Blog posts will be sparse for the next week or so... tomorrow I leave for South By Southwest! I've been wanting to go for years and this will be my first time. Bands I'm looking forward to seeing: Nada Surf, I Was a Cubscout, She & Him, My Morning Jacket, REM, the Whigs, Pompeii and a ton of others. I'm hoping to get some good pics so I can share... stay tuned!

One of the best TV appearances I've seen in a long time...

Wow! Check out Liam Finn's appearance on David Letterman a couple weeks ago... amazing. You gotta watch all the way until the end... it's well worth it. Such a great buildup! I love how at the end, Letterman says, "How 'bout that? Everyone alright?" Liam Finn is the son of Neil Finn (of the bands Split Enz and Crowded House). His new album I'll Be Lightening is in stores now. Happy Friday!!

I am so confused about this. Really? Keith Richards???

Free album download

Following in the footsteps of Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails have released their new album, Ghosts I-IV, online for free today. You can download it here. And for you uber-fans who have an extra $300 lying around, there is also a vinyl set you can buy, which is signed by Trent Reznor.

Not a NIN fan? That's ok... check out the link provided by dolynu in the comments section of the post below this one, and take a listen to the Postal Service remix of a Cribs song. Thanks dolynu!

This could be a new obsession...

A friend just introduced me to a band called I Was a Cub Scout. Think Ben Gibbard (from Death Cab for Cutie) meets Torquil Campbell (singer for the band Stars), sung with a British accent. Damn this band is good. I must go google/wikipedia/itunes/myspace this new discovery now... more on I Was a Cub Scout in future posts I'm sure.
Happy Friday!

Check out this video from the band:

Reasons to join the Tide Pool...

This weekend I'll be taking a few lucky Tide Poolers to see the sold out Regina Spektor concert at Toad's Place... with a private meet and greet after the show! Have you signed up for the Tide Pool yet??? We're constantly giving away CDs, concert tickets and other cool things for our loyal listeners. Here's a sneak peek at a few giveaways we have coming up (for your eyes only).

Jack Johnson's new album, Sleep Through the Static
Shawn Mullins new album, Honeydew (win it before you can buy it in stores!)
Tickets to see comedian Martin Short
Gift certificates to your favorite local business' ...and lots more!

Join the Tide Pool here!

Last weekend I watched a documentary about the Pixies that came out a of couple of years ago. It's called Loud Quiet Loud and the cameras followed the band around on their sold out 2004 reunion tour (venues were selling out in 4 minutes!) Has anyone seen this? The film was great, but I couldn't help but notice that most of the members of the band have gone a little looney over the years (with the exception of guitarist Joey Santiago). Pixies have always been a band that people either love or hate (or people just don't know who they are). Fans got excited after the reunion tour because Frank Black illuded that Pixies would release a new album in the future. Unfortunately, just last month he told an interviewer, "The band did a successful reunion tour but that kinda fizzled out," before adding "They're not going to make a record." Bummer!! I've never been a big fan of Frank Black's solo stuff (although I was a big fan of bassist Kim Deal's band the Breeders). Just this morning, I read in the news that Frank Black has been collaborating with Modest Mouse singer/guitarist Isaac Brock and Larry Norman (a Christian artist who passed away on Sunday). The album will be released later this year apparently. It's crazy to think about how influential a band can be, even when they never break into the mainstream:

"No! That's just not right! The Pixies opening for us is like the Beatles opening for us. I won't allow it. There's no way we can follow the Pixies!" ~ Radiohead's Thom Yorke, after finding out the Pixies were going to play before them at Coachella.

"I was trying to write the ultimate pop song. I was basically trying to rip off the Pixies. I have to admit it (smiles). When I heard the Pixies for the first time, I connected with that band so heavily I should have been in that band - or at least in a Pixies cover band. We used their sense of dynamics, being soft and quiet and then loud and hard." ~Kurt Cobain

Here they are performing "Where is My Mind?" (the song that inspired the title of this blog) on their reunion tour: