Likely Listens - Catherine A.D.

Catherine A.D. has a hauntingly beautiful voice thats along the lines of Kate Bush, Tori Amos etc, which of course makes me a fan...and Courtney Love is already a fan!

On first listen I became intrigued...and thanks to the very lovely MK of Popbytes I was able to be introduced to her.

No sows in the States yet but there will be two upcoming gigs in London on February 14 at the Notting Hill Arts Club and on February 27 at the Royal Festival Hall.

Hopefully we can have a surprise at SXSW and she'll be playing!

SXSW 2009...First Acts Announced!

Here it comes...the first acts!

Ra Ra Riot (Syracuse, NY)
Gabriella Cilmi (AUSTRALIA)
Ximena Sariñara (Mexico City, MEXICO)
Primal Scream (Glasgow SCOTLAND/UK)
Friendly Fires (St Albans, ENGLAND/UK)
B.o.B (Atlanta, GA)
Sage Francis (Providence, RI)
Buraka Som Sistema (Lisbon, PORTUGAL)
Arc Angels (Austin, TX)
Courteeners (Manchester, England/UK)
Raul Malo (Nashville, TN)
8Ball & MJG (Memphis, TN)
Reflection Eternal (New York, NY/Cincinnati, OH)
Wale (Washington, DC)
Pete & the Pirates (Reading, ENGLAND/UK)
Ben Harper and Relentless7 (Los Angeles, CA)

More to come. Two words though...PRIMAL SCREAMMMMMMMMMM

Sunday Video Rewind: Lush - Ladykillers

This is a band I miss greatly...

Lush crafted the perfect amount of shoegaze with 90's era Britpop to make some killer singles (no pun intended). I remember seeing this video years ago on 120 Minutes and was instantly hooked.

Its a classic!

Lily Allen's 'It's Not Me, It's You' Album Sampler

Lily Allen keeps giving us little hints about exactly how her upcoming album "It's Not Me, It's You" is going to sound like before its release date on February 9, 2009...and it sounds fantastic!

Here's a little sampler with a few new tracks from the album that haven't been leaked already (there are 5 songs floating around in full currently).

Thank you to the lovely MK of Popbytes that was gracious enough to send this my way first thing in the morning today!

Bloc Party Announce One-Off New York Date

I think Bloc Party and New York have a major love affair. After recently playing 2 nights at Webster Hall and a free show at Roseland the band is back for a one-off date at Terminal 5 in 2009.

The date is March 24th, 2009 and tickets are $31.50. You can purchase them HERE

Aren't you bummed now you missed the Webster Hall shows?

Likely Listens - Marina and the Diamonds

Its quite nice listening to something for the first time and absolutely falling in love. Case in point with Marina and the Diamonds.

On first listen, Marina who is of Greek and Welch decent is obviously influenced by Kate Bush but has somewhere along the way found her own sound. Her stuff is absolutely incredible.

Marina and the Diamonds - Obsessions

She's got a couple of dates in the UK coming up and a single coming out on Neon Gold Records on February 16, 2009.

Marina and the Diamonds tour dates:

January 14 - Hoxton Bar and Grill
February 14 - TBA (single release party at a secret location)

Oasis At Madison Square Garden 12/17

The last time Oasis stepped foot in Madison Square Garden it was June 22, 2005. 3 years later they still have the ability to sell it out and blow a crowd away with the perfect set list of old classics and new favorites.

Of course, the crowd favorite were Wonderwall and Don't Look Back In Anger. There was even some love shown for Lyla which was quite nice as that's on the newer side of things.

Oasis still haven't lost it after all these years...they can carry a show with just their attitude and good tunes and people will still go mental. Did I mention how incredible both Liam and Noel sounded last night as well? Incredible. God bless Oasis.

As for the set list, here it is:

Rock 'n' Roll Star
Lyla
The Shock Of The Lightning
Cigarettes & Alcohol
The Meaning Of Soul
To Be Where There's Life
Waiting For The Rapture
The Masterplan
Songbird
Slide Away
Morning Glory
Ain't Got Nothin'
The Importance Of Being Idle
I'm Outta Time
Wonderwall
Supersonic

Encore:
Don't Look Back In Anger
Falling Down
Champagne Supernova
I Am The Walrus

Here are loads of video clips so you can feel like you were there if you missed it:

Don't Look Back In Anger:


Wonderwall:


The Masterplan:


I'm Outta Time:


I Am The Walrus:

Likely Looks - Bloc Party "One Month Off"

Your favorite nusery rhyme characters turn evil in the new Bloc Party video. I don't know if I find it fascinating yet or scary. See it for yourself here and pick up the single on January 26th in the UK.

Nico Vega Announces 2009 Tour

Nico Vega is hands down my top band to watch for 2009. They have a sound that is unique and friendly and their singer, Aja, is the next rock star in training.

The band is going on tour with Semi Precious Weapons and Von Iva in 2009...and these are shows NOT to be missed as Nico Vega is such a killer live band.

Here are the dates:
1/13 Albuquerque, NM Burt's Tiki Lounge
1/15 Corpus Christi, TX House of Rock
1/16 Houston, TX Fitzgerald's
1/17 Dallas, TX Vixen Lounge/Sue Ellen's
1/18 Austin, TX Emo's
1/22 Montgomery, AL Off The Wagon
1/23 Tallahassee, FL Floyd's Music Store
1/24 Cocoa Beach, FL The Chili Pepper Supper Club
1/25 Orlando, FL BackBooth
1/27 Jacksonville, FL Jack Rabbits
1/28 Atlanta, GA Drunken Unicorn
1/29 Charlotte, NC Milestone
1/30 Washington, DC Red and Black
1/31 New York, NY Highline Ballroom
2/1 Philadelphia, PA The Khyber
2/3 Cambridge, MA TT The Bears


Also, if you get the chance, check out their video for Be Giving

Lily Does Britney - Womanizer

Mark Ronson did Lily Allen fans a favor when he forgot to talk over Lily's cover of "Womanizer". Now thanks to the joy of online video channels we can hear Lily's cover of Britney Spears' "Womanizer".

It's quite good I must say...

Primal Scream Announce New York Show

Us NYers can get pretty lucky sometimes...

Primal Scream have announced a New York show in support of their album "Beautiful Future".

Here are the details:

Saturday, Mar 28, 2009 @ 7:00 PM
Webster Hall
New York, New York

This is the only date announced for now but I am guessing more will be coming...

Katy Perry Apologizes To Lily Allen

So the feud comes to an end as Katy Perry owns up to her mistakes and apologizes to Lily Allen.

Speaking out to Us Weekly, Perry states, ""Yeah, I made a joke about [that] earlier this year. I was just kind of joking and trying to be funny. I didn't mean anything by it. Comedians are not necessarily to be taken super seriously."

Nice one Katy...

Likely Listens: La Roux

Welcome to the wonderful world of La Roux where 80's electro-pop meets modern day dance music in perfect unison.

La Roux is singer Elly Jackson and synth player Ben Langmaid, who has played before with Faithless' Rollo Armstrong. Together they've come out of nowhere with their fantastic single "Quicksand" to make them one of the bands to watch for 2009.

Also, they've got a tour supporting Lily Allen in March of 2009 in the UK...can't go wrong with that one!

Here's the video for "Quicksand":

Lily Allen vs Katy Perry Round ?

Lily Allen has no problem speaking her mind about well, anything. This time she's lashed out on Katy Perry claiming she is "an American version of me".

Speaking to Capital FM in London Lily stated, "I happen to know for a fact that she was an American version of me. She was signed by my label in America as, 'We need to find something controversial and kooky like Lily Allen.' And then they found her... I think the lyrics and stuff are a bit crass. When I met her I was a bit frosty with her because someone asked her to describe herself. She's like, 'Aha, I'm like a fatter version of Amy Winehouse and a skinner version of Lily Allen!'. It's like, you're not English and you don't write your own songs, shut up!"

Whose side are you on? Team Lily or Team Katy?

Meanwhile, in other Lily news she's got a fantastic new video for her single "The Fear"

Likely Looks: Lily Allen - The Fear

Lily Allen is back with her first video from her new album "It's Not Me, It's You"! The clip is for "The Fear" and its absolutely darling.

Lily looks amazing as she quickly goes from trailer park trash to high class in a matter of seconds. Plus, you can't go wrong with a video that has dancing presents!

Lily Allen Premieres "The Fear" On BBC Radio 1

Lily Allen is getting ready to start the major promotional train for her upcoming release "Its Not Me, Its You".

Now retitled "The Fear", the song premiered on BBC Radio 1 at 4:30PM UK time today. The track is just a bit more of a polished version of its original name, "I Don't Know", which was posted a while back on Lily's Myspace page.

She's also announced a UK tour in March. here are the tour dates:

Glasgow, Academy – March 14
Manchester, Academy - 15
Bristol, Academy - 18
Southampton, Guildhall -19
Brighton, Dome - 20
Norwich, UEA - 22
Birmingham, Academy - 23
Leeds, Academy - 24
London, Shepherd’s Bush Empire - 26

Now, for the "The Fear"!: