Thanks to the runaway success of her international hit “New Soul,” Yael Naim’s self-titled 2007 release propelled this French-Israeli singer-songwriter on a yearlong promotional trek around the globe. But rather than record her follow-up album in studios scattered here, there and everywhere, Naim knew she had to wait until she returned to her home in Paris to begin work again with her longtime musical partner, David Donatien. Read more...
Charles Bradley is no stranger to hard times. Born in Gainesville, Florida in 1948 and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Charles spent the better part of his childhood living on the streets. One of the more optimistic moments of his childhood came in 1962, when his sister took him to see James Brown at The Apollo. Brown’s energy formed a lasting impression on Charles. He went home and immediately began practicing microphone tricks with a broom attached to a string, imitating the Godfather’s every move. With his new found inspiration came an urgent desire to get off the streets and make something of himself. Read more...
Gwen Stefani donated $1,000,000 today to Save the Children’s Japan Earthquake-Tsunami Children in Emergency Fund to help in the relief and recovery effort in Japan.
“I’ve been inspired by Japan for many years and have a true love, appreciation and respect for the Japanese people and their culture. The disaster in Japan is beyond heartbreaking and I want to do anything I can to help. I would never be able to make a gesture like this without the love and support of all the fans over all these years.”
– Gwen Stefani Read more...
Razor & Tie is preparing to release Joe Jackson‘s Live Music on June 7, 2011. The record is a document of the fantastic European tour from 2010. While 2003′s Volume 4 and the seven-month tour that followed that brilliant record featured the reunion of the entire original, iconic Joe Jackson Band from the late 70s, the follow-up, 2008′s Rain, was made with three of those four members: Jackson (vocals and keyboards), Graham Maby (bass/vocals) and Dave Houghton (drums/vocals). This is the band that appears on Live Music, which is made up of 12 tracks culled from board recordings from a variety of cities. Jackson will perform with The Roots as his band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on June 8. Read more...
The Cars are an American rock band that emerged from the early new wave music scene in the late 1970s. The band consisted of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, lead singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson. The band originated from Boston, Massachusetts. Read more...
For our latest addition to “Free Music Friday,” we are offering not just one song but an entire album, for your downloading pleasure, from artist Chris Kiehne. This talented singer/songwriter has kindly made his entire album, Pray for Daylight, available to everyone for free as a way to promote harmony and giving. Chris and his band, along with Project Rhythm Seed, encourage you to make a donation to the people of Japan, that they may start to rebuild their lives and find some peace, comfort and security where none currently exists. Read more...
On a late Monday afternoon in LA’s Silver Lake district, I walked into the local coffee house to find Lillian Berlin standing at the front counter. Black boots, black pants, black shirt, topped off with a black bolero gave him the look of a modern day Zorro. There was no missing him. I was here to meet up with Lillian and have a chat over coffee before his show later that night, at the newly renamed Satellite club, with his band Living Things. I introduced myself, we shook hands heartily and grabbed a table. Read more...
Serius 23 Productions and Project Rhythm Seed are pleased to announce Merge, live at The Culy Warehouse on Saturday, March 19th in San Diego’s Historic Gaslamp District. Merge features headliner and godfather of reggae and dub music, Lee “Scratch” Perry, along with a lineup of top DJ’s that include the popular DJ Bailey from the UK’s BBC radio, San Francisco’s favorite DJ UFO, and International Rhythm Kings, Frequenz Drop and TowerXVI. This will be a night of diverse music, high energy and incredible sets from some amazing performers. It will also be your only chance to see Lee “Scratch” Perry here in Southern California. Read more...
Rise Against‘s brand new studio album Endgame is out today via DGC/Interscope Records. Endgame is the band’s sixth studio album. First single “Help Is On The Way” is currently #3 at Alternative Rock Radio. Endgame has received praise already, including from Alternative Press, who noted in their 4 star review “Rise Against are so important to rock on a large spectrum these days, and it’s a relief that they made an album as strong as their ethics and beliefs.” You can purchase Endgame at a variety of retailers, including from iTunes. The album features twelve new songs by the band, and you can check out the tracklist below. Read more...
TV on the Radio have announced that Gerard Smith, the band’s bassist and keyboardist, has been diagnosed with lung cancer. He’s currently undergoing treatment, and he won’t join the band on their forthcoming run of dates.
The band writes, “Gerard is fortunate enough to have health insurance and is receiving excellent medical care. Already we have seen dramatic results. Combine that with Gerard’s legendarily willful disposition and it might just be cancer that has the problem. We appreciate your concern and support for Gerard and his family.” Read more...
It’s All True, the bold new album from Junior Boys, will be released on June 14th around the world (save the UK, which will release on June 20th). The release will be preceded by the release of the 12″ and digital single for the epic 9-minute “Banana Ripple,” which will come with remixes by The Field and legendary disco mixer Tom Moulton. Read more...
Despite suffering from a migraine, Justin Townes Earle put on quite a show at the Autry Museum in Griffith Park recently on a cold and rainy night in Los Angeles. And out of all the plentiful venue options in the Los Angeles area, The Autry could not have been more perfect for the retro-Southern folk/country of Earle and his band. Set amidst a mural of classic Western themes, the sold-out show in the middle of the museum’s courtyard drew Earle’s devoted fans. Read more...
Klaxons are hitting our shores this month for a national headlining tour with stops at Ultra Music Festival and Coachella. Their single “Echoes” has received the remix treatment from Steve Aoki, be sure to listen and download. Klaxons are a British indie rock band, based in London and made up of Jamie Reynolds (bass, vocals), James Righton(keyboards, vocals), Simon Taylor-Davies (guitars) andSteffan Halperin (drums).
St. Louis four-piece band Living Things today released their brand new mixtape, Malocchio, for free here. Malocchio is a 7-song mixtape by Living Things influenced by the sounds of afrobeat and psychedelic era Nigerian dub. The mixtape was recorded during a 7-day recording session from Jan 4-11 2011, produced by Lillian Berlin with co-producer/engineer Bill Skibbe (Fiery Furnaces, The Dead Weather, The Kills). The sessions took place in Los Angeles at the band’s studio, Berlin Family Basement, which is situated in the Laurel Canyon neighborhood, and in Kingston, Jamaica at Militia Sound. Malocchio is the first of two mixtapes by the band (Malocchio, Ayin Ha’ra )each to be released in spring and summer 2011. The series will end with a release of Living Things’ still untitled third full-length album out this fall. Track listing for Malocchio is below. Read more...
This April, Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, and Old Crow Medicine Show will embark on a tour unlike any in recent memory. Traveling exclusively in vintage railcars, the three bands will journey across the American Southwest over the course of a week. The aptly titled Railroad Revival Tour will feature the three bands playing concerts at six unique outdoor locations along the route, beginning April 21st in Oakland, California. Read more...
Alexander Ebert, lead singer of the Los Angeles entourage Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros, released his debut solo album Alexander this week via Community Music (Rough Trade will release the album in Europe).Alexander includes ten brand new songs that Ebert wrote and performed entirely himself.
During breaks from touring with the Zeros, Ebert began building and recording the pieces alone in his bedroom. Prior to beginning work on this album, all of the music that he worked on had been collaboratively written, especially with the 10-person Magnetic Zeros. There isn’t a single sound on the Alexander album that Ebert didn’t perform himself. Read more...
Serius 23 Productions and Project Rhythm Seed are pleased to announce Merge, live at The Culy Warehouse on Saturday, March 19th in San Diego’s Historic Gaslamp District. Merge features a lineup of top DJ’s that include the popular DJ Bailey from the UK’s BBC radio, northern California’s favorite DJ UFO from San Francisco, and Dubsteppas, Frequenz Drop and TowerXVI from San Diego. There will also be some special surprise guests that we can’t mention just yet. This will be a night of high energy and incredible sets from some of the top DJ’s in the world. Read more...
Today the Black Angels released the video for their latest single “Haunting at 1300 McKinley.” The song is from the band’s highly acclaimed third record, Phosphene Dream, far and away the band’s most successful album to date. The Black Angels are taking the world by storm, selling more records and playing bigger shows than ever before. Read more...
Liverpool’s The Wombatsreturn with their highly anticipated sophomore album, The Wombats proudly present … This Modern Glitch, which will be released April 26, 2011 through Bright Antenna/ILG/Warners. Set to conquer the States, the band delivers 10 tracks that retain the immediacy and hook-filled sensibility of their stunning UK platinum-selling debut, 2007’s The Wombats proudly present … Guide To Love, Loss And Desperation, while introducing aggressive dance elements and a heavier, wryer lyrical bent to their infectious alt-pop. The Wombats have also unveiled the album art for This Modern Glitch by legendary surrealist artist Storm Thorgerson, known for his iconic Pink Floyd album covers, as well the complete track listing for the album (see below). Read more...
As we approach The Holidays‘ U.S. debut at this year’s SXSW festival, the band are offering up a track of the album. “6AM” allows the listener to travel somewhere tropical, wake up on the beach and take an early morning dive into a crystalline aural sea. Read more...
Thanks to the runaway success of her international hit “New Soul,” Yael Naim’s self-titled 2007 release propelled this French-Israeli singer-songwriter on a yearlong promotional trek around the globe. But rather than record her follow-up album in studios scattered here, there and everywhere, Naim knew she had to wait until she returned to her home in Paris to begin work again with her longtime musical partner, David Donatien. 
Charles Bradley is no stranger to hard times. Born in Gainesville, Florida in 1948 and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Charles spent the better part of his childhood living on the streets. One of the more optimistic moments of his childhood came in 1962, when his sister took him to see James Brown at The Apollo. Brown’s energy formed a lasting impression on Charles. He went home and immediately began practicing microphone tricks with a broom attached to a string, imitating the Godfather’s every move. With his new found inspiration came an urgent desire to get off the streets and make something of himself. 
Gwen Stefani donated $1,000,000 today to Save the Children’s Japan Earthquake-Tsunami Children in Emergency Fund to help in the relief and recovery effort in Japan.
Razor & Tie is preparing to release 
The Cars
By J. Brown
On a late Monday afternoon in LA’s Silver Lake district, I walked into the local coffee house to find Lillian Berlin standing at the front counter. Black boots, black pants, black shirt, topped off with a black bolero gave him the look of a modern day Zorro. There was no missing him. I was here to meet up with Lillian and have a chat over coffee before his show later that night, at the newly renamed Satellite club, with his band 
Rise Against
TV on the Radio
It’s All True, the bold new album from 
By J. Brown
By Myles Crawley
St. Louis four-piece band 
This April, 
Alexander Ebert
Serius 23 Productions and Project Rhythm Seed are pleased to announce Merge, live at The 
Today the 
Liverpool’s 
As we approach 