Adult Swim rock. If you didn’t already love them for great television then maybe you’ll love them now for a whole stack of free music. And it’s GOOD free music. They’ve out together an album called Warm and Scratchy which you can download here complete with artwork. All the tracks are rare/new/unreleased and the album features TV on the Radio, Broken Social Scene, Fennesz, Les Savy Fav, The Good, The Bad & The Queen and many more. Check out a few tracks below.

Download:
TV on the Radio – Me-I
The Raveonettes – Dead Sound
The Rapture – Crimson Red
Broken Social Scene – Canada Vs. America
Asobi Seksu – Stay Awake
Liars – Sunset Rodeo

I love the internet.

Spine Magazine has put up an mp3 of a brand new Lupe Fiasco track which HEAVILY samples Thom Yorke’s The Eraser. In fact, all Lupe did (along with Kanye West and Pharrell) was strip Thom’s vocals from the verses and rap overtop of the piano chords.

It’s kind of a cool track but Lupe Fiasco, Kanye, and Pharrell are all capable of so much more… it sounds like they phoned this one in. But I’m a sucker for those piano chords (which are actually Jonny Greenwood’s work cut up by Thom on his laptop). (via GvB)

Download: Lupe Fiasco – US Placers

For much better Lupe Fiasco stuff I suggest you track down Daydreamin’, I Gotcha, or Kick, Push.

UPDATE: Thanks to Graham for letting me know that this is actually NOT a Lupe Fiasco track but a track by CRS who are a new supergroup featuring Lupe, Kanyezzy and Skateboard P. The track is a part of a new mixtape by Kanye which changes how I view the track.

Thanks to Aquariam Drunkard for the heads up that Lost Highway have released two official mp3s from the forthcoming Ryan Adams record, Easy Tiger (preview live tracks from the record here).

Download:
Two
Everybody Knows

I find it interesting that Lost Highway have released two tracks ahead of the album being released (in fact before it has even leaked onto the net) after Ryan Adams fans were taken to court for posting advanced mp3s from Jacksonville City Nights. While illegal, it seems that those fans set out Lost Highway’s current promo campaign for the new Ryan Adams record. Maybe they should be hired for their marketing department. Anyone know what happened to that case?

Easy Tiger tracklist:
Goodnight Rose
Two
Everybody Knows
Halloweenhead
Oh My God, Whatever, Etc.
Tears Of Gold
The Sun Also Sets
Off Broadway
Rip Off
Pearls On A String
Two Hearts
These Girls
I Taught Myself How To Grow Old

Ryan Adams and the Cardinals played a couple shows last week, one of which you can download here. It’s a great show as it was in an acoustic set-up rather than recent tours which featured full-on electric jam action. The show includes a cover of Alice in Chain’s Down In A Hole which the Drunkard has posted here. Pretty cool cover.

Young and Restless are about to launch their debut self-titled album in July and I can’t wait. After initially not too keen on the band I am now firmly in the This Band Kicks Ass camp (due in large part to a GREAT live show). The first single from the record is called Kapow! and you can download it below. Seriously…KAPOW! Great title.

Download: Kapow!

Young and Restless will be touring next month and they will be taking Cut Off Your Hands along for the ride. What a great double bill. They’re playing two shows in Sydney:

Sat. June 16 @ Spectrum
Sun. June 17 @ Beach Road Hotel

Full dates here.

Another brilliant video from The White Stripes. This time with added political statement.

UPDATE: If the above video doesn’t work you’ll have to check the video here.

Turns out the rumour I posted last month was true as today Bob Dylan’s Australian / New Zealand tour was confirmed for August. The Sydney show will, predictably, be at the Entertainment Centre on Wednesday August 15. Tickets will be on sale for the Sydney show via Ticketmaster (no prices up yet, but it’s not going to be pretty). Ireland’s The Frames will be supporting for the length of the tour. Full dates:

Christchurch
Wed 8th August
Westpac Arena

Wellington
Fri 10th August
TSB Arena

Auckland
Sat 11th August
Vector Arena

Brisbane
Mon 13th August
Entertainment Centre

Sydney
Wed 15th August
Entertainment Centre

Melbourne
Fri 17th August
Rod Laver Arena

Adelaide
Tues 21st August
Entertainment Centre

Perth
Thurs 23rd August
Burswood Dome

By the looks of that itinerary I doubt there will be any second shows added so be sure to get your tickets quick when they go on sale June 7.

Still catching up on the weekend. Saturday night featured a reportedly dull FA Cup final (the real match is Thursday morning; Go Liverpool!) but a fun-filled Itty Bitty Festival at UTS. I’d never been to The Loft before but they could be putting on a lot more live music because the venue is great. The Sandwich Club crew took full advantage of the space with a DJ room and two stages one of which was outdoors in a nice little square. Now what about the music?

We arrived late so we missed out on Marching Room’s last gig as well as fellow transplanted Canadian Brian Campeau. Jack Ladder played a solo set and he seemed rather unhappy due to some sound problems. But after that the night took off for me. Cuthbert and the Night Walkers put smiles on the faces of everyone in the crowd with their off-kilter pop songs and mini-choir. This was my second time seeing the band and I was even more impressed this time. Can’t wait for them to release more stuff.

Cloud Control followed on the outdoor stage and they were also great as always. When are they putting out an EP or something? Then it was back indoors for Dead Letter Chorus. I’d not heard a note of them prior to the gig but they are a band I’m definitely going to check out more. Maybe it’s just my current inclination for more rootsy/folky/acousticy music but Dead Letter Chorus seemed to fill a bit of a void in Sydney’s live music scene…or maybe I’m just seeing the wrong bands. Regardless, their set left people commenting on their sound which reminded some of Okkervil River; it was their lyrics that left an impact on me. Looking forward to see them again soon.

Sadly I took off before Walrus took the stage but I’m sure they kicked everyone’s ass who weren’t as lame as I. So huge thanks to the Sandwich Club crew for another fun night. The bands were great, the venue was cool and there was a really great vibe. Do another one! A few photos here.

Download:
Cuthbert and the Night Walkers – Red Frogs
Cuthbert and the Night Walkers – Newtown
Dead Letter Chorus – Fred Astaire
Brian Campeau – Montreal

Bloody hell, a LOT of people are into The Seabellies. Spectrum was packed Friday night for the band’s EP launch and the band put on another great show for their ever-growing fanbase. After seeing them on a huge stage and then at a gig plagued by sound problems, it was great to finally see the band properly.

Once again I was impressed with their tightness and imagination. Drain the Lake and Song We Don’t Speak Of, the two songs I am most familar with, were the highlights for me. Both songs end with the band ‘jamming’ (ugh…hate that word) bringing the songs to huge percussive finales that left the crowd screaming. Not bad for a band just launching their debut EP.

Speaking of that EP, the band were kind enough to send me on my way with a copy to pawn off to someone. It’s six tracks, the packaging is great and all you need to do is leave a comment saying “Gimme free music” and I’ll randomly pick one (should more than one person reply) on Wednesday. So comment away!

Photos from the Spectrum gig here. The band also have plenty of shows along the east coast over the next couple months, so make sure you check them out.

AND

I totally forgot to add that Richard In Your Mind were the support act. I’d been meaning to see them for ages and ages now and I must say, they were friggin’ awesome. I’d read reports of dodgy vocals in concert but I didn’t get that impression at all. 60s inspired psychedelia? More please.

Come on weekend. This Saturday night the cool kidz at Sandwich Club have organized a wee festival and I must say it looks to be damn cool. Dead Letter Chorus, Walrus, Cuthbert and the Night Walkers, Cloud Control, Jack Ladder, Brian Campeau, Banshee, and Marching Room (playing their final gig ever) are all coming out to slay your Saturday night/Sunday morning. What’s great about this lineup is the diversity of more folky/singer-songwritery with the all out monster rock of the likes of Walrus with the choir-backed greatness of Cuthbert and the Night Walkers. Something for everyone.

It’s all going down at The Loft @ UTS (entry across from the Clare Hotel on George Street) and it will only set you back $15. There will be CHEAP beer and I think some sort of BBQ. You know you want to come out because the FA Cup final is going to blow. The whole thing kicks off at 6pm so don’t be lame and show up fashionably late because you will have missed some great music.

If you need further convincing, hit up SClub and check out mp3s of most of the bands playing.

The Manic Street Preachers released their eighth (!!) studio album this past weekend and I’ve been listening a ton. I’m a huge Manics fan and while Send Away the Tigers isn’t their best album, it will be one of my favourite albums come the end of the year. Part Guns ‘n’ Roses, part punk, part pure pop, the record moves along quickly through its ten tracks. James Dean Bradfield certainly lets rip on his white Les Paul all over this record too; solos aplenty. And while many hardcore Manics fans aren’t really digging lead single Your Love Alone Is Not Enough, I can’t get enough of it at the moment. And Nina Persson….awesome.

The artwork for the album is based on a concept by Nicky Wire and features artwork from Valerie Phillips’ self-published book of photography Monika Monster Future First Woman on Mars. I’m still working out how the artwork relates to the album as a whole (assuming it does) but it is a different style for a Manics album, which I like.

While the Manics generally have great artwork, my favourite aspect of being a Manics fan are all the references to other artists, politicians, and philosophers that the band emblazon on their artwork, website, and videos. Usually these quotations provide an insight into the themes and inspiration of the album and I don’t think this record is any different.

Prostitutes go to heaven. It is their clients that go to hell. David LaChapelle

The problem with silence is that we know exactly what it will be like. Hanif Kureishi

When a man is young he is usually a revolutionary of some kind. So here I am speaking of my revolution. Wyndham Lewis

We don’t take photographs with our cameras we take them with our hearts, we take them with our minds. Arnold Newman

I’ve never thought it powerful to be like a second-rate man. Femininity is stronger. Vivienne Westwood

I know the place it is true, everything we do corrects the space between death and me and you. Harold Pinter

If you like rock ‘n’ roll, pick up this album. This one’s for the freaks.

Download: Manic Street Preachers – Underdogs (via Last.fm)