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When Kings of Leon released their third album Because Of The Times in April 2007, Entertainment Weekly called it their "crowning achievement," while Rolling Stone wondered: "How good can the Kings of Leon get? They've already gone further than anybody could have guessed."
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This Brooklyn trio debuted during the 2001 celebration of All Things Rock and instantly made their case for good-old-fashioned attitude. Guitarist Nick Zinner has borrowed licks from the Cramps and 8-Eyed Spy, drummer Brian Chase calls on most of classic-rock timekeeping, and singer Karen O has been compared to so many people she can only be entirely original.
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"There's an odd bond between the music of the British folk revival and classic metal," says The Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy. "A natural connection between, like, Fairport Convention and Black Sabbath - of course, Sandy Denny from Fairport even sang with Led Zeppelin on "The Battle of Evermore."
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Animal Collective is a group of four best friends who grew up playing and recording music together in Baltimore County Maryland. Why Animal? Cause it's the only word we could think of that made any remote connection to what we thought our sound was and of course, we love our fellow animals very much. Why Collective? Cause we have always wanted to be the ones who define what and who AC is.
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Bon Iver (pronounced: bohn eevair; French for "good winter" and spelled wrong on purpose) is a greeting, a celebration and a sentiment. It is a new statement of an artist moving on and establishing the groundwork for a lasting career. For Emma, Forever Ago is the debut of this lineage of songs. As a whole, the record is entirely cohesive throughout and remains centered around a particular aesthetic, prompted by the time and place for which it was recorded. Justin Vernon, the primary force behind Bon Iver, seems to have tested his boundaries to the maximum, and in doing so has managed to break free from any pre-cursing or finished forms.
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On stage sit a sousaphone, accordion, piano, violin, a bouzouki, an upright bass, percussion, a trumpet, drums, and a theremin.
A woman sets aside an upright bass to pick up a copper tuba adorned with glowing red lights. She left a traveling civil war recreationist band to find a home here. The drummer stands up behind his kit and lifts a trumpet to his mouth. Raised by Lithuanian polka musicians, he skipped a treatment center in Mexico to right himself in the study of mariachi horns. Here he exorcises demons of a punk past, and dreams ahead to Mexico.
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M. Ward's rise to international renown has been something of a slow burn. Initially a well-kept secret of his peers in the Portland folk scene, his star continued to rise with each record's release, and he is now one of the most acclaimed American musicians of the decade.
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If you'll forgive one last desperate pun, Doves had flown the nest. As the next 3 and a bit years passed, the stunning achievement that was the brooding Some Cities LP (released in February 2005) could easily torment when listened to. Together with their first two releases, Lost Souls and The Last Broadcast, this made up a considerable and consistent body of work.
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After dissolving his previous band, Red House Painters, singer/songwriter Mark Kozelek resurfaced with Sun Kil Moon, refining and expanding the luminous acoustic balladry and harrowingly intimate lyricism that are the hallmarks of his career to date.
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Although New Brunswick, New Jersey's The Gaslight Anthem have only technically been a band for two-and-a-half years, in that short amount of time they've managed to become one of the punk underground's most celebrated acts, spurring a cultish fan base with their music and completing successful tours with acts like Against Me!, the Loved Ones and the Bouncing Souls.
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Who is this manic Master of Ceremonies who openly confesses to the two grand black bohemians said to be lunatic Sun Ra and George Clinton, and whose stagings certainly remind us of a young Herman Sonny Blount and his Solar Arkestra? In 1995 Khan leaves the frosty soil of the city of Montreal playing the bass for the International-Underground-Legends THE SPACESHITS. The band is produced by Mike Mariconda with a special guest appearance from the Fabulous Andy G (Devil Dogs).
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To observe Ra Ra Riot on stage is to observe a joyful experience in progress, somehow both intensely fun and just plain intense; it's a joy that's always aware that darkness and despair may be just around the corner, that life is both beautiful and terrible, and it's a joy that is in fact amplified by this awareness.
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Hailed as "almost impossibly majestic and beautiful" (NPR "album of the year"), Shearwater's Palo Santo (2007, Matador), a suite of ethereal but oddly disquieting art-rock songs loosely centered around the life and death of singer Christa Paffgen (aka Nico), marked the Texan quartet's debut on the national stage.
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Boston's Passion Pit is the brainchild of Michael Angelakos with live band consisting of ian hultquist(synths), ayad al adhamy(synths, samplers), jeff apruzzese(bass, synths), nate donmoyer (drums). Michael is a songwriter's songwriter drawing from a variety of influences, from the classic pop of Randy Newman to the synth work of Giorgio Moroder.
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On March 10th, a promise from big brother to little brother will be realized.
Benjamin Verdoes (vocals, guitar, percussion) hoped to motivate his younger brother Marshall to push forward in his drum lessons. Once Marshall got good at drums, Benjamin vowed, they'd start a band together, and now-13-year-old Marshall would have naming rights. That promise is officially made good with the release of Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band's self-titled debut full-length.
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Country music's newest young star's rise to fame has captivated America.
Born in Los Angles, California and raised in San Antonio, Texas the young singer/songwriter Vince Mira, was discovered by entertainment producer Chris Snell (owner of Seattle night club, Can Can) while playing for tips in
Seattle's Pike Place Market. He is now on his way to becoming a household
name.
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Israel Nebeker and Ryan Dobrowski are Blind Pilot. Friends since college, Israel and Ryan have traveled many a mile to get where they are today - literally. Last year Israel and Ryan embarked on a West Coast bike tour. This wasn't a tour where they road bikes, and had a van hauling the equipment. They hauled everything on their bikes. No gas. 100% leg powered.
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One day I was walking through the pines and heard the sound of a boot keeping time on some contrivance of wood. Keeping on I then heard a lonesome voice and a piano playing. I reached the edge of a clearing and saw a small house set against a stand of tall oaks. Sometimes the forest sways in time. The black-haired figure responsible for the ruckus shouted me a "hey there" and I crossed the field to make his acquaintance.
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Hello, my name is Adam.
I prefer daydreams over reality.
Music is my muse.
I write and record in my basement.
I have trouble sleeping.
These songs are all I have to show for my sleepless nights.
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Leaving childhood memories behind can be a troublesome thing, whether it's a cherished object, a dream, or just playing around with friends. Given that their name is derived from childhood nicknames, it would be fair to say that Arthur & Yu know a thing or two about the process. Comprised of Seattle residents Grant Olsen and Sonya Westcott, Arthur & Yu have made an album that grapples with the idea of growing up and of letting go, creating a small space in which to drift away.
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You may have heard of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele, a new pop musician from Oxford, Mississippi. If not, you'll be hearing a lot from him in the coming year. Dent's unique vocal style, part crooner, part falsetto, and 101 percent showman reflects the influences of some of his favorite singers (Prince, Serge Gainsbourg, and Lee Hazlewood to name a few). His love of various song styles results in a unique combination of ukulele, drums, pedal steel, violin, horns and bass. One second his songs hint at Brazilian Tropicalia, the next a '50s barbershop quartet or an early 20th century country swing.
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This collection of music was written and sung by Joel Thibodeau. It is unlike anything you've ever heard. People will call it many things. Few will get it right. This is Death Vessel. Nothing is Precious Enough for Us exudes a unique ambition wider in scope than most of its peers. The musical reach is fully extended - deep into the past, grounded in the present and nodding to the future. Owing to the gritty avarice of Joel's singular spirit, voice and musicality, the songs - though rooted in a more traditional feel of folk and early Americana - sound as progressive, experimental and modern as they do antique and old-world.
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The Peoples Republic of Komedy (PROK), a tight-knit group of like-minded Seattle comedians, has been creating a stir in the local arts scene with their wildly popular "Laff Hole" show every Wednesday night. Combining edgy comedy with some of the hottest young bands in Seattle, "Laff Hole" has created the kind of buzz that Seattle hasn't seen since the grunge boom of the early 1990's.
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THE YEAR IS 2001 AND THE PLACE IS TEXAS. Stones Throw head honcho Peanut Butter Wolf is DJing while a sharply dressed young man approaches the DJ Booth with his Prom date in tow to formally introduce himself. Thus begins the story of James Pants. What began as a dream Prom night to see his hero DJ went to an internship at the label to eventually landing the ultimate fantasy by being signed to the roster and championed as the "next big thing" by none other than Peanut Butter Wolf himself & on top of critics like Busy P, Urb, XLR8R, & Dazed & Confused Magazines.
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You may have seen Todd as Mickey Rourke's no-so-nice boss in The Wrestler; as the annoying bongo player on HBO's Flight of the Conchords; or...
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Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim started making videos to entertain each
other and alleviate film-school tedium, and wound up stumbling into comedy
careers almost by accident. They sent some of their absurdist, uncomfortable
bits to Mr. Show's Bob Odenkirk, who helped them usher the dry, divisive,
often wonderful Tom Goes To The Mayor onto Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.
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Since forming in the summer of 2004, Crystal Castles, the Toronto-based duo of Ethan Fawn and Alice Glass have amassed a cult following through their uncompromising and intense delivery, a slew of limited edition singles, and shows packed solely from word of mouth. Their 7" singles have sold out almost instantly, they have toured extensively in the UK, Europe, and North America with artists such as the Klaxons and Metric, and remixed songs for Bloc Party and the Klaxons, among others.
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Nick Thune, comedian/actor/writer/bird owner, is from Seattle, Washington. Nick has been on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno two times. On both occasions, he won.
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M O S D E F peace. i was born in brooklyn new york in 1973. ive been working professionally as an artist for nearly 20 years. ive been very blessed to work with some of the worlds brightest talents and many of my personal heroes.
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What 37-year old comedian stars in the new Fox series Sit Down, Shut Up? What comic earned "Best of the Web" from Salon.com and the Harvard Crimson for her web series The Maria Bamford Show? What entertainer is one of Variety's "Top Ten Comics to Watch" and was voted by Comedy Central viewers as one of their "Top Ten Favorite Comics?" Maria Bamford! That's who!
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"...Champagne Champagne might be the next most likely to escape the hipster hop ghetto. Ex-Blood Bro Mark Gajadhar (aka DJ Gajamagic) brings years of beat-blasting experience to the decks, and MC Pearl Dragon delivers his '80s references and raunch punchlines with better flow than a lot of jokers." - The Stranger
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