Music sites Daytrotter and Wolfgang's Vault unite
[Above: illustration of The National by Johnnie Cluney of Daytrotter.com] Daytrotter.com, the two-year-old indie music website with a purist philosophy, changed primary financial backers recently. Classic rock connoisseur site Wolfgang's Vault bought out a controlling share of Iowa's Daytrotter from previous investor Bob McIlwan, according to the Des Moines Register. The Wolfgang's Vault home page now features a direct link to Daytrotter, offering its specialized, older audience the direct means to access new, younger artists' work. Both parties, which offer free downloads as well as a slew of other content, assert that Daytrotter's product will not suffer from the financial... read more
Ghostland Observatory readies for tour, new album
Electro-rock outfit Ghostland Observatory is ready to release its third LP, Robotique Majestique, on Feb. 23., and to celebrate, the band has lined up a few live dates. And much like the lovechild of The White Stripes and The Rapture, Ghostland will let you groove to the big beat before leveling you with a massive chorus. The hard playing duo will kick off the tour in its hometown of Austin, Texas, and will be making a stop at the Langerado Music Festival on March 8 (no surprise, as pretty much everyone in the world is playing there too, including the... read more
Coachella '08 line-up announced, All Points West confirmed
After an agonizing weekend waiting for updates on the official Coachella '08 roster, Goldenvoice president Paul Tollett finally threw us a gigantic friggin' bone on Monday afternoon at a press conference in Mexico City, announcing the honest-to-goodness, no-for-serious-this-time list of bands that will travel to Indio, Calif. on April 25, 26 and 27 for three days of fun, funk, Frisbee and lots and lots of dancing. Friday night's headliners are Jack Johnson, The Verve and Raconteurs; Saturday's are Portishead, Kraftwerk (Tollett: "If you haven't noticed, we're a fan of the robots."), Death Cab for Cutie and Café Tacuba; Sunday's are... read more
Nickel Creek members help form supergroup The Scrolls
Nickel Creek has finished touring and gone on its long-talked-about hiatus (and seriously, at least the band called it a hiatus, unlike many other musicians, who were seemingly sold faulty dictionaries that misdefine the word "retirement"). Now, siblings Sara and Sean Watkins have joined forces with six other musicians that include Toad the Wet Sprocket frontman Glen Phillips, as well as members of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers and Elvis Costello's Imposters, to form a supergroup tentatively dubbed The Scrolls. According to Phillips, the album will be a combination of good ol' American rock and Nickel Creek-esque Americana, with a dash of... read more
Tift Merritt announces Country-wide tour
Alt.country rocker Tift Merritt is returning to the music scene this year after taking a well-deserved break from touring and recording. Her latest, Another Country, is scheduled for a Feb. 26 release on Fantasy Records, and she will kick off a two-month North American tour on March 17 in Philadelphia. Another Country is Merritt's third release, and her second with veteran producer George Drakoulias. Her 2002 debut, Bramble Rose, won her rave reviews and comparisons to the likes of Ryan Adams and Emmylou Harris. Her sophomore effort, Tambourine, garnered a Grammy nomination for Country Album of the Year in 2004.... read more
Daniel Johnston announces 10 U.S. dates
Concert goers this winter will be hard-pressed to find a live show as endearing and genuine as Daniel Johnston’s. His rather extensive body of work was first pulled into mainstream focus by Kurt Cobain’s admiration in the ‘90s, but his songs have been covered by Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth and Tom Waits, to name a few. Last year Johnston sold out shows from Los Angeles to New York City, and played SXSW backed by the Nightmares. His album Lost and Found is expected for Stateside release sometime this February, coinciding with the following 10 shows: February 5 - Detroit,... read more
Apples In Stereo to release b-sides, do more math problems
If you're feeling low on blindingly bright pop songs about math equations and cranking up the radio, The Apples in Stereo are here to help. Denver's indie pop standard-bearers and Elephant 6 Recording Collective old schoolers are releasing a b-sides and rarities collection to follow up last year's New Magnetic Wonder. The 2007 album, incidentally, is an amalgamation of tracks so shiny you could see your reflection in 'em and was released and distributed in part by Elijah Woods's imprint, Simian Records. The new disc, entitled Electronic Projects for Musicians (named after a 1980 how-to manual by Craig Anderton), will... read more
Band of the Week: Viva Voce
Just over a dozen years ago, Viva Voce singer/songwriter/drummer Kevin Robinson showed up to play a show with his college band, and was surprised to find that he had no idea who the other act on the bill was. This was something that didn’t usually happen in... read more
Paste Media Group - Internships
This page has moved!... read more
Super Furry Animals: Hey Venus!
Fuzzy Welsh critters sound rejuvenated on eighth album read more
We Are Scientists reveal Mastery of canine seduction
Brooklyn new wavers and funny bone tinglers We Are Scientists debuted the video for their first single "After Hours" in the UK this weekend. Watch the boys fuss over their dates, one of the not-Tina-Fey gals from 30 Rock and a cute pup, over at NME. Their sophomore album, Brain Thrust Mastery, is out March 17 in the UK. Drummer Michael Tapper, who helped form the group, appears to be missing from the dapper duo's videos and photos with no word about it. But missing member and hefty sums we'll be shelling out for the import aside, at least their... read more
Big Boi's ballet to rock Atlanta this spring
Roll over Tchaikovsky, and tell Beethoven the news: Outkast's Antwan "Big Boi" Patton has a ballet to debut. Come April 10, Atlanta's Fox Theatre will witness the pomp and Dirty South circumstance of Big. Granted, there have been other great musical moments bearing that title before, but given a soundtrack that includes Outkast classics "The Way You Move" and "Bombs Over Baghdad," Patton has a solid chance to top them all. He'll take the stage for six shows only alongside the dancers of Purple Ribbon Entertainment and the Atlanta Ballet. Hopefully the man's been working on his pirouttes and plies.... read more
Dan Deacon in midst of Ultimate Reality Tour
Synth lovers have been fervently rejoicing since duct-tape king Dan Deacon has taken his vocoder and smorgasbord of pedals on the road in support of the Ultimate Reality DVD. Composer Deacon and visual artist Jimmy Joe Roche collaborated on the recent release, which screens prior to the shows and is accompanied by two drummers. And in case the real world wasn't enough, we took the liberty of posting a Reality tidbit for you after the dates: January 21 - Vancouver, BC @ Richards On Richards*@ 24 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ First Avenue* 25 - Chicago, Ill. @ Lakeshore Theater (Ultimate... read more
Cassandra's Dream
Despite the absence of Woody Allen’s current muse Scarlett Johansson... read more
Neko Case, Kelly Hogan, more to star in Aqua Teen
Late-night TV is going to be just a little bit hipper soon. In its just-started sixth season, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, the original bread and butter of the Adult Swim line-up will move beyond mainstream musical cameos — such as fellow New Jersey natives Zakk Wilde and Glenn Danzig in its second and third seasons — to boost the randomness of its episodes. Pitchfork recently reported that Neko Case and her frequent collaborator Kelly Hogan will appear as sirens in this Sunday's episode. Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age and former Major League Baseball star John Kruk will... read more
Rolling Stones Shine A Light, lick EMI
Sometimes, 40 Licks just isn't enough. But fear not. With a catalogue of nearly that many albums, the Rolling Stones understand. The legendary (read: "sexagenarian") rockers have prepared yet another one, this time in the form of the soundtrack to the Martin Scorsese live-performance film Shine A Light. However, the March record, their first since 2005's A Bigger Bang, isn't being put out by EMI/Virgin, the Stones' label of 16 years. Universal Music Group will take EMI's place in the Stones' hearts with a one-album deal. Of course, Mick, Keith & Co. aren't the only high-profile acts to leap from... read more
Pinback announces February tour dates
Fans that missed Rob Crow and Zach Smith’s initial tour in support of their latest LP will be happy to know that Pinback is back on the road…albeit a road that only leads to Japan and the West Coast of the United States. Following a pair of shows in the band's native San Diego, Pinback wil continue up the I-5 stretch and back down again with Brooklyn based MC Chris. After that, it's off to Japan with fellow Southern Californians The Album Leaf. Dates: February 5 - Chula Vista, Calif. @ House of Blues ♠ 6 - Chula Vista, Calif.... read more
Franz Ferdinand working on third album
With their third album due sometime this summer, the fellows of Franz Ferdinand have been busy in the studio. However, they are working on a sound that is sophisticated without being too polished. "It's the opposite of punk/pop, which took something that was wonderful and removed all the dirt," lead singer Alex Kapranos recently told Billboard.com. To achieve this sound, the band chose to make the record in Glasgow at a smaller studio rather than in London as originally planned. Adding some additional gusto to the danceable tracks is a collection of Russian Polyvox synthesizers. "We could easily make a... read more
Langhorne Slim to release Kemado debut in April
Kemado Records, home of Swedish psychedelic rockers Dungen and Interpol-esque New Yorkers Elefant, has just signed folk/soul-rocker Langhorne Slim, and will release his upcoming, self-titled album on April 29. Slim's drummer Malachi DeLorenzo and Sam Kassirer (otherwise known as Josh Ritter's keyboardist/producer), produced all but one of the 13 tracks on the upcoming release, the last of which was helmed by Brian Deck, longtime producer of Iron & Wine, amongst others. Both Kassirer and Deck also contributed their musical skills some of the tracks. Slim, who says his stage name comes from "a skinny town in Pennsylvania where the motorcycles... read more
George Michael's expensive, tell-all book on the horizon
It's already been a few years since George Michael celebrated his towering artistic accomplishments in A Different Story, his harrowing autobiographical documentary. But in the time since, a new gaggle of stars has risen from the murk of the UK pop scene to steal the tabloid headlines. What's a pop-culture giant to do? Looks like it's time for a bunker-busting, confessional autobiography. In what's being billed as one of the biggest publishing pacts in UK history, Michael has signed aboard HarperCollins to pen a "no-holds-barred" memoir on his freaky rise to fame. The AP tags the deal at $7 million... read more
The 20 Best Gadgets of the Decade…
The 17 Best Romantic Comedies This Decade
The 50 Best Albums of the Decade…
The 25 Best Movie Performances of the…
Blind Pilot - The Story I Heard
Kim Taylor - Days Like this
Gregory Alan Isakov - The Moon Song
Punch Brothers - Punch Brothers at CMJ
Anya Marina - Whatever You Like
David Bazan - Hard To Be
