Month: October 2013 Page 1 of 2

It’s Thursday (and Halloween!), which means it’s time for another weekly dip into the pool of music news, interviews and videos that I like to call This Week In Music! Yes, in addition to the normal Pick Your Poison mp3s and Soundcloud streams, I like to toss out links to a bunch of other music-related content that I’ve found interesting or worthwhile over the course of the week. I encourage you to check some, if not all of these things out, particularly if you’re looking to waste some time. There’s plenty to see, read and hear:

Watch Odd Future (including Tyler, the Creator and Earl Sweatshirt) in a short Halloween-related film “The Ghost of the Hotel”

Music Video: A$AP Rocky – Angels

Read Laurie Anderson’s obituary of her husband, Lou Reed

Music Video: MGMT – Alien Days

Watch “Little Duck,” a short film by James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem

James Blake has won the 2013 Barclaycard Mercury Prize

Watch Julianna Barwick perform new song “Ash Day” with the help of some kids in Iceland

Music Video: Best Coast – I Don’t Know How

Watch Broken Bells’ short film “After the Disco,” starring Kate Mara and Anton Yelchin

Music Video: Savages – Marshall Dear

Once you’re done with that set of distractions, let me offer up another set via some spooooky song downloads and streams. Don’t miss tracks from The Appleseed Collective, The Fratellis, Killing Fields of Ontario, My Darling Fury, perth and Stanton Warriors. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream cuts from Grizzly Bear, Katy B, LIZ, Magic Trick, Mutual Benefit and Painted Palms.

The Appleseed Collective – The Inability to Feel

The Aquaducks – This Far

Fast Romantics – Friends

The Fratellis – Halloween Blues

The Julie Ruin – Right Home (YACHT Remix)

Killing Fields of Ontario – Nothing to Be Frightened Of

Manicanparty – Bow Through My Heart

My Darling Fury – Blots in the Margins

Parkington Sisters – In the Pines

perth – Greasy Moon

Slick Shoota – F Dat (ft. Purple)

Smokey Robotic – Lady’s Scream

Stanton Warriors – Twilight

Until the Ribbon Breaks – 2025 (Alfi Remix)

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What are you up to next Wednesday, November 6th? If you’re in Chicago and want to see a great psychedelic rock show, I strongly encourage you to come out to the Empty Bottle for Secret Colours, Elephant Stone and The Besnard Lakes. Almost one year ago, Chicago’s own Secret Colours also played a show with Montreal’s Elephant Stone at Beat Kitchen, and the results were nothing short of mindblowing. The difference between then and now? Well, Secret Colours released their second album Peach this past summer, taking their psychedelic sound to a whole new level that eclipses their previous work. Stream that entire record if you don’t believe me. Elephant Stone has been plenty busy in 2013 too, and unleashed their self-titled second record upon an unsuspecting public this past February, and touring almost nonstop to support it. In case you’re not familiar, the band is led by bassist/sitarist Rishi Dhir, and their sound has been compared to the Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Black Angels, both of which Dhir has been a member of (officially or unofficially) at one time or another. Perhaps the best way to get introduced to Elephant Stone though is through this free compilation they’ve put together via Noisetrade. Give that a try and then tell me you’re still not on board with the band. I won’t believe you. In part because the Montreal music scene is so supportive of one another (shout out to Arcade Fire), Elephant Stone actually cancelled/changed some of their tour dates this fall in order to spend more time on the road with their friends The Besnard Lakes, who also put out an album this past spring called Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO. That’s a heady title, but The Besnard Lakes are a heady band. Their previous records The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse and The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night are downright heroic pieces of carefully orchestrated and epic psych-rock, which has earned them more praise and a greater spotlight than you might expect. The main duo of Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas have proven truly masterful in their craft, and as their new record shows, they aren’t afraid to take some risks either. While things have gotten a little more subdued and a little less commercially viable, the spirit of their past efforts stays true. Check out the videos for their tracks “Colour Yr Lights In” and “People of the Sticks” to get a good idea of what the band has been up to these days. All that said, all three bands are going to destroy the Bottle next Wednesday, and you should be there. It’s a 21+ show, starts at 9, and tickets are $12 in advance. Buy them here. Now then, onto today’s Pick Your Poison business. Don’t miss tracks from Chad Kichula, CUSCINO, Mount Pressmore, Psapp, Way Yes and Weathered. After the jump, the Soundcloud section has audio streams of songs from Beachwood Sparks, Vex Ruffin, and White Fence, as well as Matthew Dear’s remix of Jagwar Ma, and Twin Shadow’s remix of SKATERS.

Chad Kichula – Me This Time

CUSCINO – Walking in the Garden

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros – Life Is Hard (Teen Daze Remix)

Lady – Good Lovin’ (HyGrade Remix)

A Million Billion Dying Suns – Strawberry Letter 23 (Shuggie Otis cover)

Mount Pressmore – Dry Land

Phuture Doom – Doom Terror Corps

Ocean Liner – Swan Song

Psapp – Everything Belongs to the Sun

This Silent Forest – Root to the Seed

Thomas Azier – Ghostcity (Pyramid Remix)

Unlike Pluto – Plutonian MoonBrain

Way Yes – Holy Drop

Weathered – Coast

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We’ve hit another Tuesday, where I’m once again pleased to bring you a quick rundown of artists with brand new music coming out this week. The hope is to either inform you about what’s out there, but also to maybe even remind you if one of your favorite artists is putting out something new and you simply forgot about it. So without further ado, here’s your list for this week: 65DaysofStatic, Arcade Fire, Audacity, Autechre, Bad Religion, Bardo Pond, Body Parts, Botany, Boy and Bear, Brad Laner, The Chills, Chris Forsyth, The Devil Makes Three, Diane Coffee, DJ Rashad, Dovetail, Far-Out Fangtooth, Giant Squid, Hellogoodbye, Jonwayne, Juana Molina, Kid606, Los Lobos, Maria Taylor, Meanest Man Contest, Minor Alps, Miracle, Monster Rally, Moonface, Mount Kimbie, The Necks, New Alchemy, Painted Caves, Protest the Hero, Purling Hiss, Rickolus, Roy Harper, Russian Circles, Son Lux, The Sounds, This Will Destroy You, Tiger! Shit! Tiger! Tiger!, Twin Peaks, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Upset, White Denim, Widowspeak, Yamantaka // Sonic Titan, Yuna and Zodiac. There’s a couple of really strong records in this stack for this week, so please make some purchases via your favorite digital or physical retailer! Now let’s get to today’s Pick Your Poison, where you can discover even more hot new music. Some key tracks you’ll want to give attention to today come from Ayer, The Bixby Knolls, Coastguard, Gem Club, Radstewart, Son of Stan, Tara Jane O’Neil and Yeah Saint Paul. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream new songs from Fyfe, Sebastien Tellier, Sufjan Stevens, Vaadat Charigrim and Xiu Xiu.

Ayer – Circle Down

The Bixby Knolls – Runnin’ and Runnin’

Coastguard – Beach 3 (Ocean Blue)

The Dead Heads – Power Tripping

Drake – Come Thru (James Blake Version)

Gem Club – Polly

I’m In You – Tinnitus

Loves It – The Angels Sing

Mumblr – Puke

Radstewart – Arabesque Bedouin

Son of Stan – Noxeema

Tara Jane O’Neil – Wordless in Words

Torgny – Grønn Extra (Melkeveien Remix)

Yeah Saint Paul – Rendezvous

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There’s something about the way that Beck fits into my life that is strange. He’s never the sort of artist I jump to and can immediately pinpoint as one of my all-time favorites, yet a careful look at my music listening habits point to a liking of his music to the point of near obsession. Whenever I put my music player on shuffle, I may skip over a bunch of songs that don’t strike my fancy, yet inevitably play any Beck song that comes up from start to finish. I can’t tell you the last time I listened to one of his albums from start to finish (it’s been at least a couple years), and I’m hesitant to tell you which Beck album is my favorite, since the answer technically changes based on my mood at that particular moment. Sure, Odelay is the go-to response, but the non-stop party vibe of Midnite Vultures can grab me far more than most people, and Sea Change is perfect for those introspective days. Speaking of Sea Change, there’s been rumors floating around (more than a few perpetuated by Beck himself) that a new album has been in the works for awhile that’s largely acoustic and a “spiritual cousin” to that 2002 record. Yet the couple of singles he’s released so far this year in the form of “I Won’t Be Long,” “Defriended” and “Gimme” all sound a lot like the more electronic-based work he’s done on albums like Modern Guilt and The Information. Of course they were only singles, and were intended to be standalone tracks that simply didn’t work thematically with everything else Beck’s been working on recently. Well, the good news is that the long-awaited “acoustic” album now has a title, a label and a ballpark release date. Beck has signed to Capitol Records, which will release Morning Phase in February. Exactly what date in February remains to be determined, along with a final tracklisting and other pieces of information. But at least we now know SOMETHING, and can start building the excitement towards likely disappointment. Considering how beloved Sea Change is, it’s going to be tough to try and recapture that magic, though the fact that Beck is working with most of the same people he did back in 2002, it could well be easier to recapture than you might think. So now we wait. Hopefully we’ll have our first taste of a song from the album before the end of the year. In the meantime, maybe enjoy today’s edition of Pick Your Poison. There’s some strong tracks today from Callow, Carl Kruger, Fairchild, Gentlemen Hall (covering Kendrick Lamar), Jeremiah Jae, Midnite on Pearl Beach, Setting SUn and Yellow6. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream songs from Disclosure, Eminem, Mogwai and Weekender.

Callow – Philosophy

Carl Kruger – Venalize the Bold

Dundee – Still Breathe

Fairchild – Figure It Out

Gentlemen Hall – Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe (Kendrick Lamar cover)

Jeremiah Jae – Fun

Keep Shelly in Athens – Oostende (Postiljonen Remix)

Lo Fine – All We Need Is Hell

Midnite on Pearl Beach – Deep in Your Bones

Setting Sun – Selfish Love

Sincerely, Grizzly – Us; Or Optimism

Surecut Kids – Toke Dat (ft. MC Kitch)

Yell For Help – Love Will Keep Us Together

Yellow6 – 5.2

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It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for another weekly dip into the pool of music news, interviews and videos that I like to call This Week In Music! Yes, in addition to the normal Pick Your Poison mp3s and Soundcloud streams, I like to toss out links to a bunch of other music-related content that I’ve found interesting or worthwhile over the course of the week. I encourage you to check some, if not all of these things out, particularly if you’re looking to waste some time. There’s plenty to see, read and hear:

Stream Arcade Fire’s album Reflektor in full

Stream Cut Copy’s new album Free Your Mind in full

Music Video: Paul McCartney – Queenie Eye (guest appearances from Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and more)

Daft Punk is selling a deluxe box set of Random Access Memories for $275

Music Video: Arctic Monkeys – One for the Road

Watch Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold and Grizzly Bear’s Daniel Rossen perform Pearl Jam’s “Corduroy” on “Fallon”

Music Video: Symmetry – The Hunt

Watch TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe give teen girls advice for Rookie Mag

Check out the full list of Record Store Day: Black Friday exclusives

YouTube Audio Stream: M.I.A. – Y.A.L.A.

Once you’re done with that set of distractions, let me offer up another set via some song downloads and streams. Don’t miss tracks from Adrian Krygowski, The Black Watch, Fort Frances (covering Sufjan Stevens), Kallisti, Ki: Theory and TOTEM. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream tracks from Billie Joe Armstrong (of Green Day) with Norah Jones, Cut Copy, CYMBALS, Four Tet and White Lung.

Adrian Krygowski – Roam

A$AP Rocky, Kosha Dillz and Matisyahu – Freestylin 101

The Black Watch – I Don’t Feel the Same

Fort Frances – Chicago (Sufjan Stevens cover)

Haim – My Song 5 (Budo Remix)

High Rule – Portmanteau

Japanther & Cheeky Blakk – Donut Shop Bounce

Kallisti – Michael Douglas

Ki: Theory – Open Wound

Memory9 – The Dodecahedron

Ryle – Facedown

Scott Barkan – Flightless Bird

Sundays – World We Own

TOTEM – Sophomor(on)ic

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Back in 2011, Braids’ debut album Native Speaker took me completely by surprise. It was the first couple weeks in January of that year, and I was still in a coma from the holidays and year-end listmaking season. Suddenly this record landed in my lap and snapped me out of the haze in an instant. The reaction was severe enough that once December rolled around, the album wound up in the upper 30s on my year-end list, in which I called it “one of the most underrated records of the year.” I stand by that statement, and with two years having passed since then, I still play Native Speaker on occasion because it remains an enjoyable listen. This past August, Braids released their sophomore record Flourish // Perish. I was unable to review it at the time, and likely won’t get around to it ever (my list of pending album reviews is astronomical), but let me offer a couple of quick thoughts on it now. In short, it’s not as effective of a record as their debut. The general ditching of guitars feels like it has hurt them slightly, but as a result they’re more epic yet also more fragile. The lack of warmth in many of the melodies makes it a little more impenetrable, and the second half of the album gets a little worn out and boring, but repeat listens continue to reveal new rewards. The new album is ultimately worth your time, and this band continues to be underrated and underappreciated. I’d advise you to give “Amends” and “In Kind” a try to find out if Braids are for you. If so, maybe you’d like to check them out when they play at Schubas in Chicago this Tuesday, October 29th. The 21+ show starts at 8 p.m. and also features Kodak to Graph and Hundred Waters on the bill. You can buy $15 tickets in advance from here. It’ll be one of the best decisions you’ll make over the next 7 days. Beyond talking about the show, we’ve got a Wednesday edition of Pick Your Poison to take care of. Tracks that get a thumbs up from me today come from Holy Ghost! (covering Drake), Gemini Club, Holyoak, KNTRLR, Meanest Man Contest and Starlings, TN. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream songs from The 1975, Beach Day, Gatekeeper and Kevin Morby (of Woods/The Babies fame).

Access Royale – Planet Earth

Holy Ghost! – Hold One We’re Going Home (Drake cover)

Duke Dumont ft. AME – Need U (100%) (AMTRAC Remix)

FIGHTs – In Spades

Gemini Club – Preacher

Holyoak – Silver Boys

Jay Kila – Dream Big

KNTRLR – CCA

Meanest Man Contest – Throwing Away Broken Electronics

Saint Motel – My Type (Tonnesen Remix)

Starlings, TN – Burnt Ends

Times Neue Roman – Sade Is In My Tape Deck, Pt. 2 (ft. Don Will and The Airplane Boys)
Times Neue Roman – Sade Is In My Tape Deck, Pt. 3 (ft. Rich Kidd, Shaun Boothe and Zaki Ibrahim

Titanics – Low Frames

Until the Ribbon Breaks – 2025 (Holy Other Remix)

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We’ve hit another Tuesday, where I’m once again pleased to bring you a quick rundown of artists with brand new music coming out this week. The hope is to either inform you about what’s out there, but also to maybe even remind you if one of your favorite artists is putting out something new and you simply forgot about it. So without further ado, here’s your list for this week: Active Child, Adrian and The Sunsets, AFI, Best Coast, Brett Dennen, Dead Gaze, Dresses, Greg Brown, Is Tropical, Jungle, Katy Perry, Kiev, Linda Thompson, Matthew E. White, Omar Souleyman, Pearl Jam, Polica, Radical Face, Ryan Hemsworth, Sainthood Reps, and Veronica Falls. There’s a couple of really strong records in this stack for this week, so please make some purchases via your favorite digital or physical retailer! Now let’s get to today’s Pick Your Poison, where you can discover even more hot new music. Some key tracks you’ll want to give attention to today come from Botany, Calhoun, Lee Bannon, Raccoon Fighter, Snowflake, Southside American and The Villars. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream songs from Blank Realm, Chromeo, Cut Copy, James Vincent McMorrow and Say Lou Lou.

Basketball Shorts – Peter Venkman

Big Bill – Temporarily Happy

Botany – Laughtrack (ft. Father John Misty)

Calhoun – Fatal Flaws

David Bronson – Incompetent Assassin

Hello Phones – Candy Love

Lee Bannon – 216

Qtfcks – Jump

Raccoon Fighter – Wolf at Your Window

Radioactivity – Locked in My Head

Snowflake – Hurricane

Southside American – In the Dust

Tom Appleman – I’d Forgive You

The Villars – Take Control

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Exactly one week from tonight, I hope if you’re in Chicago that you’ll join me at Lincoln Hall for what’s set to be a great double bill that’s worth your time and money. The two bands performing are City States and Au Revoir Simone. If you’ve never heard of either of them, let me provide you with a quick primer. City States are a fascinating Chicago band who describe their sound as art-pop, which feels like a really apt descriptor when you listen to their songs. Starting from a synth base but not content to let that be the only weapon in their arsenal, their songs consistently evolve to make unexpected and experimental turns that keep you on your toes and fully engaged. They strive to achieve a similar level of off-kilter brilliance as heroes like Brian Eno, Radiohead and Talking Heads. Their debut EP Resolution showed a lot of promise in that regard, and you can download the whole thing for free over at Bandcamp. They’re currently finishing up recording and mixing their debut album with John McEntire of Tortoise/The Sea and Cake fame. Expect to hear a lot of new material as they play Lincoln Hall for the first time ever. With any luck, by this time next year they’ll be performing at even larger venues on a national scale. But headlining the night is the nationally touring, decidedly not-French-but-Brooklyn-based band Au Revoir Simone. Where did the all female trio come up with their name? Why it’s a quote from Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, of course. These are girls after my own heart, especially after the recent release of the music video for their song “Crazy”, which re-enacts the plot to the often overlooked 1985 Martin Scorsese film After Hours. In terms of sound, Au Revoir Simone skirt the line between synth pop and dream pop. So while they don’t use guitars or even have a live drummer, they love their keyboards and vocal harmonies, which often leads to either fun and catchy songs or otherwordly psychedelic ones. Their new album Move In Spectrums is definitely one of their best to date, and owes quite a bit to Stereolab. Have a listen to their song “Somebody Who” to get a pretty good idea of where they’re at sonically these days. All that said, these two bands are playing a 21+ show at Lincoln Hall next Monday, October 28th. Tickets are $15 in advance, and can be purchased via this link. Come on out to the show. It promises to be a great time. Speaking of which, let’s get to the great time that is your Monday edition of Pick Your Poison. Don’t miss tracks from Drop Electric, Englishman, Floating Compass, Maya Vic, New Regulars and Tape Deck Mountain. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream tracks from Baio (of Vampire Weekend), Deep Sea Arcade, Kelela, Sufjan Stevens and Rustie remixing Pusha-T’s latest.

CVNT – Ding

Dante – No Original Art

Drop Electric – Higgs Boson

Englishman – More Than Insects

Floating Compass – Travel

Howard Ivans – Red Face Boy

Invasions – Ballad of the Faithful

Jackson Fishauf – Mystery Books

London Future & Djemba Djemba – Look At Me Now (ft. Ifa Sayo)

Maya Vic – Dynamite

New Regulars – Stolen Honey

Rvan Hall – Modal

Tape Deck Mountain – Slow Hell

Will Buck – Muscle Memory

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Today’s special Friday edition of Pick Your Poison is brought to you by CMJ. Because when artists, labels and promoters have a big music event going on in one of the most populated cities in the world, they hand out new music and mp3s like they’re candy. Speaking of handing out candy, we’re just under 2 weeks until Halloween! I hope you’ve come up with a good costume idea by now. But I’ll talk about that later. I try to keep things short and sweet whenever I’m able to do a Friday Pick Your Poison, so let’s get right down to business. Top tracks today come from Liam Singer, Liquid Sunshine, Nathan Angelo, Perfume Advert, Radioactivity and Soho Riots. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream songs from Bars of Gold, Crusades, Museum of Love, Passafire, Rainy Milo and Weatherbird.

Basketball Shorts – The Reaper

Big Bill – Juice U

Cosmo’s Midnight – Surge (Willow Beats Wizard Remix)

Dominic Lord – Real (Remix ft. Gorgon City & Yasmin)

How to Dress Well – & It Was You (Chuck Wild Bootleg Remix)

Liam Singer – Unhand Me (You Horrid Thing)

Liquid Sunshine – Breathe In

Mali Michael – Wild Things (Visionist Remix)

Nathan Angelo ft. Micah Dalton – I Second That Emotion (Smokey Robinson & The Miracles cover)

Perfume Advert – Rotted Out

Radioactivity – World of Pleasure

Sage the Gemini – Gas Pedal (Stubbs Remix)

Soho Riots – Who’s Your Man

Volcano Choir – Comrade (All Tiny Creatures Remix)

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It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for another weekly dip into the pool of music news, interviews and videos that I like to call This Week In Music! Yes, in addition to the normal Pick Your Poison mp3s and Soundcloud streams, I like to toss out links to a bunch of other music-related content that I’ve found interesting or worthwhile over the course of the week. I encourage you to check some, if not all of these things out, particularly if you’re looking to waste some time. There’s plenty to see, read and hear:

Music Video: Atoms For Peace – Before Your Very Eyes

Have a look at the 25 Best Morrissey Quotes From His Autobiography

Check out this album trailer for Arcade Fire’s Reflektor

Music Video: Jorge Elbrecht ft. Caroline Polachek of Chairlift – I.V. Aided Dreams

Bauhaus frontman Peter Murphy sentenced to 3 years probation for methamphetamine possession

Watch Chvrches perform a few songs at Boiler Room

Music Video: James Blake & Chance the Rapper – Life Round Here

Watch Phoenix’s hour-long set on Austin City Limits

Watch/Listen as Phosphorescent covers Vampire Weekend’s “Ya Hey”

Watch Atoms For Peace’s full make-up set for ACL Festival

Once you’re done with that set of distractions, let me offer up another set via some song downloads and streams. Don’t miss tracks from Barton Carroll, Botany, Dust Engineers, High Water, Louis London and Pony Boy. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream cuts from Audacity, Dead Times, Junior Prom, Milosh and The Thing.

Barton Carroll – The Straight Mile

Botany – Quatic

Calliope Musicals – Dancing Shoes

Dent May – Let Them Talk (Teengirl Fantasy Remix)

DNKL – Hunt

Dust Engineers – Pb [Lead]

Fiig – Bass Drum

High Water – Someday

Jay Arner – Don’t Remind Me (Teen Daze Remix)

London Grammar – If You Wait (Budo Remix)

Louis London – Old L.A.

Metzop – Not Defective

Pony Boy – If Only He Were You

Son Lux – Easy (Son Lux Remix ft. Busdriver)

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We’ve hit another Tuesday, where I’m once again pleased to bring you a quick rundown of artists with brand new music coming out this week. The hope is to either inform you about what’s out there, but also to maybe even remind you if one of your favorite artists is putting out something new and you simply forgot about it. So without further ado, here’s your list for this week: Aaron Parks, Arthur Channel, The Avett Brothers, Beats Antique, The Beets, Black Milk, Bloc Party, Blue October, Boardwalk, The Body, Boldy James, Cameron McGill, Cass McCombs, Cave, Crystal Antlers, Cults, Dean Wareham, The Dismemberment Plan, Doomriders, Elsinore, Four Tet, The Head and The Heart (featured below!), Heavenly Beat, Imbogodom, Kevin Devine, kwes., La Luz, Lucius, Luke Temple, Mirror Travel, Molly Drake, Morcheeba, Nobunny, Oozing Wound, Paul McCartney, Pearl Jam, Red Fang, Saintseneca, Shine 2009, Tancred, Tim Hecker, Tristen, Trivium, Weird Owl, Will Hoge and Wymond Miles. There’s a couple of really strong records in this stack for this week, so please make some purchases via your favorite digital or physical retailer! Now let’s get to today’s Pick Your Poison, where you can discover even more hot new music. Some key tracks you’ll want to give attention to today come from Big Tree, The Cloud Room, Dark Colour, The Head and The Heart, High On Fire, Norwegian Arms and SCRNS. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream songs from GEMS, Screaming Females, Tycho, Spiritualized remixing Cut Copy and Lee Gamble remixing Mount Kimbie.

Afrolicious – Pleasure Time (Novalima Remix)

Big Tree – Like A Fool

Chris Zurich – The Sounds

The Cloud Room – Mrs. Marquis de Sade

Dark Colour – The Games Are Killing Us

Figaro – Queen Mary

The Head and The Heart – Shake

High On Fire – Slave the Hive

Howard Ivans – Red Face Boy

James Mauri – Got Your Love

Laser Background – Fantasy Zone

Norwegian Arms – Tired of Being Cold

OMN – Betwixt (Orikami Remix)

SCRNS – TTYN

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Every October, it arrives in force. Those who aren’t affiliated with the music industry or live outside of New York may not know about it, but rest assured it is a big deal. It is the CMJ Music Marathon. Starting tomorrow and running through Saturday, this annual gathering of industry professionals results in what amounts to the SXSW of the East Coast. The hordes flock to NYC, and in addition to all sorts of panel discussions and conferences, there’s plenty of showcases at bars and clubs all over the city featuring acts you’ve both heard of and ones you hopefully will hear about in the coming years. CMJ can go a long way towards making or breaking a band, and if you’re lucky enough to get a spot on a good bill with a number of other noteworthy artists, it could mean your shot at stardom. Last year’s breakout act was Savages, and look how far they’ve come one year later. Several years back, I was lucky enough to attend CMJ. I’m proud to say that I attended zero discussion panels or conference elements. I spent the entire few days going to see live music and enjoying free drinks when I could get them. During the daytime I slept, and once the sun started to set I found myself wandering all over Manhattan ducking in and out of shows all over the place until the sun was about to come up. One of the best, if not THE best live show I’ve ever witnessed happened around 3AM one night at the Bowery Ballroom when …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, still hot off their “perfect” Source Tags and Codes record, came out on stage drunk and played an incredible set that ended with smashed instruments everywhere and half the crowd climbing on stage to sing with the band. That was a once in a lifetime moment. And so, as my inbox overflows with emails from promoters and record labels telling me all about what they’re doing for CMJ and encouraging me to party with them, I can’t help but feel a little wistful every year around this time. A little voice in my head says that maybe I’ll go again someday…like next year. I don’t know that I have the same fortitude to walk literally miles around Manhattan (I never once took a cab or the subway except to and from the airport), but it’d be great to get back to the city and discover some great new music at some classic concert venues. You should go too. Learn more about the CMJ Music Marathon by going here. Now then, in lieu of discovering new music through CMJ live shows, there’s always a fresh edition of Pick Your Poison to help you uncover the next great artist or band. In today’s set, you’ll want to keep an ear out for tracks from Eureka Birds, Ing, Super Adventure Club, Tic Tic Boom! and Trentalange. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream songs from Ejecta, Jeffrey Novak, No Joy, Yamantaka // Sonic Titan, plus James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem) remixing David Bowie.

Around7 – Strictly Business

Black Mekon – Jonny Diamond’s Pink Flamingo Club

Chromeo – Over Your Shoulder (Mr. Oizo Remix)

Die Antwoord – Evil Boy (Niko Javan Remix)

Eureka Birds – Fastest

Grigori – What You Want, You Always Steal

Ing – Dogs Are Aliens

pr0files – Call Yourself A Lover

The Relays – You Invented Horror

Super Adventure Club – 9 Times

Tic Tic Boom! – How It Ends

Times Neue Roman – So Many Females

Trentalange – Reconnected

Victor Porfidio – Miami (Original Mix)

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It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for another weekly dip into the pool of music news, interviews and videos that I like to call This Week In Music! Yes, in addition to the normal Pick Your Poison mp3s and Soundcloud streams, I like to toss out links to a bunch of other music-related content that I’ve found interesting or worthwhile over the course of the week. I encourage you to check some, if not all of these things out, particularly if you’re looking to waste some time. There’s plenty to see, read and hear:

Music Video: Cut Copy – Free Your Mind

Watch Kanye West’s full interview on “Jimmy Kimmel Live”: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

Spanish dance pop band Delorean were victims of a “virtual kidnapping.” Here’s details on that.

Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig “reviews” Drake’s new album Nothing Was the Same

Read Passion Pit’s letter about why bands cancel shows (and why it sucks for everyone)

Music Video: Parquet Courts – You’ve Got Me Wonderin’ Now

Read David Byrne’s editorial on how New York’s creative scene is being crushed by the 1%

Music Video: Pixies – Andro Queen

Watch Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme perform “Knee Socks” live with Arctic Monkeys

Music Video: AlunaGeorge – Best Be Believing

Once you’re done with that set of distractions, let me offer up another set via some song downloads and streams. Don’t miss tracks from Cosmic Suckerpunch, DeltaFoxx, GRMLN, Juliette Commagere, Nervous Cloud, Silent Rider and Yes, I’m Leaving. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream new songs from Mick Turner, Pattern Is Movement, SKATERS, and Kele Okereke’s remix of a Bloc Party track.

Cosmic Suckerpunch – City Love

Daft Punk – Giorgio By Moroder (Aerotronic Remix)

DeltaFoxx – Can’t Stop Loving You, Yeah!

Eddie Spaghetti – The Value of Nothing

GRMLN – Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen cover)

Juliette Commagere – Rebel

Nervous Cloud – Unbalanced Equation

Scary Cherry – Cut Off Your Head

Silent Rider – Ain’t No Sunshine (Bill Withers cover)

Snir Yamin – Stay

Top Less Gay Love Tekno Party – Colleen Harpe

White Prism – Fool (Daniel Hunt/Ladytron Remix)

Yes, I’m Leaving – Endless Mind

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