We’re very jazzed to inform you that we linked up with Dangerbird Records co-founder Jeff Castelaz recently, just as he was riding his bike across the country to raise funds for the Pablove Foundation. Along the way, Jeff recorded some video blog entries for us, talking a bit about what he was up to and what he was jamming. Check out the first installment above and if you’re in LA, maybe try and catch a celebratory show at the Avalon tomorrow night as Jeff pedals back into LA.

Band of Horses are headlining, Shirley Manson’s going to be there… it should be a great time. You can snag tickets here.

If you’re one of the 42 million people that have fallen in love with our recent Hotbox at the Levi’s/FADER Fort video series, it’s possible you’ve forgotten (or never knew) that we used to film bands letting loose in front of our fireplace, too. We did. And yes, have a website and a fireplace. In Manhattan. Lissie, recent Fat Possum signee and acquirer of our tender hearts, rambled on by last week before playing a Mercury Lounge show the very same night. She’s a little bit Loretta Lynn, a little bit Veronica Bennett, but mostly just really really good. Check out “I Don’t Know,” “Wedding Bells” and “Everywhere I Go” below, then scour your town, city or village for a copy of her new Why You Runnin’ EP.

If you’ve heard anything from the San Francisco’s Dominant Legs, then you too are probably rediscovering that itch for Tracy Chapman and the heart massage her vocals proffer. While some kids are turning to muddy guitar riffs and beachy keen melodies, it’s nice to know Mr. Legs’ head resides in a time when vocals were dominant. Har. That and lights were used with purpose during music video shoots. See what we mean above.

What does one do when they need to “break free” you ask? Well, Freddie Mercury slips on his finest cleaning-the-house garb and dances around between fabulous tableaux scenes of housewife gone leather-pants-clad and shirtless human beast eating grapes with stage smoke and backup dancers. If there were such a thing as human print, then this video would be a great representation of just that.

Sandor Vlah and Gyula Takaes are two strong men from Budapest, Hungary who go by the name of The Golden Power. El Perro Del Mar is, as you may have already learned via video introduction, a young woman from Sweden by the name of Sarah Assbring. Under the direction of the Control Group, they’ve joined together to create one of the more beautiful/uncomfortable music video experiences we’ve had in a while.

Black and White usually brings us back to more simpler times, right? Remember Pleasantville? In the footage above, it brings the San Diegan Soft Packers back to a time when they answered to a pizza-slanging boss probably named Harry or Jim. The video for their new single “Answer To Yourself” was shot at Del Mar Pizza, a previous employer of the dudes when they resided in Del Mar, California. How else would Matt know how to open that huge can of tomato sauce? The perfect soft serve cone is not easy to produce on a first attempt and not every musician knows how to properly place the Del Mar Pizza information delivery thing on top of their van. It’s just like riding a bike.

When Florence and her acoustic machine came through the Levi’s®/FADER Fort at the Ace Hotel last month, she was wearing 6-inch heels, which unfortunately in the clips below you cannot see. HOWEVER, trust us when we tell you the following: she was both tall and awesome. Check our visual recaps of “Dog Days” and the ever-so-singable, “You’ve Got The Love” below.

It’s 5 o’clock on a Wednesday, and we’re all in need of a little push to get us over the old hump day. So how’s a little OMD to jump start your generator? This little gem is great for when you’re about to do something really important and scientific, like programming the clock on your VCR or taking a test or writing a blog post. Sure, the repeating (and awesome) keyboard riff sounds a little like the theme from The Exorcist, but that only makes sitting at our desks that much more intense.

The Temper Trap not only stirred things up in our backyard this summer, but they excited and maybe confused everyone at the Levi’s®/FADER Fort by playing one of our favorites, “Sweet Disposition” and the appropriately named, “Fader”. Even amid the din, frontdude Dougy Mandagi sounds like an angel!

Big Troubles is Ian and Alex, two guys from Ridgewood, New Jersey looking to give you a sonic shoulder rub if you can stand it. Just as their fellow Ridgewoodians Real Estate tend to dunk theirs underwater, Ian and Alex blanket most melodies in loads of fuzz and distortion. Lots of kids are doing it these days, few are doing it as well as these two. Check ”Freudian Slips” and “Drastic and Difficult” below.

Once upon a time, three dashing young lads waved their respective mini-guitars twice over a bathtub full of Budweiser and ice. The ice melted into sand and the beer bottles became tall palm trees. The boys then hopped on their guitars-turned-surfboards and rode the daydream wave they had just created without even a blink of an eye. And what were we doing while this was all happening, you ask? Mind your own beeswax Also: sit back, relax, and check out what really happened when Beach Fossils entered the Hotbox.

Contrary to what their psychedelic rock n’ roll music may suggest, Crystal Antlers are actually quite lovely. They are dream boats floating atop a bathtub lake of Budweiser and ice. Sound insane? Well, it’s true! Please find the proof in the puddin’ below, video gold of the Long Beachers visiting our Hotbox and setting sail on a bountiful Bob Dylan “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” cover adventure. But you know what? IT IS NOT ALL OVER NOW. It is only the beginning…

The men of Tigercity have been hard at work on their much-anticipated (in our corner of the musicnerdiverse, anyway) debut LP, Ancient Lover. As means for a respite, they’re going to embark on a month-long tour, playing some dates with the nostalgically-inclined Neon Indian. They will most likely be traveling in a van and not in the plane you see above. Just a note.

Check out the dates and Tigercity’s Hollywood-y video for “Fake Gold” below.

11.6 Chicago, IL @ Schubas
11.7 Kansas City, KS @ The Brick
11.8 Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews
11.10 Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge*
11.11 Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court*
11.12 Boise, ID @ Nuerolux*
11.13 Missoula, MT @ The Palace*
11.15 Seattle, WA @ Nectar*
11.17 Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios*
11.18 Salem, OR @ Willamette University*
11.20 Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex*
11.21 San Diego, CA @ Beauty Bar
* w/Neon Indian

Jonas, formerly of Be Your Own Pet, currently of Turbo Fruits (and Hotbox infamy) is a big fan of motorcycles. He’s even got a cute, little cycle charm he wears on a necklace. But this video for “Naked With You” takes the cake. Hot chick at six o’clock, leather jackets, Japanese titling and oh well, will you look at this: a husband pillow.

Other former Be Your Own Petters, Jake and Jamin Orrall, aka JEFF The Brotherhood lka brothers bound by psychedelic DNA, reveal a new charming video for their jam, “U Got The Look.” See below. And then watch Bone Jam. And then see them live.

Sarah Assbring bka El Perro Del Mar was not in New York to play any CMJ sets. She instead came to hang out and drum up some excitement for her beautiful new LP Love Is Not Pop. Quietly, she plopped down on our bathroom floor to play two songs from said LP, both of which broke our hearts into roughly three trillion pieces. See why in the clips of ” Change Of Heart” and “Gotta Get Smart.”

Over the past few years, the men of Brand New have been shedding their pop-punk past with every new release. With great success. “Bought A Bride” is a cut from their fine new full-length Daisy, a mid-tempo beauty frontman Jesse Lacey actually penned during a recent tour. Below is an exclusive video of the Long Island rockers taking it for a spin in the studio. Keep it close and if you can, check the band out when they play Nassau Coliseum on November 28th.

About thirty seconds after Real Estate had finished paddling through the jams we shared with you yesterday, guitarist Matthew Mondanile asked his friends to back him in acoustic, pedal-less renditions of two Ducktails songs to which we most likely air soloed during Mondanile’s killer set at the Group Tightener party one week ago yesterday. Can’t be too sure, we drink beers. The very beautiful “House of Mirrors” and “Backyard” are below!

If there’s one band you should see live right now it’s Real Estate. The oft-buzzed about North Jersey quartet have become the most vibrant and aurally rewarding live bands to come out of the beach-fi set, that growing number of young bands whose music labels like Woodsist and Underwater Peoples have been catapulting into the musicnerdiverse with alarming frequency these days. It’s why we were so thrilled to have them by for an acoustic set in our Ace Hotel bathroom at the Levi’s®/FADER Fort last week, all three of the songs they slung handpicked from their forthcoming full-length. Kick your feet up.

Why, hello there. Have you heard this new band out of Florida, Surfer Blood? You, like the New York Times‘ Jon Pareles, may have seen them play one of 124 shows last week during CMJ. And you, like us, might have also found their 737-sized pop swells just what you needed to get through that very same week. On Friday, they rumbled over to our hotel suite at the Ace Hotel aka The Levi’s®/FADER Fort and supplied us with some acoustic re-imaginings of “Swim (To Reach The End)” and “Catholic Pagans,” two cuts from a full-length that’s been blaring from our hi-fi and shower stereo since: Astro Coast. That’ll be out on January 10th via Kanine. For now, please enjoy the memories below.

Despite a full CMJ plate and frontman Joseph D’Agostino’s head cold blues, Cymbals Eat Guitars took the time to do things right in our bathroom at the Ace Hotel bka The Levi’s®/FADER Fort. Though the foursome obviously stripped things down, it’s still easy to get a gut-level feel for all the squalid dynamic changes that populate their late 90s indie rock vibes. All that should be most evident in the magic we’re sharing below, two acoustic takes on album cuts “Plainclothes” and “Some Trees,” as well as a cover of Neutral Milk Hotel’s heartpounder “Two-headed Boy, Pt. 2.”

As quickly as Portland has loped its way into the cerebral cortex of all things indie rock in the past few years, we’re not sure we’ve seen as accurate and gorgeous distillation of that spot’s energy until this came along. Folk outfit Weinland have taken to animated trees (though sadly not Douglas-firs) here to strum out their wares in this Daniel Fickle-directed clip for “I’m Sure It Helps,” a serving of melancholia that couldn’t have been crafted or broadcast from anywhere else.

Photos by Ben Rowland

A big stuffed bear head
Party. Thanks Death and Taxes
Bros and little beers.

Turbo Fruits stepped into the Hotbox as clean boys and left as dirty men. Is that even possible? We caught the boys tearing through “Mama’s Mad Cos I Fried My Brain” off their debut, Echo Kid, as well as a shampoo-and-conditioned cover of the Undertones’ “Teenage Kicks.” LUXURIOUS CURLS. VOLUMINOUS HOOKS. Bounce that lasts.

Did someone say road trip? or chicken? DOL LOL!

It was a Thursday in New York, the first afternoon in what’s becoming a most wondrous month of October! Four men from Alabama whom together, call themselves Thomas Function, strolled into our living room to share with us a collection of songs from their new, non swine flu-related sophomore full-length, In The Valley of Sickness. They ate sandwiches. They drank beer. THEY BREATHED FIRE. WE FILMED. Oh! What a fantastic month this continues to be!

This one goes out to little Falco? Wait, that dude’s name is Falcon?He was in the attic the whole time?!? IN A BOX?!?

Hey Doublemint people, you blew it. This was your jam and you totally blew it.

Amazing Baby have been on a wild ride lately…a BOAT RIDE that is! We caught up with the dudes and took some pics while they got goofy unfurling their new single, “Supreme Being.” This typhoon of an electro-jam can be found FOR FREE only on GreenLabelSound.com. Which reminds us: Amazing Baby will be playing a GreenLabelSound show at Brooklyn Bowl on October 23rd with the likes of Chromeo, Theophilus London and Solid Gold as well as a DJ set by Holy Ghost! Check the good times above and RSVP here while you still can!

NAME CHANGE ALERT!

It’s official. The dudes of Starfucker have shed the star and they’ve shed the fuck and they are now re-forming as PYRAMID. Yawn. Just kidding, dudes! You can feel the love at their new site, PyramidLovesYou.com, which believe it or not, will take you directly to the Starfucker MySpace! It’s all very confusing. Check the new and improved, dress-clad, Portland homies playing some dates this fall:

10.31 Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
11.19 Bristol, UK @ Start the Bus
11.20 London, UK @ The Garage
11.21 Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
11.22 Paris, FR @ Point Ephemere w/ Golden Silvers
11.24 London, UK @ Flowerpot
11.25 London, UK @ Dingwalls w/ The Filthy Dukes
11.26 London, UK @ Notting Hill Arts Club

Returning to New York after finishing recording their next record, we met up with The Soft Pack to shoot an acoustic sesh backstage before their Bowery Ballroom show. We hauled our collective asses up to the third floor backstage area, and as Matt, Matty, Dave and Brian entered the room we knew we had a problem. Dim light wall fixtures gave the green room a bit of a Blublocker’s feel that didn’t vibe with our cameras. However, a mere four feet away from us shone a light so bright and willing, we were forced to surrender to it. Illumination! And so it was that we flocked to the bathroom with The Soft Pack, threw them in the shower and shot “Down On Lovin” and “C’mon”. Ladies and Gents, welcome to the Hotbox.

I mean, if this doesn’t make you want to go all Gordy from “Stand By Me” and dance around in your room with your pup, showing off all your odds and ends and trinkets and tronkets, then I just don’t know what will. I really don’t.

In line with some stellar Neighbors/Devendra Banhart and Animal Collective covers of “Rome” and “Love Like a Sunset,” the Soft Pack have tackled Phoenix’s “Fences. Leaning heavily on a lo-fi Strokes vibe, it’s definitely more garage-based than it is French palatial— but good lord is it good. The dudes in the band had the following to share:

Phoenix are these cool French guys. We recorded our version of “Fences” with Rob Barbato of Darker My Love. Tim from Darker My Love played the cool guitar lead. It was a fun and challenging experience…

Challenging also good!

The Soft Pack, Fences (Phoenix Cover)

MP3 Download

Thom Yorke Thom Yorke Thom Yorke! He really wants to know what you’re doing tonight, LA:

so yes that band thats doesnt really have a name that im working with at the moment??????
have decided to do a warm-up show on Friday Oct 2nd around 9pm at the Echoplex in Los Angeles
Its not that big, it’ll be total chaos and its kind of a rehearsal but .. if you are near by..
link to get tickets.
hope you get lucky with it.
so ain’t no point hanging around if u dont im afraid

What a sweet, sweet man. Thanks for the invite, TY!

TGIF! BTS is now streaming their new album, There Is No Enemy, in its entirety on their myspace. The Bros at Warner Bros are gearing up for a hefty Tuesday when the album hits stores, itunes, ipods, brainwaves, eardecks and other such musical outlets. Find the boys on tour this fall:

10.2.09 Newport, KY @ Southgate House
10.3.09 Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
10.4.09 Cleveland Heights, OH @ Grog Shop
10.6.09 Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
10.7.09 Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
10.8.09 Ithaca, NY @ State Theater
10.9.09 Cambridge, MA @ Middle East
10.10.09 Cambridge, MA @ Middle East
10.11.09 Cambridge, MA @ Middle East
10.12.09 New York, NY @ Webster Hall
10.13.09 New York, NY @ Webster Hall
10.14.09 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
10.15.09 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
10.16.09 Philadelphia, PA @ The Trocadero
10.17.09 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
10.18.09 Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
10.20.09 Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
10.21.09 Memphis, TN @ Minglewood Hall
10.22.09 Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
10.23.09 Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
10.24.09 Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater
10.25.09 Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom
10.27.09 Albuquerque, New Mexico @ Sunshine Theater
10.28.09 Tucson, AZ @ Dry River
11.15.09 Eugene, OR @ WOW Hall
11.17.09 Bellingham, WA @ The Nightlight
11.18.09 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
11.19.09 Seattle, WA @ Showbox at the Market
11.20.09 Seattle, WA @ Showbox at the Market
11.21.09 Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory Concert House

Did anyone realize that a) this video had an opening non-musical sequence and b) it stars Elijah Wood beating his headphones into his head complaining that he couldn’t hear THIS VERY SONG? Young Wood, what are you doing in this most underrated Cranberries jam?

Join, connect, hold, unite, affiliate, link, MERGE AND LOVE. This really makes so much sense! Chapel Hill’s The Love Language have now found a home at Merge Records. They Love each other… a lot. Isn’t it weird though that this band was formed after lead singer Stuart McLamb’s particularly disastrous breakup back in 2007? Well it is not 2007 anymore, and there is much love to be had. 2010 will be a doozey as we welcome the band’s sophomore album, which will be coming out on..Merge Records!

Did you know that at one point in recent history there was a whole subgenre of English bands that looked and sounded like Jesus Jones and EMF but weren’t nearly as popular? Like floppy hair and double bass and everything. Oh really, you knew that did you. Liar. Well did you know that said subgenre was known as Baggy? Oh you knew that too! Well great. Did you know that we used to draw Ned’s Atomic Dustbin’s logo—a biohazard sign inside a, um, snot blob—all over our notebooks. Ha! You didn’t DID YOU.

Check out this computer generated clip for “Californication,” a relatively new downtempo rocker from LA alt-funk up-and-comers Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Forgotten lyrics
But unforgettable fire!
Sunday, Bloody Clash Mash

Haiku by Andy Cohn
Photos by Rob Stone

More extreme Droidage
davedavedavedavedave, we said
shameless sing-a-long.