The 13th annual San Francisco Oyster Festival is this Saturday, June 30th, 2012 at Sharon Meadow in Golden Gate Park.  The lineup is quite appealing this year. Two of the bands were an Indie Song A Day last year (2011).   Young the Giant “My Body” (Twitter @indiesongaday on 3/1/11)   Minus the Bear “Pachuca … read more ➜

I was in Barcelona last weekend for both shows and took a few videos with my Hi-Def camera. They are in 720 but embedded here with only a 380 width. Go to my YouTube page for the full resolution. I Wanna Be Adored Fools Gold Love Spreads

Deathandtaxesmag and diffuser.fm have some info on why the new Volkswagen ad uses a song that sounds remarkably just like Beach House. Beach House was approached to license the song but they refused. So the ad agency apparently hired someone to recreate the song. This is what Beach House has to say on the matter: … read more ➜

“If I’ve learned one thing about myself, it’s that I’m 100% incapable of knowing when things will happen,” he told Mojo magazine. “I listened to the stacks of CDs [from the band’s mooted third album] and thought: ‘Shit, this is better than the unreleased tracks on the [EPs] compilation. I decided it would be insane … read more ➜

“Sleight of hand for the down and out – rarities, alt versions, & unreleased material 1999-2009” “This is a limited run (100), 12 song disc chronicling hard-to-find and unreleased Highspire material from our first 10 years, including our long out of print debut ep. The first 50 copies were sold during our other band, the … read more ➜

Field Mouse is a four-piece dream pop band from Brooklyn, NY. Seamlessly interweaving influences from shoegaze, indie, and power pop, Field Mouse offers lush sonic textures and expansive soundscapes to complement the airy, wistful vocals of singer/guitarist Rachel Browne. Through complex and delicate harmonies, the songwriting of Browne and guitarist Andrew Futral breathes new life … read more ➜

“From Houston, TX comes Pink Playground, a new band that makes videos instead of playing live, and runs in the tradition of shoegaze and ethereal sounds right back to the earliest Jesus and Mary Chain demos. Guitars, synths, otherworldly vocals and drum machines collude to the proto-noise pop moment of the mid ’80s, and charges … read more ➜

Here are links to 2 videos from Swervedriver’s performance last night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. They played “Son of Mustang Ford”, from 1991’s debut Raise, and a new track “Deep Wound”. “Son of Mustang Ford” “Deep Wound”

My Bloody Valentine have confirmed their long-awaited reissue series. On May 7, Sony will reissue their albums (1991’s Loveless and 1988’s Isn’t Anything) as well as EP’s 1988-1991, featuring previously unreleased material, rare tracks, and four EPs: Feed Me With Your Kiss, You Made Me Realise, Glider, and Tremolo. Kevin Shields personally remastered both Loveless … read more ➜

Swervedriver are revving up for a brief run of US shows in March and April kicking off with an appearance on NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon show on March 26th and have been working on new material for probable release later in the year. One song called Deep Wound has three different versions, the … read more ➜

The first single from Sweet Heart Sweet Light (16/04/12) pre order here: http://www.dominorecordco.com/uk/albums/14-02-12/sweet-heart-sweet-light/ Buy the single on heavyweight 7″: iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/hey-jane-single/id505207436 http://www.doublesixrecords.com/

The record is titled ‘Bloom’ and will be out from Sub Pop on May 15 in the US and Canada. It’s out May 14 in Europe from Bella Union, May 15 in Mexico from Arts & Crafts, and May 18 in Australia from Mistletone. The lead single, “Myth”, was released on the band’s website yesterday. … read more ➜

Every now and then, a band comes along with the sounds of something fresh and promising. Sydney band Battleships fits right into this category. Formed in early 2011, they spent most of the year writing, rehearsing and recording new material. Although only having played a handful of shows together as Battleships, they are already garnering … read more ➜

What is the Wrecking Crew? The Wrecking Crew were a group of Studio Musicians in Los Angeles in the 60s who played on hits for the “Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra, Sonny and Cher, Jan & Dean, The Monkees, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Mamas and Papas, Tijuana Brass, Ricky Nelson, Johnny Rivers and … read more ➜

Spotify Playlists For Each Day Of Coachella 2012 Friday http://open.spotify.com/user/sonofhal/playlist/1qZLqYCD1QZVWHCWqtVRSI Saturday http://open.spotify.com/user/sonofhal/playlist/3mmLZqxWt1di1EGRaaybIS Sunday http://open.spotify.com/user/sonofhal/playlist/4cMlbB5SZxc5pzNyCVyWD4 Unrelated to Coachella but here is my whopper of a playlist, “Alternapop’s Alternative/Indie Super List” with over 1000 songs: http://open.spotify.com/user/alternapop/playlist/7pVK6MsM6V8MFnZURLlx7Z

Gone by SPC ECO SPC ECO (pronounced Space Echo) are a British-American shoegazing band, formed in 2007. The band consists of former Curve member Dean Garcia (bass, drums, guitar and programming), Rose Berlin (vocals) and Joey Levenson (guitar). When performing live, the band consists of Garcia on bass, Berlin on vocals, HKG on guitar, Debbie … read more ➜

Highlights Friday: The Black Keys, Pulp, Arctic Monkeys, Mazzy Star, Explosions in the Sky, M83, The Rapture, The Horrors, Yuck, The Black Angels Saturday: Radiohead, Bon Iver, The Shins, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Miike Snow, Andrew Bird, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, St. Vincent, Kasabian, Buzzcocks, The Big Pink, The Vaccines, We Were Promised Jetpacks … read more ➜

The Stone Roses are pleased to announce that they have signed a record contract with Universal Music in London and with Columbia Records in New York.