So, last year the Fun Fun Fun Fest officials held an entertaining press conference to announce the festival lineup, and this year they get creative once again. Word just went out that this year’s lineup will be announced via turntable.fm next Monday 8/1 beginning at noon. Not familiar with turntable.fm? It just happens to be one of the fastest growing music service on the web currently, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to slow down anytime soon. Part streaming, part chat room, voting, and playing dj is what it’s about, and it’s set up through a Facebook portal. I’ll try to explain…

So, you log in with your Facebook account, set up your profile, even pick out a cute little avatar, and then you either start your own room or find a room with a theme that might interest you. In the room are dj spots where individuals can occupy and play music that they have loaded into their queue either from their own personal collection or from the options provided by turntable.fm. You can either hang out in the room and just listen to what the dj’s are playing or join in the mix if there is a spot available. There’s chat going on if you want to chat with the other folks in the room. You can vote on tracks giving them either a “lame” rating or an “awesome” rating. Room capacity is 200.

Now, Fun Fun Fun Fest has a room set up and I’m guessing that they are going to be dj’ing tunes from all of the festival artists to announce the lineup. Being that the room capacity is only 200, you better get there early. And if you haven’t set yourself up on turntable.fm, get in on the fun.

Here’s the link to the Fun Fun Fun Fest room: turntable.fm/fun_fun_fun_fest

Tipped off by hypebot.com, the full story can be found over @ Wired.com. Showdown Productions in Dayton, OH put this together for BJSR’s track “Play”.

The Skunks will be performing a long awaited reunion show on March 27th @ The Continental Club.

Watch episode 1 as well as Ume performing “The Conductor”

The Austin based computer company Dell, has been getting involved in the music scene over the past few years with the Dell Lounge project which is becoming a multi-faceted outlet for all things music. This summer has the Dell Summer Rocks project traveling around the country making stops at all of the hottest music festivals taking place this festival season. This coming weekend, you can find them in Colorado at the Monolith Festival taking place @ the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater. Just look for the Dell Dome and check out what Dell Summer Rocks is all about.

The last stop on the Dell Summer Rocks calendar will be the local Austin City Limits Festival.

At the Dell Dome festival attendees can:

-Meet your favorite band, watch them do an interview in person and get their autograph.

-Make your own digital mixtape by building a playlist using music from the festival as well as popular artists beyond Monolithís set list.

-Design custom buttons. One can use designs on hand or bring their own to stamp into creative flare.

-Get an airbrush tattoo or your hair rocked out

-Meet Dell resident artist, Mike Ming. http://www.delllounge.com/ summerrocks/mikeming/. Mike Ming created the artwork for Dell’s limited edition Mike Ming Inspiron laptops and he designed the  
artwork on the Dell Dome.

-Make a custom tee. One can create their own style by transferring

-Mike Ming’s artwork onto their own clothes through the hot-press t- shirt station.

-Check your email and surf the net on Dell’s collection of laptops.

Participating bands who have visited and done interviews at the Dell  Summer Rocks Dome at festivals thus far include Chromeo, Girl Talk, Cadence Weapon, Shudder To Think, Taking Back Sunday, Soulwax, Kaki King, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Flosstradamus, The Octopus Project,  Franki Chan, Witchcraft, Tiny Masters of Today, The Whigs and more.

Stop by and say Hi, to the folks in the Dome.

I’ll be the first to admit, it took me awhile to get on board with the sweet sweet sounds of Fleet Foxes, but am admitidly a converted card carrying member of the band’s fan club. NPR has for you a stream of a Lillywhite Session with the band just recorded recently, and if you can’t get enough of of these guys, as I cannot, it’s a must listen.

check it here: Fleet Foxes: The Lillywhite Session

The National, one of the greatest bands around currently if you haven’t been paying attention, have designed a t-shirt for Barack Obama in support of the presidential candidate. The design features Obama’s mug placed above the wording “Mr. November” which is the title of a song off of the band’s release Alligator. All proceeds from the t-shirt sales go towards Obama’s campaign fund.

I suggest that you listen to the words of the song as they are curiously suited for this little project.

MP3> The National ‘Mr. November’

You can purchase the shirt here: The National Online Shop

The title says it all for the most part. Our friends over at Do512.com have a sweet contest for you. Sounds too good to be true? Maybe you think that the shows are a bunch of lame-ass shows that you wouldn’t be interested in going to see? Wrong you might be my friend. This prize applies to any show at Emos, The Parish, The Beauty Bar, Antone’s, Beerland, Flamingo Cantina, and Threadgills for the month of August.

Here is the official release from the Do512ers.

Win the Ultimate Month of Free Live Music

Do512.com Promotes Embeddable Music Calendar with Seriously Cool Prize

(Austin, TX): Do512.com, the Austin website that lets users see and hear bands playing upcoming shows, is promoting their new embeddable show calendar with a prize that matters to the music lover: a month’s worth of free shows at the top venues across the city.

By going to http://dostuffmedia.com/do512/, show goers can easily create their own interactive concert calender and plop it right where they live – on places like their Myspace, Facebook and blog pages. There, their calendar “widget” will stay live, with the capacity to play update-able audio and video of chosen shows right on that page. The folks at Do512 think these personal music calendars will change the way Austin music fans choose and share that information with friends. And to get people to use the thing, they’re dangling a big carrot: a chance to win two free passes to every single show at Austin‘s top music venues for a full month.

“Static, word-and-date calendars are pretty boring,” says Do512 co-founder, Scott Owens, “and are relatively uninformative and uninspiring. Our little calendar widget lets our users hear, see and share the bands playing upcoming shows on their own social web pages. No big deal, but we think it’s a quantum leap in music sample-ability and overall enjoyment. Which ought to make a difference in how people experience our rich music scene.”

To enter the contest, go to do512.com/VIP, and embed the calendar widget on a page between July 1^st and 31^st . The winner will be notified July 31^st, and will receive a pass for themselves +1 to every show at Emo’s, The Parish, Antone’s, Flamingo Cantina, Beerland, Beauty Bar and Threadgill’s for the entire month of August.

Missing the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival this weekend? That’s ok, the AT&T Blueroom has got you covered. Starting tomorrow (June 13th) at 3:30 CT, they will be broadcasting some acts live across the interenet. So far on the schedule are bands like Fiery Furnances, The Raconteurs, Metallica, Gogol Bordello, Iron & Wine, Against Me!, Cat Power, and more (Sunday’s Broadcast Schedule hasn’t even been released yet!). So click here for the live webcast and enjoy what Bonnaroo 2008 has to offer!

Transmission Entertainment was formed almost a year ago and can be held responsible for the shows that you may have been checking out @ Mohawk, Club de Ville, Red 7, Lamberts, and more. They are also responsible for putting on the uber cool Fun Fun Fun Fest. Until now the show listings for these venues by Transmission have been scattered around the net, but that has changed. Transmission Entertainment’s new website is a one stop shop for all of the shows that they are bringing to town, as well as being full of a bunch of other cool stuff, like video from past shows. I am especially fond of the videos from the Murder City Devil’s performance @ Mohawk last fall.

Check out the new site: Transmission Entertainment

Matador Records recording artist Shearwater, are playing a very special show here in Austin to end a short tour, and we have a pair of tickets to give away for the event. The band will be performing their upcoming release Rook in it’s entirety backed by an 8 piece orchestra @ The Parish this coming Thursday night 5.29. If you are interested in checking out this special event, please send us an email with Shearwater in the subject line and one winner will be randomly selected for a pair of tickets. Winner will be contacted Wednesday evening after 5 p.m.

Email: Shearwater tickets

For those of you still dialing into your local radio stations owned by mega corporations, with generic stale playlists that are dictated by talentless hags..STOP! There’s a world of creative, intelligent, and inventive folks on the internet providing you with myriad of avenues designed to bring you closer to the music that begs to be consumed. I have been recently introduced to BreakThruRadio.com, or BTR for short. Much like other internet radio stations, there are DJ’s, a multimedia archive, articles, live performances, reviews and opportunities to discover galore.

BTR is the World’s Source for the Best Independent Music on the Internet. Our motto, “Music for music lovers,” perfectly reflects our eclectic playlists with music ranging from death metal to dance party mixes and everything in between. All the music we play is from independent and unsigned artists; music you could never dream of finding on commercial radio. BTR offers listeners instant, on demand access to exclusive content from all over the world. Thanks to the Internet, BTR has gained strong listenership in over a dozen countries. With our unique on-demand musical programming and focus on the best in new independent music, its no surprise BTR has garnered over 1,000,000 listeners daily, the majority of which are 18-24 years old. Unlike other radio stations, BTR offers on-demand programming; a first in Internet radio. Listeners can cater to their specific musical preferences, and at the same time discover the best independent and unsigned artists from across the world. BTR is constantly evolving, and 2007 saw the creation of a unique BTR Facebook application, making it possible for Facebook users to install a miniature version of BTR’s unique media player upon their personal pages. BreakThru Radio services are available through virtually all of the major carrier networks in the U.S., including Nextel/Sprint, Cingular, Verizon, Alltel and T-Mobile. BTR can be heard on www.breakthruradio.com

How much longer are you going to let that on-air personality cram Smashed Pumkin, Red Hot Chili crap down your throat?

CURRENT PARTNERS WITH PORTISHEAD FOR
EXCLUSIVE BROADCAST PERFORMANCE ON APRIL 11

“Portishead In Portishead” Performance Advances Current’s Mission Of Collaborating With Influential Artists To Provide Unique Original Music Content

Following the recent success of Current’s partnership with Radiohead, the network has teamed up with another innovative U.K. act, Portishead, to produce two specials featuring the band. Beginning on April 8, 2008, Current will premiere a rare, un-hosted, never-before-seen interview with Portishead on Current.com at midnight EST/ 9pm PST. Then on April 11, 2008 Current will air a pre-taped performance of the band titled “Portishead In Portishead” at 10pm EST/ 7pm PST.

“Current is the perfect fit for what we are into,” said Portishead. “We love spreading the word without depending on the corporate machine. Portishead is a fan of Current’s innovative vision and style, which is why we are going with the network for this special performance.”

Current’s exclusive “Portishead In Portishead” broadcast will feature the band performing eight tracks from its long-awaited album, “Third.” Current is scheduled to air the 40-minute, commercial-free special in the US and UK eleven hours after its initial webcast on Portishead’s official website on April 11. The network will continue to air the performance until the US release (Mercury) of “Third’” on April 29. The album will hit stores the day before in the U.K. on Island Records. Additional details and viewing are available at: www.current.com/portishead <http://www.current.com/portishead> .

Webcast/Broadcast Times:
Current TV* (see below for distribution channels):

• April 11, 2008 at 10pm EST / 7pm PST and 1am EST / 10pm PST
• April 12, 2008 at 11am EST / 8am PST and 3am EST / 12am PST
• April 13, 2008 at 3pm EST / 12pm PST and 11pm EST / 8pm PST
• April 14, 2008 at 8pm EST / 5pm PST
• April 15, 2008 at 3am EST / 12am PST
• April 16, 2008 at 6pm EST / 3pm PST
• April 17, 2008 at 12pm EST / 9am PST
• April 18, 2008 at 12am EST / 9pm PST

Current.com/Portishead:

• April 8, 2008 at midnight EST/ 9am PST (band interview)
• April 11, 2008 at 10pm EST / 7pm PST (band performance)

“Current is thrilled to serve as Portishead’s premier broadcast partner for this special performance,” said David Neuman, President of Programming for Current. “This partnership reinforces Current’s mission to spotlight extraordinary artists and their music.”

As the destination for anything and everything music-related, Current TV provides a variety of original and innovative music programming that utilizes everything from in-depth artist interviews, music blogs, and cell phone camera images and videos to audience-generated concert films, music festival coverage and more to gives its viewers the chance to hear the latest music news, catch up with established artists and discover emerging ones from around the world. Viewers have the choice of tuning into any of the following music programs on Current: “Fix Extended Play,” “Current Fix,” “The Daily Fix,” “All Eyes,”
“Current Playlist,” and “Current Events.”

About Current
Launched August 1, 2005, Current, the world’s peer-to-peer news and information network, recently honored with an Emmy® Award for its interactive television service, is the first fully integrated 27/7 online and television network that helps users determine the news and information that is relevant to them. Current connects young adults with what’s going on in their world through its unique blend of citizen journalism and viewer participation, offering programming and content that’s authentic, often surprising and consistently compelling. Current pioneered the television industry’s leading model of interactive viewer created content (VC2) that comprises roughly one-third of Current’s on-air broadcast. The network has also advanced advertising models via Viewer Created Ad Messages (VCAMS).

Current is now seen in the U.S. and U.K. in more than 51 million households through distribution partners Comcast (Channel 107 nationwide), Time Warner (nationwide), DirecTV (channel 366 nationwide), Dish Network (channel 196 nationwide), BSkyB (channel 193) and Virgin Media Cable (channel 155). For more information, please visit the website: www.current.com <http://www.current.com/> .

Our friends over @ Blog Fresh Radio have their latest broadcast up for you as of today. If you haven’t checked them out yet, you might want to take a few moments to do so. Listen to some of the most interesting music that bloggers around the blog o’ sphere have discovered and hear why they are drawn to these sounds. Some guy we have come to like as of recent, Cubik Musik, has a bit to say about Lady Pterodactyl in this recent episode and there is a little mention of our little party coming up during the week of SXSW. You can expect more on Blog Fresh Radio supporting our upcoming party called Above the Radar over the next couple of weeks. Tune in to Blog Fresh Radio every week for a new show.

BLOGFRESH PLAYLIST

1. PETE & THE PIRATES – “Mr. Understanding”
2. THE SUPERIMPOSERS – “Kicking Around”
3. EUGENE FRANCIS JNR – “Poor Me
4. PEASANT – “The Wind”
5. FOALS – “Cassius
6. –BLOG FRESH CHART–
7. CHART SELECTION: MAN MAN – ‘Top Drawer’
8. LADY PTERODACTYL – “Love To Hate You”

Color of Sound is an interesting project which presented 5 different musicians/groups with a color, asked them to write a song with that color in mind, and then presented each color/song combination to 5 filmmakers for them to construct a video. Interesting enough? One of my new fav bands over the last year, The Blakes were asked to take part in this project, being assigned the color Blue. They wrote a catchy little song called ‘Magic’, which happens to sound a bit like this little band called The Beatles.

Also included in this project are The Raveonettes, Dntel, Marie Digby, and Swizz Beatz.

Go to Sound of Color.com and check out the songs, the videos for the songs, videos of behind the scene making of the videos, etc, etc, etc…. It’s fun stuff.

Another fun interactive video from the kids in Arcade Fire for the song “Black Mirror”. It’s kinda fun actually, as you control the audio mix while watching the video. I’m guessing if I worked some office job, I’d probably piss off my boss to no end messing around with this kind of stuff.

If you aren’t familar with switchburn.com, then here is the perfect excuse to check out what these fine folks are doing. Switchburn is an Austin based film company dedicated to supporting the indie-rock scene with their unique style of video shots taken at live performances. They film bands like Black Angels, Shout Out Louds, Trail of Dead, Dan Deacon, and they put some of the footage up for your viewing pleasure. The uniqueness lies in the 3 camera shot that they use. The video contains three different angles of the performance that play back simultaneously. Check em out!

And for those who want to relive the incredible party that Dan Deacon put on the other night, or if you want to see what you missed then check it here: Dan Deacon live @ Emo’s

Stayed tuned for more about Switchburn.

Don’t forget about the Radiohead widget which features all the latest in video and tour dates. Take it with you and share.

Cities Please:

Atlanta
Boston
Charlotte
Chicago
Cleveland
Dallas
Houston
Indianapolis
Los Angeles
Miami
Montreal
New York
Philadelphia
San Diego
San Francisco
Santa Barbara
Seattle
St Louis
Tampa
Toronto
Vancouver
Washington DC

Our friends over @ KEXP have put together a sweet little contest/sweepstake which should be of interest to anyone living outside of the Austin area. Hell, it’s a good deal for anyone living in Austin as well, but the flight wouldn’t last long enough for peanuts and a cocktail. A $35 pledge to the station gets you in for the drawing, and giving these guys money is a great idea even if there isn’t a prize involved. They are the prize. Where else can you hear Band of Horses followed up by KISS?

KEXP and Live Historic Vintage Condominiums would like to fly you and a guest to the 2008 South by Southwest Music Festival, March 12th to the 16th, in Austin, Texas. Win airfare, hotel, passes to the festival by making a gift of $35 or more today.

The fly away to 2008 South by Southwest Music Festival package includes:

- Badges access for two to festival
- Airfare for two from anywhere within continental US to Austin, TX
- Hotel accommodations for four nights
- VIP credentials to KEXP live performances

Go here for complete rules and details

I know that I’m putting two shows in recommendation for Friday night 1.4.08, but my friends in Lions are playing Emo’s Free Week, and if you feel like getting your face rocked off, then this is where you should be. The guys released No Generation this past year and continue to ride high on the release garnering positive media attention even months after it’s release, and they tour their butts off, recently opening for The Toadies. They also have a song on Guitar Hero III, how much more rockin’ does it get?

No Generation

January 4 (Friday)

Outside: Lions / Brothers and Sisters / A Few Nice Things / Strange Attractors / Alright Tonight

Inside: Those Peabodys / Ugly Beats / Black Joe Lewis / Transmography

Lounge: Hex Dispensers / Ape Shits / The Teeners / Party Garbage / Scrabble Robot

Read on for the lineups for the remainder of FREE WEEK @ Emos

January 5 (Saturday)

Outside: Strange Boys / The Crack Pipes/ Zykos / Brazos / Lalaland

Inside: Cruiserweight / The Applicators / The Little Bicycles / Masonic / The Anchor

Lounge: Car Stereo (Wars) / Moth! Fight! / Quiet, Lovely / La Snacks (sponsored by partyends.com)

January 6 (Sunday)

Inside: UME / Red Leaves / Tre Orsi / Sharks and Sailors / Follow That Bird!

Lounge: Til We’re Blue or Destroy / Bee vs. Moth / Frank Smith / Benko / Noise Revival Orchestra

January 7 (Monday)

Inside: Scorpion Child / Big Black Smoke / Consider The Source / Panther Zora / Cobretti

Lounge: Pleasant Grove/ Hollywood Gossip/ The Easies/ Many Birthdays / History at Our Disposal

January 8 (Tuesday)

Outside: At All Cost / Rory and the Artificial Heart / Radioland Murders / AUX / Monuments

Inside: Pack of Wolves / Warwolf / The Roller / Disgruntled I Hate You Face / Confuzatron

Lounge: Kissinger / The Midgetmen / Nathan Singleton and His Sideshow Tragedy / The Blind Pets

January 9 (Wednesday)

Outside: Australian Cattle God Showcase : Snake Trap / Megazilla / Good Times Crisis Band / A Formatik Ontact / Red X Red M / Manikin

Inside: Australian Cattle God Showcase: Australian Cattle God Showcase : Gorch Fock / When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth / Tia Carrera / Lick Lick / Cat Scientist / Migas

Lounge: Translations / Peel / P.D. Wilder / Nectarine

January 10 (Thursday)

Outside: Crash Gallery / LAX / The Laughing / Death Is Not a Joyride / Snafu Kitties

Inside: Rubble / Dazzling King Solomon / Cavedweller / Bridges and Blinking Lights

Lounge: Ringo Deathstarr / My Education / The Boxing Lesson / Horse + Donkey / The Story Of