EAR PWR – “National Parks” from SAL on Vimeo. About a month ago, we got the newest record from EAR PWR, a great, laid-back psych duo with a fondness for spiralling analog synths and soft, cooing vocals. I was instantly hooked — there’s something not unlike Kate Bush in their dreamy, expansive music, otherworldliness that [...]

As we head into the 4th of July weekend with firecrackers in one hand and a frosty six-pack in the other, the eMusic staff thought we’d help soundtrack your next barbecue by offering some of our favorite reissues and best-of compilations — revolutionary records, if you will — for just $4.99 or less. As the [...]

Brought to my attention today: this amazing blog by one Jenny Woolworth (the nom de rock of one Nicole Emmenegger), which aggregates incredible — and largely obscure — songs by some excellent punk women. I geek out on stuff like this regularly, but Ms. Woolworth has uncovered bands I didn’t even know existed. Die Egozentrischen? [...]

On August 30, Zach Condon — better known by his birth name, Beirut —will release The Rip Tide, a concept record about two former army buddies who open a detective agency on an L.A. Pier. A record this ambitious requires support, and support he will, with a string of dates stretching well into the fall. [...]

The only thing better than a metal band is a metal band with a sense of humor. Enter Mastodon and a gaggle of pissed-off puppets. Backstory: Since their inception, the group has gradually drawn out the artier inclinations that were always at the center of their storming songs. Though not everyone agrees with me, I [...]

All Beyonce, all day on my stereo. Queen B and more, after the jump. Call out what I’m sleeping on in the comments.

ACOTD (Album Cover Of The Day) New Gilles Peterson compilation, new samiyam (of Flying Lotus’s unbeatable Brainfeeder label), new Suede reissues, and more, after the jump.

The great Nitsuh Abebe — New York Magazine pop critic, onetime eMusic contributor and one of the best writers in the business — turned in this excellent piece for Pitchfork on one of my pet issues: notions of “authenticity” in pop music, and why they are inherently problematic. Nitsuh brilliantly articulates ideas that I’ve been [...]

(the late lester bangs, pictured here with some obscure bar rocker) OK! So as you’ve probably noticed, we’ve been making some tweaks to the way editorial displays on our site, where it appears and how it’s aggregated, in the hopes of allowing for a greater breadth and diversity in the types of features we can [...]

Our tastes run wide and varied here in the eMusic editorial department, with (I think) the greatest polarity existing between me and Laura (she can feel free to argue the opposite in the comments!) But there are a few areas where we agree, and two of them happen to be Sarah Jaffe and Robyn. So [...]

Man, I don’t know where to begin. One of the most best labels ever. Nonesuch is the home to most of my favorite classical recordings of all time, and most of them came in with today’s new haul. The Kronos Quartet, John Adams, Philip Glass, Terry Riley, Arvo Part, Louis Andriessen… we got quite a [...]

First up: A whole host of stuff from Nonesuch arrived today — specifically, everything we’ve been missing! Now’s the time to stock up on booster packs and go bananas. More new arrivals after the jump. It’s getting late in the day, so this is just a quick overview — tell me what I missed in [...]

Courtesy of the multi-talented Alina Simone comes this video of a wonderful array of poets reading the “Musicians Wanted” section of Craigslist. Hilarity ensues. Alina showed the video at her book release party at Joe’s Pub a few weeks ago. That night Alina treated us to covers of both Russian punk/folk rocker Yanka Dyagileva and [...]

(Photo: Sam Kieldsen) “You are seeing the classic line-up,” Robert Pollard chided playfully, “You’re not seeing the bad line-up. That’s when my brother was in the band.” And on Saturday night a classic line-up of the prolific Guided By Voices gave a blissful and uninhibited performance as part of this year’s Northside Festival.  The 35+ [...]

(chaos reigns at Deervana) On its surface, a music festival dedicated to indie rock held in Brooklyn seems, speaking generously, redundant. Because the borough boasts a great number of venues – both sanctioned and otherwise – and because it’s also become the home for creative types with an unconventional view on “office hours,” rock shows [...]

The Writing Dead: Why We Should Welcome The Pale King Into the Light of Day By Patrick Rapa We tend to think of suicide as desperate and impulsive, but it’s often unsettlingly deliberate. In September 2008, David Foster Wallace walked out onto the patio behind his California house, stood up on a lawn chair, made [...]

Genuinely heartbroken about the death of the great Clarence Clemons. Seeing someone else play the sax solo on “Born to Run” in the years to come will not feel right. Take a few minutes to read this excellent tribute by frequent eMusic contributor Michaelangelo Matos.

via Pitchfork Whoa, my favorite Canadian indie pop band gets all Pumping Iron in their new video. Very apropos, because I think that these days Maria Shriver would find much comfort in Stars’ epic breakup record, Set Yourself on Fire.

Matt & Kim‘s latest record is called Sidewalks, and their new video for “Block After Block” finds the duo running through the streets, subways and bridges of New York while they sing about breaking in back doors and jumping over turnstiles. Hello, summer!

OK! This is a nice summer surprise! Frequent eMusic visitors will know how deep my love for reggae flows, and so you can imagine my incredible delight when I was sent this kinda great dread cover of “Sliver.” Hearing that sing-song melody, I cannot believe no one thought of this sooner — it was a [...]