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Ed. note: This post comes from our friends at Tampa Calling.

I just got a release announcing Def Leppard’s latest 40-city American tour with Poison and Cheap Trick, which includes a Tampa stop at Ford Amphitheatre Fri., Aug. 14. After receiving news about one of hair metal’s greatest Aqua Netted fivesome, I was inspired to look up and play the classic “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” I mean, has a song ever expressed a food fetish with such heart? In response to my song selection, PoHo challenged me with another, “Photograph,” which kicked off a short but sweet “Duel to the Def.” My response was “Love Bites,” because who doesn’t love a good Leppard power ballad? His challenge, in four words, “Gunter glieben glauchen globen” the intro to “Rock of Ages.” Before I could whip out some “Hysteria” on his ass, I was called into a meeting, which left PoHo the default victor.

Head here to let us know your “Duel to the Def” picks.

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This post comes from our friends at Tampa Calling.

Bell X1, Blue Lights on the Runway (Yep Roc)

Boston Spaceships, Planets are Blasted (Guided by Voices)

Neko Case, Middle Cyclone (Anti-)

Justin Townes Earle, Midnight at the Movies (Bloodshot)

Molly Jenson, Maybe Tomorrow (Nettwerk)

The Prodigy, Invaders Must Die (Take Me to the Hospital/Cooking Vinyl)

The Soundtrack of Our Lives, Communion (Yep Roc)

U2, No Line on the Horizon (Interscope)

The Whip, X Marks Destination (Razor and Tie)

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Ed. note: This post comes from our friends at Tampa Calling.

A regular weekly bulletin on musical guests playing the five-nights-a-week late night talk shows (and SNL); set your TIVOs or DVRs.

The Late Show with David Letterman, CBS
Monday, March 2-Friday, March 6: U2 (pictured, and yes, they are the musical guest every night this week)

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NBC
Monday, March 2: The Fray
Tuesday, March 3: Bettye Lavette
Wednesday, March 4: Neko Case
Thursday, March 5: Tom Jones
Friday, March 6: Papa Roach

Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, CBS
Thursday, March 5: Andrew Bird
Friday, March 6: M. Ward

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, NBC
(Fallon takes the O’Brien torch with The Roots serving as his house band and kicks off his first week with a pretty fatty schedule of A-list guests and performers)
Monday, March 2: Justin Timberlake, Van Morrison
Tuesday, March 3: Jon Bon Jovi, Santogold
Wednesday, March 4: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Thursday, March 5: Ludacris (more…)

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One of the hottest DJs on the scene right now isn’t really a DJ at all. Girl Talk — the stage name and dance-music project of 27-year-old Pittsburgh native Gregg Gillis — is more an electronic music phenomenon than anything else. His fourth album, 2008’s Feed the Animals, impressed respected music pundits despite being almost entirely composed of several hundred samples from other artists’ songs.

Gillis is among the fast-rising faction of laptop rockers. He calls what he does “pop song re-contextualizations,” which are like mash-ups, but with no less than 15 song samples in any given track. You won’t find him digging in hole-in-the-wall records stores, rifling through dusty bins or awaiting the latest shipment of retro European LPs. In fact, obscurity is the one thing he tries to avoid.

“To me, the gold mine is the radio,” Gillis said in a phone interview a few weeks ago, during a between-show break. “You turn it on and ideally, you discover songs that people are familiar with and you make something new of them.” 

Gillis is looking for music that makes an emotional connection, those Top 40 pop songs that imprinted themselves on our psyches in our formative years and have hung around in our gray matter ever since.

(more…)

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Ed. note: This post comes from our friends at Tampa Calling.

On Friday, Depeche Mode announced a U.S. tour, the final leg landing in Florida with a stop in Tampa on Friday, Sept. 4, at a yet-to-be-named venue. (DM has also scheduled a stop in Ft. Lauderdale Saturday, September 5.) Today, the band unveiled cover of their new album, Sounds of the Universe, to be released in the U.S. April 21 via Capitol/Mute. On the same day, the band is also putting out a three-CD special edition package-of-Mode-fans’-dreams that includes bonus tracks, remixes, and 14 demos as well as a DVD with all kinds of goodies and two 84-page hardback books with lyrics and photos. For further details on the album or to find out more about the tour, visit the DM newsite.

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Ed. note: This post comes from our friends at Tampa Calling.

And Then There Were None, Who Speaks for Planet Earth? (Tooth & Nail)

Black Lips, 200 Million Thousand (Vice)

Joe Bonamassa, The Ballad of John Henry (Premier Artists)

The Bran Flakes, I Have Hands (Illegal Art)

J.J. Cale, Roll On (Rounder)

Company of Thieves, Ordinary Riches (Wind-up)

Chris Isaak, Mr. Lucky (Reprise Records)

K’Naan, Troubadour (A&M/Octone)

Lamb of God, Wrath (Epic/Sony)

Van Morrison, Astral Weeks Live At the Hollywood Bowl

Various Artists, War Child presents Heroes (Astralwerks)

Steve Wilson, Insurgents (Kscope)

Xiu Xiu, You Can’t Hear Me (DVD)

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Ed. note: This post comes from our friends at Tampa Calling.

A weekly bulletin on musical guests playing the five-nights-a-week late night talk shows (and SNL); no need to set your TIVOs or DVRs as most of this week’s offerings are reruns. But hey, if you missed them last time …

The Late Show with David Letterman, CBS
(All reruns)
Thursday, February 26: Anthony Hamilton (pictured; original air date 2/11)
Friday, February 27: Randy Rogers Band (1/14)

(more…)

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Ed. note: This post comes from our friends at Tampa Calling:

I got to see Ben Folds perform at Langerado last year and it was one of the highlights of the now-defunct fest, Folds far more lively and engaging and far less maudlin than I expected. So you can imagine my pleasure at receiving this very exciting concert announcement from No Clubs:

BEN FOLDS
w/ Special Guests TBA
Appearing at The Ritz Ybor
Tampa, FL
Friday, April 03, 2009
Doors Open 8:30PM
Tickets: $29.50 ADV / $31.50 DOS
Tickets Available
http://ticketmaster.com
http://daddykool.com

Over the last 15 years, Ben Folds’ first-class melodic gifts, irony-laced lyrics, and punk-rock tendency to play piano as if it were a contact sport have earned the North Carolina native a legion of devoted fans of all ages. These people, quite simply, are going to go nuts for Way To Normal. The album, Folds’ third solo studio release, is dominated by the kind of irresistible hooks and piano-pounding pandemonium that listeners haven’t been treated to since Folds’ years with his previous band, the platinum-selling Ben Folds Five. Way to Normal is an exuberant, raucous, and sometimes profane mix of sure-fire crowd-pleasers (“Hiroshima,” “Bitch Went Nuts,” and the frenetically fuzzed-out “Dr. Yang”), cheerful snark-fests (“The Frown Song,” “Brainwascht”), and thoughtful, moving ballads (“Cologne,” “Kylie From Connecticut”) that Folds wrote at the end of 2007. (more…)

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Lots of concerts to pick and choose from this February 20-22 weekend (for a complete list, click here), but if you haven’t already made concrete plans, why not show some support to the local and regional acts who always work extra hard for your lovin’? Here are highlights from the Florida band concert calendar:

Friday, Feb. 20 Grey Market w/Palantine/Spellbinder/Lush Progress/Magic Shoppe An appealing local bill headed up by drums-and-guitar duo GreyMarket, which produces driving alt-rock with dark waves of drama and electro flourishes. Palantine brings the crunch, Spellbinder the ’70s prog-metal vocals and riffs, Lush Progress the classy symphonics, and Magic Shoppe the psychedelic funk. State Theatre, St. Petersburg.

Friday, Feb. 20 Buffalo Strange, Ringside Cafe, St. Petersburg.

Friday, Feb. 20 Thomas Wynn & the Believers w/Have Gun Will Travel/The Takers/Lauris Vidal/Experimental Pilot Tampa Bay is more known for its Americana acts than Orlando is, but Thomas Wynn comes over from O-Town with a satchel full of rugged tunes and a penchant for Southern rock. The guy is good. He’s joined by a bevy of Bay area acts that will make for a strong bill. New World Brewery, Ybor City (write-up by Eric Snider).

Saturday, Feb. 21 Giddy-up, Helicopter! CD Release Party. Czar, Ybor City.

Saturday, Feb. 21 Rachel Goodrich w/The JeanMarie/The Wedding Party. Rachel Goodrich is a quirky South Florida indie-pop multi-instrumentalist/songwriter whose rich foxy voice is set against songs pondering halos and demons and stars and nighttime adventures and whatever other delightful topics tickle her fancy. New World Brewery, Tampa. (Goodrich pictured above; photo by Yvette Labov.)

Saturday, Feb. 21 The Sheaks w/Gino and the Goons/Steady State/The Fuzz. Flannagans Pub, St. Petersburg.

Saturday, Feb. 21 Lorna Bracewell. Grand Central Peddler’s Fair, Grand Central District, St. Petersburg

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Ever since putting out their 2006 transcendant masterpiece, Yellow House, Grizzly Bear has enjoyed boundless fan adoration, respect from peers and from veterans like Paul Simon (who invited the band to play for five nights during his month-long residency last April at the Brooklyn Academy of Music) and Radiohead (which had Grizzly open some dates on the second leg of its ‘08 North American tour), and plentiful praise and accolades from pretty much any music critic with taste (this one included). ‘Course, putting out a perfect record is a double edged sword, earning you instant credibility and an overeager fanbase while also adding that heavy weight of worry that any subsequent music you produce will not live up to that last bit of genius.

Since Yellow House, Grizzly Bear has not clocked much studio time — a Daytrotter Session, a Friend EP there, some live appearances at various festivals and special events. Daniel Rossen did his fabulous Department of Eagles thing and put out In Ear Park, a captivating hint at what a new Grizzly Bear album could be. But up until last week, the band’s been rather mum about an actual follow-up to Yellow House. But last Friday, they revealed the name (Veckatimest), the new album cover (pictured), the release date (May 26) and the track listing. Today, Pitchfork.com published an interview with frontman Ed Droste. Here are some highlights: (more…)

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