indiePulse

Contraphonic Signs, Welcomes, Releases Coat

From Contraphonic:

COAT is the musical project of Chicagoan Libby Reed (Fruit Bats, oRSo, Bevel). Using rich vocal harmonies and an eclectic combination of instruments (cello, air organ, keyboards, electric guitar), Reed stitches together the small unnoticeable sentiments of life into one large sonic quilt. Contraphonic is happy to welcome the addition of Coat to its roster with the release of Winter in the Bubblegarden,  a digital-only full-length release.

"Sleeping Sickness" new interactive music video released

City and Colour (aka Dallas Green of Alexisonfire) just released a new interactive video for “Sleeping Sickness,” his second single from Bring Me Your Love (Vagrant, 02/08).

You can view and interact with the video by following this link: http://cityandcolour.ca/sleepingsickness/sleep.html. Through using your mouse and keyboard you are able to zoom in and out and move around the video choosing the action you would like to see.

Video: Beau Jennings "Holy Tulsa Thunder"

Video: Beau Jennings "Holy Tulsa Thunder"

Video: XX Teens - "Darlin'" (Edited Version)

Video: XX Teens - "Darlin'" (Edited Version)

CIMS Top 200 for the week ending July 6, 2008

TW LW Title Artist
1 2 COLDPLAY VIVA LA VIDA
2 1 SIGUR ROS MED SUD I EYRUM VID SPILUM END
3 113 LOS LONELY BOYS FORGIVEN
4 3 ESCOVEDO,ALEJANDRO REAL ANIMAL
5 D ALKALINE TRIO AGONY & IRONY
6 4 LIL WAYNE THA CARTER III
7 5 MY MORNING JACKET EVIL URGES
8 6 FLEET FOXES FLEET FOXES
9 192 MAYER,JOHN WHERE THE LIGHT IS: JOHN MAYER
10 10 WOLF PARADE AT MOUNT ZOOMER
11 14 HARRIS,EMMYLOU ALL I INTENDED TO BE
12 19 PORTISHEAD THIRD
13 12 WEEZER WEEZER (RED ALBUM)
14 D G-UNIT T.O.S. (TERMINATE ON SIGHT)
15 11 DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE NARROW STAIRS
16 18 DUFFY ROCKFERRY
17 D TECH N9NE KILLER
18 26 COODER,RY I FLATHEAD
19 16 G. LOVE SUPERHERO BROTHER
20 21 FLOBOTS FIGHT WITH TOOLS
21 23 LEE,AMOS LAST DAYS AT THE LODGE
22 24 VAMPIRE WEEKEND VAMPIRE WEEKEND
23 9 RECKLESS KELLY BULLETPROOF
24 13 THREE 6 MAFIA LAST 2 WALK
25 31 BLACK KEYS ATTACK & RELEASE
26 29 FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS
27 8 MOTLEY CRUE SAINTS OF LOS ANGELES
28 22 MUDCRUTCH MUDCRUTCH
29 42 GRUPO FANTASMA SONIDOS GOLD
30 35 PLANT/KRAUSS RAISING SAND
31 17 N.E.R.D. SEEING SOUNDS
32 46 MGMT ORACULAR SPECTACULAR
33 15 IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE & DJ GREEN 3RD WORLD
34 30 RACONTEURS CONSOLERS OF THE LONELY
35 34 BIG BLUE BALL BIG BLUE BALL
36 32 MRAZ,JASON WE SING WE DANCE WE STEAL THIN
37 49 HIATT,JOHN SAME OLD MAN
38 59 KID ROCK ROCK N ROLL JESUS
39 20 HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIR HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIR
40 41 TING TINGS WE STARTED NOTHING
41 58 DYLAN,JAKOB SEEING THINGS
42 94 ADELE 19 
43 D MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE BLACK PARADE IS DEAD!
44 56 MCMURTRY,JAMES JUST US KIDS
45 36 JUDAS PRIEST NOSTRADAMUS
46 50 SILVER JEWS LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN LOOKOUT SEA
47 48 SATURDAY KNIGHTS MINGLE
48 25 PHAIR,LIZ EXILE IN GUYVILLE
49 33 DISTURBED INDESTRUCTIBLE
50 39 RADIOHEAD BEST OF RADIOHEAD
51 55 OFFSPRING RISE & FALL RAGE & GRACE
52 63 BLACK ANGELS DIRECTIONS TO SEE A GHOST
53 43 RADIOHEAD IN RAINBOWS
54 73 OLD 97'S BLAME IT ON GRAVITY
55 98 WINEHOUSE,AMY BACK TO BLACK
56 45 ATMOSPHERE WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS YOU
57 108 HUNTER,JAMES HARD WAY
58 38 NOTWIST DEVIL YOU + ME
59 40 CARLL,HAYES TROUBLE IN MIND
60 51 MANN,AIMEE !SMILERS
61 70 KING KHAN & THE SHRINES SUPREME GENIUS OF KING KHAN
62 57 SANTOGOLD SANTOGOLD
63 67 BON IVER FOR EMMA FOREVER AGO
64 D EARLIMART HYMN & HER
65 27 PLIES DEFINITION OF REAL
66 37 GREEN,AL LAY IT DOWN
67 47 PERRY,KATY ONE OF THE BOYS
68 68 GILKYSON,ELIZA BEAUTIFUL WORLD
69 72 M.I.A. KALA 
70 93 SHEARWATER ROOK
71 28 WILSON,DENNIS PACIFIC OCEAN BLUE & BAMBU
72 64 JOHNSON,JACK SLEEP THROUGH THE STATIC
73 105 SHE & HIM VOLUME ONE
74 44 RZA AS BOBBY DIGITAL DIGI SNAX
75 52 WATSON TWINS FIRE SONGS
76 54 SHINEDOWN SOUND OF MADNESS
77 66 COOL KIDS BAKE SALE
78 81 CAVE,NICK & THE BAD SEEDS DIG LAZARUS DIG!!!
79 71 OPETH WATERSHED
80 84 FRATELLIS HERE WE STAND
81 100 R.E.M. ACCELERATE
82 112 JUNO SOUNDTRACK
83 60 ATMOSPHERE SAD CLOWN BAD SPRING #12
84 65 ROOTS RISING DOWN
85 80 FOXBORO HOT TUBS STOP DROP & ROLL!
86 74 BONNIE PRINCE BILLY LIE DOWN IN THE LIGHT
87 77 SUPERGRASS DIAMOND HOO HA
88 92 CRYSTAL CASTLES CRYSTAL CASTLES
89 102 MORISSETTE,ALANIS FLAVORS OF ENTANGLEMENT
90 110 MADONNA HARD CANDY
91 78 DR. JOHN CITY THAT CARE FORGOT
92 82 MOTHER TRUCKERS LET'S ALL GO TO BED
93 83 3 DOORS DOWN 3 DOORS DOWN
94 91 TILLY & THE WALL O
95 76 SPIRITUALIZED SONGS IN A&E
96 7 LESS THAN JAKE GNV FLA
97 69 LADYTRON VELOCIFERO
98 75 USHER HERE I STAND
99 114 MATES OF STATE RE-ARRANGE US
100 D ORB DREAM  
101 130 NO AGE NOUNS
102 62 JENNINGS,MASON IN THE EVER
103 107 FLEET FOXES SUN GIANT EP
104 D SPALDING,ESPERANZA ESPERANZA
105 87 WRIGHT,LIZZ ORCHARD
106 104 DEVOTCHKA MAD & FAITHFUL TELLING
107 111 THOMPSON,TEDDY PIECE OF WHAT YOU NEED
108 134 HELIO SEQUENCE KEEP YOUR EYES AHEAD
109 D NELSON,WILLIE STARDUST-30TH ANNIVERSARY LEGA
110 61 GNARLS BARKLEY ODD COUPLE
111 79 WILSON,CASSANDRA LOVERLY
112 D RIBOT,MARC/CERAMIC DOG PARTY INTELLECTUALS
113 53 ROSE HILL DRIVE MOON IS THE NEW EARTH
114 117 VEDDER,EDDIE MUSIC FOR THE MOTION PICTURE I
115 132 BAND OF HEATHENS BAND OF HEATHENS
116 142 COSTELLO,ELVIS MOMOFUKU
117 159 NINE INCH NAILS GHOSTS I-IV
118 90 LANDRETH,SONNY FROM THE REACH
119 138 TIESTO IN SEARCH OF SUNRISE 7
120 177 WOMBATS GUIDE TO LOVE LOSS & DESPERATI
121 106 TROUT,WALTER OUTSIDER
122 148 WAINWRIGHT,MARTHA I KNOW YOU'RE MARRIED BUT I'VE
123 143 MUDHONEY LUCKY ONES
124 173 SPOON GA GA GA GA GA
125 D REATARD,JAY SINGLES 06-07
126 D DUKE SPIRIT NEPTUNE
127 D SOLLEE,BEN LEARNING TO BEND
128 D JONES,JIM & THE BYRD GANG M.O.B.
129 118 JONES,SHARON & THE DAP-KINGS 100 DAYS 100 NIGHTS
130 147 HACIENDA BROTHERS ARIZONA MOTEL
131 194 BAND OF HORSES CEASE TO BEGIN
132 D HELM,LEVON DIRT FARMER
133 D BADU,ERYKAH NEW AMERYKAH PART ONE (4TH WOR
134 D KILLS MIDNIGHT BOOM
135 D RACONTEURS BROKEN BOY SOLDIERS
136 119 ONCE SOUNDTRACK
137 120 REHAB SITTIN' AT A BAR
138 128 IRON MAIDEN SOMEWHERE BACK IN TIME: BEST O
139 146 VERVE REMIXED VOL. 4-VERVE REMIXED
140 157 ANIMAL COLLECTIVE WATER CURSES
141 189 LAUPER,CYNDI BRING YA TO THE BRINK
142 D WINEHOUSE,AMY FRANK
143 D TAYLOR,CHIP NEW SONGS OF FREEDOM
144 D RELIENT K BIRD & THE BEE SIDES
145 88 VAN ZANDT,TOWNES LIVE AT THE OLD QUARTER HOUSTO
146 121 SWORD GODS OF THE EARTH
147 123 FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH WAY OF THE FIST
148 127 WINWOOD,STEVE NINE LIVES
149 136 ROSS,RICK TRILLA
150 156 FLYING LOTUS LOS ANGELES
151 182 KOOKS KONK
152 190 CENTRO-MATIC/SOUTH SAN GABRIEL DUAL HAWKS
153 D BLACK CROWES WARPAINT
154 D IRON & WINE SHEPHERD'S DOG
155 D WILSON,DENNIS PACIFIC OCEAN BLUE
156 D MORRISON,VAN VEEDON FLEECE
157 85 RIHANNA GOOD GIRL GONE BAD: RELOADED
158 86 IDOL,BILLY VERY BEST OF-IDOLIZE YOURSELF
159 101 CUT COPY IN GHOST COLOURS
160 109 ISLANDS ARM'S WAY
161 115 MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND THOUSAND SHARK'S TEETH
162 155 VETIVER THING OF THE PAST
163 D TESTAMENT FORMATION OF DAMNATION
164 D COUNTING CROWS SATURDAY NIGHTS & SUNDAY MORNI
165 D C-MURDER SCREAMIN' 4 VENGEANCE
166 D KANSAS TWO FOR THE SHOW
167 122 FLOGGING MOLLY FLOAT
168 140 BYRDS LIVE AT ROYAL ALBERT HALL 1971
169 171 WONDERLAND,CAROLYN MISS UNDERSTOOD
170 170 VIRGINS VIRGINS
171 186 MORRISON,VAN KEEP IT SIMPLE
172 D SAPP,MARVIN THIRSTY
173 D ARCADE FIRE NEON BIBLE
174 D B-52'S FUNPLEX
175 99 LEWIS,LEONA SPIRIT
176 126 WIDESPREAD PANIC CARBONDALE 2000
177 139 M83 SATURDAYS=YOUTH
178 137 RODRIGO Y GABRIELA RODRIGO Y GABRIELA
179 195 ORCHESTRA BAOBAB MADE IN DAKAR
180 D SOUTH AUSTIN JUG BAND STRANGE INVITATION
181 D ACROSS THE UNIVERSE SOUNDTRACK
182 D MAYER,JOHN CONTINUUM
183 D RATATAT CLASSICS
184 89 VAST AIRE DUECES WILD
185 133 FARINA,MARK FABRIC 40
186 152 PETTY,TOM & THE HEARTBREAKERS GREATEST HITS
187 164 BECKER,WALTER CIRCUS MONEY
188 162 OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW EUTAW
189 188 FOALS ANTIDOTES
190 D FEIST REMINDER
191 D HOT CHIP MADE IN THE DARK
192 D LYNNE,SHELBY JUST A LITTLE LOVIN'
193 D JUSTICE CROSS
194 D SHINS WINCING THE NIGHT AWAY
195 D DUCK DUCK GOOSE NOISE NOISE & MORE NOISE
196 179 MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE IF
197 D CARNIFEX DISEASED & THE POISONED
198 D TERROR DAMNED THE SHAMED
199 D RETURN TO FOREVER ANTHOLOGY
200 D PERKINS,PINETOP PINETOP PERKINS & FRIENDS

Source: http://www.cimsmusic.com/

Live from late night: Tift Merritt "Morning Is My Destination"

Tift Merritt performs "Morning Is My Destination" on Letterman: June 25, 2008

Saddle Creek adds Sebastian Grainger to roster

The American Names EP is a digital only release and is available now via the Saddle Creek online store, where you can also stream the title track, and iTunes. The EP will be followed by the debut full length this October. Stay tuned for more info and tour dates!

Saddle Creek site

SMARTPUNK REVAMPED UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP

 July 10, 2008—SmartPunk, the leader in the unsigned and up-and-coming band markets is now under new ownership and management.

 Founded in 2004, SmartPunk immediately took the indie music scene by storm by becoming the definitive destination to buy discount Punk, Emo, Metal, Hardcore and indie band music and merchandise. Catering to the rock, pop, punk, indie, and hardcore tastes, the site generates sales over $1 million annually.

With over 3,000 unique visitors a day, SmartPunk.com quickly became a fixture on the famed Vans Warped Tour since its launch in ’04 with its groundbreaking SmartPunk stage. Bands on this year’s SmartPunk stage include Set Your Goals, The Maine, Forever the Sickest Kids, Confide, and Alesana. Previous SmartPunk Stage alumni include Underoath, Saosin, and Chiodos.

Upcoming Chicago Shows

7/18	-	Ed Harcourt	@	Schubas
7/24	-	Jeremy Jay	@	Schubas
7/26	-	Earlimart	@	The Hideout
7/27	-	David Vandervelde	@	Schubas
7/27	-	Joan Of Arc	@	Beat Kitchen
7/27	-	ISIS, Maps & Atlases, Red Sparowes	@	Wicker Park Fest
7/31	-	The Black Keys, Magic Wands	@	Metro
8/1	-	The Whigs	@	House of Blues
8/1	-	Gogol Bordello	@	Metro
8/1	-	Mates of State, MGMT	@	Double Door
8/2	-	Broken Social Scene	@	Metro
8/2	-	Bloc Party, CSS	@	House of Blues
8/5	-	She & Him	@	Park West
8/20	-	Flobots	@	House of Blues
8/21	-	Eddie Vedder	@	Auditorium Theatre
8/22	-	Eddie Vedder	@	Auditorium Theatre
8/22	-	The Faint	@	Vic
8/22	-	The May Fire	@	Metro
8/22	-	Laura Gibson, Great Lake Swimmers	@	Schubas
8/28	-	Doveman	@	Lakeshore Theater
8/30	-	Ponytail	@	Subterranean
9/11	-	Walter Meego	@
9/12	-	The Dandy Warhols	@	Vic
9/20	-	MXPX, Lagwagon	@	Metro
9/24	-	Stars	@	Riviera
9/24	-	Sigur Ros	@	Riviera
9/25	-	Damien Jurado	@	Schubas
9/26	-	Mogwai	@	Congress Theater
9/28	-	Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds	@	Riviera
9/28	-	Hot Chip	@	Metro
9/29	-	Hot Chip	@	Metro
10/6	-	Black Kids	@	Metro
10/6	-	Robert Pollard	@	Double Door
10/9	-	My Morning Jacket	@	Chicago Theater
10/9	-	Tegan and Sara	@	Riviera
10/10	-	My Morning Jacket	@	Chicago Theater
10/10	-	Stereolab	@	Vic
10/10	-	Silver Jews	@	Metro
10/11	-	The Kooks	@	Riviera
10/11	-	Cold War Kids	@	Vic
10/18	-	Old Crow Medicine Show	@	Riviera

Profile: Hit The Lights

BIO:

There are a few ways to tell the story of what’s happened to Lima, OH band Hit the Lights between the releases of their debut This Is a Stick Up… Don’t Make It a Murder in 2006 and their new album Skip School, Start Fights, which comes out July 8^th 2008. The tale could be recounted as an overly dramatic saga of four young lads who prevailed over the tragic loss of their former singer and came out swinging- and singing- with even greater ferocity and passion than before. Or it could be conveyed as a comedic lark, eschewing drama for a series of jokes about guitarists with afros and puns involving their band name. Or, maybe, it could even started with the words “Once upon a time…” But anyway you tell it, anyway it’s told, the journey of Hit the Lights over the past two years has been a necessary one, filled with blessings in disguise, and ending happily in every possible version.

 

After touring endlessly on This Is a Stick Up with bands like Paramore and New Found Glory and spending two successive summers on the Vans Warped Tour, Hit the Lights shuffled home to the endless cornfields of Ohio in the beginning of the summer of 2007 with the intent to write and record their follow-up album. But- cue the dramatic music- just as the band was settling in to pen some songs that would, as Omar says, “totally cream the songs on the last record,” their singer Colin Ross packed his microphone and called it quits. The remaining four members spent the rest of the summer writing songs on their own, all the while searching for a new singer that would mesh with the chemistry the band has spend the last five years acquiring. As it turned out, they needed look no further than their own guitarist.

 

“We were trying to encourage Nick to do it from the beginning, but he wanted to make sure that there was nobody out there we could find that would be better,” Omar explains of selecting Nick to jump into frontman position. “There was no harm in looking before we started going in that direction.”

 

So the band went to Philadelphia in the fall of 2007 to lay down a few demos with Playwork Productions to get a clearer sense of the songs they wanted on the new album, which Omar defines as a “bigger, heavier, poppier version of us.” While on the East Coast Hit the Lights hooked up with producer Rob Freeman (former guitarist for Hidden in Plain View) and recorded a rollicking cover of Scandal’s “The Warrior”- with Nick on lead vocals. The experience was- cue the dramatic soundtrack again- illuminating for the band, setting them in the right direction for the record.

 

“We just clicked with him on every level, as far as a producer goes,” Omar says of Rob. “We were definitely on the same wave-length. He totally got what we were trying to do. Based on the chemistry we had with him we just made a decision right there- Nick’s going to sing and we’re going to produce it with Rob.”

 

The beginning of 2008 brought Hit the Lights into the studio with Rob in New Jersey for a month and half, where they refined the 13 tracks that eventually landed on the jumping, hook-laden Skip School, Start Fights, an album that does, in fact, totally cream their first disc. First single “Stay Out,” which initially appeared on the band’s MySpace page as a demo before the album’s release, epitomizes the band’s signature combination of catchy choruses, bouncing melodies and generally likeable musical sensibility. Plus, as Omar eloquently puts it, “the record version just kicks the demo’s ass.” The rest of the tracks range from the energetic fun of “Drop the Girl” to the thumping, guitar-heavy “Cry Your Eyes Out” to the driving, propulsive “Winding Down,” but really it’s, as they say, all killer, no filler.

 

“I love every song,” Nick adds. “The goal even before Colin left the band was to write better songs than on our first record. After that whole experience, I think we made a better record than we would have originally. We were able to write the record we wanted to make we got to make with someone we wanted to work with. There was a great vibe in the studio and it was the best recording experience we’ve ever had. Everything just felt right. It feels good to have a record we’re proud of!”

Band MySpace