What does one get when they combine indie starlet M. Ward with the ever elfish Zooey Deschanel? She and Him, one of the most recently blogged about upstarts of course! The first single Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? is a nice folky indie tune. It is very catchy, and highly listenable. She and Him have made an excellent first album with Volume One, despite the ridiculous covers. While I would have preferred that they make a smaller album and trim off the cellulite, Volume One is still very respectable.

To prolong my extended Skins orgasm I am going to post some shit. One of my fav episodes features a great "hidden rave" scene, and DJ Shadow is blaring in the background. Not only does our crush Maxxie get laid, but all the dramz comes to a head. DJ Shadow has always been a great innovator in the house/techno/electro scene. Getting a start in 1996, DJ Shadow keeps going. Organ Donor is off of the first album, Endtroducing...., and I prefer the extended mix (the original is less than two minutes).

So if you didn't know already, the Raconteurs (Jack White et al.) are releasing a new album very very shortly, with very very short notice. With great fear of the "internet sherif" I am posting the single. Salute Your Solution is very much in the Raconteur style; it contains some interesting vocals, unique guitar riffs, and plenty of rock. I have always felt like the Raconteurs is best listened to very loudly, so I suggest you turn up your speakers. We can all thanks the almighty Steve Jobs for the rapid release of this album, seeing as iTunes accidently leaked it, so if you know where your looking (tpb?), you can find it! Speaking of the Raconteurs, my friends over at Berkeley Place have highlighted an excellent cover/combo of the always awesome Steady as She Goes, featuring the ever lovely Corinne Baily Rae. So enjoy. And web-sherif, I look forward to your onslaught (actually my panties are wet from a combination of anticipation and utter terror)!

Holy shit. The new Madonna is eminent! The first "leaked" single was aired in France, and my copy is shity as hell. I like the song, but I think it is a little "mainstream", meaning I think Madge jumped on the Timbaland bandwagon (ie any top 100 Clear Chanel station's whole playlist). I hope that a better copy will have Madonna's voice much more audible. I think this will be a successful single, but I hope the whole album isn't like this. We agree with Perez on this one.....

I fucking love Tokyo Police Club. I am especially addicted to their Apple Store live ep. The band has released a few EP's, all of which are really short. They are smart. They get all of us bloggers wet in the pants area, but leave us with blue balls, always wanting more. Their first full length album is due out on April 22nd. Hopefully it will quench my ever longing need for great new tunes. The first track I have heard is In A Cave, an awesome song, which is very TPC. The band has a very in your face upbeat melow indie punk sound. Hopefully the album will be as awesome as the ep's (but hopefully longer than 16 minutes). This album will def be one of the bests of '08!

Who doesn't like Foals. They are just so cute! I wish I could just stroke their mane all day long. The band isn't too bad either! Their first studio album, Antidotes is set to be released on March 2th. Foals has gained a lot of blog hype, and I think it is deserved for the most part. My fav single so far has to be Balloons. The song sounds like your basic "indie" track, with some interesting guitar noises, and a little bit of synth. It starts out with a lot of energy which is sustained throughout the 3 minute track. I really enjoy the saxophone combined with the bass, it sounds great. Another song off the upcoming album, Hummer, is extremely similar to Balloons. In fact it is the exact same length. Although Hummer makes use of more vocals. I think this album will be successful, and I think it is def something to have in your collection. While the album is pretty good, the previously released Live EP is the shit! The band is incredible live, and I think that is where a lot of the buzz is coming from.

Led by the ever auspicious John Darnielle, the Mountain Goats have an incredibly large catalogue of music. The Mountain Goats just released their 16th album Heretic Pride, and it is one hell of an album. The single, Sax Rohmer #1 is a mellow, easy listening song. Sax Rohmer #1 has some killer vocals, and makes use of some really thoughtful lyrics. The only problem with Sax Rohmer #1 is that I am dying to listen to number 2, number 3, and perhaps number 7.

So the best album by far of 2007, combined with one of my fav remix artists and by far my fav rapper equals me splooging my pants. Words can't describe how awesome this is. Taking Radioheads cover of Thom Yorke's Videotape Amplive has created a masterpiece. Amplive didn't stop at just Videotape, he did the whole album, most of which I will post about later. It was surrounded with controversy (mainly from a cease and desist letter), but the good overpowered the evil! (I am cautiously calling Radiohead evil, because they did sort of stick it to the RIAA). Words cannot describe how awesome this is, so just listen....

It's almost summer time here where I am. Currently I am sitting outside, on a beautiful hill, enjoying the bask of what feel s like a 60 degree sunny day! FABULOUS! One of the more promising up and coming bands of the year is Ra Ra Riot. Their album was released last summer, and it totally brings back really great memories for me. Hopefully it will do the same for you. And for all that live in the cold (I used to call MN my home), I hope this song makes you really really sad that you are not working on a tan like myself!