I saw TV On The Radio last night in Austin. The band tore through a collection of old and new. “Starring at the Sun” received the biggest reaction throughout the night. It’s good to have the band playing live dates again. I caught their last show pre-hiatus in San Francisco a few years ago. The band’s new album, Nine Types of Light, arrives on April 12th. Listen/download a new track from said record below:

MP3: TV On The Radio – “Caffeinated Consciousness”

James Blake made his US debut at the Music Hall of Williamsburg last night. Brooklyn Vegan has the scoop and there’s video here and here.

The Dodos new album, No Color, is out today. It’s available in digital form for only $2.99 at Amazon today.

The Strokes are streaming their new album, Angles, on their website.

You can now stream/download the Wye Oak concert from the Black Cat in Washington, DC thanks to NPR.

Testa Rosa have new songs available as free downloads.

We’re excited to present the Rural Alberta Advantage at Mad Planet in Milwaukee on Wednesday, March 23rd and at the High Noon Saloon in Madison on Thursday, March 24th in support of their beautiful forthcoming release, Departing (March 1, Saddle Creek). You can listen to the entire new record right now at Exclaim. Spin chats with Amy Cole and offers up an MP3 of “North Star.”
MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “North Star”

Deerhunter performed “Memory Boy” on David Letterman from Halcyon Digest, one of our favorite records from 2010.

Listen to “Will Do” from TV on the Radio’s new album Nine Kinds of Light, which arrives April 12th. TV On The Radio are touring this spring.

Yellow Ostrich had some cassettes for sale when we were in New York last week. You can now stream/download the Fade Cave EP for the price of your choosing.

All Songs Considered “examines the music of the ’90s at its best, worst and weirdest” and Steve Hyden concludes his wonderful Whatever Happened To Alternative Nation? with “Part 10: 1999: By the time we got to Woodstock 99 …“

Day two of the Outside Lands Music Festival was a hot one. Despite the heat we managed to see a number of great bands including the resounding favorite amongst out group, Bat For Lashes.

We started our day with Raphael Saadiq who was great when he got around to playing music. Unfortunately, he filled a third of his set with stage banter and unengaged storytelling. All was forgiven with his cover of Iggy & The Stooges “Search & Destroy.”

Photos proved to be impossible by the time we made it over to see Portugal. The Man. As I said on Twitter yesterday, this band has become one of my favorite live bands this year. I think the festival organizers here and at Lollapalooza earlier this month underestimated the group’s rising popularity because their crowds were massive and packed. Not a bad problem for those guys.

I wasn’t expecting Mastodon to convert me to fandom yesterday, but I definitely did want to give them the opportunity to try. I stayed for about half their set before departing for a an up close spot for Bat For Lashes. My traveling companion joked that he thought the souls of all Mastodon attendees would be sucked into some demonic vortex once the lead singer opened his mouth. Thankfully that didn’t happen.

I haven’t spent enough time with the new Bat For Lashes. In fact, I’ve been racking my brain to wonder if I even own it. Having been a fan of Natasha’s first record, I can’t think of any reason why I’ve let her most recent offering pass me by. That will change when I find a record store. Her set was so fun and the band’s enjoyment was also visible the entire time. It was delicate and electronic in some parts and the drummer was out of this world good. I’m not sure if there are more Bat For Lashes tour dates out there this year, but if they swing through your town do check them out.

A wave of skepticism fell over me as I watched TV On The Radio trot out the horn section at the beginning of their set. After yesterday’s set I don’t know if I could ever enjoy the band without them in the future. It was that great. Seriously. Playing what they described from the stage as “their last show for a long time,” TV On The Radio brought lots of energy as the temperatures began to cool down. I don’t know if I could ever tire of “Staring at the Sun.”

That was it for us yesterday. We wanted to take some of the city and we weren’t really feeling the headliners. About to head back for the third and final day. Follow @Muzzleofbees for frequent updates on the festival and our last day in town.

Are you down in Tennessee battling the rain or are you glued to your twitter watching the fun go by? Regardless of where you’re at, Bonnaroo is off to a fun/wet beginning. I made the inaugural festival and returned a couple years back. This year, I just couldn’t swing it, but that doesn’t mean we can’t offer you an inside look into all the action. Drop us a comment if you’re at the festival, if you’ve been in the past, or who has the best coverage of the festival that we can rely on for speedy updates.

All photos by Karen Dunbar

TV On The Radio’s Dear Science, may be one of the best releases from last year, but that isn’t stopping me from continuing to revisit the record. Over the weekend, I finally picked up my copy on vinyl. That also lead to a healthy hour of watching various live takes from the early days right up to the present. Some of the best sounding video footage comes from Le Live De La Sema, of which you should take the time to enjoy the above video for “Shout Me Out,” as well as “Province,” “Dancing Choose,” “Love Dog,” “Stork & Owl,” “Wolf Like Me,” and “Golden Age.”

Now if we could just get a live performance in Wisconsin…

Buy: TV On The Radio – Dear Science,

Seeing TV On The Radio on Sunday reiterated their prowess as a live band and fueled my desire for the physical release of Dear Science, next week. Below, take a peak at the recently released video for “Golden Age.”

MoB Giveaway: I’ve got one (1) copy of Dear Science, on vinyl to give away to the MoB faithful. In addition, you’ll receive a poster (see above) designed by TVOTR’s very own Tunde. To enter drop a comment letting me know your favorite concert of the year. We’ll choose our winner next week.

Update: Our winner is Derek who’s favorite show of the year was Tom Waits in Houston. He said “I have never experienced anything like that concert. An epic event.”

Myspace: TV On The Radio

Find MP3′s at The Hype Machine or buy stuff from Strictly Discs | eMusic