For me, summer 2006 was about three things: a new apartment in a new city, a new job, and Brendan Benson’s first three solo records on my iPod. Fresh perspective and exciting new terrain matched aptly with Benson’s warm and wonderfully classic power pop, and on September 10th, 2009, I finally got to see him [...]

[Weekly roundup of the week's notable CD releases. Free and legal MP3 samples are provided where available so you can try 'em before you buy. Check out our upcoming CD releases calendar for a comprehensive list of 2009 releases.]

Artist: Brendan Benson
Album: My Old, Familiar Friend
Sample: “Feel Like Taking You Home”
The fourth solo full-length album from [...]

UPDATE: MP3 from new album now available!
Brendan Benson – “Feel Like Taking You Home”

File Brendan Benson under that category of criminally underrated solo musicians. Before his work with the Raconteurs, Benson had released three records and a couple of EPs, all full of well-written, straightforward indie pop with a warm, classic edge. His new [...]

Last year’s Treasure Island Music Festival was somewhere between meh and ehh. While the lineup was decent (Built to Spill, Spoon, Modest Mouse, etc.) something wasn’t clicking for me. Was it the bus ride? The windy nights? No. It was something else. Something much more offensive than the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah live set [...]

We’re having a very pirate-themed week here with a Lambchop-endorsed National Talk Like a Pirate Day yesterday and the Treasure Island Festival today and tomorrow.
Here’s a preview of some of the festival’s talent, including a lot of great Bay Area bands.
Saturday:
Justice – “Planisphère (Part 2)”
CSS – “Let’s Make Love and Listen to Death from Above”
TV [...]

Another Planet Entertainment just announced the lineup for the 2nd annual Treasure Island Music Festival. Headlining this year’s event will be Justice and the Raconteurs, with other big names such as Hot Chip, Vampire Weekend, Stranger-Dance-favorites TV on the Radio, and a host of smaller bands rounding out the two-day festival.
A.P.E. was smart to include [...]

The lineup for Lollapolooza has been confirmed, and it looks like Perry Ferrel & Co. have thrown down the gauntlet, basically taking the Outside Lands Festival lineup, trimming some of the MoR-friendly fat, and mixing in more talent.
Word that Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against the Machine, The Raconteurs, Wilco and Kanye West would headline [...]