photos by Autumn Andel

The Treasure Island Music Festival went down over two days on a small island in the San Francisco Bay, juggling two stages and acts that ranged from Death From Above 1979 to Cut Copy to St Vincent. The bands and sets were staggered so that changeovers allowed for the audience to see all of each band which, on day 1, included appearances from Death From Above 1979, Geographer, Aloe Blacc, The Naked & The Famous, Shabazz Palaces, YACHT (who play NYC in December), Battles, Dizzee Rascal, Chromeo, Buraka Som Sistema, Flying Lotus, Cut Copy, and Empire of The Sun...

"Sometimes a performance impresses you simply because of its natural and flawless flow. This was Chromeo on Saturday [10/15 at Treasure Island Music Festival]. The Montreal duo known for creating modern 80s-inspired electro-synth pop got one of the largest crowds of the day moving immediately as they opened with "Fancy Footwork." The hits kept coming with classics like "Don't Turn the Lights Off," "Bonafied Lovin," "Tenderoni" and set closer "Night by Night." Chromeo over the years has cemented themselves as one of the more fun and original acts in electronic music, Saturday was no disappointment whatsoever."
-[SF Station on the highlights at TIMF]

Belated pictures from day 1 of the Treasure Island Music Festival (which happened on 10/15) continue, more YACHT and Chromeo included, below...

Continue reading "Treasure Island Music Fest 2011 -- day 1 in pics (Chromeo, DFA1979, Shabazz Palaces, YACHT, Cut Copy & more)"

Treasure Island Music Festival is returning to San Francisco, CA on October 15 and 16. The lineup includes Cut Copy, Beach House, The Hold Steady, Flying Lotus, Death From Above 1979, YACHT, Shabazz Palaces, The Antlers, St. Vincent, and many others. 2-Day passes go on sale Wednesday (7/27) 10 AM and single day tickets on Friday (7/29) at 10 AM.

Speaking of St. Vincent, if you haven't already, check out her new track at StrangeMercy.com. The full album is out September 13th via 4AD. More info and tour dates HERE. Still no info on tickets for her Met show.

Full Treasure Island lineup below...

Continue reading "Treasure Island Fest announces 2011 lineup, includes St. Vincent (who recently released a new song)"

The December issue of Q Magazine is an 'Artists Of The Century' special edition, covering all of the acts that the fine staff of the good ship Q feel are the most important of the century so far. As befitting a special edition of the UK best selling music monthly requires a special cover was commissioned world renowned photographer John Wright has spent over a year shooting 34 artists to fit on triple fold out cover.

The issue is packed to the gills with pieces written by Russell Brand on Noel Gallagher, Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis on Coldplay and Queens Of The Stone Age frontman Josh Homme on The Arctic Monkeys. In addition it also includes exclusive interviews and photos from the likes of Amy Winehouse, Dizzee Rascal, U2, Dave Grohl, Lily Allen, Rihanna, Sir Paul McCartney, Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, Brandon Flowers from The Killers, Elbow's Guy Garvey, Pink, Muse's Matt Bellamy, Murdoc from Gorillaz, The Kings Of Leon, Mark Ronson, Mika, Nick Cave, Robert Plant, Florence Welch, Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol and Tom Chaplin of Keane.

Continue reading "Q Magazine's Top Albums of 2009 "

DOWNLOAD: Brighton Port Authority - Seattle (w/ Emmy the Great) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Brighton Port Authority - Toe Jam (w/ David Byrne) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Brighton Port Authority - He's Frank (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Brighton Port Authority - Should I Stay or Should I Blow (MP3)

The Brighton Port Authority (Fatboy Slim)'s album "I Think We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat" won't be released until February, except on Amazon.com where you can get it now. Guest contributors to the album include Iggy Pop, Jack Penate, Dizzee Rascal, Emmy the Great, Jamie T, Martha Wainwright, and David Byrne. David's song (the one with the racy video) is "Toe Jam". That's also the song they're giving away the parts for if you want to make your own remix (though the contest part of it is over).

Tickets for David Byrne's 2nd NYC show at Radio City Music Hall go on regular-sale today/Monday at 10AM. The few-day-old presale is now over. All of David's tour dates are listed HERE.

Emmy the Great recently visited America for NYC's CMJ Music Marathon. "America" is the topic in The BPA's 2nd single "Seattle" that she sings on. Grab the MP3 above. Watch the video for that, and the one David & Dizzee sing in, below...

Continue reading "Brighton Port Authority out on Amazon, David Byrne tickets on sale, Emmy the Great -- MP3's & videos "

by Black Bubblegum

Busdriver posing w/ Dizzee

Last time I saw Busdriver, he was second on a bill that included Kidz In The Hall, El-P (with Aesop Rock), and Dizzee Rascal. Next week, the abstract rhymer will lace a pair of shows both as support (at the sold-out Bowery Ballroom with Flobots on 8/5), and as headliner (at Union Hall in Brooklyn on 8/6, tickets are on sale). The Brooklyn show is also the afterparty for Union Hall's night 'at the bridge'.

West-coast cratediggers People Under The Stairs are also on that Flobots bill and have lined up a headlining show of their own on 8/6, at Southpaw with Iller Than Theirs and Junk Science. Tickets are still available. All dates below...

Continue reading "Busdriver & People Under The Stairs - a tour & other shows"

photos by Joseph Juechao Xu

Boris

dancing in the mud

and much more....

Continue reading "a set of pictures from the 2008 Pitchfork Music Festival "

Adele & XL labelmates

Adele is playing Webster Hall on September 3rd. Tickets go on sale Friday at noon. Adele is on this year's Mercury Prize shortlist. Not many tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Adele - Mercury Prize-nominated, playing Webster Hall "

Continue reading "Brighton Port Authority w/ David Byrne & Dizzee Rascal - 'Toe Jam' (censored video)"

Continue reading "Dizzee Rascal - updated July 2008 Tour Dates"

Fatboy Slim's new project is called "THE BRIGHTON PORT AUTHORITY". David Byrne and Dizzee Rascal sing on a song and you can hear it ("Toe Jam") at MySpace.

David is also working with The Dirty Projectors

I recorded a couple of songs Sunday and Monday with the band Dirty Projectors for an upcoming Red Hot project. Red Hot puts out compilation albums to benefit AIDS research and I've been on a few of them since they started in 1990. So, who's on this one? Feist, Sufjan Stevens, Grizzly Bear, Sharon Jones, The Decembrists, The National -- jeez, what a lineup!

Anyways, I like what Dave Longstreth and Dirty Projectors are doing, although part of what attracts me to them is something I can't exactly place, can't figure out. Their music has familiar elements, yet often sounds like pop music by someone who has read about the form, but never heard it, and then handed the essential building blocks to make some songs. That's not actually true though, as Dave made plenty of jokes about music while we were working --he has a deep knowledge of tunes and their respective artists. But the band's music remains completely strange and oddly familiar at the same time. I'd been told more than once that we should all work together, and it seems the suggestion was fated to be realized.

For one song, Dave L sent me a demo by email that he had recorded in a Vienna hotel room on tour. I did my best to figure out the chords and the tempo, and record my own version, for which I then wrote the words. We didn't end up using my recorded version; but the words, and my somewhat straightened out version of the melody, came in handy. [David Byrne]

More good news for David Byrne below....

Continue reading "David Byrne recorded w/ The Dirty Projectors & Fatboy Slim, is getting an award, AND his building is opening!"

Dizzee Rascal @ Webster Hall, NYC - May 10, 2008 (Jason Bergman/BaebleMusic)

Dizzee Rascal played with El-P at Webster Hall on May 10th.

"People sayin', 'Oh, I can't understand his accent, I can't tell what he's sayin'. You don't need to know what the fuck I'm sayin'," barked Dizzee Rascal Saturday night in New York. It's true -- with Dizzee Rascal, it really doesn't matter. The London MC held forth at Webster Hall, three shows into his first U.S. tour behind Maths + English, his nearly year-old album that only saw a Stateside release last month. [Rolling Stone]

Continue reading "Dizzee Rascal played Webster Hall, next = Highline Ballroom"

by Black Bubblegum

El-P & Aesop Rock @ Webster Hall - May 10, 2008 (jennyapplebaum )

"WHEN I SAY DEF, YOU SAY JUX! DEF!"
.....
"DEF!"
......

Okay, it wasnt THAT bad, but while fellow Cardboard City crew member Shia Labeouf (seriously) was readying his second appearance on Saturday Night Live (with My Morning Jacket), El-P was realizing he was in trouble by the first song. El-P tore into "Smithereens" with all of the frustration made apparent in the video, but when he commanded the Webster Hall crowd "Get the fuck up!" and "Jump!", he only got participation from a couple dozen.... for 30 seconds. Maybe it's all the darkness and post-apocalyptic doom and gloom, or the borderline paranoid "the government is going to get you" John McCain=Barack Obama=Hillary Clinton rants, or that a good portion of the crowd could have come to see Dizzee Rascal (though doubt it), but Saturday at Webster Hall was probably one of the most stoic crowds that I have ever seen at a hip hop show.

Continue reading "El-P, Aesop Rock & Dizzee Rascal played Webster Hall, a new blog & album, Cardboard City, Shia LaBeouf"

El-P @ NYU in April (more by Bao Nguyen)

Aesop Rock @ Coachella 2008 (more by Ryan Muir)

The May 10th Webster Hall show keeps getting bigger and bigger. The lineup now reads "El-P with DJ Mr. Dibbs and The Mighty Quinn / Dizzee Rascal with special guest dj Aaron LaCrate / Busdriver / Kidz in the Hall / Special Guest Aesop Rock". Tickets are still available. All El-P tour dates below....

Continue reading "Aesop Rock added to El-P/Dizzee Rascal show, tour dates"

Dizzee Rascal @ The Plug Awards, NYC - Mar 6, 2008 (Christopher Owyoung)

Dizzee Rascal @ Southpaw, Brooklyn, NY - Mar 11, 2008 (Lori Baily/Prefix)

Dizzee Rascal @ SXSW for the Current - Mar 14, 2008 (The Current)

Much earlier -- at 4 p.m. in a sterile television studio -- Dizzee Rascal delivered forty minutes of blistering, grimy hip-hop, flanked by the roster of his Dirtee Stank label. The set drew heavily from his latest, Maths + English (finally seeing a physical U.S. release April 29 after being out in the U.K. for nearly a year), including "Flex," "Sirens," and the new America-only track "G.H.E.T.T.O." He dug back in the catalog for "Stand Up Tall," "I Luv U" and "Fix Up, Look Sharp," making sure to reinforce along with the Billy Squier sample that, yes, he's got the big beat. GZA and Ice Cube need to step up their game Saturday if they hope to take the week's hip-hop crown (which is currently Dizzee's white L.A. Dodgers cap) away. [Rolling Stone @ SXSW]

Watch a video of Dizzee being interviewed by The Current HERE. Watch a video of Dizzee teaching hip hop slang BELOW....

More about this year's Plug Awards HERE and a brand new cool Plug Awards video recap also BELOW....

Continue reading "Dizzee Rascal played places, a Plug video recap, tour dates"

El-P & Del tha Funkee Homosapien, CMJ 2007 (Justin Charles)

* Dizzee Rascal & Nick Cave are playing the Plug Awards
* You can watch the Plug Awards on your computer screen
* Dizzee Rascal is also playing a show at Soutnpaw in Brooklyn
* Dizzee Rascal & El-P are playing the Def Jux showcase at SXSW
* Tickets are on sale for an El-P/Dizzee Rascal show at Webster Hall in May
* El-P, Dizzee Rascal & Busdriver are going on tour togeter. All dates Dates below....

Continue reading "El-P, Dizzee Rascal, Tour Dates, SXSW, Plug Awards stream"

Dizzee Rascal & Annie Mac (BBC Radio 1)

Dizzee Rascal & Annie Clark (St Vincent) are playing the Plug Awards at Terminal 5 on March 6th. Dizzee is also playing Southpaw on March 11th, SXSW not long after that, and Philly on MAY 9th. I assume more dates will be announced soon. In the meantime watch this video of Dizzee Rascal & Annie Mac (BBC Radio 1)....

Continue reading "Dizzee Rascal also playing Brooklyn & Philly"

PLUG is proud to announce comedian/actor Patton Oswalt as our host this year. Show will include performances by nominees St. Vincent, Dizzee Rascal, José Gonzales and more, and a special headlining set from this year's PLUG Impact Award Honoree Nick Cave who will be taking the stage with the legendary Bad Seeds. The Awards will be March 6 @ NYC's Terminal 5, 8pm (EST).

Huge thanks to our friends at Dell Lounge for making what was originally a $25 ticket now just 10 bucks for all. So cool.

For those who won't be in town, we have amazing news this year - fans will be able to go to the Dell Lounge and watch the whole thing broadcast live as it happens March 6. More info soon!

Continue reading "Nick Cave & Dizzee Rascal playing Plug Awards, $10, albums"

DOWNLOAD: Wiley - Just Me (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Wiley - My Mistakes (Ft. Manga, Little D) (MP3)

Thanks for the reminder! I've been meaning to post the fact that one of the biggest NYC grime events in recent history is going down at the NYC Knitting Factory tonight (Nov 23, 2007). Check out what Sasha Frere Jones has to say about the Wiley show. Read more about Wiley at Pitchfork. Limited tour dates, and more info, below....

Continue reading "Wiley (UK Grime) - 2007 Tour Dates (tonight!)"

Amy Winehouse, Arctic Monkeys, Jamie T, Bat for Lashes, and Maps were among those nominated for this year's UK Mercury Prize. Amy Winehouse is playing Summerstage and touring. Arctic Monkeys are playing Summerstage and touring. Jamie T played a one-off show in Brooklyn last night, and Bat For Lashes and Maps both have upcoming tour dates that I've listed below along with all the nominees...

Continue reading "2007 Mercury Prize nominees ++++++ BAT FOR LASHES & MAPS Tour Dates"

Ra Ra Riot's John Pike @ Pianos, NYC - May 24, 2006

* Free Black Keys EP for download
* New Dizzee Rascal tracks at (Music Is my) Occupation
* Dizzee Rascal interviewed by the Observer
* VIDEO: Sarah Silverman dissing Paris Hilton @ MTV Movie Awards
* VIDEO: Ricky Gervais on David Letterman - May 2007
* Jose Gonzalez interviewed by Muzzle of Bees
* Indy Jazz Fest ditches Ticketmaster
* RIP John Pike of Ra Ra Riot