Day one of the Pitchfork Music Festival went off with nary a hitch. Mission of Burma turned in an energetic and well received set, even thought the grounds were still slowly filling with attendees. Sebadoh's revisiting of 1993 brought back lots of fond memories to this writer, while pumping up and amplifying their classic tunes to great effect. We did notice that the majority of the crowd seemed into it, even if the age bracket......

Well, we started the week out with puppets, so let's see in the weekend with much the same. This is the new video from Pitchfork Music Festival '06 alums The Futureheads, whose new album we particularly enjoy.......

The Pitchfork Music Festival kicks off its 2008 edition this weekend at Union Park, and we've been highlighting some of the "can't miss" acts of the weekend on Chicagoist over the next few days. Today we'll tackle eight acts from the sold-out Sunday line-up. But before we do, you should know that Saturday and Sunday are completely sold out and there are only a few walk-up tickets that will be available for tomorrow's show. If......

Between "Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above" and the iPod commercial soundtrack "Music Is My Hot Sex" we think it's safe to assume every human being has heard the music of Cansei de Ser Sexy (CSS). On their sophomore effort Donkey, due next week from Sub Pop, the band continues to deliver danceable rock songs guaranteed to keep their fans happy. We've heard some criticism directed CSS's way for not being experimental......

Rumors are swirling that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has cleared his schedule for a "surprise" appearance at this year's Lollapalooza. We guess he really is a political rock star, huh?......

The Pitchfork Music Festival kicks off its 2008 edition this weekend at Union Park, and we're going to highlight some of the "can't miss" acts of the weekend on Chicagoist over the next few days. Today we'll tackle eight can't-miss acts from the sold-out Saturday line-up. Jarvis Cocker's set is easily one of the most anticipated acts of the entire festival. The archly British ex-frontman of Pulp continues to pen lyricallly rich and glamorously elegant......

Between their duet with Feist and this catchy little ditty, we'd say the Muppets are well on the road to updating their sound.......

Canadian prog-rockers Rush will appear on The Colbert Report tonight for their first American television appearance in 33 years. No word yet on whether Geddy Lee and host Stephen Colbert will engage in any terrorist fist bumps.......

The Pitchfork Music Festival kicks off its 2008 edition this weekend at Union Park, and we're going to highlight some of the "can't miss" acts of the weekend on Chicagoist over the next few days. Today we'll tackle the Friday night line-up, filled with nostalgia, brio, blood, sweat, tears, and louder than a Bomb Squad production. Friday is jointly curated by Pitchfork and All Tomorrow's Parties, an organization famous for putting on shows where bands......

If you pay attention to this sort of thing, you've probably heard that the new Hold Steady record, Stay Positive, sucks. I may have even been the one to tell you that, after one or two spins, but after spending some quality time with it I've changed my tune like Kid Rock with a ProTools rig. The Hold Steady may be "America's best bar band," and leader Craig Finn is the guy you want to......

While most music fans are familiar with The Watson Twins from their 2006 collaboration with Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis, Rabbit Fur Coat, sisters Chandra and Leigh have a blossoming career of their own. While the Twins occupy the same slice of Americana-inspired indie folk pop as the aforementioned Rilo Kiley, they've quickly establishing themselves with their 2006 EP, Southern Manners, and their aptly-named full-length debut, Fire Songs, released last month on Vanguard Records. Fire Songs......

We've definitely been digging the new Dandy Warhols disc ...Earth To The Dandy Warhols..., long since available for download through the band's site, but which will finally physically hit shelves August 19. To continue to drum up interest amongst the general public, the band has elected to release it's next single for free, and "The Legend of the Last of the Outlaw Truckers AKA The Ballad of Sheriff Shorty" is a chugging, slightly spaghetti......

Omaha-based Son, Ambulance is the clever play-on-words product of Joe Knapp and various cornhusker cronies, although the aforementioned singer/songwriter has been the band’s axis. Their debut effort, Oh Holy Fools was a collaboration with Saddle Creek star Bright Eyes, and their follow-ups, Euphemystic and Key, drew from the talents of many of the labels’ frequent contributors. Son, Ambulance’s latest release, Someone Else’s Deja Vu, is mostly a solo effort by Knapp, and departs from piano......

Yeah, we can't download the 2.0 firmware either. Neither can folks actually buying the iPhone today, and the long lines at Apple stores across the nation are testament to the fact that this time Apple screwed up. But some folks are taking advantage of the situation ... Chicago's own Rhymefest is handing out copies of his new mixtape to fellow queuers outside the Apple Store in L.A.!......

The first time you hear them, Dengue Fever is one of those bands that will most likely cause you to do a spit-take. Um, psychedelic Cambodian go-go music anyone? It sounds like the sort of thing that might've been blasting out if G.I. radios as they danced shirtless at the helm of their pontoon boats, fighting off mosquitoes, and getting so high they'd forget how to swim if they lost their balance. If you want......

The Pitchfork Music Festival made a few announcements today. El Guincho had to cancel, and Ghostface and Raekwon are now performing at a different time due to last-second changes in their travel plans, causing the Dodos to go on a tad earlier than expected. No biggie, we can roll with that. The good news is the announcement that all three stages should have comparable sound systems this year, so we won't have a situation --......

The last time we mentioned Farewell Captain we were expecting them to release an album shortly thereafter. That was a year and a half ago. Honestly, we had begun to resign ourselves to the idea that they might be one of those Chicago bands to record great albums that never saw the light of day ... but this Friday the world will finally be able to get its hot little hands on the band's debut,......

Tortoise are playing a benefit show for Stella Ackerman -- daughter of Lustre King's Craig Ackerman -- at the Empty Bottle Saturday night. Stella has an undiagnosed blood disease and the benefit is to raise money for the Ackerman both the family's medical bills and cancer research in general. If you want to buy tickets, you have to get 'em at the venue.......

Cello playing folkie Ben Sollee has penned an open letter/song to Kanye West about his recent outbursts. We would be tempted to think Sollee was angling to use West as a launchpad to media attention if it weren't for the fact that recently Sollee has been gaining a bunch of press based purely on his songs. Also, isn't the genesis of folk music all about carrying out musical discourse, which is why so much of......

Another week, another Kanye controversy. Last week, Bill Zwecker reported Mr. West would be attending anger management classes to reassure several corporations who were interested yet hesitant to extend to him endorsement deals. The trouble stemmed from Kanye's recent blog outburst regarding the criticism he faced for his much-maligned Bonnaroo show. Kanye's reaction to Zwecker's report: Nuh-uh. In a new blog entry, Kanye denied the reports and the fact that he needs any kind of......

In honor of tonight's Bird & Whale Showcase at Sonotheque, including Damon Locks as one of the DJs, we thought it was appropriate to pass this mix along to you. The Zowee! mix is danceable, psychedelic, Latin, '60s hipster, polyrhythmic, an honest to god aural journey to corners both unexpected and unknown, and a true delight. We're hoping the other DJs on the bill -- Miss Frowny, Dan Bitney, and Greg Dalphond -- deliver equally......

It's bad enough Canadian's have been biting a bunch of our indie cred, now they're going after our insurgent country sound too?! Seriously, it's time we start throwing some more grant money our musicians' way so we don't lose the sonic arms race! Luke Doucet sounds an awful lot like a mellower version of the Old 97s with plenty of pop injected into his twang. Blood's Too Rich is his most recent album and it's......

Seriously, this day is dragging on forever. We thought we simply were not going to make it. Until we saw this. Thanks to Melissa for the tip!......

We understand your needs. Coming into work after a three-day weekend sucks. Even way up here in the Chicagoist offices, our usually rambunctious and festive staff is a tad subdued. Our bellies are still slightly swollen from overcooked burgers and sweaty cans of beer. DJ Ray Protégé has put together a mixtape to help shake of the post-Independance blues and amp up your Monday morning. Hipster Hop showcases many of the groups of the so-called......

Buffetlibre put together a free '80s cover song project, and has posted the 56 contributions on their site. You can download the whole thing at once or choose song by song a la carte style. The bands tackled range from pencil-sketch Norwegians a-ha to Chicago noisemonsters Big Black. There are some clunkers, but with over 50 songs some bands actually tired to DO something with the source material instead of just dressing it up in......

Los Dynamite hail from Mexico City, but if you heard them without knowing that tidbit you'd be more likely to think of them as either being based in Brooklyn or London. The band rarely sings in Spanish, and their songs sound way more like Interpol and their ilk. And when they do sing in Spanish, it's over angular art punk that renders the vocals importance more as an emotive instrument than a lyrical delivery......

The Boston Phoenix is tackling an ambitious music project: naming each state's best bands with its 50 Bands, 50 States feature. The criteria: for Best Band, it must have been formed in the state; for solo artist, he/she must have been born in the state; and for best new band, they must count as "undiscovered" by the Phoenix. For Illinois, their choices were: All-Time Best Band: Big Black All-Time Best Solo Artist: Miles Davis Best......

Check out who's on the cover of the latest URB! It's been under a year since we last spoke to her ... man how time flies when you're getting all famous.......

Samantha Crain is just 21 years old, and already she's garnered such heady descriptions as "the bridge between Radiohead and the Carter Family" (American Songwriter) and "like Judy Garland singing Neutral Milk Hotel songs" (Shipwreck). Indeed, the young songstress draws as equally on the rich past of stylized folk legend as she is on some of the more experimental elements of modern pop. Possessing a beautiful, inflective voice, and an ear for injecting jaunty rhythms,......

The F Yeah tour hits The Mansion (2408 N Kedzie) tomorrow night with Matt & Kim, Monotonix, Team Robespierre, Mannequin Men, and Crystal Antlers. (Yes, Matt & Kim are also playing Hideout earlier in the evening, and this set was supposed to be a secret, but their label let the cat out of the bag, so there you go.) Tickets are only ten bucks, but we've got two free ones to give away to......