Author: Faronheit Page 95 of 192

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: The Apache Relay, Augustana, Black Bananas, Death, Ed Schrader’s Music Beat, Eels, Future, G. Love and Special Sauce, Iggy Azalea, Keb Mo, Kelis, Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s, The Menzingers, Neon Trees, Purling Hiss, Semi Precious Weapons, The Shackeltons, TEEN, To Kill A King and The Whigs. If you’re so inspired please pick some of these records up 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 Astrid Swan, Indianapolis Jones, NO CODA, The Penelopes, Pujol, Stumbleine and Trophy Scars. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream new songs from BOOTS (ft. Beyonce), The Julie Ruin, Juun (ft. Sam Smith), Mastodon and Percussions.

Astrid Swan – Black Bear & A Hoofer

Bon Iver – Holocene (Satchmode Remix)

Chaz Langley – Song of Sorrow

ILLA – Sundays

Indianapolis Jones – Not Ghosts Yet

Lindsay Cohen – Speechless

NO CODA – Heretic

The Penelopes – Time to Shine

Pollen – Not A Test

Pujol – Pitch Black

Rig 1 – Duality

Stumbleine – Her Touch (ft. Violet Skies)

Sye Elaine Spence – Is This Love

Trophy Scars – Gutted

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Okay, so I’m pleased to be back after a couple of days out of town for non-site related business. Unfortunately, I’m still working on catching up and don’t really have time to write a proper intro to today’s Pick Your Poison. So let’s just get right to it, and we’ll hopefully be back to normal on Tuesday. Don’t miss tracks in this set from Collarbones, Ephram, Futurecop! (ft. DWNTWN), La Sera, Pixies and Thee Idea Men. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream new songs from Chet Faker, Chromeo (ft. Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig), Fear of Men, Gold-Bears, Matthewdavid, The Proper Ornaments and Yuck. Pretty good set for a Monday, if you ask me!

Bridge City Hustle – Too Good for Me

clintongore – I Need A Star

Collarbones – Burnout

Ephram – Mary Jane

Futurecop! – Lost Love (ft. DWNTWN)

Hybrid Theory & Nu Era – Special

Kate Boy – Northern Lights (Black Matter Remix)

Kilter – They Say (Tyord Remix)

La Sera – Running Wild

Lee Paradise – Breaker

Matt J Bishop – Gimme A Sign

Pixies – Women of War

Soonbe – Tanuki

Thee Idea Men – All the While

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There comes a time in every person’s life when they need to do a little traveling for work. For me, that time is over the next couple of days. With my flight taking off earlier than the crack of dawn, I need to make this quick. I’ll be unable to update the site during the time I’m gone, so basically this will be the last post until Monday. There’s some good stuff in today’s edition of Pick Your Poison that will hopefully tide you over while I’m gone. Don’t miss tracks from 1,2,3, Alex Cameron, DZ Deathrays, Lydia Loveless, Midnite on Pearl Beach, So Many Animal Calls, Trummors and The Valery Trails. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream songs from Amen Dunes, Percussions (aka Four Tet), Soundgarden, plus remixes of tracks from Chvrches, Sam Roberts Band and Blood Orange.

1,2,3 – Porch Swing Song

Alex Cameron – Mongrel

The/Das – Parallel Worlds

DZ Deathrays – Gina Works at Hearts

Lydia Loveless – Really Wanna See You

Midnite on Pearl Beach – No Mystery in That

Paul Cook & The Chronicles – Radar

The Rebel Light – Be My Baby

So Many Animal Calls – My Blood’s Not Mine

Thief – Closer (Cesare Remix)

Trummors – Bogus Bruce

The Valery Trails – Hollywoodland

We Are the Brave – Sparrow (Alcala 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: Afghan Whigs, The Alchemist and Budgie, Alpha Consumer, Amps for Christ, Andrew Liles, Battle Lines, Bill Pritchard, Bobby Bare Jr., Chet Faker, Chuck E. Weiss, Cloud Cult, Crookes, Dan Wilson, Danny Brown, Deleted Scenes, Duck Sauce, Emmylou Harris, Esme Patterson, Hecker, Ingrid Michaelson, Jessica Lea Mayfield, Meyhem Lauren, Nas, Needtobreathe, The Oath, Pharoahe Monch, The Secret Sisters, Woods, Zee Avi and Ziggy Marley. If you’re so inspired please pick some of these records up 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 Arum Rae, DWNTWN, Manicanparty, Overlake, Silverbird and Twin Shadow. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream new songs from Bleeding Rainbow (covering Smashing Pumpkins), Fear of Men, Hey Champ, It Looks Sad., Miniature Tigers, A Sunny Day in Glasgow and Xeno & Oaklander.

Arum Rae – Something’s Happening to Me

Diamond Mine – Dragon Egg

Manicanparty – Warpaint

New York Trouble – Light Stakeout Part 2

NoPop – O, TV

Orangatang – Fog Swimming

Overlake – Our Sky

Owenstone – Summer Lane

Psalmships – Flesh Turn

Silverbird – Hollow Heart

The Toothe – Mustard

Twin Shadow – To the Top

Veda Rays – Wait for Teeth to Show

Vogue Dots – Skinny Thing

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Like many people, I spent a good part of my weekend at Coachella. By “at Coachella,” I mean watching some of the sets that were streaming online. There were plenty of enjoyable moments thanks to artists like Chvrches, Ty Segall, Lorde, Future Islands and Arcade Fire, but I want to take a quick second to talk about what many might say was THE set of the entire weekend. Naturally, I’m referring to Outkast. It was their first show back in action, and like many groups reuniting after a breakup or extended hiatus, absence seems to make the heart grow fonder. When Big Boi and Andre 3000 both went their separate ways back in 2006, I was sick and tired of Outkast. As a fervent supporter of their records Aquemini and Stankonia from 1998 and 2000 respectively, I felt there was a significant dip in quality after that, and hearing “Hey Ya” on the radio ten million times only enraged me further. So the last seven-ish years have been kind of a nice break, actually. But when it was announced that they would be returning in 2014 to help celebrate their 20th anniversary, I was moderately happy with the news thanks to a bout of nostalgia. That was quickly in effect during the first quarter of Outkast’s Coachella set, as they powered through some of their best tracks like no time had passed at all. It was fun and exhilarating, and they had a decent stage setup with a band to help supplement some of the melodies. Here was a reunion that appeared to be working great. Then came the middle section of the show. Andre 3000 disappeared for about 20 minutes, and Big Boi did a couple of track solo before bringing out Janelle Monae to perform her hit “Tightrope.” When Andre did return, Big Boi stepped out for a 20 minute break. It was during Andre’s solo portion that I noticed how much he was half-assing it. Thanks to performing with a backing vocal track, he was only actually singing or spouting off lyrics about 75% of the time. When Big Boi returned, they brought out hip hop up-and-comer Future and let him do three tracks plus promoted his forthcoming album. I’m still wondering what the point of that was. Things got quite a bit better the last 20-30 minutes of the show though, as Outkast blew through some of their greatest hits (“Ms. Jackson,” “So Fresh, So Clean,” and “The Way You Move,” among others). Of course when it came time for the big finale with “The Whole World” and a guest spot from Killer Mike, the guys got their microphones cut off due to a steadfast curfew before they could even get started. So we missed out. Overall I’d classify Outkast’s set as a little shaky, a little awkward, and a little great. They definitely could have done better, but the good news is they have at least 40 more shows to finally get it right. Okay then, let’s get into today’s Pick Your Poison. There’s some good tracks today from Baby Baby, DWNTWN, Killer Mike (speak of the devil!), Ought, Two Harbors, Vire and Your Wildest Dreams. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream cuts from Alex Metric & Oliver, Alpines, Dasher, Disclosure & Friend Within, and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart.

Baby Baby – You Can’t Spell Conch Without the CH

DWNTWN – Missing You

Frances Cone – Better Man

Katie Coleman – One More Lonely Heart

Killer Mike – The Boonies

King Eider – Whisky

Night Noise Team – Suddenly

Oiseaux-Tempête – Ouroboros (Justin Small of Do Make Say Think Remix)

OUGHT – Habit

Three Days Dark – The Breaks

Two Harbors – There Is Love

The Van Doos – Airborne

Vire – Control You

Your Wildest Dreams – Folds of Splendor

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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: Kevin Drew – Mexican Aftershow Party

Watch Arcade Fire cover Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” live in Houston

The Smashing Pumpkins will reissue Adore with 3 discs of unreleased music plus a live DVD

Music Video: Lykke Li – No Rest for the Wicked

Watch Real Estate perform “Talking Backwards” on Letterman

Watch St. Vincent cover Nirvana’s “Lithium” live in Chicago

An unreleased Aphex Twin album Caustic Window is being sold digitally on Kickstarter

Music Video: The Both – Milwaukee

Music Video: Queens of the Stone Age – Smooth Sailing

YouTube Audio Stream: tUnE-yArDs – Wait for a Minute

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 Cajita, Francobollo, Gidge, The Hudson Branch, Owls of the Swamp and Yalls. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream cuts from Curtin, Gorgon City, MNEK, New Madrid, plus remixes of tracks from Phantogram and Say Lou Lou.

Audialist – Serpent

Cajita – Shake

Cosmonaut Grechko – Anytime

DaVinci & Sweet Valley – Hello Stranger

Francobollo – Hot Cars

Gidge – You

The Hudson Branch – Korea vs. Canada

Owls of the Swamp – Shapeshifter

Pharrell – Happy (Damaged Goods Remix)

Sebastian Carter – Stranger Sights (ft. Henry Green)

Shambles in a Husk – Medications

UZ – Trap Shit V19 (ft. Problem)

Yalls – DC
Yalls – High Society

Yung Lean – Gatorade (Dolphin Tears LIDO Edit)

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When it comes to owning music, while I’ve fully embraced the digital age, a large part of me still loves the physical side of things. Specifically, vinyl records. Like so many music obsessives, I have been collecting vinyl records for quite awhile now, to the point where there’s seemingly never enough storage space to hold it all. For me, owning vinyl goes beyond the superior sound quality and into more tactile pleasures such as the weight of it, the large artwork and fascinating inserts. In a sense, you feel like you own a piece of history, perhaps because our parents owned vinyl records long before we ever did. That’s not something you can say about an mp3. And while I love walking into a local independent record store and browsing their vinyl for hours, one of the greater pleasures of collectors is also the occasional record fair. There’s a great one happening this upcoming Saturday, April 12th in Chicago that I want to encourage you to check out should you be in the area. The 12th annual CHIRP Record Fair & Other Delights will be taking place at the Chicago Journeymen Plumber’s Union (1340 W. Washington Blvd.) this Saturday from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. More than 50 independent record vendors will have thousands of records for sale, including used, rare and out of print titles. In addition to selling some great vinyl, there will also be DJ sets, a music quiz, plus food, drinks and alcohol. It’s $7 to get in the door after 10 a.m., but $5 if you have a flyer. $25 will get you early access between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. so you can browse and buy stuff before the masses get their hands on it. I’ve been before and it’s a really fun event that raises money for the non-profit, independent CHIRP Radio. Learn more about the event by going here. Okay then, let’s get to some mid-week Pick Your Poison. There’s some gems in this set of music, including tracks from HM Hammarin, Japan Soul, Midnite on Pearl Beach, Stars in Coma, Unicycle Loves You and What Moon Things. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream songs from Brett, Cheap Girls (ft. The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn), Haley Bonar, PHOX, Total Control and White Reaper.

Fever High – That’s So Typical

Heart-Sick Groans – Black Hair Typography

HM Hammarin – In Insanity

ILLClinton – New Alexandria

Japan Soul – War

The Jones Rival – Uncle Frank

Midnite on Pearl Beach – Noah

Red Wanting Blue – Black Canyon

Stars in Coma – Tricks

Steve Strong – Marta

Unicycle Loves You – Falling Off

We Will Be Lions – Sunflower

What Moon Things – The Astronaut

Work Drugs – Half Love

SOUNDCLOUD

Brett – Chalon

Cheap Girls – Man in Question (ft. Craig Finn)

Haley Bonar – Kill the Fun

PHOX – Slow Motion

Total Control – Flesh War

White Reaper – Half Bad

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: Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks, Chuck Inglish, Colourmusic, De Lux, EMA, The Faint, Highasakite, Incan Abraham, King of Prussia, The Mary Onettes, OFF!, Protomartyr, PUP, Ratking, School of Language, Screaming Females, Sivu, Sleepyhead, Sohn, Stanley Brinks and the Wave Pictures, Stumbleine, Sweet Apple, Teebs, Thus Owls, Todd Terje, Tweens, Young and Sick and Your Friend. If you’re so inspired please pick some of these records up 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 Daytrip, Frugal Father, Girl Talk & Freeway, The Honey Trees, Myke Brown and Okapi Sun. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream new songs from Atmosphere, BORIS, Cut Copy’s remix of Jagwar Ma, Landlady, Little Dragon, and Pharmakon (covering Nancy Sinatra).

The Cure – Just Like Heaven (The Penelopes Remix)

Daytrip – Flight 43

Farra – Spotlights

Frugal Father – Threat to Narrative

Girl Talk & Freeway ft. Jadakiss – I Can Hear Sweat

The Honey Trees – By the River

Juston Stens & Jessica Lea Mayfield – Strange Love

Ki:Theory – Open Wound (ODESZA Remix)

Lily and the Tigers – The Hand You Deal Yourself

Lorde – White Teeth Teens (Alexie Gratia Remix)

Myke Brown – Good Hair, Bad Credit

Okapi Sun – Judy Baby

Stanton Warriors – Just Another Groove (Stanton Warriors Re-Bounce)

that spike kid – Chaotic Behavior

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This past Saturday marked the 20th anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death. Not exactly the most pleasant subject to talk about, but it’s just hard for me to think that it’s been so long since the Nirvana frontman took his own life. There’s plenty of people who will tell you stories about where they were and what they were doing when they found out the news, in part because it was such a shocking thing. I’d share my story, but unfortunately there isn’t one. Not quite old enough to know who Nirvana or Kurt was, I’d only discover the music they made a couple years later when learning of his death wasn’t so much this massive and sudden tragedy as it was a sad fact. What would hit me much harder on the exact same day eight years later would be the death of Alice in Chains singer Layne Staley of a drug overdose, though that was more the result of a slow decline than anything else. Alice in Chains had broken up and Staley’s drug habit had become all-consuming many years earlier. It’s easy to imagine Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis falling victim to that same fate had he not gotten sober and cleaned up, which is ultimately what I had hoped Staley would do for the sake of his own life and career. Sadly, drugs will take everything from you if you let them, and we continue to lose some of the greats as a result, actor Philip Seymour Hoffman most prevalent in my mind at the moment. To wrap this whole sad, death-filled discussion up, you could say that April 5th is the day that grunge music died, initially in 1994 and then with a true death rattle in 2002. There have been plenty of tributes to Cobain this year, including an official day in his hometown of Aberdeen, Washington, but perhaps most fitting will be Nirvana’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in just a couple of days. I’m very much looking forward to seeing how Dave Grohl, Courtney Love and Krist Novoselic will highlight the legacy of a man who changed so many lives for the better by turning the angst-riddled feelings of a generation into songs we could all identify with. Twenty years later, he’s still doing it. We should be grateful to have gotten him for as long as we did. Following that upbeat introduction, there are some tracks to look forward to in today’s Pick Your Poison. Don’t miss music from Bedouin, Beecher’s Fault, Bonsai, Dead Stars, Eli Escobar, FIM and The Singles. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream new stuff by Brian Eno & Karl Hyde, Childhood, Chrome Sparks, Helms Alee, The Neighbourhood and TOBACCO.

Bedouin – Bright Lights

Beecher’s Fault – Heather

Bonsai – I Fashion You’re A Dreamer

Brash Flair – Your Line

Dead Stars – Someone Else

Eli Escobar – Let Me Love You

FIM – Love Die

Jinwoo – Solo Man (ft. Alasdair Roberts)

Mike Adams At His Honest Weight – I’m Worried

Nathan Aeli – Whirlwind, I’ll Do

Redvers – Laughing at Rainbows

Revere – Boy Child (Scott Walker cover)

The Singles – Inamorata

Stage Hands – The Populating of Empty Space

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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:

Jack White is going to attempt to create the world’s fastest released record for Record Store Day

Music Video: Hamilton Leithauser – 11 O’Clock Friday Night

Courtney Love has reunited the mid-90s Hole lineup

Music Video: Sharon Van Etten – Taking Chances

Stream Enter the Slasher House, the debut album from Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks

Watch Nine Inch Nails perform “Sanctified” on Austin City Limits

Owen Pallett explains the “genius” of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” using music theory

Music Video: Cloud Nothings – I’m Not Part of Me

Watch Beck perform “Blue Moon” on The Ellen DeGeneres Show

YouTube Audio Stream: Parquet Courts – Sunbathing Animal

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 1,2,3, Douga, Hillman Lighthouse, In the Valley Below, Street Joy, Vensaire and Walrus. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream cuts from Beaty Heart, Brody Dalle, How to Dress Well, I Have A Tribe, Lucius, Stagnant Pools and Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra.

1,2,3 – Leave Me in the Sky With the Lawnchair

A Band Called Quinn – Forget About It

Douga – Kids of Tomorrow

Duologue – Memex

Hillman Lighthouse – Twenty-Nine

Holy Ghost! – Bridge & Tunnel (a/just/ed Remix)

In the Valley Below – Peaches

Niia – Generation Blue (Ricky Eat Acid Remix)

Quasimo – Loving You (Vedran Remix)

Seaver’s Express – A Different Gravity

Street Joy – Laurel Hill

Unlike Pluto – Fud

Vensaire – Song Six

Walrus – Bulash

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Did you have a fun April Fools Day yesterday? How many pranks did you fall for? Anything classic? For me personally, the day is all about being on guard. Actually that’s kind of every day for me, thinking that most things I encounter are fake, or at the very least elaborate jokes. Of course I also try hard not to fall into repeated skepticism, particularly when a fair number of people are being genuine 364 days of the year. But considering the amount of viral advertising we encounter on a daily basis, where a photo or video or story planted on our favorite website is actually just an elaborate commercial for a company or product, the skepticism feels a little justified. Still, part of me actually likes April Fools Day, mostly to see what others come up with. I’ve attempted a couple of April Fools pranks on this site over the years, and none of them really ever work out. So thank goodness for a company like Google, who this year incorporated Pokemon into their Google Maps program. Or Wilco, who did something genuinely funny on Twitter. Sure, it’s obvious and kind of expected, but the entertainment value counts more than anything else. The only double take moment I had all day was when one of my Facebook friends posted about the baby she gave up for adoption a few years ago because she wasn’t ready to be a mother. I hadn’t seen that friend in a few years, and she does like to sleep around, so it stood to reason that it could have been true. I let myself believe it for just a minute, before noticing the date and laughing to myself. Almost got me. That was fun. I hope you got a laugh or two, and maybe even a little outrage that you fell for something yesterday. Let’s do it all again next year, as is tradition. No foolin’, today’s Pick Your Poison is pretty great. Don’t miss songs from Cause & Affect, Donovan Blanc, Early MOrning Rebel, Faces on Film, Frances England, Pool, Seaweed Meadows, The She’s and Wild Ones. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream tracks from Cut Copy, La Peste, Lone, Shannon and the Clams, Strand of Oaks and Turn to Crime.

A.Skillz and Nick Thayer – Drop the Funk

Cause & Affect – Operation 60

Donovan Blanc – Minha Menina

Early Morning Rebel – Shallow Breath

The Evening News – Rules Made Clear

Faces on Film – The Rule

Frances Cone – June

Frances England – Fall Out of the Sky

Pool – Lipstick

Royale – Cosmonaut Romance

Ryan Smith – Better Days

Seaweed Meadows – Money Train

The She’s – My Secret to Keep

Wild Ones – Paia

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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: A.J. Ellis, Band of Skulls, Black Pistol Fire, The Body, Cloud Nothings, Dan Croll, Dillon, Fairweather, Horace Andy, HTRK, Inventions, Jamaica, Joan As Police Woman, John Cage, Kaiser Chiefs, Mac DeMarco, Manchester Orchestra, Meyhem Lauren, Nathaniel Rateliff, Nickel Creek, Pure X, RAC, S. Carey, Saintseneca, Small Black, Thievery Corporation, Timber Timbre, The Used, White Hinterland and Wild Ones. If you’re so inspired please pick some of these records up 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 Black Girls, Drake, Fiance, The Honey Trees, Universal Thee and #XI. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream new songs from Bob Mould, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (ft. Matt Berninger of The National), Courtney Barnett (covering The Lemonheads), Esben and the Witch, Icona Pop and Woman’s Hour.

Anastasia Markov – Sarah Won’t Cry

BeatauCue – Kyllan (Belarbi Remix)

Black Girls – Buyin’ Time

Drake – Draft Day

Fiancé – July

Glenn Jones – From a Forgotten Session

The Honey Trees – Siren

Join the Riot – Louis (Unplugged)

Lucky Once – Amnesia

Paris Carney – Run and Hide (ft. D-WHY)

Quick Quick Obey – Hold Your Breath

Ray & Remora – Gold Soundz (Pavement cover)

Universal Thee – Bear in the Hospital

#XI – Lovecraft (ft. Sundays)

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They may not have a flawless catalogue (though it is largely great), but at the very least The Flaming Lips are always doing something and it’s always interesting. They can record one-off songs with Ke$ha and other friends if they choose, then encase them in gigantic gummy skulls and other shapes. Frontman Wayne Coyne can travel to independent record stores around the country and just hang out for a couple hours at each, meeting fans and signing stuff. They can even cover Pink Floyd’s entire Dark Side of the Moon record, as they did in 2009, and nobody blinks an eye. Speaking of that though, the band has decided to return to that seminal piece of psychedelic rock by creating a companion record to be played at the exact same time as the original. They’re calling it Flaming Side of the Moon, and in addition to syncing up perfectly with the Pink Floyd album, it also apparently pairs well with the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, in case you wanted to give that a try. Since the full thing is currently streaming on Soundcloud, I paired it with Dark Side of the Moon, and it was pretty much perfect. It doesn’t really change my perspective of the classic album, but at the very least adds some new wrinkles to old material. Once again, The Flaming Lips have done something interesting whose ultimate worth is moderately questionable. But if they don’t do it, who will? The whole thing is kind of fun. So is today’s Pick Your Poison, by the way. There’s some good tracks from 1,2,3, Emma Garrett, Jadeite, Sleepyhead, Sun Club and WOOL. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream songs from Glass Animals (ft. Tei Shi), Japanther, Jensen Sportag, Cerrone Funk’s remix of Haim’s latest single, and The Field’s remix of an I Break Horses track.

1,2,3 – Big Weather Pt. I

The 1975 – Settle Down (EMBRZ Remix)

Armand Margjeka – Hummingbird

Banks – Brain (TA-KU Remix)

Dana – Dear Love (Birthday Boy Remix)

Emma Garrett – This Is It

Jadeite – Frostbites

Sleepyhead – Liberation Theology

Static in Verona – White Knuckles

Sun Club – Cheeba Swiftkick

Suren Unka – 130

Thief – Closer (Akouo Remix)

WOOL – Stars

Xu Xu Fang – Noir State Beach

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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:

YouTube Audio Stream: EMA – 3Jane

Billboard will be creating new charts based on Twitter mentions/links of artists/songs

Music Video: Sisyphus – Booty Call

The soundtrack to the forthcoming Zach Braff film Wish I Was Here will feature music from Cat Power, Chris Martin, The Shins, Bon Iver and more

Wu-Tang Clan have recorded a secret double album and are only releasing one copy of it

Music Video: Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks – Strange Colores

Music Video: The Julie Ruin – Just My Kind

Read Owen Pallett’s essay on Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” and music theory

Music Video: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Simple and Sure

YouTube Audio Stream: The Black Keys – Fever

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 Blank Realm, Daisy Victoria, Malandros, Pacific Mean Time, Say Hi and The Wet Secrets. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream cuts from Blood Brothers, Chance the Rapper, Hot Chip, Lolawolf, Popstrangers, VEDAS and Woods.

Black Prairie – Let It Out

Blank Realm – Bulldozer Love

Champagne Jerry – Apologies Detected

Chris Devotion & The Expectations – Don’t You Call On Me

Congi – Somnium

Daisy Victoria – MacBeth to My Lady

Gallant – Jupiter Grayscale

Malandros – Writer’s Block

Michael Rault – Too Bad So Sad

Pacific Mean Time – Minutes to Midnight

Programmable Animal – Please

Say Hi – Such A Drag

Till Death – Wasted Roses

The Wet Secrets – Sunshine

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Well, it’s finally happened. The lineup for Lollapalooza 2014 has officially been released. This year marks the 10th anniversary of Lolla’s reinvention from a traveling music festival to one that has a permanent home in Chicago’s Grant Park. I’ve attended all 10 years, this upcoming one included, and have watched how it’s evolved in that time to become the juggernaut it is today. With each new year, the tickets sell out faster and the lineup seems to get mainstream-ier. The headliners this year include Eminem, Outkast, Kings of Leon, Arctic Monkeys, Skrillex and Calvin Harris. While this is supposed to make me throw up in my mouth a little (for the record, it kinda does), part of me admires the strategy that the talent bookers have put together when developing this lineup. In short, they’re no longer targeting those of us who have been loyal Lollagoers over the last 10 years. We’ve gotten too old and apparently aren’t as willing to open our wallets compared to the youth of today. There’s a coveted 18-25 (more like 16-22) age demographic that’s a proverbial sweet spot, and these young adults LOVE this Lollapalooza lineup. They’re thrilled about attending this year, and even bought three day passes before the lineup was even announced. That’s how confident they were that it was going to be great. Others such as myself bought the three day passes sans lineup because we had to – they sold out after about an hour of going on sale, again with no acts officially announced. Earlier today when the lineup finally was unleashed, single day tickets went on sale and then those sold out too. It’s the fastest sell out in the history of the festival, and I’m sure promoters are licking their chops ready to crank out a similar lineup for 2015. Meanwhile I’m looking at the day-by-day breakdown hoping that there are going to be no schedule conflicts with the artists on the bill that I really like, since there aren’t a whole lot of them. Seems like fewer and fewer every year. But again, I’m “old” by this festival’s standards. Most of the people attending probably haven’t seen a majority of the bands before and are excited to learn more about them. If you’re one of them, good for you, have fun. For us more experienced attendees, things are starting to feel a little…let’s say stale. Of course I’ll still be covering the blow by blow here on the site this upcoming August 1-3. It’d be nice if I had a lot of positive things to say. Okay, on that upbeat note, let’s look at today’s Pick Your Poison. There’s some good tracks in this set from Arum Rae, Cathy, Honeymilk, Indianapolis JOnes, Jasia, Kaela Sinclair, Wildlife and Yumi Zouma. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream songs from Chance the Rapper, Haunted Hearts (Dum Dum Girls/Crocodiles collab), Eyes Wings and Many Other Things, Lust for Youth, Marika Hackman (covering Lykke Li), The Range and Varsity.

Arum Rae – Warranted Queen

Cathy – Get Out of Here

Cousin Matt – Soft Science

The Cure – Just Like Heaven (The Penelopes Remix)

Edison Effect – I’ll Come Back to You

Honeymilk – Red Paper Buildings

Indianapolis Jones – Loss is the Law of the World

Irie Idea – Soul Vending

Jasia – Inverbatim

Kaela Sinclair – Stranger

King Post Kitsch – The Days Keep Coming

Litsoma – The Wave (Demo)

Wildlife – Born to Ruin

Yumi Zouma – It Feels Good to Be Around You (ft. Air France)

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