Blitzen Trapper: New album Destroyer of the Void due June 8th

Blitzen Trapper is a band out of the Northwest US(Portland, I believe). There last album Furr received a lot of critical praise for its forest-pop, woodsy feel. They are in with bands such as Fleet Foxes and Midlake. They are back with a new album on June 8th. If you have not checked them out yet, then you must. Here is the official video of Black River Killer, a single off their last album:

The Dead Weather: New video teaser looks creepy amazing!

The Dead Weather's new album Sea of Cowards is out May 11th. The new single Die by the Drop is out April 6th. Looks like this time around they are taking their creepiness to the next level. For being a fan of Jack White and Alison Mosshart, I was not really that into the first album and I'm not sure I"ll be into this one either, but I think I will like the video. Check out the video teaser as well as the new song:

Video Teaser:

New Single:

New Music Discovery: Memoryhouse

Memoryhouse is a new band I discovered on Spinner.com today. They are dream-pop in the same vein as Beach House. The guy does the music, the girl does the vocals and what they are creating has an even more dream like quality than Beach House and the bands like them. The sound is a washed out electronic sound, keyboards, synths, etc that has the warmth of a vinyl record. Parts of their new EP The Years even have a 'sound of the surf' quality because of the staticy, hushed white noise in the songs. Their full length album is out this spring, but you can download their new EP for free, compliments of Spinner here:

http://www.spinner.com/2010/03/26/memoryhouse-the-years-ep-free-mp3/

One of my favorites: Alison Mosshart

Alison Mosshart has been one of my favorite musicians since her second album with The Kills. She has been with 3 bands so far: Discount, The Kills and The Dead Weather. Discount was a punk band from Florida that she fronted for a few years before a break up in 2000. In that same year she moved to London and struck up a friendship Jamie Hence, who became her band mate in The Kills. The Kills have put out 3 albums between 2003 and 2008, Keep on your Mean Side, No Wow, and Midnight Boom. I was aware of The Kills with the first album but really became of true fan with their second release, No Wow. The music had a stripped down, driving blues quality that still made you want to move. Going to see The Kills live is a true rock and roll dance party. Alison commands the stage, pacing, kicking, punching her band and falling on the ground-all while growling out the lyrics. Its pretty amazing.

With Midnight Boom, they pushed the beats further and created an even more rock/dance album with tracks like Cheap and Cheerful. Around the time of this album, Alison became something of a fashion icon as well. She was featured in many fashion/culture magazines such as Nylon. She has a dirty, gritty style featuring tight jeans, leather or leopard jackets and straight mop hair cut that normally covers her eyes, giving her a dark and brooding look.

In 2009, Alison created a side project with Jack White called The Dead Weather. They recorded an album in 3 weeks, put in out there and then through together a tour. The album and tour were extremely successful, just like anything Jack white touches, but it has a rawness and spontaneity that I did not care for as much as The Kills. The first single, Hang You From the Heavens, was the one track I really liked and Alison co-wrote it.

The Dead Weather have another album out in 2010, just a year later. Alison has been working on a new Kills album as well.

If you have not given her a chance, check out these videos with The Kills and The Dead Weather:

The Kills: Last Days of Magic

The Dead Weather: Hang you from the heavens

Grace Slick, one of the most powerful voices in rock

Grace Slick is one of the most powerful and distinctive voices in rock. She was a model turned musician in the 1060's. She most famously fronted the band Jefferson Airplane. She represented a new powerful female voice in psychodelic rock music. Along with Janis Joplin, they proved the women could hang with the men, drinking, doing drugs and blazing their way through the decade. She is remembered most for songs like Somebody to Love and White Rabbit, first with the band The Great Society and then with Jefferson Airplane. Grace was in the music industry for 30 years. She was the lead singer is such bands as The Great Society, Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, Starship and solo work as well. She is now 70 years old and a painter in Mailbu, CA.

Check out this performance of White Rabbit:

Erykah Badu new album cover-It's some weird shit, but in a good way.

Erykah always has interesting cover art, not always my taste, but I love that she is such an individual. Check out her website for a listen to two new songs from the album. 10 days left before release:

www.erykahbadu.com

2010 is going to be a good year for live music

I have recently bought tickets to 3 more live shows. I'm going kind of nuts, but there are so many acts coming that I have wanted to see for a long time. I was lucky enough to see Patti Smith a few weeks ago and she lived up to every expectation I had. Now I have purchased tickets to Beach House, Cyndi Lauper and She and Him. Beach House is a new obscession for me. Their Teen Dream album really won me over and I hear they give a great show even though their music is melodic and moody. I have been a fan of Cyndi Lauper since childhood. If you grew up in the eighties, chances are, you love Cyndi. I had a chance to see her do a small set a couple years ago and was amazed at her energy, love of her fans and how much she really gave to the crowd! This will be the first time I have seen her on her own. She and Him is indie rocker M. Ward and actress Zooey Deschanel. They have an AM Gold, alt country, 70's vibe to them, and I love it. It is wonderful, lazy summer music.

Here are the dates, venues and a live clip of each act.

Beach House

April 1st-Crofoot ballroom, Pontiac MI

She and Him

June 6th-Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak MI

Cyndi Lauper

July 1st-Motor City Casino, Detroit MI

Courtney Love is a mess....but I kind of like it.

I know that everyone hates Courtney Love. She is a mess and that is true, but I still love her music and she stands as one of the last "snort it, smoke it, and fuck it" kind of rock stars. What I'm saying it that she is truly sex, drugs and rock n' roll. No one can deny the lasting status of the Hole album Live Through This, it is a Seattle grunge classic. After six years, she is finally set to release her new Hole album, Nobody's Daughter. This album was originally supposed to be a solo work and really still is since none of the original Hole members are in the new line up besides Love herself. She continues to argue that this is a new Hole. She recently did a handful of shows in the UK and Europe and the reviews of her London show were actually pretty positive(at least reported by NME). She is doing SXSW, has booked shows in LA and NYC and possibly more dates to follow. If she comes to Detroit, I'm there, just to hear some of my favorite old songs, to see an infamous rock star, but also to see what happens. With Courtney Love, you just never know.

Here is the first single of the new album, Skinny Little Bitch.

Goldfrapp's new video, "Rocket"

The new Goldfrapp single Rocket is out on March 8th. It is a really fun song that is VERY 80's. I will be curious to hear the full album later this month. Goldfrapp does some of the strongest electro-pop music around and I'm sure this album will be no exception.

Check out the new video! Allison Goldfrapp driving an 18 wheeler....sounds good to me.