CD Releases:
The B-52s- Funplex
The Lemonheads- It’s a Shame About Ray Collector’s Edition
Morrissey- Greatest Hits (Deluxe Version- Extra Tracks)
The Raconteurs- Consolers Of The Lonely

Yael Naim’s self-titled debut is also an eagerly anticipated album since her song was used in an Apple commercial during the SUPER BOWL and she took the nation by storm!

Overall, it’s a great batch out this week, so you can’t go wrong checking out any or all of these releases.

CD Releases:

Joseph Arthur- Could We Survive (6 Songs)
Be Your Own Pet- Get Awkward
The Bravery- The Sun and The Moon Complete (2 CD set)
Devotchka- A Mad and Faithful Telling
Great Northern- Sleepy Eepee
Adam Green- Sixies & Sevens
The Kills- Midnight Boom
Mooney Suzuki- CBGB OMFUG Masters: Live 6/29/01 The Bowery Collection
Yael Naim- Yael Naim
She & Him (M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel Collaboration)- Volume One

CD Releases:

Cassettes Won’t Listen- Small-Time Machine
Jaymay- Autumn Fallin’
Kaki King- Dreaming of Revenge
The Vines- The Best of The Vines
Why?- Alopecia

Here’s an excerpt:

“There are a lot of different ways migraines have affected my music, and vice versa: being a musician has allowed me — for lack of a better phrase — to rise above the pain from time to time. I’ve never missed a show because of a migraine. But I’ve played some really horrible shows and cut them short because there was very little I could do to keep going. I’ve played shows where I had bucket on the side of the stage where I threw up in between songs regularly. There’ve been a lot of horrible experiences trying to, well, you know, have the show go on.

On a creative level being able to play music and disappear into something as meditative as music can be has been a real blessing in my life.”

Here’s a little blurb about what the Plug Awards are all about:

“Founded in 2001, with its first annual awards ceremony in 2004, the PLUG Independent Music Awards embrace and honor the independent music community and its fans who now represent a $3 billion industry with over 30% of the U.S. music market, and growing. It has become a symbol of a vast community coming together to recognize their own including a broad spectrum of musicians, record labels, writers, DJs, websites, bloggers, artists, filmmakers, managers, indie retailers and most importantly fans who gather together each year to celebrate the artists who live and flourish outside the mainstream.”

In addition, the Plug Awards are voted on by the fan via www.plugawards.com.

Here are a list of last night’s winners:

Album Of The Year
Arcade Fire – Neon Bible (Merge)

New Artist Of The Year
Justice

Female Artist Of The Year
Annie Clark ( St. Vincent )

Male Artist Of The Year
Andrew Bird

Indie Rock Album Of The Year
Animal Collective – Strawberry Jam (Domino)

Click here for the full list of nominees and winners in their 29 categories.

04/02/08 Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge, Massachusetts
04/04/08 Maxwell’s in Hoboken, New Jersey
04/05/08 North Star Bar in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
04/06/08 Club Cafe in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
04/07/08 Rock and Roll Hotel in Washington, D.C.
04/11/08 Mercury Lounge in New York City, NY

To add to the intrigue:

As Marcus Congleton (founder, lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of Ambulance Ltd) said:
“Ambulance has suffered some unwelcome reality doses in the past couple of years. Many songs have been written and recorded but legal battles, interpersonal dramas, and spiritual meltdowns have stilted our sophomore effort. If there’s ever a “VH1: Behind The Music that’s really good but not massively popular” I think our saga would be perfect. But the good news is we’re back with a bag of new songs and a damn good record is beginning to take shape. I am delighted to be returning to the Stage.”

In addition to their own personal dramas, TVT Records declaring bankruptcy last month has left their sophomore album in “limbo”.

Also, you’ll notice there are a couple of older albums releasing “Extra Tracks”….Elvis Costello’s This Year’s Model and Whiskeytown’s Strangers Almanac. If you’re a die hard fan, these are for you. Note, Whiskeytown was Ryan Adams’ band before he went solo.

CD Releases of Interest:

Bauhaus- Go Away White
Bodeans- Still
Elvis Costello- This Year’s Model (Extra Tracks, 28 pg booklet)
The Felice Brothers- The Felice Brothers
Kathleen Edwards- Asking for Flowers
What Made Milwaukee Famous- What Doesn’t Kill Us
Whiskeytown- Strangers Almanac (Extra Tracks)

It breaksdown to the following delicious entrees:

“– Free downloads of the first nine tracks from the Ghosts I-IV collection as DRM-free MP3s, plus the 40-page PDF.

— $5 download: All 36 tracks in a variety of digital formats, plus a 40-page PDF.

— $10 two-disc set: A double-disc set, packaged in a Digipak with a 16-page booklet, to be shipped on April 8. Includes immediate download of album.

– $75 deluxe edition: Ghosts I-IV in a “hardcover fabric slipcase containing two audio CDs, one data DVD with all tracks in multi-track format, and a Blu-Ray disc of Ghosts I-IV. Ships May 1. Includes immediate download of album.

– $300 “ultra-deluxe limited edition package”: Deluxe edition plus a four-LP set on 180-gram vinyl, which is packaged in a fabric slipcase. Two limited-edition Giclee prints are included; package is numbered and signed by Trent Reznor. Limited to a run of 2500, and one piece per customer. Ships May 1 and includes immediate download.

(Via PaidContent.org)

I love this “take it by the horns” spirit and can only hope more bands will follow suit. However, as we reported in January and Trent Reznor knows first-hand, this is a harder path for the lesser known bands.

Read the full story at PaidContent.org.

In case you missed it, check it out below.

Here’s a little blurb from the folks at Current about the jist of it:

“Hosted by Douglas Caballero, the resident host of television’s first music blog “The Daily Fix,” “The Fix Extended Play” is a 30-minute music show that will provide viewers with a comprehensive and unique look at the world of new music an rock journalism every week.  Each segment will profile an up-and-coming band, highlight new album releases for the week, showcase viewer-created music segments and report on the latest music headlines from around the world.  In addition, the show will also feature highlights from Current’s resident music programs including “The Daily Fix,” “The Current Fix” and “Current Playlist.”

The first episode will feature segments on The Thermals, Hot Chip, Gang Gang Dance, Dropkick Murphys, Santogold, and Tim Fite.  Click here for a taste of what it’s all about.

“This was speculated by an NYP story earlier this week and now Billboard fleshes it out, though in a slightly different direction: troubled Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) is close to a deal to acquire 49 percent of AEG Live, the live music touring arm of Anschutz Entertainment Group…it is partnering with Ticketmaster, in which IAC (NSDQ: IACI) holds a stake now, on the deal, according to the story.

A key component of the deal is Fuse TV, the cable and digital music channel which was formerly part of Rainbow Media, a division of Cablevision which includes We: Women’s Entertainment, IFC and AMC. as part of the complex deal, Fuse will undergo a multi-million dollar rebranding effort, and will play a large role in the repositioning of AEG Live as having a big media component and the world’s largest ticketing company in Ticketmaster.”

Yet another music and media conglomeration. Is this what’s really best for the industry….combining various facets of the biz under one roof?  Sure it’s a good business move to be diversified in an evolving business sector, but is it best for the music and fans?  What I see is that Coachella’s line-up is announced or whatever AEG Live show is bringing you this week or month and then there is endless promotion on Fuse TV of all of these artists and a push to go check them out. Now, since these artists have been crammed down your throat for weeks on end, you’ve come to the conclusion that this is where all the cool kids will be and you’ve decided to breakdown and purchase the tickets from Ticketmaster that all of a sudden have gone up almost 40% from the year previous.

Sure Coachella’s line-up is consistently good (this year is in question however) and maybe it’s good promotion for these bands, however, it’s all obviously incestuous and maybe not in the best interest of music on the whole…..maybe it will be, but my gut says bigger is not better in this case. Heaven forbid, AEG Live doesn’t book your band, you may be out in the cold on various fronts.

Let us know your thoughts.

Arcade Fire is doing their part in assisting on the campaign trail.  Win and Will Butler, Regine Chassagne and Jeremy Gara of Arcade Fire will perform a free show in Nelsonville, Ohio on March 2nd at Stuart Opera House at 7:00 p.m. It’s on a first come, first serve basis.

They will also be performing on March 3rd in Cleveland at the Beachland Ballroom at 7:00 p.m. This show is first come, but is also 18 and up.

Not all the members of the group are Canadian (Jeremy is, but he supports Obama in spirit).