....that Sirius 'Blog Radio' may be be coming to an XM radio near you in the very near future.

The decision eliminates what was viewed as the toughest legal hurdle facing the $13 billion deal, which must be approved by the Federal Communications Commission. Consumer groups and traditional broadcasters have urged the FCC to impose conditions on the merger. [Washington Post]

BrooklynVegan 'blog radio' airs on Sirius 26 (Left of Center) Wednesdays at noon EST, and then again at midnight that night.

Nick Cave @ Terminal 5, NYC - March 6, 2008 (tina gao)

Nick Cave played an awesome 45-60 minute set to an appreciative crowd at Terminal 5 last night. Most people were clearly there to see Nick. The rest of the Plug Awards didn't have as much energy - really wasn't that exciting, but it wasn't that bad either.....at least I thought so.....

cave played nine songs, six from the new album. the bad seeds set was awesome. the rest of the show, like someone said earlier, was "awkward and pointless". [anonymous]

I thought it all went pretty fast for what it was. Unlike previous years, they sped right through things - no weird skits or iPod battles. In fact, maybe they sped through it too much. I got there about 20 minutes late and it was hard for me to hear what they were saying on stage a lot so I may have missed it, but I was waiting for Patton Oswalt to tell a joke all night. Instead he basically just read off cards, introduced who was next, and kept things moving along. Of course I was happy to see St. Vincent, Dizzee Rascal, Jose Gonzalez and the Forms, but their sets were only 2-3 songs long (not that I expected them to be longer).

Strangely Animal Collective beat The National for "Best Indie Album", but The National did win "Best Song" - which they were there to accept. Arcade Fire won "Best Album" (a different category than "Indie Album"). Stereogum won best blog, Pitchfork won best website for the 2nd year in a row, and Blog Radio on Sirius (that I am a part of) won "Best Specialty Radio Show" (thanks!) for the 2nd year in a row. Justice won "Best New Artist" and I think Hot Chip won best DJ album. Other awards I can remember went to Bowery Ballroom for best venue, Other Music for best store, and Coachella for best festival. I'll list them all out below when they publish a list.

Continue reading "Nick Cave & The Plug Awards @ Terminal 5, pics & results"

DOWNLOAD: The Dodos - Fools (MP3)

The Dodos - a drum and guitar, singing duo from San Francisco - were in town to play two shows last week. I went to the one Monday night (Jan 28, 2008) at Mercury Lounge with Alberta Cross, and I would have went again on Saturday night with Phosphorescent at Union Pool if I wasn't at Hot Chip instead.

I saw so many shows last week, they're all starting to blur in my mind, but I know for sure I would recommend a live Dodos show, and I'm not saying that just because they were such nice guys when they visited Nick Masi (my co-host) and I on Tuesday night at Sirius to record an episode of the BrooklynVegan "blog radio" show (that aired on Wednesday). The new album Visiter - out March 18, 2008 on Frenchkiss - is good too. I was listening to it non-stop leading up to the show, which made the show even better. That's a track called "Fools" from the album for download above - listening to it and looking at the pictures will give you some idea of what the live show is like - two guys, fast drumming, ups and downs, builds, lots of tension, energy.....you can also watch a video.

The album is spelled "Visiter" because after The Dodos played a show at a special needs school in LA, the kids drew them pictures, and one of them said "Visiter" real big, and you'll see that picture and more in the art of the CD if you buy it.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Dodos were busy running around the city with Elizabeth Weinberg taking pretty pictures, and it was Elizbeth who took the pictures you see in this post....

Continue reading "The Dodos @ Mercury Lounge, NYC - pics "

DOWNLOAD: Regina Spektor - On the Radio (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: TV on the Radio - Dreams (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Radio 4 - Calling All Enthusiasts (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Primitive Radio Gods - Ghost Of A Chance (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Melvins interviewed on Sirius Radio (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Feist live on Chicago Public Radio (MP3)

Those with Sirius satellite radio can tune into the Blog Radio Memorial Day weekend marathon going on right now on Sirius channel 26 - Left of Center. Nothing but Gorilla vs Bear, Productshop, My Old Kentucky Blog, It's a Trap, and Brooklyn Vegan Blog Radio shows all weekend long. We'd (Sirius, me, whoever) would also like to welcome Aquarium Drunkard to the roster of bloggers with radio shows on Sirius. He starts soon. My show is moving from Tuesdays to Wednesdays. This week my guest is DJ David Bruno (yes, that one). Last week I had on DJ Never Forget (we played a Maccabees remix). Two weeks before that I had on Ryan Freshbread who introduced me to the Amy Winehouse cover that The Arctic Monkeys did. I then meant to post it with his playlist, but I didn't, so you might as well get it at Stereogum who has the track up now. That's it. Thanks!