We were deeply saddened to learn that Scottish songwriter, guitarist, and true legend John Martyn passed away early on January 29, only weeks after being awarded Great Britain’s OBE (Order of the British Empire) — not bad for a rebellious lifelong Scotsman. His website announced his death with the words: “With heavy heart and an unbearable sense of loss we must announce that John died this morning.” As of this writing, the cause of that death is unknown but it hardly matters. What does is that in place of that gruff, slurring, dark, smoky voice and stunning guitar playing completely of his own design, is the silence, the gap, the void, the damn black hole in life that he filled by singing those unbearably emotional songs of his.

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Leonard Cohen, Bright Eyes, Superchunk, Fleet Foxes, the Cure, Paul McCartney, and the Killers are among the artists slated to play at this year’s Coachella festival. Cohen’s appearance will mark the songwriter’s second U.S. show in 15 years. [Pitchforkmedia.com]

And you thought Axl Rose was a tyrannical bandleader. John Coleman, drum major for the Cleveland Firefighters’ Memorial Pipes & Drums, has been asked to leave the group after winking at Pres. Obama during the band’s performance in the Inaugural Parade. [Guardian.co.uk]

Toby Keith will unveil his own clothing line, TK Steelman, on February 18th. Keith’s line will offer sleeveless shirts, polos, bandannas, leather wrist straps, and the like. A women’s line is expected to launch later this year. [CMT.com]

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Like Stephen Wilkinson’s other Bibio albums, Vignetting the Compost is as literal as it is charming. Blending and transforming parts and pieces so they become a whole is equally vital to making compost and making music, and this is especially true in Bibio’s world, where folk meets electronica, and recognizeable instruments mesh with undefinable but oddly comforting textures and field recordings. Since Fi, Wilkinson’s flair for creating hazy atmospheres has been the most striking thing about Bibio’s music, and his gifts in that department are still strong. “Everglad Everglade” decorates the acoustic guitars that provide the album’s backbone with flutes, birdsong and chirping frogs, and “Over the Hills and Far Away”’s metallic percussion clatters like a rickety old bicycle. Vignetting the Compost also remains true to the vignette part of its title, with many tracks that are just long enough to make a gentle impression, like the brief flutter of “Dopplerton” and “Odd Paws”‘ shoegaze-tinged fog.

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It’s really amazing, thrilling and shocking (or something) that each week we run across all these new bands that we think are worth a listen or two. If you do the math on that, by the end of the year we will have featured around 3,500 bands, projects and artists. (Good golly, that’s a lot of linkage.) Hopefully this week’s selection of weird, wild and wonderful bands will give you a thrill or at least something to think about, maybe even learn from. If not, let us know who we should have featured. Links away!

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Guitarist and singer-songwriter John Martyn, who was a major figure in the British folk scene in the ’60s and released over 20 albums in his four-decade career, passed away Thursday morning at age 60. Martyn received an OBE from Queen Elizabeth II earlier in January. Allmusic will publish a tribute to Martyn’s life and music soon. [Uncut.co.uk]

R.I.P. Lynyrd Skynyrd keyboardist Billy Powell, who died Thursday morning at age 56. Powell was one of the band’s original members who survived the 1977 plane crash that claimed Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s assistant manager. [Guardian.co.uk]

Taylor Swift’s eighth week atop the Billboard 200 almost seems like a given, but the debut of Andrew Bird’s Noble Beast at number 12, Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavillion at 13 and Bon Iver’s Blood Bank EP at 16 make this week’s charts interesting. [Variety.com]

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As is usual for the Grammy’s nominees for Best Classical Contemporary Composition, works by American composers predominate, with Michael Gandolfi, John Corigliano, and George Tsontakis represented. Chris Walden is German-born, but has spent much of his professional career in the U.S. as an arranger for pop musicians, and Marc-André Dalbavie is French. Based on the musical substance of their compositions, the three Americans are probably the strongest contenders for the award.

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Homemade need not mean junky, and inspiration has no price tag. If you want to try on wacky clothes and be cute while a friend tries out all the visual tricks they know, go for it. If you want to stage a bank robbery (and subsequent jail break) using fluffy stuffed animals, be our guest. We don’t need models, spiffy outfits and car chases, or little things like visual clarity to keep us entertained. Just do something interesting, dammit! These two bands do their best with the means at hand and make something nice out of something small. It certainly doesn’t hurt that both Liechtenstein’s jaunty, angular post punk (think the Modettes or a less herky Delta 5) and the Maybellines sweet as soda, simple as Buddy Holly pop are pretty great without visuals, anyway.

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A new Arctic Monkeys track has appeared on YouTube. Originally part of a recent live broadcast on Australian television, the clip features the Monkeys performing the unreleased song “Crying Lightning.” Currently, the Arctic Monkeys are in the studio working on the band’s forthcoming album, which will feature production from Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme. [Stereogum.com]

Kelly Clarkson will debut the video for her new song, “My Life Would Suck Without You,” during Wednesday night’s American Idol show. The track is the first single off her upcoming album All I Ever Wanted, which is set for release on March 17. [LATimes.com]

Bruce Springsteen plans to tour this spring in support of his latest album Working on a Dream. You can check out a fan-made video for the lead-off single “Queen of the Supermarket” here. [Billboard.com]

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