See it Live:
Wednesday, October 6: The Bay Area gets rapped on for not really embracing our California beaches. But hey, you can surf here! Kind of? Well if you want to get reconnected with the beach, you might want to go see Jack Johnson at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley. Catch a cool buzz for $59.50, the tasty waves start at 6:30pm.
Wednesday, October 6: Caribou, also known as Dan Snaith, may be a mathematics genius, but he’s also a master of the dance floor. Come check out some psychedelic dance beats performed by a band, a man and a laptop. Audio starts at 8:30, tickets start at $18.
Friday, October 8: Van the Man, Van Morrison, Irish Jesus. What ever you like to call him, the rock and roll hall of famer is spending his Friday night at the Nob Hill Masonic Auditorium. Tickets start at $84.25 and cap at $375, show starts at 8:00pm.
Saturday, October 9: I don’t think Maryland produces many alternative reggae bands, but O.A.R is an exception. Of A Revolution is coming Oakland’s Fox Theater this Saturday at 8:00pm. Catch them for $29.50.
Sunday, October 10: Alcohol makes people want to sing. Maybe that’s why there are so many Scottish bands popping up these days. Just kidding. But seriously, if Scottish Indie music sounds appealing, check out Frightened Rabbit this Sunday at the Fillmore. Whiskey, I mean music, starts at 8:00pm, tickets go for $32.75.
Listen Here!:
On Bassnectar‘s daily to do list there are two things: Make beats and blow our minds. Bay Area’s patriarch of bass gives us this free download and mini-sampler of his up coming Wildstyle EP. The title says it all. Lorin Ashton refuses to swim with the stream, and once again mixes up his sound. Expect some grimy bass with a hip hop feel, as well as some always welcomed drawn out songs. The whole EP drops October 19th, but get your fix here.
The Soft Pack has played major festivals like BFD and Lollapalooza, but they’ve managed to stay extremely humble. How so? Last Friday they played a free show at in the SF State University student center, and they give us free new music. The song is called Gagdad, and stays true to their fuzzy garage rock roots. Download it here.
A Japanese radio station has leaked a Steven Tyler solo song, according to Spin. The song, titled “Love Lives,” is a theatrical power ballad that takes you straight back to the days of Reeboks and acid washed jeans. What makes it even better is that it was written for a Japanese sci fi movie based on Lord of the Flies. Check it out here.
The Austin City Limits music festival is probably the only reason I’d ever venture to Texas. Not really a fan of cowboy hats or insanely large bugs. But listening to this free mixtape of bands from this year’s lineup is pretty damn convincing. It features the likes of Girls, Deadmau5, and Beach House. Get it here.
Everybody loves Cake, but the thing is, they haven’t been around in a while. Thankfully, that is no longer so. The Sacramento band has put out the first new song they’ve released in six years, but if you’ve seen them lately it may sound familiar. It’s called So Sick of You and features rattles and sarcastic melodies in true Cake fashion. Have a listen here.
Kanye West almost neglected to give us a new song this week as he promised. But at the last night, he hit us with a song that samples Bon Iver, and features Kid Cudi and John Legend. Get that Christian Dior Denim flow right here.
Diplo, a DJ who’s recently burst into fame and is now appearing in cell phone commercials, has remixed Deerhunter’s new song Helicopter. Grab it here.
Heard it Through the Grapevine:
For a home to be comfortable, it should really reflect the likings of the person who live there. And by the looks of Ronnie James Dio‘s lavish mansion, he definitely had that in mind. The metal icon’s crib is now on the market for a modest $3.3 million, have a look at some of the arrangement.
Bruno Mars may be all over the radio, and may have an innocent voice that melts preteen hearts all over America, but that doesn’t mean the guy doesn’t like his fair share of narcotics! The pop singer, who recently came to fame on tracks like “Nothin’ on You” by B.o.B., was found partying with 2.6 grams of cocaine in a Las Vegas hotel bathroom. Now the singer, whose real name is Peter Hernandez, faces a felony count of a controlled substance. Nothing says ‘recent star’ like a recent felony.
Apparently MGMT was NOT doused with a cup full of urine, as some sources previously reported. It was said that at a recent show in Britain the bands drummer was drenched with supposed cup-o’-piss, then proceeded to get off stage and dry off for the next song. But the band says it ain’t so, they claim a cup of “Manchester Ale” was thrown in celebration by an excited fan. I don’t know about you, but Manchester Ale just sounds like a fancy phrase for piss.
In other MGMT news, the band also denied rumors that their label, Columbia records, will constrict the amount of control they have over their next album. Read singer Andrew VanWyngarden’s statement here.
N.E.R.D. has teamed up with fellow production prodigies Daft Punk for a song called “Hypnotize You.” The track is produced by the French disco robots, and performed by the American funk-hoppers. Check out a live performance on David Letterman, above.
More on Daft Punk, their soundtrack for the Disney movie Tron now has an official release date. The magical day is November 22, so mark it on your calendars. The movie comes out December 17, you might want to mark that one too. Check out some sounds from the soundtrack here.
