“No Place to Fall” was originally recorded by legendary singer/songwriter, the late Towns Van Zandt in 1978. In a gorgeous rendition alongside Willy Mason, Isobel Campbell delivers a stunning homage to the beloved Van Zandt on Pitchfork. And of course, do yourself a favor and watch the original version linked below as well.
http://pitchfork-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/player/DelveMoviePlayer.swf
As if Jack White didn’t have enough projects with running a recording studio, juggling three bands and a family, he’s gone and taken two more bands under his production wing.
Folk-pop duo First Aid Kit and psych-rockers Dungen will both take part in Third Man Records’ Blue Series of singles releases. The singles are produced by Jack White and recorded at his Third Man Studios in Nashville. The series has featured releases from Wanda Jackson and Secret Sisters among others.
Dungen created two tracks for the series, “Oga Nasa Mum” (translates to “Eyes Nose Mouth”) and “Highway Wolf.” First Aid Kit decided to do a couple of covers, featuring Buffy Sainte-Marie’s “Universal Soldier” and the classic blues song “It Hurts Me Too.”
Both artists’ series will be available in January, the 11th for Dungen and the 18th for First Aid Kit on Third Man Records.
People in Iceland are not like people on the rest of the planet. Don’t try to understand it, just embrace that we may in fact be living amongst aliens—really, really interesting aliens. You can’t really talk about Icelandic musicians without mentioning Bjork or Sigur Ros, and now that that’s done, let’s discuss Iceland’s Ólafur Arnalds.
The 23-year old composer’s work has been called ” robust yet ethereal, mid-tempo tearjerker” (Pitchfork) and Filter magazine says Arnalds “will only increase in importance.”
Arnalds returns to the US for a winter tour in early 2011. There’s an online contest where fans who “share” show info can win tickets. Check out the info at: http://www.olafurarnalds.com
Ólafur Arnalds On Tour:
Jan 24 – The Modern Theatere at Suffolk University – Boston, MA
Jan 25 – Highline Ballroom – New York, NY
Jan 26 – St. Andrews Hall – Detroit, MI
Jan 27 – Southgate House Ballroom – Newport, KY (Cincinnati)
Jan 28 – Midtown Scholar Bookstore – Harrisburg, PA
Jan 29 – TBA – Indianapolis, IN
Jan 30 – Preston Bradley Hall @ Chicago Cultural Center – Chicago, IL (3pm)
Jan 30 – Museum of Contemporary Art – Chicago, IL (8:30pm)
Jan 31 – Covenant Fine Arts Center @ Calvin College – Grand Rapids, MI
Feb 1 – Cedar Cultural Center – Minneapolis, MN
Feb 3 – Great American Music Hall – San Francisco, CA
Feb 4 – Echoplex – Los Angeles, CA
The boys of Vampire Weekend have announced the release of an iTunes Session EP, now available exclusively on the iTunes store. The indie darlings recorded six tracks this past September at New York’s Avatar Studios. The stripped-down session includes a completely reworked version of their hit “Holiday,” plus “A-Punk,” “Cousins,” and “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa.” The release also includes two covers: Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m Going Down,” as well as their take on The Honeycombs’ “Have I The Right.” Three horn players joined the band for the sessions, which add a new element to the band’s standard brand of music, which usually relies on the backing of a string quartet.
Vampire Weekend’s sophomore album Contra was recently nominated for a Grammy award, and is receiving some major recognition on year-end lists, including the #1 spot from New York Magazine, #4 from Jon Pareles at The New York Times, and #6 from Rolling Stone.
Contra is also sale priced on iTunes through January 4, 2011, at $7.99.
Some people believe that giving is better than receiving. It seems that Damon Albarn is firmly in this camp. Gorillaz fans got the gift of a brand new album for free on Christmas morning.
Nothing better than some shiny new tunes for the holidays. The album was written and recorded entirely on an iPad (a crazy feat in itself) while the band was on tour.
The band released all sorts of artwork and wallpaper for the new album on the days prior to Christmas. You should check it out, there’s probably something up there right now.
2010 has been a particularly good year for Frenchkiss Records’ Local Natives. Under the Radar Magazine named their album Gorilla Manor the year’s greatest debut and Daytrotter said their music evokes a feeling “that you can only attain if you’re head over heels with the very thought of maximizing all that’s in your heart.”
Local Natives surely hope to use that momentum to propel them forward in 2011, and they’ll get a chance when they play Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on January 4th. Beyond that, the band also has a remix album in the works.
Modern Mystery 
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