Austin City Limits Announces 2010 Line-up

The line-up for this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival has finally been an announced.  I’m not gonna lie, I am a little disappointed.  They have still managed to garner a big list of artists that I would love to see, I am pretty underwhelmed by the choice of headliners.  While I have respect for the Eagles and can appreciate their past contributions to the music world, they are not the kind of band that I want to camp out in front of their stage in anticipation all weekend. In fact, if I am able to attend the festival this year, I will probably leave before their set  so I can get back in time to save a vacation day from work.  The Flaming Lips, The Strokes and Phish were all decent choices.   I don’t love either of those groups albums, but I think their performances will be a ton of fun for all in attendance.  While the other two (Muse & M.I.A.) definitely deserve an invite, I think they were pretty poor choices as headliners for festival of this caliber.  While it doesn’t match up to Bonnaroo’s stellar line-up, it is still a pretty great one overall, and well worth the trip if you are able to get your hands on a weekend pass (which I believe are already sold out).

Here is a look at the rest of this year’s line-up.

ACL Music Festival 2010 Line-up

The Eagles
Muse
Phish
The Strokes
M.I.A.
Flaming Lips
LCD Soundsystem
Spoon
Vampire Weekend
Norah Jones
Band of Horses
Monsters of Folk
Deadmau5
Sonic Youth
Gogol Bordello
The National
Robert Earl Keen
The Black Keys
Broken Bells
Slightly Stoopid
Yeasayer
Pat Green
Rebelution
Beach House
The Sword
Matt and Kim
The XX
Portugal. The Man
The Temper Trap
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes
Girls
Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses
Local Natives
Gaslight Anthem
Lucero
Devendra Banhart
Blues Traveler
The Soft Pack
Gayngs
Amos Lee
Robert Randolph & The Family Band
Ozomatli
Richard Thompson
Martin Sexton
Manchester Orchestra
The Almighty Defenders
Miike Snow
Mountain Goats
Bear In Heaven
Mayer Hawthorne
Midlake
Foals
Switchfoot
Cage The Elephant
JJ Grey & Mofro
Kinky
Angus & Julia Stone
The Morning Benders
Hockey
White Rabbits
David Bazan
Asleep at the Wheel
Trombone Shorty & Orleans
Avenue
Nortec Collective
The Very Best
Beats Antique
Blind Pilot
GIVERS
Dawes
Band of Heathens
Charlie Mars
Two Door Cinema Club
Lissie
Sarah Harmer
Constellations
T. Bird and the Breaks
Chief
Frank Turner
Those Darlins
Carolyn Wonderland
Kings Go Forth
The Relatives
The Ettes
Qbeta
Mynamisjohnmichael
Basia Bulat
Balmorhea
Dan Black
The Jane Shermans
The Kicks
Ponderosa
Two Tons of Steel
Caitlin Rose
SPEAK
Run With Bulls
Maxim Ludwig
Gospel Stars
Heavenly Voices
Wesley Bray & The Disciples of
Joy
Jones Family Singers
Ashley Cleveland & Kenny
Greenberg
Buddy & The Straight Way
Travelers
Ruby Jane Smith
Verve Pipe
Frances England
Jellydots
Elizabeth Mitchell
Okee Dokee Brothers
Tom Freund
School of Rock
Q Brothers

What are your thoughts?  Is this line-up up to par, compared to years past?

Dark Night of the Soul

Danger Mouse and Mark Linkous (Sparklehorse) have apparently  teamed up with direct David Lynch to release an album.  The initial idea was for the album to be released packaged with a series of photos taken by Lynch.  But due to a some indisclosed legal issues with EMI, for the time being, the album will be released as the booklet of photographs along with a blank recordable CD-R that will be labled as such: “For legal reasons, enclosed CD-R contains no music. Use it as you will.”   Hopefully they will get these unfortunate issues worked out soon so they can release the record for all to hear.  Until then, you can go to NPR for an “Excluse First Listen.”  I listened to the album once through and it was definitely dark and haunting.   But it was also very beautiful and multifaceted.  This album was able to evoke a plethora of emotions in me in just a 45 minute span.

Although Danger Mouse and Linkous were the brains behind this project and did the bulk of the songwriting, they weren’t without help.  Dark Night of the Soul is filled with many vocal guest stars, including The Flaming Lips, Black Francis, James Mercer of the Shins, Iggy Pop and more.  One of the highlights of the album for me was actually one of the more chipper and lighthearted tracks, “Daddy’s Gone,”  sung by Linkous and Nina Persson of The Cardigans.  But there was hardly a song I didn’t enjoy. So head  on over to NPR and check it out.

Iron & Wine Brightens Our May

Iron & Wine fans will have much to be happy about next month.  His new tour kicks off May 4th and should be one of his best yet.  I actually have legitimate reason to believe that to be true. To decide his setlist for each of these shows, he allowed his listeners to get online and vote for the songs that they wanted him to play.  So each set should have a new and unique flavor to it.  Also each show will be played in a very small and intimate setting and will be recorded, mixed, and the put online for those who weren’t able to make it to watch.  So this year it doesn’t matter where you live, you can still experience Sam Beam live in action over at Played Last Night.

Now for the really good news coming this May.  On the 19th Sub Pop is releasing a new album called Around the Well, a collection of rare or previously unreleased tracks spanning from some of his earliest sessions to material recorded for 2007′s The Shepherd’s Dog.  It will be a double-disc set with the first half filled with more raw and unedited recordings and more of a lo-fi feel.  The second will highlight a more full sound of Iron & Wine as he is surrounded by other friends and musicians.  The title comes from my favorite Iron & Wine track, “The Trapeze Singer”  which was written for and can be found on the soundtrack to the movie In Good Company.  The album not only closes with that song, but also includes three other songs that Beam wrote for that movie.  Around the Well also brings us some hard-to-find cover songs such as New Order’s “Love Vigilantes” or The Flaming Lips’ “Waitin’ for a Superman” as well as his infamous cover of The Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights.”

As if all that weren’t enough, we now have word that Beam is working on a follow-up to The Shepherd’s Dog that he hopes to release early 2010.  Until then, I hope your ears bleed.

Iron & Wine – Lion’s Mane

Vote for the Lips!

So I just found out via Stereogum that my current state of residence is taking a poll to decide the Official State of Oklahoma Rock Song.  And of course there is a Flaming Lips song on the ballot.  “Do You Realize,” one of my favorite tracks by the Norman natives is up against 9 other famous songs penned by Oklahomans.  And believe it or not the voting is open to the public, regardless of where you live.  So please go vote! You could even vote for Elvis if you want. Just please help save our state from the All-American Rejects.

The Flaming Lips – Do You Realize? (removed 2/13/09)

Why? Because I love covers and can’t resist an opportunity to post one.

Beck – Do You Realize? (removed 2/13/09)