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The 12 Plays of Alternative-Indie Christmas Songs - Mix Three 2007-12-15 01:12:00 The third installment of IRC's special Christmas music series of "The 12 Plays of Alternative-Indie Christmas Songs" includes some more mainstream rock artists such as My Chemical Romance, Slade and Belle and Sebastian, as well as popular indie artists like Low, Sufjan Stevens and Jens Lekman.More 'underground' indie and alternative artists, like Sciflyer and The Ten Thousand Dollar Tattoo, have also contributed to this mix. Enjoy Mix Three and support your favorite artists. 1. Have Yourself a Merry Little Xmas - Daphne Loves Derby2. Maybe This Christmas - Ron Sexsmith3. Silent Night- Low4. All I Want For Christmas Is You - My Chemical Romance5. The Opposite of Hallelujah - Jens Lekman6. The Same Thing Goes for Christmas - Sciflyer7. My First Santa - Ten Thousand Dollar Tattoo8. Merry Xmas Everybody - Slade9. Star of Wonder - Sufjan Stevens10. Bittersweet Eve - BalasanaBonus Tracks - Belle and Sebastian live on the historic Peel Sessions, Dec. 18, 2002:- The 12 Days of Christmas (L ...

The 12 Plays of Alternative-Indie Christmas Songs - Mix 2 2007-12-12 20:52:00 Have you heard enough of the old Christmas songs that make you want to pull your hair out yet? ;-)Well, hopefully the playlist below will help alleviate the stress. Peace on earth and good will to all is not a bad mantra.In the on-going series of alternative and indie song playlists, we hope to alleviate some of that by offering you the best collection of alternative Christmas tunes available anywhere on the Internet (and we checked! - for weeks!).1. Blue Christmas - Bright Eyes2. Christmas is Going to The Dogs - The Eels3. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Death Cab For Cutie 4. We Three Kings -Fuel5. Christmas Night of Zombies - MXPX6. This Time of Year - Mighty Mighty Bosstones7. When I Get Home For Christmas - Snow Patrol8. Put the Lights On the Tree - Sufjan Stevens9. Santa Claus is Coming to Town - Sugarcult10. The Christmas Song - The RaveonettesListen to the first volume of the alternative-indie Christmas songs series or subscribe to get the entire 12 playlists as they are pu ...

The 12 Plays of Alternative-Indie Christmas Songs - Mix One 2007-12-09 16:01:00 Indie, alternative, rock and pop music fans have made it as clear as fresh fallen snow; they want a complete collection of alternative Christmas and holiday songs. Here is the first of 12 Xmas playlists featuring many of the best original and cover-version Christmas and holiday songs available anywhere. I hope you enjoy these playlists as much as I have enjoyed putting them together. (Note: the photo to the left is a staged photo; you know, like a joke.)"The 12 Plays of Alternative-Indie Christmas Songs" collection playlist series - Mix One- Happy Christmas (War is Over) - The Polyphonic Spree- 25th December - Everything But The Girl- Last Christmas - Jimmy Eat World- First Noel - My American Heart (pictured on the right)- Hey Parker, It's Christmas - Ryan Adams- Miracle Of Christmas - Funeral For A Friend- Just Like Christmas - Low- Born on Christmas Day/Annunciation Day - Ted Leo and Pharmacists- Christmas Wrapping - The Waitresses- Did I Make You Cry on Christmas Day? - Sufjan St ...

Modest Mouse, Spoon and Jimmy Eat World Headline "Not So Silent Night" Concert in San Francisco Friday Night 2007-12-06 17:18:17 SAN FRANCISCO - Indie rockers in the Christmas and holiday spirit will get a special treat tomorrow night (Fri. Dec 7/07) as the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium presents the "Not So Silent Night" music festival.The all-night festive concert is exclusively designed for fans of indie and alternative rock with headliners Modest Mouse and Spoon, followed by Jimmy Eat World and stocking stuffers Angels & Airwaves and Paramore, a popular SF Bay Area indie band.The festival is almost guaranteed to be a great time. Tickets are still available and you can also check out Craigslist, eBay or whatever ticketing service you may use to see if you can grab some stubs for this once-in-a-lifetime special Christmas festival.But don't worry, if miss it, stayed tuned to IRC for full post-festival coverage with MP3s, official websites, YouTube videos from the fest, fan photos, blog reviews and more.The event was coordinated by San Francisco radio station Live 105. See you there.Bloggers: Send IRC your ...

Modest Mouse, Spoon and Jimmy Eat World Headline "Not So Silent Night" Concert in San Francisco Friday Night 2007-12-06 15:43:00 SAN FRANCISCO - Indie rockers in the Christmas and holiday spirit will get a special treat tomorrow night (Fri. Dec 7/07) as the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium presents the "Not So Silent Night" music festival.The all-night festive concert is exclusively designed for fans of indie and alternative rock with headliners Modest Mouse and Spoon, followed by Jimmy Eat World and stocking stuffers Angels & Airwaves and Paramore, a popular SF Bay Area indie band.The festival is almost guaranteed to be a great time. Tickets are still available and you can also check out Craigslist, eBay or whatever ticketing service you may use to see if you can grab some stubs for this once-in-a-lifetime special Christmas festival.But don't worry, if miss it, stayed tuned to IRC for full post-festival coverage with MP3s, official websites, YouTube videos from the fest, fan photos, blog reviews and more.The event was coordinated by San Francisco radio station Live 105. See you there.Bloggers: Send IRC your ...

Daft Punk's Sci-Fi Indie Film "Electroma" London Screening Next Week; New "Alive" Release 2007-11-23 18:50:00 LONDON - Techno music trail blazers Daft Punk released their new album Alive this week, but the collection of live performances is being overshadowed in London by the buzz surrounding a special cinematic screening of the duo's Electroma, a strangely beautiful sci-fi styled film.The two main characters, played by Peter Hurteau and Michael Reich, are based ironically enough on the persona's of Daft Punk's Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter.In the film, the duo set off on an odyssey to become human, roaming through gorgeous desert landscapes in a sports car on wide-open roads until they come upon a small town (filmed in Inyo County, California) inhabited by a close-knit community of proud robots.When the 'townspeople' discover that their new residents true intention is to acquire latex (yup, latex) faces in a desperate move to humanize themselves, the locals turn on the pair, and things start to get weird. There's not much action, but the film does seem to captivate t ... Film

Meet One of the U.K.'s Hottest Bands - Editors 2007-11-02 16:33:00 With the success of their new release An End Has A Start, accompanied by popular music videos and a pair of hit singles, the Editors are back in the U.K. after an extensive tour of the U.S., and at a time when the band's stylish brand of neo-punk mixed with goth-rock is catching on in the alternative rock arena.Last month the Birmingham, England quartet kicked-off a two month long tour of Europe with a sold out show at the Brixton Academy in London.Measuring by the number of searches for Editors' related links on this site and other music blogs, IRC has put together a compilation of music videos, blog and mainstream media articles and reviews, MP3s, concert photos, amateur concert videos, plus the Editors' official website, MySpace and YouTube pages:- Review of Editors' Fillmore show, San Francisco - September 20, 2007- Watch Editors' music and concert videos at IndieRockConcerts.com and IndieRockSongs.com- Listen to and download free studio and live Editors' MP3s- Exactly why is ...

Editors' Drummer Ed Lay Breaks A Cardinal Rule of Indie Rock Etiquette 2007-10-28 17:43:00 CAMBRIDGE, England - With a run of successful concert tours, albums and singles, the U.K.'s super hot Editors are making plenty of positive waves in the music world.So what's up with the crap coming from drummer Ed Lay's mouth recently?In July, The Cambridge Evening News in the U.K. caught up with the petite drummer outside a club in Cambridge:"When we catch up with drummer Ed Lay to chat about the band's phenomenal rise, he's unloading all the bands equipment from a van to set up for rehearsals - proof that even if you have a number one album and a shower of critical acclaim under your belt, you still have to get your hands dirty occasionally."I had to hire my own van and go and pick all our stuff up," he moans. "See, it's not all glamorous you know. Nobody does my washing either."Umm, did you really say that, dude?Hey Ed, I can guarantee you that fans of the Editors don't want to hear you whining, especially about moving your own equipment or, wait a minute, washing your own c ...

The Smashing Pumpkins Launch 2007 Tour with Bunches of Shows in San Francisco and North America Through October 2007-10-26 23:00:20 While it is by no means a reunion of the iconic alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Corgan and his band are pitching themselves as the real thing, even though two of the original band members - bassist Darby Wretsky and guitarist James Iha - are not touring with Corgan. Therefore, fans have actually gone to the shows not knowing Wretsky and Iha were not on the tour, and that's wrong; it would be like The Rolling Stones touring without Keith Richards (yeah I know...) and Ron Wood. Read more about reaction to this controversy.Nevertheless, Billy Corgan and Friends, as a local reporter called the band, sold out 10 shows at San Francisco's historic Fillmore Theatre. Corgan apparently cannot lego his ego and decides to deceive fans.Rumored to be 'The Smashing Pumpkins' last tour, tickets for all of the shows (the capacity of the venue is 1,500) were gone in one day and are now being scalped and sold on eBay and Craig's List (which eBay owns 25% of) for four to ten times ... America

Stereophonics Return With No.1 Album in U.K.; Music Videos, MP3s,Tour Schedule 2007-10-20 18:56:00 The Stereophonics first full length album in two years - Pull The Pin - was released Monday (Oct. 15) to over-whelming critical acclaim, intense radio play and appreciative fans, boosting the album to the top of the U.K. album charts in less than 48 hours.The promotional efforts leading up to the launch of the band's sixth studio album included the advanced release of the melodic hit single and music video "It Means Nothing", plus the title track, from this summer's online only Bank Holiday Monday EP [see videos links below].On October 29, The Stereophonics will kick-off a one-month, 21-show concert tour of the U.K. and Europe through the end of November. (this page will be frequently updated, or you can sign-up for the free Feed Me Indie mailing list)Here's a clip from the band's press release on Monday: "If you want to download a digital copy of the album, it’s available through iTunes together with two bonus tracks, a video and the digital booklet."To watch the band's new pr ...

Why Morrissey Walked Away from a $75 Million-Plus Deal? Too Old and Stupid to Rock? 2007-09-07 00:49:00 Indie pop rock icon Morrissey still has the pull to sell out stadiums and other venues worldwide thanks to his adoring fans - young and older - who just can't seem to get enough of his catchy pop songs and more often, dreary, whiny ballads about how the world hates him, how sad and depressed he is and why love never seems to work out for him.Morrissey has been touring the world for the past 21 months, notching up more than 150 shows from Seattle to Tokyo to London and New York. What's going on man? Are you trying to prove something?But more interesting is why does Morrissey continues to say no to a Smiths' Reunion. In fact, he recently turned down a $75 million payout to perform 50 shows as part of a Smiths' reunion.Naturally Morrissey (I hate writing your stupid name, much less having to say it; use your full real name dude - it's not like you're Oprah), the former lead singer of indie pop legends, The Smiths, has stirred up speculation of a possible reunion of the one of the m ...

Lollapalooza 2007 Special Edition: Music Video Performances 2007-08-30 19:08:00 Missed out on Lollapalooza? Well, don't sweat it.IRC has put together a hot compilation of videos from festival goers and mainstream media highlighting the indie rock and pop artists that helped make Lollapalooza 2007 a great success. Even threats of thunderstorms were not going to allow the feast of music to be interrupted, although there were a few, brief showers, which you can imagine was a nice relief from the searing heat and icky humidity that has made it an unusually warm summer in the midwestern United States. Don't miss reviews and postings for festivals still yet to take place, such as Austin City Limits Festival, Monolith, Download Festivals, Vegoose and many more.Check out YouTube videos from Lollapalooza (videos have been approved for quality) and other Lolla links.LCD Soundsystem at Lollapalooza 2007 (from AT&T Blue Room)- Daft Punk Is Playing At My House - North American Scum - Time to Get Away Pete Yorn (from AT&T Blue Room) at Lollapalooza 2007 - Closet - Young Folks ...

Death Cab For Cutie Ben Gibbard's iPod Playlist 2007-08-23 14:40:28 The indie pop quartet out of Bellingham, Washington with the unusual name, "Death Cab For Cutie", has taken the rock world by storm in the past two years with heart-filled indie rock songs, thoughtful lyrics and creative musicianship. (photo, left: Photo by Autumn De Wilde)DCFC (as they are known to many fans, or else just "Death Cab")consists of singer, songwriter and guitarist Ben Gibbard, guitarist Chris Walla, bassist Nick Harmer and drummer Michael Schorr.The guys of Death Cab have been together for a decade, but their popularity reached international proportions only recently and rather quickly.Prior to 2005, Death Cab released a number of CDs, LPs and EPs with moderate success, but it wasn't until their 2005 Atlantic Records release "Plans" that the band's name became recognizable to millions worldwide.Even more recognition has come the band's way via Ben Gibbard's "side project" The Postal Service, which pumped out a big hit with "Such Great Heights" - a popular radio and o ... Ipod

Lollapalooza Festival in Chicago Features Amazing Line-up of Artists; Include Live Webcast 2007-08-05 04:16:31 Tens of thousands of music fans have assembled in Chicago's Grant Park on the shores of Lake Michigan to attend the three-day annual Lollapalooza Festival. Despite increasing clouds late Saturday and the chance for showers on Sunday, lower ticket sales than organizers would have wanted (there are still tickets available on the Lollapalooza website, but no word, of course of how many. Nevertheless, a sea of people have gathered in Chicago for one of the most celebrated music festivals in North America. For rock and pop music fans, especially those with modern tastes, the dizzing array of artists and bands playing at the festival is overwhelming, and unfortunately conflicting as there are many cases in which popular artists and groups are playing at the same time but on different stages, making it a hard choice for fans. Altogether, there are some 100 performers playing on nine stages for three dog days of summer. Some of the top billed acts include popular indie and rock artists such a ...

A Half Smashed Pumpkin Doesn't Make A Smashing Pumpkin 2007-07-31 01:14:55 SANTA CRUZ, CA - Last night Billy Corgan and "Friends" (as one local reporter called it) rocked the historic Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium (1769). As expected, the show was sold out with rockers ranging in age from teens to guys in their 50s. Remember, The Smashing Pumpkins will be two decades old next year. Rock on older rockers! The younger rockers are likely to be fans of Corgan's newer music, such as the popular YouTube music video "Tarantula." (watch video)Many fans, including myself, were somewhat let down by the show. For $35 (scalped tickets went as high as $120), you'd expect to see The Smashing Pumpkins. But we only got half a pumpkin, singer/songwriter Billy Corgan (who I happened to pass on the street two hours before the show) and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin.Original Pumpkin guitarist James Iha and bassist D'Arcy Wretzky left The Smashing Pumpkins in 2001 to launch Scratchie Records, a division of Mercury Records, which is thankfully not one of the major labels. Nevertheless ...