The Allmusic Blog

News Roundup: 11/20/2009

AMG Staff — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:46:55 +0000

New Yorkers were treated to a rare performance by Big Star on Wednesday night, when the iconic power-pop band — whose touring lineup now comprises frontman Alex Chilton, longtime drummer Jody Stephens, and Posies members Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow — performed at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple. Highlights included a cover of Todd Rundgren’s “Slut,” a rendition of “I Am the Cosmos” with Auer on lead vocals, and such Big Star staples as “Thirteen” and “The Ballad of El Goodo.” [RollingStone.com]

Dates for the annual Bonnaroo Festival have been announced. The festival will commence its ninth year on June 10th, 2010, and the 24-hour entertainment will run through the morning of the 13th. Start praying for dry weather and big-name headliners. [LiveMusicBlog.com]

BlueBeat owner Hank Risan, whose website was recently closed for illegally selling music by the Beatles, Lily Allen, and Coldplay, tells the Los Angeles Times that he secured a “secret agreement” with EMI and the RIAA before selling the Fab Four’s tracks. [LATimes.com]

The Gibson guitar company is under federal investigation for potentially using smuggled wood in its instruments. Federal agents raided a Gibson factory on Tuesday, claiming the company may have illegally shipped rosewood from Madagascar to help create its signature guitars. [Guardian.co.uk]

Miley Cyrus’ bus driver has been killed in a traffic accident in Virginia, although Cyrus was not aboard the bus when it overturned. The singer’s next concert — a Sunday evening gig in Greensboro, North Carolina — is still scheduled to take place. [RollingStone.com]

After smearing herself with blood at the 2009 VMAs and writhing atop a ladder during Monday’s episode of Gossip Girl, Lady Gaga has secured an even stranger gig: performing her dance-pop songs for the Queen of England. Gaga will join artists like Bette Midler, Alexandra Burke, and Michael Buble at this year’s Royal Variety Performance, which takes place at the Blackpool Opera House on December 7. [NME.com]

Actor Jason Segel joined the Swell Season during a recent gig in L.A., performing a self-penned song that included references to his nude scene in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and his involvement with the TV cult favorite “Freaks and Geeks.” Watch the performance here. [Spinner.com]

Hot Damn Jamz 35: Punch a Hole in It

AMG Staff — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:30:14 +0000

This week we’ve got the usual stunning array of new bands to thrill, chill and amaze you. From New Jersey noise poppers to SF psych poppers to Welsh collectives, these are all names to learn because they are going to be big timing it in 2010. Next week we’ll bring you another overflowing bounty of brilliance, but after that we have some choices. We’ll probably have a year-end best-of HDJz round-up, but it might be cool to have a Reader’s Choice Hot Damn Jamz. If you want to take part please send in a comment with the words “I’m in, Bunky” and we’ll get in touch with you. First 10 people will get the once in a lifetime chance to be part of the HDJz team. Good luck!

Million Young
There are a bunch of bands doing a kind of dreamy, decayed-sounding bedroom electropop these days. Think Neon Indian or Washed Out to name two of the best. These guys are doing something very similar but with actual hooks, and vocals you can almost understand. Very nice!

Comanechi
Akiko and Simon’s riot-grrrl tinged noise-rock will make you want to punch a hole in it!

Cloud Nothings
This may be the first good band to ever come out of Cleveland, Ohio.

His Clancyness
Imagine if Beck never progressed past his first album or two. Also imagine if he didn’t kind of suck. You’re getting close to the idiosyncratic lo-fi sound of the impeccably-named His Clancyness.

Virtual Boy
This Los Angeles duo give their music an extra life by mashing together electro, 8-bit, pop and classical influences.

Gentle Friendly
Dense yet atmospheric and above all catchy, Gentle Friendly put a refreshingly different twist on noise-pop.

Big Troubles
These noisy, gazey guys from New Jersey sound like they should be from Sweden or even the UK back in 1991 or so.

’60s-sounding experimental electronics and folk-leaning instrumentation, a la Broadcast and Bibio, come together in The Focus Group.

Sparse indie rock from South China

Black Hand Laser Band
You just can’t beat a band with a name that rhymes, especially when they are a super cool Welsh neo-psych collective with NO MYSPACE PAGE!

Birds & Batteries
Moody, country rock-inflected synth-pop from San Francisco.

News Roundup: 11/19/2009

AMG Staff — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:08:41 +0000

John Mayer’s Battle Studies is estimated to sell between 275,000 and 300,000 copies this week, which should make it the number one album on Billboard’s 200 chart. If it tops the chart, this will be Mayer’s second number one; 2003’s Heavier Things, which sold 317,000 in 2003, was his first. Casting Crowns, Norah Jones, 50 Cent and Justin Bieber are other acts likely to debut high on next week’s Billboard 200. [Billboard.com]

Two of the year’s best-received music documentaries, Anvil! and It Might Get Loud, were left off of the short list of Best Documentary candidates for the 2010 Oscars. Not all music-themed documentaries fared so badly: Soundtrack for a Revolution, which features the Roots, the Blind Boys of Alabama, John Legend and Wyclef Jean, made the cut. [RollingStone.com]

Two websites selling digital downloads of the Beatles’ catalog have been shuttered at the order of U.S. District Judge John F. Walter. Bluebeat and Basebeat were selling the Beatles’ music with added “psycho-acoustic simulation” which allegedly made the songs sound as though they were being performed live. The owner of the sites, Hank Risan, was also selling tracks by Lily Allen and Coldplay. [Guardian.co.uk]

R. Kelly’s upcoming tenth album Untitled will feature collaborations with OJ Da Juiceman, Tyrese, the Dream, Keri Hilson and Robin Thicke, along with producers Jazze Pha and LOS Da Mystro. The album’s lead track, “Number One,” was Kelly’s 35th top 10 hit on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. [AllHipHop.com]

Check out “Norway,” the first taste of Beach House’s upcoming album Teen Dream. [Stereogum.com]

Nick Cave, along with writers Philip Roth, John Banville and Paul Theroux, is on the shortlist for Literary Review magazine’s annual Bad Sex in Fiction award for his novel The Death of Bunny Munro. The award focuses on “redundant passages of sexual description”. A spokeswoman for Cave said, “Frankly we would have been offended if he wasn’t shortlisted.” [BBC.co.uk]

Elle’s Decade in Music features Andrew WK, Carrie Brownstein, Girl Talk and other music movers and shakers talking about the best and worst of the 2000s. [Elle.com]

My Video Jamz of 2006

Tim Sendra — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:32:00 +0000

Do you like pop music? Do you like snappy visuals? Well, 2006 was a pretty good year for both. I’m a big fan of Camera Obscura’s loving recreation of early 60s advertising, the Long Blondes’ wittily cinematic split screens, the Bicycles’ endearingly DIY-goofiness, Love is All’s invigorating live performance, and the Golden Dogs’ all-out energetic charge through one of the great unknown pop anthems of the last decade.

Camera Obscura - “Lloyd I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken” (from Let’s Get Out of This Country)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiOiD7DwmrM

Love is All - “Busy Doing Nothing” (from Nine Times the Same Song)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWwP9TRXaZA

The Bicycles - “Australia” (from The Good the Bad and the Cuddly)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caZsGDxR6L0

Golden Dogs - “Construction Worker” (from Big Eye, Little Eye)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGNNnxaFAcc

The Long Blondes - “Once and Never Again”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqJF5h9k5SI

News Roundup: 11/18/2009

AMG Staff — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:16:59 +0000

British pop-singer Leona Lewis has recorded the theme song for director James Cameron’s long-awaited sci-fi epic Avatar. The song, titled “I See You,” will play over the film’s end credits. Lewis just released Echo, her sophomore album and follow-up to 2007’s international smash Spirit. [Independent.co.uk.]

Ian Brown is apparently urging British educators to show the films “8 Mile” and “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” to pupils. The former Stone Roses frontman feels that these biographical films (which center on rappers Eminem and 50 Cent) will help inspire young children to achieve great things. [NME.com]

Beck has released a song about experimental composer Harry Partch. The song, fittingly titled “Harry Partch,” arrives shortly after the Fiery Furnaces’ Matthew Freidberger’s criticism of Radiohead’s own “Harry Patch (In Memory of),” which was dedicated to Britain’s last surviving WWI soldier. Some people accused Freidberger of confusing his Partchs during the online tirade. [Pitchfork.com]

Oscar-winner and former American Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson has purportedly signed on to play Winnie Mandela in an upcoming biopic. The film, which will center around the controversial ex-wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela, is set to start shooting in May. [People.com]

Lou Reed and the rest of the Velvet Underground are set to appear together at the New York Public Library’s “Live From the NYPL” book discussion series. Moderated by longtime Rolling Stone columnist David Fricke, the discussion will center around the publication of the new coffee table book The Velvet Underground: New York Art. [Pitchfork.com]

Crush Band - O’Spada

Tim Sendra — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:00:03 +0000

Crush Bands are back with O’Spada, a Swedish quintet that takes their cues from the jacked-up, synthed-out sound of early-80’s Prince, the swooning lite-jazz funk of Teena Marie, and slick grooves of post-disco, post-funk bands like Raydio or the mighty Ready for the World. The band is tighter than a bad toupee, the synth sound is fat and squelchy, and in Julia Spada they have a singer who can convincingly put some gritty, slightly daffy soul into their mix. Did I mention they were from Sweden? Nice! They’ve put out a few singles and there is a healthy buzz growing around them that we are more than happy to contribute to.

Here’s a download of their latest single “Ten Strikes”

Here are some remixes of their first single “Time”

Lastly, check this nicely lo-res and peppy video for “Time”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUd1T_I2rpA

News Roundup: 11/17/2009

AMG Staff — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:32:08 +0000

With Rod Stewart continuing to focus on his solo career, the remaining members of the Faces — guitarist Ron Wood, keyboardist Ian McLagan, and drummer Kenney Jones — have begun to make preparations for a 2010 reunion tour. Simply Red’s Mick Hucknall may be tapped as Stewart’s permanent replacement, having played with the group earlier this Fall at a benefit show in London. Although the Rolling Stones’ Bill Wyman filled in for the late Ronnie Lane at that same show, the bassist is notoriously wary of flying, meaning the Faces will likely chose someone else to fill Lane’s shoes. [Billboard.com]

Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein recently led a roundtable discussion on the role of record labels in contemporary music. Execs from Saddle Creek, Kill Rock Stars, Matador, Merge, and other labels also weighed in. Read the transcript here. [NPR.org]

Ken Ober, the original host of MTV’s Remote Control, has died at age 52. Ober remained with the MTV series through 1991, and his successful run helped guide MTV during the network’s first stab at series programming. He later appeared in two Blues Traveler videos before becoming a supervising producer for Comedy Central. [MTV.com]

Fela!, a Broadway musical about the life of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, will open at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre on November 23rd. Jay-Z, Will Smith, and Jada Pinkett Smith have all joined the show’s production team. [RollingStone.com]

After a three-year relationship, Kings of Leon’s Nathan Followill tied the knot with songwriter Jessie Baylin this weekend. Another rockstar enjoying the newfound warmth of marriage was Slipknot’s Corey Taylor, who married Stephanie Luby on Friday the 13th. While the Followill wedding appears to have been a modest event, Taylor’s wedding was a bit more showy, with Camp Freddy’s Billy Morrison serving as the officiant and Metallica’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” orchestrating the bride’s walk down the aisle. [RTE.ie]

Bob Dylan makes his first music video appearance in over 10 years with “Must Be Santa,” a track from Dylan’s recent Christmas album. The songwriter wears a blond wig during the video and even tries out some rare dance moves while a polka band rages behind him. [RollingStone.com]

The Strokes’ Is This It is the best album of the decade, at least according to a recent list published by NME. Two other debut records — the Libertines’ Up The Bracket and Arctic Monkeys’ Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not — also made the Top 5. [NME.com]

News Roundup: 11/16/2009

AMG Staff — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:10:07 +0000

Liam Gallagher has started a new band with his former Oasis bandmates — minus his older brother Noel. Guitarist Gem Archer, bassist Andy Bell, and drummer Chris Sharrock are working with Gallagher on new material; Gallagher promised in an Italian radio interview that this version of the group (which will have a new name) will make their live debut in a few months. [RollingStone.com]

Kanye West made his first onstage appearance since interrupting Taylor Swift’s MTV Video Music Awards acceptance speech in September when he joined Beyonce during her Sunday night show at London’s O2 Arena. West rapped on the song “Ego”; Jay-Z also made a cameo during the concert, performing on “Crazy in Love.” [NME.com]

R.I.P. U.K. hip-hop artist Derek B., who died over the weekend after suffering a heart attack at age 44. Beginning as a DJ at the age of 15, Derek B.’s first single “Rock the Beat” appeared in 1986; his best-known album was 1988’s Bullet From a Gun. He also worked as a producer, collaborating with Eric B. and Rakim and the Cookie Crew. [AllHipHop.com]

Grizzly Bear’s tour bus was in an accident on Thursday night after the band’s show in Munich, but fortunately the group was unharmed. The bus and the band’s trailer, however were “hit and rendered immovable.” Though Grizzly Bear missed their Saturday night gig opening for Wilco, the band plans to continue their European tour through the end of November. [Pitchfork.com]

Buzz band the xx is now a trio. Keyboardist/guitarist left the group after missing a concert in October; the band’s front man Oliver Sim said, “We’ve been in a band with Baria since we were 16 and have known her since we were 12. It’s just been a case of, I suppose, growing apart?” [Guardian.co.uk]

The Beatles never broke up? That’s what a mashup album of songs by the Beatles and John, Paul, George and Ringo on their own lets you pretend. [TheDailySwarm.com]

AllMusic Loves 2006

AMG Staff — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:20:52 +0000

Sure, it was only three years ago, but we are still crazy about 2006’s debuts (Lily Allen, Arctic Monkeys, Burial), breakouts (Amy Winehouse, Gnarls Barkley), bold makeovers (Christina Aguilera), and early farewells (J Dilla), not to mention the less eventful but nonetheless excellent releases from the established veterans (Ghostface Killah, Jarvis Cocker, Sonic Youth). Over a couple hundred favorite albums and singles of 2006 are listed by our editors. Maybe you’ll discover, or be reminded of, a few that you missed. The AllMusic Loves series will continue to roll through this first decade of the 2000s during the next few weeks, as we will revisit 2007 and 2008 prior to looking back at 2009.

Heather Phares
Li Alin - All In
Bat for Lashes - Fur and Gold
Blood Brothers - Young Machetes
The Blow - Paper Television
Clinic - Visitations
Cornelius - Sensuous
The Futureheads - News and Tributes
Goldfrapp - Supernature
Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
His Name Is Alive - Detrola
Johann Johannsson - IBM 1401, A User’s Manual
The Knife - Silent Shout
Matmos - The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast
Metronomy - Pip Paine (Pay the £5000 You Owe)
Joanna Newsom - Ys
Benoît Pioulard - Precis
Planningtorock - Have It All
Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped
TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
Xela - The Dead Sea

Be Your Own Pet - “Adventure”
The Long Blondes - “Once and Never Again”
The Raconteurs - “Broken Boy Soldier” (YouTube)
Scissor Sisters - “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’”
Peaches - “Boys Wanna Be Her”
CSS - “Music Is My Hot Hot Sex”
Imitation Electric Piano - “I Mean Wow”
Giddy Motors - “East River Pipe”
Matmos - “Solo Buttons For Joe Meek”
Goldfrapp - “Satin Chic” (YouTube)

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Lily Allen - Alright, Still
Toby Keith - White Trash with Money
Bob Dylan - Modern Times
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped
Jarvis Cocker - Jarvis
Bruce Springsteen - We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions
Christina Aguilera - Back to Basics
Scissor Sisters - Ta-Dah
Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine
Donald Fagen - Morph the Cat
Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint - The River in Reverse
The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth

Nelly Furtado - “Maneater”
Christina Aguilera - “Ain’t No Other Man”
Scissor Sisters - “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’”
Nelly Furtado - “Promiscuous”
Lily Allen - “Smile”
Lily Allen - “LDN”
Arctic Monkeys - “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor”
Gnarls Barkley - “Crazy”
Rihanna - “SOS”
Taylor Hicks - “The Runaround”

John Bush
Spank Rock - YoYoYoYoYo
Christina Aguilera - Back to Basics
Matthew Friedberger - Winter Women/Holy Ghost Language School
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
Burial - Burial
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I Am Not
Robbie Williams - Rudebox
Band of Horses - Everything All the Time
Persephone’s Bees - Notes from the Underworld
The Knife - Silent Shout
Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
Destroyer - Destroyer’s Rubies
Bonnie “Prince” Billy - The Letting Go
Razorlight - Razorlight
J Dilla - Donuts
The Sword - Age of Winters
Lily Allen - Alright, Still
The Beauty Room - The Beauty Room
Brightblack Morning Light - Brightblack Morning Light

Christina Aguilera - “Ain’t No Other Man”
Spank Rock - “Bump”
Gnarls Barkley - “Crazy”
Matthew Friedberger - “Up the River
Robbie Williams - “The 90’s”
Band of Horses - “The Funeral”
M. Ward - “Chinese Translation”
Joan as Policewoman - “I Defy”
Amy Winehouse - “Love Is a Losing Game”
Young and Sexy - “The Curious Organ”
Bonnie “Prince” Billy - “Cursed Sleep”
Regina Spektor - “Fidelity”
Arctic Monkeys - “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor”
Persephone’s Bees - “Nice Day”
Destroyer - “European Oils”
Cat Power - “Could We”
OK Go - “Here It Goes Again”
Razorlight - “In the Morning”
Ray LaMontagne - “Barfly”
The Rakes - “Retreat”

Matt Collar
Aberfeldy - Do Whatever Turns You On
Lily Allen - Alright, Still
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
Jon Auer - Songs from the Year of Our Demise
Camera Obscura - Let’s Get Out of This Country
Jarvis Cocker - Jarvis
Graham Coxon - Love Travels at Illegal Speeds
Cut Off Your Hands - Shaky Hands
Earl Greyhound - Soft Targets
The Futureheads - News and Tributes
The Hot Chip - The Warning
James Hunter - People Gonna Talk
John Mayer - Continuum
Joanna Newsom - Ys
Pia Fraus - Nature Heart Software
The Pipettes - We Are the Pipettes
Phoenix - It’s Never Been Like That
Snow Patrol - Eyes Open
Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds
The Walkmen - A Hundred Miles Off

Greg Heaney
The Thermals - The Body, the Blood, the Machine
SSM - SSM
Girl Talk - Night Ripper
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
Jesu - Silver
The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
Converge - No Heroes
Murs and 9th Wonder - Murray’s Revenge
The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
Melvins - A Senile Animal
Cult of Luna - Somewhere Along the Highway
J Dilla - The Shining
Mouth of the Architect - Ties That Bind
Birdman & Lil Wayne - Like Father Like Son
Flaming Lips - At War with the Mystics
Isis - In the Absence of Truth
Burst - Origo
Mogwai - Mr. Beast
Envy - Insomniac Doze

Andy Kellman
The Beauty Room - The Beauty Room
Beyoncé - B’day
Burial - Burial
Cassy - Panorama Bar 01
Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury
Convextion - Convextion
Dabrye - Two/Three
Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
Herbert - Scale
Anders Ilar - Nightwidth
J Dilla - Donuts
Mathias Kaden & Onur Özer - Momentum
Georgia Anne Muldrow - Olesi: Fragments of an Earth
Ne-Yo - In My Own Words
The Roots - Game Theory
Henrik Schwarz - DJ-Kicks
Sleeparchive - Hospital Tracks
T.I. - King
Scott Walker - The Drift
Thom Yorke - The Eraser

Christina Aguilera - “Ain’t No Other Man”
Yummy Bingham - “Come Get It”
The Black Dog - “Mental Ward Sleep Machine”
Bugz in the Attic - “Knocks Me Off My Feet”
Cassie - “Me & U”
Cassy - “Toyah”
Diddy f/ Keyshia Cole - “Last Night”
Escort - “Starlight”
Lupe Fiasco - “Kick, Push”
J Dilla - “Won’t Do”
Kelis - “Bossy”
Kode9 + the Space Ape - “Backward”
Justus Köhncke & Dirk Leyers - “An Ounce of Memories”
Lawrence - “Off the Line”
Omarion - “Ice Box”
Owusu & Hannibal - “Le Fox”
Pinch - “Qawwali”
Prince - “Black Sweat”
Alice Smith - “Love Endeavor (Maurice Fulton Remix)”
Robin Thicke - “Wanna Love U Girl”

Uncle Dave Lewis
2006 was a great year for piano players — the classical music industry had reached its nadir. Even in 1932 — the worst year ever for the record industry as a whole, when only 125,000 units shipped in the US — classical had remained strong, but in ‘06 there were hardly any releases of orchestral music or opera. One amazing exception was Fabio Biondi’s recording of Vivaldi’s ultra-rare Bajazet, featuring the astoundingly versatile soprano Vivica Genaux; also in opera, the year witnessed a genuine dud — Roger Waters’ Ça Ira. String quartets did well likewise; it seems that getting small is the best strategy when times are especially hard, and ever since 2006, classical has been gradually fighting its way back.

Toshiko Akiyoshi - Hope
Lera Auerbach plays her Preludes and Dreams
Fabio Biondi - Vivaldi: Bajazet
Del Sol String Quartet - George Antheil: The Complete Works for String Quartet
Florilegium - Telemann: Paris Quartets
Leon MacCawley - Hans Gál: The Complete Piano Works
Konrad Junghanel, Cantus Cölln - Buxtehude: Membra Jesu Nostri
Sinae Lee - Karol Szymanowski: The Complete Works for Piano
Jenny Lin - The Eleventh Finger
Gabriela Montero - Bach and Beyond
Christopher O’Riley - Home to Oblivion: An Elliott Smith Tribute
Quartet San Francisco - Latigo
So Percussion - Amid the Noise
Jürgen Sonnentheil - Wilhelm Middelschulte: Goldberg Variations
Thomas Tirino - Ernesto Nazareth: Music for Solo Piano
Gerd Zacher: Orgelwerke
The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra - ‘Round the Christmas Tree

Jason Lymangrover
Boris - Pink
Built to Spill - You in Reverse
Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury
The Fiery Furnaces - Bitter Tea
The Futureheads - News and Tributes
Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
Girl Talk - Night Ripper
Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
Herbert - Scale
The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
J Dilla - Donuts
Love Is All - Nine Times That Same Song
The Marked Men - Fix My Brain
Mission to Burma - The Obliterati
Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped
Spank Rock - YoYoYoYoYo
The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth
TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
Welcome - Sirs
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones

James Christopher Monger
Agalloch - Ashes Against the Grain
Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
Danielson - Ships
Goldfrapp - Supernature
The Sword - Age of Winters
Final Fantasy - He Poos Clouds
M. Ward - Post-War
The Essex Green - Cannibal Sea
Blind Guardian - A Twist in the Myth
Bonnie “Prince” Billy - The Letting Go
Jeremy Enigk - World Waits
The Hidden Cameras - Awoo
Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3 - Olé! Tarantula
Espers - II
A Hawk and a Hacksaw - The Way the Wind Blows
Shearwater - Palo Santo
James Raynard - Strange Histories
Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther
Scissor Sisters - Ta-Dah
I - Between Two Worlds

Guillemots - “Trains to Brazil”
Neko Case - “Star Witness”
Augie March - “One Crowded Hour”
Lindsay Buckingham - “It Was You”
Clearlake - “No Kind of Life”
Destroyer - “Rubies”
The Hold Steady - “Stuck Between Stations”
Ron Sexsmith - “The Grim Trucker”
TV on the Radio - “Hours”
Josh Ritter - “Girl in the War”
The Futureheads - “Worry About It Later”
Susanna & the Magical Orchestra - “It’s a Long Way to the Top”
The Flaming Lips - “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song”
Korpiklaani - “Rise”
Jarvis Cocker - “Black Magic”
Charlotte Gainsbourg - “The Songs That We Sing”
Belle & Sebastian - “Act of the Apostle”
Beck - “Cellphone’s Dead”
Lily Allen - “Smile”
Devotchka - “Last Beat of My Heart”

Tim Sendra
Lullaby Baxter - Garden Cities of To-morrow
The Bicycles - The Good the Bad and the Cuddly
Camera Obscura - Let’s Get Out of This Country
J Dilla - Donuts
The Essex Green - Cannibal Sea
Hot Chip - The Warning
I’m from Barcelona - Let Me Introduce My Friends
Love Is All - Nine Times That Same Song
Madlib - The Beat Konducta, Vol. 1-2
Peter Bjorn and John - Writer’s Block

Previously
AllMusic Loves 1968
AllMusic Loves 1974
AllMusic Loves 1977
AllMusic Loves 1980
AllMusic Loves 1984
AllMusic Loves 1987
AllMusic Loves 1988
AllMusic Loves 1993
AllMusic Loves 1999
AllMusic Loves 2000
AllMusic Loves 2001
AllMusic Loves 2002
AllMusic Loves 2003
AllMusic Loves 2004
AllMusic Loves 2005

Hot Damn Jamz 34: Heard You Missed Us, We’re Back!

AMG Staff — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:15:53 +0000

Yeah, we were gone. Yeah, we are back. Like LFO. No, we have no excuses. No, we’ll never leave you high and dry again. I know you’ve heard it before, I know we’ve made promises we couldn’t always keep, but things will be different this time. We’ll be stronger, we’ll communicate more, we’ll be honest with ourselves and with you, dear jammerz. It won’t be easy, we know. There will be times we’ll want to give up, to take the easy way out, to turn our backs on the jamz. At those times we’ll think of the lives we changed and the jamz we’ve damned, and we’ll carry on proudly. This is our promise to you.

Pearl Harbor
Hey Vivian Girls, watch your backs! These very blonde Cali girls are doing what you do, but doing it better!

Shazam
Yet another high-energy, good-time dance producer from Australia. There must be some amazing club nights down there.

Mickey Gang
These guys love early period Prince. Who doesn’t, really?

Spectrals
How many Spector-influenced noise poppers does it take to change a lightbulb?

Teengirl Fantasy
We really can’t get enough dreamy, wave-y, washed out electronic dance music around here. These guys deliver some of the best of 2009!

The Hood Internet
Chicago mash up artists push the boundaries of Fair Use with their dance floor melting mix of Indie Pop, Electro and Hip Hop.

Pretty & Nice
On the hunt for some synth-kissed, Braniac influenced indie rock? Pretty & Nice might be the cure for what ails you.

Rifle Recoil
Get ready to have this wonderfully simple melody stuck in your head for days.

The Summer Pledge
A little bit of sunny Detroit post-rock before the winter comes and makes everything all gloomy.