blast-o-rama.

Earlier this month, one of my favorite musicians, Mr. Ted Leo (he of “and the Pharmacists” fame) added fuel to the fire of his apparent eminent retirement.

Rumors had run fast and furious across the web that he would be leaving the music industry, and according to a very lengthy blog on his website, he would be leaving the world of music…and entering the world of music theater.

It turned out to be a gag (of course), as it was viral promotion for his latest music video.  For the great track “Bottled In Cork” off his new album The Brutalist Bricks, this video includes cameos from a number of great comedians (including Paul F. Tompkins and John Hodgman), and in general, is a hilarious and great video for a downright great song.

Click play and show it some love, won’t you?

Source: Funny Or Die.

The beginning of the month brought two tracks off of what may be the most anticipated indie-rock album of the year, The Suburbs by Arcade Fire – and now, just two weeks later, two additional tracks have leaked.

First, you have the catchy rocker “Ready to Start”, posted over at The Hype Machine.  The second track released today can be found at We All Want Someone, the piano driven, uplifting “We Used To Wait”. It seems that the songs on The Suburbs are an exercise in limitations by the Canadian rockers, as opposed to their typical full, orchestral, lush sound, but they make it work.

Due on August 2nd, The Suburbs is really shaping up to be something special, putting it right in line with the other two great releases by Arcade Fire to date. I can’t wait to hear it in full.

Source: Stereogum.

One of my favorite albums of 2010 has to be Gorillaz’ Plastic Beach album, and if I had to name a favorite track, it’s definitely “On Melancholy Hill”.

With a totally addictive beat, and catchy vocals, it’s one of those songs that just boars into your brain and makes itself at home.  So of course, seeing that the sweet animated video had been released, I HAD to share it with you!

The video itself explains how the Gorillaz wound up at the titular Plastic Beach island, and is totally worth a watch.

Should you like a copy of your own, the “On Melancholy Hill” video will be available for sale on iTunes tomorrow.

Source: Some Kind of Awesome.

First DC Entertainment’s Geoff Johns dropped big news on Twitter, now it’s musician and all around awesome guy Ben Folds.

Folds took to the tweets today to formally announce his new album, a collaboration with celebrated author Nick Hornby (High Fidelity, About a Boy).

Titled Lonely Avenue, the album is due to hit stores on September 28th, and features Ben Folds creating songs using the lyrics written by Nick Hornby.

As a fan of both, I cannot wait to hear how the two combine.  When I saw Ben earlier this year, he played a track or two off the new release, and I can already forsee “Levi Johnson’s Blues” becoming quite the cult favorite.

With the one-two punch of their first two full-lengths (Funeral and Neon Bible respectively), The Arcade Fire set themselves apart from the pack and launched themselves into indie rock superstardom.

But it’s been quite a few years since we’ve heard new material from the band, but that silence should end very soon with the release of a new 12″ single called “The Suburbs”.  Complete with a b-side titled “Month of May”, Amazon.com believes it to be available come June 1st, but to tantalize and tease the internet, the Canadian rock group has released the above flash toy, which you can interact with to hear about 10 seconds of each song.

What’s really cool is it act likes a real record, should you choose to want to demonstrate your DJ skills here at Blast-O-Rama.

Source:  Stereogum.

One of my favorite bands in my formative years had to be, hands down, The Get Up Kids.

Based out of Kansas, from Something to Write Home About forward, their sound defined my personal tastes.  Whether it was their side projects in The New Amsterdams and Reggie and the Full Effect; their fellow Kansas bands in The Anniversary,  The Appleseed Cast or Ultimate Fakebook (amongst others); or even through their various reinventions in sound, they’ve always been a pleasure.

And then when they decided to part ways back in 2005, I saw them on 3 separate occasions on their farewell tour – including their farewell show in Kansas City.  It was a shame to see a band I enjoyed close a chapter of their lives, and I suppose it closed one of mine as well.

However, this past year, the band decided to get back together, and now have started to record new material.

Their first new release, part one of a series of 3 EPs, entitled Secret Science came out today, and let me tell you – it’s pretty damn great.

While only 4 songs in length, the EP picks up where they left off on Guilt Show, mixing electronic melancholy with solid rock guitar licks, and it doesn’t sound like the band missed a day together in the studio.

Sure, they’re now a bit older, a bit fatter and a bit balder – but the “Kids” sure have a lot more gas in the tank.

Check it out, it’s even available on iTunes right now for less than $4. It’s completely worth it.