I really like where Beck’s new project, Record Club, is headed. The premise: Beck will lead a group of musicians to cover an entire album of their choosing in one day. The tracks are recorded and then released once a week on his website for fans to enjoy.

Wired reports:

“An album will be chosen to be reinterpreted and used as a framework. Nothing rehearsed or arranged ahead of time… Musical cohorts will include folks like Devendra Banhart, Jamie Lidell, Nigel Godrich and MGMT.”

AWESOME. I really hope this goes on for a while and doesn’t fizzle. For their first project, the group choose The Velvet Underground & Nico, which provides a lot of room for getting experimental — check out the tune “Sunday Morning” after the jump.

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Yep, it’s time again for the quintessential “so far” list — no music site is complete without one! 2009 is shaping up to be an interesting year, with old favorites and newcomers alike issuing strong releases. In an attempt to make some sense out of everything, our staff got together to vote on our favorites.

We’d love to hear your thoughts as well — what did we get wrong or miss? (For better or for worse, our cut-off date was June 15, 2009 — leaks DO count).

Results after the jump…

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You know the drill. Tonight, the eve of July 2nd, Stranger Dance is presenting a trio of excellent bands for your listening and viewing pleasure at the Rickshaw Stop: Moondoggies (from Seattle), Harbours (LP release), and Sarah Bethe Nelson. The fun starts at 8:00 p.m., costs $8, and all ages are welcome. See you there!

[Locals Only is a weekly feature where the Stranger Dance staff focus on the best and brightest of the San Francisco Bay Area music scene. Feel free to hit us up with any information on local bands, musicians, shows, and other music-related events and projects.]

Here’s your standard setup for celebrating the 4th of July: enjoy BBQ, freedom, beer and good company out in the sunshine. It’s a pretty tried-and-true formula - so what’s missing? Well, the Bay Bridged, Tartufi, Thread Productions and the SF Bay Guardian would like to add rock and roll to the mix, and hey, who’s to argue with that? Full details and mp3s after the jump.

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Since the unexpected death of his wife last year, visionary Mark Mulcahy has been struggling to continue writing music and raise his three-year-old twin daughters. Thankfully, he has friends who can lend a hand. An amazing cast will appear on the tribute to Mulcahy’s wife, Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy. Set for a September 29th release date, all proceeds from the album will go towards helping Mulcahy in his time of need.

Track listing after the jump…

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Well, it’s two weeks after the fact and I’m finally able to wrap my head around the musical smorgasbord that was Bonnaroo 2009. 75,000 people descended on Manchester, TN, (population: roughly 9,500 for 361 days of the year), for the festival’s eighth year.

The musical equivalent of Willy Wonka’s world of pure imagination, Bonnaroo once again transformed the masses into a mellow crew of blissed out Charlie Buckets — just swap the sugar for Springsteen.

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Stranger Dance is proud to present another excellent lineup at the Rickshaw Stop. On Thursday, July 2nd, it’s time to experience Bay Area locals known as Harbours and Sarah Bethe Nelson (also known as Prairie Dog), along with Seattle’s Moondoggies.

The show starts at 8:00 p.m., costs $10, and all ages are welcome. Buy your tickets beforehand by clicking here. You can RSVP and invite friends to the event via Facebook.

Moondoggies ( Myspace )

Moondoggies play straightforward, backroads-inspired rock and roll, reminiscent of the Hold Steady: tight and lush, yet uniquely rough and bluesy around the edges. “Changing,” in particular, is meant to played over and over, to soak up every riff and rumble. This band is well worth checking out, as echoed by the good people at Aquarium Drunkard and HearYa. Don’t Be a Stranger is out now on Hardly Art.

Harbours ( Official Website | MySpace )

Harbours were featured on another Stranger Dance bill back in April, and the band’s ace performance clearly left us wanting more. This particular show on Thursday will be in celebration of Harbours’ official vinyl release of No Souvenirs. If you have yet to experience this band, now’s your chance to soak up the warm, upbeat, 60’s-tinged indie rock.

Sarah Bethe Nelson ( MySpace )

Sarah Bethe Nelson, whether playing under her own name or that of Prairie Dog, offers up a mix of lovely and endearing tunes. Hushed vocals meet light strums and heartbreaking melodies in some songs, while others boast more dramatic, Vaudeville-like elements. Either way, her music is nothing short of intriguing, and it’s with great anticipation that we await her live set.

MP3s:

True Panther Sounds set the release date of Girls‘ full-length debut, Album, for September 22, 2009. You may recall we posted “Hellhole Ratrace” back in January.

“Built on the powerful songwriting of Christopher Owens and the ethereal production of Chet “JR” White, Girls recorded Album in a variety of bedrooms and rehearsal studios in their adopted hometown, San Francisco. The resulting 12 tracks are the perfect San Francisco summer record, evoking a narcotic, sunny afternoon in Dolores Park, yet promising the eventual hangover of summer’s departure. Album is a redemptive song-cycle about the various characters and desires that color Christopher Owens’s life. Described by the band as “honest, loose, ethereal, obnoxious and perfect,” it is a sincere tribute to the majesty of great pop music and the healing power of rock and roll.”

Track Listing:

1. Lust For Life
2. Laura
3. Ghostmouth
4. Goddamn
5. Big Bad Mean Motherfucker
6. Hellhole Ratrace
7. Headache
8. Summertime
9. Lauren Marie
10. Morning Light
11. Curls
12. Darling

Check out the video for their featured single, “Hellhole Ratrace,” after the jump.

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Unless you’ve been totally isolated from society, you’ve already heard that Michael Joseph Jackson died on June 25th, 2009 of a heart attack. His icon is like currency, something that’s been exchanged between people across the world for almost five generations, for the purpose of both enjoyment and ridicule. On a global scale, not everyone may be able to recognize a photo of Barack Obama, or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - but you’d be hard-pressed to find a majority that does not recognize the King of Pop.

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We now interrupt your regularly scheduled music for a little house keeping. After what seems like an eternity of wireframes, drafts, revisions and coding nightmares, we’re very proud to unveil the new Stranger Dance. It’s a fairly large departure from the look we’ve had from Day 1 here, but we like it a lot and hope you do too.

All of the coding was done by our own decidedly unprofessional hands, so there might a bug here or there, but we’ll hopefully iron out the kinks in the next few days. Until then, take a look around and let us know what you think.

Special thanks to Joribo and Lil’ Stevie, who endured endless revisions, suggestions and stupid questions and without whom we’d still be running off some ugly out-of-the-box setup.

Thanks,
The Stranger Dance Staff