The disarmingly prolific Chad VanGaalen is at it again. The Calgary based musician, animator and visual artist has gathered a selection of his charmingly bizarre images and created a 16 page, 14 x 20 cm zine called Dark Piss. The Nieves publication is limited to 150 copies and can be viewed and purchased here. You can stream and download his song “Willow Tree” at the bottom of this post. For more information on Chad visit Flemish Eye.

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Whoever is running the music department over at Adult Swim really has their shit together.
Their newest music installment for the public is
The Adult Swim Singles Program which has the network releasing 8 tracks over a span of 8 weeks.

Download all 8 tracks HERE and get any of the Adult Swim compilations on their music page.
The Chrome Children comps done in conjunction with Stones Throw are recommended.

Preview and download 2 of the 8 right here. Bam!

Cults – “Oh My God”

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Mike Bigga (aka Killer Mike) – “Swimming”

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Acephale Records is a sexy new record label hosting a good looking roster of releases. Their design aesthetic (courtesy of label co founder Rory Them Finest) and limited edition policy makes for a perfect marriage with Salem, Kingdom, Memory Cassette/Memory Tapes, Air France, CFCF, Pure Ecstasy and Midnight Juggernauts whom are the impressive line up represented by the Vancouver/Montreal/Toronto based neophytes. Stream and download You Hear Colours by CFCF at the bottom of this post. For more information visit the Acephale website or myspace page. The future looks bright.

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Remember that rad video that OK Go did on the treadmills? Well the band has a new video that’s equally as rad. The band’s latest video is for “End Love” off their 2010 release Of the Blue Colour of the Sky. I hooked up with OK Go drummer Dan Konopka to find out more about this epic video. Read what he had to say below. And while your at it, download the video for free HERE.

Hey man! How’s it going?

Very well my friend. Enjoying a little bit of time off at home.

Ok. So let’s just get right to it. This video is bananas! Who’s idea was it? Who directed it?

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With only a few shows under their belt, The Band In Heaven are here to stay. The two-piece shoegaze/dream-pop band from West Palm Beach, Florida consists of percussionist/vocalist Lauren Dwyer and partner in crime guitar/vocal/organist Ates Isildak. The duo played in Strangers Family Band for a few years but departed March of this year to start something new. They have been best friends for years and desired a musical journey that was personal together. Their need was to experiment with as much noise as possible while involving a very minimal set-up. They were driven by their love for The Velvet Underground and Spacemen 3 hence keeping songs to two and three chords at most. They layer their songs with fuzzed out texture until they are nearly unintelligible. They will soon have two cassette singles available for purchase via their website  as well as an E.P. which will have a late July or early August release. You can find downloads (which includes a Cranberries cover) and links at the bottom of this post.

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For more information on The Band In Heaven visit their website.

Gold Panda‘s journey has been a long and intermittently strange one. Initially, the essex, UK artist spent his day-job time behind the counters of various houses of ill-repute adult bookstores and record shops finding that the two were equally seedy. He spent the rest of his waking hours building up a library of original, dizzying eclectic electronic music incorporating a disparate mix of influences and source material. The results were gleaming instrumental hip-hop tracks saturated with bright colors and sublimely chopped up vocal samples. Thus, Gold Panda was born. Tour dates, label link and a download can be found at the bottom of this post.

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Gold Panda’s You EP is available now via Ghostly International. You can catch Gold Panda live supporting HEALTH and Indian Jewelry 06.25.10 at One Eyed Jack in New Orleans and 06.26.10 at Red 7 in Austin.

LP4, the new album from Mike Stroud and Evan Mast (also known as Ratatat) is their fourth for XL and was conceived following the prolific LP3 recording sessions at Old Soul Studios, in rural upstate New York. Much of this album was ultimately was recorded there as well. While the albums were born in the same studio LP4 is by no means an extension of its predecessor. The band describes it as a ‘weirder’ listen than LP3, with a much braver approach to the arrangements. Ratatat incorporated even more sounds and instruments into the mix on this album, working for the first time with a full string section, which they recorded at Glassworks Studios in Manhattan. Stream and Download the song “Party With Children” below.

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LP4 drops tomorrow (06.08.10) via XL.

Click the image to download!

I hit up Amoeba and bought some new tunes that came out recently.

Sub Pop delivered on Tuesday with albums from Male Bonding and Coco Rosie.
Download “Year’s Not Long” from Nothing Hurts and “Lemonade” from Grey Oceans.

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Sub Pop also has some new tracks from Dum Dum Girls.

Sleigh Bells dropped their first full-length.
Download “Crown On The Ground” from Treats.

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Houston’s own Indian Jewelry released a new LP.
Download “Excessive Moonlight” from Totaled.

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Dios came onto my radar recently as well.
They have a super nice record that just came out in February.
Download “Toss My Cookies” from We Are Dios.

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The Beatles Complete On Ukulele is a project started by Roger Greenawalt and Dave Barratt where to two have taken on the task of recording all 185 original Beatles songs on ukulele with the help of 185 different artists. They make available for download one new recording and essay every Tuesday for 185 weeks. The first song was released on January 20, 2009 (Inauguration Day) and the project will climax on July 31, 2012 (The eve of the London Olympics).

This week’s song is “Here Comes The Sun” featuring Holly Palmer.

Download this track and all previous covers at http://thebeatlescompleteonukulele.blogspot.com/

I checked in with Dave to get a little insight into their project.
Read the interview below.

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After director Tamra Davis befriended Jean-Michel Basquiat in the 80′s she joined an elite group of people who got the chance to film the artist.

After his death, Davis put her reels of film away and left them hidden for 20 years.

Now in association with Arthouse Films, Davis’ footage has become a feature-length documentary entitled Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child.

Watch the trailer and get show dates below.

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More music and a video from Sebastian Grainger and Josh Reichmann’s Bad Tits.

Time for another installment of City by City. Fucked Up‘s leading force Damian Abraham was born and raised in the city of Toronto, Ontario. He lets us on where to eat, where to shop for records and what the percentage of douche baggery might be.

“I love Toronto. I have lived here my whole life (minus one year spent in England). Through my touring in a band, I have had a chance to visit many other amazing cities all over the world and while I have enjoyed spending time in a number of them, I can’t imagine living anywhere else.

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If you are in Los Angeles come out and support the latest show, Transplants at THIS.

Transplants will be showcasing 10 renowned and award winning photographers, living and working in Los Angeles, but born and raised elsewhere.
This show is in conjunction with MOPLA.

Transplants opens tonight, 4/30/10 from 7-10pm and runs through 5/14/10.

You can preview images from the show here.
View map for directions.

Featured artists:

Adam Amengual

Aaron Farley

Amanda Friedman

Sian Kennedy

Liz Kuball

Chris McPherson

Scott Pommier

Ryan Schude

Emily Shur

Claire Weiss

Jeremy Weiss

Madlib is back with another installment from his Medicine Show series. This time the collection showcases some of the artist’s earliest works. In CD format, #5 comes with 34 tracks and a 12 page booklet / comic and clocks in at 64 minutes. The LP comes on 3 slabs of vinyl with 34 tracks plus a 10 track bonus CD. It’s a limited edition run which will be numbered and the cover will be individually screened by Hit + Run. It clocks in at 94 minutes. Below, stream and download two tracks from Medicine Show #5: The History Of The Loop Digga, 1990 – 2000.

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Medicine Show #5 drops 25.05.10 via Stones Throw.

Sleigh Bells are on fire. They’re hair tossing their way around the globe and as a result, manifesting huge anticipation of their debut release, Treats. Stream and download their newest offering, below.

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Treats is available 05.11.10 via Mom + Pop and N.E.E.T.

Last we heard from NYC duo The Books was when they released this 2006 EP. We can look forward to some new material from them this summer. Stream and download a selection from their forthcoming release The Way Out, below.

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The Way Out drops this July via Temporary Residence

Toronto’s Fucked Up revealed a track on their blog yesterday. “Here Lies Are” will be one side of a split 12″ they are sharing with Sarena-Maneesh. Stream and download the track below.

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The split 12″ is to be released on Norway’s Best of Both Worlds label sometime in the near future.

Experimental film maker, photographer and writer Richard Kern is coming to Canada. Studio Gallery proudly presents Kern’s first solo exhibition in Canada and his first full-career retrospective. The show will document works by the artist spanning the last twenty years. From his early films which were central to the Cinema of Transgression movement, to photographs from the 90′s which illustrate the early stages of his voyeuristic style of photography. Full details and information below. This show looks legendary.

Duration of Exhibition: 05.01.10 – 05.30.10

Opening Reception:
Saturday, 05.01.10 – 6:00 – 11:00 pm
Kern will be in attendance. This will be a free event.
Please RSVP for the opening reception by email to avery@studio.to or call 416-832-393

Artist Talk and Book Signing:
Sunday, 05.02.10.  7:00 – 9:00 pm
This evening will include a conversation between Bruce La Bruce and Richard Kern with a Q&A to follow.
$10 admission. Books will be available for purchase.

First Film Screening: Saturday, 05.15.10. 7:00 – 10:00 pm
$5 admission. Includes full exhibition and curator introduction.

Second Film Screening: Saturday, 05.22.10. 7:00 – 10:00 pm
$5 admission. Includes full exhibition and curator introduction.

Here is more info on this show.

Our friends Abby Portner, Jeremy & Claire Weiss and a slew of other artists are a part of a new book called Smoke Bath which has been curated by Peter Sutherland to help raise money for The Fresh Air Fund. Here’s what it’s all about:

“Smoke Bath is a collection of photographs and art work loosely based on the theme of camping/ nature/ exploring. The Fresh Air Fund is an independent, not-for-profit agency that provides free summer vacations to New York City children from low-income communities. The goal of smoke bath is to showcase the work of artists that are inspired by nature and raise money for freshair.org in the process.”

Smoke Bath is available here for only $25 or you can just straight up donate.
All proceeds go to to freshair.org.

Well it’s about fucking time.

If you are a fan of Autolux it probably seems like it’s been… oh, 6 years since their
last release… that’s because it was.

It’s official now.
The new Autolux LP Transit Transit is slated to release on August 3rd on tdb.
I know this because I got an email with only this jpeg attached.

You can sign up for their sometimes mysterious messages at autolux.net or just check in on their myspace page.

Here’s the first single off Transit Transit: “Audience No. 2″

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I tracked down a few Autolux b-sides which you can download HERE.
And if you don’t have Demonstration, Autolux’s sold out first EP,
you can download HERE.

And just for fun, here’s the video for “Turnstile Blues” from Nigel Godrich’s From the Basement.

Shigeto’s grandmother was a prisoner in her own country, locked in a Japanese internment camp in the US. Half a century later, her diminutive, half-Japanese grandson (real name Zach Saginaw) fought to forge his own identity as a musician and bi-racial American. He ultimately took on the name Shigeto (his middle name) as a tribute to his great grandfather.

Below, stream the track “Bakers Blunt Basics” from Semi Circle EP. Stream and download remixes by the artist of  Mux Wool and Tycho tracks.

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Semi Circle EP is available now via Ghostly International.

The folks at Bad Day Magazine are pleased to announce their launch of Issue 7 in New York City. The jammy jam goes down tonite (04.23.10) at White Slab Palace, at 10pm. Music will be provided by Leo Fitzpatrick and Andrew Kuo. A limited edition offset litho poster by Ari Marcopoulous will be given away with copies purchased, so get there early. Fun!

Tonight in Los Angeles!

THIS presents a night of short films from Six Stair including Blood Shed.
Friday, April 23rd from 8-10pm

You don’t have to B.Y.O.B but you should B.Y.O.C (bring your own chair).

More Six Stair shorts HERE.

There isn’t much information available on CEO but the brief video entitled “Prologue” seems to feature Tough Alliance‘s Erik Berglund. Whether it’s a snippet from a song of the same name or a “commercial” for what or whoever CEO are is unclear. The video was posted by Modular People, so perhaps they’ll break the silence eventually. Keep it coming mystery dude(s), I’m diggin’ it.

What happens when you combine two grown men with feelings, the possibilities of time travel and the power of the spiritual world? You get Bad Tits, that’s what you get. Josh Reichmann and Sebastien Grainger are the colloquial expression intended to express misfortune. The band was born during the garbage workers strike in Toronto last summer so naturally, they have called their upcoming release Garbage Night. Reichmann (ex Tangiers) and Grainger (ex Death From Above 1979) come from a background of experimentation and a love of pop. They also have a wicked sense of humor. Stream the songs “No Skin” and “Reincarnate Yourself” below.

Mome (an archiac term for a fool or a blockhead) is a comic quarterly edited by Eric Reynolds and publishd by Fantagraphics Books. Delivering quality graphic fare since the Summer of 2005, Mome has featured the work of Archer Prewitt, Paul Hornschemeier, Dash Shaw, Sophie Crumb, Martin Cendreda, Ray Fenwick, Laura Park and John Hankiewicz amongst many others. The new volume includes the first new comic in several years by Dave Cooper as well as work by Tim Lane, Ben Jones and T. Edward Bak, to name a few. More details and examples at the bottom of this post. Vol.18 should be out any day now and fuck, it looks good.

Cruise the pages of Vol. 18 here. Subscribe to Mome here.

Children Of Clay is a skateboard themed film shot on super 8 and created by artist and photographer Jon Bocksel. The results were edited from hours of footage during skate sessions in New York City, Philly, San Fransisco and Chicago. It’s a 10 minute short film, limited to 50 copies on DVD format and comes packaged with a hand silk screened cover. Summertime inspiration. Perfect. Get one before they’re gone.

Travis Millard & Mel Kadel are living the dream: They live in a log cabin in Los Angeles and basically crank out amazing art all day long. Not a bad gig if you ask me. I caught up with the two to get a little insight into their work and see what’s new.

Hey guys! How’s it going?

Travis: Pretty terrible! I just put some of Mel’s fancy lotion on my arms and didn’t realize it was loaded with a glittery substance… now I’m glistening. What do I do?

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Holy Fuck, a band “formed with the intent of creating the equivalent of modern electronic music without actually using the techniques” are back. After announcing their forthcoming record Latin on the wiener-riddled website known as Chatroulette, they followed by giving away the albums single “Latin America” for free. Pre order Latin here or here and receive a small batch of bonus tracks. Stream a few more selections from Latin, below.

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Latin drops via Rough Trade 10.05.10 and via Beggars 11.05.10

Lullabye Arkestra are vets of the Rock n Roll game. They live, breathe, eat and fuck Rock n Roll. The Toronto husband and wife duo, Justin Small (also of Do Make Say Think) and Katia Taylor manifested their soul/metal beast almost a decade ago. Since it’s inception, it grew from a duo of drum kit and bass guitar to a full on sprawling Arkestra that included trumpets and a drunken choir. They have since come full circle recording and performing once again, as a duo in love. Their latest adventure in sonic attack, Threats/Worship, comes to you via Vice. Stream their track “Demon Eater” and read some of Justin’s favorite things, below. View their “Icy Hands” video at the bottom of this post.

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Mucho thanks to Claire Sloan for letting us use her photo for this mixtape installment.

Click the image to download!

I didn’t walk away with much data after raking the Sleep ∞ Over Myspace page. I suppose the all girl synth dream/drone trio likes to play it mysterious. I first sampled their music when a track popped up on one of the Shake Some Action mix tapes. Stream the track Your World Is Night below.

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A lot can happen in a year. Since posting this message on her Myspace page almost one year to the day, one time Pochahaunted member Bethany Cosentino has been frackin’ busy. Under the name Best Coast, she has been writing her crunchy sun drenched jams (2 of which are streaming at the bottom of this post), recording them, releasing them a few at a time and playing them live on tour. Sounds about right. Below, Bethany shares her thoughts on east vs west coast, Seinfeld and Bobb Bruno’s big fat crush.

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North Drive Press are a series of box sets containing selective works by top notch contemporary artists. Sadly, Number 5 will be it’s last.  Like the ones that came before, North Drive Press 5 is limited edition, this time to 500. So get your stinking paws on one. It looks pretty bad ass.

The occasionally noisy, always head bop inducing Brooklyn duo known as Sleigh Bells, are Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss. With history as one part Teeny Pop (Alexis once sported a role in the all girl pop group RubyBlue) and one part South Florida Post-Hardcore (once upon a time Derek shredded guitar in Poison The Well) one would think these two would be the last found together making music. We’re glad they did. Derek check’s in mid-tour, from Buffalo New York.

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Millenial Reign promised themselves existence several years ago. Old school homies Damian Abraham (of Fucked Up) and Jordan Posner (ex No Warning) became Millenial Reign 5 years prior to their (soon to be released) A389 Bones…Dust…Nothing 7″. While you’re waiting to get your hands on a physical copy, sample the track Luminous Veil below and if you’re in the neighborhood, Do The Math with Damian.

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For those of us who grew up with hip-hop it isn’t hard to see (hear) that the genre has… well… changed. And not for the better.
But then someone comes along every once in a while that reminds me why I love hip-hop and how good it can actually be.

I give you the most recent someones: Das Racist.

I recently interviewed Aakash Nihalani who did the album art for the Das Racist mixtape, Shut Up, Dude and actually turned me on to the group.
The Brooklyn, NY hip-hop trio consists of MC’s Victor Vasquez and Himanshu Suri and their hype man Dap aka Ashok Kondabolu. I downloaded the mixtape for free from their myspace page and was instantly blown away by the first track “Who’s That? Brooown!” which samples A Tribe Called Quest’s classic “Scenario” and showcases DR’s laid back, lazy flow on top of a droning 808 beat. As I continued to listen, it became evident that Das Racist was able to generate humor with songs like “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell” and “Fake Patois” where they rhyme about fake patois in a fake jamaican patois no less. They drop some serious word association rhymes on “Nutmeg” and show their skills on my personal favorites “Shorty Said” and “You Oughta Know” which samples Billy Joel’s “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)“.

Some have lacked the playfulness to appreciate songs like “Combination” – like The New Yorker for instance – but I don’t think this is going to slow these guys down.
After listening to Das Racist for three days in a row it was obvious to me that I had to track them down and find out more about these guys.

Peep the interview below and check out some mp3s and the video for “Shorty Said”.
Download Shut Up, Dude right HERE. right HERE. right HERE.

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J Dilla had an epic career in the short time that he was with us. Stussy has put together a three part documentary about the Stones Throw artist. Learn a bit and/or reminisce about the creator of some of the illest tracks ever made.
Check all 3 videos below.

The J Dilla Serato release, Donut Shop will be released May 10th but you should probably pre-order your copy from Stones Throw HERE… right now.

Donut Shop is:
*2 discs with six J Dilla tracks
*2 sides with Serato Control Tone (for use with Serato Scratch Live DJ software)
*2 donut slipmats in a package designed by Studio No.1.

Check out “Safety Dance” from Donut Shop.

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Time for another installment of City by City, where artists we love educate us on the city in which they live. Here is what our good man McKenzie Smith of Midlake had to say about Denton, Texas:

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