2015 CMJ Music Marathon Now Underway in NYC! Ideas on Who to See

See below for recommendations on what to see at CMJ 2015.

The five-day live-music extravaganza known as CMJ is on again! The annual CMJ Music Marathon, now in its 35th year, started today and runs through this Saturday, Oct. 17th. Besides multiple official showcases each night in a range of venues in Manhattan and Brooklyn, there are day parties as well at some of the same venues, sometimes starting as early as 11 a.m. Plus there are numerous unofficial shows.

So what should you see? Begin by going to the CMJ Music Marathon website. Then download the official CMJ mobile app, available for iOS and Android. With the app, you can listen to bands, read their bios, connect with their social-media accounts, and, of course, discover where they're playing at CMJ. Wondering which bands you'll like? The app's "Recommender" feature connects with your Facebook account to suggest artists that might be right up your alley.

Speaking of recommendations, here are some suggestions from the music blogosphere on who to catch:

• CMJ staff picks
• The Oh My Rockness guide to official CMJ 2015 shows
• OMR's 15 bands to see at CMJ (with Spotify playlist)
• L.A. radio station KCRW's seven amazing bands to catch (with Spotify playlist)
• England's influential magazine NME tells you the 15 bands playing CMJ that everyone's going to be talking about

Some of the names that show up on a number of must-see acts: Protomartyr, Car Seat Headrest, Diet Cig, The Big Moon, Methyl Ethel, The Gotobeds, Dilly Dally, Perfect Pussy, and Hooton Tennis Club, to name a handful.



Among the events we're looking forward to seeing:

• The Outlaw Roadshow, put together by Ryan Spaulding (of RSLblog.com) and Adam Duritz (of Counting Crows), which runs Thursday through Saturday at Bowery Electric (doors at 6 p.m.) See what we wrote before last year's CMJ Outlaw Roadshow
• the Kiam Records showcase Wednesday at Brooklyn's Union Pool, featuring label-mates including Jennifer O'Connor, Amy Bezunartea, and Tim Foljahn, staring at 6:30 p.m. See a recent New York Times article on Amy Bezunartea
• The Unblinking Ear show with The Gotobeds, Spray Paint, and other acts, MC'd by WFMU DJ Pat Byrne, also at Union Pool, on Saturday starting at 2 p.m.

Cake Shop (on Ludlow St.) has plenty of CMJ gigs; see their full calendar. (Diet Cig plays there Wednesday; Car Seat Headrest and Hooton Tennis Club on Thursday.)

Rest up, bring your earplugs, and get ready for as much live music as you can possibly handle.

South By Southwest 2015 Music Festival: Free Downloads, Webcasts, & More

See below for details on free SXSW Music downloads and more.

Today is not just St. Patrick's Day, it's the kickoff of the music portion of the sprawling South By Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas. Here's our guide to how to take part in SXSW Music if you're not there, an annual (usually) feature of Podcast Party.

NPR Music is doing its usual extensive coverage, including song downloads and streams, live webcasts, podcasts, previews, and more.

• listen to NPR's All Songs Considered SXSW 2015 preview 
• listen to or download their hand-picked collection of 100 songs from this year's SXSW artists, the Austin 100 (you can download all or just the ones you want) 
• and read their article on how to experience SXSW Music without being there

(If you want a lot more free song downloads from SXSW 2015 artists (and we mean a lot), go to the unofficial SXSW torrent page. It features two parts containing a total of more than 8 gigabytes of tunes.)

NPR hasn't announced a webcast schedule yet, but we'll update this post when (if?) they make this info available. They also do "late-night dispatch" podcasts each night of SXSW Music, in which each of the NPR Music correspondents on hand sum up the best acts they've seen that night (sometimes recorded in random places like a parking lot).

[Update, March 18th: NPR's SXSW showcase takes place tonight and while it won't be streamed live, it will be posted online "in the days after the concert." The show features Australian Courtney Barnett (playing her new, not-yet-released album live) ... Belgian singer Stromae, who's gotten hundreds of millions of views for his video "Papaoutai" ... and TV On The Radio, playing tunes from their latest album, "Seeds."]

Santa Monica's KCRW also has great SXSW coverage. Start with this article on "Newbies to Know at SXSW 2015." And see KCRW Music during the week for more coverage.

Also, check out Podcast Party's coverage from previous years, including 2013, 2012, and 2011.

Enjoy!

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 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

Now Streaming: Hear New CDs from Wavves, The Strokes, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, & More

It's a relatively slow week for new streaming albums, but there are a few titles that sounds interesting. Among them: the new collection from San Diego surf-rockers Wavves, the new Jeff Tweedy-produced album from Low, the latest from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, the new disc from singer-songwriter Josh Rouse, and a Smithsonian Folkways-inspired collection from Ridgewood, New Jersey native Julian Lynch.

(UPDATE 2, 3/19: "Girl Who Got Away" by Dido added below.)
(UPDATE: New album by The Strokes, "Comedown Machine," added below.)


Part three of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's six-part "Specter At The Feast" short film series, directed by Malia James (who's also a member of Dum Dum Girls).

There's also "Night," the intriguing collaboration between folk/country singer-songwriter Tift Merritt and classically trained concert pianist Simone Dinnerstein.

For fans of old-style soul, there's an album of new material by '60s legends The Delfonics (whose material has lived on through extensive sampling by hip-hop artists). It features songs written by producer Adrian Younge, who also features his backing band on the album.

(Note: Low is playing in NYC at the Society for Ethical Culture; get tickets here.)


Video from the new collaboration between Tift Merritt and Simone Dinnerstein.

Pitchfork: 
"Comedown Machine" by The Strokes

CBC Radio:
"Girl Who Got Away" by Dido

NPR First Listen:
"Afraid of Height" by Wavves
"Lines" by Julian Lynch
"Amygdala" by DJ Koze

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Specter at the Feast" by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
"The Happiness Waltz" by Josh Rouse
"The Invisible Way" by Low

AOL Music's Listening Party:
"Night" by Simone Dinnerstein and Tift Merritt

KCRW Album Preview: 
"Sleeper" by Carmen Villain
"Adrian Younge Presents the Delfonics" by The Delfonics

South by Southwest Music 2013: Free SXSW Downloads, Podcasts, Streaming Shows, & More

Hear live concerts and more from South by Southwest; see schedule below.

The music portion of this year's South by Southwest festival starts March 12th (running through the 17th), and as usual there are plenty of ways to sample music by the artists involved and the actual concerts down in Austin. Here are a few of the best ones (I'll post if I come across them):

* NPR Music's SXSW coverage is, as usual, pretty extensive; there are live webcasts of concerts and the keynote, interviews, and more. On March 13th there'll be live webcasts with Nick Cave, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Youth Lagoon, Alt-J, and more; the next day they'll stream Dave Grohl's keynote address. Other live sets include Divine Fits, Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, Iron and Wine, Dawes, and Charles Bradley.

NPR's Alt.Latino will broadcast live sets as well, featuring Café Tacuba, Molotov, and Bajofondo. And if you miss any of these live webcasts, don't worry: NPR tends to archive them online and make many of them available for download as free podcasts.

See the complete schedule of NPR Music's SXSW 2013 lineup here, and listen to their "Austin 100" playlist of songs (which you can also download individually, or in one big 800 MB zip file).

* Sample more than 1,200 songs by SXSW 2013 artists with this year's edition of The (Unofficial) SXSW Torrents. It's split into two files, the first is over 6 GB, the other a little over 1 GB.

* Amazon.com has two free SXSW 2013 samplers, one from Polyvinyl Records (featuring Deerhoof, Japandroids, Of Montreal, and more) and "Don't Mess with Texas" from The Orchard, with Loal Natives, Charles Bradley, The Virgins, Young Galaxy, Ra Ra Riot, and more.

* L.A.'s KCRW radio was one of the first radio stations to broadcast from SXSW, and it will have plenty of festival coverage as well. See the complete KCRW SXSW schedule here.

* The Alternate Side and its parent, WFUV, will have plenty of live music from SXSW on March 15th as part of the Public Radio Rocks SXSW Day Stage featuring Vampire Weekend, Divine Fits, Iron & Wine, Emmylou Harris, Dawes, Charles Bradley, and Pickwick.

* Fellow blogger Andriana of Gluttony is the New Black has put together a very thorough guide to the essentials of surviving SXSW for the website The Line of Best Fit. It covers music, of course, but also gives tips on the best food, open bars, parties, getting around, and more.

Now Streaming: Hear New CDs from Dave Grohl & Friends, Son Volt, They Might Be Giants, & More

Dave Grohl's new album of songs for the "Sound City" soundtrack is one of the albums headlining the crop of new albums streaming online this week. He's playing South by Southwest and other selected dates with his new supergroup, called"Sound City Players."



Other interesting new albums streaming this week is  along with a new album from No Depression alt-country pioneers Son Volt. And if you like Nine Inch Nails or the soundtrack work Trent Reznor has done with Atticus Ross, you'll want to check out "Welcome Oblivion" by How to Destroy Angels, the new group featuring Reznor, his wife, and Ross, among others.

Also streaming this week: Brooklyn duo They Might Be Giants are back with a new album (as hard as it is to believe, they've now been around for 30 years). And KCRW is featuring an album by the brother-and-sister duo known as Wild Belle.

NPR First Listen:
"Sound City: Real To Reel" by Dave Grohl & Friends
"Mala" by Devendra Banhart
"Muchacho" by Phosphorescent

KCRW Album Preview: 
"Isles" by Wild Belle

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Welcome Oblivion" by How to Destroy Angels
"Nanobots" by They Might Be Giants
"Honky Tonk" by Son Volt
"Hands" by Superhuman Happiness
"Bloody Amateur" by Bloody Amateur
"Lines We Trace" by Hey Marseilles
"Swords" by Lovers and Reflections
"The Wilderness" by k.s. Rhoads
"Eden" by Bow Thayer
"Varsity" by Christina Courtin

Now Streaming: Hear New CDs from Johnny Marr, Josh Ritter, Chelsea Light Moving, & More

Singer-songwriter Josh Ritter has put out a number of excellent albums, and his new "The Beast in its Tracks"—written after his recent divorce—is one of the most anticipated albums streaming online this week. It's available on NPR Music, as are several new albums from indie groups: the new collections from Youth Lagoon, Waxahatchee, Chelsea Light Moving (fronted by Thurston Moore), and Cloud Cult.

Stream Josh Ritter's new album, and a live show, at NPR Music.

(As the photo above notes, you can stream Ritter's show from New York live on Monday, March 4th at 8 p.m. Eastern.)

Spinner is streaming another much-anticipated disc, the new release from former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr. Also on Spinner: albums from Doldrums, Suuns, and BOY, among others.

KCRW is offering a two-disc collection documenting Celluloid Records. Artists in this collection include Richard Hell and the Voidoids, Manu Dibango, Fab 5 Freddy, and Ginger Baker. and a track featuring legendary producer and Chic leader Nile Rodgers.

Learn more about Celluloid Records and see the track listing here.

NPR First Listen:"Wondrous Bughouse" by Youth Lagoon
"The Beast in its Tracks" by Josh Ritter
"Cerulean Salt" by Waxahatchee
"Presente" by Bajofondo
"Chelsea Light Moving" by Chelsea Light Moving
"Love" by Cloud Cult

KCRW Album Preview: 
"Change The Beat: The Celluloid Records Story 1979-1987, Disc One and Disc Two" by various artists 

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"The Messenger" by Johnny Marr
"Black Sun" by Gold Fields
"Nights and Weekends" by El Sportivo & The Blooz
"Images du Futur" by Suuns
"Lesser Evil" by Doldrums
"Mutual Friends" by BOY
"Modern Dances" by Teen Girl Scientist Monthly
"Galapagos" by Post War Years

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"Stay Golden" by Taddy Porter

Now Streaming: New CDs from Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Ra Ra Riot, Buke and Gase, & More

There's a good mix of new music streaming online this week, no matter what your musical preference is. You'll find new albums from Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Ra Ra Riot, and the innovative Buke and Gase (who utilize unusual instruments such as a baritone ukelele).



There's also a new album, "The Beautiful Wild," by Canadian singer-songwriter Jenn Grant; a new album from psychedelic rock group Linus Pauling Quartet; and a best-of collection from The Pogues. And KCRW has the new album from Pillowfight, the mixmaster who has collaborated with everyone from DJ Shadow to Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz.

That's just a sampling of what's streaming this week. Take a look below, and go to the individual websites for more streaming albums.

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Beta Love" by Ra Ra Riot
"True North" by Bad Religion
"Paragraph Nights" by Drgn King
"Little Broken Hearts Remix EP" by Norah Jones
"The Very Best of the Pogues" by The Pogues
"Nobody Dances in This Town" by He's My Brother She's My Sister
"13.0.0.0.0" by This Town Needs Guns
"The Beautiful Wild" by Jenn Grant
"Yearling" by The Parson Red Heads
"Assault on the Vault of the Ancient Bonglords" by Linus Pauling Quartet

NPR First Listen:
"II" by Unknown Mortal Orchestra
"General Dome" by Buke and Gase
"News from Nowhere" by Dark Star
"Heavy Flowers" by Blaudzun

KCRW Album Preview: 
"Pillowfight" by Pillowfight

Now Streaming: Hear New CDs from Yo La Tengo, Dropkick Murphys, & More; New David Bowie Single

New albums by Yo La Tengo and Dropkick Murphys headline this week's selection of free album previews. And on the occasion of David Bowie's 66th birthday today, Ziggy Stardust is giving the gifts, in the form of a new song and video ("Where Are We Now?," below) and the promise of a new album, "The Next Day," to come in March.  It's his first album of new music in 10 years; read more in Rolling Stone.

And to commemorate Bowie's big day, CBC Music has put together a video collection of seven of the best (and worst) Bowie collaborations, from "Under Pressure" (with Queen) and "Peace On Earth/The Little Drummer Boy" (with Bing Crosby). You can guess which category those tunes belong in.



Yo La Tengo played some of the songs from its new album, "Fade," at its Hanukkah shows at Maxwell's last month, and now you can hear the whole album below at Pitchfork.

NPR Music is streaming new music I wasn't familiar with, including The Lone Bellow, a group it compares to Mumford & Sons and The Civil Wars, and the soundtrack to the film "Hecho En Mexico," which features songs by a number of contemporary Mexican performers, including Lila Downs, Ruben Albarran of Café Tacuba, Julieta Venegas, and Kinky.

Check it all out below...

Pitchfork:
"Fade" by Yo La Tengo

NPR First Listen:
"The Lone Below" by The Lone Bellow
"Somewhere Else" by Indians
"Hecho En Mexico (Soundtrack)" by various artists

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Signed and Sealed in Blood" by Dropkick Murphys
"Gangster Squad (Original Soundtrack)" by various artists
"5-4-3-2-1...Perhaps?" by Snuff

Now Streaming: New CDs from Graham Parker & The Rumour & More; Replays of Holiday CDs

There's a small list of streaming CDs for this between-the-holidays week, but there's one in particular that we'll be giving repeated listens: "Three Chords Good" by Graham Parker & The Rumour, the outfit that created the classic late-'70s rock album, "Squeezing Out Sparks."

Parker has played with a number of backing groups over the decades, but it's good to see him with back with his band The Rumour—for the first time in 31 years, according to his website. It's kind of fitting that he's got a new album with them the same year that Neil Young has recorded a new disc out with Crazy Horse.

Streaming this week: Graham Parker's first album with The Rumour in 31 years.

Also streaming this week: "XX 20th Anniversary" by Rage Against the Machine, marking 20 years since the debut of their first album, and a live recording from the Deep Blues Fest featuring Buffalo Killers, Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires, Radio Moscow, and more.

Considering the date on the calendar, it's not surprising that a few of them address the tidings of the season. NPR Music is streaming three previously released holiday collections: volumes six through 10 of Sufjan Stevens's "Silver & Gold;" the Christmas album by pop singer-songwriter Tracey Thorn, half of the successful duo Everything But the Girl; and "What Christmas Means" by KEM, a collection of holiday standards that was released earlier this year.

[Added Dec. 1st: Ke$ha and Wayne Coyne]

NPR First Listen:
"Silver & Gold" by Sufjan Stevens
"What Christmas Means" by KEM
"Tinsel and Lights" by Tracey Thorn

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Three Chords Good" by Graham Parker & The Rumour
"XX 20th Anniversary" by Rage Against the Machine
"Big Dipper Crashes on the Platinum Planet" by Big Dipper
"The World Is Too Much For Me" by Challenger
"Runner" by The Winter Sounds
"Alive At The Deep Blues Fest" by various artists

iTunes:
"Warrior" by Ke$ha

KCRW:
"Wayne Coyne's Human Head Shaped Tumor" by various artists ("McSweeney's and KCRW present this radio drama in the style of Mercury Theatre's War of the Worlds, featuring the music from the Flaming Lips, Bill Callahan, Okkervil River, Eleanor Friedberger, Nico Muhly, and Oneida.")


AOL Music Listening Party: 
"Foreign Land" by A Lion Named Roar

Now Streaming: New CDs from Bad Brains, Massive Attack, & More

There's a slim selection of albums streaming this week, but if you're a punk fan you'll definitely find some titles of interest. Spinner has the "Into the Future" by Bad Brains, a remastered release of The Smoking Popes' "Born to Quit," and "We Will Remain Sedate" by Midway in Wake. This week the site also features the 2010 remastered version of Massive Attack's "Blue Lines," and the new albums by papercranes, Kate Earl, and The Twilight Sad, among others.

And fans of the band Live will want to check out the new solo EP by frontman Ed Kowalczyk, "The Garden," streaming this week at AOL Music.



"Rubella" from the Smoking Popes' album "Born to Quit." A remastered version of the album was reissued last month.

As always, there are more albums streaming than those shown here: see the websites for full listings. We'll add albums streaming from other sites as we learning about them.

Happy listening...

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Into the Future" by Bad Brains
"Blue Lines (2012 Remaster)" by Massive Attack
"No One Can Ever Know - The Remixes" by The Twilight Sad
"Three" by papercranes
"Stronger" by Kate Earl
"Born to Quit (Reissue)" by The Smoking Popes
"We Will Remain Sedate" by Midway in Wake
"Beautiful Sharks" by Keith Canisius

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"The Garden EP" by Ed Kowalczyk
"Young Volcanoes" by Zac Clark

Now Streaming: New CDs from The Deftones, School of Seven Bells, Bush Tetras, & More

There are some tasty new albums streaming this week—as well as one that's nearly 15 years old but is seeing the light of day for the first time. The new ones includes the latest efforts by The Deftones, School of Seven Bells, El Perro Del Mar, and Ari Hest. And an old favorite of ours (see below).


You'll probably hear this Bush Tetras song, and a lot of their just-released "Happy," at their NYC gig on Nov. 29th.

The unreleased album is "Happy," the late-'90s collection from the influential New York post-punk band Bush Tetras. The album was apparently stuck in record-label hell as various companies were sold or merged. "Happy" is finally coming out of limbo as ROIR acquired the rights to is, and released it Nov. 13th. (Read an interview with Bush Tetras talking about the album, and a biography of the band.)

Bush Tetras will play at NYC's Le Poisson Rouge on Nov. 29th (with Suicide, which will perform its first album in its entirety).

Although we don't write about Celtic music a lot here, we've long been fans of it, and so it's good news to see a fresh album from Irish folk singer-songwriter Susan McKeown. She's been a favorite since we heard her first album, "Bones," all the way back in 1995. She's got a great, expressive voice that's magnificent for singing Irish tunes as well as American folk tunes, but she can also rock. And she's also collaborated with musicians from other genres, including the Klezmatics.

The Dublin native, who's now lived in New York for more than 20 years, is out with her latest solo album, "Belong," this week. We're definitely looking forward to spending a lot of time with that one.

NPR First Listen:
"Instrumental Tourist" by Tim Hecker & Daniel Lopatin
"The Odds" by The Evens

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Koi No Yokan" by The Deftones
"Put Your Sad Down" EP by School of Seven Bells
"Pale Fire" by El Perro Del Mar
"Happy" by Bush Tetras
"Soft Eyes" by Bear Colony
"Transit of Venus" by Black Forest Fire
"Jan" by Jan

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"The Fire Plays" by Ari Hest
"Belong" by Susan McKeown
"Scrimshaw" by Nels Andrews

Now Streaming: New CDs from Titus Andronicus, K'Naan, Bat for Lashes, & More

With all the wonderful punk noise that Titus Andronicus has been making since it burst upon the scene a few years back, it's easy to forget that they have only two albums out. That changes in a week with the release of their third album, "Local Business," and you can preview it now at NPR Music (see link to their "First Listen" series below). Another eagerly awaited album there is "The Haunted Man" by Bat for Lashes, the follow-up to her 2009 release, "Two Suns."



Speaking of eagerly awaited releases, Spinner has "Country God or the Girl" by K'Naan, the Somali-Canadian rapper (see the video for "Hurt Me Tomorrow" above). What does his music sound like on his first album following his worldwide mega-success, including his song "Wavin' Flag" being used as a World Cup anthem by Coca-Cola? Like many people, I'm interested to find out.

Spinner also has the latest by Donald Fagen, best known for being half of Steely Dan. Also this week are new albums by ZZ Ward, Widespread Panic, and more, as well as second chances to stream the latest from Jason Lytle and Trey Anastasio.

NPR First Listen:
"Local Business" by Titus Andronicus
"The Haunted Man" by Bat for Lashes
"Book Burner" by Pig Destroyer
"Mars" by Sinkane

[Updated Oct. 16th:] Spin.com:
"Lost Songs" by ... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Til the Casket Drops" by ZZ Ward
"Country God or the Girl" by K'Naan
"Our Nature" by Savoir Adore
"Sunken Condos" by Donald Fagen
"Wood" by Widespread Panic
"Kinder Machines" by Beaten By Them
"Geronimo" by Piney Gir
"Animator" by The Luyas
"Traveler" by Trey Anastasio
"Dept. of Disappearance" by Jason Lytle

Now Streaming: New CDs from the Mountain Goats, Freelance Whales, Matt & Kim, & More

There's not a huge selection of new albums streaming online this week, but the quality of the offerings more than makes up for the lack of quantity. There are new albums from indie artists such as Freelance Whales, Tame Impala, and Lord Huron—and those are just the ones NPR Music is offering. (Speaking of NPR Music, they're live streaming Wednesday's Tori Amos concert in New York.)


"Sycamore Trees" from Sarah Fimm's new EP.
 
Elsewhere, Spinner has the new releases from other much-loved indie musicians, including Mountain Goats, The Vaccines, Matt and Kim, and Tristan Prettyman, as well as those ageless rockers Heart (I posted the video for their new song "Rock Deep (Vancouver)" last week). I'm also looking forward to listening to Lindi Ortega, an artist I hadn't heard of until a couple of weeks ago, when she won the "shadow Polaris Prize" poll by readers of North by East West, a group blog covering Canadian music and arts.

AOL Music has the latest release from longtime favorites Drivin N Cryin, as well as a five-song EP from the singer-songwriter known as Sarah Fimm, who I'd previously heard of through the now-defunct CD Baby podcasts (she's got more than half a dozen albums that are available through CD Baby and other outlets).

And The New Yorker (yes, The New Yorker) even has an album preview this week. It's streaming the debut collection from the Canadian band Metz and featuring a Q&A with the band by Sasha Frere-Jones.

It's a solid lineup this week, fire up your speakers and enjoy.

[Update: CBC is now streaming A.C. Newman's new album, below.]


NPR First Listen:
"Lonerism" by Tame Impala
"Diluvia" by Freelance Whales
"Lonesome Dreams" by Lord Huron

CBC Music:
"Shut Down the Streets" by A.C. Newman

The New Yorker: 
"Metz" by Metz

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Come of Age" by The Vaccines
"Lightning" by Matt and Kim
"Transcendental Youth" by the Mountain Goats
"Cedar + Gold" by Tristan Prettyman
"Cigarettes & Truck Stops" by Lindi Ortega
"Boredom and Joy" by Jets Overhead
"Fanatic" by Heart

AOL Music Listening Party:
"Vacilador" by The Giving Tree Band
"Songs About Fast Cars, Space and Ramones" by Drivin N Cryin
"Insignificant Fire" by James Arlowe & the Ruffian Circus
"Barn Sessions" EP by Sarah Fimm
"One Year of Songs" by Heather Mae

Now Streaming: New CDs from Mountain Goats, Jason Collett, Muse, & More

From indie rock to Americana to jazz, there's a wide array of new albums streaming this week. There are new albums from Mountain Goats, Muse, and Beth Orton, among others. And in the continuing trend of bands from the 1980s popping up with new albums, there's a new album streaming from southern rockers The Outlaws (remember "Green Grass and High Tides," ""There Goes Another Love Song," etc.?).


"Lord Knows" by Dum Dum Girls, from their new EP "End of Daze."

Former Broken Social Scene member Jason Collett has not one but two albums streaming this week, a new album ("Reckon") and an eleven-song, career-spanning retrospective ("Essential Cuts"). Speaking of collections, Suzanne Vega is releasing her latest albums consisting of re-recordings of her previous tunes, grouped around a particular theme. "Close-Up Vol. 4: Songs of Family" includes songs including  "Widow's Walk," "Blood Sings," "Bad Wisdom," "Honeymoon Suite," and "Tired of Sleeping."

 We don't normally cover jazz here, we're making an exception for a couple of notable releases that are streaming: "St. Peter and 57th" by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band (marking the group's 50th anniversary) and "Made Possible" by The Bad Plus.

There's also a new album by Emmanuel Jal, the former child soldier from Sudan who burst onto the scene a few years back with "War Child," and a second chance to hear Sera Cahoone's excellent new  "Deer Creek Canyon" and the Dum Dum Girls' EP "End of Daze." (You've got a few chances to see Dum Dum Girls in the near future: they're playing Europa in Brooklyn on Sept. 30th, appearing at Other Music on Oct. 1st [free], and opening for The Walkmen at Terminal 5 on Oct. 18th.)

And in honor of Feist's "Metals" winning the Polaris Music Prize last night for best Canadian album of the year, the CBC is streaming it now (not sure for how long, though)... see the bottom of this article.

There are many more streaming albums below (and at the linked websites); have a listen and enjoy.

Rolling Stone: 
"Transcendental Youth" by Mountain Goats (who are playing in NYC soon: Oct. 14th at Music Hall of Williamsburg and the next night at Bowery Ballroom)

The Guardian/iTunes:
"The Second Law" by Muse (streaming at The Guardian in the U.K.; at iTunes in the U.S.)

NPR First Listen:
"Sugaring Season" by Beth Orton
"Until the Quiet Comes" by Flying Lotus

KCRW Album Preview: 
"12 Bit Blues" by Kid Koala

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"End of Daze" by Dum Dum Girls
"Made Possible" by The Bad Plus
"Reckon" and "Essential Cuts" by Jason Collett
"The Poet's Dead" by Rah Rah
"Bodyparts" by Dragonette
"Close-Up Vol. 4: Songs of Family" by Suzanne Vega
"Look A Little Closer" by Levek
"Deer Creek Canyon" by Sera Cahoone
"Reptile Youth" by Reptile Youth
"A Beating Heart Is A Bleeding Heart" by Kingsfoil

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"St. Peter and 57th" by Preservation Hall Jazz Band
"Half-Made Man" by Ben Sollee
"It's About Pride" by The Outlaws
"See Me Mama" by Emmanuel Jal

CBC:
"Metals" by Feist

Now Streaming: New CDs from Paul Simon, Rickie Lee Jones, James Iha, Ben Folds Five, Sera Cahoone, & More

Although this post's title may give the impression that it's mostly veteran artists who are streaming new albums this week, there's actually a diverse array of offerings. Among the veterans, Paul Simon is out with the two-CD, one-DVD "Live in New York City," just a few weeks after his old partner Art Garfunkel issued a two-disc collection of favorite tunes.


Video "To Who Knows Where" by James Iha's new album (streaming this week).

Rickie Lee Jones returns with an album of her interpretations of familiar tunes such as "The Weight," "Sympathy for the Devil," and "Only Love Can Break Your Heart." James Iha (formerly of The Smashing Pumpkins) is back with "Look to the Sky," his first solo album in 15 years. And the reunited Ben Folds Five is streaming its latest release (and has done a video with the Fraggles, the furry critters from Jim Henson's "Fraggle Rock").

Oh, and if you need a Michael Jackson fix (or just want to feel really old), Spinner is streaming the 25th-anniversary edition of the King of Pop's "Bad."

For albums from artists who are newer and/or more unusual, NPR Music is streaming albums by electronic musician and producer Ricardo Villalobos, the Danish band Efterklang, the singer-songwriter Sera Cahoone, and the Paris-based musician Melody Prochet (performing as Melody's Echo Chamber), her first. And KCRW has new releases from The Peach Kings and John Tejada.

Also: Pitchfork is streaming the new EP by one of our favorites, the Dum Dum Girls.

See the specific sites for more streaming albums, and as always, let us know what you think of these releases by leaving a comment. Dig in, and enjoy...

Pitchfork:
"End of Daze" EP by Dum Dum Girls
 
KCRW Album Preview: 
"Handsome Moves" EP by The Peach Kings
"The Predicting Machine" by John Tejada

NPR First Listen:
"Deer Creek Canyon" by Sera Cahoone
"Melody's Echo Chamber" by Melody's Echo Chamber
"Piramida" by Efterklang
"Dependent and Happy" by Ricardo Villalobos

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"The Sound of the Life of the Mind" by Ben Folds Five
"Mirage" by Band of Horses
"Live in New York City" by Paul Simon
"Look to the Sky" by James Iha
"Bad 25" by Michael Jackson
"Telepathic" by L'Altra
"Tiny Prayers" by Aaron Embry
"Sweet Lights, Sweet Lights" by Sweet Lights
"This Is An Adventure" by The Lighthouse and The Whaler

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"The Devil You Know" by Rickie Lee Jones
"All The Way Home" by Ocean Carolina
"When Ledge Is Home" by Bi-Polar Bear*

*I don't know a thing about this band, but I had to include them because of the clever name.

Now Streaming: New CDs from Aimee Man, Dinosaur Jr., Amanda Palmer, Band of Horses, & More

The Fall parade of hot new albums streaming continues this week, headlined by releases from Aimee Mann, Dinosaur Jr., Band of Horses, The Raveonettes, Amanda Palmer, Grizzly Bear, The Sea and Cake, and more. [JUST ADDED: the new album by the Corin Tucker Band, the second release by the former Sleater-Kinney member.]



It's good to see a new release from Aimee Mann, and the video for the title track from "Charmer" (directed by Tom Scharpling, above) is lots of fun, starring Laura Linney as a Mann body double that the singer sends out on tour.

As you've no doubt heard, Amanda Palmer's "Theatre Is Evil" is the release she funded by raising more than a million dollars on Kickstarter. If you signed up, you may be getting all kinds of swag from Palmer, or (like me) you just kicked in one dollar, which nevertheless gets you a free digital download of the entire album. So what's it sound like? Find out by listening on Spinner below.

As always, check the individual sites for more releases (especially from Spinner, which typically has at least a couple of dozen new albums each week).

CBC:
"Mirage Rock" by Band of Horses

Stereogum:
"Kill My Blues" by the Corin Tucker Band

KCRW Album Preview: 
"The Runner" by The Sea and Cake

NPR First Listen:
"Charmer" by Aimee Mann
"I Bet on Sky" by Dinosaur Jr.
"Shields" by Grizzly Bear

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Theatre Is Evil" by Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra
"Observator" by The Raveonettes
"Negotiations" by The Helio Sequence
"Palindrome Hunches" by Neil Halstead
"Butter" by Turbo Fruits
"Scorpion" by Will Johnson
"A Tear in the Eye Is a Wound in the Heart" by Black Prairie
"We Were Always Loyal to Lost Causes" by The Dandelion War
"Grow Up" by Mister Loveless
"Inner Classic" by Snowblink

Now Streaming: New CDs from David Byrne and St. Vincent, Dave Stewart, Ian Hunter, & More

This Labor Day is a happy one indeed, with plenty of tasty, high-profile new albums up for streaming. One of the most anticipated is "Love This Giant," the collaboration between David Byrne and Annie Clark, the singer-songwriter-guitarist better known by her stage name, St. Vincent.

This latest musical odd couple doesn't sound quite as unusual as the Robert Plant/Alison Krauss collaboration, but I'll definitely be interested in hearing what these two have come up with in the studio. They're out on tour now, so if you like the album, by all means check them out live.


Video for "Girl in a Catsuit" by Dave Stewart, featuring Orianthi.

Also new this week: the latest solo albums by two veteran British artists, Mott the Hoople frontman Ian Hunter and Eurythmics member Dave Stewart; and brand-new collections by Two Door Cinema Club, The xx, Azure Ray, Jens Lekman, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, The Sheepdogs, and Black Mountain (the soundtrack for the post-apocalyptic film, "Year Zero").

And there's a new album by Tanita Tikaram, the British singer best known for the haunting 1980s hit "Twist in My Sobriety." She's back with her first new release in seven years.

You also get second chances to hear the new albums by Stars, Deerhoof, and the Avett Brothers.

Summer may be over, but that means the Fall crop of record releases is coming on strong. Happy listening, all.

NPR First Listen:
"Love This Giant" by David Byrne and Annie Clark

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"When I'm President" by Ian Hunter
"The Ringmaster General" by Dave Stewart
"Year Zero: The Original Soundtrack" by Black Mountain
"Beacon" by Two Door Cinema Club
"As Above So Below" by Azure Ray
"The North" by Stars
"Breakup Song" by Deerhoof
"Bootlegs" by Sondre Lerche
"I Know What Love Isn't" by Jens Lekman
"The Sheepdogs" by The Sheepdogs
"Paperback Lover" by Karlie Bruce
"Rattle Them Bones" by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"Magic" by Smash Mouth
"Sweat Like The Old Days" by Holy Ghost Tent Revival
"The Sky Road" by Jessie Kilguss & Radio Gold
"Can't Go Back" by Tanita Tikaram

KCRW Album Preview: 
"The Carpenter" by the Avett Brothers
"Coexist" by The xx

Now Streaming: New CDs from Stars, Animal Collective, the Avett Brothers, & More

Podcast Party is back from its coastal vacation, and not a moment too soon: there's a boatload of great albums available for streaming this week. Stars, Animal Collective, the Avett Brothers, Deerhoof, Minus the Bear, Alanis Morissette, and Cat Power all have new CDs streaming this week.

After overdosing on most of the above during vacation, we're back to music.

And there are new discs from some veteran artists who haven't been heard from for some time: Art Garfunkel and Triumph. Though these albums are new, the music isn't: the latter is a live album, while the former is a 34-track "compilation of songs personally selected by Art Garfunkel from his life's work," and includes two new songs. (One-quarter of them are Simon & Garfunkel numbers, while the rest are Art Garfunkel.)

What else is streaming? A sampler of the complete studio recordings by Roxy Music, and the soundtrack to the new movie "Lawless," about gangsters in Prohibition-era Virginia, starring Shia Labeouf and featuring music by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. (Cave also wrote the movie's screenplay.)

Let's hope that this week's streaming albums means the summer doldrums are over and lots of blockbuster Fall releases are on the way.



Video for "Today's Supernatural," from the new Animal Collective album.

NPR First Listen:
"The North" by Stars (also streaming at CBC)
"The Carpenter" by the Avett Brothers
"Centipede Hz" by Animal Collective
"Sun" by Cat Power
"Breakup Song" by Deerhoof

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Infinity Overhead" by Minus the Bear
"The Singer" by Art Garfunkel
"Lawless: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis
"Poor Moon" by Poor Moon
"The Complete Studio Recordings (Sampler)" by Roxy Music
"Havoc and Bright Lights" by Alanis Morissette
"Sublime Currency" by Abandoned Pools
"feathers & fishHooks" by Rayland Baxter
"Montage" EP by City Rain
"The Circle in the Square" EP by Flobots
"All I Did Was Tell Them The Truth And They Thought It Was Hell" by King of Spain
"Volume One" by Paul Cook & The Chronicles

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"My Bonneville" by Annie and the Beekeepers
"Live at Sweden Rock Festival" by Triumph
"Apologies" by David Ramirez
"Ingram Hill" by Ingram Hill
"Noble Stranger" by Nuala Kennedy
"New Day Dawning" by The Roys
"The Rain Is A Handsome Animal" by Tin Hat
"Shout It Loud And Clear" by Una Jensen
"And You Are Me" by Uncle Lucius