• SpreadTheWord

• SpreadTheWord

HELLYEAH took to the Club Soda stage with the first song on the docket being the band’s self-titled song HELLYEAH; a deliciously self-indulgent slab about stuff they like. They continued to rip out their Texas-style brand of metal with a few deep hooks and char broiled break-downs and those few fans in the audience ate it up with a side of coleslaw. (more…)

• SpreadTheWord

It’s so hot it feels like words are popping into my head and melting out of my ears… Never quite getting a chance to roll off my tongue… Or fingers as it were. “I’m sitting here with an ice pack on my nuts just to cool off…”, messages a friend, solidifying that I’m not the only one falling victim to the heat. Now, far be it from me to complain about hotter days, especially taking into consideration my vulgar disdain for winter. No, I’m not complaining, moreover stating a fact. Which raises an interesting question. When is it too hot for certain music? Or rather too cold for other music? Aside from high suicide rates, astronomical movie rentals and seasonal weight gain, what other effects does old man winter cause on us upright mammals? It seems once again that regardless of marketing efforts and forced radio spins, the almighty human abstract intervenes and cuts corporate power down to size. Much like a rainy summer Sunday afternoon may bring about spins of Dallas Green’s The Death of Me, sunny skied barbecues may be filled with the slow groove of Bob Marley’s Stir It Up. But isn’t winter just like one long rainy fucking day? Meaning depressing music should be released during the winter? Definitely something that makes you go hmmm. What if a Ray Lamontagne album came out on a bright, happy, sunshiny morning? Would it sell less copies on it’s first outing then if the day were drearily drole? I think yes. I think that once again we have proof that among the sour shit and piss poor attitudes inhabiting our society, music floats to the top as an emotionally charged decision. It’s not everyone that looks to crank Patsy Cline’s Crazy on a sweltering July weekend by the pool is all I’m saying. In any case… It’s 35 degrees and I’m rocking Iron and Wine. Screw you “normal”.

Lit Hardway

• SpreadTheWord

If you could imagine a small cabaret going through a glam rock and disco car wash combined with multi-colored spandex and glittering confetti then you have some idea of the wildness that went down last night at Metropolis when the Scissor Sisters triumphed on stage… dazzling photos and review on their way.

• SpreadTheWord

Prepare your fragile hearts, quivering souls and vulnerable secrets as the oil & water pairing of Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan reappears in a cloud of brilliant tracks politely and definitively titled, Hawk. Three audio slicks into the game and this unlikely duo is still churning out quality studio butter. (more…)

• SpreadTheWord

EELS… are electric! Beck-beats-laden and folky streamed, Tomorrow Morning, the band’s second release of 2010 following January’s critically approved End Times, is a freshly tricked out line-up of tracks. (more…)

• SpreadTheWord

There once was a punk rock band named Guttermouth, who made all the other punkers in the land green with envy… Why? Well, who else could bitch slap Montreal’s Foufounes Electriques with such style? Photos & words on route.

• SpreadTheWord

It’s time for some psychedelic disco! The Scissor Sisters are set to cut up the floor tonight at Metropolis with their melodious charm and incomparable flare.

With special guests: Sammy Jo + Casey Spooner

• SpreadTheWord

“Early in the morning risin’ to the street, Light me up that cigarette and I strap shoes on my feet, Got to find a reason a reason things went wrong, Got to find a reason why my money’s all gone”… Whether it be about lean bank accounts, love for the stage or homage to a talented old friend, the Long Beach punk rock dubsters have returned with a triumphant stride in their step! Needless to say a rowdy Metropolis throng hooted and hollered as the drizzly night boasted Sublime with Rome. It was… Hm, what’s the word I’m looking for… Oh yeah… Sublime! (more…)

• SpreadTheWord

The follow-up to 2008’s multi-platinum One of the Boys, Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream is an ode to California and stupidity, sex and bad taste. In many ways, it’s the perfect pop record. (more…)

• SpreadTheWord

• SpreadTheWord

Put your magic squares away people; no algorithm is needed to crack the code of Land of Talk’s new record, Cloak and Cipher. Not to belittle the poetic mysteries encrypted in the very fabric of this hooded beauty, but you won’t need more than your ears and your heart to understand the plain text of this great album. (more…)

• SpreadTheWord

• SpreadTheWord

Kickin’ ass and takin’ names since 1988, punk rock pugilists Guttermouth return to our budding shores triumphant as Montreal’s Foufounes Electriques is sure to rattle with seasoned intensity tonight!

With special guests: The Real Deal + Unbelievers

• SpreadTheWord

• SpreadTheWord

Punk slick and wet with the tide of a seasoned touch, the 23-year-old audio veterans known as Green Day stormed Quai Jacques-Cartier like they’ve been rockin’ the boat since the 80s or something… Oh wait, that’s right, they bloody well have! (more…)

• SpreadTheWord

• SpreadTheWord

Being a guitarist in one of the most world-renowned rock groups of all time has its perks, one of which is the friends you make in the music business. This perk is used to the fullest in the forthcoming solo record of The Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood, which will features guest spots by Slash, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, and ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons. Set for a Sept. 27th release, the album, dubbed I Feel Like Playing, also features RHCP’s Flea, Kris Kristofferson, Bobby Womack, and Ian McLagan of Wood’s former band Faces. Get a taste of this red carpet-worthy collab on RonnieWood.com where he’s streaming sing Thing About You now. (more…)

• SpreadTheWord

While Vampire Weekend and their fans have made their opinions on (and opposition to) the Contra cover lawsuit known, the model behind the suit, Kirsten Kennis, also has a story to tell and she did just that in a new Vanity Fair article. In the piece, the former model admits that when her daughter pointed out the album cover and she started seeing her photo on posters and storefronts she was initially flattered, but began to feel like she was being exploited. “Who do these people think they are that they can just take my picture from god only knows where and plaster it everywhere?” She also vehemently denies photographer Tod Brody’s story that he took the photo during a commercial casting session in 1983. While initially it seemed like a cash-grab by Kennis, you also find out that the former L’Oréal, Revlon and Cuervo model (to name a few) is living in a three-story house in a gated community and money may genuinely not be the motive here. Check out her side of the story and a portfolio of her modelling days on Vanity Fair here.

ELP

• SpreadTheWord

Mavis Staples became a star singing gospel and soul music, but with a voice like hers she can make any genre sound amazing, as she proves on her upcoming album doing covers of Randy Newman and Creedence Clearwater Revival, among others. A video has surfaced of Staples covering CCR’s Wrote a Song for Everyone acoustic with some help from her new record’s producer, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy. In the clip Tweedy takes care of the guitar and helps out on chorus as best he can, though Staples’ voice is so powerful it just overwhelms him. The LP You Are Not Alone is set for a Sept. 14th release on ANTI-, but you can check out the tracklist below. (more…)

• SpreadTheWord

The saga, so it seems, is finally over. Wyclef Jean has been denied an appeal on the electoral council’s decision to leave him off of the presidential candidate list. His ill-fated run at the Haitian presidency officially ended as the provisional council, known as the CEP, has ruled that under the country’s laws Jean cannot challenge their initial decision. The Fugee had little chance of success on appeal regardless as in Haiti on matters related to elections, the electoral council is the highest authority or court, so his arguments would have been directed to the same people who denied him in the first place. Jean, angry since he believed other candidates also had not met the five-year residency law that prevented his own candidacy, has already released a track in Creole called Prizon Pou K.E.P.A. or “Prison for the Electoral Council” in which he reportedly criticizes the administration and calls the council corrupt. You can listen to that on his blog.

ELP

• SpreadTheWord

Seeing HELLYEAH play live is enough to make anyone want to go home, eat a steak and then drink till you see Dimebag. Southern fried metal served with a side of bad facial hair. Ya’ll come on back now y’hear? Pics n’ words on the way.

• SpreadTheWord

José González is sitting at a table with his head in his hands desperately trying to think of something to write about as he speaks about his songwriting process and how critical he is of himself. That’s the gist of the two-minutes trailer for The Extraordinary Ordinary Life Of José González, a documentary which follows the Sweden-based artist over three years including his creation of record In Our Nature. The trailer also features some live performance footage, as well as a whole bunch of weird cartoon clips which means you could probably expect directors Fredrik Egerstrand and Mikel Cee Karisson to have interspersed the real with the surreal. The film is set to premier at European film festivals this fall.

ELP

• SpreadTheWord

The Spanish-named British-based eight-piece indie-pop band Los Campesinos! has announced a North American tour this fall. In a post on their site they wrote “It is our great pleasure to announce that this coming October we will be returning to the United States for a run of shows along the East Coast and down a bit.” That return to the States neglects two Canadian shows that kick off the tour, however, in Toronto and Laval. The tour is in support of their two recent releases, Romance is Boring and the acoustic All’s Well That Ends, the latter of which you can get digitally for free if you buy a ticket for the tour from GalleryAC.com. Mark down your date from the list below: (more…)

• SpreadTheWord