a record cover used in popular music. As a result of this enthusiasm, the band had planned on calling the album "Before the Law", a beloved Kafka parable and a reference to this court painting. However, the band is tired of being tagged as "literary", so they dubbed the record "Enemy Mine", a beloved movie from Bejar's youth, and a good metaphor for collaboration.

An MP3 will be forthcoming, so please stay tuned to your Jagjaguwar news feeders. SWAN LAKE does not currently have any tour plans but is easily swayed by gold doubloons and/or enthusiastic mobs. No promotional copies of "Enemy Mine" will be available until late February.

Tracklisting after the jump.....

DOWNLOAD: Swan Lake - "All Fires"
DOWNLOAD: Swan Lake - "The Freedom"

Phish have leaked their first set of summer tour dates. Lots more dates are suspected, including Bonnaroo and Rothbury appearances, which both seem to fit nicely into their current itinerary. No on sale date is known for these shows yet, but here's the dates:

PHISH TOUR DATES
Hampton Coliseum - Hamptons, VA (March 6, 7, 8)
Jones Beach - Wantagh, NY (June 4, 5)
Great Woods Amphitheatre - Boston, MA (June 6),
Camden, NJ (June 7)
Asheville, NC (June 9)
St. Louis, MO (June 16)
Burgettstown, PA (June 18)
Noblesville, IN (June 19)
East Troy, WI. (June 20, 21)

Formed in 1979 and having survived break-ups, line-up changes, dueling touring versions of T.S.O.L. (various members of the band split into two different bands and both toured under the T.S.O.L. name, often performing in the same city on the same date) and a metal phase that saw them befriend Axl Rose, who wore a T.S.O.L. shirt in the "Sweet Child O' Mine" video. Now, the original line-up is back with a new album that they're giving away for free.

SoCal punk legends T.S.O.L. have completed their 30th anniversary album and are now offering the entire record as a free release, thanks to sponsorship from Hurley. The album was recorded at the Hurley studio and produced by David Bianco. Throughout the recording process - December 17th to December 24th, 2008 - visitors to Hurley.com were able to access live streaming video of the band while at the Hurley Studio.

You can download the entire record here

TSOL tour dates after the jump....

The Tindersticks will be returning to North America in March for a handful of dates in theatres, opera houses and churchs. Unfortunately for New York City folks, the Tindersticks will be playing Brooklyn's Masonic Temple, which has the worst acoustics and will likely drown the group's symphonic melodies into a pile of mushy poo.

The Tindersticks are promoting the U.S. release of The Hungry Saw, which was released last year in Europe to underwhelming reviews.

Tickets to the Masonic Temple show are $30 and now on sale.

TINDERSTICKS TOUR DATES
Mar 4 World Cafe Live Philadelphia, PA
Mar 5 930 Club, Washington DC
Mar 6 Masonic Temple, Brooklyn, NY
Mar 7 Somerville Theatre Boston, MA
Mar 9 La Salla Rossa Montreal, Quebec
Mar 10 Opera House, Toronto Toronto, Ontario
Mar 12 Epiphany Episcopal Church, Chicago, IL

Rumored Bonnaroo & Glastonbury headliner, Bruce Springsteen, is apparently confirmed to open the official Presidential inauguration ceremony of Barack Obama.

The Presidential Inaugural Committee has been mum, but sources tell the Post's Lena Sun that Bruce Springsteen will perform at Barack Obama's inauguration week welcome event Jan. 18 on the National Mall. The event will be on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and open to the public for free.

The Boss has been a bigtime Obama backer and they campaigned together in Cleveland during the general election.

Nielson Soundscan released their 2008 sales list. While these lists are obviously heavy with albums released in the current year, it does also include back catalog releases. While some of the older albums on the list aren't big surprises (Beatles, Pink Floyd, Radiohead), there is one major shocker clocking in at number six on the top selling vinyl records of 2008:

Top Ten Selling Vinyl Releases of 2008
1. Radiohead - In Rainbows
2. The Beatles - Abbey Road
3. Guns N Roses - Chinese Democracy
4. B-52's - Funples
5. Portishead - Third
6. Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
7. Pink FLoyd - Dark Side of the Moon
8. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
9. Metallica - Death Magnetic
10. Radiohead - OK Computer

Yep, Neutral Milk Hotel's 1998 indie rock classic is at number six with over 10,000 vinyl copies sold in 2008. Not bad at all, considering that Radiohead's In Rainbows sold about 26,000 vinyl copies.

For the record, "Abbey Road" is the only Beatles album currently available on vinyl. And The Rolling Stones, another usual mainstay on this list, didn't have any vinyl albums in circulation in 2008.

Cat Power will be helping writer William Van Meter celebrate the release of his debut book, Bluegrass: A True Story of Murder in Kentucky, by playing his book release party tonight, January 8th, at Williamsburg's Union Pool.

The show is invite only and the invite is after the jump.......

The initial list of bands involved in the 2009 SXSW Music Festival has been revealed. Here's who you'll be visiting Austin in March:

Primal Scream, Peter Bjorn & John, Ben Kweller, St Vincent, The Sonics, The Courteneers, Akron/Family, Crystal Stilts, Dead Prez, Ida Maria, Mika Miko, and tons more. Check the full list here.

Acts not on the list but confirmed include Beach House, Friendly Fires, Passion Pit, Pete & The Pirates, Ra Ra Riot.

Acts that are strongly rumored for the fest include The Rapture, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Ferraby Lionheart, Florence & The Machine and The Homosexuals.

Crosby, Stills and Nash are following in the footsteps of Johnny Cash and Neil Diamond and hoping to release something relevant by working with super-producer Rick Rubin. They are currently in the studio working on bunch of covers of songs by Jackson Browne, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Joni MItchell and James Taylor, amongst others.

In related news, Neil Young has posted a new song called "Fork in the Road" on his website. the song is rumored to be for his upcoming concept album about environmentally friendly cars, many of which he premiered on his arena tour with Wilco.

You can hear "Fork in the Road" streaming on his official website.

Merge Records is about to celebrate their 20th anniversary and they're going all out (much like Sub Pop did last year). Here's the big update:

Merge Records' 20th Anniversary festivities continue with this week's announcement of XX MERGE, five days of live music from Merge artists past and present taking place in the label's native North Carolina July 22-26. Lineup and ticket information will be announced shortly.

XX Merge will be commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Merge label, which began in 1989 in Chapel Hill NC, with a handful of 4-track recordings, a couple of cassette tapes, and some hand-stuffed 7" vinyl. Literally hundreds of singles, albums, and late nights later, Merge will be celebrating its past, present and future throughout 2009. XX Merge will be the label's party to mark this anniversary: five days of music by Merge artists past and present in the summer heat of sunny North Carolina.

In other Merge 20th news, The Shins are the latest contributors to hand in their track for the Merge covers album featured in the SCORE! Merge Records: The First 20 years subscription-only box set, joining a line-up featuring Ryan Adams, Bright Eyes, Broken Social Scene, Death Cab For Cutie, The National, the New Pornographers and many others. SCORE! subscribers will receive the covers collection a month ahead of its April retail release.

It was also announced this morning that the subscription deadline for SCORE! has been extended to January 11. SCORE! is a year's worth of music and exclusive artwork and bonus material available exclusively via subscription at http://www.mergerecords.com/score. Subscribers will receive 14 Merge compilations curated by the likes of Peter Buck, Amy Poehler, David Byrne, Miranda July and Jonathan Lethem, the SCORE! Covers album of non-Merge artists playing their favorite tracks from the Merge catalogue, a remix collection featuring reinterpretations of Merge classics, the MRG discography cover art book, and bonuses including a full-length Scharpling & Wurster CD, Superchunk's digital-only live bootleg The Clambakes Vol 4.: Sur La Bouche--Live in Montreal 1993, and many more.

So the rumors for the XX Merge are swirling and it's no surprise that Neutral Milk Hotel are high on that list. I still doubt they will reunite for the show, but a Jeff Mangum appearance wouldn't be shocking. Other acts supposedly involved in the event include Superchunk, Arcade Fire, Versus, Spoon, Magnetic Fields, Ladybug Transistor, Lambchop, M Ward, Polvo and Rocket from the Crypt.

So here's my list of my 25 favorite full-length records that were originally released by Merge and I can't believe that I somehow didn't include Imperial Teen, Crooked Fingers, The Clean, Versus or The Karl Hendrix Trio.

PSNYC'S TOP 25 ALBUMS RELEASED BY MERGE RECORDS
25. M. Ward - Transistor Radio (2005)
24. Spoon - Gimme Fiction (2005)
23. American Music Club - Love Songs For Patriots (2004)
22. Caribou: Andorra (2007)
21. Guv'ner -The Hunt (1996)
20. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007)
19. David Kilgour - A Feather In The Engine (2002)
18. M. Ward - Post War (2006)
17. The Music Tapes - First Imaginary Symphony For Nomad (1999)
16. Camera Obscura: Underachievers Please Try Harder (2004)
15. Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of This Country (2006)
14. Portastatic: I Hope Your Heart’s Not Brittle (1994)
13. The Rosebuds: Birds Make Good Neighbors (2005)
12. Polvo - Cor-Crane Secret (1992)
11. Neutral Milk Hotel - On Avery Island (1996)
10. Lambchop - How I Quit Smoking (1996)
9. Ladybug Transistor - The Albermarle Sound (1999)
8. The 6ths - Hyacinths and Thistles (2000)
7. Acarde Fire - Neon Bible (2007)
6. Spoon - Kill the Moonlight (2002)
5. Superchunk - Foolish (1994)
4. The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs (1999)
3. Superchunk - Tossing Seeds: Singles 1989-91 (1992)
2. Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004)
1. Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (1998)

Pot smoking country legend Merle Haggard had a "lemon-sized tumor removed" and apparently has a somewhat clean bill of health. With that said, and a busy 2009 plan of touring, recording and playinhg women's prisons, he's started the year off by suing an enviornmental group.

Country star Merle Haggard has sued an environmental awareness group, claiming it illegally used his name and likeness to raise money.

The Green Train bills itself as a nonprofit that educates the public about environmental issues. Its concert-and-train tour scheduled to depart Portland, Ore., in April and travel through 28 states on a six-week whistle-stop tour with several concerts along the way before ending in Washington D.C.

According to the lawsuit, Haggard donated $20,000 to the Green Train and agreed to ride the train as support and entertainment. He also attended a fundraising lunch and said he would ask a few of his fellow artists if they would agree to ride the train.

But the lawsuit said the group "greatly exaggerated" Haggard's support and misstated that he has personal involvement in the project's operations.

Haggard, who has had 38 No. 1 hits stretching back to 1966 including "Okie From Muskogee," said that without his consent, permission or knowledge, the group used his name and image on all materials for the Green Train and forged his signature on "personal letters" and other solicitation materials and on merchandise sold on e-Bay and in nightclubs.

The forged letters went to some of Haggard's friends in the entertainment industry, including Dolly Parton, Jewel, Vince Gill and Amy Grant, the lawsuit states.

Read the full article here.

Tour dates after the jump.

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin's Pershing was the #1 album of 2008 on the blogs Stark Online, Hard to Find a Friend and Power Pop Show.

DOWNLOAD: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin -"Think I Wanna Die”

SSLYBY TOUR DATES
January 24, 2009 Patton Alley Pub Springfield, Missouri
January 25, 2009 Courtyard Cafe Urbana, Illinois
January 26, 2009 The Coffeehouse , Illinois
January 27, 2009 Billiken Club St. Louis, Missouri
January 28, 2009 Mojo’s Columbia, Missouri
January 29, 2009 Jackpot Saloon Lawrence, Kansas
January 30, 2009 Box Awesome Lincoln, Nebraska
January 31, 2009 Randy Bacon’s Springfield, Missouri
April 8, 2009 Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, Ohio
April 9, 2009 Mercury Lounge New York, New York
April 10, 2009 Boston University Boston, Massachusetts

Maryland's Deathfest is creating a sister (of mercy) fest in New York City. Here's the info:

The organizers of the annual Maryland Deathfest, which will take place from May 22nd to 24th at Sonar in Baltimore, MD, have announced that they’ll be having a second smaller festival, dubbed the Auditory Assault Festival, the weekend before (May 16th/17th) in New York City with some of the band’s playing MDF. Band and venue information is expected to be announced shortly, and you can stay up to date at the festival’s official MySpace page. The organizers also commented on the creation of the festival with the following:

“The first Auditory Assault took place at the end of 2006 in Baltimore, but since then we’ve decided to resurrect the name and have a 2 day event in New York City on the weekend before Maryland Deathfest. The primary focus of Auditory Assault is to provide numerous bands playing MDF a chance to play a kick ass event in New York City as well. We’re not attempting to put this on the same level as Maryland Deathfest and expect to confirm roughly 15-20 bands, half of which will likely be MDF bands looking for more shows.

Currently we aren’t accepting any booking inquiries. Roughly half of the bands we’re going to confirm are already confirmed. These bands will be announced in the next few days.”

Yesterday, the pre-sale sold out in less than a minute. Hmmm, did they only release 10 tickets to those shows? Serious, WTF!

Anyway, tickets for Moz's four New York City shows go on sale today at 11am (Here's the link to Carnegie Hall tickets which aren't being sold through ticketmaster). Good luck. And if you get tickets to the Bowery shows, how much do you plan on selling them for on eBay?

Yesterday, the pre-sale sold out in less than a minute. Hmmm, did they only release 10 tickets to those shows? Serious, WTF!

Anyway, tickets for Moz's four New York City shows go on sale today at 11am (Here's the link to Carnegie Hall tickets which aren't being sold through ticketmaster). Good luck. And if you get tickets to the Bowery shows, how much do you plan on selling them for on eBay?

UPDATE: Bowery tickets sold out by 11:00am. Hahahaha.

Almost every year, David Bowie is rumored to headline the Coachella music festival and every year the rumors have proven untrue. This year thought, their are very strong rumors that Bowie will be resurrecting his Ziggy Stardust alter-ego for the first time since famously retiring the character at the Hammersmith Odeon on July 3rd 1973. Here's the story:

Organisers are said to have launched a new bid to attract the singer after discussions for Bowie to headline last year's event fell through.

It's claimed that he has been asked to perform his 1972 album, 'The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars', in its entirety at the festival.

"Coachella tried to book Bowie last year and he refused, so they got Prince to headline instead,” a source told the Daily Stars newspaper.

“But there's a very strong chance they will be able to persuade him this year."

Bowie's 1972 concept album is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time.

UPDATE: NME just denied the story. I'm still hoping that Bowie appears.

A Place To Bury Strangers' mainman Oliver Ackermann is also the head of Death By Audio, the Brooklyn-based effects pedal company that has handmade pedals for acts like Nine Inch Nails, Wilco, My Bloody Valentine and now, U2's Edge.

U2's new single, "Get Your Boots On" was based around a riff written by Edge when he was toying around with Death By Audio's Supersonic Fuzz Gun pedal.

Here's where Edge shouts out Death By Audio, Secret Machines and School of Seven Bells........

You always manage to find -- in every record -- a pieceof technology that you engage with immediately, and that throws up a song. "Where the Streets Have No Name" came out of your dabblings with the Infinite Guitar box, and this time you mentioned your Death By Audio pedal...

It's this particular kind of 21st Century distortion. Guitar is such a versatile instrument, but it's very easy to get in a cul-de-sac in terms of how it sounds. I love anything that just gives it a different personality and this particular set of distortion pedals I think, are a different colour. It's like a different personality and that, for me, is a great jumping-off point. I used Death By Audio's Supersonic Fuzz Gun on the song "No Line on the Horizon," and a couple of others I think. It was Ben Curtis who turned me onto them. He's one of the Curtis Brothers from Secret Machine -- he's got a new band now called School of Seven Bells, who are pretty interesting.

Anyone notice that the vocal melody to "Get Your Boots On" is nearly exactly like the Escape Club's "Wild Wild West". Check out both songs after the jump......

It seems that since Pavement broke up, their have been rumors that they're going to be getting back together. Late last year, rumors started flying that a reunited Pavement would headline Matador's 20th anniversary celebration concert, happening sometime later this year.

Now comes news that the band are considering reuniting for Coachella...that is, if the price is right......

Former Pavement guitarist Scott Kannberg has said that the band may reform soon--and that their booking agent has had talks with Coachella festival chiefs about them performing at the event.

"Everything's fine now [between the band members]."

Kannberg added: "2009 would be our 20-year anniversary too, so that'd be a good time to do it, but I think that's too soon, it might have to be pushed back later. Coachella keep asking our booking agent but our booking agent's pretty strong. He's waiting for the right number, I think."

While the MTV VMA's have lost their edge (likely due to the fact that MTV is now a reality television network and not a music channel), the Grammys have stolen their mid-90's performance heavy format to make their yearly shindig almost watchable.

This year, the Grammys have lined-up an amazing list of performers that includes Radiohead, Paul McCartney with the Foo Fighters, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Coldplay, Lil' Wayne, T.I., Katy Perry, Carrie Underwood and Jennifer Hudson.

Um? Radiohead? Really? Wow. This actually sounds like something I'd want to watch.

The Grammys take place on February 8th from Los Angeles.

Peter Bjorn & John have tapped Brooklyn's Chairlift to open for them as they tour to promote Living Things, their next album due March 30th.

Also, me really likes the new PB&J single, "Nothing To Worry About", but doesn't that children's choir segment sound similiar to the children's choir segment in the Red Hot Chili Pepper's "Aeroplane". Check out both songs after the jump.....

PBJ + CHAIRLIFT TOUR DATES
Apr 21 Fine Line Music Cafe (Minneapolis)
Apr 22 Pabst Theatre (Milwaukee)
Apr 23 Metro (Chicago)
Apr 24 Southgate House (Newport)
Apr 25 Pheonix Theatre (Toronto)
Apr 26 Capital Music Hall (Ottawa)
Apr 27 Le National (Montreal)
Apr 28 Paradise (Boston)
Apr 29 Webster Hall (New York)
Apr 30 Music Hall Of Williamsburg (Brooklyn)
May 1 World Cafe (Philadelphia)
May 2 9:30 Club (DC)

Springsteen's 16th studio album, Working on a Dream, comes out today. I have to admit that it's far from his strongest album. So much of it sounds like material left over from the Magic sessions, which isn't a surprise since lots of the songs were written around that time. The strongest songs on the albums are the eight-minute opening "Outlaw Pete", "Queen of the Supermarket", "My Lucky Day", "Tomorrow Never Knows" and "The Last Carnival," which is a moving tribute to the late Danny Federici.

Tour information is slowly leaking. Here's a bit of news from the new issue of Rolling Stone and some leaked tour dates:

Springsteen and the E Street Band will tour behind the new album, following their Super Bowl halftime set on February 1st. A source says the tour will not be "a total marathon," probably 50 to 60 shows divided between the U.S. and Europe. One idea under consideration is a miniset each night devoted to a full performance of one of Springsteen's classic albums — "a way of addressing the past," the source says.

Notice the current leaked tour dates place Springsteen right near Coachella......

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN TOUR DATES
April 1 HP Pavilion San Jose, CA
April 21 TD Banknorth Garden Boston, MA
April 22 TD Banknorth Garden Boston, MA
May 5 John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA
May 18 Verizon Center Washington, DC
May 19 Mellon Arena Pittsburgh, PA

Filmmaker David Lynch has been a longtime practicer of Transcendental Meditation (other famous practitioners include(d) Howard Stern, Mia Farrow, George Harrison, Andy Kaufman), He has gathered some of his good friends, whom also are devotees of Tm, for a big benefit concert. Here's the info.

Paul McCartney, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, Sheryl Crow, Donovan, Paul Horn and Moby will perform April 4 at a New York benefit for the David Lynch Foundation.

The event at Radio City Music Hall will further the foundation's goal to teach 1 million children the techniques of Transcendental Meditation. Ticket information has not yet been revealed.

As we mentioned yesterday, dates are starting to be revealed for Bruce Springsteen's Working on a Dream tour. Today comes news of two dates at Philadelphia's Wachovia Spectrum on April 28th and 29th.

It seems that tickets for all the announced shows will go on sale February 2nd, so a full tour announcement seems imminent. Known tour dates after the jump.

While yesterday's David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust at Coachella rumors were squahed, it still doesn't mean that Bowie won't be performing at this year's fest.

the official announcement was supposed to be made this morning on KROQ at 7:20am, but has been held off by Goldenvoice as they finalize the headliners.

In the meantime, an amazing list of "confirmed" artists have leaked. I call these people confirmed because they're coming from fairly reliable sources. So here's the list of who is playing the 2009 Coachella Festival:

Paul McCartney (headliner, but maybe performing as The Fireman in the Sahara Tent), Oasis (headliner) Paul Weller, The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, The Hold Steady, Fleet Foxes, X, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Mike Patton & Rahzel, Late of the Pier, No Age, N.A.S.A., Girl Talk, The Presets, Lupe Fiasco, Noah & The Whale, Los Campesinos!, The Knux, The Bug, Crystal Castles.

Strongly rumored acts include David Bowie, Blur, No Doubt, Kings of Leon, Leonard Cohen, Green Day, Morrissey, Neil Young, Pavement (supposedly turned down offer), The Prodigy, Red Hot Chili Peppers (supposedly passed), Britney Spears (yup, really), The White Stripes (supposedly passed), The Thermals, Ting Tings, The Pretenders, Lily Allen, Band of Horses, amongst others.

Honestly, this could all be total bullshit, but who knows. The official ine-up should be out this week........

Backstreets has just posted Springsteen's tour itinerary for his "Working on a Dream" tour. To my great disappointment, no New York City show has been announced and the schedule doesn't leave much room for any Madison Square Garden dates to be added. Here's the schedule........

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN TOUR DATES (On Sale Dates)
Apr 1 - San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion at San Jose (Feb 2)
Apr 3 - Glendale, CA - Jobing.com Center (Feb 2)
Apr 5 - Austin, TX - Frank Erwin Center (Feb 7)
Apr 7 - Tulsa, OK - BOK Center (Feb 7)
Apr 8 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center (Feb 7)
Apr 10 - Denver, CO - Pepsi Arena (Feb 2)
Apr 15 - Los Angeles, CA - LA Memorial Sports Arena (Feb 2)
Apr 21 - Boston, MA - TD Banknorth Garden (Feb 2)
Apr 22 - Boston, MA - TD Banknorth Garden (Feb 2)
Apr 24 - Hartford, CT - XL Center (Feb 2)
Apr 26 - Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena (Feb 2)
Apr 28 - Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Spectrum (Feb 2)
Apr 29 - Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Spectrum (Feb 2)
May 2 - Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum (Feb 6)
May 4 - Hempstead, NY - Nassau Veterans Mem. Col. (Feb 2)
May 5 - Charlottesville, VA - John Paul Jones Arena (Feb 2)
May 7 - Toronto, ONT - Air Canada Centre (Feb 6)
May 8 - University Park, PA - Bryce Jordan Center (Feb 2)
May 11 - St. Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center (Feb 2)
May 12 - Chicago, IL - United Center (Feb 2)
May 14 - Albany, NY - Times Union Center (Feb 2)
May 15 - Hershey, PA - Hersheypark Stadium (Feb 2)
May 18 - Washington, DC - Verizon Center (Feb 2)
May 19 - Pittsburgh, PA - Mellon Arena (Feb 2)
May 21 - E. Rutherford, NJ - Izod Center (Feb 2)
May 23 - E. Rutherford, NJ - Izod Center (Feb 2)

Wilco's Jeff Tweedy has announced a couple of solo dates for this weekend and the end of March. Apparently, this man's meds don't allow him to slow down. Good thing for his fans, hopefully an okay thing for his fragile psyche.

A presale for the March shows starts tomorrow morning at 10am.

JEFF TWEEDY TOUR DATES
1/29/2009 State Theatre Kalamazoo,MI
1/30/2009 Ann Arbor Folk Festival at Hill Auditorium
1/31/2009 Foellinger Auditorium Urbana,IL
3/26/2009 Higher Ground South Burlington,VT
3/27/2009 Calvin Theatre Northampton,MA
3/28/2009 Beacon High Auditorium Beacon, NY

Among the many package tours being planned this summer is the metal-centric Rockstar Mayhem Festival starring Slayer and Marilyn Manson.

The 2009 Rockstar Mayhem Festival will include Marilyn Manson, Slayer, and Bullet for My Valentine on the main stage. God Forbid, Trivium and All That Remains are set for the Jagermeister second stage with Cannibal Corpse, Behemoth, Job for a Cowboy, The Black Dahlia Murder and Whitechapel on the Hot Topic side stage.

Tour dates after the jump............

The Golden Filter will finally be bringing their sexed up beats to America, starting with two shows in January and then they'll be on a tour with The Presets as they make their way to the Coachella Festival.

They make their U.S. debut in Baltimore this Thursday and then hit Friction's monthly shindig at Le Poisson Rouge on Friday, January 30th. Also on the Friction billl is Heartsrevolution and Pink Skull.

Check out The Golden Filter's tour schedule after the jump....

Who knows if this is true, but I'd think someone as connected as Ryan Seacrest would have some reliable sources. He just posted what he says is the complete, official line-up for the 2009 Coachella Festival.

Here's the headliners and some highlight. After the jump is the the full bill...........

FRIDAY
Nine Inch Nails
Morrissey
Orbital
Franz Ferdinand
Katy Perry
Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band
X
Brian Jonestown Massacre
Hercules & Love Affair
Ladytron
Laura Marling

SATURDAY
The Killers
Neil Young
Primus
Basement Jaxx
TV on the Radio
Mike Patton Rahzel
Adele
One Day as a Lion
Girl Talk
Primal Scream
Coolof (of The Knife) (DJ set)
Crystal Castles
She & Him
Roni Size
Foals
No Age
Glasvegas

SUNDAY
Paul McCartney
Foo Fighters
Public Enemy
Chemical Brothers
Keane
Poe
MSTRKRFT
Fleet Foxes
Band of Horses
Lupe Fiasco
The Hold Steady
The Shins
Black Mountain
Jenny Lewis
Skunk Anansie

While Coachella continues to delay their official line-up announcement saying, “I know everybody is going crazy, but we’re not stalling, we’re still working on the show. Everything we do is in service of the show, not in service of the announcement of the show. Believe me, we’re excited to tell everybody and we want to tell everybody, but the show is still being put together," the Bonnaroo festival has released an official announcement:

It's the moment you've all been waiting for. The time when you finally see if the rumors are true or if we have some tricks up our sleeve...

Can't wait for the Bonnaroo lineup? We'll be making our initial artist announcement on Tuesday, February 3rd. Check out the Bonnaroo website and look for an email, we have lots of exciting updates coming soon!

Springsteen, Phish and The Dead are expected to be named as the headliners.

Jim Shaw, a Detroit artist who some may know for creating concert posters for the White Stripes amongst others (he also currently has works up at MoMA and ICA), has been diagnosed with cancer and some of his closest friends are coming out to help the uninsured artist.

The White Stripes' Meg White has donated one of her drum kits to be auctioned to raise money to help Detroit music scene lynchpin Jim Shaw, who is battling against cancer.

The kit, which can be seen in the video for the band's 2003 hit 'The Hardest Button To Button', is one of several lots going undwer the hammer at the Jim Shaw Rock'n'Roll Benefit on February 7 at the Cpop Gallery venue in Detroit.

Other lots up for grabs include original photographs of Iggy And The Stooges and and original posters.

Here's the link to information about the benefit.

The Harvest Of Hope Festival: A benefit for migrant workers and their families takes place from March 6th to 8th at the St. John's County Fairgrounds in St. Augustine, Florida.

A three day, multiple stage alternative music festival all to benefit and raise awareness for Harvest of Hope (www.harvestofhope.net), a non-profit organization that provides financial, educational, and service oriented aid to migrant farm workers all over the country. The event emphasizes the focus on being family friendly as well as environmentally friendly. The festival will showcase not only a large group of musicians who are donating their time and performances to the cause but also a variety of art shows and films from progressive artists from around the country, non-profits, local businesses and progressive organizations. Most importantly, the festival will be focused on raising funds and awareness for the Harvest of Hope foundation.

The impressive line-up will feature Against Me!, The National, Propagandhi, Devotchka, Tokyo Police Club, Broken Social Scene, Bad Brains, The Virgins, Lucero, Girl Talk, Monotonix, The Bouncing Souls, Murs, HEALTH, King Khan & The Shrines, GZA, Kool Keith, Diplo, Deerhunter, Paint It Black, None More Black, Less Than Jake, The Night Marchers, John Vanderslice, Strike Anywhere, Deerhunter, Rehasher, The Faint, Kevin Seconds, Ra Ra Riot, The Mae Shi, This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb, Vince P., Dave Dondero, Grand Buffet, Bomb The Music Industry!, Tim Barry (AVAIL), Fake Problems, Holy F*ck, Wild Sweet Orange, Hamell on Trial, The Flatliners, Grabass Charlestons, Ninja Gun, O Pioneers!, Her Space Holiday, Emilyn Bronsky, Whiskey & Co., Underground Railroad to Candyland, Bridge & Tunnel, Hollywood Holt, The Tim Version, Paul Baribeau, Young Livers, Brainworms, E.Y.C., FIYA, Eric Ayotte, The Gadabout Film Fest, Ghost Mice, Virgins (FL), Lauris Vidal, How Dare You, Austin Lucas, Halo Fauna, Josh Small, Cheap Girls, Liza Kate, The Failure’s Union, Lymbyc System, Mumpsy, Hometeam, Tubers, Clock Hands Strangle, BLORR, Antarctic, Alligator, The Ones to Blame, Averkiou, Hawks and Doves, Valient Thorr, Yip-Yip, Static Radio (NJ), Summerbirds in the Cellar, the Beauvilles, Division Minuscula (from Mexico!), Kiss Kiss, Tiger City, Good Luck, Paul Baribeau & Ginger Alford, After the Fall, Towers of Hanoi, Spoonboy, Pinkhouses, Religious as F*ck, Worlds, Buttons, So Pastel, the Winslows, Reptile Theatre, Barnaby Jones.

The best part is that three-day passes won't cost you between $29.50 and $49.50, depending on when you buy them. Ticket pricing nfo after the jump

While I understand the necessity for record labels to release albums in multiple formats (although I don't think it'll do a damn thing to stop file-sharing), most of the "bonus" material provided on these deluxe album versions are totally worthless....but sometimes they're not.

On the "Years of Refusal" deluxe edition, Moz has a video interview he did with comedian Russell Brand. You can watch a snippet of the interview here.

In a year when a number of major music festivals are offering tickets on layaway payment plans because of the recession and it's anticipated effect on lower ticket sales, AEG Live is working to bring some extra cash by packaing some of the bigger Goldenvoice produced festivals to marketing departments.

AEG Live is helping brands tune up for its compilation of summer music festivals. The producers of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and Stagecoach Country Music Festival have decided to bundle those and nine more of its giant music events to allow marketers to buy across festivals.

The AEG Live festival season begins April 17 with Coachella in Indio, Calif., sponsored by retailer FYE (For Your Entertainment).
"I used to get four e-mails within five minutes from the same person interested in a sponsorship, because they didn't realize it was all the same company," said Andrew Klein, senior VP-global partnerships at AEG Live. He added that along with the time and efficiency savings, marketers who buy multiple venues also get price breaks. "You can reach millions of fans at one time in the summer," he said.

A new website, yourbrandourfans.com, details all the music events with synopses, dates, video clips from previous years, past sponsors and links to each festival's site. The AEG Live festival season begins April 17 with Coachella in Indio, Calif., and runs through Labor Day with Bumbershoot in Seattle. With no fully overlapping dates, a sponsor could potentially sign up for the entire slate, although none have yet.

Sponsors who have signed up so far for the 2009 outdoor slate include AT&T at two events, retailer FYE (For Your Entertainment) at four events and Anheuser-Busch at four events. Mr. Klein said AEG is also close to signing deals with energy-drink, sports-league, spirits, insurance and apparel companies.

The 12 AEG Live festivals typically draw at least 100,000 fans each and up to as many as 500,000 over the two weekends of the New Orleans Jazz Fest. Deals per concert with sponsors range from the from low six figures to millions, AEG says.

While all the sponsors have an on-site presence, the extent and details of the marketing is up to the advertiser, but for most the days of simply hanging banners over the music stage are over. AT&T, for instance, sponsors both Jazz Fest and Coachella, and along with an air-conditioned tent where fans can check e-mail and recharge their phones on site, the telecom company will stream the festivals live to its website for fans who can't attend, and then archive the footage for further viewing.

FYE, which is sponsoring Coachella, All Points West, Rock on the Range and Bumbershoot, plans to set up on-site retail stores where fans can buy music, and to host autograph sessions with musicians at the festivals. Off site, in its retail stores, FYE will set up displays for the festival performers, as well as promote the event with in-store media, including its video monitors.

I am a big fan of the 33 1/3 book series, those pocket size books that tell the story of one particular album. Now, the ever-expanding series (they just published their 61st book, which is about Flying Burrito Brothers' "Gilded Palace of Sin") is available in audiobook form.

So far, only twelve titles are available as audiobooks, but they sure make for good listening (but honestly, they make for better reading). Here are the titles currently available as an audiobook on iTunes:

Highway 61 Revisted - Bob Dylan
In Utero - Nirvana
Meat Is Murder - The Smiths
Velvet Underground & Nico
In The Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel
Harvest - Neil Young
Songs in the Key of Life - Stevie Wonder
Forever Changes - Love
Paul's Boutique - Beastie Boys
Low - David Bowie
The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society - The Kinks

Depending on who you talk to, U2's "Get On Your Boots" lifts from such songs as The Escape Club's "Wild Wild West," Elvis Costello's "Pump it Up," Led Zeppelin's "When The Levee Breaks," Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire," The Temptations' "Ball of Confusion" and Cheap Trick's "Dream Police."

The video, which was due to debut last week, has been delayed because it lifts footage from Getty Images. It seems someone forgot to edit in the purchased clips instead of the promotional clips that have the Getty Image logo splashed accross the footage. Here's the freeze frame of the leaked video:

Check out the leaked version of the video after the jump........

The Super Bowl happens this Sunday and Bruce Springsteen and what remains of the E Street Band will be this year's "safe" half-time performer (following post Janet Jackston-Justin Timberlake controversy sets by Prince, Paul McCartney and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers).

Rumors are that Springsteen will play a four song set that he worked out during morning practices at New York's Terminal 5. The set is rumored to include (SPOILER WARNING) an abbreviated version of "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out," "Glory Days," a shortened version of "Working on a Dream" and finishing it off with a full version of "Born to Run." I also heard they've practiced "The Rising" and "My Lucky Day."

While it certainly won't overshadow the Super Bowl, it's worth flipping over to Animal Planet's fifth annual Puppy Bowl! It is honestly the cutest thing ever. Oh, and don't forget abou their Tail-gate party.

Billy Corgan and his Smashied Pumpkins areg giving away the song they liscenced to Hyundai for their Super Bowl commercial. YOu can download the song, "FOL," through Hyundai's site as a free download here.

Watch the commercial after the jump........

The Flight of the Conchords second season on HBO has begun and the group has just announce a gigantic U.S. tour, which includes an April 14th show at Radio City Music Hall. The tour will also feature cast members Kristen Schaal and Arj Baker opening various dates. Other shows will feature Eugene Mirman and Sub Pop labelmaters Iron & Wine.

Tickets for all shows are currently on pre-sale. The password is "sugalumps". Check out all the dates after the jump.......

Bishop Allen - "Middle Management"

Fresh from Nick & Norah's Infinate Playlist, Bishop Allen will be releasing their new album, Grrr..., on March 10th.

They've announced a full U.S. tour, which include three shows in Ne York City including a free show at Other Music on March 10th, as well as two proper shows at the Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall of WIlliamsburg. Full tour dates after the jump.......

DOWNLOAD: Bishop Allen - "Dimmer"
DOWNLOAD: Bishop Allen - "The Ancient Commonsense of Things"

The Throbbing Gristle reunion has expanded past Coachella.

After announcing last week that they would be playing this year’s Coachella music festival in April, industrial rockers, Throbbing Gristle have gone and surprised fans once more, booking their first ever New York City appearance.

The U.K. band will be performing at Brooklyn’s Masonic Temple on April 16th before heading out to Cali. After their Coachella performance on April 19th, the band has announced they will play two more dates in the U.S., in Chicago and San Fransisco. Throbbing Gristle has not toured the U.S. since 1981, where they briefly played West coast shows only.

The British band is known as being forefathers of the industrial music scene back in the mid-1970s. Throbbing Gristle broke up, only to reunite in 2004 to record the album TG Now, and have recently released the 30th anniversary edition of The Second Annual Report on 12″ vinyl that includes a live demonstration at La Villette in Paris from June, 2008, and comes with a special extended CD version. The release will be their first since TG Now. The original edition of The Second Annual Report was first released in 1977.

THROBBING GRISTLE TOUR DATES
04.16.09 - New York, NY (Brooklyn Masonic Temple)
04.19.09 - Los Angeles, CA (Coachella)
04.23.09 - San Francisco, CA (Grand Regency Ballroom)
04.25.09 - Chicago, IL (Epiphany)

Bonnaroo blows away all expectations with an amazingly diverse and stellar linepup. As rumored, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band and Phish are the headliners, but who could have predicted such an amazing undercard that includes the Beastie Boys, NIN, David Byrne, Wilco, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, MGMT, Elvis Costello, Merle Haggard, Lucinda Williams and a wide variety of acts to satisfy both indie rocks and jam band fans.

Here's the initial line-up for Bonnaroo 2009:

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band * Phish (2 shows) * Beastie Boys * Nine Inch Nails * David Byrne * Wilco * Al Green * Snoop Dogg * Elvis Costello Solo * Erykah Badu * Paul Oakenfold * Ben Harper and Relentless 7 * The Mars Volta * TV on the Radio * Yeah Yeah Yeahs * Gov't Mule * Andrew Bird * Band of Horses * Merle Haggard * MGMT * moe. * The Decemberists * Girl Talk * Bon Iver * Béla Fleck & Toumani Diabate * Rodrigo y Gabriela * Galactic * The Del McCoury band * of Montreal * Allen Toussaint * Coheed & Cambria * Booker T & the DBTs * David Grisman Quintet * Lucinda Williams * Animal Collective * Gomez * Neko Case * Down * Jenny Lewis * Santogold * Robert Earl Keen * Citizen Cope * Femi Kuti and the Positive Force * The Ting Tings * Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 * Kaki King * Grizzly Bear * King Sunny Adé * Okkervil River * St. Vincent * Zac Brown Band * Raphael Saadiq * Ted Leo and the Pharmacists * Crystal Castles * Tift Merritt * Brett Dennen * Mike Farris and the Roseland Rhythm Revue * Toubab Krewe * People Under The Stairs * Alejandro Escovedo * Vieux * Farka Touré * Elvis Perkins in Dearland * Cherryholmes * Yeasayer * Todd Snider * Chairlift * Portugal. The Man. * The SteelDrivers * Midnite * The Knux * The Low Anthem * Delta Spirit * A.A. Bondy * The Lovell Sisters * Alberta Cross * More Artists to Be Announced!

Better than Coachella's line-up of Paul McCartney, The Killers, The Cure, Leonard Cohen, My Bloody Valentine, Morrissey, Beirut, Amy Winehouse, Fleet Foxes, Paul Weller, X, Throbbing Gristle, Lupe FIasco, Drive-By Truckers and a who lot more???

It was 50 years ago that the "Winder Dance Party Tour" played the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa on February 2nd. After the show, just after midnight, three of the tours stars, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, boarded a small private plane that crashed into an open field and killed the three pioneering music legends.

The Hold Steady will release "A Positive Rage" on April 7th. Oddly, this live/documentary dvd and live album features the band on tour after "Boys & Girls in America" as opposed to their more recent effort, "Stay Positive."

Vagrant Records and The Hold Steady announce an April 7 release date for A Positive Rage, a double disc package featuring a documentary on DVD and their first-ever live album. The set will be released on April 6 on Rough Trade Records in the UK and Europe.

A Positive Rage captures the excitement and high spirits of both the band and their fans in the days surrounding the release of their third full-length, Boys and Girls in America, (Vagrant) and ensuing world tour in 2006.

The 53-minute documentary begins with The Hold Steady's first ever London performances with never-before-seen live footage, back stage interviews with the band members, fan commentary and the original, raw audio. Cameras follow the band as they return to the US for a 24-date tour that culminates on screen with an especially poignant performance at First Avenue in Minneapolis.

The live album was recorded on October 31, 2007 and includes seventeen songs that Craig Finn, Tad Kubler, Galen Polivka, Franz Nicolay, and Bobby Drake performed on the second of their two-night sold-out stand at the Metro in Chicago. The enhanced album will also feature five bonus studio tracks: "Ask Her For Adderall," "Cheyenne Sunrise," "Two Handed Handshake," and the previously unreleased tracks "Spectres" and "40 Bucks."

Additionally, the Hold Steady cover Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City" for the soon to be released new charity album, "War Child: Heroes," which has fifteen popular artists cover some classic songs.

Check out The Hold Steady's "Atlantic City" and the "War Child: Heroes" tracklisting after the jump......

Franz Ferdinand played some decent warm-up shows over the summer, including the big Diesel XXX party, where they performed with T.I.

With their third album, Tonighr: Franz Ferdinand, finally out and an announced Apr 15 show at the Fox Theater, Oakland and then a major slot at the 2009 Coachella Festival on April 17th. The Scottish boys have just announced a May 7th date at New York City's Roseland Ballrom, which is my least favorite venue.

While the NYC date is non California date U.S. show, I would expect them to tour the country between April 17th and their May 7th U.S. date.

Tickets go on sale through ticketmaster Live Nation on February 7th at 10am. A presale is set for February 6th and those tickets include a subscription to Rolling Stone magazine. And finally, a fan club presale is now happening.

I actually think Tonight is a much stronger album than their sophomore album, You Could Have It So Much Better, but it's such a different climate for bands of their elk. Now, they're competing against bands like Anaimal Collective and MGMT to become the indie-mainstream as opposed to bands like The Rapture and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. If this new album is aimed to win them a more mainstream audience, I don't know if they're going to achieve their goals, but still, good album.

Cheeseburger and Andrew WK will be performing live together for FREE this Friday, 2/6 at Santos Party House (96 Lafayette Street). This NY Comic Con after-party is presented by Adult Swim and is being hosted by comedian Jon Glaser.

This show is FREE to the public – first come, first served. Doors at 6:30pm, show starts at 7:30pm.

Check the flyer after the jump....

With a recession and a weak line-up that featured no real headliners, the 2009 Langerado Music Festival has been cancelled due to extremely slow ticket sales.

The 2009 edition was to be headlined by Death Cab for Cutie, Modest Mouse and Snoop Dogg. The bill also was to feature Ryan Adam, The Pogues, Flogging Molly, Dashboard Confessional, Thievery Corporation, Slightly Stoopid, Bad Brains, Against Me, George Clinton, Public Enemy, Gene Ween band, Cold War Kids, and Disco Biscuits, amongst others.

By comparison, the 2008 festival featured R.E.M., of Montreal, Phil Lesh & Friends, The National, Vampire Weekend, Ani DiFranco, !!! and the Roots. 2007 featured Trey Anastasio, The Hold Steady, Widespread Panic, My Morning Jacket and Cat Power.

The 2009 Langerado Music Festival has been cancelled due to sluggish ticket sales.

Langerado's independent local promoters, faced with a very tough decision in a dismal economy, cancelled the 2009 event only after every possible option was exhausted.

As Langerado Co-Promoter Ethan Schwartz explains, "Langerado has always put the fan experience first. Unfortunately, during these difficult economic times, and facing a first year in a new venue, it's become apparent that we cannot execute a production that lives up to the high standards of our past events. Putting Langerado on hold was the toughest decision we have ever had to make. We are very grateful for the support of the greater-Miami community and the music community during this difficult time."

All tickets purchased will be refunded. Please look for ticket refunds to be processed in the next 5-7 business days. Each order will be refunded to the credit card in full, minus the included order processing fees. Shipping fees will also be credited for those orders that did not select the free shipping promotion. For information on ticket refunds please contact Music Today.

My Chemical Romance - Desolation Row

While they're not my cup of tea, the Poisonesque rockers of My Chemical Romance have a done a cover of Bob Dylan's "Desolation Row" for The Watchmen soundtrack. At least they make it their own, even if that means its crap.

After the jump is Bob Dylan doing "Desolution Row" in 1966, as filmed for No Direction Home.

With the success of Stub Hub, Ticketmaster started their own ticket resell site. The thing is, tickets seem to be going quicker than usual and ending up immediately on TicketsNow at double or triple or more the face value. Some people are calling foul play.

U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell of Paterson wants the Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department to investigate possible conflicts of interest involving Ticketmaster and a ticket reseller it owns, TicketsNow.

When tickets for Springsteen's Meadowlands show went on sale Monday, some fans got an error message on their computer screen that shut them out from buying tickets. A TicketsNow ad offered tickets for hundreds of dollars more than face value.

A Ticketmaster spokesman says only a few fans reported problems.

While Ticketmaster battles a potential federal investigation into illegal business practices, they are on the verge of once again working with Live Nation, whom they had worked with on ticketsale up until of last year.

Since Live Nation started selling tickets without Ticketmaster's support, they have had a number of major website malfunctions, most notably when their system crashed when tickets went on sale for the highly anticipated Phish reunion tour.

Music industry giants Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. and Live Nation Inc. are on the verge of an all-stock merger, the Wall Street Journal said Wednesday, citing people close to the matter.

The deal to create a combined company called Live Nation Ticketmaster would be a "merger of equals," said the Journal, bringing together the world's largest concert promoter and the world's preeminent ticket seller and artist-management company.

If approved by both company boards, the new firm would be able to manage music from its creation in the studio to live concerts, handling everything from recording music to sponsoring tours and selling tickets, the Journal said.

The new firm would have close ties to over 200 recording artists, including popular culture giants Madonna and Jay-Z.

But if approved the risk for smaller concert promoters is palpable, the newspaper said, as the combined firm would be able to "muscle out" other companies and consolidate power to dictate ticket prices.

Antitrust authorities would be required to review the deal, which could be announced as early as next week, because a merger between the massive firms concentrates so much of the music industry under one roof, said the Journal.

We figured they'd be doing a full U.S. tour between Coachella and their NYC date at the Roseland Ballroom and we were right. Here's Franz Ferdinand's tour dates.

FRANZ FERDINAND TOUR DATES
04/13/09 Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
04/15/09 Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
04/17/09 Indio, CA @ Coachella
04/18/09 Phoenix, AZ @ Marquis Theatre
04/19/09 Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
04/21/09 Magna, UT @ Saltair
04/22/09 Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
04/24/09 Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
04/25/09 Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa
04/27/09 Kansas City, MO @ The Beaumont Club
04/28/09 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
04/29/09 Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Ballroom
04/30/09 Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre
05/02/09 Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
05/03/09 Pontiac, MI @ Clutch Cargo’s
05/04/09 Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus
05/06/09 Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
05/07/09 New York, NY @ Roseland Ballroom
05/08/09 Providence, RI @ Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel

Is it about donuts?

DOWNLOAD: No Dice - "Glazin"

Having not played America since hitting up Coachella in 2005, The Prodigy are returning to America to play the Ultra Music Festival in Miami on March 28th.

They've also just announced their only other U.S. date, which is March 26th at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City. Tickets go on slae Thursday at noon.

Next month, The Prodigy will release Invaders Must Die, their first proper studio album since 2005's disappointing Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned

Check out the video for Invaders first single, "Omen," after the jump.......

In additional to being one of only act besides Carl Cox to be playing both days of the Ultra Music Festival in Miami, Deadmau5 have been added to another major dance festival, the EDT POP Festival in California, where they'll perform alongside Flosstradamus, Paul van Dyk, and whole lot more acts.

On their own, Deadmau5 will headline a show at New York City's Roseland Ballroom with opening acts The Whip and JDH & Dave P. Those tickets go on sale Friday at noon.

DEADMAU5 TOUR DATES
Fri 03/27/09 Miami, FL Bicentennial Park - Ultra Fest
Sat 03/28/09 Miami, FL Bicentennial Park - Ultra Fest
Fri 04/03/09 New York, NY Roseland Ballroom
Sat 05/23/09 Daly City, CA EDT POP Festival

Yesterday we talked about the whole Springsteen Ticketmaster and TicketsNow debacle. If it's a bit confusing, let me explain it to you. More or less, Ticketmaster has started their own ticket resell site called TicketsNow to compete with places like StubHub. While it's long been rumored, but somehow never proven or properly investigated, that Ticketmaster strikes deals with scalpers and provides them with the best tickets before they actually go on sale, but now rather than deal with outside scalpers or ticket agencies, Ticketmaster is simply shifting tickets from their general on sale direclty to TicketsNow.

When tickets went on sale for Springsteen tickets, a large majority of the shows, not surprisingly, sold out within five minutes. What was very strange is that fans were immediately directed, within the first minute of the on sale, to the resell site TicketsNow by Ticketmaster.

It makes you wonder how hundreds of people were able to get their tickets up for auction on TicketsNow within seconds of the actual public on sale. Some foul play was obviously at hand.

What's even stranger, is some people were directed towards the TicketsNow site even though the show they were trying to buy tickets for weren't even sold out yet!

What happened on Monday with Springsteen fans is not an isolated incident (on 57th Street). In fact, Ticketmaster still pushes people towards TicketsNow for a plethora of shows that are not sold out, where tickets are priced at three or four or five or six or more times the original face value.

As a simple test, I tried getting floor tickets to Fleetwood Mac at the Izod Center. I was immediately told no tickets were available but redirected to TicketsNow, where I was shown a wide range of tickets from floor seats to nose-bleeds, all costing at least twice as much as face value. I then went back to the original site and typed in any tickets, in which case excellent seats in the 100s came up! Try it for yourself here.

So why is Ticketmaster turning people towards TicketsNow for shows that are NOT sold out and still have plenty of available tickets? Who is really profiting from this?

A federal investigation is now being threatened against Ticketmaster, which could stop their potential merger deals with Live Nation and AEG.

Read Springsteen's letter to his fans, the statement from the attorney general and Ticketsmaster response (which we prove is complete bullshit by pointing out that they're still pushing resales over regular sales with our Fleetwood Mac Example) after the jump......

This year the New Orleans Jazz Festival will be celebrating their 40th anniversary. The festival has already announced one of their most diverse and stellar line-up ever, but another major name just got added to the list:

Bon Jovi will rock the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival for the first time this year...In the wake of Katrina, which devastated New Orleans and much of the Gulf Coast in August 2005, Bon Jovi gave $1 million to help build 28 homes for low-income families displaced by the storm. The homes were built in Houma, a coastal community roughly 50 miles southwest of New Orleans, through Habitat for Humanity and Oprah's Angel Network.

Here's some of the highlights from each of the seven day festival that's stretched out over two weekends:

FRI APR 24: Wynton Marsalis, Joe Cocker, Spoon, Drive-By Truckers and Booker T
SAT APR 25: Irma Thomas, James Taylor, Wilco, Erykah Badu, Third World, Pete Seeger, Johnny Winter, Galactic, Jazz at the Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
SUN APR 26: Dave Matthews Band, Earth, Wind & Fire, Etta James & the Roots Band, The Robert Cray Band, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Hugh Masekela, Mavis Staples, Better Than Ezra, The Avett Brothers
THUR APR 30: Ben Harper & Relentless7, Emmylou Harris, Solomon Burke, Jakob Dylan
FRI MAY 1: Sugarland, Tony Bennett, Bonnie Raitt, Common, Doc Watson, Patty Griffin, Marcia Ball, Julian Marley, Dirty Dozen Brass Band & Glass Hou; se Reunion w/ Rebirth Brass Band
SAT MAY 2: Dr. John, Bon Jovi, Kings of Leon, The O’Jays
SUN MAY 3: The Neville Brothers, Allen Toussaint, Los Lobos, Buddy Guy,

When PSNYC interviewed The Knife while they were touring the States in support of Silent Shout, the sibling electronic outfit told us they were taking an extended break from working together. It appears that break is over, at least partially....

It's shaping up to be a busy year for Swedish electro-pop outfit the Knife, which is presently working on the score for a Danish Opera about Charles Darwin, titled "Tomorrow, In a Year."

The piece is slated to debut in September, with the music possibly serving as the follow-up to the Knife's breakthrough 2006 album, "Silent Shout."

Female Knife Karin Dreijer Andersson just released her first solo album under the name Fever Ray.

Bumpershine tips us that Lily Allen and Matt & Kim are playing a MySpace Secret Show at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City on Tuesday, February 10th. Trouble Anderw is also on the bill. First come, first served.

Lily Allen is doing a full U.S. tour with Natelie Portman's Shaved Head. Tickets are now sale for that tours stop at the Roseland Ballroom in NYC on April 20th.

Matt & Kim open for Cut Copy at Terminal 5 on March 21st. Buy tickets here.

On February 10th, Trouble Andrew will start the day performing at Burton Store Soho before opening the MySpace Secret Show and then they'll end the day performing at Santos House Party.

Check out Lily Allena nd Matt & Kim tour dates after the jump.......

It's weird to think that people don't hangout in record shops the way they used to. Actually, it's kind of sad stepping into record shops these days. They feel like morgues. I wonder if my kids will watch movies like Pretty in Pink or High Fidelity and understand what it meant for those characters to be hangig out at a record shop? The whole attitude of it.

These days, gigantic chains are closing key stores like Virgin Megastore Times Square (and possibly their Union Square location as well), and indie shops like Sound Fix and Mondo Kim's in NYC are also shutting their doors.

Those record shops that can survive will try to boost their sales with the second Record Store Day, taking place on April 18th. Among the one-day only items that stores will be receiving for this event, so far announced, are:

>>Kill Rock Stars artists The Thermals and Thao with the Get Down Stay Down split single. The Thermals are debuting two (demo) versions of songs from their forthcoming KRS debut, Now We Can See due out April 7, 2009. Thao with the Get Down Stay Down will contribute a new song and a cover of a track by 60's era band Lovin' Spoonful.

>>Wilco will release their upcoming live DVD early to participating Record Store Day shops.

>>Matador will release a special split featuring Jay Reatard and Sonic Youth titled 'Hang Them All/No Garage"

>>Matador will also release a Pavement Live in Germany on LP

>>And finally, Matador is putting out a second split single for Record Store Day with Sonic Youth and Beck.

Lots more to come....

(photo by Tammy Lo)

Beiru played the first of two their two night stand at the Howard Gilman Opera House at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Friday evening.

The show was opened by the critic darling Kaki King, who I found to be a major disappointment. Her records, especially Legs to Make Us Longer and her work on the August Rush soundtrack, often find her creating free-form and dramatic.compositions. At this show though, Katherine Elizabeth King and her drummer found themselves playing a steady stream of verse-chorus-verse song structures that took away from both of their obvious talents as musicians and left you wanting them to be accompanied by a bassist and vocalist. Otherwise, she vame off as sub-par Stevie Via.

While Kaki King's bare-essentials set lacked emotional depth, Zach Condon's current stripped-down version of Beirut was able to create sound large enough to fill the opera house's giant space.

Beirut's show was divided into three parts. The first found Beirut performing, as they did at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, as a five piece band.

After the first song, Zach asking the audience in the orchestra section to please come up to the stage and not sit throughout the show. The audience happily obliged and throught their one-hour and twenty minute performance, they seemed to truly enjoy themselves just as much as the audience did.

The second part found Beirut performing with The Vassar Orchestra. Unfortunately for Beirut, the sound mix throughout this portion of the evening was perpexingly off, with the Vassar string section either not audible or feedbacking from a bass heavy mix. You would think that a venue such as this one would have no problem getting the mix right on a string section, but they somehow failed.

Regardless, Beirut was able to put on an absolutely beautiful show. While the stripped down versions of their songs forced Beirut's sideman to become more prominent presences on stage, which was often distracting, the music itself never really suffered. I still with Zach would go back to touring with a larger backing band, giving the music much more heft and volume, among other things, which is exactly what the Vassar Orchestra did for the music.

So not the best show I've ever seen by Beirut, but then again nothing will likely compare to their show at the Bowery Ballroom with FInal Fantasy where Arcade Fire showed up for the encore, but still a wonderful night of great music in a very fitting venue.

More pictures and the setlist after the jump..........

The Grammy Awards are tonight and they've put together an impressive line-up of performers. One of the highlights should be Radiohead, who were slated to play their nominated single "House of Cards," but instead will be playing "15 Steps" accompanied by the USC Marching Band!

Also, we hear that McCartney will play "I Saw Her Standing There" with Dave Grohl on drums, Kanye West and Estelle will perform "American Boy", Katy Perry will be doing "I Kissed a Girl", Rihanna will perform a medley of "Live Your Life" and "Disturbia", U2 will perform their dissapointing new single "Get Your Boots On", Coldplay are doing "Viva La Vida", and there will be a Bo Diddley tribute with BB King, Buddy Guy, Keith Urban and John Mayer, amongst many other performances.

We predict Coldplay will win big, even though Lil Wayne will end up picking up Album of the Year.

Grammy weekend kicked off with a tribute concert to Neil Diamond, MusiCares performer of the year, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The star-studded tribute concert brought in many gigantic names, most of whom performed with teleprompters. Here's one of the reviews:

Jennifer Hudson brought rousing gospel fervor to Diamond's 1969 gem, "Holy Holy," for which she deservedly earned one of the few standing ovations of the night. Kid Rock, who had the unenviable task of following Hudson on stage, covered Diamond's 1966 chesnut, "I Thank the Lord for the Night Time.:....The backing band for most of the performers included Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' keyboardist Benmont Tench, bassist Don Was, former Cretones guitarist Mark Goldenberg and drum legend Jim Keltner.

Far less impressive was young U.K. pop-soul sensation Adelle. Her tenantive, pitch-challenged version of "Cracklin' Rosie" suggested that host Jimmy Kimmel wasn't kidding when -- just before introducing her -- he quipped: "This is the greatest karaoke night ever, right?"

Equally disappointing was the way out-of-their league Jonas Brothers, who performed Diamond's "Forever in Blue Jeans" as if they'd just learned it that morning. Then there was Coldplay's under-rehearsed, semi-"Unplugged" version of "I'm a Believer," which was high on charm but short on substance. (That's Coldplay's Chris` Martin pictured below at lefht.)

Most of the performers, Coldplay included, used a giant TelePrompTer at the rear of the room to help them remember the lyrics, but the standout artists were still able to make these songs their own.

After the celebrity tribute, the Jewish Elvis himself took the stage for a six song set that outshinned just about every other performer.

Also, remember how gigantic Urge Overkill's cover of "Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon" became when it was released as a single from the Pulp Fiction soundtrack? I'm happy thery were part of this event, even if they didn't get a lot of press from it cause they're not still as big a name. Check out Urge's video for "Girl" and "Sister Havana" after the jump.

NEIL DIAMOND MUSICARES SETLIST
"Forever in Blue Jeans," the Jonas Brothers
"Holly Holy," Jennifer Hudson
"Thank the Lord for the Night Time," Kid Rock
"Cracklin' Rosie," Adele
"Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon," Urge Overkill
"I'm a Believer," Coldplay
"Heartlight," Eric Benet
"Kentucky Woman," Chris Cornell
"Solitary Man," Raul Malo
"Love on the Rocks," Cassandra Wilson & Terence Blanchard
"Red Red Wine," Eddie Rodriguez & Los Volcanes
"Hello Again," Tim McGraw
"Delirious Love," Foo Fighters
"Play Me," Josh Groban
"Cherry, Cherry," Neil Diamond
"Love on the Rocks," Neil Diamond
"You Don't Bring Me Flowers," Neil Diamond with Faith Hill
"Pretty Amazing Grace," Neil Diamond
"America," Neil Diamond
"Sweet Caroline," Neil Diamond

I don't have the patience to live-blog an awards show, so I won't. I will, though, comment on the things I find interesting about the Grammys as I see them.

In the meantime, most of the awards seem to be handed out before the actual show. Here's who won Grammy's so far:

Album of the Year "Raising Sand" Robert Plant and Alison Krauss; T Bone Burnett, producer
Song of the Year "Viva La Vida" Coldplay
Record of the Year: Record of the Year: "Please Read The Letter," Robert Plant and Alison Krauss; T Bone Burnett, producer; Mike Piersante, engineer/mixer; track from "Raising Sand"
Best Rock Album: "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends," Coldplay
Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals: "Rich Woman," Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, track from "Raising Sand"
Best New Artist: Adele
Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals: "Sex on Fire," Kings of Leon
Best Hard Rock Performance: "Wax Simulacra," The Mars Volta
Best Metal Performance: "My Apocalypse," Metallica, track from "Death Magnetic"
Best Long-Form Doc/Video: Runnin' Down A Dream by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Directed by Peter Bogdanovich
Best Short Form Video: "Pork & Bean" - Weezer
Best Remix Recording: Electric Feel (Justice Remix) - MGMT
Producer of the Year: Rick Rubin
Best Engineered Album: Consolers Of The Lonely Joe Chiccarelli, Vance Powell & Jack White III, engineers (The Raconteurs)
Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package: In Rainbows Stanley Donwood, Mel Maxwell & Christiaan Munro, art directors (Radiohead)
Best Recording Package: Death Magnetic Bruce Duckworth, Sarah Moffat & David Turner, art directors (Metallica)
Best Soundtrack: Juno
Best Comedy Album: It's Bad For Ya - George Carlin
Best Traditional Folk Album: At 89 Pete Seeger
Best Rap Song: "Lollipop" - Lil Wayne, Static Major
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: "American Boy" Estelle Featuring Kanye West
Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group: "Swagga Like Us" Jay-Z & T.I. Featuring Kanye West & Lil Wayne
Best Rap Solo Performance: A Milli - Lil Wayne
Best R&B Album: Jennifer Hudson - Jennifer Hudson
Best Alternative Album: In Rainbows, Radiohead
Best Rock Song: Girls In Their Summer Clothes - Bruce Springsteen
Best Electronic Dance Album: Alive 2007 - Daft Punk
Best Dance Recording: Harder Better Faster Stronger, Daft Punk, Alive 2007
Best Pop Vocal Album: Rockferry - Duffy
Best Country Album: "Troubadour," George Strait
Best R&B Song: "Miss Independent," Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen and Shaffer Smith, songwriters (Ne-Yo), track from "Year of the Gentleman"
Best Contemporary R&B Album: "Growing Pains," Mary J. Blige

The kind of live-blogging is after the jump if you care......

Radiohead - "15 Steps"

M.I.A., Jay-Z, Kanye West, T.I., Lil' Wayne - "Swagger Like Us"

Coldplay - "Lost (w/ Jay-Z) / Viva La Vida"

Estelle with Kanye West - "Amercan Boy"

Paul McCartney (with Dave Grohl) - "I Saw Her Standing There"

Green Day have announced that they'll be releasing the follow-up to American Idiot in May of 2009. The upcoming album has been titled 21st Century Breakdown.

A major tour is expected to be announced shortly.

The New Yorker Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary with a ten day celebration, from October 9th-18th. While the festival has been announced ridiculously early, I'm really amazed that they've also put out an initial schedule. (tip via Bumpershine)

As each of the ten days will have a singular theme, one potential highlight may be Saturday, October 10th, which is billed as "Brooklyn Playlist: A New Yorker Festival concert featuring bands from the borough of kings".

Check out the initial calender after the jump......

The Dead Milkmen have announced a show at the Warsaw in Brooklyn on April 17th. Tickets are $25 and now on sale.

When was the last time that the Milkmen played in NYC?