Epic, Fail OR Epic Fail?

Now at the bottom of each post is a simple set of choices on the overall posting. Let me know if you liked/loved it (Epic), not your thing (Fail) or hated it and are now contemplating never listening to music again because of me (Epic Fail). I want to get your guys input so I can start tailoring the posts to the music you like. It's real simple so please give it a try...maybe even leave a comment or two.

Best,
MD

Introducing: The Big Pink

(Milo Cordell and Robbie Furze of The Big Pink)

The Big Pink are about to blow up. With only a handful of singles released, including the excellent "Dominos" off their upcoming release, A Brief History of Love to be released September 15th, these two London boys have already lined up a slew of European festival dates including huge festivals like Glastonbury and Leading and worked with legendary producer, Alan Moulder (of My Bloody Valentine, Smashing Pumpkins) on the brilliant, "Velvet". Milo Cordell and Robbie Furze have created a sound that they believe "marries an anthemic pop sensibility with fiery digital experimentalism" and I tend to agree. These guys grew up on Oasis, Blur and some Stone Roses and married it with an electronic wall of sound. Milo also runs and owns the UK indie label, Merok Records that has put out some of the best indie music in the last few years from new wave ravers the Klaxons to the exciting young electronic act Crystal Castles to one of my favorite new indie rock bands, Titus Andronicus (which may require their own post on last year's brilliant and epic, The Airing of Grievances) Could these guys be more destined for greatness??

The single, "Dominos", bleeds with the confidence of Oasis and the influence is obvious, but the result is uniquely their own. This is anthemic song if I have ever heard one - a single guy's anthem at its core, but one that I think can be appreciated by all. I have been blasting this one with the windows down non-stop. Check it out on the band's website (free download): http://musicfromthebigpink.com/

"Velvet" is more complicated with lush electronic sounds creating a intricate wall of sound behind the (this time) more vulnerable sounding lead singer, Furze. The album is called A Brief History of Love and this song delves much deeper into the complex emotion of love - this is The Big Pink showing some of their lyrical promise. The end is just perfect - pulling back the music to just minimal procussions around the 3:10 mark revisting the opening lyrics then driving with its Bloody Valentine heavily distorted guitars towards a epic climax. Check out the original: LINK and the Gang Gang Dance (an excellent band that will continue to make appearances on this blog) remix that allows the lyrics to stand on their own until it ultimately explodes into GGD's brilliant weirdness at the 3:00 mark and never looks back: LINK

Also, check out The Big Pink's myspace page (http://www.myspace.com/musicfromthebigpink) and the pictures that consist of their About The Big Pink section as you scroll down on the right. Some beautiful images and insight into the bands inspiration. Here's one photo to leave you with:

Enjoy,
MD

Swedish Breezy Electro-Pop: A Primer

(Swedish band, The Tough Alliance)

Some of the best breezy, beachy Summer jams for the last few years has been coming from a city with highs in the 60s all summer long and only a half million people. Gothenburg, Sweden is the country's second largest city and home to Scandinavia's largest university (University of Gothenburg) so it is not strange for it to be breeding ground for music, but the music makes you think they don't spend a minute away from a beach, pool or BBQ. This city must be the happeist place on Earth. Over the past few years albums by Studio, The Tough Alliance (both with their own record labels) and new comers Air France have been laying down some of the most beauitfully textured eclectronic pop songs of recent with incredible circular, looping samples that give the songs the feeling of perpetual bliss. I have presented some brilliant songs along this "loopy electro-pop" genre (a term I have coined for better or worse) from Beach Boy revivalists Panda Bear (of Animal Collective) and Brandon Cox as well as Delorean on Friday. Here are some more brilliant and fun summer jams from Sweden:

Air France - deriving their songs equally from Brian Wilson and electronic sampling pioneers, The Avalanches, their album No Way Down is hit after hit of summer jams. These site presents 3 of my favorites including "June Evenings" with its angelic vocals, riffing horns and understated driving percussions (listen closely to the xylophone-esque beats in the backround)...just heavenly LINK

The Tough Alliance - owners of Sincerely Yours, the label that also includes Air France are one of the pioneers of this uniquely Swedish take on electro-pop. Check out their tunes on their myspace: http://www.myspace.com/toughalliancemusic. Their latest album A New Chance is a must have CD. Brings in some great elements of 80s, some Primal Scream Screamadelica and Carribean island isntrumentation...love it.


Studio - stand on their own in this category. They form the missing link between the late 80s early 90s Cure (you will hear some Robert Smith in singer's voice), afrobeat and disco. Their songs take on more sonic exploration than the other two above and less loopiness. These songs tend to twist and turn while always maintaining an underlying cohesiveness. Probably my favorite of the three and that is saying a lot. Check the brilliant album, West Coast, it blew my mind when I first heard it. Check out the epic, "Life's A Beach" (appropriate summer jam title) and the Dan Lissvik (one half of Studio) remix of a great Fever Ray track, "When I Grow Up": LINK

Just writting this up has got me hooked on Studio again - it will be spinning in my car all week now.

Enjoy,
MD

Summer Weekend Jam

(Ayrton Senna EP by Delorean)

Haven't been able to post all I would like today, but should have a few good ones up Monday so come back and check it out.

In the meantime, check out this sweet, silky, loopy bit of summery goodness from Delorean called "Seasun". Their EP cover has flying carrots on it - how can it not be good. Delorean hail from Barcelona which has been developing quite the music scene these days. Along with El Guincho (another great artist from the Gaudian mecca), they can give Panda Bear and Atlas Sound (the brilliant "Walkabout" posted below) a run at best breezy summer fare. If you like this, check out the primer I will have on loopy electro pop on Monday. You have heard from the Americans and Spaniards...Monday it is the Swedes (and they are just killing it in this genre).

I have been playing "Seasun" all day and don't plan on stopping (free download at Pitchfork here): LINK

Check out some other great jams and remixes on their myspace: http://www.myspace.com/deloreandanz.

Enjoy,
MD

Thom Yorke and the Twilight Sequel Soundtrack?

(Thom Yorke bitten by Twilight)

Two things I never thought I would hear in the same sentence let alone coming from the same person, but it appears that Thom Yorke wrote a NEW song for the Twilight sequel, New Moon. Never did I think I would be writing about Twilight on this blog, but hey if there is new Radiohead / Thom Yorke news it is going to on here whether or not it shocks my core values. Not only does it appear that Thom Yorke will be contributing new material, but one of the most exciting new artists from last year Bon Iver (pronounced bo-nee-VAIR) also seems to be in on the soundtrack too. This could be shaping up to be one of the most exciting music releases later this year (WTF?? Am I writing this?). New Moon director, Chris Weitz, did helm About A Boy, the excellent adaptation of the Nick Hornby book that is steeped in music (like all Hornby books) with the music soundtrack all composed by Badly Drawn Boy (check out this film if you have not seen it). So maybe just maybe it is in good hands...we shall see I guess.

If you are not familiar with Bon Iver, you must check out his debut album, For Emma Forever Ago. It is hauntingly beautiful and moving acoustic guitar based music with complex textures. The songs are perfect for a dark Autumn or Winter day but I managed to fall in love with it listening to it on the beach last summer so I guess it works for all seasons. You can download "Skinny Love", one of the best songs of last year for free on Bon Iver's website: LINK

Enjoy,
MD

The Lost Art Form - Music Videos: Radiohead

Do you remember when music videos meant something? Now with music videos relegated to back channels of MTV or other smaller networks, most videos are typically viewed online and don't draw the same kind of driectoral talent they used to. Music videos used to be a breeding ground for up and coming directors. I came across two of my all-time favorite music videos this morning - "Karma Police" by Radiohead (directed by Jonathan Glazer, later went on to direct Sexy Beast with Ben Kingsley) and "Knives Out" (also by Radiohead) by director Michael Gondry of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind fame. Both are reminders of the power of the visual music video art form. So brilliant.



With "Knives Out", you can see the beginnings of Gondry's surrealist directorial style and some of his inspiration for Eternal Sunshine. Amazingly this is all shot in one take!



If you are interested in some more of the brilliant Radiohead music video catalog, check out the music blog, Pop Tarts Suck Toasted LINK for a list of their top 10. This is one of my favorite music blogs out there so definitely give it a visit.

I plan to continue to bring back some of the music video classics for your viewing enjoyment.

Enjoy,
MD

Some More Great Tracks From the Year So Far...

Going through some of the blogspheres best of 2009 (so far) lists has only furthered my view that this has been a truly fantastic year in music - such a good one in fact, I have managed to overlook some unbelievable songs. One such song is by the brilliant Sufjan Stevens, "You are the Blood" LINK from the compilation album, Dark Was The Night. This album has been one of the highlights of the year so far with contributions from almost everyone that is relevant today in indie rock. Buy the whole thing as proceeds go to the Red Hot Organization which raises money and awareness for HIV and AIDS.

Here is the rest of the top 50 list where that Sufjan song sat at number 4 LINK. It is from Pretty Much Amazing (http://prettymuchamazing.com/), one of the best music blogs out there - you will notice (particularly on the top bunch) a bit of overlap with my list from last week. All of the tracks are available for full stream so a great chance to sample some of the best of the year.

Another highlight:
#5 "Summertime Clothes" by Animal Collective (Merriweather Post Pavillion is sitting currently in my number 1 album of the year position and it would take a miracle or a Radiohead album to take it down from that spot before year end)

Enjoy,
MD

Everything You Need to Know About (EYNTKA): James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem)

Background:
James Murphy is one of my musical heroes. He co-founded and co-owns, DFA Records, the best electronic music label in North America with his production partner, Tim Goldsworthy (another musical genius). Pioneering the electronic-infused dance-rock movement, the two of them have produced records for The Rapture, The Juan MacLean and Hot Chip (all on their label DFA) - everything they touch turns to gold. Murphy was also behind the brilliant remix of M.I.A's "Paper Planes" used in Slumdog Millionaire LINK. If it only stopped there. James IS LCD Soundsystem the best artist on the whole damn label and my favorite electronic artist making music today.

Trivia:
Coming out of college as an English major, Murphy almost quit his musical pursuits for a career as a television writer when he was offered a job as the first staff writer on a new sitcom. What a disaster that would have been. Well not a total disaster as that "new sitcom" was THE sitcom, Seinfeld. I think it worked out alright for everyone involved.

"Losing My Edge":
This is the single that started it all for LCD Soundsystem in 2002. Before James Murphy released this, he was DJing parties him and Tim were throwing in the Lower East Side - spinning tunes by electronic and rock pioneers like Can and Liquid Liquid. Soon he became the "in" DJ and soon found others were starting to cop from his style. Murphy started becoming something he thought he hated, saying things like "I was playing that record years ago" and feeling like he owned that music in someway. Well fortunately for us James took that as motivation and turned it into the absolutely brilliant "Losing My Edge". It is a nearly eight minute long masterpiece combining genuine vulnerability of feeling like he could lose his newfound coolness at any moment while also masterfully satirizing the whole silliness of the hipster scene. Murphy says the song was born out of both feelings of "inadequacy and love".

Favorite line (among many brilliant ones): "I heard you have a compilation of every good song ever done by anybody. " Check it out: LINK

News:
James Murphy is currently in the studio working on a follow-up to Sound of Silver due early next year. He also just finished production on the debut album by Free Energy, 70s classic rock sound that would have fit perfectly on the Dazed and Confused soundtrack. And what do you know, but the first two tracks released are pure sonic bliss - James Murphy can do no wrong. Oh and he loves cow bell.

Check out Free Energy's "Free Energy": LINK

Album / Song Highlights:
LCD Soundsystem (2005) - "Daft Punk is Playing at My House", "Losing My Edge", really just every single track
Sound of Silver (2007) - "All My Friends" (best song of 2007...just a brilliant and uplifting song about friendship) and all others on this one too. LINK

Enjoy,
MD

Sweet Summer Jam For The Weekend

(Weird new cover of the upcoming Atlas Sound album, Logos - reminds me of a re-imagining of Munch's The Scream)

Two of the biggest names and most critically adored, Noah Lennox (of Panda Bear and Animal Collective fame) and Brandon Cox (Atlas Sound and Deerhunter) collaborate on a breezy, summer jam, "Walkabout" in the Brian Wilson Beach Boys mold - that's enough to get me to listen (quite frankly even blindly post it). This loopy electronic and tweaked out organ sample is the perfect way to take in the summer rays this weekend. I will be playing this on repeat poolside.

Free download at Pitchfork here: LINK
The new Atlas Sound album, Logos, is out October 20th.

Enjoy,
MD

Grizzly Bear absolutely kills it on Letterman!

Led by singer Ed Droste's staggeringly beautiful crescendos and the perfectly complimenting string section, Grizzly Bear put up just an insane peformance of "Ready, Able", making me seriously reconsider my "inconsistent" comment about the Veckatimest album as a whole (this was not one of my favorites...til now). Make sure you make it to the 3:40 mark for the plucked violin solo...Bela Fleck-esque and genius.



Enjoy,
MD

New Thom Yorke Song!

One thing that should be expected from this blog is ALL things new (and some old) related to Radiohead - reasonable considering they are my favorite band. Well today streaming over at Stereogum (a excellent music site if you are not familiar with it already) is a Thom Yorke cover of a Miracle Legion song, "All For The Best" - it is haunting beautiful and in the vein of Thom Yorke's brilliant solo album, The Eraser. Before today I had never heard of Mark Mulcahy or Miracle Legion (their career appears to have been mired with legal issues), but their influence was clearly felt by some of my favorite artists like Michael Stipe and The National (both participating on this benefit album) and obviously Yorke who sees Mulcahy as one of his vocal mentors (high praise from one of the most emotionally captivating voices in music). Mark Mulcahy's wife recently passed away unexpectedly leaving Mark to raise his twin 3 year old daugthers. Part of the proceeds from this album are going to help him and his family.



Thom Yorke's cover streaming here: LINK
The original can be heard here: LINK

Below are the lyrics - easy to see why Mark Mulcahy was such an influential artist. These lyrics are brilliant:

All For the Best

waking up, and the bed was made
no one looked me in the eye
the more I try, the more I cry
and it's all for the best

watched my brother cutting grass outside
Sitting on the porch, he told me
it's a long way to go
before we can rest
and it's all for the best

You're so beautiful it's a sin
On a lonely lazy morning
And when I see you rocking back and forth
Whispering that it's all for the best

one day the storm will roll away
and soon you'll see
you're far away from home but never far away from me
and that's all for the best

and say you love me

Promise me, son, not to do the things I've done
and walk away from trouble at the end of the day

Promise me, son, not to do the things I've done
and walk away from trouble at the end of the day

Promise me, son, not to do the things I've done
and walk away from trouble at the end of the day

Say you love me
Say you love me
Say you love me
Say you love me
Say you love me
Let's just say you love me

Introducing: The Pains of Being Pure At Heart & Girls

Introducing is new section that really speaks for itself - introducing new artists. These are artists with at most one full-length LP that NEED to be listened to. Typically, as is the case here, they will also be playing an awesome small LA or NYC venue (In this case, both The Pains of Being Pure At Heart and Girls will be playing the Echo in Echo Park on THIS Monday, July 20th and there are will be tickets sold at the door for $14 Info here: LINK)


The Pains of Being Pure At Heart released their self-titled debut LP earlier this year to rave reviews and for good reason. As their name suggests this is unabashed pop music about love and loss, but their encyclopedic music knowledge and use of influences ranging from showgazers, Jesus & Mary Chain to dreamy dancy guitar pop of early Smiths gels to create one of the most enjoyable start to finish listens of the year. It came out in February but this is summer top-down driving music at its best. Check out "Everything With You" and "Come Saturday" free on their website: http://www.thepainsofbeingpureatheart.com/music/

More tour news including an October 3rd show at Webster Hall in NYC here: LINK

Girls is opening up for TPOBPAH and play acoustic guitar driven beach rock with a lead singer with both the voice and (so far) some of the wit of Elvis Costello. This San Francisco based group will release their full length debut, Album, September 22nd. Good thing their songs are more original than their band or album names. Check out "Hellhole Ratrace" (now that's getting more original) one of the song's of 2008 that will be included on the LP release: LINK

Enjoy,
MD

Julian Casablancas is cryptic

Lead singer of the Strokes, Julian Casablancas, becomes the final member of the band to venture into a solo project. Video below is the teaser for his new album that drops this fall entitled Phrazes for the Young. No idea if this is representative of the sound to be expected on the album, but the video is sweet regardless. Another Strokes album would be nice as well.




Enjoy,
MD

Everything You Need to Know About (EYNTKA): Phoenix

I am introducing a new section that will be a recurring one on this blog, Everything You Need to Know About or EYNTKA. This section is intended for all of us that are too busy and ADD in this digital world to build a holistic and all-knowing history and catalog of songs from the best artists out there, but still want to have the highlights and talking points to hang at that hipster cocktail party later tonight. It is like Wikipedia, if Wikipedia was only concerned about you sounding cool. Here's Phoenix.

(Lead singer Thomas Mars at the Wiltern)

History / Trivia:
One of the two guitarists, Laurent Brancowitz, started out in a Beach Boys inspired guitar band with the two electronic geniuses that would later become Daft Punk (both paths worked out pretty well).

Cocktail Party Key Talking Points:
"While "Love Like A Sunset" isn't one of my go-to tracks when I am spinning the album, seeing it performed live showed it to be their most complex and brilliant to date. You know their motivation for the song was sonically recreating the rhythmic experience of the road and lights through a tunnel in between Paris and Versailles. Only took them two years." (This song is absolutely brilliant by the way - check it out: LINK)

Albums / Song Highlights / Cliff Notes Description:
Untitled (2000) - "Too Young" / "If I Ever Feel Better" - Glossy electro-pop
Alphabetical (2004) - "Everything is Everything" / "Run Run Run" (A personal favorite) - stripped down R&B, blues and jazz infused rock.
It's Never Been Like That (2006) - "Napoleon Says" / "Long Distance Call" - crisp electronic infused guitar driven rock: think Johnny Marr meets Strokes meets Air.
Wolfgang Amedeus Phoenix (2009) - Highlights in my Top 10 (and let's be honest this whole album is a highlight - just get it) - this album is pop perfection

Best remixes (If you are listening to and quoting remixes then you have to know alot about the original stuff right??):
Long Distance Call (25 Hours A Day Remix) LINK
1901 (Alan Wilkis Remix) LINK

Upcoming Tour Dates:
LA - Greek Theatre (one of the best venues in LA - soon to have its own write-up on this blog) on 9/16 - GET TICKETS TO THIS IMMEDIATELY
NYC - Rumsey Playfield Central Park on 9/25 ( I am probably going to this one too)
Other cities check out their myspace: http://www.myspace.com/wearephoenix

Enjoy,
MD

Top 10 Tracks of the Year So Far...

So far 2009 has proven to be an extremely exciting year in music. New albums from Animal Collective and Dirty Projectors (some possible foreshadowing here) proved their most accessible and in my humble opinion most exciting to date - brilliantly weaving their experimental sounds into a cohesive pop structure. The results were incredible. Phoenix, another band with an exciting past catalog, put out the pop album of the year - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - I am still spinning it non-stop. While other bands like Grizzly Bear and Bat for Lashes continued to tweak with their sound, providing songs with rich textures and layered instrumentation. Let's hope the second half of this year can prove to be half as exciting as this:


10. Discovery: Orange Shirt - Discovery combines the talents of two young and exciting bands, Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend and Wes Miles of Ra Ra Riot, in a completely different genre - electronic infused R&B. This song makes for the perfect summer jam. LINK



9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Skeletons - Another solid album by the Karen O fronted group, this time with distorted guitars replaced with 80s synths. The surprising change works brilliantly with Karen O's expressive voice, particularly on this track (like a more mature and developed "Maps")
Check out the album here: LINK




8. Handsome Furs: I'm Confused - Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade fame released his second album, Face Control under his Handsome Furs side project. He can croon like Springsteen and the minimalist electronic beats mixed with his guitar work has lead to some of the most exciting and fun music from the year so far. LINK



7. Passion Pit - Moth's Wings: What started off as a Valetine's Day gift EP to lead singer Michael Angelakos' girlfriend has become one of the prominent up and coming bands. Moth's Wings, off the bands first LP, is epic and grandiose. There is no attempt to hide this band's ambitions and if they keep writing songs this damn good there is no doubt they will continue to blow up. LINK




6. Bat for Lashes - Daniel: Natasha Khan (aka Bat For Lashes) has shown tremendous growth on her second album. She has the most hauntingly beautiful (and my favorite) voice in indie music today - like the second coming of Kate Bush. This song is absolutely brilliant and we are only at number 6...what a year. LINK





5. Phoenix - Lisztomania: Phoenix has always been a band in transformation from the electro pop of their debut with songs like "Too Young" to the Television and Johnny Marr influenced glossy guitar rock of It's Never Been Like That. Phoenix continues it progression and crystallizes it with Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. This is the pop album of the year and Lisztomania is the best 80s song of 2009. LINK



4. Grizzly Bear - While You Wait For the Others: One of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year, Veckatimest, provides some of the most beautiful songs of the year. For me the album is a bit inconsistent, but when it peaks it does so in epic style. While You Wait For the Others is a breakup anthem and the vocal harmonies at the 3:00 mark are just pure sonic bliss. LINK




3. Phoenix - 1901: As I said this is the pop album of the year for me (and by far my most played). 1901 is its pinnacle, just an aural assault. I LOVE this song...can't believe it is only my number 3. This is better than anything to come out in 2008. LINK






2. Dirty Projectors: Stillness is the Move - This is what would have happened if Mariah Carey sang on a jazzy R&B indie tune back in the 90s. How did no one thing to mix that combination?? Probably because it sounds insane, but Dirty Projectors' Dave Longstreth is a musical prodigy already collaborating with the likes of David Byrne (Talking Heads) and Bjork so lets just say he pulls it off and then some. "Honey" doesn't have anything on this jam. LINK



1. Animal Collective: My Girls - I truly do not know how to articulate the genius of this song. This isn't just my favorite song of the past half year, but also my favorite of the past half decade. The simple and beautiful lyrics and message "Isn't much that I feel I need...just four walls and adobe slabs for my girls" allow for the complex sonic textures to bring that message to life. This song is proof of the power of music. Listen to this one at full volume, preferably while driving with the windows down. LINK

Honorable Mentions:
Drake - Best I Ever Had
Japandroids - Young Hearts Spark Fire
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Young Adult Friction
Bibio - Lover's Cravings, Fire Ant, Haikuesque (too brilliant of a whole album to choose just one) - see my earlier post on this album
Dead Prez vs. Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks of Hip Hop LINK
Bat For Lashes - Use Somebody (Kings of Leon cover) LINK

Best of LA venues - Troubadour

Might as well start with the best (and my personal favorite). The Troubadour just oozes history - from its first year seeing comedy idol Lenny Bruce arrested on obscenity charges to launching the careers of the Byrds, James Taylor, Elton John to the stage that saw Radiohead perform songs from OK Computer for the first time on US soil (wish I was there for that one). This year has already seen Animal Collective debuting Merriweather Post Pavillion (one of the best shows of my life), Dirty Projectors and Grizzly Bear. The setting is intimate (maybe 250 people) and the best part - you can fax in your orders to avoid the insane ticketmaster fees. Visit the website to check out upcoming shows: link

Upcoming announced shows that are must sees:
July 24 - La Roux (the new Robyn/Annie/Little Boots - the perfect artist for remixing). This remix is a really cool stripped down dubstep version of "In for the Kill": link

Others of note:
August 28 - Gang Gang Dance (this remix they did of The Big Pink is fire: link)
September 15 - Fanfarlo (check out "Harold T. Wilkins": link)

Enjoy,
MD

Production Genius

Bibio, a Boards of Canada disciple, started his career making soundscapes in the vein of his idols focusing on making music composed of as lo-tech and natural music devices as possible. His latest, Ambivalence Avenue, bursts out of that mold with one of the most diverse set of productions to come out in years. Bibio channels J Dilla on "Fire Ant" and a Panda Bear meets Os Mutantes on Lover's Carvings. At first blush the two songs don't feel part of the same genre let alone the same album but there is an underlying cohesiveness to Ambivalence Avenue even as he goes through influences as far-ranging as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young ("Abrasion") and Daft Punk ("S'Vive"). Just brilliant.

Check out "Fire Ant" and "Lover's Cravings": link
Download his title track off Warp Records website (need to sign up for the newsletter): link

-MD

Starts Off With a Bang

So here is my mission statement: Cut through the mess of music blogsphere and only provide you with the very best. Nothing here will be original and all the posts will most likely lead you to another site where I got the info / music in the first place. But originality is overrated and really impossible, so I shall editorialize. Only the best from indie rock, hip-hop, experimental, electronic music and all the LA and NYC tour news you need.

Hope you enjoy,
MD