Insiders in the music industry have been saying it for quite some time now in hushed and worried tones but, with the release of The Artist Life's new EP, Living, there's no doubt about it and musicians have caught on too: the music business—and more specifically the way in which people consume music—is changing. Not so long ago, the equation was simple: band X plays relentlessly for very small amounts of money, attempts to build a fan base and hopes...

It seems like that shoegazy, dream-pop sound of the late 80’s is coming back in a big way… and it’s sure to only be getting bigger as the Raveonettes will release their third full-length, Lust Lust Lust, to American audiences on February 19th, 2008. The follow up to 2005’s Pretty in Black is the Danish-bred noir-pop duo’s Vice Records debut. Released in the UK on November 12th, the album has already enjoyed a wave of critical praise.  The US release...

Post-punkers Gang of Four have released two demo recordings on Dave Allen of Gang of Four’s Music and Media Blog. According to Allen, the songs, “Password” and “Second Life,” are rough recordings, which he explains, “The aim here is that if you are inclined to follow our progress as we write and record then these MP3 posts will be like milestones which can be used later to compare the genesis of a song against the final version.”   They also...

Let’s say you had a suped-up Delorean with a sweet, one-of-a-kind Flux Capicitor that allowed you to travel back in time. Let’s also assume you’ve always wanted to know what it was like to listen to the radio in 1974. The trip’s a success, Doc and Einstein are both cool, and your wish is about to come true. You turn on the radio and you hear the announcer say, “Coming up next, a little band out of Nashville called The...

There's something to be said for the longevity of a band that has at no point in their career attempted to fit in, although to say that They Might Be Giants have spent a significant portion of their career being misunderstood is something of an understatement. It might be a faltering in the band's public image, but TMBG has always been perceived (even more than like-minded, if not sonically similar, bands like Ween and GWAR) as being from another planet...

Burbling and sputtering like a robot with six cents, a paperclip and a piece of chewing gum for a brain, Oh Astro's debut comes to life like the most good-natured pop deconstructor in the history of recorded music. Champions of Wonder takes every possible available pop influence—sing-a-longs, showtunes-esque hooks, wriggling beats and more—and knits them all together with the gaps between the edges intact; all the pieces of the puzzle don't naturally fit together, but Oh Astro holds them in...

It's been fourteen years since Nirvana did their lauded Unplugged in New York performance at Sony Studios in New York, and since then, every ounce of the minutiae surrounding the show has been so well documented that those things feel as if they've taken on the same amount of fame and infamy as the performance itself. Everything from Kurt Cobain's stage fright before going on that night to the dose of heroin that left him comatose until right before the...

Ahh, the oncoming awards season. It's a time when the heavyweights in the various entertainment industries get together to slap each other on the backs and congratulate themselves over a job well done with gift baskets, elegantly-dressed starlets and for some continuing reason, Andy Dick. With independent music long being the redheaded stepchild at the music awards shows (remember when Steely Dan won Album of the Year at the Grammys in 2001?), the PLUG Independent Music Awards was born to...

Globe-trotting foursome, Metric, have announced the release of their first-ever DVD, Live at Metropolis. Due out February 12 on Last Gang Records, Live at Metropolis features Metric's sold-out performance at Montreal's Metropolis concert hall last Fall, during the tour for their last album, Live It Out. Being known for their live performances, Metric has won great praise for their high-energy, big-sound shows, thanks in a large part to frontwoman Emily Haines. Though fans will have to wait ‘til February to...

As they wrap up a run of arena shows in the UK, Foo Fighters have announced the first several dates of what will be the first full American tour in support of their new album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. As on the warm up dates early this fall, the tour will feature additional Fighters beyond the core foursome – Pat Smear on guitar, Rami Jaffee on keyboards, and Jessie Greene on strings. Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace is Foo...