Transference is out 1/19 via Merge…

In the wee hours of this morning/last night, Animal Collective posted the video for their track “Brothersport”at myanimalhome.net. The sneaky bastards have outdone themselves this time around, as the video is pretty out there — complete with day-glo eggs, mischievous children and creepy ’70s-era animation. Despite the band’s Merriweather Post…

​Omaha indie rockers Cursive are winding their way through Tempe this spring, almost a year to the day since they last played The Valley. They will be playing with The Dear & Departed (aw, cute name!) and popular music band Alkaline Trio. This magical night of music will take place Tuesday,…

No You Don’t – Islands…

[jump] Here we can see the original picture, taken by Ben Eubank (flickr user benisntfunny): Now, I present booklet page 2 from Owl City’s most recent album Ocean Eyes: As you can clearly see, Young just up and took Eubank’s photo and made it is own, not before adding a…

Contra will be released January 12 on XL…

​You know who loves finding out about just announced shows in the Valley? This guy. I, however, understand how this time of year is painfully slow for any real music news. That is why everyone and their mother — myself, included —  trots out their best of/year end lists of…

[jump] I have nothing at all against their number one pick, Everclear’s In A Different Light. Art Alexakis, lead singer and only original member of the band, has since retooled things and turned the once formidable alternative rock band into a pathetic covers band. Gone are the glory days of…

[jump] This list is by no means complete, nor is it in any chronological or ranking order. It is simply to ramp up some interest in 2010 and show that there is hope for this new, yet-unnamed decade.Yeasayer – Odd BloodFebruary 9 (Secretly Canadian)Vampire Weekend – ContraJanuary 12 (XL)Lightspeed Champion…

Ambling Alp – Yeasayer…

[jump] Starting with the 2010 festival, Coachella will offer campers the opportunity to camp right by their car in an allotted 10′ x 30′ space. In years past, campers have had to lug all their shit from their car over to the camping spaces/endless sea of tents. This year will…

It may be too early to call it, but this spring already looks to be an impressive one for live music in the Valley. I know, I know — it’s not even 2010, but can’t we just look ahead to March and April? The holiday season is notoriously thin for…

Kinda Like A Big Deal (Explici…..

In a bit of unfortunate news, Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo had to be hospitalized after the bus carrying him, his family and an assistant hit a patch of ice, busted through a guardrail and ended up in a ditch early Sunday morning. The accident occurred on a New York State Thruway…

[jump] The “contestants” of the “Trend You Wish Would Go Away” are as follows:90s revivalism (No Age, Japandroids, Cymbals Eat Guitars) Afropop indie (Dirty Projectors, Fool’s Gold, Abe Vigoda) Animal Collective acolytes (Blind Man’s Colour, Our Brother the Native, USF) Balearic (jj, John Talabot, Windsurf/Hatchback) Chillwave/glo-fi (Washed Out, Neon Indian,…

Are you a struggling band, working your asses off to book gigs and make yourselves known? Then let Planetary Group and Sonicbids do some of the work for you. They are offering an opportunity for one band to tour China, all expenses paid. The Tour China 2010: East Meets West…

Much has been made about why certain big name musicians skip Phoenix on their large-scale North American tours. Phoenix once was the jumping off point for the Fame Kills Tour, featuring both Kanye West and Lady Gaga. West’s loud mouth put the kibosh on that tour, and when Lady Gaga…

[jump] The one thing I take away from this video is how badly I want to hang out in the desert wearing a black hood and banging a drum. I don’t know how Yeasayer made that particular image look so bad-ass, but they sure as shit did it. Also, those…