Nick Jonas & the Administration tie with Lil Wayne, with Vampire Weekend a relatively close second place.

By Fred Mills

The BLURT readers have spoken: for our most recent poll we asked you to select, from a list of a dozen first-quarter '09 new releases currently being hotly hyped by record labels and trendy/tastemaker bloggers alike, which titles were the least anticipated.

As you can see from the stats tally below, Nick Jonas & the Administration's Who I Am and Lil Wayne's Rebirth, both of which arrive in stores next week, Feb. 2, were the clear frontrunners, and it's interesting that they were tied for first place with 26% of the total vote apiece. (Given Lil Wayne's token status as a Pitchforkian hipster, maybe this represents a reactionary vote aimed at Pitchfork - the Jonas nod was kind of a no-brainer, after all, and we have to admit that record's inclusion in the poll was kind of a setup. Hey, go take your OWN poll if ya don't like it!)

Band du jour Vampire Weekend is currently ripping up the Billboard charts with 100k-plus first week sales and counting (must have been a slow first week - apparently every person on the planet has already bought Susan Boyne and Taylor Swift, and the only thing that's left to do, marketing wise, is airlift copies of those two monster sellers to Haitian refugees). So it's not surprising a backlash has already started, and we're chuffed to report that V.W.'s Contra officially comes in at second (or third) place. Natalie Merchant's Leave Your Sleep, due March 2, comes in next. Sorry Vampire Weekend and Ms. Merchant, it's not us, it's you.

Everything else is pretty well evenly spread out, although since Liars' Sisterworld, due March 9, received zero votes, that makes the band technically the winners here. We're eager to hear that one too, to be perfectly honest, so congrats to Liars, who have won an all-expenses paid trip to Orlando to see Nick Jonas & the Administration open their world tour - don't forget to cover up first, boys.

Poll Results (54 votes total)

15% w/8 votes Vampire Weekend - Contra (1-12)

4% w/2 votes OK Go - Of The Blue Colour of the Sky (1-12)

2% w/1 vote Editors - In This Light and On This Evening (1-19)

6% w/3 votes Spoon - Transference (1-19)

26% w/14 votes Nick Jonas & the Administration - Who I Am (2-2)

26% w/14 votes Lil Wayne - Rebirth (2-2)

2% w/1 vote Hot Chip - One Life Stand (2-9)

2% w/1 vote TobyMac - Tonight (2-9)

4% w/2 vote The Game - The R.E.D. Album (2-16)

9% w/5 votes Natalie Merchant - Leave Your Sleep (3-2)

6% w/3 votes Butch Walker - I Liked it Better When You Had No Heart (2-23)

0% w/0 votes Liars - Sisterworld (3-9)

Marketers' heads abuzz with possibilities. Meanwhile, Holly Golightly, Gemma Ray, Spinnerette and State Radio get to share column space with Tom Waits, She & Him, Black Keys and Aimee Mann, so it's all good!

By Blurt Staff

The New Jersey-based Independent Music Awards announced last night the winners of the 9^th annual IMAs.  Among the top winners: All That Remains, Spinnerette, Holly Golightly & the Brokeoffs (pictured above; see our recent live review of Holly here), The So So Glos, Alaska In Winter, Beat Circus, Gemma Ray, Illa J and State Radio.

There are tons of winners who you've most likely never heard of too, but hey, that's why they're called "independent," so obscure or not, congrats to everyone. You've got a brand spanking new marketing opp staring you in the face now.

More than 50 categories for albums, songs, music videos and design comprised this year's competition, and winners were determined by the votes of a panel of "80 influential artists and industry pros." Those artists and pros included Tom Waits, The Black Keys, Ricky Skaggs, Pete Wentz, Mark Hoppus, Aimee Mann, The Apples in Stereo, David Garrett, Suzanne Vega, Bettye LaVette, Judy Collins, Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward.

"The IMAs celebrate artists who follow their own muse and the true music fans who support them," IMA Executive Director Martin Folkman, in a statement. "The artists who've been honored by The IMAs create some of the best music you may never have heard, and we're delighted to promote them at the world's largest music retailer," he added, noting that iTunes has set up a section for releases from the winters at the iTunes store "Indie Spotlight" page.

Additionally, regular every day music fans can vote on their fave nominees for the IMA People's Voice competition. Deadline is June 25 and you can register at IMA and vote here.

Complete List of Winners:

ALT. COUNTRY - ALBUM

Artist: Beat Circus
Album: Boy From Black Mountain
Label: Cuneiform

AMERICANA - ALBUM
Artist: Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs
Album: Dirt Don't Hurt
Label: Transdreamer

BLUES - ALBUM
Artist: Joe & Vicki Price
Album: Rain or Shine

CHILDREN'S - ALBUM
Artist: Charlie Hope
Album: I'm Me! A Collection Of Songs For Children
Label: Little Maple Leaf Productions

COLLEGE LABEL RELEASE - ALBUM
Album: AEMMP Records Chompilation
Label: AEMMP Records, Columbia College Chicago

CONCEPT - ALBUM
Artist: Phil Roy
Album: In The Weird Small Hours
Label: Ear Pictures

CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN - ALBUM
Artist: John Mandeville
Album: We Belong To Heaven
Label: I.P.O. Records

CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL - ALBUM
Artist: Heritage Orchestra feat. DJ Yoda
Album: G. Prokofiev Concerto for Turntables
Label: Nonclassical Recordings

COUNTRY - ALBUM
Artist: Dale Watson
Album: The Truckin' Sessions, Vol. 2
Label: Hyena Records

DANCE/ELECTRONICA - ALBUM
Artist: Alaska in Winter
Album: Holiday
Label: Milan Records

ECLECTIC - ALBUM
Artist: Gemma Ray
Album: Lights Out Zoltar!
Label: Bronzerat Records

FOLK/SINGER-SONGWRITER - ALBUM
Artist: Michael Zapruder
Album: Dragon Chinese C0cktail Horoscope
Label: Side Cho

GOSPEL - ALBUM
Artist: Russell Leonce
Album: Culture of Love

HARD ROCK/METAL - ALBUM
Artist: All That Remains
Album: Overcome
Label: Razor & Tie Entertainment

INDIE LABEL PROMO COMPILATION - ALBUM
Album: Cedille On The Move
Label: Cedille Records

JAZZ - ALBUM
Artist: Derrick Gardner & The Jazz Prophets
Album: Echoes Of Ethnicity
Label: Owl Studios

LATIN - ALBUM
Artist: Maestros del Joropo Oriental
Album: ¡Y Que Viva Venezuela!
Label: Smithsonian Folkways

LIVE PERFORMANCE - ALBUM
Artist: Danielia Cotton
Album: Live Child
Label: Cottontown Records

NEW AGE - ALBUM
Artist: Rocky Fretz
Album: The Path Ahead...And Steps Then Taken

POP/ROCK - ALBUM
Artist: Spinnerette
Album: Spinnerette
Label: Anthem

PUNK - ALBUM
Artist: The So So Glos
Album: Tourism / Terrorism
Label: Green Owl

R&B - ALBUM
Artist: Michael Olatuja
Album: Speak
Label: Backdrop/ObliqSound

RAP/HIP-HOP - ALBUM
Artist: Illa J
Album: Yancey Boys
Label: Delicious Vinyl

WORLD BEAT - ALBUM
Artist: Oran Etkin
Album: Kelenia
Label: Motema Music

WORLD TRADITIONAL - ALBUM
Album: Blodeugerdd Song Of The Flowers: An Anthology Of Welsh Music And Song
Label: Smithsonian Folkways

[IMA SONG CATEGORY WINNERS]

ACOUSTIC - SONG
Artist: Joanna Chapman-Smith
Song: "Melodies"

ALT. COUNTRY - SONG
Artist: My Cousin, The Emperor
Song: "A Long Way From Home"

AMERICANA - SONG
Artist: Tim Easton
Song: "Burgundy Red"
Label: New West Records

BLUES - SONG
Artist: Used Blues Band
Song: "Palm Reader Blues"

CHILDREN'S - SONG
Artist: Charlie Hope
Song: "I'm Me!"
Label: Little Maple Leaf Productions

CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN - SONG
Artist:Christopher Williams
Song: "Anything But Fail"
Label: BiG ReD VaN Music

COUNTRY - SONG
Artist: Codie Prevost
Song: "Spin"
Label: Goos Spirit Records

COVER - SONG
Artist: Daisy Chapman
Song: "Umbrella" Orig. by Rihanna
Label: Dandyland

DANCE/ELECTRONICA - SONG
Artist: Codebreaker
Song: "Follow Me"
Label: Disco Demolition Records

FILM/TV/GAMING & MULTIMEDIA - SONG
Artist: The Submarines
Song: "You, Me and the Bourgeoisie" from the Apple iPhone 3GS ad
Label: Nettwerk

FOLK/SINGER-SONGWRITER - SONG
Artist: Wolf In the Fold
Song: "Death"

GOSPEL - SONG
Artist: Noreen Crayton
Song: "Walking in the Faith"
Label: Angelic Star Records

HARD ROCK/METAL - SONG
Artist: Moving Atlas
Song: "Becoming Blue"

JAZZ - SONG
Artist: Austin McMahon
Song: "Platone"
Label: Fractamodi

LATIN - SONG
Artist: Jimmy Fontanez
Song: "Mi Salsa Vocal"

LOVE - SONG
Artist: Emma-Lee
Song: "Until We Meet Again"
Label: Bumstead Productions

NEW AGE - SONG
Artist: Tom Yoder
Song: "Locked In"

POP/ROCK - SONG
Artist: fun.
Song: "All The Pretty Girls"
Label: Nettwerk

PUNK - SONG
Artist: The So So Glos
Song: "My Block"
Label: Green Owl

R&B - SONG
Artist: Shoshana Bean
Song: "Superhero"
Label: Shotime Records

RAP/HIP-HOP - SONG
Artist: Miles Jones
Song: "Coast to Coast"

SING OUT FOR SOCIAL ACTION - SONG
Artist: State Radio
Song: "Calling All Crows"
Label: Nettwerk

STORY - SONG
Artist: Lisa Carver
Song: "Bullets"
Label: Adroit Records

WORLD BEAT - SONG
Artist: The Very Best
Song: "Warm Heart of Africa" feat. Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig
Label: Green Owl

WORLD TRADITIONAL - SONG
Artist: Roman Miroshnichenko
Song: "Unforgiven"
Label: Raritet

[IMA MUSIC VIDEO CATEGORY WINNERS]

SHORT FORM
Artist: Anj
Video: "Gorbachev"

LONG FORM

Artist: The Jimmies
Video: Trying Funny Stuff DVD

[IMA DESIGN CATEGORY WINNERS]

ALBUM PACKAGING
Designer: Tri-Plex Packaging Corp. of New York
Package: Pete Seeger - American Favorite Ballads: Vol. 1-5

ALBUM PHOTOGRAPHY
Photographer: Michael Aghajanian
Photo: Sholi

ARTIST/BAND PUBLICITY PHOTO
Photographer: Jason Grover
Photo: Blake Berglund

CONCERT/PERFORMANCE PHOTO
Photographer: Killshot Photography * Brooks Institute
Photo: GWAR

BAND/VENUE POSTER
Designer: Matt Kelley - One Lucky Guitar
Poster: Lead Belly

BAND WEBSITE
New Rhodes

INDIE LABEL WEB SITE
Razor & Tie

MUSIC BUSINESS WEBSITE
Music2 Management

SWAG
Blame Sally

Album due April 13 on Hawk Race Records; March tour opening for Coheed and Cambria is locked in.

By Blurt Staff

Tracklisting:

1. The Eyes Of Cassandra (Part 1)
2. The Eyes Of Cassandra (Part 2)
3. Oye Vaya
4. Ghost And The Witness
5. Shotgun
6. Holy Immortality
7. Sea Of Japan
8. Black Sea Vacation
9. Bill Evans
10. Out Of Air
11. Misty Morning




Tour Dates:

Jan 30 - Brooklyn Bowl - Brooklyn, NY
Mar 23 - Harro East Theatre & Ballroom w/ Coheed and Cambrial - Rochester, NY
Mar 24 - The Westcott Theater w/ Coheed and Cambria - Syracuse, NY
Mar 25 - Northern Lights w/ Cohee d and Cambria - Clifton Park, NY
Mar 26 - Higher Ground w/ Coheed and Cambria - South Burlington, VT
Mar 28 - Port City Music Hall w/ Coheed and Cambria - Portland, ME
Mar 29 Webster Theater w/ Cohee d and Cambria - Hartford, CT
Mar 30 Hardware Bar w/ Coheed a nd Cambria - Scranton, PA
Mar 31 - Music Hall of Williamsbu rg w/ Coheed and Cambria - Brooklyn, New York
Jun 4 - Wakarusa Festival - Ozark, Arkansas
Jun 5 - Wakarusa Festival - Ozark, Arkansas

"A night of deep noise" for European audiences; plus, the original album gets remastered and reissued on high-end audio.

By Blurt Staff

Lou Reed's Metal Machine Trio will embark on a UK and European tour on April 17th, when they perform what is described as "A Night of Deep Noise."

Featuring Lou Reed (processed & unprocessed guitars & mini continuum), Ulrich Krieger (tenor sax & live-electronics), and Sarth Calhoun (live processing & continuum fingerboard), the Metal Machine Trio concerts, although influenced and inspired by Reed's 1975 album Metal Machine Music, won't duplicate the original album, but will instead opt for entirely new unique music, noise and soundscapes.

The band initially debuted in October 2008 at the Redcat Theatre in Los Angeles, and they perform with "no songs and no vocals" - instead, they use their instruments and electronics "to venture into deep acoustic space... new music, free jazz, avant-rock, noise and ambient in a set of intense conceptual pieces and intuitive improvisations."

To coincide with the tour, Reed will release a newly re-mastered edition of Metal Machine Music on 180 gram double gatefold vinyl, Audio DVD & Blu-ray. Each format features a stereo reproduction of the original quadraphonic master, playable on home theatre systems. The album was previously reissued as a remastered CD in 2000 as a specially-packaged edition, and before that on regular CD in 1998; and 2007 brought the re-creation of MMM (or at least three parts of it), by Zeitkratzer. Reed subsequently performed with Zeitkratzer live in Berlin. But this will represent Reed's newly tinkering with the material for vinyl and high-end audio.

Lou Reed on the re-mastered edition of Metal Machine Music:

"The original. The one that started it all. Noise Rock. Industrial Road. Underground for years, it survived on the power of the idea. No key. No Vocals. No set rhythm. Feedback forever. Supervised by Lou Reed and faithfully re-mastered to the last squeal. The out of print "Quad" has been replicated for all formats including a perfect vinyl version playable on your stereo turntable with the original rear sections moved to the centre of the front left speakers. It's worth getting a turntable to hear this. I myself bought a Linn to celebrate the great sound and am playing it through Wilson Watts and Puppies. Here it as we did on Scott Hull's Duntechs. Straight from the original Bob Ludwig tapes. An act of love for an act of sound."

The MM3 European tour dates:

 Cambridge Junction (April 17)

Oxford O2 Academy (April 18),

Ether Festival - Royal Festival Hall, London (April 19),

La Cigale, Paris (April 21),

Domino Festival - Ancienne Belgique, Brussels (April 22),

DR Koncerthuset, Copenhagen (April 24),

Sentrum Scene, Oslo (April 26),

Ole Bull Scene, Bergen (April 27),

Festival Alternatilla - Teatre Principal de Palma, Mallorca (April 30).

[Photo credit: copyright Amy-Beth McNeely; courtesy Noble PR]

As we await the long-playing followup to Merriweather Post Pavilion, let's dip back to the point where the Baltimore/Brooklyn band started to get our attention.

By Ron Hart

With the success of their universally creamed-upon 2009 release Merriweather Post Pavilion and its subsequent Grateful Dead-sampling EP Fall Be Kind, Animal Collective bid farewell to the ‘00s in a hailstorm of happy hype.  So what better time than now to revisit one of the great lost gems of the group's catalog.

Originally released in 2003 on their own Catsup Plate vanity imprint, Campfire Songs, newly reissued on Paw Tracks, serves as the turning point in the Animal Collective story where Panda Bear, Avey Tare and co. transcended the electronically enhanced squalls of noise that overpowered much of their early material like 2001's Danse Manatee in favor of a stoned soul picnic of mellow modality. Recorded on a porch in the band's native Maryland utilizing nothing more than some acoustic guitars and mini-disc players (remember those??) capturing the atmospherics of their surroundings like chirping birds, insects and trees blowing in the wind, the five tracks here meditative in nature and Holy Modal Rounders-esque in their chant-like, devotional tone as the group is captured aiming to become one with the environment that envelops them.

Campfire Songs is one of the great products of the early ‘00s "freak-folk" movement and a telltale precursor to the Collective's true masterpiece, 2004's Sung Tongs. It's great to see it back in print.

[Photo Credit: Benjamin Corrigan]

Studio-obsessed indie rockers celebrating the start of a new decade with the release of their seventh studio album.

Travellers in Space and Time just may be Apples In Stereo's most hi-fi and hook-laden production to date. Described by frontman Robert Schneider as "retro-futuristic super-pop," the album is the official follow-up to 2007's New Magnetic Wonder, and the band's second release for Elijah Wood's Simian Records. The album will be released on April 20 via Yep Roc/Simian/Elephant 6.

Travellers contains sixteen piano-driven tracks, bubbling over with vocoder harmonies and sci-fi sound effects, like 70's AM radio filtered through a UFO; including the robotic first single "Dance Floor", the four-on-the-floor dream-scape "Hey Elevator", the Hall and Oates-tinged "Told You Once", and the epic, yearning "Dream About The Future," among many instant hits. The musical theme heard in these songs is strung throughout Travellers: intense pop hooks and electronic sounds, mixed with a pumping, get-up-and-moonwalk beat.

"I wanted to make a futuristic pop record, to reach out to the kids of the future," Schneider relates. "It is what I imagine their more highly-evolved pop might sound like: shiny soul music with robots and humans singing together, yet informed by the music of our time. So we are sending a pop music message through time, hoping they will decode it and be into it."

It is the first studio album from The Apples in stereo to feature new drummer John Dufilho, lead singer of Dallas indie rockers The Deathray Davies; and sees Bill Doss (Olivia Tremor Control, Elephant 6) and John Ferguson (Ulysses, Big Fresh), longtime Schneider collaborators, as full-time keyboardists in the band, alongside veteran members John Hill (guitar) and Eric Allen (bass). Original drummer Hilarie Sidney left the band in 2006.

Anyone familiar with The Apples in stereo's career will know Schneider's ever-evolving production process is as intricate as the recordings he generates. Engaging the same primary engineering team used to record New Magnetic Wonder, most notably Bryce Goggin (Trout Studio's vintage recording wizard), as well as many studio-savvy friends and cohorts, the band spent well over a year in the studio recasting their signature pop sounds in chrome-plated futurism, all while adding a dance-driven vibe channeling ELO, Barry Gibb, Wild Honey-era Beach Boys and Off The Wall-era Michael Jackson.

With Travellers in Space and Time, Schneider continues experimenting with his recent invention, the Non-Pythagorean musical scale based on the logarithm, a mathematical function. Schneider is a passionate student of mathematics, and recently composed music based on prime numbers for a play written by world-class mathematician Andrew Granville, performed at the hallowed Institute for Advanced Study (home of Albert Einstein) in Princeton, New Jersey. Travellers includes "C.P.U.," the first pop song ever to incorporate this novel scale.

In addition, the album features songwriting contributions from all of the other Apples, including "Wings Away" (Bill Doss/John Ferguson), "Next Year At About The Same Time" (Eric Allen), "No Vacation" (John Ferguson/Robert Schneider), "Floating Away" (John Dufilho), and "Dignified Dignitary" (Robert Schneider/Bill Doss/John Hill).

The 2007 hit album, New Magnetic Wonder, spawned late night performances on Conan and Colbert, commercial placements for The Apples' music (Pepsi, New Balance, Samsung, and numerous others), invitations to perform at many prestigious festivals and venues (All Tomorrows Parties, Pitchfork, Primavera Sound, R.E.M. Charity Tribute Concert at Carnegie Hall), and a world tour that took the band as far away as Taiwan - not to mention a polished performance of their hit song "Energy" by the contestants on American Idol.

Since then, the band has been increasingly busy, gaining ownership of their spinART Records back catalog and readying the albums for re-release, compiling the best-of #1 Hits Explosion, and releasing Electronic Projects for Musicians, an album of rarities. Schneider also made his children's music debut with 2009's Robbert Bobbert and the Bubble Machine (Little Monster Records), which made it to many Year-End Best Of lists; made numerous mathematics convention appearances; released Buddha Electrostorm (Garden Gate Records), an album of lo-fi garage-psych recorded with his brother-in-law Craig Morris (who played and engineered on Travellers) under the name Thee American Revolution; and topped it all off with his featured keynote talk and Australian debut performance at the Big Sound Music Conference, where he was featured alongside many musical luminaries, including noted Brian Wilson collaborator (and one of Schneider's heroes), Van Dyke Parks... and all of this while hard at work on The Apples' most ambitious studio production yet.

[Photo Credit: Adam Cantor]

But what exactly are "modern day versions" of Madonna, the Ramones and Talking Heads? Lady Gaga, Green Day and Arcade Fire already have record deals!

By Blurt Staff

Founders of legendary Sire Records, Richard Gottehrer and Seymour Stein (pictured),just announced the relaunch of the equally legendary record label Blue Horizon, intended, in their words, as "a venture that aims to introduce the world to emerging artists across a wide spectrum of genres" and utilizing "their unparalleled talents for discovering new and compelling music to incubate the careers of budding musicians."

Blue Horizon will leverage the global reach and innovative marketing of The Orchard (Gottehrer's company), while upstreaming select releases to Warner Bros. Records (Stein's company). Blue Horizon will be run from The Orchard's offices and be home to modern day versions of Madonna, The Ramones, Talking Heads (all artists previously signed to Sire Records), etc.

You can view a video of the MIDEM press conference announcing the new venture here.

Getting' ready to take care of the fucking job, yo.

By Blurt Staff

As previously announced, the new Drive-By Truckers album, The Big To-Do, arrives March 16 via ATO. As a teaser we've got a free MP3 from the album for ya:

MP3: "This Fucking Job"

This is the seventh DBT album that has featured original artwork by Wes Freed. The band has a very special relationship with Wes, they never tell him what to draw and often give him no input at all, yet he always seems to find some subtext, often one they didn't know was there, that he brings out and runs with. That relationship has hit a new level on this album, as he basically illustrated every song. He honed in on the circus allusions of The Rock Show and how it all could be tied together in The Big To-Do. Look for more pieces to be unveiled in the weeks prior to release date.

In other DBT news, the premiere screening of the new band documentary, The Secret To A Happy Ending, is scheduled for February 5 at AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, MD. Director Barr Weissman, Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley and Brad Morgan will be on hand for a Q&A after the screening. An additional midnight screening has just been announced, and then on Feb. 28 it will have its West Coast premiere at Noise Pop. Meanwhile, the band's set to embark upon a string of dates this week, followed by a full tour starting Feb. 11.

Screenings:

Fri Feb 5      Silver Spring, MD     AFI Silver Theatre sold out

*Sat Feb 6     Silver Spring, MD     AFI Silver Theatre

*This is a midnight screening after the screening on Feb 5.

Sun Feb 28   San Francisco, CA    Noise Pop Film Festival

Tour Dates:

Thu Jan 28            Huntsville, AL             Crossroads Music Hall
Fri Jan 29            Mobile, AL                        Soul Kitchen
Sat Jan 30            Tuscaloosa, AL            Jupiter Bar & Grill
Thu Feb 11            Greenville, SC            Handlebar
Fri Feb 12            Raleigh, NC                        Lincoln Theatre
Sat Feb 13            Raleigh, NC                        Lincoln Theatre
Sun Feb 14            Knoxville, TN                        Bijou Theatre
Thu Feb 25            Charlotte, NC                        Neighborhood Theatre
Fri Feb 26            Charlottesville, VA            Jefferson Theatre
Sat Feb 27            Charlottesville, VA            Jefferson Theatre

Thu Mar 04            Wilmington NC            Rox Nightclub

Sat Mar 06            Augusta GA                        Sky City

Fri Mar 12            Atlanta GA                        Variety Playhouse

Sat Mar 13            Atlanta GA                        Variety Playhouse

Thu Mar 18            Austin, TX                        SXSW

Fri Mar 19            New Orleans LA            Tipitinas

Sat Mar 20            New Orleans LA            Tipitinas

Thu Apr 01            New York NY                        Webster Hall

Fri Apr 02            Boston MA                        House of Blues

Sat Apr 03            Philadelphia PA            Electric Factory

Tue Apr 06            Toronto Canada            Lee's Palace

Wed Apr 07            Toronto Canada            Lee's Palace

Thu Apr 08            Detroit MI                        St. Andrews Hall

Fri Apr 09            Chicago IL                        The Vic Theatre

Sat Apr 10            Lexington KY                        Buster's Billiards and Backroom

Sun Apr 11            Cleveland OH                        Beachland Ballroom and Tavern

Wed Apr 14            Towson MD                        Recher Theatre

Thu Apr 15            Norfolk VA                        The Norva

Fri Apr 16            Asheville NC                        The Orange Peel

Sat Apr 17            Asheville NC                        The Orange Peel

Fri Apr 30            Nashville TN                        Cannery Ballroom

Fri May 07            Los Angeles CA            Avalon

Sat May 08            San Francisco CA            The Fillmore Auditorium

3/6 , 3/12, 3/13 David Barbe and the Quick Hooks support

4/1 - 4/17 Langhorne Slim supports

4/2 & 4/3 with Lucero

"Not all records made in the golden era of tape sounded great." Words to live by.

By Blurt Staff

Okay, all you analog heads, you think you're holding all the cards? Maybe, maybe not. But as BLURT blogger - and esteemed NYC producer - suggests, the digital and tape divide may be more illusory than you want to admit. He challenges some of the common wisdom in the latest installment of his "The End Credits" blog, going all the way back to the dawn of the digital era.

In "The Tape Fetish" Bisi writes, "There's a natural fear in people that ‘something is being lost' with changing technologies, lifestyles etc. It's human nature that someone's gonna be paranoid. So it makes sense that at the onset of digital in the 80's, some people asked, ‘Is the soul of music being lost, because it's being turned into digital 1's and 0's ?'"

Read Bisi's entire blog here - it just may give you food for thought. Remember, "not all records made in the golden era of tape sounded great."

And we've got plenty of shitty-sounding indie rock albums from the ‘80s to prove it...

This is what Lady Gaga has wrought...

By Blurt Staff

With a photo like the above, making the internet rounds, you just knew there was gonna be more.... It's Karin Dreijer Andersson, aka Fever Ray, aka ½ of The Knife - the latter, just to remind you, looks like this, and they have a new rec due soon too:

Of course, lately she's been looking more, er, feverish, posing for promo photos like this:

At any rate, Fever Ray won an award last week at Sweden's P3 Guld, an annual public radio awards show, nabbing one for "Best Dance." Now the actual footage of her acceptance "speech" (term used loosely - you'll see what we mean) has surfaced on YouTube (thanks for the tip, Pitchfork), and it's pretty, er, face melting shit. Enjoy! Incidentally, she'll be playing Coachella on April 16, and it just may be hot enough to make everyone else's faces melt that day....