The Open Door EP for 99 cents

Buy Death Cab for Cutie's The Open Door EP for only $0.99 at amazon. Today (5/30) only.

Wilco and Crocodiles

You can download Wilco's Oxford, MS show here. Thanks to Hunter for that info.

Also, Fat Possum's Crocodiles made their TV debut. You can watch it here.

Music You Need

Phoenix, a french alternative outfit, has released a literal gem of an album in their 2009 release Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. The album provides a refreshing glance away from the current indie darlings of noise-pop, lo-fi prose, and electro art jam. While Phoenix has a taste of each of these, Thomas Mars vocals always leads me down a more melodic path that seems to place me somewhere in my musical past. Wherever the music takes you, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is moving forward as one of this years best. The following is track 1 of the album.

Phoenix - "Lizstomania"

Cheap buy and News

As today (5/26) closes down, I recommend heading over to Amazon's mp3 store and getting Grizzly Bear's new album Veckatimest for just a measly $3.99.

In other news, Jack White has had a busy week. The Dead Weather has released a new song entitled "Treat Me Like Your Mother" which can be heard below. The song will be featured on The Dead Weather's forthcoming debut Horehound which will be released on July 14. Also, Meg White and Raconteurs/Dead Weather bassist Jack Lawrence held a dual wedding, not to each other, in Jack White's backyard.

Yeah Yeah Yeah's released a video for the song "Heads Will Roll" which was featured on this years release It's Blitz!


Finally, we here at Grit Music would like to wish a final farewell to Jay Bennett. Bennett was a Chicago native and significant contributing member of Wilco. He was found dead in his home Sunday morning at the age of 45. Bennett's work helped establish Wilco as a national act with contributions to albums like "Being There" and "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot." Despite Bennett's departure from the band in early 2002, his influence lived on in Wilco's music. Bennett will certainly be missed.

Taste of Stream

Spinner offers up full streams of the new Phoenix and Grizzly Bear albums as well as a 1984 Nick Cave reissue on this memorial day week. Enjoy here.

Beat the Heat Summer Beach Beats Post

Here's a little list of some stuff that should fit just right on your beach retreat. Right-click the tracks and 'Save Target As...' or 'Save Link As...' to download them. Enjoy.

Wale(pronounced WAH-lay) - "W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E."
Jay-Z feat. Beanie Segal - "Glock Nines (Ratatat Remix)"
The Hood Internet - "Two Weeks of Hip Hop (Grizzly Bear vs. Dead Prez)"
Major Lazer (feat. Santigold) - "Hold the Line (LehtMoJoe Remix)"
Kid Cudi - "Day 'N' Nite"
Rick Ross - "Maybach Music 2 (Feat. T-Pain, Lil Wayne and Kanye West)"
Peter, Bjorn & John - "Nothing To Worry About"
The Pharcyde - "Ya Mama"
Clipse feat. Kanye West - "Kinda Like A Big Deal"
Kid Cudi - "I Poke Her Face (ft Kanye West & Common)"
New Villager - "Rich Doors"
BBU - "Chi Don't Dance"

Cats Meow: Summer Series I

Our pal Sam M. Lane has mastered the art of truly creating mixes and finally defining what one is. A playlist is often referred to as one of these, but it's not until the songs flow together seamlessly that one would say that you have a proper mix on your hands. Cats Meow is the over-arching name of what he's doing. The name comes from 'Cats Purring', which is the label created by Dent May. Cats Meow is a collection of mixes that offer a vague idea of the tunes(meows) that we might enjoy for the upcoming Summer season. It is in no way all-inclusive, and for sure, not a 'best of' list. Nor is it a list of 'favorites.' Rather each arrangement is a collection of songs that one guy, Sam-o, thinks fit well together. He don't claim to be a "DJ." As of Cats Meow: Summer Series I, there aren't any Cats Purring artists in the first mix, and being that the mix was created by one guy, it's not a true collective effort. But it gets an idea across. The collections are just records that Sam-o might put on for a group trying to enjoy themselves, each other, and the time. Cats Meow is not an artistic endeavor. It is only arrangements of music meant to work, relax, walk, run, love and hate to. Idling is cool too, but not ambivalence. This began with a Summer Series. The subtitle and sensibility will vary with the season, for instance, in Winter they'll be called Ice Block I, Ice Block II, etc., but as a whole, they are Cats Meow.

Sam-o thanks Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, tUnE-yArDs, Liars, The Zombies, Macha, Margo Guryan, Antena, and Animal Collective for their music. Also, he thinks that no one should consider this stealing.

Download Sam-o's first mix of the Cats Meow series for free - Cats Meow: Summer Series I.

Modest Mouse Debuts New Song and New Video

Listen to Modest Mouse's excellent new track "Guilty Cocker Spaniels" here. Also, here is a new video from the band for their song "Satellite Skin".
Satellite Skin

5/19 New Releases

John Vanderslice - Romanian Names stream










Passion Pit - Manners stream










White Rabbits - It's Frightening stream










Iron and Wine - Around the Well stream










Eminem - Relapse stream










...also Danger Mouse and Sparkhorse's much whined about collaborative effort, Dark Night of the Soul, with director David Lynch isn't due out until July, but can be streamed here for free.

Stream Passion Pit's new release

Stream Passion Pit's new album Manners as well as a Nick Cave reissue here.

Free Coldplay Live Album

Go here for a free copy of Coldplay's newest live release LeftRightLeftRightLeft. Track listing above.

Stream new Wilco album!!

Wilco's upcoming release Wilco (The Album) due out June 30th via Nonesuch Records is available for stream here. The track listing for the album is as follows:

Wilco (the song)
Deeper Down
One Wing
Bull Black Nova
You And I
You Never Know
Country Disappeared
Solitaire
I'll Fight
Sonny Feeling
Everlasting Everything

Special thanks to Nathan Ross for the tip. Also, check out a song that's available for download off the new album: Wilco - "Bull Black Nova"

Exclusive Listen! John Vanderslice

John Vanderslice's new album Romanian Names is available for an exclusive first stream at NPR. This is Vanderslice's first venture outside of his home analog recording studio. For a taste of Vanderslice, visit our past post on him.

Did you catch The Killers?

I have not paid much attention to The Killers since Hot Fuss, but I was impressed with their performance on Letterman the other night. I have not heard any songs off of Day & Age other than "Human," but if they are consciously moving in a cyclical fashion back towards their Hot Fuss days then I may start paying attention. "A Dustland Fairytale" is a step in the right direction.

Lands & Peoples

Lands & Peoples is a great 3-piece band that hails from Baltimore, Maryland with some roots in our very own Oxford, MS being that two of their members, Caleb Moore and Beau Cole, once called Oxford home. We're always pleased and eager to help out our talented local folk. To take from some of the silly musical hipster crazed jargon, their songs are very atmospheric and include excellent layering in their harmonies. As ambiguous and vague as that sounds, it's the truth. The vocals on most of the tracks are amazingly haunting with reverb laced howls that sound as though they come from somewhere off in the distance. The songs saunter around on their merry way with hazy electronic drum beats making way for unhurried and precise guitars. In 2008, they released The Ampersand EP and are currently playing local shows while working on more tracks. Keep an eye on this band and expect greatness. Posted below are two tracks, "Awake" and "Isabella".

Lands & Peoples - "Awake"
Lands & Peoples - "Isabella"

Christian Beshore opens up his "Sad Sack"

Our cigar box strumming Pennsylvania friend Christian Beshore has dropped his debut album Sad Sack and you can have it for FREE!! All the blues necessary for dropping what you're doing and starting up a late night romp on your front porch can be yours for nothing. Just head on over to http://christianbeshore.com and download.

A 'Lil White Stripes Update

Per pitchfork.com:

Finally, some good news about the White Stripes. In an interview with Music Radar that went up yesterday, Jack White talks about Meg's acute anxiety, which cut short their 2007 tour ("[it] was a very real problem, but one that I'm happy to say is in the past"), White Stripes breakup rumors ("nothing of the sort"), and when we can expect the next WS record ("It won't be too far off. Maybe next year."). He also says that the band has already recorded "a couple" of new songs at his home studio. Read the whole story over at Music Radar.

While he gets ready to go back into the studio with Meg later this year, Jack is busy doing two or three billion other things, including touring behind his new band the Dead Weather's upcoming debut LP, preparing a live White Stripes DVD, and producing a bunch of artists on his Third Man label. He's also practicing his musical saw skills.

Free Joe Pug and Tent Revival

Joe Pug has released a free live recording of one of his shows. You can check out our write-up of Joe here. The free recording is available at http://www.archive.org/details/joepug2009-05-01.aud.flac16.

Also our friend Owen Beverly and his new band Tent Revival are giving away a free five song EP. You can download it for free by clicking here.

New Link for Dead Gaze Record

Go here or to the widget on the right to download Dead Gaze's record The Pride of Calling Panther Lake!. It's a new link so check it out. Also, he's garnered another plug at http://fuckinginthestreet.co.uk/. Check out our write up on Dead Gaze here.

Also, be sure to check out Animal Collective on Letterman tonight!

Jubilee Jam Line-Up

Jubilee Jam, Jackson's most famous and beloved music festival, will take place June 19 and 20 in downtown Jackson. The line-up is full of genre conflicts proving that the y'all in "Jam Y'all" really is all inclusive. As my friend said, "that is a very Jubilee Jam line-up," which basically means it has a few highlights thrown in a mix of past greats and present terribles. Here is the lineup:

Friday
Carolina Liar
Medeski, Martin, & Wood
Guster
JJ Grey & Mofro
Daddy (Will Kimbrough and Tommy Womack)

Saturday
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
Drowning Pool
David Banner
Koko Taylor & Her Blues Machine
Tantric
Dickey Betts & Great Southern
Blue Mountain
Dead Confederate

Jam Y'ALL!

Must See TV

Again, apologies for the lack of posting as of late. We're all in the midst of heavy school workloads, but we'll be back to regular posts very soon. A quick note on what's sure to be a good night of musical performances on late night television. Scheduled for tonight (5/6), The National will be on Jimmy Fallon, Van Morrison will be on Leno, and Ben Harper and the Relentless7 will be on Letterman. Set your TiVos and DVRs.

New Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band plan to release their second album Outer South tomorrow on Merge Records. We have posted a few of the songs off of the album in the past but I do not know too much about the album in its entirety. Apparently Oberst handed over the song-writing reins on a few of the songs which gives me a sense of appreshension, but it will no doubt make its way into my iTunes in the next few days.  You can listen to the entire album here as well as full streams from St. Vincent and PEACHES.  

Something to hear

While all three members of the Grit Music team prepare for finals, we felt it was important to provide something to appease your listening sensations this week. Hopefully we will each garner enough time for a few posts, but if not, have no fear. The summer will be lush with music updates, concert breakdowns, and CD release synopses. Also, look for Adam to post a summer hits mix in the coming weeks complete with all the music you will need to keep cool or sweat your way through the summer.
I wanted to give a heads-up on an album that I think needs some of your attention. Paper Route, a Nashville indie band formed in 2004, released only their second full length album, Absence, last week. Much of Absence sounds like a modern day band backed by Depeche Mode while some songs give me a Postal Service taste. An obvious rock feel lingers at the forefront of the album, but that 80's dark electro sound dwells in the background waiting to expose itself. "Wish," "Carousel," and "Enemy Among Us" give the album a very strong start, and although the album wains a bit in the middle, I think that you will find the album very enjoyable. The song "Are We All Forgotten" has been added to the playlist and you can check out more of their music at their myspace page. The album is available for $7.99 at amazon.