It’s hard to believe that in this day and age that a music based television show has managed to stay around for 38 years without changing their format much to accommodate the masses. The show has definitely made some changes, incorporating music formats that you might not have found in early years, and it’s working.

The 38th season of Austin City Limits kicks off with one of the biggest modern rock bands in the world, Radiohead, on Oct 6th. A rare hour long episode will feature this band that is sometimes as elusive as the success is that they have achieved over the years. Other artists to grace the screen this season are The Shins, Bon Iver, Mavis Staples, Dr. Dog, and more.

Austin City Limits airs on your local PBS station.

Radiohead on Austin City Limits “Morning Mr Magpie” from Austin City Limits on Vimeo.

I know..another video, but it’s the Clash for crying out loud. Who doesn’t love the Clash? Quite honestly the preview is kinda lame, but here’s to hoping that the actual documentary which airs Dec 12th on BBC America is packed full of unseen, awesome Clash stuff. And if you want to check out the preview clip for the documentary, you’ll have to hop over to Spin.com as those wiley bastards seem to have exclusive access to the clip. Check your local cable listings and Rock the Casbah.

I’ve included the video for “Rock the Casbah” just for the simple fact that it was filmed here in Austin. If I’m not mistaken the pool scene took place in what is now the Radisson pool by Town Lake/Lady Bird Johnson Lake.

As we all patiently await the release of The Black Angels highly anticipated 3rd full length recording Phosphene Dream, the band prepares to unleash some of the newly recorded material for a national television audience on Wednesday night. Tune to the Letterman show Wednesday to see Austin’s finest in psych light up the night. Maybe “Telephone”, or “Bad Vibrations”, or will they throw us a curve ball? Turn on, tune in, and drop out.

Jawbox is one of those bands that I have always been clearly aware of their existence and the fondness that many of my friends harbored for this D.C. post punk band that found the heart of it’s success in the early 90′s. The D.C. scene a proud breeding ground for many a D.I.Y. band in the 80′s and 90′s. A proud label for many fans that led to the unfortunate backlash when Jawbox left the indie label Dischord for the major Atlantic to record the 1994 release For Your Own Special Sweetheart. Now that we’ve all grown up a bit, and sold a bit of our souls to some corporate entity, the band re-releases it’s heartbeat album For Your Own Special Sweetheart on DeSoto records in the fall of 2009. It’s remastered and sounding as sweet as ever.

You can purchase the remastered release @ DeSoto or @ iTunes

MP3> Jawbox ‘Savory’

The only live performance in celebration of this release will be on the Jimmy Fallon show, Tuesday Dec 8th. Set your DVR, TiVo, whatever, or just tune in like we used to do in the old days.

Via Wiki:

The Mighty Boosh is a British comedy troupe featuring comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Developed from three stage shows and a six episode radio series, it has since spawned a total of twenty television episodes for BBC Three and two live tours of the UK, as well as two live shows in the United States.

I first came across an episode of The Mighty Boosh late one night while tirelessly searching for something of any interest on television. I didn’t have any idea what I was watching, it just seemed curiously interesting, pretty funny, but really off the wall. The name seemed to stick in my head, as I found myself adding every episode that I could find on Netflix to my queue. What I discovered was one of the most hilarious and outrageous comedies that I have come across in awhile, and to top it off, it’s revolves around music.

The two main characters are Vince Noir (Julian Barratt) and Howard Moon (Noel Fielding). Noir is the skinny pants wearing (drainpipes) euro hipster obsessed with his hair and all music electronic. A big fan of Gary Numan, and once claims to have been living in the forest with Bryan Ferry. Moon on the other hand is the more traditional music fan, lover of Jazz, particularly scat, and has dreadful fashion sense. Throw in a drug dealing shaman, a gorilla,  and a myriad of colorful characters, many of whom are played by Barratt and Fielding, guest appearances by the likes of Gary Numan, Razorlight, Roger Daltrey, and you have The Mighty Boosh. It’s borderline genius at times and mostly completely insane and ridiculous. And I love it.

Videos Read more

Post-punk icons, Sonic Youth are still at and haven’t slowed down much since they first hit the scene, quite a few years ago. The band has a new record coming out June 9th, on a new label for them, Matador Records, titled Eternal. What’s gonna be different with the new recording, other than the label? Hopefully not too much, as Sonic Youth are perfectly fine doing what they have been doing for years. Making glorious sonic noise, and doing better than many others that have tried to follow in their footsteps.

Download the first available track and check out two video clips from Later With Jools Holland for 3 songs off of the upcoming release. “What We Know”, “Sacred Trickster”, and “Antenna”.

The band is playing this years ACL Festival, much to my delight, and the tickets are going fast if you haven’t heard. More tour dates after the jump.

MP3> Sonic Youth ‘Sacred Trickster’

Sonic Youth Tour Dates Read more

I like the Colbert Report, I like The Decemberists, and the two were together last night for a quick interview, that got a few chuckles from myself, and a performance of “The Wanting Comes in Waves”. Not my favorite Decemberist’s tune, but they’ve got a new record to peddle.

Tour dates after the video.

THE DECEMBERISTS ON TOUR
May 19 – Hollywood Palladium – Los Angeles, CA
May 20 – Fox Theatre – Oakland, CA
May 21 – McDonald Theater – Eugene, OR
May 24 – Wilma Theatre – Missoula, MT
May 26 – Fillmore Auditorium – Denver, CO
May 27 – Uptown Theater – Kansas City, MO
May 29 – Riverside Theater – Milwaukee, WI
May 31 – The Pageant – St. Louis, MO
June 1 – Lifestyle Communities Pavilion – Columbus, OH
June 3 – Tabernacle – Atlanta, GA
June 4 – Memorial Auditorium – Raleigh, NC
June 5 – The National – Richmond, VA
June 6 – Tower Theatre – Upper Darby, PA
June 9 – Bank of America Pavillion – Boston, MA
June 10 – Radio City Music Hall – New York, NY
June 11-14 – Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival – Manchester, TN
July 18 – Edgefield – Troutdale, OR w/ Andrew Bird
July 19 – Edgefield – Troutdale, OR w/ Andrew Bird

Dead Confederate make their television debut on Conan tonight. Tune in or set your Tivo to see this band that is making music that brings back the rock. I’ll post video as soon as it comes available, you can bet your britches.

Check your local listings for times and channels. For those in Austin with Time Warner Cable…you are shit out of luck.

As much as I resisted this band for awhile, I have learned to love them even more. Fleet Foxes have produced one of the most beautiful and moving recordings of the this year. Here they are performing one of my favorite tunes off the self titled release “Blue Ridge Mountains”. Robin Pecknold sans his favorite piece of clothing though.

Watch:

Listen:

MP3> Fleet Foxes ‘White Winter Hymnal’

One of the more interesting musical discoveries for me last year was this band Grizzly Bear. I didn’t really get it at first, but upon hearing “Knife”, I became extremely curious and hearing them perform the track live was haunting. Check out the band performing the new track “Two Weeks” on Letterman last night. Tour dates follow, with the band performing a few dates in support of a little band called Radiohead.

UPDATE: Looks like the video has been removed. Sorry. Or maybe not?

MP3> Grizzly Bear on Letterman ‘Two Weeks’

• Jun 25, 2008 – Calgary, AB – Central United Church for the Sled Island Festival
• Jul 31, 2008 - Nashville, TN – Mercy Lounge*
• Aug 01, 2008 – Chicago, IL – Lollapalooza
• Aug 02, 2008 – Louisville, KY – 930 Listening Room*
• Aug 03, 2008 – Noblesville, IN - Verizon Wireless Music Center w/ Radiohead
• Aug 04, 2008 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center w/ Radiohead
• Aug 06, 2008 – Montréal, QC – Parc Jean Drapeau w/ Radiohead
• Aug 07, 2008 – Northampton, MA – Calvin Theater w/ The New Pornographers
• Aug 08, 2008 – Jersey City, NJ – All Points West Music & Arts Festival
• Aug 11, 2008 – Washington, DC – Sixth & I Historic Synagogue*
• Aug 12, 2008 – Camden, NJ – Susquehanna Bank Center w/ Radiohead
• Aug 13, 2008 – Mansfield, MA – Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts w/ Radiohead
• Aug 14 – Boston, MA – Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
• Aug 15 – Toronto, ON -Molson Amphitheatre

It’s hard to believe that The Vines’ single “Get Free” (come on you know you thought it was catchy) was released in 2002, which lead to this now infamous Letterman performance/breakdown. Apparently they’re on album number 4 already, which drops July 22nd. The band has put the entire album, entitled Melodia, up for early previewing on their myspace. It’s nothing of a stretch for the band musically, but there are a few stand out tracks on the album and one possible iPod commercial (“He’s a Rocker”).

Stream: www.myspace.com/thevines

MP3> The Vines ‘He’s A Rocker’

Maybe I’m being a little lazy today and taking the easy path of blogging, by posting video. Anyone that knows me, knows that I’ve been a flag carrying fan of My Morning Jacket for years, and it seems that with the latest release of Evil Urges, their popularity has exploded. Good for the guys. It’s Friday, so take it easy at work, watch the clock crawl to 5, and watch some MMJ on Conan video while you do so.

Conan introduces fan to the band:

The band rocks:

credit: Daniel Sprague

Colour Revolt make their television debut tonight on Fuel TV’s “Daily Habit” show. The band will be performing “Naked and Red” and “Ageless Everytime” from their recent release Plunder Beg and Curse. The show airs 9p.m ET.

The band also continues to expand their tour with several festival dates added, including Bonnaroo, The Download Festival, Monolith, and Austin City Limits. I highly recommend taking in the live show if presented the opportunity.

MP3> Colour Revolt ‘Ageless Everytime’

Colour Revolt Tour

Jun 10 2008 Jack Rabbit’s @ Jacksonville, Florida
Jun 11 2008 40 Watt @ Athens, Georgia
Jun 12 2008 Vinyl @ Atlanta, Georgia
Jun 13 2008 Bonnaroo @ Manchester, Tennessee
Jul 14 2008 Hummingbird @ Macon, Georgia
Jul 15 2008 Music Farm @ Charleston, South Carolina
Jul 16 2008 New Brookland Tavern @ Columbia, South Carolina
Jul 17 2008 Milestone Club @ Charlotte, North Carolina
Jul 18 2008 Grimey’s (In-store)@ Nashville, Tennessee
Jul 18 2008 The End (w/ Javelins) @ Nashville, Tennessee
Jul 23 2008 House Cafe (w/ Javelins) @ DeKalb, Illinois
Jul 24 2008 The High Dive (w/ Javelins) @ Champaign, Illinois
Jul 25 2008 Mac’s Bar (w/ Javelins)@ Lansing, Michigan
Jul 26 2008 The Lounge @ London, Ontario
Jul 29 2008 Sala Rossa @ Montreal, Quebec
Aug 2 2008 Download Festival @ Susquehanna Bank Center-Camden, NJ
Sep 13 2008 Monolith Festival @ Red Rocks – Morrison, Colorado
Sep 28 2008 Austin City Limits Festival @ Austin, Texas

We like these guys

photo : valerie@fremin.net

My Morning Jacket have announced plans to appear on the May 10th taping of Saturday Night Live. You can expect the band to preview tracks from the upcoming release Evil Urges due out on June 10th. I’ve been told that the upcoming release is quite a bit different than previous, from those who have heard the recording. More beat driven and not so much anchored in the guitar riffs.

The band has also announced a string of European tour dates, with some U.S. Festival dates already announced.

April 27: Indio, Calif. (Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival)
June 12-15: Manchester, Tenn. (Bonnaroo Festival)

June 16: Toronto (Kool Haus)
June 17: Montreal (Le National)
June 20: New York (Radio City Music Hall)
June 25: Sheffield, England (Leadmill)
June 26: Bristol, England (Academy)
June 27: Manchester, England (Academy)
June 29: Glastonbury, England (Glastonbury Festival)
July 1: Hamburg (Gruenspan)
July 2: Koln, Germany (Gebaude)
July 4: Werchter, Belgium (Werchter Festival)
July 6: Kent, England (the Hop Farm)
July 8: Amsterdam (Melkweg)
July 9: Paris (La Trabendo)
July 11: Nottingham, England (Rescue Rooms)
July 13: Glasgow (T in the Park Festival)
July 15: London (the Forum)
July 19: Benicassim, Spain (Benicassim Festival)
July 26: Whistler, B.C. (Pemberton Festival)
Aug. 16: Louisville (Waterfront Park)