"Following last year's 10th anniversary, which crushed previous attendance records and set a new mark for the speed with which tickets sold out, the Sasquatch! Music Festival unveils its 2012 lineup which once again features 4 days of music. The festival, hailed as "a model of well-paced programming...in a four-day schedule as efficient and natural feeling as an expertly built algorithm" by NPR Music while Wired notes, "leave the landscape out of it and Sasquatch! has a lineup to kill for," runs May 25-28 (Memorial Day Weekend) at The Gorge, the internationally acclaimed concert venue carved in the basalt cliffs high above the Columbia River Gorge in Quincy, WA."

The Sasquatch! Music Festival takes place, as usual, at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington over Memorial Day weekend (May 25-28). And this year's lineup is:

Continue reading "Sasquatch! 2012 lineup announced (Bon Iver, Jack White, Beck, Tenacious D, Shins, Portlandia, Spiritualized & more) "

Radiohead @ Roseland Ballroom in 2011 (more by Bao Nguyen)

Coachella which is taking place over the course of two weekends this year (April 13-15 and 20-22) revealed their 2012 lineup. Last week, Azealia Banks was the first artist confirmed, and earlier today they confirmed The Weeknd (maybe he found a band?), and before that, Jimmy Cliff, Breakbot, and Housse De Racket. The reunited Pulp then announced itself. The full lineup also includes headliners The Black Keys, Radiohead, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, not to mention, as predicted, the reunited At the Drive In and the reunited Mazzy Star (!), and Madness and Refused (!) and Jeff Mangum and many, many more that you can see below...

Continue reading "Coachella 2012 lineup announced (two weekends worth)"

The Shins at Bowery Ballroom (via wonderboymusic)

Mercer's trademark widow's peak was a welcome site as the band immediately launched into two classics; "Caring Is Creepy"... and "Australia" from 2007's Wincing The Night Away. The audience seemed strangely cognizant of Mercer's path as a musician, treating his troubles with departing band members and his elongated Broken Bells hiatus as forgettable. I mean, this guy wrote a song that was played at Heath Leger's funeral! He's a legend!

The newer tracks were met with stifled cheers, but cheers nonetheless... "New Slang" was slightly warped to allow for an electric guitar and a synthesized tambourine, a departure from the original's very organic feel, the words still sting as sharply as they did ten years ago. The surroundings may change, but the core is still compelling. -[BaebleMusic]

The Shins played Bowery Ballroom on Sunday night (9/25) with Faces on Film, a very tiny show compared to The Shins' previous outings at Terminal 5. The band, who played new material and old, dipped into waaay older material when they covered David Bowie's "Ashes to Ashes" and Pink Floyd's "Breathe". The latter cover was played again on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night (9/26) as part of Pink Floyd week (which continues tonight). If you missed either show, live vicariously through the videos below.

As discussed, if you somehow don't own every Pink Floyd album (or want another copy), the band is reissuing material which hits record stores today.

Video from Jimmy Fallon and Bowery Ballroom, and the NYC show setlist, below...

Continue reading "The Shins covered Pink Floyd @ Bowery Ballroom & on Fallon (videos & setlist)"

by Klaus Kinski

I might be one of the most obsessive Pink Floyd fans who ever lived, and I say that as more of an embarrassing confession than as a statement of pride. I have written about them and their related projects and tours a coupla times now, but every time there is Pink Floyd related news bouncing around the atmosphere I can't help but feel somewhat annoyed at the fact that everything they do is such an obvious and grotesque cash grab. I mean, I still love their records and will be buried with them but, Jesus Christ guys, you use your back catalog like a wet towel, wringing out re-releases and "Best ofs" while expecting us to empty our wallets.

And this pattern started early. I mean, in 1970 EMI released a Best Of record, despite Pink Floyd only having two albums under their belt. Then, BAM, in 1971 another greatest hits record, Relics, hit the shelves and yet the ink on their third album (Atom Heart Mother) had barely dried. 1974 rolled around and saw the re-release of Piper at the Gates of Dawn and A Saucerful of Secrets as a double album called A Nice Pair. That same year, ANOTHER greatest hits record hit the shelves, this time entitled Masters of Rock. In 1981, which would have been the perfect year for a retrospective album considering the body of work they had behind them by then, they released A Collection of Great Dance Songs, which is a supremely anemic and vapid attempt at a greatest hits record. Then between 1992 and now, we were given the Shine On 9 CD Boxed Set (1992), The Piper at the Gates of Dawn 30th Anniversary edition (1997), 1967 The First Three Singles (1997), Wish You Were Here 25th Anniversary Edition (2000), Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd (2001), Dark Side of the Moon 30th Anniversary SACD Edition (2003), The Final Cut re-release (2004), The Piper at the Gates of Dawn 40th Anniversary edition (2007), and the 14 disc Oh By The Way (2007). Add to that the massive amount of singles, EPs, 7"s, 45s, and other redundancies and you have a veritable shit load of items culled from very few actual sources. Talk about milking it, am I right?

Now we find ourselves in the final quarter of 2011. 2012 is around the corner and Roger Waters and David Gilmour are buddies again, Rick Wright and Syd Barrett RIP, the world economy is in the shitter... what better time to embark on an exhaustive and multi-tiered Pink Floyd re-issue campaign! Starting on September 26th, 2011, Pink Floyd and EMI are orchestrating a re-issue campaign:

encompassing CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, SACD, an array of digital formats, viral marketing, iPhone Apps and a brand-new single-album 'Best Of' collection.

The legendary band, who are still one of the most successful and iconic artists of all time, recently signed an agreement with EMI which has allowed the development of a multi-format programme of packages, many containing archive material that has been collated during an extensive process between EMI and Pink Floyd for a range of media formats.

The aptly titled WHY? PINK FLOYD re-release project is almost preposterous in scope. And by everything you read up until this point, I bet you think I am poo-pooing this project. In a certain sense, I am. I mean, all of these studio albums have been reissued more than once. How many copies of Dark Side do I really need? Certainly this aspect of the campaign interests me very little (if at all). It's the stuff deeper in the guts of this thing that has me dorking myself to death. Here's a breakdown of how they've got these sets organized.

DISCOVERY EDITIONS and BOX SET (Available 9/27/11)
This release is broken into two tiers. The first tier Discovery Edition is all 14 studio albums remastered from the ground up, all available for purchase individually. The second tier Discovery Edition is a box set that features all 14 records and a 60-page booklet housed as one massive package (hehehe).

EXPERIENCE EDITIONS
The Experience Editions are more modest and seem to be the most appealing to me. Available for individual purchase will be Wish You Were Here (11/8/11), Dark Side of the Moon (9/27/11), and The Wall (2/28/12) ONLY . These sets will include a newly remastered album CD, a CD containing additional material pertaining to the album, and an expanded (and pretty beautiful) CD booklet.

IMMERSION EDITIONS
The Immersion Editions serve to separate the nerds from the super nerds. Available for individual purchase will be Wish You Were Here (11/8/11), Dark Side of the Moon (9/27/11), and The Wall (2/28/12) ONLY. Lavishly packaged in a sturdy 29cm square box, the sets contain remastered, previously unreleased and audio-visual material, plus much additional content - reproduced memorabilia, brand new graphics, art prints, collectors' items, lavish booklets and several more CDs remastered as 5.1, Quadrophinic, Stereo, etc... it's a doozie!

BEST OF
The Best of Pink Floyd: A Foot In The Door (11/8/11). An expanded and remastered greatest hits album. As far as this remaster campaign goes, this CD is the equivalent of Wayne and Garth standing in front of the green screen in Wayne's World I saying "I'm in Delaware."

VINYL EDITIONS
The Vinyl Editions are records dude. Available for individual purchase will be Wish You Were Here (11/8/11), Dark Side of the Moon (9/27/11), and The Wall (2/28/12) ONLY. Features the 2011 remastered version on 180 gram heavyweight Vinyl. Original packaging including stickers and posters plus free 320kbps download and exclusive new poster.

So while some of this stuff is a rehash, I am still very stoked about some of these releases. So stoked in fact that I am going to give two lucky BV readers a shirt, a poster, and a newly remastered 2 CD set of Dark Side of the Moon, just for reading this far! Directions on how to enter the contest are below!

And you know who else is stoked about this new remaster campaign? Funnyman Jimmy Fallon, that's who! Each episode of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon from September 26th through September 30th (a whole week!) will be dedicated to Pink Floyd. From what I've heard the schedule is as follows:

- Monday 9/26 - The Shins perform Breathe from Dark Side of the Moon. Nick Mason will be the interviewed.
- Tuesday 9/27 - Roger Waters will join Foo Fighters will perform In the Flesh from The Wall. Waters will also be interviewed.
- Wednesday 9/28 - MGMT will perform early Floyd classic Lucifer Sam.
- Thursday 9/29 - Dierks Bentley will perform Wish You Were Here.
- Friday 9/30 - Pearl Jam (!) will do Mother from The Wall.

Fallon airs at 12:30am on NBC.

In other old geezers from awesome classic rock bands news... don't forget that tonight at Nassau Coliseum The Who's Roger Daltrey performs the rock opera Tommy in its entirety as well as other Who classic cuts. Tickets are still available and, I swear to Cod, if I had a car, I'd be all over that shit. Fiddle about.

Continue reading "Pink Floyd probably breaks record release record, gets people covering them on Fallon for a week"

Speaking of shows the Shins are playing...

"DeLuna Fest and Five Flags Tourism Group are excited to announce the performance schedule for this year's music festival taking place on the gorgeous sugar-white sands of Pensacola Beach, FL, on October 14th, 15th, and 16th. DeLuna Fest's five stages and waterfront hotels along Pensacola Beach will play host to over 80 bands..... Go to http://lineup.delunafest.com/schedule to see the full schedule for this year's outstanding line up for DeLuna Fest 2011 which includes Linkin Park on their only US Fall date, The Shins, Weezer, Cake, Jane's Addiction, Cut Copy, Big Boi, Matt & Kim, Girl Talk, Wanda Jackson, Bettye LaVette, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Dirty Dozen Brass Band and many, many more.

Tickets are on sale now for only $189.95 for all three days, all stages and in/out privileges."

Don't hold Linkin Park against them. We know how hard it is for Florida festivals to sell tickets! Hotel options HERE.

The Shins at Terminal 5 (more by Natasha Ryan)

Annnnnnnd here is yet another MAJOR show announced this morning (My Morning Jacket/Band of Horses at MSG, Radiohead at Roseland). The Shins are scheduled to play this weekend's Popped Music Festival in Philadelphia, and have added a few Northeasten dates at smaller venues as well, including one at Bowery Ballroom on 9/25! Tickets go on sale at noon on Wednesday. Faces on Film open the show. The last time that The Shins played NYC was over two nights at the much much bigger Terminal 5 in 2009.

All tour dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "The Shins playing Bowery Ballroom after Popped! (dates)"

Eric D. Johnson

We recently mentioned that Fruit Bats and Vetiver play a show together on September 13 at Bowery Ballroom. That show is part of a September tour that the two bands go on together which kicks off on September 6 in Minneapolis. Tickets for the entire tour are now on presale. Tickets for the NYC show go on sale Friday (7/8) at noon.

Vetiver meanwhile are in NYC this Sunday. Tickets are still on sale.

Two Gallants (back together after two years apart from each other) open the Minneapolis show, and none after that, but they do simultaneously go on their own tour which includes a late show at Mercury Lounge the same night (9/13) that Fruit Bats and Vetiver play Bowery Ballroom. Tickets for the NYC show are on sale now.

Meanwhile, The Shins (of which Fruit Bat Eric D. Johnson is a sideman) who have been hiatus for most of the last two years too, are scheduled to play Outside Lands and POPPED! Music Festival. Frontman James Mercer also debuted a new song with drummer Joe Plummer (of Modest Mouse and recently The Shins) at The Bagdad Theater in Portland, OR back in March. Video of that with all tour dates below...

Continue reading "updated Fruit Bats & Vetiver tour dates & presale & the return of the Shins & Two Gallants"

The Outside Lands Festival, which runs from 8/12 - 8/14 in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, released their 2011 lineup in April (and now it's May, so consider this a catch up post). Tickets are on sale.

This year's fest will appearances from The Shins, Muse, Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, The Black Keys, Phish (two sets), !!!, Erykah Badu, Big Audio Dynamite (who played Coachella and are also playing Lollapalooza), Girl Talk and many more. The full lineup is below.

Continue reading "Outside Lands 2011 lineup"

DOWNLOAD: Of Montreal - Brush Brush Brush (MP3)

Fresh on the heels of the release of the first Yo Gabba Gabba! CD release Yo Gabba Gabba! Music Is Awesome!, hitting the shelves nationwide on October 20, W!LDBRAIN and S2BN Entertainment present Yo Gabba Gabba! Live! There's A Party In My City, the first live U.S. touring show. A one-of-a-kind live event, the tour will kick off on November 14th, and will feature music, animation, games, singing, dancing, and special musical guests. Favorites such as "Party in My Tummy" "Hold Still" and "Get the Sillies Out" will be featured in the show. Special guests will also join the party on stage rocking their favorite 'Dancey Dance' moves. Presented using state of the art production elements, Yo Gabba Gabba! Live! There's A Party In My City will offer audience members of all ages an unparalleled experience.

Yo Gabba Gabba!'s live tour plans to make stops in L.A., Chicago and NYC. The New York show happens Saturday, November 21st at Beacon Theatre, where there'll be 11am and 2pm sets. Tickets are currently on AmEx presale. There's a "Gabba Mail" presale (their mailing list) starting October 6th at 10am. Then general public sale starts October 9th at 10am.

The album Yo Gabba Gabba! Music Is Awesome! comes out October 20th on Filter US Recordings. The show is pretty well known for its musical guests (Mark Mothersbaugh from Devo, Biz Markie, Chromeo, I'm From Barcelona, Mark Kozelek) and the fact that its co-creator, Christian Jacobs, is MC Bat Commander from The Aquabats. Those guests are respresented on the album, as is Of Montreal, with the song "Brush Brush Brush" (about brushing your teeth) posted above.

Tracklist, album art, tour dates and musical clips from the show are posted below...

Continue reading "Yo Gabba Gabba! - live show dates, new CD, Of Montreal MP3"

photos by Raymond Haddad

Denver Post: What have you learned from playing in groups like the Shins, Vetiver and Califone over the years?

Eric D Johnson: It's sort of intangible. Especially with the Shins, the operation is such a larger scale than my own band that I compare it to having a job at a law firm, and then Fruit Bats is my job volunteering at the soup kitchen.

That's not a bad soup kitchen.

In the simplest terms it's motivating to be like, "I want that cheese platter for my own band backstage." The Shins' (popularity) was a pretty awesomely organic process as far as where they went with themselves. Their story is no one else's story. Our bands existed in parallel worlds for years -- the home recording, the unambitiousness of both. James and I have really similar personalities and that's why I think he ended up bringing me on board. But I'm sure there have been a trillion little musical things that have seeped in there too over the years.

Fruit Bats stopped in Brooklyn last night (9/14) to play a show at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Iran and Kevin Barker. Their tour continues tonight (9/15) in Cambridge. How was the NYC show? A few more pictures and a video from it below...

Continue reading "Fruit Bats played MHOW (pics & video) "

DOWNLOAD: Fruit Bats - My Unusual Friend (new MP3)

Fruit Bats

Fruit Bats, the other project of Eric Johnson of The Shins, will be release its fourth album, The Ruminant Band, on August 4th on Sub Pop. In support of that record, the Fruit Bats will tour North America in August and September. The current set of dates are listed below and now on PRESALE. More dates will also be announced soon.

The tour includes a Brooklyn show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Monday, September 14th. General sale for that show starts Wednesday, July 1st at noon. Openers for that show are Kevin Barker, and Iran, which is one of many bands Kyp Malone of TV on the Radio is a member of (though not always).

Speaking of Kyp, TV on the Radio is keeping him more than busy, AND it was just announced that ANTI will be releasing an album by his solo project Rain Machine!

Anti- Records, home to other musical visionaries such as Tom Waits, Neko Case and Nick Cave, is thrilled to announce the signing of Rain Machine, a startling new musical venture from Kyp Malone. "It's thrilling to hear this side of Kyp," says Anti- president Andy Kaulkin. "The songs are emotionally raw and passionate yet still experimental and full of surprises."...

...Produced by Ian Brennan (Ramblin Jack Elliott, Lucinda Williams, Jonathan Richman), Rain Machine's debut, set for release this fall, offers an enthralling mix of innovative song structure and sound entirely in service of Malone's emotive singing and evocative lyrics. Malone describes the Rain Machine sound as "a nearly full spectrum of frequencies audible to the human ear - a reflection of a variety of emotions and situations real and imagined, some rhythm and some rhyme."... [ANTI]

Check out an MP3 from the new Fruit Bats record above, with album art, track list and tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Fruit Bats - new album, MP3, tour dates (MHOW w/ Iran) ++ Kyp Malone releasing Rain Machine CD on ANTI"

photos by Natasha Ryan

"[The Shins] launched off with 'Australia' which is one of my favorites and I couldn't help but get giddy. They then proceeded through the next two songs on Wincing the Night Away without stopping. After a song or two, they introduced a special guest joining them on violin, and when I saw her, I was visibly the only person flipping out: It was Rebecca Zeller, the violinist of Ra Ra Riot!

A few songs come and go, equipped with some new songs (that they didn't have the decency to tell us the titles of), and a cover from, and I quote "One of the best f*cking bands in the world", also known in James Mercer's mind as The Beach Boys, all leading up to the best performance of the night: 'Caring is Creepy'. Every one in the room was singing their lungs out to this song, so much so that even though I was very close to James Mercer I couldn't hear him! When everyone is that connected and 'into' a song like that, how can that not affect you? " [Danish Poet]

That review is from the first (5/18) of two nights the Shins played NYC's Terminal 5. The second was last night (5/21), and there was also a NJ show at Wellmont Theater (5/17). Delta Spirit opened all of them, and at least on the second NYC night, they destroyed a guitar. More pictures from last night (destroyed guitar included), with a Shins video and the setlist from 5/18, below...

Continue reading "The Shins played Terminal 5 (twice) (and NJ) - pics & setlist "

Tickets are on Am Ex presale for the Phoenix show happening at Terminal 5.

Tickets are on Am Ex presale for the 2nd Shins show happening at Terminal 5.

Tickets are on Am Ex presale for the Gomez show happening at Terminal 5.

Other tickets also went on sale today.

The Rock Band 2 soundtrack will feature over 100 songs with over 80 songs on disc plus an additional 20 bonus tracks which will be made available for free download this fall. This builds upon the unparalleled depth and diversity of Rock Band's original set list and its ever-expanding library of downloadable tracks. Comprised entirely of master recordings from some of rock's most prolific and untouchable artists, including AC/DC, Guns N' Roses, Bob Dylan, Metallica, Pearl Jam and more, Rock Band 2 will deliver the most impressive and largest music catalogue of any music-based videogame ever.

Black Tide first delivered its fast paced metal sound on Rock Band in 2008 with the hit single "Shockwave" and now brings metal fans an encore with "Warriors of Time" from the band's debut album Light from Above (2008). Metal fans have a second reason to visit the Rock Band Music Store this week with the Welsh metal-core band Bullet For My Valentine bringing their first track to Rock Band with "Waking the Demon" featured on Scream Aim Fire (2008).

Alternative indie-pop band The Shins premiere in the Rock Band Music Store with "New Slang" from the band's 2001 album Oh, Inverted World .

The Shins will be spending an extra day, or a few days maybe, in NYC. Their previously announced May 18th show at Terminal 5 is sold out, so they added another one at the same venue three days later. The May 21st show goes on sale Friday at noon ($39.50). Tickets are also still on sale for the May 17th show at Wellmont Theater in NJ. More dates HERE.

Bandega: What venue do you consider to be your "home", where you feel most comfortable, with the crowd and the place itself?

Eric Johnson of Fruit Bats & The Shins: The shortlist would be Schubas, Hideout and Empty Bottle in Chicago, Mercury Lounge in New York, Modified in Phoenix, Fernwood in Big Sur, and Opolis in Norman, Oklahoma.

The previously announced NJ & NYC Shins shows are the last two dates on a 14-date May tour. Tickets for the May 18th Terminal 5 show are currently on Am Ex Presale, and go on regular sale Friday at noon.

The Shins were nominated for the "Best Alternative Music Album" Grammy for their 2007 Sub Pop album Wincing the Night Away. Muppets interviewed them backstage at the 2008 event. That video and all dates below...

Continue reading "The Shins - updates 2009 tour dates, Muppet interview"

"The Shins are likely to self-release their fourth studio album through frontman James Mercer's Aural Apothecary label, Billboard can reveal. The beloved indie rock group's first three albums were released by Sub Pop.

"The deal will be more of a [pressing and distribution] deal than a traditional record deal," Shins manager Ian Montone tells Billboard. "That partner could very well remain Sub Pop, who have done a remarkable job with the band and have a great staff of people who really love music. It could be a digital partner with respect to other rights. All of this is being determined. The first goal is to make the record and see where that takes us."

Says Sub Pop general manager Megan Jasper, "The Shins have been a huge part of Sub Pop's story. We'd love to continue working with them."" [Billboard]

It looks like the Shins will be going on tour in May. Confirmed dates so far include Sunday May 17th at the Wellmont Theater in NJ ($35), and Monday, May 18th at Terminal 5 in NYC ($39.50). Tickets for both shows go on sale Friday at noon.

by Ryan Barkan

When it comes to licensing, Tom Waits has a strong reputation..

Waits has steadfastly refused to allow the use of his songs in commercials and has joked about other artists who do. ("If Michael Jackson wants to work for Pepsi, why doesn't he just get himself a suit and an office in their headquarters and be done with it?") He has filed several lawsuits against advertisers who used his material without permission. He has been quoted as saying, "Apparently, the highest compliment our culture grants artists nowadays is to be in an ad -- ideally, naked and purring on the hood of a new car," he said in a statement, referring to the Mercury Cougar. "I have adamantly and repeatedly refused this dubious honor....

...In 2005, Waits sued Adam Opel AG, claiming that, after having failed to sign him to sing in their Scandinavian commercials, they had hired a soundalike singer. In 2007, the suit was settled, and Waits gave the sum to charity." [Wikipedia]

Speaking in an interview in 2005 to NPR's All Things Considered, Waits bluntly says "I'd rather have a hot lead enema" than have a song in a commercial. At the time he was referring to products like Doritos, cars and diapers. His stance isn't as strong when it comes to a good cause. His song "Never Let Go" is the soundtrack to a new PSA by the Ad Council for Feeding America.

The campaign, shot by American History X director Tony Kaye, launched November 25th and is intended to raise awareness and drive action to fight hunger in America.

Created pro bono by Ogilvy NY, the new TV, radio, print, and web advertising aims to change the way Americans look at this critical issue affecting our country and to understand the fact that many people they interact with on a daily basis may not know where their next meal will come from...

"We are thrilled to partner with Feeding America to educate Americans about just how close hunger is to each one of us," according to Peggy Conlon, President & CEO of The Advertising Council. "I believe that the 1 in 8 campaign will inspire Americans to become involved in this critical issue."

"This work uses simple visual imagery to demonstrate the reality of the fact that everyone today knows someone who is hungry," said Antonio Navas and Chris Bradley, creative directors at Ogilvy who developed the campaign. "We were very fortunate to get musician Tom Waits to contribute a beautiful piece of music - "Never Let Go" off of 2006's Orphans -- that helps bring the work to life and connect with the public in a tangible way. We believe it will have great impact on this important cause."

Per the Ad Council model, the PSAs will be distributed to media outlets nationwide this week and will run and air in advertising time and space that is donated by the media.

Waits says of the project: "We all need to be reminded that the folks who need help getting back on their feet are all members of our family." Watch the two different PSAs below.

Other Notable Licensing News:

Another band that usually passes on licensing requests for its music is Arcade Fire. The Canadian band decided to let its song "My Body Is A Cage" be used in the trailer for the new Brad Pitt movie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

According to the Arcade Fire's management, "This is the first time the band have used their music in this way. David Fincher asked them to look at the trailer. They all thought it was a good use of the music. They have no issue with licensing music when it's used in a creative way. It rarely happens." [Pitchfork]

Watch the trailer below.

The soundtrack to Juno continues to inspire advertising creatives. One of Barry Louis Polisar's songs from that soundtrack, "All I Want Is You", gives it a go in a spot for the National Lottery in the UK. The commercial can be seen below.

I've seen the commercial for Ubisoft's new Prince Of Persia game on air this past week. Just like the trailer (watch it below), the spot features the song "Saeglopur" by Sigur Ros. This is the second video game featuring Sigur Ros music - EA's trailer for Dead Space (released in October 2008) uses "Track 7" as the soundtrack.

The Shins' "Sleeping Lessons" provides a cool soundtrack to Statkraft Energy's new European commercial. Watch it at Boards Mag.

Sony has released quite a few new commercials recently for both the PS3 and PSP that have good musical soundtracks. The "Mural" spot features "Everybody Ona Move" by Michael Franti & Spearhead, "LA Plays PSP" has The Grouch featuring MURS' "The Bay To LA", and "NYC Plays PSP" uses Chromeo's "Fancy Footwork". Watch the last one below.

continued below...

Continue reading "This week in Music Licensing"

Continue reading "Shins member Martin Crandall arrested for domestic violence against America's Next Top Model Elyse Sewell"

DOWNLOAD: The Shins Bluegrass Tribute - Kissing The Lipless (MP3) (via)

well, it looked cooler at least....

Continue reading "the Shins improved their live show @ Vegoose"

DOWNLOAD: Vetiver - Luna Sea (MP3)

random photo of Andy of Vetiver & Michael Lachowski of Pylon (VIA)

(As just posted) Kristeen Young dropped off the Morrissey tour. Her voice is shot.

UPDATE: Minutes after I posted that Vetiver ARE opening for Morrissey, Vetiver sent out a second message. Now they are NOT opening for Morrissey....

Subject: ok...now this is just plainly ridiculous

hey everybody....

ok, so....basically we just got a call a half hour ago to find out that we in fact ARE NOT now opening for Morrissey after all. as it turns out, friends of his, a NYC band called "Girlfriend In A Coma" are now opening up the shows, and
Morrissey has apparently apologized and told us that he is "very, very sorry",
that he likes Vetiver very much, but that "it just doesn't make sense".

you're telling me!

so anyway, no hard feelings, we're all actually very excited to head home and get some rest, and i'm sure all of this will be for the best.

tour w/ Morrissey? we Never Had No One Ever!

love to you all,

Vetiver

Continued below.....

Continue reading "Vetiver NOT opening for Morrissey + Boxton tix for $20"

DOWNLOAD: The Shins - Know Your Onion! (MP3)

"signage near bedford ave" (CRED)

(as you can see from the sign in Brooklyn) The Shins played Terminal 5 in Manhattan last night (Oct 23, 2007). Do they still suck live? How were Vetiver? They do it again tonight - then The Shins are off to Vegas to play Vegoose. All tour dates below....

Continue reading "The Shins played Terminal 5"

The Shins & Ruby Suns in Australia - Aug 10, 2007 (CRED)

Tickets are now on presale for a bunch of Shins shows including two in NYC at Terminal Five on October 23rd & 24th with Vetiver. According to the presale page, Terminal Five is located at 61 W. 56th Street. I'm sure more info about that will surface soon enough. All tour dates, and the new video for 'Turn on Me', below....

Continue reading "THE SHINS - 2007 Tour Dates & presale & new video"