The Black Angels @ Neumos

New Dr. Dog

The vintage-inspired (then again, who isn’t these days) Dr. Dog is releasing their newest effort, Fate, on iTunes (July 15th) and in stores (July 22nd ) in roughly a month. Their last album We All Belong was really stinkin’ good, so I suggest you check out their newest single, now!

Dr. Dog - “The Old Days” (alt)

Broken Social Scene Hits a Wall

An unmastered version of the latest Broken Social Scene presents… installment has recently leaked, causing the latest featured musician, Brendan Canning, to react by posting the album digitally before it’s release date of June 22nd.

Canning’s reaction is similar to labelmates Stars’ reaction to the early leak of their In Our Bedroom After the War… (mp3 after the jump)

Tangled Up in Blue states

In case, for some reason, celebrity endorsements still (or ever) mattered, Bob Dylan has officially announced his endorsement of Barack Obama:

“Well, you know right now America is in a state of upheaval. Poverty is demoralising. You can’t expect people to have the virtue of purity when they are poor. But we’ve got this guy out there now who is redefining the nature of politics from the ground up…Barack Obama. He’s redefining what a politician is, so we’ll have to see how things play out. Am I hopeful? Yes, I’m hopeful that things might change. Some things are going to have to.”

-Bob Dylan, in London’s The Times

Though Obama has already racked up a lot of musicial support (Colin Meloy, Jeff Tweety, Bruce Springsteen, etc), as well as the nomination, it’s still neat to see a new voice for change be supported by “the voice of a generation.”

If you haven’t already, register to vote, if you’re in to that sort of thing.

Flammable Material: The Hood Internet

Girl Talk has been sitting on the hipster DJ thrown for far too long and the Hood Internet seems more than willing to take over. Their album, The Hood Internet vs. Chicago mashes up indie, dance, and hip-hop artists so well, you don’t even need to fuss with an iTunes playlist. Just pop this one in from start to finish and you’ve got yourselves a party.

The Hood Internet - “Pro Nails Forever” (alt)

Under Review: Fleet Foxes/Fleet Foxes

To say that hype and expectation surround the Fleet Foxes’ self-titled debut album would be an understatement; it may be the most anticipated album of the year. And in this blog-happy world where bands become larger-than-life at the drop of an internet single, it’s easy to get lost in a world wide web of hype. But Fleet Foxes is an album that can hold its own, regardless of press buildup, internet presence, and buzzworthy tours.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Watch it /Read it

Halftime Report

Being nearly halfway through 2008, I thought I’d share with you my favorite albums thus far:

M83/Saturdays=Youth (buy it)

M83 - “Kim and Jessie” (alt)

Cue the cliche’ Alice Cooper Song….now

I’m all done with school now…er…until next fall. I’ve got one hell of an inbox piled up AND a ton of CD’s waiting to be reviewed and promoted. I’m thinking of doing some revamping with Dance Hall Hips; a new facelift, maybe even a nifty logo. I’ll try and squeeze that in between that glorious period of time where I’m off school and before I have to get a job.

Thanks for your patience. I’ll try and get some posts up in the days to come!

Canoe - “Holland, 1945″

Yes, I’m alive. But don’t get too excited. I’ve still got school on my hands. Just thought I’d share a track I stumbled across while screening/reviewing CD’s. It’s a Portland-based band, Canoe. They’re covering Neutral Milk Hotel’s “Holland, 1945″. The rest of the CD makes for a nice folky summer album in the vein of Sufjan Stevens, Joni Mitchell, Rosie Thomas, and Denison Witmer.

Canoe - “Holland, 1945″ (alt)