Upcoming: Fan-Tan at Mercury Lounge TOMORROW, 9/4

New York, need a little live music to liven up your holiday weekend? Head on down to Mercury Lounge TOMORROW, Sunday, September 4. Fan-Tan will be taking the stage at 8PM. Doors are at 7:30PM and it will cost you $10 advance / $12 dos. And since we all like free stuff, check out the handy widget below and grab a goodie! The song is "1989" and it's from their upcoming album that's scheduled for release this fall.

Fan-Tan
Sunday, September 4
Mercury Lounge
217 E Houston Street
NYC
Doors: 7:30PM
$10 advance / $12 dos
21+

Upcoming: Ian Axel at Bowery Ballroom, Tuesday, 9/6

Hey New York, head on down to the LES on Tuesday, September 9 to catch Ian Axel. He'll be at The Bowery Ballroom. Doors are at 7PM his set is at 9PM and it'll cost you $13 advance / $15 dos. If you're into the piano pop thing, you'll want to catch this show. I think you'll dig his music. In case you're unfamiliar with his work, scroll down to the bottom of the post and check out the video of "You'll Be Okay."

Ian Axel
Tuesday, September 6
The Bowery Ballroom
6 Delancey Street
NYC
Doors: 7PM
$13 advance / $15 dos
18+

Upcoming Release: Notar - Devil's Playground

Tuesday, September 13 marks the day that rap/hip-hop artist Notar releases his debut album, Devil's Playground via Tyrannosaurus Records. Yes, that's the record label founded by the Counting Crows Adam Duritz who, doesn't look very hip-hoppy to me but hey, I probably don't look very rock 'n' roll either! Devil's Playground was produced by Notar, MGeezy and others. If you're into the hip-hop/rap thing, check it out.

NOTAR’s debut album "Devil's Playground" drops September 13th on Tyrannosaurus Records (founded by Adam Duritz of Counting Crows). In many ways he defies the description of a typical hip-hop artist; Notar was raised as a classically trained trumpeter. But once he discovered hip-hop, there was no turning back, and this gritty, genre-defying performer was quickly on his way to the top. His music inhabits a space where the gutter meets the church choir, and harsh, raw beats settle nicely behind hook-driven rock melodies. This is no ordinary hip-hop sound, and NOTAR is no ordinary MC, with talents extending far beyond his genre.

During the summer of 2010, Notar joined up with the Counting Crows' "The Traveling Circus and Medicine Show," performing for thousands of fans and dominating the stage with his unmatched energy, and organizer Adam Duritz told an interviewer, "I can't keep guys off the stage when he's playing. Everybody wants to play with him."

"Devil's Playground" was produced by Notar himself, alongside famed hip-hop producer MGeezy (Paul Wall, Wyclef Jean, T-Pain) and others. The album consists of 13 tracks and features talent such as Young Cash, Chris Carraba of Dashboard Confessional and Adam Duritz.

MP3 Grab: The Cinema Twin - "Red Gtr. (Robin Guthrie Version)"

Friends, music lovers and curious people, lend me your ears! I have goodies, yep, that's right I have some free tuneage for you. Today we have for you The Cinema Twin. It's a project helmed by Zollie Maynard and Jason Chimonides. Head down to the bottom of the post and grab "Red Gtr. (Robin Guthrie Version)." This song is from their three song single, Red Gtr. which was released at the beginning of August.

With an aesthetic that is both then and now, a songwriting process soon found them and tunes unspooled like film from a canister. They returned to Atlanta to record with Tim DeLaney, the stalwart bass player whose binoculars now hang in the corner of his own recording studio where he holds court as a producer extraordinaire.

When their first single caught the ear of dream pop guitar legend Robin Guthrie (formerly of Cocteau Twins), a distinctive rework soon splashed onto the screen, and then another... and that's just the first reel. With a series of independent singles in release, the Cinema Twin now aspires to become part of the soundtrack of your life.

Three-song single Red Gtr., featuring “Red Gtr. (Robin Guthrie version)” is available now via iTunes.

MP3 Grab: "Red Gtr. (Robin Guthrie Version)"

Song of the Day: Kasabian - "Pistols At Dawn"

We're all looking forward to the upcoming Kasabian album, Velociraptor! which is scheduled to drop here in the US on September 20. To ease the wait some, Kasabian posted a stream of the b-side of their upcoming single "Days Are Forgotten." Check out the stream of "Pistols At Dawn" below.

Pistols At Dawn by kasabian

Upcoming: The Jim Jones Revue at Music Hall of Williamsburg, Saturday 9/10

New York, The Jim Jones Revue will be taking the stage over in Brooklyn on Saturday, September 10 at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Doors are at 8PM and it'll cost you $15. The band recently released a new album, Burning Your House Down. It's a raw, blusey, punk record that packs one hell of a wallop. You should go check them out. Get there early to catch another band we dig, Des Roar.

The Jim Jones Revue
Saturday, September 10
Music Hall of Williamsburg
66 North 6th Street
Brooklyn, NY
Doors: 8PM
$15
18+

Video of the Day: Joss Stone - "Karma"

Joss Stone has released a video for "Karma." The funky song is from her newest record, LP1. Check it out below.

Grammy Award winning singer Joss Stone releases her newest music video for her soulful and funky song "Karma." The video was made during the sessions of the recording of the song in Nashville, where Stone recorded her newest record LP1. The video features clips of all the musicians performing those spectacular sessions, with plenty of footage of them all having a great time piecing together this remarkable song.

"Karma" is one of many standout tracks on Stone's newest record, LP1. Stone recently established her own label, Stone'd Records, and has partnered with Surfdog to release LP1. This is the first album Joss has recorded with total creative freedom. She co-wrote and co -produced it with super-producer and Eurythmics co-founder, Dave Stewart. Together they immersed themselves into a rock n' soul musical odyssey in Nashville, Tennessee.

Video of the Day: Clubfeet - "Broken Hearted"

*Not safe for work*

Today's video of the day comes from Clubfeet. The video is for the song "Broken Hearted" and can be seen below. The song is from their album Gold On Gold. I've labeled this not safe for work, but really, no matter how good it is, should you be sitting around looking at music videos while you're working? Probably not, but watch it at work, then go home and watch it again.

Following the first two videos in the Gold on Gold Video Project "Edge of Extremes" and "Count Your Lovers," Clubfeet share their Alex Goddard directed NSFW video for "Broken Hearted" - a more restrained, melancholic, glitchy and ambient offering from the South African/Australian five-piece. If you don't like mysterious videos with topless models backed by Clubfeet's brand of dreamy synth-led indie, then this video's probably not for you. But if any of these characteristics intrigue you, we recommend giving the video a watch. Be careful if you're at the office though....

Video of the Day: OK Go and The Muppets - "Muppet Show Theme Song"

Today's video is from OK Go and the Muppets! Do I really need to explain why a video with the Muppets in it rates being video of the day? They're the greatest bits of felt and feathers known to man and I loved them as a kid and I still adore them. OK Go are good too! The video is for their take on the "Muppet Show Theme Song." The song is from the album, Muppets: The Green Album which was released yesterday, August 23. Check it out the bottom of the post. Also below, for your listening pleasure, we have for you in our MP3 Grab, "All Is Not Lost" (Keys N Krates Remix).

The song, written by Jim Henson and Sam Pottle, opened and closed "The Muppet Show" for five seasons in the UK and US, from 1976-1981. The new track was produced by OK Go and mixed by Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, MGMT). Says singer Damian Kulash, "I'm so excited about working with the Muppets that I can hardly sleep. Collaborating with your idols is a huge thrill no matter what, but when your idols are fictional characters it seems downright impossible. The 10-year-old me was pretty good at imagining outrageous futures, but this surpasses even his capacities."

Kermit the Frog adds, "The Muppets have performed this song lots of times, but not like this. OK Go never does anything the way you'd expect it. Damian, Tim, Dan and Andy like to mix things up and get a little loopy. I think they were Muppets in a previous lifetime."

The music video was directed by Kirk Thatcher, who previously directed two Webby award-winning videos for the Muppets, "Ode to Joy" (over 15 million YouTube views) and "Muppet Bohemian Rhapsody" (over 21 million YouTube views). It celebrates this year's Muppet extravaganza, which culminates in the November release of the Muppets' seventh full-length feature film, Disney's "The Muppets."

MP3 Grab: "All Is Not Lost" (Keys N Krates Remix)

Newport Folk Festival: Delta Spirit & Middle Brother

Delta Spirit: July 30 @ Newport Folk Festival, Fort Adams State Park, Newport, RI

Last month, I spent the weekend, camera in hand, taking in this years sold-out Newport Folk Festival. Many of the artists performing over the weekend came with a gaggle of diehard followers in tow. Two of those bands were Delta Spirit and Middle Brother.

On Saturday, Delta Spirit took the stage to a packed crowd and did a bang up job of pleasing an adoring crowd. At the end of the afternoon, I was walking along and ended up chatting with a fellow festival goer about highlights of the day. Mine was Mavis Staples. His was hands down Delta Spirit. While he felt Staples was good, he felt her "comeback" (that may not have been the word he used but it was along those lines) was due to working with Jeff Tweedy whom I like fine and dandy. But, Miss Mavis didn't go anywhere to come back from and a lot of the folks I saw enthusiastically enjoying her set looked to have been enjoying her shows long before Tweedy started making music. At any rate, I'm not really sure how all of that figured into a matter of opinion and personal preference of the days highlight, but it was an interesting bit of chat none the less.

Overall, I'd have to say that Delta Spirit were my second favorite set of Saturday. And, if I didn't already dig their stuff, they would have added me to the ranks of new fans. As it stands, they just re-enforced why I and many others enjoy them.

More Photos HERE

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Middle Brother: July 31 @ Newport Folk Festival, Fort Adams State Park, Newport, RI

Sunday, there were several acts that I enjoyed. One of them was, Middle Brother who took to the Quad Stage and set about killing it song after song. I was extremely glad that there was only a five minute overlap between them and Amos Lee who was playing on the Fort Stage.

The crowd around the stage swelled enormously during their set possibly one of the largest crowds that stage received over the weekend. Some of it perhaps due to the fact that it was said that the performance was to be the folky (is that a word?!) supergroup's last... for a while. At some point I had a look around taking in the crowd. As I was doing so, I kept trying to put my finger on what I was feeling. My conclusion, their set didn't feel like part of a festival, it simply felt like a Middle Brother show.

I happened upon a Taylor Goldsmith somewhere between the media tent and the artists area. I had one of those awesome brain challenged moments where you walk away horrified at the fact that you said the brilliantly sophisticated and intellectually superior accolade, "you guys were awesome, you totally rocked it." I might have said some other dumb crap too but, I can't get past the afore mentioned horror. Can we blame the heat on my brain malfunction?

More Photos HERE