Category: pick your poison Page 95 of 141

If you’re a fan of music festivals, or more specifically Chicago-based music festivals, I’ve got a little treat for you today. The official 2013 Lollapalooza lineup is supposed to be released on April 9th. If you’ve been following me on Twitter, you’d also know that I’ve been giving away names of artists that are set to appear on that lineup each weekday for the month of March. Now a mere couple days before the end of the month and nearly 2 weeks before the official lineup reveal, the whole thing has gone ahead and leaked out. Interestingly enough, a similar thing happened last year, when somebody at Lollapalooza Chile snapped a photo of a piece of paper with the lineup typed out on it. Lollapalooza Chile is set to happen this coming weekend, so this leak even beats that time frame and comes as part of an official poster for the festival as well. Have a look at the full lineup right here. As far as my thoughts on the whole thing? Wellll, they’re a little bit mixed. Statistically speaking, this is looking to be the most popular Lolla ever. How can I tell? Ticket sales. Last year it took 3 weeks for the festival to sell out of 3-day passes. This year it took 3 hours. To say people are excited is putting it lightly, and that was even before the lineup leaked. Of course a few headliners (Mumford & Sons, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, The Killers) were already “leaked” by the time tickets went on sale yesterday morning, so maybe all the buzz was built around those artists. For me, I wouldn’t want to attend a music festival with those four acts as the headliners unless there was a massive undercard and other headliners that I desperately want to see. The good, if not great news, is that the undercard is pretty strong and filled with some great acts. I’ll go into detail about that later on when the official lineup announcement comes, but basically I like the lineup as a whole and can live with some bad headliners if there are other options to enjoy at the time. I hope you’re as excited about it as I am, though honestly I think the Pitchfork Music Festival has the better overall lineup this year, which they coincidentally just unveiled in its entirety yesterday. Summer can’t come soon enough! While we all wait patiently for music festival season, let’s do another edition of Pick Your Poison. There’s some delightful tracks today from Bad Pilgrim, Cosmuc Suckerpunch, KYLE, Majical Cloudz, The Scanners, Semi-Twang and Twinster. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream some excellent new songs from Cloud Boat, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Fyfe and Spectrals.

Bad Pilgrim – Doin’ Fine

Cosmic Suckerpunch – That Voice

Hemlock Shaw – She in the Backyard

Iggy Azalea – Work (Epic Empire Remix)

KYLE – Fruit Snacks

Little Daylight – Overdose (Tippy Toes Remix)

Majical Cloudz – Childhood’s End

Bogan Via – Red/Sun (Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs + The Animals cover)

Sam Smith – Lay Me Down (Todd Edwards Dub Mix)

Satellite Stories – Helsinki Art Scene (Nightbox Remix)

The Scanners – Mexico

Semi-Twang – Making Everybody Cry

Tommy Connery – Heat Up

Twinstar – Lost Ends

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Don’t ask me why (because I don’t know), but it’s a relatively light week for new album releases. Maybe Easter has something to do with it? I dunno. Either way, here’s a list of artists putting out new material, just so you’re aware: The Black Lillies, Crime and the City Solution, Depeche Mode, John Zorn, Julian Lynch, Lapland, Little Green Cars, The Milk Carton Kids, The Strokes, Twinstar, Wavves, Wax Idols, Wire and Y La Bamba. There’s a couple good ones in that stack, but I hope you’ll check them all out. You might find your new favorite artist. Or rediscover an old one. That’s kind of what Pick Your Poison is about every weekday too, so if you’re looking for some single songs, I’m happy to help in that regard. Don’t miss tracks today from Blood Orange (covering Phoenix), Graham MacRae, Junip, Nobody Ever, Poldoore, Pure X, Serengeti and Torches. In the Soundcloud section (after the jump), stream new songs from Caveman, Club 8, Frank Rabeyrolles and Say Lou Lou.

Blood Orange – Entertainment (Phoenix cover)

Graham MacRae – Wait

Junip – Your Life, Your Call

Les Mistons – Overcoming Fear

Memoryy – Electric City

Nobody, Ever – Snap to Zero Weather

No Way Josie – Freakness

Of the Opera – Bell Tower

Poldoore – Nothing Left to Say

Pure X – Someone Else

Ryan Smith – Simple Things

Serengeti – Directions

Snowden – Keep Quiet (Niva Remix)

TOOFUNCHILD – Stuck On Cool

Torches – When You Gonna?

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Happy Monday. I hope you had a great weekend. Mine was spent at least in part at a Darwin Deez show, so I at least had a little bit of fun. Well, between that and going to see Spring Breakers it was a rather odd weekend on the whole. By the way, James Franco probably deserves an Oscar nomination for his work in that movie. Just sayin’. I don’t have a whole lot to say at the start of this week, except I did want to mention a pretty cool thing that happened elsewhere over the weekend. Specifically, things were going on at London’s Royal Albert Hall. There was a charity event for the Teenage Cancer Trust, and some notable names in Britpop got together on stage for a little jam session as part of it. Specifically, Noel Gallagher (ex-Oasis, current Flying Bird) joined Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon and Paul Weller of Blur for a rendition of the classic Blur song “Tender”. I wish this were an official video instead of something shot from the crowd, but it’s decent audio and video on the whole – enough to give you a solid idea of how things went. Honestly, if I ever get the chance to see Blur perform live, I think “Tender” is at or right near the top of the list of things I’d want them to play. With Noel Gallagher in there it adds just a little extra bit of excitement to the whole thing. Who knows, maybe they’ll collaborate on some original music in the future. After all, Damon Albarn is quite well known for his many side projects. Okay, let’s get on with today’s Pick Your Poison. I’ll recommend to you tracks from Biggles Flys Again, ExDetectives, Hospital Ships, Liam Hayes, Lid Emba, Shark? and Silicon Ballet. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream Baauer’s remix of Aluna George’s “Attracting Flies,” plus new tracks from Schoolboy Q and White Fence.

Biggles Flys Again – Friends

Cajsa Siik – Ego

Colin Shots – Tigerlove

Emperors – Plastic Guns

ExDetectives – Whitewash

Fehrplay – Phantom

Hospital Ships – Come Back to Life

Liam Hayes – So Much Music

Lid Emba – One Less Philistine

Misun – Promise Me

Moduloktopus – Blunt Sinatra

Shark? – California Girls

Silicon Ballet – Goodbye Low

Vienna Ditto – Liar Liar

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M-m-m-m-madness is upon us. Part of me wishes I meant the band Madness, or the Muse song “Madness,” but really what I mean is March Madness. The NCAA Tournament that pits university against university for the ultimate in basketball supremacy. Will there be a Cinderella team this year? Have you filled out your bracket? How many pools are you in, and how much money are you planning to lose because of it? How about productivity? Do you keep the games streaming on your work computer, with a safe button just in case your boss walks past your desk? Hell, he’s probably watching the games in his office too. There are all these studies I see every year that talk about how the country practically shuts down for a couple weeks so everyone can watch a whole lot of basketball. As for me, well, I love basketball and my team the Fighting Illini will be struggling to survive past the first couple rounds (and likely won’t make it to the Sweet 16 at best). My hopes are low, and I fail to fully grasp the appeal of watching teams and games you have zero affiliation or interest in for 11 months out of the year. Suddenly Gonzaga is the team you’re rooting for when March 21 is the first game of theirs you’ve seen this season? It bugs me a bit, and that’s partly why I end up watching so little of the tournament. There’s a certain art to a perfect bracket, or a mostly perfect bracket, but get enough people involved and no amount of “bracketology” will win you some money via gambling on games. Some years it’s upset city, while other years everyone pretty much plays to their ranking. It’s unpredictable, and I suppose that’s also part of the fun. So I hope you’re geared up for March Madness this year, and have a great time watching some games. I won’t be paying a whole lot of attention, but more power to you if you are. Now let’s do today’s Pick Your Poison. I’m happy to recommend tracks from Anderson East, Caitlin Rose, Kurt Vile, Paperhaus, Pony Boy, Program and Way Yes. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream new tracks from Anamanaguchi, GRMLN, Neko Case and How to Dress Well’s remix of Polly Scattergood.

3D – My Name

Anderson East – Lovin’ & Losin’ (ft. Angel Snow)

The Bloody Beetroots – Spank (Religion Remix)

Caitlin Rose – Waitin

Conway – Big Talk (Peter Wade of MNDR Remix)

Freestylers – Calling Me Home (ft. DV)

Kurt Vile – Never Run Away

Paperhaus – Helicopters

PEDiCO – Nixon Now
PEDiCO – White Bread in Puerto Rico

Pony Boy – Greatest Unknown

Program – Waiting

Tuxedo – So Good

The Violet Array – Kona

Way Yes – Colerain

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The last couple weeks on Thursdays I’ve been doing a fun sort of experiment where I’ve been passing along links to things other than mp3s in the intro section. This provides me the chance to share a cool video, interesting interview or a fun game you might enjoy. I know it’s only Wednesday, but I’m going to try it today to see if it works out better than Thursday. Let me know if you like it, and I’ll keep doing it. Anyways, here’s a few choice items I’ve uncovered and thoroughly enjoyed in the last few days:

–Pitchfork’s feature story on the legacy of Jason Molina after his tragic death last weekend

–Music Video: Death Grips – Lock Your Doors

–Chicago Tribune: Mumford & Sons, The Killers, Phoenix and Vampire Weekend to headline Lollapalooza
*P.S. – If you want more Lollapalooza lineup tips, follow me on Twitter.

–YouTube Audio Stream: Savages – She Will

–Music Video: Justin Timberlake – Mirrors

–Bauhaus frontman Peter Murphy arrested in Glendale, CA for alleged hit-and run and possession of methamphetamines

Now then, as to today’s Pick Your Poison. There are some choice tracks in this set, most notably from The Belle Sounds, Child Bite, Kait Lawson, Morningbell, Shlohmo and Jeremih, and Wave Machines. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream tracks from Cold War Kids (covering The Band), Future Bible Heroes (Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields), The Juan Maclean, Snoop Lion and Sonny & The Sunsets.

The Belle Sounds – Should Have Been Mine

The Cannanes – Crawler (Richie Phoe Remix)

Child Bite – Abysmal Splatter

Dave Arcari & The Hellsinki Hellraisers – Whisky in My Blood

Hanni El Khatib – Penny (Classixx Remix)

Kait Lawson – Take Your Charge

Morningbell – We Have Eyes As Well As Ears

Paul White – Street Lights (ft. Danny Brown)

Phil Weeks – All Day Every Day (Joss Moog Around 7 Acoustic Mix)

Reed – NMBH

Shlohmo and Jeremih – Bo Peep (Do U Right)

Silas Fermoy – Lights Burn Bright

Wave Machines – Sitting in a Chair, Blinking (Extended Version)

We Are the City – Baptism

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It’s Tuesday, so should we talk about the new music releases that are in stores today? Sure, it’s a weekly tradition. After last week’s quiet due to SXSW, it’s good to see things pick back up again. Be on the look out for new albums from Billy Bragg, Birds and Arrows, Black Pus, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Boy + Kite, Brandt Brauer Frick, Colleen Green, Ensemble Pearl, Fol Chen, Ghostkeeper, The Heligoats, Invisible Hands, Josh Rouse, Justin Timberlake, Low, Marnie Stern, The Ocean Blue, Palma Violets, Phosphorescent, Preston Lovinggood, Purling Hiss, Rival Sons, Stornoway, Suede, Thalia Zedek and William Tyler. There’s actually a handful of really good records that I’ve already heard in that stack, so please check as many of them out as you can! But also check out today’s Pick Your Poison tracks. There’s some great ones from Absinthe Junk, Dinosaur Jr. (covering Phoenix in a…different way), Killing Fields of Ontario, Rice Cultivation Society and Woodenbox. In the Soundcloud section (after the jump), there’s streams of new tracks from Free Time, Kisses and Pornography (Ryan Adams’ new band), plus Jay-Z’s remix of Kendrick Lamar’s “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe”.

Absinthe Junk – Death in the Afternoon

Aesthetic Invention – Code Song

Belladonna – Sweet Child O’ Mine (Guns N’ Roses cover)

Dinosaur Jr. – Entertainment (Phoenix cover)

KaiL Baxley – Legend of the Western Hills

Killing Fields of Ontario – Twisted Little Theatre

laymedown – Me & U

Leopard of Honour – Visions of Garuda

New London Fire – Mama It’s Alright

Rice Cultivation Society – Fading Stars

Serge P – Acid in 2107

TECLA – Fake Tears (Gordon Voidwell Remix)

Thirty Pounds of Bone – Home Faring

Woodenbox – Roll For Me

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I don’t consider myself to be a Lil’ Wayne fan. I’ve got nothing against the guy, and honestly I’ve never listened to one of his records, but he just doesn’t seem like the kind of artist I would gravitate towards. I can say that about a lot of hip hop stars, because I don’t listen to much hip hop in general. But I want to talk about him for a minute given what happened to him over the weekend. He’s had some seizures and other medical problems in the past that sidelined him for awhile, as did some trips to prison. This past weekend it was seizures again, which some claim were brought on by Wayne having too much of a drink known as sizzurp. If you’re not sure what sizzurp is, look it up. Not a drink I’d recommend trying, but to each their own. So there were reports coming out on Friday night that were conflicting and confusing and ultimately revealed nothing about Wayne’s condition in the hospital. Some said he was on his death bed in a medically induced coma and was being read his last rites. Other reports said he was in critical condition, but was expected to be okay. His family flew out to see him, which is never a good sign, but close friends of his were the ones speaking to the media and claiming he was okay. Then Wayne himself apparently sent out a tweet in which he said he was okay. Mind you, the tweet came shortly after word was going around that he was on his death bed. All around I’d chalk this entire incident up to bad journalism, particularly on the part of TMZ, who first claimed Wayne was about to die. The truth, as it turns out, is that Wayne is okay, will survive, was downgraded from serious condition and released from the hospital earlier tonight. So good/great news on that front. There are so many hip hop stars that we’ve lost at way too young of an age, and it’s nice that Lil’ Wayne isn’t one of them…at least not yet. Hopefully he’ll return to full health and have a long career rather than falling victim to more seizures or other issues. I wish him the best despite not being a fan.

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Jason Molina, who passed away this past Saturday at the age of 39. Molina was the main force behind Magnolia Electric Co. and Songs:Ohia, and made a number of influential and important records over the last couple decades. I’ve listened to some music from both of his bands, but never quite had the time to really explore what either project was all about. I do know his loss will be felt throughout the music community, and I’d like to extend my condolences to his family and anyone else that truly loved his sonic creations.

On that somber note, let’s get to today’s Pick Your Poison. Please don’t miss tracks from Bernard Et Bianca, Circus Devils (ft. Robert Pollard), Home By Hovercraft, Make Haste and Seaweed Meadows. In the Soundcloud section after the jump you can stream new tracks from The Birthday Suit, Love and Radiation, Vitalic as well as Duke Dumont’s remix of HAIM’s “Falling.”

Bernard Et Bianca – White Mountain Lies

Black Madonna – Bill E Ocean

The Bowery Riots – Many Ways You’re Mine

Circus Devils – All the Good Ones Are Gone (ft. Robert Pollard)

Daft Punk – Technologic (AntonyToga NuClassic Mix)

Home By Hovercraft – Rocket

Irish Steph – Paddy’s Craic

Make Haste – Should Have Left

Moduloktopus – Turkish Clubish

Outasight – I’ll Drink to That (Samuel Remix)

The Ramona Flowers – Lust and Lies (Reuben Wu Ladytron Remix)

Seaweed Meadows – Ruins

Solice – Drop It Lo

Trust – Heaven (Discoforgia Remix)

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It’s Thursday, and like last week, I’m going to test out something new and take you beyond the downloads and audio streams below. This provides me the chance to share a cool video, interesting interview or a fun game you might enjoy. Let me know if you like it, and I’ll keep doing it. Anyways, here’s a few choice items I’ve uncovered and thoroughly enjoyed in the last few days:

–Video of Joanna Newsom covering Sandy Denny’s “The North Star Grassman and the Ravens”
–Jay-Z to serve as Executive Producer and will perform songs on The Great Gatsby soundtrack
–Video for AlunaGeorge’s new single “Attracting Flies”
–NME interview with Trent Reznor on the return of Nine Inch Nails
–Watch The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne in an absurdly weird Virgin Mobile commercial
–Help and support Benjamin Curtis of School of Seven Bells as he battles T-cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma
–Watch the new Foals video for “Late Night” (NSFW)

Okay, now let’s talk about today’s Pick Your Poison. I’m happy to recommend tracks from Black Manila, Boy + Kite, Camera, Mother Falcon, My Gold Mask, Navy Skies, Scott & Charlene’s Wedding and Stygian Stride. In the Soundcloud section (after the jump), stream new songs from Cave Painting, The Hics and Treetop Flyers, among others.

Black Manila – Père Lachaise

Blurred City Lights ft. Rose Berlin – Symbiotic Anxiety Attacks (Feels So High Mix)

Boy + Kite – Fall

Camera – The Negotiator

Jjanice+ – 8mm

Josef Salvat – This Life (Phat Deuce Remix)

Los Zapping – Russia

Mother Falcon – Dirty Summer (Single Edit)

My Gold Mask – Lost in My Head

Navy Skies – Cut My Teeth

Scott & Charlene’s Wedding – Gammy Leg

Stygian Stride – Drift

Tess Henley – From the Get Go

Your Fuzzy Friends – Don’t Touch My Mustache

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I understand there are a lot of people out there who love Phoenix (the band, not the city…but there are plenty who love that as well). I could count myself among the ranks of Phoenix fans, but that’s become increasingly more difficult for me to deal with through their meteoric rise in popularity. Here’s the thing: I’ve been listening to them since their 2004 album Alphabetical, when I couldn’t understand why they weren’t one of the biggest bands in the world. Even their 2006 record It’s Never Been Like That continued that trend of positively amazing, addictive synth pop songs worthy of being played ad nauseam at radio stations everywhere. I’m pleased to say during my time working in the programming department of a radio station I added the Phoenix songs “Everything Is Everything” and “Long Distance Call” to the playlist and people loved them. Then Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix arrived in 2009, and it was like a switch had been flipped. Suddenly they were everywhere, and their songs “1901” and “Lisztomania” were on every radio station on repeat and as background music for commercials and TV shows. This band I always thought deserved to be huge, became huge. It got to the point where in 2010 they actually headlined one night of Lollapalooza. To me it was sort of a WTF choice, because most everyone was only familiar with the 2 singles and nothing more. How that qualifies any band to headline one of the biggest music festivals in North America, I’ll never know. And somehow that continues even today, as Phoenix is set to headline Coachella this year. Of course they do have a new album out on April 23rd called Bankrupt!. The first single “Entertainment” came out a few weeks back, and while it’s a familiar slice of Phoenix pop, it doesn’t quite hit me as hard as their past singles have. Is my hearing damaged due to some invisible prejudice I might have against little indie bands that go massively mainstream, or have I been listening to this band for long enough that they’re starting to sound a little stale? I mean, if you’ve only listened to their last album and didn’t obsess over their back catalogue for years, does the new material make you more predisposed to like it compared to my extensive history with this band? It’s a good question to ask. I’ve not heard more than the single song from the new album yet, but early word is the full tamale is as good as their previous stuff. So I’m holding off a greater judgment for later. We’ll find out next month. Until then, let’s do today’s Pick Your Poison. Let me recommend tracks from Circle, Fat Tony, Joaquin, LVL UP, Tremor Low and Web of Sunsets. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream tracks from Azealia Banks, Best Coast (covering Roy Orbison), Cold War Kids (covering Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds), The Twilight Sad and Four Tet’s remix of the new Justin Timberlake single.

Blasé – Facade

Chic Gamine – Days and Days

Circle – Rump Shaker

Dead Can Dance – Children of the Sun (Live)

Ellie Goulding – Explosions (Joey Harmless Bootleg)

EZLV – Fresh Like

Fat Tony – Hood Party (ft. Kool A.D. and Despot)

Joaquin – Hit Me

Kim Mayo – Long Slow Love’s Hum

LVL UP – Consistent

Mr. Fogg – Headlock (Graphics Remix)

Paradigms – The Long Way (D7 Urban Mix)

Tremor Low – Give Blood

Web of Sunsets – Fool’s Melodies

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It’s a very weak week for new music, as so much of the industry is in Texas for SXSW right now. Still, if you’re looking for new albums to check out, the following artists are releasing new material: Biffy Clyro, Camera, David Bowie, Devendra Banhart, Eric Clapton, Girls Names, Home By Hovercraft, The Mary Onettes, Matthew Good, Scott & Charlene’s Wedding, Stereophonics, Tape Deck Mountain, The Virgins and Wild Belle. If none of those strike your fancy, maybe a track from today’s Pick Your Poison will. I’ll advise you to download songs from Arc Rev One, DEJA, Nick Ferrio & His Feelings, Sam Page, Wildlife Control and Yellow Claw. In the Soundcloud section (after the jump), don’t miss streaming new songs from Carmen Villain, Caveman, The Knife and Laura Marling.

Arc Rev One – Static Cling

Bounte – Those Moves

C.L.A.W.S. – That Magik

Corespondents – Face Cancellation

Counterfeit i – Smile

DEJA – Holiday

Gallons to Ounces – Deep

Misty Miller – Little Drummer

Nick Ferrio & His Feelings – Half the Time

Paradigms – The Long Way (D7 Urban Mix)

Sam Page – Take It Easy

Thomas Azier – Angelene (Obi Blanche Remix)

Wildlife Control – Ages Places

Yellow Claw – Kaolo

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Sooo we’ve hit the week that many hardcore music fans know as SXSW Week. If you’re not a hardcore music fan, let me give you a very quick overview of what that’s all about. See, there’s this big conference happening in Austin, Texas. It’s called South By Southwest, and features a few different sectors, including Film and Interactive. But for music geeks, the Music portion is the one where all the focus is at. In addition to the many speaking panels with musician and music industry guests talking about various aspects of the industry, there’s also hundreds upon hundreds of showcases that occur all across the streets of downtown Austin. Empty warehouses, open fields, parking garages and everything in between suddenly become concert venues, and almost every conceivable band descends on the town to perform in the hopes of either getting discovered or praised for new music they’re playing. Bands like Green Day, Tegan & Sara, Best Coast and a whole lot more established names will pop up at a show or two, but mostly there’s a lot of small bands working hard, playing a half dozen or more shows over the course of 3-5 days, and wearing themselves out in the process. There’s rumors that Prince will play a secret show this year, and maybe even Daft Punk too. When I went for the first time last year, I had a blast and made memories that will last for a lifetime. The big names performing then were Jack White, who was just establishing himself as a solo artist, and Bruce Springsteen, who was the keynote speaker at the conference and later put on a 3+ hour show at a small venue that blew some minds. I was unable to get into either of those shows, but will never forget standing front and center for a big Sleigh Bells set or seeing Grimes perform 3 times in a couple days and watching as she progressively lost her voice. There was the time I saw Best Coast and Frankie Rose play on top of a parking garage where there were only a handful of people for some reason and all the free alcohol you could drink. How about when I saw Fiona Apple perform her first live show in a few years, during which she performed a couple new songs off her then-forthcoming album The Idler Wheel…? There were a bunch more great moments similar to those that I don’t want to get into right now, except to say that you can read through those many memories and all my SXSW coverage from 2012 right here. For 2013, I’m spending SXSW at home, unable to get to Texas this year. I miss it and want to go back. Perhaps in 2014? I think almost definitely. If you’re in Austin this week, I hope you have a blast. If not, I strongly advise you to make it out there if you have the financial means of doing so. Now then, let’s get to today’s Pick Your Poison. I’ll recommend tracks from 1939 Ensemble, All Tiny Creatures, Liam Singer, Radiation City and Suburban Living. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream songs from The Appleseed Cast, Austra, James Blake, Merchandise, and Ryan Hemsworth’s remix of Lana Del Rey’s “Summertime Sadness”.

1939 Ensemble – Sad French Song

All Tiny Creatures – Quickest Cut

Bears! Bears! Bears! – I Guess We’re Lonely

Blood Sister – Why Would You

Eksi Ekso – Gold Cures

Enerate – Unstoppable

Faustix & Imanos – Moonlight (ft. Noosa)

Frida Sundemo – Home

Ginger & The Ghost – One Type of Dark (Ta-ku Remix)

Liam Singer – Stranger I Know

My Gold Mask – Further It Gets (Shuteye Remix)

Radiation City – Fly Me to The Moon (Astrud Gilberto cover)

Stereoboy – Naked

Suburban Living – Always Eyes

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Hey, we’ve reached another weekend! Sometimes that feels like the greatest thing ever. I’d tell you all about my big plans, but they’re not really big and nothing is set in stone anyways. Also, nobody really wants to read about what I’m up to unless it’s something exciting like jumping out of a plane or having lunch with David Bowie. Sometimes it’s just nice to sit back, relax, and spend time with friends at a bar or something. But I hope you’ve got lots to do and that you enjoy it. Let’s get right to this Friday edition of Pick Your Poison, shall we? Keep your ears open for tracks from Joywave, K-The-I???, Kinski, Olof Arnalds, Porcupine, Ten Kens and United Ghosts. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream new songs from Eluvium, Fossil Collective and Wax Idols, among others. Have a great weekend!

Big Paraid – Walk in Place

Blank Realm – Go Easy

Fijuka – Running Up That Hill (Kate Bush cover)

Joywave – All I Want

K-The-I??? – Aching for Love Music

Kinski – Last Day on Earth

Lionlimb – Bound Widths

Ólöf Arnalds – Return Again

Porcupine – Witness to a Chase Scene

Skatalites – Desert Ska

Squalloscope – Zephyr

Ten Kens – When a Door Opens

Tumbleweed Wanderers – Worn Down Welcome

United Ghosts – Holes Into the Night

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For the introduction to today’s Pick Your Poison, I want to try something a little different. Instead of writing some expository paragraph about a music news or concert item, I think I’ll pass along a few key pieces of music-related entertainment that you might enjoy. Have a look at these links, and click on something if you think you might enjoy it. I mean, that’s the basic idea behind Pick Your Poison, but none of these things are mp3s. So here we go:

–Did Kohl’s rip off YACHT? You be the judge!

–Hear the new She & Him song “Never Wanted Your Love” via YouTube

–Watch Beach House’s new video for “Wishes,” directed by Tim Heidecker and starring Ray Wise

–Watch the video for Phoenix’s new single “Entertainment”

–Watch a short documentary about the band Iceage, filmed this past January

–Watch Dave Grohl, Josh Homme and Trent Reznor perform the song “Mantra” live in a studio off the Sound City documentary soundtrack

So that covers that. If you like how this little experiment came together, let me know in the comments or via one of the many social media and email outlets on the top right of the page. Now let’s deal with today’s Pick Your Poison. I’ll recommend you download tracks from Big Scary, Dirty Fences, Hey Champ, Meg Mac, They Might Be Giants and Twin Tigers. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, I’ll advocate that you stream 100% of the tracks in there, including ones from Baths, Eleanor Friedberger, Julian Lynch, Smith Westerns, Sonny & The Sunsets and The xx covering Kings of Tomorrow.

Big Scary – Phil Collins

The Cannanes – Crawler

Crywolf & Aylen – Silence Pt. II

Dirty Fences – Heaven Is Tonight

DUST – Your Only Friend (Phuture cover)

Greg Boring – Huh

Hey Champ – Comet (ft. BeuKes)

Hollis Brown – Walk On Water

Meg Mac – Known Better

Papertwin – Diving

Ruby Ridge – No Shade

Stubborn Heart – To Catch A Spark

They Might Be Giants – You’re On Fire

Twin Tigers – Racecar

Weird Mob – Wired in Parallel

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Okay, I haven’t done a preview for a Chicago show in awhile, so let’s bring that back today with 2 different (but equally great) concerts happening in the city on the same day. That day is Monday, March 10th. Sure, you may still be a bit groggy from losing an hour of sleep on Sunday thanks to Daylight Savings Time, but trust me when I say there are some good bands coming through town. First up is Panoramic & True. You can download a new song from them called “Haunted” off their Wonderlust record below as part of today’s Pick Your Poison. They’re a local Chicago band with a lot of catchy orchestral pop songs you just want to fall in love with. Anyways, they’ll be playing a 21+ show at Beat Kitchen on Monday night (8:30 p.m. start time). Also on that bill are Sea Lanes, Rare Animals and America Hearts. Tickets are only $8 and can be purchased in advance here.

Another band with local ties is The Pear Traps, and they’ll be headlining a show at the Empty Bottle on Monday night with two New York bands coming through town on their way to SXSW, Ski Lodge and Conveyor. The Pear Traps make music best describes as jangly garage pop, and they put out an EP late last year that’s pretty great. The Elsewhere EP is available to stream and as a name your own price download at Bandcamp. But the other two bands on the bill are excellent as well. Ski Lodge just released a new single, which you can stream in the Soundcloud section of today’s Pick Your Poison. That’s a lot of fun and it reminds me of The Smiths in a positive way. Perhaps most interesting, to me at least, is Conveyor, a band that combines folk, electronica and a host of other styles and elements to create an experimental pop sound that’s positively addictive. It’s like if Animal Collective, Fleet Foxes and Yeasayer had a musical baby together. I’ve featured the tracks “Mukraker,” “Marie” and “Woolgatherer” on my site before, and I invite you to download them all if you haven’t yet done so. The show is at the Empty Bottle on Monday starting at 7, and tickets are only $3. Yep, you read that right, $3. A buck a band. You can’t do much better than that, and especially with talent like this. Here is the link to buy tickets.

Okay, on to today’s Pick Your Poison, which is a delight. Pay particular attention to tracks from Dandan, Ghostkeeper, James Ferraro, Peals, Shannon & The Clams, Will Courtney and Delorean’s remix of Young Dreams. Oh, and Chris Bear’s remix of Grizzly Bear’s “Plans” is excellent as well. In the Soundcloud section (after the jump), stream tracks from Big Deal, Goldroom, Iggy and the Stooges and Laura Stevenson, among others.

Dandan – Swimmers

Ghostkeeper – Luella

Glass Candy – The Possessed (Extended Runway Edit)

Grizzly Bear – Plans (C Bear Chopped Up Not Slopped Up Remix)

James Ferraro – Blood Flow

Opaque Stutters – Benefit of the Doubt

Panoramic & True – Haunted

Peals – Blue Elvis

Shannon & The Clams – Rip Van Winkle

Streak and the Raven – Speed of Light

Sweatson Klank – Waiting (ft. Vikter Duplaix)

WhoaBear – Long Time

Will Courtney – There’s No Answer

Young Dreams – First Days of Something (Delorean Remix)

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Ah, it’s Tuesday! What’s on the new music calendar for this week? I’m glad you asked, self. This week the following artists are putting out new records, so if you want to buy any of them, this is your reminder: The ACBs, Autechre, Blanche Blanche Blanche, Bloody Amateur, Caitlin Rose, Cave Singers, Chelsea Light Moving, Cloud Cult, Doldrums, Helado Negro, Hey Marseilles, Hollis Brown, How to destroy angels_, Javelin, Judy Kang, Kate Nash, The Kingsbury Manx, Madeline Peyroux, Rhye, Son Volt, Superhuman Happiness, Suuns, The Men, They Might Be Giants, Waxahatchee, Young Dreams and Youth Lagoon. I haven’t heard all those records so I’m not one to judge, but I know there’s at least 3 gems in that stack and I wish you the best of luck in discovering them. Meanwhile, Pick Your Poison goes onwards and upwards, as I’ll give a gold star to tracks from 3421, Big Black Delta, Camera2, Jason Blum, Kait Lawson, Psychic Friend and Whitehorse. In the Soundcloud section, there’s quite a few great things up for streaming, including tracks from Generationals, High Highs, Milk Music and Parquet Courts.

3421 – Sparks

Big Black Delta – Side of the Road

Blondfire – Walking With Giants (Shreddie Mercury Remix)

Camera2 – Just About Made It

The Disraeli Gears – Back of My Eyes (Live)

Kash – Play the Fool

Doe Paoro – Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen cover)

Jason Blum – Josephine

Kait Lawson – Memphis

Mudhoney – I Like It Small

Odonis Odonis – Better

Psychic Friend – We Do Not Belong

Solomon – Vanilla

Sondra Sun-Odeon – Hair

Whitehorse – Devil’s Got A Gun

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