In the Rotation

Unfortunately, due to our schedules, posts have become less frequent on Metro D. So now that we're reaching the end of the first 1/4 of 2008 I thought I'd take this opportunity to point out the albums and songs that I've been enjoying most (since I haven't posted much about this stuff). I decided to be a bit more systematic and use the star ratings on my ipod to help differentiate. I've divided the number of songs by the total number of stars. (For some reason, it sounded cooler than it writes when I started this...)

2008 Releases

The Black Keys: Attack & Release
Avg: 1.82


[Buy]
MP3: The Black Keys - "Strange Times"

Fleet Foxes: Sun Giant EP
Avg: 1.8


[Buy]
MP3: Fleet Foxes - "Mykonos"

Tokyo Police Club: Elephant Shell
Avg: 1.72


[Buy]

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks: Real Emotional Trash
Avg: 1.7


[Buy]

Cloud Cult: Feel Good Ghosts
Avg: 1.69


[Buy]

Foals: Antidotes
Avg: 1.64


[Buy]

Silver Jews: Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea
Avg: 1.6

British Sea Power: Do You Like Rock Music?
Avg: 1.5


[Buy]

Constantines: Kensington Heights
Avg: 1.5


[Buy]

Tapes 'n Tapes: Walk It Off
Avg: 1.33


[Buy]

Grand Archives: s/t (1.27), Vampire Weekend: s/t (1.18), Black Mountain: In The Future (1)

My 4 Star-Rated Songs in order of preference:
Fleet Foxes - "Mykonos" [MP3]
Silver Jews - "San Francisco B.C."
Black Mountain - "Tyrants"
Tokyo Police Club - "Tessellate"
Foals - "Red Sock Pugie"
These New Puritans - "Elvis"
Constantines - "Our Age"
Tokyo Police Club - "Your English is Good"
Stephen Malkmus - "Gardenia"
Cloud Cult - "The Ghost Inside Our House"
Grand Archives - "Sleepdriving"

Outside Lands 2008

Big time. Tickets on sale this Sunday. [SFOutsideLands.com]

Available Now on iTunes?

Foals' Antidotes and Tokyo Police Club's Elephant Shell, two of my favorite albums of 2008 thus far, are both available right now on iTunes. After last week's Raconteurs debacle, it's not clear whether they'll stay there since both have an April release. Foals debut is particularly interesting as it contains the bonus tracks and is selling for only $5.99. Get some!


[buy]


[buy]

Pearl Jam Summer Tour

Oh how I have waited a long time to see Pearl Jam at MSG. Tour Dates below. Info on presale here. Ted Leo and Kings of Leon are supporting separate dates.

June 11: West Palm Beach, Fla. (Cruzan Amphitheatre)
June 12: Tampa, Fla. (St. Pete Times Forum)
June 13-15: Manchester, Tenn. (Bonnaroo Festival)
June 16: Columbia, S.C. (Colonial Center)
June 17: Virginia Beach, Va. (Verizon Wireless Center)
June 19: Camden, N.J. (Susquehanna Bank Center)
June 22: Washington, D.C. (Verizon Center)
June 24-25: New York (Madison Square Garden)
June 27: Hartford, Conn. (Dodge Music Center)
June 30: Mansfield, Mass. (Tweeter Center)

New Raconteurs Album on 3/25

Well, I'd say this counts as a very nice surprise. It's good to see more established artists try to get creative with album releases. Yet another reason why the recent activities of Radiohead and Trent Reznor are good for the music industry.

From The Raconteurs web site:

The Raconteurs are happy to announce that in one week's time their second album, entitled Consolers Of The Lonely, will be available EVERYWHERE Tuesday, March 25th.

"Album" meaning: full length vinyl, CD and digital formats; and "everywhere" meaning: local mom and pop Indie retailers, corporate superstores, supermarkets, iTunes, Amazon, the band's own website and any other location that could get the record up and going this quickly (some places couldn't move this fast, so they will join in as soon as they can).

It contains 14 new recordings and is being released globally on Third Man Records in conjunction with our marketing/distribution partners, XL Recordings and Warner Brothers Records.

The album was mastered and completed in the first week of March. It was then taken immediately to a vinyl pressing plant. Then to a CD pressing plant. Then preparations to sell it digitally began. March 25th became the soonest date to have it available in EVERY FORMAT AT ONCE. The band have done no interviews or advertisements for this record before this announcement.

The purpose: to get the album to the fans as soon as possible and as we promised. We wanted to get this record to fans, the press, radio, etc., all at the EXACT SAME TIME so that no one has an upper hand on anyone else regarding it's availability, reception or perception.

With this release, The Raconteurs are forgoing the usual months of lead time for press and radio set up, as well as forgoing the all important "first week sales". We wanted to explore the idea of releasing an album everywhere at once and THEN marketing and promoting it thereafter. The Raconteurs would rather this release not be defined by it's first weeks sales, pre-release promotion, or by someone defining it FOR YOU before you get to hear it.

Another purpose was to also allow people to have their own choice as to exactly which format they would like to hear the album in IMMEDIATELY, rather than having to wait for their favorite format to become available. The band are also not releasing any version of this record that contains bonus tracks. Musically this album will be the same as the band created it no matter what format it is purchased in (The sound quality of each format however, is a different story. The Raconteurs recommend hearing it on vinyl, but the choice is of course up to the listener).

The band also prefer that fans buy the album as a whole instead of breaking up the tracks, but until iTunes and other digital services allows bands to release their albums with the option of NOT breaking it up, it will be sold in that fashion on those particular sites. On the band's website however, the album will be sold in its entirety as an mp3 at 320kb bit rate. Also in Japan, fans will be able to download the record via their mobile phones, as that is how a majority of recorded music is consumed there.

The reason we are announcing this release one week ahead of time is because of retail pre-ordering and stocking, information about this album's imminent release was bound to come to light and could be confusing to fans. Also in the event that the record leaks, we didn't want this method of release to be seen as a REACTION to such a leak. It's not. The actual worst thing about a leak is the usual poor sound quality, akin to watching a movie on a wristwatch instead of in a theater. Which for the album's creators is a bit of a letdown, but again, it is completely up to the listener.

There will be a video up on the internet for the first single, "Salute Your Solution", on the 25th as well, provided it gets edited in time. We just filmed it the other day!

We hope not to confuse anyone with too many options, or deny them the formats that they like best. The Raconteurs feel very strongly that music has worth and should be treated as such. Thank you to all those who respect music in this fashion, and thank you to our label partners for working with us to get this album to fans in as many formats as possible all at once.

Thank you, and we hope that you enjoy Consolers Of The Lonely.

Sincerely,
The Raconteurs

Filter (band)? Why Not.

I was, and suppose, still am a huge fan of Filter's first two albums, Short Bus and Title of Record. What's happened with the band since then, I can only rely on Wikipedia for answers. I remember the Hummer commercials and even gave that Army of Anyone release a shot. Well, as I noticed in February, not only is Richard Patrick officially bringing the band back, I stumbled upon a record release show at Mercury Lounge in May. $10 for the chance to hear "Hey Man, Nice Shot?" Yes please. New album Anthem for the Damned is out on indie label Pulse on May 13.

The Wire --> Generation Kill

I just finished watching the final episode of The Wire. I thought it was excellent. Plenty have said that it's the best show on television and I agree. I'm actually depressed that it's over. However, the end credits revealed HBO's reward to its die hard fans by promoting Generation Kill, the 7 part mini series event from David Simon and Ed Burns. Sold. Can't wait for July. Watch the trailer. More info.

New Cloud Cult Album Available Now

Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes) is now available on the band's website ($10 for download, $12 for download + CD). Both NF and I don't hide the fact that we are huge fans of Cloud Cult so if you're familiar with and enjoy their music, please support the band. Not surprisingly, the new album is fantastic. Although I haven't yet identified a stand out track ("The Ghost Inside Our House" is my favorite at the moment), I think this is their most accessible and cohesive effort to date.