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Happy Earth Day 2009: Songs of the Earth

Organizers Literally Pulled the Plug on The Cure t...

New Songs from Peter Doherty, St. Vincent and Mica...

Band to Watch in 2009: Lima Research Society

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Sin Fang Bous: Great Indie Album Releases of 2009

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More Great Indie Songs of 2008 - High Places, Notw...

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Songs by Spoon, Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, The Shins, Stereophonics, Editors, Andrew Bird, The Octopus Project, Beck and many more.

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Indie Rock Music Archives

Looking Back: The Kinks Underrated Classic Release, "Something Else"

In 1968, The Kinks were three years into a four-year ban from performing in the United States. According to band leader Ray Davies the group's manager did not pay their membership fees to the American Federation of Musicians.

As a result, the band was issued a devastating penalty by the federation - a four-year outright ban from performing concerts in the United States.

While many rock critics believe the ban prevented The Kinks from being one of the biggest U.K. rock bands of the mid-to-late 1960s (as were fellow British Invasion groups The Who, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles), the group created most of the best music they ever made, and some of the most memorable songs in rock history.
In 1968, when psychedelic rock was the center of the rock universe worldwide, The Kinks released their sixth studio album titled Something Else.

The album has only in more recent decades received the recognition it deserved nearly 40 years ago, with the exception of the album's biggest hit, "Waterloo Sunset," which music mogul and founder of Geffen Records, David Geffen has said is one of the best pop songs ever written. If you are a Kinks fan, and even if you are not, chances have heard "Waterloo Sunset."

But the album itself can today safely be called one of the band's seminal classics. In addition to "Waterloo Sunset" the album also features the Euro-rock football anthem "David Watts", the fun, catchy genius of "Death of A Clown" (written and sung by guitarist Dave Davies), and the hazy, slow melancholy "No Return", later covered by Bebel Gilberto.

The recent reissue of the original Something Else includes unique bonus songs, including poppy songs like "Wonderboy", "Act Nice And Gentle" and "Autumn Almanac", as well as the surprising previously unreleased tracks, "Lincoln County" and "There's No Life Without Love".

If you are a Kinks fan, or admire great music, Something Else should be part of your music collection. In the past decade, The Kinks have enjoyed a resurgence of popularity. Many critics and fans have realized by the music world as one the greatest bands ever, and Ray Davies one of the best songwriters of his time (trivia fact: In New Orleans, in 2004, Davies was shot in the leg by a man he pursued after the thief snatched Davies' girlfriend's purse).

Aside from many of their early classics being featured in commercials, TV shows and movies during the past decade, many people don't know that The Kinks were one of the first rock groups to be inducted in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.

While the most radio played rock bands of 1968 were selling out shows across the world, The Kinks were making music that will continue to be discovered by music enthusiasts for years to come. Something Else is one of the band's 40-something albums that will stand out forever, and clearly one of the most under-rated releases of the year, if not the decade.

Labels: Best Rock Bands in History, Classic Indie, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Roots of Alternative Rock, Something Else, The Kinks

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MP3 Policy February 25, 2007 0 Comments

The Police Add S.F. Bay Area Gig to the Reunion Tour 2007

San Francisco Bay Area fans of The Police finally got their wish - the world famous rock band added the second new date this week for their Reunion Tour 2007 - a June 13th performance at the Coliseum in Oakland at 7pm.

On Monday, the group added a second date to their reunion tour giving Boston fans two chances to see the group play at the landmark Fenway Park.

The announcement of a second performance at Boston's Fenway Park sent fans scrambling. Tickets for the two performances went on sale Tuesday morning and were sold out within seven minutes. Resales of tickets for the Boston shows are already popping up on eBay with prices ranging from $200 to $1,800.

The Police will wrap-up their tour at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on August 5th, unless other dates are added, which is entirely possible considering the overwhelming demand from fans worldwide. Stay tuned to IRC for tour information and updates, or subscribe to our feed.

IRC reported on Monday that The Police had updated their tour schedule for their world-wide concert schedule as part of the group's 23-year reunion tour.

Labels: Indie Rock Concerts, Police Tickets, Presale Police Tickets, Sell Buy Police Tickets, The Police, The Police Reunion Tour, The Police Tour

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MP3 Policy February 21, 2007 0 Comments

Win a Weekend in the City With Bloc Party

A very lucky winner of a contest from Filter magazine will get a weekend in the city (the title of their new, highly-acclaimed CD) with Bloc Party.

In a promotional event together with Urban Outfitters, Filter will fly you to New York for two nights with tickets to see the band play the United Palace Theatre on Friday, March 30 or Saturday, March 31st.

What is missing from the announcement is the details, such as what airline, what hotel, where is it, what show the winner is actually seeing (both? that's a weekend right?) and whether or not the winner will spend anytime in the city with the band members. The contest ends March 6th.

At the end of the contest 'details', is the this note from the editors at Filter:

"Oh yeah, while you're at it, don't forget to pick up a copy of the new album A Weekend in the City - it's out now." What? Is this is a ploy or a contest? Shouldn't the contest winner get a DVD copy signed by the band? Aren't they spending the weekend together?

Can someone from Filter please clarify?

Labels: Bloc Party Concerts, Bloc Party Contest, Bloc Party Music, Bloc Party Shows, Bloc Party Ticket Sales, Bloc Party Tickets, Rock Tickets

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The Police Add More Dates To Tour

Lots of rumors are circulating on the Internet about where and when The Police Reunion Tour is going and not going.

Today, the group added a second show at Boston's famed Fenway Park (home of The Boston Red Sox)

Fans in Boston will now have the chance to see the group play on July 28th and July 29th. Tickets for the Fenway shows go on sale this Tuesday, February 20th at 10:00 am EST.

The reunion of The Police, who were rock trail blazers in post punk rock era of the late 1970's and much of the 1980's, has millions of fans around the world waiting for the first moment to gobble up tickets.

As of today, here is the official Police tour concert listings:

While they may not have exactly performed at their best at the Grammys, drummer Stewart Copeland said later, they sure excited a lot fans.

Fans in the Bay Area of California are blogging like crazy trying to find out why there are no concert dates for Northern California. According to the band's publicist, Bay Area concert dates will be announced soon.

The recently reformed trio have announced their first tour in 23 years shortly after their appearance on the Grammy Awards two weeks ago.

5/28, Vancouver, British Columbia (GM Place)
6/6, Seattle, WA (Key Arena)
6/9, Denver, CO (Pepsi Center)
6/15, Las Vegas, NV (MGM Grand Garden Arena)
6/16, Manchester, TN (Bonnaroo Festival)
6/18, Phoenix, AZ (US Airways Center)
6/26, Dallas, TX (American Airlines Center)
6/30, New Orleans, LA (New Orleans Arena)
7/2, St. Louis, MO (Scottrade Center)
7/22, Toronto, Ontario (Air Canada Centre)
7/25, Montreal, Ontario (Bell Centre)
7/28, Boston, MA (Fenway Park)
7/29, Boston, MA (Fenway Park - new!)
8/1, New York, NY (Madison Square Garden)
8/3, New York, NY (Madison Square Garden)

Labels: Police Tickets, Presale Police Tickets, The Police, The Police Reunion Tour, The Police Tour

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MP3 Policy February 14, 2007 0 Comments

The Brit Awards 2007 Will Showcase Snow Patrol, The Killers, The Kooks, The Fratellis, Muse and More!

Whether you're out on a date with your significant other, smooching on the couch with candles and light jazz on, or without a date and sitting at home alone, you may be interested in The BRIT Awards 2007.

Broadcasting live at Earls Court 1 on Wednesday, February 14, 2007, the show's line-up consists of eight live UK acts and a total of 14 nominees. In 2006, seven of the Top 10 best-selling CDs in the United Kingdom were by British artists.

BPI Chairman Peter Jamieson said, "Music is one of the things that the British do well."

"But even by our standards 2006 was a great year. The BRIT Awards...will celebrate Britain's love of music with a fantastic mix of UK and international artists."

As of today, the final five nominees for single of the year are:

The Feeling - Fill My Little World
Razorlight - America
Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars
Take That - Patience
Will Young - All Time Love

The big winners are expected to be Snow Patrol (pictured at the left) whose album Eyes Open was the best-selling album in the UK in 2006, selling 1.5 million copies.

Eyes are also on NYC rockers The Scissor Sisters who sold 1.1 million copies of their album Ta-Dah that spawned the mega-hit "I Don't Feel Like Dancin."

The eccentric and flamboyant New York City rockers The Scissor Sisters (pictured at top right) followed their debut success with the 1.1 million copy selling "Ta-Dah" that contains the hit single 'I Don't Feel Like Dancin''.

The Killers, whose album "Sam's Town" has gone quadruple-platinum, and are up for two awards, will perform live at the awards show.

But a lot of rock fans will be thrilled to know that the Red Hot Chilli Peppers will also perform. They are nominated for Best International Rock Band, an award they won in 2003.

A host of other UK acts are also rewarded with nominations, including Bob Dylan, Paolo Nutini, Nerina Pallot, The Fratellis and The Kooks, Razorlight, Snow Patrol, Kasabian and Lemar, Jarvis Cocker, Thom Yorke, Gnarls Barkley, Lily Allen, Beyonce, Beck, Corrine Bailey Rae, Arctic Monkeys, Muse, Winehouse, and Guillemots.

Labels: Beck, Beyonce, Bob Dylan, Brit Awards, British Music Awards, Gnarls Barkley, Kooks, Muse, Razorlight, Snow Patrol, The Arctic Monkeys, The Fratellis, The Killers, The Kooks, Thom Yorke

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MP3 Policy February 11, 2007 0 Comments

Popular Internet Series 'Chad Vader' May Make Cash on YouTube

Over the last year or so, a popular spoof series loosely based on "Star Wars" protagonist villain Darth Vader's less competent brother Chad, has caused a bit of a sensation on the Internet.

The indie cartoon series, "Chad Vader", created by Aaron Yonda and Matt Sloan of Madison, Wisconsin, has been viewed nearly 10 million times!! on YouTube alone since first appearing on the Internet.

The two men have made virtually no money from the millions of views of their series on YouTube, claiming to be significant contributors to the astronomical success of YouTube and its recent acquisition by Google for $1.4 billion dollars.

But now the force may be with the "Chad Vader" creators.

Last week YouTube announced it will share its advertising revenue with indie film makers like Yonda and Sloan.

The new revenue sharing could be a windfall for indie filmmakers, but YouTube is not disclosing the details of the plan and say it make not be launched for another year.

"We always wanted to make money doing these videos but we just thought that it was impossible," Yonda said.

"I think anyone who's an artist wants to be compensated for what they do," Sloan said, "It would have been nice if YouTube would have announced revenue sharing 9 million hits ago for us."

Nevertheless, Yonda said, their exposure is opening new doors, claiming the duo are "like this close to getting paid for doing a network series, a web series."

As for future "Chad Vader" episodes, the sixth episode is set to be released on Feb. 16. There's even a cameo from Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz. Watch and listen to the guys comment on the upcoming episode and read letters from viewers about past episodes:

Labels: Chad Vader, Darth Vadar, Star Wars, Star Wars Spoof, YouTube, YouTube Revenue Sharing

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MP3 Policy February 10, 2007 0 Comments

The Police Add More Dates to North American Reunion Tour

The reunion of The Police, who were definitely trail blazers in the post punk rock era of the late 1970's and much of the 1980's, has millions of fans around the world waiting for the first moment to grab tickets. Stay tune for more new on pre-order ticket sales for The Police concerts. I'm on it!

There are all kinds of dates swirling around the Internet, but this is the official, most updated Police reunion tour concert listing:

5/28, Vancouver, British Columbia (GM Place)
6/6, Seattle, WA (Key Arena)
6/9, Denver, CO (Pepsi Center)
6/15, Las Vegas, NV (MGM Grand Garden Arena)
6/16, Manchester, TN (Bonnaroo Festival) *
6/18, Phoenix, AZ (US Airways Center)
6/26, Dallas, TX (American Airlines Center)
6/30, New Orleans, LA (New Orleans Arena)
7/2, St. Louis, MO (Scottrade Center)
7/22, Toronto, Ontario (Air Canada Centre)
7/25, Montreal, Ontario (Bell Centre) *
7/28, Boston, MA (Fenway Park)
8/1, New York, NY (Madison Square Garden)
8/3, New York, NY (Madison Square Garden)

Fans in the Bay Area of California are blogging like crazy trying to find out why there are no concert dates for Northern California. According to the band's publicist, Bay Area concert dates will be announced soon.

As for me, I'm flying home to Massachusetts to see the band play Fenway Park (if my dreams come true).

While they may not have exactly performed at their best at the Grammys, drummer Stewart Copeland said they needed to rehearse more. Well, yeah, after 24 years!

Labels: Police Concerts, Police Tickets, Rock Concerts, The Police, The Police Reunion Tour

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Surf's Up in Santa Cruz

Surf's Up in Santa Cruz, California everyone. This post is mostly for some friends that wanted to see some groovy surfing, but why not let anyone watch.

This was filmed Jan. 24 at the world-famous Steamer's Lane in Santa Cruz with the return of the monarchs and the migration of tens of thousands of grey whales. You'll hear the woofing of seal lions in the distance as well.

Enjoy

Labels: Beach, Santa Cruz, Steamer's Lane, Surf, Surf Videos, Surfing, Surfing Videos, Waves

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MP3 Policy February 9, 2007 0 Comments

Fall Out Boy Kicks Off New Album Release on Letterman

Fall Out Boy rocked the David Letterman Show Monday night (video below) to launch a series of appearances in coming weeks to promote their new CD Infinity on High, officially released Feb. 6.

A couple of weeks ago, the band and its label, Island Records, were reeling after FOB's new album was leaked on the Internet by an unknown source.

In response, the band posted a video and audio sample of the single "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race".

span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">But the label has a different approach to counteract the breach (record labels nowadays are suffering because of the Internet and are fighting tooth and nail to regain control and make music less able to be copied and distributed online illegally).

To sweeten the deal and attract fans to buy the new CD, rather than download it by some other means, the label has added a previously unreleased live EP performance of the band's new CD.

Rumors ran rampant on message boards over the past weekend that the new album would be released today on Jan. 30. But the band's singer and bassist Peter Wentz dispelled those rumors, telling MTV News International in London the album will not be officially released until Feb. 6.

[Subscribers: Make sure to check the IRC website at http://indierockcafe.com/ to gain access to special MP3s, streams and videos which are sometimes added to stories after they have gone out on the wires.]

Not a free IRC subscriber? Click here to add IRC's feed to your newsreader.

Labels: Best Indie Artists, Fall Out Boy, Fall Out Boy Concerts, Fall Out Boy Tickets, Fall Out Boy Videos, Peter Wentz

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MP3 Policy February 6, 2007 0 Comments

Stream Bloc Party's New CD Out Tuesday, New Tour Dates

Bloc Party's new CD, A Weekend in the City, won't be in the stores until Tuesday (Feb. 6), but you can stream the entire album on the band's MySpace site right now.

In addition, each track has been listed individually so you can pick and choose. Most full album streams play the full album in one big chunk, not list every individual track.

Therefore, Bloc Party may be setting a new trend here in online exclusives.

Also, we're still looking out for concert updates from Bloc Party.

Here is there current tour schedule as of Feb. 4:

Feb 5 2007 8:00P Reading Hexagon Reading
Feb 6 2007 8:00P Cardiff University Cardiff
Feb 7 2007 8:00P Carling Academy Bristol Bristol
Feb 9 2007 8:00P Exeter University Exeter
Feb 10 2007 8:00P Birmingham Academy Birmingham
Feb 11 2007 8:00P Rock City Nottingham
Feb 13 2007 8:00P Corn Exchange Cambridge
Feb 14 2007 8:00P Manchester Academy Manchester
Feb 16 2007 8:00P Dublin Ambassador Theatre Dublin
Feb 17 2007 8:00P Glasgow Barrowland Glasgow
Feb 18 2007 8:00P Aberdeen Music Hall Aberdeen
Feb 20 2007 8:00P Edinburgh Corn Exchange Edinburgh
Feb 21 2007 8:00P Newcastle Academy Newcastle
Feb 22 2007 8:00P Sheffield Octagon Sheffield
Mar 11 2007 8:00P Paramount Theatre Seattle, Virginia
Mar 12 2007 8:00P Orpheum Theatre Vancouver, Alberta
Mar 13 2007 8:00P Crystal Ballroom Portland, Oklahoma
Mar 15 2007 8:00P SXSW Austin, Texas
Mar 17 2007 8:00P Concourse Exhibition San Francisco, Arkansas
Mar 19 2007 8:00P The Wiltern Los Angeles, Arkansas
Mar 20 2007 7:30P The Wiltern Los Angeles, Arkansas
Mar 23 2007 8:00P Congress Theatre Chicago, Illinois
Mar 24 2007 8:00P Royal Oak Theatre Detroit, Michigan
Mar 25 2007 8:00P Kool Haus Toronto, Ontario
Mar 27 2007 8:00P Metropolis Montreal, Quebec
Mar 28 2007 8:00P Orpheum Theatre Boston, Massachusetts
Mar 30 2007 8:00P United Palace Theatre New York, New York
Mar 31 2007 8:00P United Palace Theatre New York, New York

These dates have just been added (don't have the concert time yet) but do not yet appear on the band's official website (for whatever reason).

April 4 2007 - Bourges Festival
April 23 2007 - Nantes Le Carriere
April 24 2007 - Lille Aeronef
April 25 2007 - Brussels AB
April 27 2007 - Paris Olympic
April 28 2007 - Utrecht Music Centre
April 30 2007 - Copenhagen Vega
May 1 2007 - Stockholm Cirkus
May 2 2007 - Oslo Sentrum Scene
May 4 2007 - Berlin Columbiahalle
May 5 2007 - Vienna Gasometer
May 6 2007 - Dresden Schlachthof
May 8 2007 - Cologne E-Werk
May 9 2007 - Munich Tonhalle
May 10 2007 - Lausanne Metropole
May 12 2007 - Bologna Estragon
May 13 2007 - Milan Alcatraz
May 14 2007 - Lyon Transbordeur
May 15 2007 - Barcelona Razzmatazz
May 17 2007 - Madrid Riviera
May 18 2007 - Lisbon Coleseum

Labels: A Weekend in the City, Best Indie Artists, Bloc Party, Bloc Party Concerts, Bloc Party Tour Dates, Indie Bands

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MP3 Policy February 5, 2007 0 Comments

Broken Social Scene Score a Bunch of Films

Some members of the many revolving members of Broken Social Scene took a break last fall from touring to work on other projects.

Now the fruits of their labor are all over the indie film scene of early 2007.

The projects include composing the score for the upcoming indie film The Tracey Fragments, which will debut at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival on February 8.

The film's main character, Tracy Berkowitz (played by Ellen Page) searches for her brother who thinks he is a dog. The film is based on the acclaimed novel by Vancouver author Maureen Medved.

This is the band's third score for the year. Their work has also appeared in Bruce McDonald's film The Love Crimes of Gillian Guess, on the Wicker Park soundtrack and for Clement Virgo's film Lie With Me and the upcoming film Snow Cake, which is already receiving critical acclaim.

In addition, they scored the indie film Half Nelson starring Ryan Gosling as an inner city teacher with a drug addiction.

Gosling, who joined Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake in the early 1990's as Mouseketeers, is an Academy Award winner and has also appeared in movies like The Slaughter Rule, Murder by Numbers, Remember the Titans, The United States of Leland, The Notebook, and The Believer.

Other stuff to check out for BSS:

K.C. Accidental mp3
Lover's Spit mp3
Compilation of tour videos over the past three years.
BSS official website

Video of BSS playing "7/4 Shoreline"

Labels: Berlin International Film Festival, Broken Social Scene, Broken Social Scene Film Scores, Snow Cake, The Notebook

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MP3 Policy February 4, 2007 0 Comments

iTunes Asks Rock Band to Lose Their Religion

The hard rock band Mindless Self Indulgence has been asked by iTunes to change where the band is listed on the music service. Currently, The New York City electropunk band is listed under the genre 'religious'.

The band said that their choice to list themselves under the religious genre has all to do with their "fan base and cult-like following," claiming to have sold 180,000 CDs last year.

Apparently the religious tag has angered Christian organizations and has prompted them to file complaints with iTunes. The band's last album "You'll Rebel To Anything" hit #27 on the iTunes Christian/gospel charts, which probably sparked the complaints.

MSI's singer, Jimmy Urine, was quoted as saying: "It was iTunes, not us, that interpreted 'religious' to mean Christian. What is offensive to some people is obviously inspirational to others. To our fans this IS inspirational music. I have no intention of changing the genre listing of this album."

What do you think?

Labels: Christian Rock, Mindless Self Indulgence, MSI, MSI vs. iTunes, Religious Rock

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MP3 Policy February 1, 2007 2 Comments