Now Streaming: New CDs from Divine Fits, Steve Vai, Yeasayer, & More

There are albums from a veteran artist and a new supergroup headlining the releases that are streaming this week. The veteran is Steve Vai, who's back with his latest album, "The Story of Light." The new supergroup is Divine Fits, a band that includes Britt Daniel of Spoon, Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade, and Sam Brown of New Bomb Turks.


One of the album trailers for the Devine Fits' debut album.

Among the other albums streaming this week are new releases from Yeasayer, Antony and the Johnsons, Yellowcard, Black Light Burns (fronted by Wes Borland of Limp Bizkit), and Los Straitjackets, the Tennessee surf rockers who perform wearing Mexican wrestling masks.

[Update, Aug. 16th: CBC is streaming F*cked Up's "David Comes to Life" this week in honor of the album being named to the shortlist of the Polaris Prize. You can stream it here.] 

NPR First Listen:
"Fragrant World" by Yeasayer
"A Thing Called Divine Fits" by Divine Fits
"Tracer" by Teengirl Fantasy
"Mature Themes" by Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Cut the World" by Antony and the Johnsons
"Cycles" by This is Cinema
"Jet Set" by Los Straitjackets
"Trying" by Spook Houses
"Raised by Wolves" by Jenee Halstead
"An Aside" by Black Swan Runners
"Southern Air" by Yellowcard
"Dark Star (Remix EP)" by Polica

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"The Story of Light" by Steve Vai
"The Moment You Realize You're Going to Fall" by Black Light Burns
"Mile Highby" by Kottonmouth Kings
"Hold Your Fire" EP by Sierra West
"Somewhere Beneath These Southern Skies" by The Dirty Guvnahs

NYC Concerts: Black Keys, Magnetic Fields On Sale Friday; F*cked Up, Titus Andronicus, & More Play this Weekend

Tickets for the second Black Keys/Arctic Monkeys show at Madison Square Garden in March go on sale tomorrow, as do tickets for the long-awaited return of Magnetic Fields. And there's a good slate of talent performing live this weekend at the Brooklyn Night Bazaar. Details:

As mentioned here last week, The Black Keys and Arctic Monkeys have added a second show at the Garden on March 22nd, 2012 (the first one is March 12th). Tickets for the Black Keys/Arctic Monkeys concert go on sale tomorrow, Dec. 16th, at 9 a.m.

Stephin Merritt's The Magnetic Fields play the Beacon Theatre on Tuesday, April 3rd. Tickets go on sale Friday, Dec. 16th at 11 a.m. The band will be coming out with a new album, "Love at the Bottom of the Sea," on March 6th, according to their website.

As for gigs to see this weekend, the Brooklyn Night Bazaar has a solid lineup. Friday has Toronto's F*cked Up, Dom, Big Troubles, Radical Dads, and more, while Saturday's Brooklyn Vegan sponsored finale features The Hold Steady, Titus Andronicus, Wakey! Wakey!, and more. (The bazaar started off Thursday night with LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy spinning a DJ set, along with several bands.)

The Brooklyn Night Bazaar combines live music, shopping, art, and food, and takes place at 149 Kent Ave. (entrance is between N. 5th and N. 6th Streets), from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. each night. (More info and directions here.)  The bazaar is free except for the musical performances, which require a ticket. Tickets are $10 for Friday and $18 for Saturday.

F*cked Up Wins 2009 Polaris Prize

Toronto punk band F*cked Up won the Polaris Music Prize last night in a ceremony held in its hometown. Each of the 10 nominees performed live and then the winner was announced late in the evening, with the critically acclaimed rockers with the radio-unfriendly name chosen to receive the $20,000 prize for its album "The Chemistry of Common Life."

As has become a Polaris tradition, the winner of the prize was less known than some other nominees on the short list. The Polaris Prize was modeled after England's Mercury Prize, with the intention of honoring the album with the best artistic merit regardless of sales or other commercial factors.

You can hear music from F*cked Up and the other nominees at the CBC Radio 3 Web site, www.cbcradio3.com. Their podcast with highlights from last night's award ceremony is now available; you can listen to it on the Web site or download it there or from iTunes and other podcast programs. Besides the awards ceremony, CBC Radio 3 has also done podcasts dedicated to the short list artists and those on the original, longer list.

Congrats to F*cked Up!