From Digital Music News:
Today’s musician enjoys unprecedented levels of direct fan access, and the ability to create a small musical business. That is an exciting revolution, though even the most successful DIY artists face an incredibly large amount of non-musical work.

That was the subject of a recent Digital Music News article, one that delved into the extreme amount of work that do-it-yourself artists face. The piece drew serious artist response. “One of the toughest things I fight through is just staying relevant in all places at once,” David Nevue, a full-time concert pianist, told Digital Music News. “You begin to feel like you’re treading water, and quickly losing your ability to stay current, stay on top of technology, and stay on the cutting edge of what’s happening.” Continue Reading

We are about three weeks away from the release of Grizzly Bear’s new album Veckatimest. The tracks that I’ve heard thus far are solid. The New Yorker and New York Magazine are currently running features on the group. Tickets are still available for the Wiltern show on June 19th. To purchase tickets (Click Here).

VeckatimestTrack List:
Southern Point
Two Weeks
All We Ask
Fine for Now
Cheerleader
Dory
Ready, Able
About Face
Hold Still
While You Wait for the Others
I Live With You
Foreground
**Pre-order album (Click Here)

MP3: Grizzly Bear – Cheerleader
MP3: Grizzly Bear – Knife [Girl Talk Remix]
MP3: Two Weeks (Live on Letterman Show)

From Digital Music News
Major labels are seeing sales decreases following a shift towards variable pricing on iTunes, according to numerous sources to Digital Music News. The sources included executives within major labels, all of whom requested anonymity.

In the initial weeks following the pricing changes, including a move towards top-end, $1.29 downloads, overall revenues are moving downward. That goes far beyond the top tracks, and includes the aggregate of millions of songs. “It’s what we’re seeing after the first couple of weeks, on a top level,” one executive shared, without discussing specifics on individual artists. Continue Reading

Alela Diane of Headless Heroes

MP3: Feist – One Evenin’ (Rene Goulet’s Da Luz Remix)
MP3: Headless Heroes – True Love Will Find You In The End (Daniel Johnston Cover)

Download:
Feist – The Reminder (iTunes)
Headless Heroes Info (Click Here)

Rollo & Grady is starting a new feature where we will highlight the Top 10 weekly sellers from our favorite independent record stores in the US.

Waterloo Records – Austin
1. Bob Dylan – Together Through Life
2. Black Joe Lewis – Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is
3. Flatlanders – Hills and Valleys
4. Slaid Cleaves – Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away
5. Kat Edmonson – Take To The Sky
6. Del Castillo – Del Castillo
7. Boxmasters – Modbilly
8. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz
9. Leonard Cohen – Live in London
10. Willie & The Asleep At The Wheel – Willie and the Wheel
**Week Ending – 5/2/2009

Amoeba Records – Hollywood
1. Depeche Mode – Sounds of the Universe
2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz
3. Silversun Pickups – Swoon
4. Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career
5. Pet Shop Boys – Yes
6. Grouch & Eligh – Say G&E!
7. Metric – Fantasies
8. Bat for Lashes – Two Suns
9. Ida Maria -Fortress Round My Heart
10. Rick Ross – Deeper Than Rap
**Week Ending – 4/27/2009

Image – Sam Erickson

From 2002 to 2008 photographer and filmmaker Sam Erickson regularly documented My Morning Jacket as they steadily grew into one of the most acclaimed and influential bands in the world. The images come from the band’s three studio albums: It Still Moves, Z, and Evil Urges and numerous shots from their epic live shows.

Beginning on May 22nd, the Morrison Hotel Gallery will show 21 of these images for a six-week exhibition. The majority have never been viewed by the public. This also marks the first time the Morrison Hotel Gallery has done a show on a band that is ascending, rather than reflecting on a career. The gallery is located on 313 Bowery Street.

MP3: My Morning Jacket – Rocket Man (Elton John Cover – 2001)
MP3: My Morning Jacket – Northern Sky (Nick Drake Cover – 2005)

Download:
My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges (iTunes)

MP3: Banjo Or Freakout – Someone Great (LCD Soundsystem)
MP3: The Kooks – Sweet Jane>Beast of Burden (Velvet Underground & Rolling Stones)
MP3: Lykke Li – Knocked Up (Live – Kings of Leon)

Lykki Li – The Masonic Lodge @ Hollywood Forever on May 29th (Sold Out)

MP3: Tosca – Natural High
MP3: Tommy Guerrero & Lyrics Born – Gettin It Together
MP3: Amadou & Mariam – Magosa

Download:
Tosca – Natural High (Amazon)
Tommy Guerrero – Soul Food Taqueria (Amazon)
Amadou & Mariam – Welcome To Mali (Amazon)