Now Streaming: Hear New CDs from Savages, She & Him, Natalie Maines, & More

M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel are back with their third non-holiday album as the duo She & Him, creatively called "Volume 3," and it's one of the new releases streaming online this week. Also streaming is the new solo album by Natalie Maines, former lead singer of the Dixie Chicks, the debut album by all-female British band Savages, and others.

On a related note, there may be fewer albums being streamed each week as the result of AOL's decision to close down AOL Music and its Spinner component. Even sadder than the loss of the music content is the fact that all the employees lost their jobs. Maybe other websites will pick up the slack, in terms of streaming and in hiring some of the now-former AOLers.

[Updated May 2nd: Patty Griffin added.]
[Updated May 1st: see below to stream new releases from Fleetwood Mac and The Boxer Rebellion.]




"Silence Yourself" by Savages (below)


iTunes:
"Promises" by The Boxer Rebellion

WSJ Music Journal:
"American Kid" by Patty Griffin

NPR First Listen:
"Extended Play" EP by Fleetwood Mac [streaming for a limited time] 
"Volume 3" by She & Him
"Mother" by Natalie Maines
"MCII" by Mikal Cronin
"Sera" by La Vida Boheme

KCRW Album Preview: 
"Bigfoot" by Cayucas
"Haunted Head" by Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds

 Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"The Still Life" by Alessi's Ark
"The Yesterday Will Never End" by Hawk and Dove
"Iron Man 3 Original Sountrack" by various artists (including Imagine Dragons, Neon Trees, Passion Pit, and Rogue Wave)

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"Small Town Talk" by Shannon McNally feat. Dr. John

Now Streaming: Hear New CDs from Meat Puppets, Kim Richey, Amy Speace, & More

The Meat Puppets' "Rat Farm" is one of the new albums streaming this week.

Here's a brief (and quite late) post here on some of the new albums streaming online this week. At least you've got a few more days to enjoy these.

Among the items of interest is a new album by the Meat Puppets, who started out as a punk band in 1980 and influenced many bands including Nirvana.

Nick Drake lives on in a new collection of his songs covered by artists including Teddy Thompson and Lisa Hannigan, and Robyn Hitchcock. The collection was put together by Joe Boyd, one of Drake's producers, and was culled from several years of live "Way to Blue" concerts that Boyd put on around the world over a period of years.

And there's a new album by one of my favorite singer-songwriters, Kim Richey. In addition to putting out a number of her own discs, Richey has seen her songs covered by a range of artists, including Brooks & Dunn, which had a hit with their version of her "Every River." (Another talented female singer-songwriter, Amy Speace, also has a new album that's streaming this week; see below.)

Fire up your web browser and enjoy!

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Top of the Pops" by Art Brut
"Way to Blue: The Songs of Nick Drake" by various artists
"Death" EP by Bloody Knives
"Rat Farm" by Meat Puppets
"Love Me, Love Me Not" EP by Ariana & the Rose
"As It Is On Earth" by Spacehog
"Weekend" by Underground Lovers

NPR First Listen:
"Sing To The Moon" by Laura Mvula
"Love Has Come For You" by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell
"Twelve Reasons To Die" by Ghostface Killah and Adrian Younge
"The Secret Will Keep You" by Brass Bed
"You Knew" by Mother Falcon

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"How to Sleep in a Stormy Boat" by Amy Speace
"Thorn In My Heart" by Kim Richey
"Something Beautiful" by Oleander
"Stairway to Hell" by Ugly Kid Joe
"Stories" by The Bunny the Bear

Coachella 2013: Streaming Live Now!

If you aren't at Coachella, no problem: once again, the huge (and hugely popular) California music festival is offering a generous amount of its performances via live streaming on YouTube.

There are three separate channels you can watch, so at times you'll have to choose which of the overlapping acts playing at the same time you want to see—hey, just like being there! (Although you can easily switch from one channel to another, as opposed to running back and forth from stage to stage.

Watch live sets from Coachella 2013 this weekend. See Friday's schedule below.

 Head on over to the Coachella YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/coachella, starting at 3:30 p.m. Pacific time (6:30 Eastern) and settle in for a long weekend of live sets from acts like Beach House, Purity Ring, Earl Sweatshirt, Bat for Lashes, The xx, New Order, Jessie Ware, Cloud Nothings, Wu-Tang Clan, and Dead Can Dance.

Friday's schedule (all times Pacific):
3:30 p.m. – Jake Bugg
3:30 – Stars
3:30 – Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra
4:20 – Johnny Marr
4:30 – Beardyman
4:35 – Divine Fits
5:20 – Alt-J
5:20 – Metric
5:20 – Polica
6:10 – Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry
6:10 – Passion Pit
6:25 – Palma Violets
7:00 – Japandroids
7:00 – Local Natives
7:25 – Jello Biafra
7:50 – Sparks
7:50 – Of Monsters and Men
8:40 – Beach House
9:30 – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
9:45 – Purity Ring
10:10 – Grinderman
10:35 – Infected Mushroom
11:15 – Jurassic 5
11:25 – Foals
11:40 – The Stone Roses (highlights)
12:10 a.m. – Tegan & Sara
12:10 – How to Destroy Angels
12:15 — Earl Sweatshirt

Now Streaming: Hear New CDs from The Flaming Lips, Iron & Wine, Todd Rundgren, & More

One of rock's most legendary musicians/songwriters/producers, Todd Rundgren, has a new album coming out, and that's just one of the free streaming albums available for you to listen to this week. The Flaming Lips haven't been around as long as Rundgren (they have a mere 30 years of music making under their belts), but they also have a new album that's attracting a lot of interest.

Also of interest this week is the new album by singer-songwriter Iron and Wine, the latest from the rocking Portland trio The Thermals (who are great in concert), and a 10-year retrospective from Canada's Arts and Crafts label, a double album featuring songs and artists that have put that indie company on the map: Broken Social Scene, Feist, The Stills, Stars, The Dears, Dan Mangan, and Ra Ra Riot. (See the full track list here.)

And there's a disc by The Shouting Matches, the blues-rock side project by Bon Iver's Justin Vernon.



Pitchfork Advance: 
"Desperate Ground" by The Thermals
"Floating Coffin" by Thee Oh Sees

NPR First Listen:
"The Terror" by The Flaming Lips
"Inspiration Information/Wings Of Love" by Shuggie Otis
"Grownass Man" by The Shouting Matches
"Ghost On Ghost" by Iron and Wine

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"State" by Todd Rundgren
"Beyond Was All Around Me" by Young Man
"The Boat of the Fragile Mind" by Belle Mare
"Henry Blak" EP by Henry Blak
"Electric Sounds" by Sad Baby Wolf
"Arts & Crafts: 2003-2013" by various artists

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"42: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" by various artists
"Stars In Stereo" by Stars In Stereo
"Talking Underwater" by Kree Woods

ChickFactor 21 Shows On Sale Now

A brief update on some great upcoming shows: Last year, the long-running zine ChickFactor celebrated its 20th anniversary with a series of shows around the country, including a number in the New York area.

ChickFactor celebrates 21 years with shows in Brooklyn; see info below.

Now that ChickFactor is a legal adult at 21, its celebrating again with ChickFactor 21, a three-night stand at the Bell House in Brooklyn. The shows take place June 11th, 12th, and 13th (Tuesday through Thursday), and tickets went on sale today. ChickFactor says they're going fast, so if you're interested you'll want to act soon. Here's the lineup for each night (see brief descriptions and links to tickets here). Oh, and the website says there will be special guests each night.

• June 11th: Lilys, The Cannanes, Versus, and Rose Melberg
• June 12th: Future Bible Heroes, The Aluminum Group, Honey Bunch, and True Love Always
• June 13th: The Pastels, Dump (featuring Yo La Tengo's James McNew), Jim Ruiz Set, and Lois

These are some great pop groups, some of which either don't play out very often or didn't perform in years before last year's ChickFactor shows. Get your tickets today if you're interested.

Concert Notes: Tickets for Governors Ball, Phoenix, Depeche Mode, & More On Sale Now (or Soon)

 See below for links to tickets for the Governors Ball and other concerts.

The summer music scene is taking shape, with tickets for one of the season's big festivals, the Governors Ball, going on sale today (the festival takes place early, the first weekend in June). The graphic above shows who's appearing, and as you'd expect tickets are going fast: three-day passes are already sold out, but single-day tickets are still available.

See links below for tickets to the Governors Ball and other shows. All went on sale Friday, April 5th, except where noted.

* Serena Ryder at Bowery Ballroom, Mon., May 6th.

* Aaron Freeman (former lead singer of Ween) at Music Hall of Williamsburg, Fri., May 10th. 

* Filligar plus Midnight Spin at the Gramercy Theatre, Sat., June 1st.

* Governors Ball Music Festival, Randall's Island, June 6th, 7th, and 8th.

* Subhumans at Bowery Ballroom, Sat., June 15th, and at Music Hall of Williamsburg, Sun., June 16th.

* Rancid at Terminal 5, Thurs., June 20th and Fri., June 21st.

* Fitz and the Tantrums at Irving Plaza, Sun., June 30th.

* Rachael Yamagata at Bowery Ballroom, Sat., July 13th.

* Depeche Mode at the Barclays Center, with Bat for Lashes, Fri., Sept. 6th, and at Nikon for Jones Beach Theatre, Sun., Sept. 8th. Both shows on sale Sat., April 6th, 10 a.m.

* Phoenix at the Barclays Center, Wed., Oct. 2nd. (May 13th show at the Apollo is sold out.)

Now Streaming: Hear New CDs from Black Angels, Mudhoney, Kurt Vile, Drowning Pool, & More

There are some great new albums streaming online this week, from newer acts like Kurt Vile and Kopecky Family Band to more established groups such as Drowning Pool, The Black Angels, and Cold War Kids, and even the return album by Mudhoney, one of the original grunge bands from Seattle.



And speaking of older artists, also streaming this week is the remastered version of Albert King's blues classic, "Born Under A Bad Sign," which was originally released in the late 1960s. Yes, the title tune is the song that Cream made famous, but King did it first. What's more, King is backed on this album by a stellar group of musicians in the form of Booker T. & The MG’s, including Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper, and Donald “Duck” Dunn.

Another notable release streaming this week is the latest album from the Brooklyn-based folk/indie/Americana collective Hem, its first album of original new songs since 2006 (unless you count their soundtrack for the 2009 Public Theater production of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night," which was performed in Central Park).

And Pitchfork has two tasty albums: the new release from Canadian indie rockers The Besnard Lakes and "Rkives," the anthology from the late great Rilo Kiley.

There are many more albums streaming this week; see the links below to NPR Music, Spinner, and AOL Music for the full listings. Enjoy!

NPR First Listen:
"Wakin On a Pretty Daze" by Kurt Vile
"(Awayland)" by Villagers

Pitchfork:
"Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO" by The Besnard Lakes
"Rkives" by Rilo Kiley

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Dear Miss Lonelyhearts" by Cold War Kids
"My Shame Is True" by Alkaline Trio
"Kids Raising Kids" by Kopecky Family Band
"Migrant" by The Dear Hunter
"Vanishing Point" by Mudhoney
"Indigo Meadow" by The Black Angels
"The Music Is You: A Tribute To John Denver" by various artists
"Born Under A Bad Sign" by Albert King

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"Resilience" by Drowning Pool
"Departure and Farewell" by Hem