Ben visited Australia recently to tour his latest album 'Go Fly A Kite', while he was here, he chose his five favourite tracks... Ben's favourite 5: Blister In The Sun - Violent Femmes From Violent Femmes (1983) Glory Days - Bruce Springsteen From Born In The U.S.A. (1984) Attached Image(s):  Ben Kweller Untidy Desk read more

It's that time again. That's right, it's Music Nerd Christmas (otherwise known as Record Store Day)! For the fifth annual RSD I threw a little mix together for the occasion, something to get you in the mood or something for you to download and listen to whilst you are sauntering over to your local shops. Songs about music, songs about songs. Songs about the radio, the stereo, cassettes and more.  And, of course, a song 'bout the greed and profiteering of evil conglomerate record companies, because chances are if they are going to "repackage, repackage with an ...

It’s the first few days of spring, and I am crushing tough on the sun. Recently moving from Seattle to San Francisco, I am whole-heartedly stoked about the bright, glowing yellow orb that frequents the sky just about every day here. That’s right, I’m talking some Helios shit. I know, you are thinking BUT THE SUN DOESN’T SHINE IN SF. Newsflash: however morose the weather is here compared to the rest of California, it’s nothing compared to the dismal 80% of the year cloud coverage that Seattlites “enjoy.” So, for my Friday Five this week ...

Gordon and pals hanging upside down in black and white as recorded from 120 Minutes on Mtv?  Sure?  I’m in.  I liked this one but played ‘Fat’ from the same album late night on KROQ quite a bit. I hope. you got. fat. Hey, and be sure to stop by this har website tomorrow for [...]

[ ENTER TO WIN TICKETS ] Tonight!!!! at The ND, T Bird and The Breaks are unleashing CHUNK music on your poor souls with their new EP Dancehall Freakin’. Get a copy of the EP plus free beer from 9 – 10 pm with your ticket purchase, grab tickets here: [ BUY TICKETS ] In case you aren’t familiar with T Bird and The Breaks, they have been a long time Austin favorite, performing at huge festivals like ACL and Fun Fun Fun Fest and selling out Continental Club, Mohawk, etc. for the past few years. Nationally they have toured with Galactic, toured the ...

You can now listen to EMA 's entire set from last year's Incubate Festival, which includes a cover of 'Add It Up' by Violent Femmes. This year's Incubate Festival takes places the 10th - 16th September 2012. More info can be found here .

Requested by al • Compiled by SomeoneInCali 01. Beastie Boys - “Jimmy James” (Check Your Head) 
02. J-Live - “The Lyricist” (All Of The Above)
 03. Baths - “Animals” (Cerulean)
 04. Daft Punk - “Face To Face” (Dicovery) 05. Cosmic Revenge - “Memories (Beat Connection Remix)” (Memories) 06. The Gerbils - “Sunshine Soul” (Are You Sleepy?) 07. Beat Connection - “Sunburn” (Surf Noir EP) 08. Violent Femmes - “American Music” (Add It Up 1981 - 1993) 09. INXS - “Don’t Change” (The Best Of INXS) 10. The Young Evils - “A Just Built Beaming Light” (Enchanted Chapel) 11. Liz Phair - “Johnny Sunshine” (Exile in Guyville) 12. Panda Bear - “Slow Motion” (Tomboy ...

San San Francisco (by way of Chicago) quartet Ezra Furman and the Harpoons released their third LP less than a year ago. However, the band’s namesake Furman has already recorded an album’s worth of solo material. He just released his solo album entitled The Year of No Returning via Kinetic Family Records. his sound invokes hints of the Violent Femmes and Bob Dylan. Stream the first five songs or download via the link below. The Year of No Returning // VINYL RECORD by Ezra Furman Order the album (or download Side A of the album) here

When Ezra Furman and the Harpoons’ first record came out, there was a good argument to be made that the scene could actually use a dead-on Violent Femmes doppelganger. In a scene with a lot of yelp, to have the brand of yelp that comes with a blistering sense of humor and vaguely pervy garage-rock abandon was a good palate cleanser and a nice antidote to the last decades’ raft of monochromatic Englishmen in tight jeans. Years later, though, Furman has the sense to branch out and try to seek his own less referential voice and broaden his sonic palette.

Everybody is supposed to regard Hüsker Dü as one of, if not the greatest exponents of American hardcore punk. As such, we are all supposed to bow down to them and admire their "influence" on those who came after, right? They were the ones who, along with the Violent Femmes , encapsulated the very essence of what it means to be a teenager in the eighties. Indeed, if you try to bring some sort of order to the tracks, it appears you are listening to the somewhat sorry tale of a disaffected, disillusioned, alienated youth who drifts away from his familiar ...

Charlize Theron is right on her sexy in a new photo shoot with Vanity Fair. The breathtaking A-List actress gets tongues wagging as she poses in the middle of an L.A. street, wearing an open black one piece, black pumps and tailored black blazer, perfected with a touch of red lip. PHOTOS :  Charlize Theron Used To Stuff Her Bra As A Kid?!  "Not a lot of people would get into a bathing suit in the middle of the night down the street in L.A." the long legged  Young Adult  star says in a video from her  VF  photo ...

Vanity Fair's first ever Hollywood Issue is here, featuring 11 of our favorite actresses on the three page cover and amazing spread! VF teamed up with famed fashion photographer Mario Testino to shoot the most intriguing break out stars in Tinseltown; a bevy of Hollywood beauties with the talent to match. PHOTOS :  Lizzie Works Her Olsen Magic For Asos The jazz age inspired set features 2012's great actresses Rooney Mara, Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska, Elizabeth Olsen, Adepero Oduye, Shailene Woodley, Paula Patton, Felicity Jones, Lily Collins and Brit Marling. Take a look at the video below ...

Good morning, everyone! I hope this Wednesday finds you well and semi-alert. If you are neither of those things…may I suggest Pixies? Before long, Pixies are going to be the center of my argument as to why the U.K. is so much better with music than Americans are even though Pixies are an American band. But that’s neither here nor there (for now). For now, I’ll simply introduce you guys to forerunners of grunge music.  8 years ago I would have said Pixies were  a band from Boston, MA but I have the joy of being ...

• Welcome to the end of the week that killed Lana Del Rey's career made Lana Del Rey an even bigger Internet star. SNL , you are a cruel mistress. • Also dramatic — SPIN's first trip to Sundance! Phoebe Reilly ran down her 20 most anticipated films , and then headed off to Park City, where she'll be filing dispatches for us starting tonight! • No Age got into a scrap with the Kings of Leon, while Elton John and his husband got into a disagreement with reality . • SPIN spoke to Azealia Banks about landing a record deal and chatted with Amanda ...