* Office Of Future Plans have released the first track ‘Salamander’ from their upcoming debut self-titled album.
* Death Cab For Cutie will be releasing an EP called ‘Keys And Codes Remix EP’ on November 22.  The EP is made up of seven remixes of songs from ‘Codes And Keys’.  Leading up to the release, the band has been releasing one remix per week.  So far they have released ‘Doors Unlocked And Open (Cut Copy Remix)’, ‘You Are A Tourist (The 2 Bears Remix)’, ‘Some Boys (RAC Maury Mix)’, ‘Home Is A Fire (Ulrich Schnauss Remix)’, and Codes And Keys (Yeasayer Remix).
* Nada Surf will be releasing a new album called ‘The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy’ on January 24.  They have released the first single ‘When I Was Young’ for download on their website.
* Fanfarlo have released a video for the song ‘Deconstruction’ from their upcoming album ‘Rooms Filled With Light’, which is coming out on February 28.  The song is available for purchase as a single (with b-side ‘Reconstruction’) from Amazon and iTunes.
* Radiohead have announced the dates for US tour next year (there’s no Pittsburgh date) and plans to return to the studio.
* The National have released their contribution to the upcoming Philistines Jr. covers album.
* Sigur Ros have released the one studio song on their upcoming live album/film ‘Inni’.  The song is called ‘Lúppulagið’.
* Jonsi has revealed the details for his upcoming soundtrack for the Cameron Crowe film ‘We Bought A Zoo’.  The album comes out December 13 and features several new songs.
* Chris Carrabba (Dashboard Confessional) has released a new EP of covers for free download.
* Bon Iver and Feist recently performed on Later With Jools Holland.  You can see videos from the performance here and here.

* Ryan Adams recently performed a cover of Iron Maiden’s “Wasted Years” for BBC Radio.  Ryan also released another new song called ‘Invisible Riverside’ from his upcoming album ‘Ashes And Fire’.
* Polar Bear Club recorded a few songs for the Switchboard Sessions.
* Bon Iver recently performed a solo piano version of ‘Beth/Rest’ for NPR.
* Fanfarlo have released a video for the first song from their upcoming album.  The song is called ‘Replicate’ and the track is available for download to those that sign up for the band’s mailing list.
* Maritime have released a new song called ‘Sea Horse Love’ on a free Dangerbird Records sampler which is available exclusively on iTunes.
* Radiohead have released the sixth volume of their 12” remix series for streaming online.
* Pearl Jam have released a new song called ‘Olé’ for free download.
* She & Him have revealed the details of their upcoming Christmas album.  It is called ‘A Very She & Him Christmas’ and it is coming out on October 25.
* Office Of Future Plans will release their debut, self-titled album on November 14 via Dischord Records.
* Coldplay have released the second single ‘Paradise’ from their upcoming album ‘Mylo Xyloto’.
* Saves The Day have released a video for ‘Deranged & Desperate’
* Boy Sets Fire are planning on writing new material.
* The Casket Lottery are recording a new album for the first time since 2002.
* Hum are planning to play some reunion shows.
* Album Stream: Pearl Jam Twenty soundtrack
* Album Stream: Saves The Day - Daybreak
* Album Stream: Mates Of State - Mountaintops
* Album Stream: Bridge & Tunnel - Rebuilding Year
* Album Stream: Chuck Ragan - Covering Ground
* Album Stream: Samiam - Trips

Fanfarlo - I’m A Pilot (live at the Brillobox in Pittsburgh, PA - 12/12/2009)

Hey, I was at this show!

Here are the latest links that I enjoyed:

* Watch Thom Yorke perform some new songs at a recent gig [Link]
* Thom Yorke has named his solo band Atoms For Peace and they are going on tour [Link]
* Fanfarlo released a free live EP [Link]
* Jonah Matranga prepares to take on J-Lo? [Link]
* The National’s new album, High Violet, will be released on May 11 [Link]
* Wooden Birds (the new band from Andrew Kenny of American Analog Set) has released a free EP [Link]
* Far performed an acoustic version of a song from their upcoming album [Link]
* Stream the debut album from Broken Bells [Link]
* Stream Peter Gabriel’s new all-covers album, Stratch My Back (and download the Bon Iver cover for free) [Link]
* Download a song from the new Minus The Bear album, OMNI [Link]
* Band Of Horses will release their new album, Infinite Arms, on May 18 [Link]
* Stream the new Gorillaz album, Plastic Beach [Link]
* Nada Surf released the first song and the tracklisting for their covers album, If I Had A Hi-Fi [Link]
* Stream the new Cursive single, Discovering America [Link]
* Watch Freelance Whales perform live in a studio [Link]
* Download the song Thieves from She & Him’s upcoming album, Volume Two [Link]
* John Mayer recorded a cover of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Inner City Blues’ [Link]

Here is the new music that I’ve bought over the past month or so:

* Vampire Weekend - Contra [I thought the first Vampire Weekend album was ok, but I like this album way more.  It is so dancy and catchy.  My friend Cory said that it reminded him of Paul Simon’s Graceland and I can totally hear that.  I would definitely recommend it.]
* Spoon - Transference [Nothing on this album has jumped out and really grabbed me yet, but it sounds good.  Maybe it’ll grow on me.]
* Grade - At Both Ends [It always excites me when bands I like that have broken up get back together, but when those bands release new material, it’s usually ok at best.  This new single from Grade is an obvious exception to that rule, because it totally shreds.]
* Small Brown Bike - Composite, Vol. 1 [Ditto.  This single is awesome.]
* Eddie Vedder - City Of Ruins [I’m not familiar with Bruce Springsteen’s original, but I really like Eddie’s version of this song.]
* Jonah Matranga - You’re 16, You’re 23, You’re 32 (Box Set) [My girlfriend got this for me for my birthday.  The packaging is really cool because Jonah made each box set by hand.]
* Jonah Matranga - Splits & Comps, 1998-2010 [I had some of these songs on Onelinedrawing split CD’s, but this is a nice collection of some quality Jonah songs.]
* Jonah Matranga - Random Covers, Vol. 1 [This is quite the mix of covers.  Some make perfect sense for Jonah and others seem strange, but I’ll have to listen more before I decide if they work.]
* Lovedrug - 3 Song Sampler from +/- [I really liked the first Lovedrug album, but the last 2 haven’t done much for me.  These new songs sound awesome and I can’t wait to hear this whole record.]
* A.A. Bondy - Daytrotter Session [I had only heard one A.A Bondy song before downloading this, but I liked that song and I like this session.  He reminds me of Ryan Adams in a way.  Check it out…it’s free.]
* Headlights - Daytrotter Session [I don’t like the newest Headlights album quite as much as the one before, but I’m still digging it and I think the songs sound good in this session.]
* Fanfarlo - iTunes Session EP [Fanfarlo performs some really nice acoustic versions of their songs on this EP.]

Also, I have to mention how much I’m enjoying the Freelance Whales album Weathervanes.  I saw them open up for Fanfarlo a few months ago, and I bought their CD after the show.  I think the album is fantastic and I would recommend it to anyone.

Fanfarlo - Harold T. Wilkins, Or How To Wait For A Very Long Time (from the album Reservoir)

My girlfriend and I had a really busy Saturday:
* We did our laundry and I got a haircut in the morning.
* We went to the Pitt basketball game.  Pitt beat Kent State, but it wasn’t the prettiest win and I’m still pretty worried about this team.  I don’t know how they’ll be able to play with many of the teams in the Big East.
* After the game, we went to the Handmade Arcade at Hunt Armory.  Handmade Arcade is an annual event where vendors who make goods by hand gather together to sell their stuff.  Jess bought a new purse and I bought a t-shirt that says ‘City of Bridges: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’.
* For dinner, we made pizza at Jess’s apartment and then went to Gullifty’s for dessert.  Jess got caramel apple cheesecake with pecan streusel and I got chocolate cake.  Both were really good.
* After eating, we to the Brillobox for the Fanfarlo show.  Freelance Whales opened the show and they were so good.  I would describe their sound as poppy, but experimental (they use banjo and xylophone very prominently).  I bought their cd Weathervanes, and I’m looking forward to listening to it.  Fanfarlo’s set was really good.  Since they have only released one album, almost all of the songs that they played were from that album (which I appreciated since I really, really like that album).  They did play one new song.  For the encore, they passed out those plastic tubes that you twirl overhead to make a whistling sound (which I would call Whirly-Winds because of The Weakerthans). I got one and it was fun to participate, but my arm was tired by the end of the song.  It was a really good show and I’m so glad we went.  I’d recommend checking out either band if you get the chance.

I’m going to see They Might Be Giants tonight and with that, I begin a string of concerts that I’m attending.  Here’s the current rundown:

October 16 - They Might Be Giants @ Mr. Smalls (performing all of Flood)
October 23 - Old Canes @ Brillobox (Old Canes is a side project of Christopher Crisci of Appleseed Cast.  I won free tickets to the show.)
November 7 - The Get Up Kids @ Mr. Smalls (with Kevin Devine and The Life And Times)
November 15 - Thrice @ Diesel (with Polar Bear Club)
November 20 - Minus The Bear @ Mr. Smalls
December 12 - Fanfarlo @ Brillobox

Fanfarlo - Harold T. Wilkins (performed in a shed)

I bought Fanfarlo’s debut album for $1 awhile ago and I have really enjoyed it.  It now costs a little more, but I think it is definitely worth the price.  This video was the first thing I had seen and heard from them and I thought it was really cool.  They have a bunch of different videos on their site.

I got an email from the Sigur Ros mailing list a few weeks back about an album by a band named Fanfarlo.  The album is called Reservoir, and until July 4th, you can buy a digital copy of the album on the band’s site for $1.  Sigur Ros highly recommended it, so I thought I’d give it a try.  I’m really enjoying the album so far.  They are British and their sound definitely reflects that.  They have videos on their site of acoustic performances of some of the songs and they sound really great.  Check it out and buy the album here: http://www.fanfarlo.com/