The wildly popular and remarkably talented band Of Montreal have posted their complete tour dates with cities and links to venues and ticket sales.

From January until the first week of April, Of Montreal will tour all over the United States (with a few dates in Canada) starting out in the South moving across the Southwest, into California, up through the Pacific Northwest, back down South, across the Midwest, the Northeast and back down South again.

Wow, they're going to be exhausted. There are more than 35 dates booked into four months.

Of Montreal 2007 Tour Dates from their official web site.

Labels: Indie Artist/Group Profiles, Indie Rock, Of Montreal, Tour Dates

Here's a posting I published on Emusic.com about Snow Patrol and the large number of folks who rank the band's albums (those that are available on Emusic) highly:

Honestly, I don't get it. Why is this group so popular? There music is not even that good, especially when you consider that there are so many other artists out there that are fabulous and don't get a fraction of the attention Snow Patrol has for some years now.

There's no question that they have some great songs, but other artists like Architecture of Helsinki, Badly Drawn Boy, Deerhoof, Animal Collective and Bill Richinni get little or no attention for making amazing music.

Maybe if eMusic had their two more widely acclaimed releases - "Final Straw" and "Eyes Wide Open" - I might like them more, but so far, in comparison, I would not recommend them. Yet again, if they were playing around the Santa Cruz area, I might go see them. I guess I need to make sure I hear those other two albums.

Labels: Album Reviews, Animal Collective, Architecture of Helsinki, Badly Drawn Boy, Bill Richinni, Deerhoof, Emuisc, Indie Artist/Group Profiles, Snow Patrol

With the arrival of the Christmas season comes the diluge of Christmas songs you've heard so many times that you start to hate them.

Why not try something new. You won't hear any of these songs played in the shopping mall, but Indie music sensation Sufjan Stevens' box set of more than three dozen traditional and individual Christmas songs is a great indie alternative to the traditional (you know "I'm dreaming of a white..." bang! bang!) songs.

The critics and fans love Stevens' merry, and the quite contrary, songs. So does Indie Rock Cafe. The Stevens' box set, appropriately named Songs For Christmas features unique covers of hymns like "Joy to the World" as well as Sufjan's own (and sometimes daring) Christmas songs like "Get Behind Me, Santa!"

Altogether, the box set includes all 41 tracks on five EP discs, a Stevens' family portrait, a complete song book, Christmas stickers, and the beautifully crafted box itself. And if that isn't enough, there are extensive liner notes and short stories by Stevens, an original Christmas essay by Rick Moody and an animated music video and comic strip by Tom Eaton.

You can view, stream (all five EPs) and purchase the box set from Asthmatic Kitty Records, a small indie recording label that has the great fortune of having Sufjan Stevens in their line-up, as well as indie artists like Rafter and Half-Handed Cloud. The box set is also available for individual track sampling and downloading on eMusic.

Today's peeve: Why are some folks bugging Sufjan about his religious beliefs? Apparently, even Pitchfork News, pointed out his "brazen faith". Hey, leave him alone and just let him make his amazing music. He's still got 48 states to record.

MP3: "Get Behind Me, Santa!" - Sufjan Stevens
MP3: "Casimir Pulaski Day" - Sufjan Stevens
Bonus: "Niagara Falls" (rare unreleased) - Sufjan Stevens

Labels: Asthmatic Kitty Records, Christmas Songs, College Radio, Free Music Stream, Popular Artists, Rick Moody, Sufjan Stevens, Tom Eaton

Spoon has just risen to a new level of recognition - for better or worse - supplying multiple tracks for the soundtrack of the new movie starring Will Farrel, Stranger Than Fiction.

Other notables appearing on the soundtrack include Wreckless Eric, Delta 5 and Califone.

Labels: Indie Artist/Group Profiles, Indie Rock, Spoon