The 11th annual Austin City Limits Music Festival runs October 12-14th at Zilker Park in Austin, Texas. The lineup boasts Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jack White, The Black Keys, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Florence and the Machine, Avicii, Bassnectar, Iggy and the Stooges, The Avett Brothers, The Roots, The Shins, Weezer, M83, Gotye, The Afghan Whigs, Crystal Castles, Andrew Bird, M. Ward, Alabama Shakes, and Childish Gambino.

Also playing are Tegan and Sara, Rufus Wainwright, Thievery Corporation, Umprhey’s McGee, Metric, Stars, Delta Spirit, Polica, Esperanza Spalding, Steve Earle, Patterson Hood, Gary Clark Jr., Die Antwoord, Big K.R.I.T., Zola Jesus, The War on Drugs, Black Lips, Los Campesinos! Freelance Whales, Caveman, Tennis, LP, Two Door Cinema Club, Trampled By Turtles, Oberhofer, Bombay Bicycle Club, Old 97s, Antibalas, Lee Fields & the Expressions, Father John Misty, Ben Howard, Michael Kiwanuka, and Patrick Watson.

Three-day and single-day passes are now available via the festival’s website.

For the second consecutive year, Austin City Limits will reveal a portion of its lineup through a “lottery.” As the festival’s website notes, scratch cards will be placed in various Austin establishments over the course of the next four days. At least five acts will be revealed each day, with each card containing the names of three acts (a card containing three matching names wins a prize!)

We’ll be keeping track of the results below and will post a formal lineup when the official announcement is made on Tuesday, May 22nd.

Austin City Limits 2012 takes place October 12-14th at Zilker Park. Three-day and single-day pases will go on sale this spring.

Fridy, May 18th:

Update: We’re told yesterday’s card revealing Red Hot Chili Peppers was actually fake.

1. Childish Gambino

2. Delta Spirit

3. LP

4. Quiet Company

5. Punch Brothers

6. Steve Earle

Saturday, May 19th:

1. Bon Iver

2. Alabama Shakes

3. Freelance Whales

4. Kimbra

5. Barrington Levy

Sunday, May 20th:

1. Jack White

2. The Black Keys

3. Andrew Bird

4. Esperanza Spalding

5. A-Trak

6. Zola Jesus

Monday, May 21st:

1. Iggy and the Stooges

2. Black Lips

3. Gary Clark Jr.

4. Bombay Bicycle Club

5. Two Door Cinema Club

Despite gimmicks galore, the album’s got oodles of substance. “Christmas in a Chinese Restaurant” may reference moo goo gai pan and “Feliz Navidad”, but its sparse instrumentation and chilly vibe, courtesy of McCauley’s lonely-yet-resolved vocals, bring to life a sense of yuletide hopelessness. “Call Girl Blues” is a clichéd celebration of a working girl with a heart of gold. Add in filthy-sounding ’70s R&B horns alongside lines like “She’ll slip a $20 in your pocket just for holding the door,” and you’ve got something shinier than gold. The gimmicky piece de resistance, however, is “Hungover and Horny”; a fusion of tight-knit garage guitar and a Georgia Satellites-inspired sense of rollicking are a powerful start. It’s McCauley’s vocals, brimming with sexual desperation, that thrust the goof into the realm of true blues-ian lament.

Sans gimmicks, the LP picks up even more momentum. “Hightail” is seemingly another “my woman done left me” jam (albeit with a raucous psych-garage guitar); it’s the subtext that paints a picture of a man ready for more heartache. “Big God” accomplishes a similar feat, offering up an explosive ’60s garage thud and even more insight into the man’s romantic failings (“I was blind to time as time can be/Open eyes don’t always mean to see”). The Calypso-tinged “I Took Note” is a defining statement, brimming with arena rock-ready grandiosity, with lyrics that are evocative and yet heavy with the group’s trademark sensibility (“I changed my diet, I slept under stars/And my long hair still stayed bloody”). It’s the perfect synthesis of regality and rambunctiousness, the kind of tune this all-star ensemble could easy craft.

Even if this act is Deer Tick 2.0, this is still an album of infectious, ultra-grimy blues-rock tunes from dudes who’ve mastered the equation and then some. Now shotgun a brew and get to listening, dudes and dudettes.

Essential Tracks: “Call Girl Blues”, “Hungover and Horny”, “Hightail”, and “I Took Note”

I worship at the church of karaoke. The parishoners and I are there to confess and meditate, to feel welcomed by a community, to hear a good sermon or two, to perchance see someone speak in tongues and have the words of the Lord Bon Jovi be channeled through a mere mortal. And, of course, to have some drinks and venture to make complete fools out of ourselves.

Karaoke exists in a vacuum of taste, where anomalies and exceptions always seem to arise and mess with my preconceptions. Maybe, like me, this is the only time you can really tolerate a Billy Joel song. Maybe those two dudes doing Sum 41′s “Fat Lip” actually sound kinda good, or that girl who’s really giving it the old college try on “Since U Been Gone” elicits all this empathy, and dammit you can’t be mad because she’s having fun!

This list — boiled down, mind you, from literally hundreds of runner-ups — is an extension of that feeling that happens when you flip through the entire karaoke book and you don’t see one song you want to sing. After polling the staff and consulting some of my long-time karaoke buddies, these are the songs we all wish would be added to the karaoke canon that we personally have never seen before (we are excluding the deep cuts in Austin’s Karaoke Underground book).

And if it’s one thing most of these songs have in common, they’re totally depressing. Sorry. To make up for that, and in contrast to a lot of karaoke standards, a whole grip of these songs don’t require you to have a good voice. In fact, you could be totally tone-deaf and still do an absolutely kick-ass version of  The Fall’s “Totally Wired” because the song isn’t about impressing Cee-Lo and Adam Levine with pitch and tone, it’s about the performance. There’s plenty more like that on the list that I felt would always be fun — songs that don’t focus on notes as much as they do putting on a great show.

Don’t fret, choir nerds, it’s not all post-punk pogo-dance chant standards. There’s plenty of new vocal challenges all over the list, from tUnE-yArDs to Jeff Buckley to Dirty Projectors to Hasil Adkins. There’s a lot more. Who knows, there may even be another list further down the road. What songs would you like to sing at Karaoke that are never in the books? Let us know in the comments.

You can access the entire list on Spotify. Enjoy!

-Jeremy D. Larson
Managing Editor

Andrew Bird – “Fake Palindromes”

When to sing:  After a couple glasses of wine to keep the voice nice and velvety. It’s a short one.

Make sure to:  “Monsters?”

Animal Collective – “For Reverend Green”

When to sing: Get this out of the way early, but don’t lead with it. Avey Tare’s vocals on this are daunting, histrionic, and require full commitment or else you will be laughed off stage for singing Animal Collective at karaoke. No guarantees for that not happening anyway.

Make sure to: Differentiate between the two “Lucky child don’t know how lucky she is” parts.

Arcade Fire – “Keep The Car Running”

When to sing: Great lead-off song — not too difficult to sing, short and sweet, not too obscure, speaks for itself.

Make sure to: Totally go for it on the “Ohhhh ohhh” and punch the air on that final snare hit like a hero.

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – “Can’t Hear My Eyes”

When to sing: When you want to sing  “Brandi” by Looking Glass, but you can’t quite remember how the bridge goes, or even if there is a bridge to the song.

Make sure to: Not have a catastrophic meltdown, but you should really be laying down on the ground and arching your back over the monitors.

Azealia Banks – “212″

When to sing: After midnight, after your confidence level has peaked,  after you contemplate that Azealia Banks isn’t even old enough to do Karaoke and put this song out.

Make sure to: Have this shit well-rehearsed, because the cadence of “Bet you do like to slumber, don’t you?” is not going to come to you when you’re reading it off the teleprompter. Good luck deciding on whether or not to drop the C-bomb. That’s on you.

Beat Happening – “Cast A Shadow”

When to sing: When the eyelids are heavy, and the 500 yard stare can be trained on not just anyone, but definitely someone.

Make sure to: Study/mimic Ted Leo’s performance of it at Underground Karaoke at Matador 21.

Best Coast – “When I’m With You”

When to sing: Right after you get back inside from smoking a joint in the ally and you tell that cute guy that “this next song’s for you.”

Make sure to: Ask the DJ if he can turn up that reverb.

The Black Keys – “10 A.M. Automatic”

When to sing: When you can’t quite put into feelings that guy’s t-shirt with a bald eagle on it.

Make sure to:  Put a little extra spit on those vocals like they used to do.

Black Lips – “Bad Kids”

When to sing: After a round of Jager, or Car Bombs, or Liquid Cocaine, and after you tell them you’re absolutely not going to sing “Bohemian Rhapsody”.

Make sure to: Get, like, seven people on the stage.

Bon Iver – “Skinny Love”

When to sing: When you roll up to Karaoke solo, after several drinks isolated in a cold corner of the bar, and only when the weight of the world is on your heart.

Make sure to: Sulk back to your chair when it’s all over, back to your “cabin,” as it were.

The Breeders – “One Divine Hammer”

When to sing: Directly before or after someone sings Pixies – “Hey”.

Make sure to: Remember that this song is wicked filthy — direct eye contact with crowd is at your own risk. (Dudes, ask if they have the Clockcleaner version — it’s arguably better.)

Bright Eyes – “The Calendar Hung Itself”

When to sing: There’s no real bad time to sing this, the preeminent emo song of them all, but it’s more about when you have wherewithal to sing Oberst’s lyrics.

Make sure to: Render everyone so awestruck they all want to buy you a drink at the end of it — you’re clearly not in a good place right now.

Built To Spill – “Car”

When to sing: A great opener, before you’re even finished with your first drink.

Make sure to: Close your eyes by the third “I want to see, movies of my dreams,” or you’re not doing it right.

Cibo Matto – “Birthday Cake”

When to sing: In the environment where this song is an option, everyone’s going to be OK with it any time, but it’s definitely one of those songs to play if your equilibrium’s altered to the point where pitch is “optional”.

Make sure to: Get all of Miho Hatori’s eccentricities and dialect, especially the way she says “birthssday cake.”

CYHSY – “The Skin of my Yellow Country Teeth”

When to sing: When you are sure that this song will burrow into the soul of everyone watching – so, late in the night.

Make sure to: Slur each and every word, purposefully or not.

College & Electric Youth – “A Real Hero”

When to sing: After (or during) a big knife fight in the back of a bar. I don’t know if this song will ever escape its role as the soundtrack to Ryan Gosling driving off into the sunset.

Make sure to: Channel Bill Murray singing “More Than This” and you’ll be on the right track.

Das Racist – “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell”

When to sing: When you want to comment on consumptive corporate consumerism to a bar full of drunk people.

Make sure to: Replace “Jamaica Ave.” with a local thoroughfare in your city to try to get the message to resonate with your audience.

The Decemberists – “Don’t Carry It All”

When to sing: When you don’t want to sing “You Don’t Know How It Feels”, but you actually kinda do. Here’s something that sounds almost exactly the same.

Make sure to: Partake in the same kind of theatrics that The Decemberists do on stage and pretend that you’re a whale and try to eat the audience. This will go over well.

Dent May – “Eastover Wives”

When to sing: When you want to sing “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” but you’re never sure which of the 12 versions they’ll put on.

Make sure to:  Dance your white ass off while you’re up there.

Destroyer – “Your Blues”

When to sing: When the idea of singing another Bob Dylan song seems completely “repulsive,” but you’re still not of the inclination to “sing exact notes.”

Make sure to: BYO condenser mic and hold it delicately between your thumb and index finger.

Dirty Projectors – “Stillness Is The Move”

When to sing:  Get this one done early in your set – that little run up to that really high note in the pre-chorus can’t be easy after 3+ drinks. Nailing this song will win the affections of the boy in the Owen Pallett tee.

Make sure to: Remember those quiet riffs Angel Deradoorian does at the end. If you bring those out, Owen Pallett guy will definitely buy you another glass of merlot.

Dismemberment Plan – “You Are Invited”

When to sing: When you feel the tenor of the evening has taken a turn for the worse and want to relay a message of acceptance, positivity, and sing one of the greatest damn songs ever.

Make sure to: Work the crowd and tell the story – be the light at the end of all of these barfly’s nights, especially the guy who just sang “Hurt” seemingly without irony.

Elliott Smith – “Waltz #2 (XO)”

When to sing: It’s not as huge of a bummer as, say, “Needle in the Hay” or “Twilight”, but for those who like bumming people out at karaoke, this should be your go-to bummer jam. Bonus points if you bring your mother along.

Make sure to: Nail the “and on and on and on” perfectly or Howard Sims will be there with his shepherd’s crook so fast.

The Fall – “Totally Wired”

When to sing: The obvious time is after you just did some coke in the bathroom but feel free to make it a joke song — change lyric to “tired”!

Make sure to:  Respect Mark E. Smith and add a supurflous “uh” after every phrase (“I’m totally weird-uh, to be wired-uh”).

The Flaming Lips – “Do You Realize??”

When to sing: Late enough and drunk enough so that you consider Wayne Coyne’s questions about universe. The precise moment this can happen varies greatly from person to person.

Make sure to: Really ask the question, every time. It’s not a rhetorical question, it’s incredulous! Grapple with reality up there.

Free Energy – “Dream City”

When to sing: When you want to sing “The Boys Are Back In Town” but the last time you did you got kicked off stage for trying to sing all three lines of the guitar solo by yourself.

Make sure to: Wear a leather jacket.

Frightened Rabbit – “The Modern Leper”

When to sing: After an unstable amount of whiskey, and after you overheard someone talk about Mumford.

Make sure to: Think about the Scottish accent, but man, don’t go all Groundskeeper Willie on it. Let it alone if you have doubts.

Fugazi – “Waiting Room”

When to sing: When you have two people who can do both Guy Piccatio’s and Ian McKay’s parts. Then, and only then, should you do “Waiting Room”.

Make sure to: Sing when you feel like the fever of the room is about at this level.

Girls – “Lust for Life”

When to sing: It’s such a short song (only a minute and 30 seconds of singing) that it needs to be early on when people might still be paying a bit of attention. No flare, just a great song.

Make sure to: Figure out how Christopher Owens does the half pouty/half whiney thing before you step up.

Gogol Bordello – “Start Wearing Purple”

When to sing: After your fifth shot of Stolichnaya, and only if you’re wearing suspenders.

Make sure to: Take off your shirt but keep your suspenders on. Also buy a round of vodka for everyone pre-song and toast the audience during the high note and you will be crowned King Gypsy-Punk for the rest of the night.

Grinderman – “No Pussy Blues”

When to sing:  When you’ve squeezed the last ounce of pathos out of  ”Just a Gigolo”, and you’ve just gotta lay down some real talk with the bar.

Make sure to: Never unclench your teeth throughout the whole song — that’s part one of the Nick Cave impression. This is part two.

Guided By Voices – “Tractor Rape Chain”

When to sing: When you think you’re as drunk as Robert Pollard would be.

Make sure to: Elucidate to the DJ (and audience) that the word in questions is (probably) referring to parallel lines made by a tractor in a rapeseed field. Or not — your call.

Hasil Adkins – “She Said”

When to sing: After some rye whiskey, moonshine, or corn liquor.

Make sure to: Not memorize the lyrics, but memorize how Adkins says the words, which will be no where near how they are supposed to sound. The whole thing will work better if you pronounce “head” like “hayee.”

Hunx and His Punx – “U Don’t Like Rock N Roll”

When to sing: Immediately after some group of moms sings “I Love Rock  Roll”. That would be great.

Make sure to:  Wear a bedazzled leather jacket. Pants optional.

Interpol – “Obstacle #1″

When to sing: When you’re wearing black suit, shirt and tie, and you’re totally ready to make the same note that spans over 50% of the song interesting.

Make sure to: Import Carlos D’s New York Doesn’t Really Care swagger.

Islands – “Rough Gem”

When to sing: After someone sings Whitesnake or Dokken or Aerosmith — when things are decidedly un-twee.

Make sure to: Play air piano on those three timeless piano plunks on the chorus.

Jamie Lidell – “Multiply”

When to sing: When you want to sing  Jamiroquai’s “Canned Heat” but don’t want to hear anyone say “Why didn’t you do the Napolean Dynamite dance?”

Make sure to: Right after you fling your leopard-print suit-jacket on and take one last sip of your dirty martini. Study up on Lidell’s dance moves.

Janelle Monáe feat. Big Boi – “Tightrope”

When to sing: Two or three times a night is totally acceptable.

Make sure to:  Put in the version with the rap in it. I’m sure they have it, but you don’t want to get all “Waterfalls (No Rap)” on the mic. Also, put some voodoo on it, yeah?

Jay Reatard  - “It Ain’t Gonna Save Me”

When to sing: If you’re feeling like Jay, or if you’re feeling like a tribute to Jay.

Make sure to: Have a lot of fun singing a really, really dismal, depressing song.

Jeff Buckley – “Grace”

When to sing: On a night where you truly think that you can sing this. Which means you’re a ringer and you don’t really belong at the karaoke joint, or your liquid courage has overcome your actual talent. Also acceptable: on a $50 dare.

Make sure to: If nothing else, if you punt the riffing or that high G and make Buckley roll over in his grave, just make sure you hit the last little vocal riff — it’s just too perfect.

Jens Lekman – “The Opposite of Hallelujah”

When to sing: After a glass of champagne or two, when those bubbles start to go to your head and put a spring in your step. You’ll need it for those tambourines and handclaps.

Make sure to: Mime picking up a seashell to illustrate your homelessness. You can be the crab, too, if you feel so inclined.

The Jesus Lizard – “Seasick”

When to sing: Preferably after someone sings “Piano Man”, or something really just bad. Show them what bad really means.

Make sure to: Bow/curtsey gracefully when you’re done. Expect it to go something like this. If it’s not going like that, you’re doing it wrong.

Joanna Newsom – “Inflammatory Writ”

When to sing: When you’re wearing a flowery dress and want to be the first person to sing the words “poetaster” and “ululate” in a bar.

Make sure to: It’s got the swagger of a great drinking song, so hoist your stein and rock to and fro, and sing heartily about mollusks’ weddings and writers’ block.

Joy Division – “Transmission”

When to sing:  Because it’s not really a participation song and, depending on where you take it, more of a performance, doing this early in the night is advisable, odd as it may seem.

Make sure to: Not mimic Ian Curtis’ dance moves. You can’t do them, and may god help you if you get laughs. Totally cool to be inspired by Curtis, though.

The Knife – “Heartbeats”

When to sing: After everyone’s had enough clear, expensive drinks to get down to this sultry slow burner.

Make sure to: Not pick the Jose Gonzalez version and get all “Blower’s Daughter” on everyone.

Kurt Vile – “Freak Train”

When to sing: When you want to transfer your drunken ramblings from the bar to the mic. In fact, you could have never heard this song and as long as you’re all-in on the lyrics, it will be fantastic.

Make sure to:  Just walk right into a cab when you’re done singing because you shouldn’t be fit to drink anymore.

Lana Del Ray – “Video Games”

When to sing: It’s you, it’s you, it’s all for you.

Make sure to: Everything you do, you tell me all the time.

LCD Soundsystem – “Drunk Girls”

When to sing: When you hear someone of any sex go, “Oh my god where did Chrissy even go?” and when you got a posse behind you to to shout “drunk girls” and “drunk boys.”

Make sure to: BYO Sennheiser 509.

Lush – “Ciao! (feat. Jarvis Cocker)”

When to sing:  When you’re sick of duets that only serve to profess two people’s Endless Love for one another and you want one that’s just full of bile and vitriol.

Make sure to: If you want, play the opposite emotion, like the audition scene from Mulholland Dr!

M.O.P. – “Ante Up”

When to sing: When the “Scenario” call-and-response just doesn’t seem hard enough.

Make sure to: Go so hard. If you’re not aggro-rapping like Billy Danze and Lil’ Fame, you will fall into another terrible hip-hop karaoke performance so ante up.

Mclusky – “Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues”

When to sing:  When no one can see, or hear, and it’s the end of the world and you’re ushering everyone to their graves with the karaoke version of “Nearer My God To Thee”.

Make sure to:  Intone “sell me to wonderluuust” like Andy Falkous does.

Misfits – “Where Eagles Dare”

When to sing: After doing a “waterfall” with your group because you signed them up for this and they’re all going to…

Make sure to:  Huddle around the mic, arms around each other, and show everyone what a drunken group shout song really sounds like.

Mission of Burma – “That’s When I Reached For My Revolver”

When to sing:  Since it doesn’t have the bite that some of these other post-punk numbers do, you can sing it early and embrace that final chorus in arena-karaoke fashion.

Make sure to:  Not pick the Moby version. Ahh, that’s not a half-bad version.

The Mountain Goats – “This Year”

When to sing: When the taste of scotch is rich on your tongue, naturally.

Make sure to:  To do that little “ahha” thing before “listen to the engine whine.” And, make it through this night, if it kills you.

My Morning Jacket – “Gideon”

When to sing: Probably one of the hardest songs on this list, so you could really bring the place down if you’re aligned for it. If you got that high note, go for it anytime, and show that dude who just did “With Or Without You” what the deal is.

Make sure to:  Remember that you can hit the super high note like Jim James does live  – just scream that sawngun out.

The National – “Mr. November”

When to sing: This fall seems to be another perfect time, no?

Make sure to: Amble through the crowd really slowly, steadily stepping on tables and chairs, and if you run into a tiny girl in the bar, do this.

Neutral Milk Hotel – “Song Against Sex”

When to sing: When you want to sing “Too Drunk To Fuck” but you don’t have the drugs to take to soothe  your mind — you’re always sober.

Make sure to: To preface your performance by alerting the audience that there will be strictly be no video recording or photography of any kind. In fact, you should probably be doing that before every song anyway.

The New Pornographers – “Bleeding Heart Show”

When to sing: When you have a cast of at least A.C. Newman, Neko Case, Kathryn Calder, and Dan Bejar to join up for the “Hey la’s”, a crucial moment that cannot be left to the karaoke track.

Make sure to: Just give the guy who’s playing Dan Bejar a tambourine and a drink. He doesn’t need to be on stage the whole time.

Nick Lowe – “I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass”

When to sing: Such a great lead-off song, or you could win the night if you can get the DJ to give you a fast pass to the mic right after someone breaks a pint glass.

Make sure to: Bring your drink up there and then either pretend to drop it and laugh it off and wink, or throw it to the ground and stare directly at the audience and stand perfectly still until you are escorted from the stage.

Of Montreal – “Gronlandic Edit”

When to sing: To make an entrance upon arriving at the bar, as the beat is conducive to Night at the Roxbury-style head-bobbing and/or your own personalized moonwalk. With moves like those, you’ll get mic priority in no time.

Make sure to: Bring some friends in a boys’ choir to sing the high falsetto.

Okkervil River – “Lost Coastlines”

When to sing:  At the peak of the night — only because I think this is one of the better karaoke songs. It’s got the makings of one of those “gather ’round, we’re doing ‘Lost Coastlines’” vibes.

Make sure to: Use the little instrumental break that everyone in the bar has to sing the “La, la, la la la la,” part that’s coming up. It’s such a perfect place to explain it.

Patti Smith – “Free Money”

When to sing: Be true to Patti and do it sober!

Make sure to: Not go all Natalie Merchant/10,000 Maniacs on this one — your melody rides the feeling.

Pavement – “Unfair”

When to sing: When you’re at a place on the Sunset Strip and you don’t want to sing “AEnima” again because no one really got it the first time.

Make sure to: Bring out those Malkmus histrionics and also let the DJ know that there really should be like every Pavement song in this book.

Peaches – “Fuck the Pain Away”

When to sing:  When the idea of singing “Closer” seems too dominant and chauvinistic, and you want something a little more coquettish and submissive, yet just as fucking graphic.

Make sure to: Go in knowing that you’re about to say “Fuck the Pain Away” 24 times, and pray for semantic satiation.

The Pharcyde – “Oh Shit”

When to sing: When you want to sing “Things That Make You Go Hmmmm” but you’ve got a team of tenors with you.

Make sure to: Just get a lady to sing Slimkid3′s verse because come on.

Pixies – “Hey”

When to sing: Directly before or after someone sings The Breeders – ”One Divine Hammer”.

Make Sure To: Interact with the singer of “One Divine Hammer”. This is your future wife, or at the very least you should start a band together.

PJ Harvey – “Words that Maketh Murder”

When to sing: When you’re pretty sure everyone’s either ready to go get eggs at the local diner, or you’re desperately seeking the attention of the guy or girl wearing brown and black in the corner next to The Addams Family pinball game.

Make sure to: Start loud, get soft, and then just sort of decide whether you want to finish loud or just repeat the harmonies or pass out.

Portishead – “All Mine”

When to sing: It’s such a James Bond-y torch song – the one that can bring you glory and fame – depending on your skill set.  After midnight, to be sure, and after you’ve told seven different men your seven different names.

Make sure to:  Ask if, just this once, you can smoke in here.

R. Kelly – “Trapped In The Closet”

When to sing: This for the KJ. If you’re ever a KJ, what you do is you learn the first 10 or so parts to this magnum opus and interpolate them throughout the night. This really is the best thing a KJ could do.

Make sure to: Pull out your beretta when things get heated.

The Rapture – “Out Of The Races And Onto The Tracks”

When to sing: After the idea of impressing people with your voice has long since faded, and you believe you can entertain the masses by doing one simple thing:

Make sure to: Shake shake shake shake shake shake shake shake shake shake.

Regina Spektor – “Your Honor”

When to sing: Trying to explain to the bouncer that your belligerently drunk friend is just “fighting for your honor” and/or distract the bouncer by creating the first Regina Spektor-inspired mosh pit ever.

Make sure to: Grab an unsuspecting audience member to forcefully air-kiss.

The Replacements – “Bastards of Young”

When to sing: Right after a heated argument about what you’re doing with your life, or HBO’s Girls. The kind of performance you give will hang on how drunk you are — but that’s kind of the point with The Mats.

Make sure to: Tell the DJ that he should have literally every Replacements song in the book.

Rilo Kiley – “Silver Lining”

When to sing: You’ve been politely shot down by the fourth cute guy you’ve approached at the bar- is it your fault they’re all “seeing someone”?- and you want to show all those guys what they’re missing.

Make sure to: Not confuse it with “Dreams”. Trust me, those chord changes really sound the same, especially after one drink too many.

Rufus Wainwright — “14th Street”

When to sing: After a bottle of wine, and when you’re in any city with a gridded downtown, doesn’t matter how big.

Make sure to: Play up Wainwright’s slur if you have to and find that perfect three-glasses-of-wine legato.

Ryan Adams – “Halloweenhead”

When to sing: It doesn’t have to be October to chant this one across the bar. Be ironic, or find your inner Jack Skellington, and belt this out at Christmas shindigs everywhere.

Make sure to: ”Guitar solo!”

Scott Walker – “Jackie”

When to sing: When you can see the bottom of your first elderflower cocktail, and after you place a mint leaf behind your ear.

Make sure to: Indicate just as much, if not more, than Walker does in the above video. “My beard so very long and flowing” being one example of a shining moment for pantomime.

The Shins – “Gone For Good”

When to sing: A perfect song for an afternoon karaoke session, or one of your first songs.

Make sure to: Bring a friend who can do those harmonies cause they’re so breezy.

Silver Jews – “Punks In The Beerlight”

When to sing: Right before you propose to your burnout girlfriend.

Make sure to: Bring your punk up there with you.

Sleater-Kinney – “Dig Me Out”

When to sing: After you’ve grown tired of the same polite rebuffs you’ve been giving all night and want to transform your face into a giant “back the hell up off” sign.

Make sure to:  Furrow the brow, clench the mic, and curtsy at the end.

Sleigh Bells – “Rill Rill”

When to sing: When you want everyone to get up and sway together without singing “Time of Your Life”. Once that Funkadelic sample kicks in, it’s only natural.

Make sure to: Wear just one fingerless glove and a string of bullets, if you’ve got ‘em.

Spoon – “The Underdog”

When to sing: You’re sloppy, stained with kisses, and your high school girlfriend you haven’t spoken to in over a decade has just walked through the door.

Make sure to: Take a page or two from Tom Jones – dance, dance, dance with the horns!

The Strokes – “15 Minutes”

When to sing: That one night you decide to be bold and wear the leather jacket, despite the fact that your friends all joke around and call you “The Fonz.”

Make sure to: Stay focused, despite that dreamy guitar solo, watch for the changes, and try to keep up at the end.

Sufjan Stevens – “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.”

When to sing:  When you’re sure that you can come back from it. This is for advanced artists only.

Make sure to:  …I don’t even know. I just kind of want to hear someone sing it and just live in whatever weird moment that it manifests forever.

Supergrass – “Alright”

When to sing: Someone’s brought up at least one reference to Alicia Silverstone, Brittany Murphy, Jeremy Sisto, or anything having to do with 1995′s Clueless.

Make sure to: Really belt out “But we are young!”, especially if it’s your 30th birthday.

Tapes ‘n’ Tapes – “Insistor”

When to sing:  When you want to sing Violent Femmes, but you’d rather sing a song about being a badger. The song has a great arc to it, so it should take care of itself.

Make sure to: Add that big scream in the final chorus.

Television – “See No Evil”

When to sing:  Right after the girl who sang Patti Smith asked you, “So, what are you singing?”

Make sure to:  Turn in your best Tom Verlaine impression (sing everything just a little behind the beat), and bring a beer to drink during that killer guitar solo.

The-Dream – “Yamaha”

When to sing:  When you want to branch out from your Prince standards, and “Darling Nikki”.

Make sure to:  Wear your motorcycle jacket, and take some names, lil’ mama.

The Thermals – “Here’s Your Future”

When to sing: On the eve of any Catholic-related holiday.

Make sure to: Keep the nasal passages clear; otherwise, you’ll have everyone asking what Springsteen song this is.

Titus Andronicus – “No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future”

When to sing:  After a three-Jameson rocks, and you get the idea that the only way anyone will like you tonight is if you bring everyone down to your level.

Make sure to:  Plant some ringers in the audience for the “You will always be a loser” part, and if you get everyone singing at the end you’ll be a karaoke loser forever.

Tom Waits – “I Hope That I Don’t Fall In Love With You”

When to sing: When the night is squinting back at you, and there’s only about five people in the bar, and the bartender is wiping down the bar half-interested in what you’re doing.

Make sure to:  At the end, tell everyone to tip their bartenders.

tUnE-yArDs – “Bizness”

When to sing: Like “Tightrope”, as often as possible.  

Make sure to: BYO face paint, and see if you can find a way to do that vibrato thing Merril does at the start of the second verse.

TV On The Radio – “Wolf Like Me”

When to sing: After a spirited conversation about what, ultimately, is the best TV On The Radio song.

Make sure to: Put in a good argument for “Wolf Like Me”.

The Velvet Underground – “Beginning To See The Light”

When to sing: When your night is striking a nice balance somewhere between Loaded and White Light/White Heat.

Make sure to: Just make up whatever melody/words you want during the verse.

The Weeknd – “Wicked Games”

When to sing: When you want to bring the sexual tension from “girl look at that cute guy” to “this is unbearable and I have to leave.”

Make sure to:  Not even attempt this if you can’t hit those high notes. Consult friends before singing and listen to them if they laugh at you.

Whiskeytown – “Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight”

When to sing: When you’re drunk enough that your country roots start to show, but are still aware that you’re singing Ryan Adams.

Make sure to: Add that twang that Ryan Adams used to do.

Why? – “The Hallows”

When to sing: When you want to get back to the proto-hipster, and drop some fantastic white-boy rhymes on the mic.

Make sure to: Preface this song by “You’ve probably never heard of these guys” just for old-time’s sake.

Wilco – “Monday”

When to sing: After a couple of PBRs and after someone asks you if you know any country songs other than that Ryan Adams guy.

Make sure to: Infer that you do know more country songs, but few are as great as “Monday”.

Wild Flag – “Romance”

When to sing: I know it’s a new song in the canon, but really, when is there not a good time to sing this song?

Make sure to: Air-guitar throughout and slyly note to passersby that you saw Sleater-Kinney live before they split. Like, during the song.

Wire – “Ex Lion Tamer”

When to sing:  After you get done complaining about HBO’s Girls for the last hour and just want to grab everyone by the collars, and scream some metaphors in their faces. This is not an uncommon emotion.

Make sure to: Bring up a hype-man for the extra punch off from the mic when you sing the echo lines in the verse.

Wolf Parade – “This Heart’s On Fire”

When to sing: After about a pack of cigarettes into the night.

Make sure to: Leave absolutely all of it on stage.

This week offered up a bunch of satisfying singles, so it was a little more challenging than usual to sift through it all and come up with just 10 favorites. However, we think we done good with the following selections, what with it featuring everyone from Aesop Rock to Yuck to Frank Ocean. Until next time, enjoy.

A Place to Bury Strangers – “Burning Plastic”

When tragic things happen, society takes to art. Brooklyn-based label Famous Class is doing just that with their new 7″ series, honoring their recently passed partner Ariel Panero. The first of those slabs features Brooklyn shoegazers A Place to Bury Strangers contributing a previously unreleased track called “Burning Plastic”. Stuttering percussion, thrumming bass tones, and popping notes underscore vocalist Oliver Ackermann intoning blithely over the top. The thing rumbles and rushes forward for three minutes, a powerful burst of jagged edge rock ‘n’ roll. While the stream here is free, 100% of the proceeds for the actual 7″ go to Ariel Panero Memorial Fund at VH1 Save the Music, so interested listeners should spend with their heart. -Adam Kivel

Aesop Rock – “Zero Dark Thirty”

Aesop Rock (less well known as Ian Matthias Bavitz) hasn’t released an LP since 2007′s well-received None Shall Pass. After that long absence, he’s finally back with the upcoming Skelethon (due July 10 via Rhymesayers), and you can get a cut from it early in the form of “Zero Dark Thirty”. A chopped sample of a man saying what sounds like “they did not know how long they’d been there” leads into a dark, insistent beat built with twinkly synth sounds, scuzzy bass, and scratching. Standout non sequiturs like “I spent a couple groundhogs days with a changeling” tumble out by the handful, proving that the New Yorker is back at his old, complex, twisted form. -Adam Kivel

[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/40422892" iframe="true" /]

Big K.R.I.T. – “Sideline”

Recorded during the sessions for his great new 4evaNaDay mixtape, the self-produced “Sideline” finds Big K.R.I.T. rapping hard while still keeping a cool head. Built around wistful Rhodes keyboards and stuttering drums, the track comes together like something from the Roots’ undun infused with the cozy Southern aesthetic K.R.I.T.’s mastering further and further. One could say the metaphor of the chorus is a little hackneyed, but really, it’s best to just enjoy witnessing the streak this guy is on. -Mike Madden

Black Lips – “Dance with You”

2011′s Arabia Mountain proved to be a major high point in Atlanta “flower punk” rockers Black Lips’ discography. The mildly psychedelic 60′s sound is exemplified in their new single “Sick of You”, but the B-side to that new release equals the A. “Dance With You” welds two distinct sounds, the verses built on a jaunty noir bass-line, and the chorus finds guitarists Cole Alexander and Jared Swilley wild-eyed and shouting the title over waves of cymbals and chords. As if that weren’t enough, stay tuned for the freakout that closes out the track, the wild heat radiating out in spirals. -Adam Kivel

Black Lips – “Dance With You”

Death Grips – “Burning Plastic”

As Sacramento’s Death Grips come closer to the release of their upcoming The Money Store LP, out April 24 via Epic, what rap scribe Brandon Soderberg wrote a while back still holds true: “[Their music] is Waka Flocka Flame for grad students.” However, while that (mostly accurate) statement was clearly meant as a diss, it’s starting to seem more indicative of what the noisy rap-based (“-based” is key) act is actually trying to do. Waka has really made a name for himself by taking rap near its most intense extreme, and Death Grips seem totally down with doing a similar thing. Played loud enough, their sound hits like a brick to the skull, delightfully and cleverly so.

Case in point: “I’ve Seen Footage”, the fourth track released from The Money Store. It’s a relentlessly in-your-face thing, all thudding “Push It”-style low-end and near-shouted WTF free-association (“Armored cop/Open fire, glock/On some kid who stepped so fast”), yet not without a peculiar sense of tunefulness. We get why some write off Death Grips as overly dissonant and a little disorganized, but to take it as much else might be to miss the point. -Mike Madden

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Del tha Funkee Homosapien and Parallel Thought – “If Ya Don’t”

Oaktown’s Del the Funkee Homosapien will turn 40 this August, but judging by “If Ya Don’t”, he’s not about to plateau like rappers around that age tend to do. Backed by Parallel Thought’s lurching, vaguely New York-type beat, Del brings Cali and Def Jux flavors in equal measure, all fitting somewhere on “the funk continuum.”  ”Clap your hands and get into the groove,” he advises. Don’t be afraid to submit. Del and Parallel Thought’s collaborative Attractive Sin LP shows up June 16. -Mike Madden

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Frank Ocean – “PDA”

Before adopting the moniker he goes by now, Frank Ocean was known musically as Lonny Breaux. And even back then, Ocean had some killer pop instincts, as is made oh-so-clear by “PDA”. Originally a reference track for none other than the Backstreet Boys (seriously), the song is a straight-up chart-reaching R&B jam, featuring Ocean crooning about everywhere he wants to display affection to an anon female (the club, the restaurant, the bookstore, the beach, etc.). Not sure how this didn’t make last year’s The Lonny Breaux Collection, but we’re thankful it was released at all. -Mike Madden

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The Henry Clay People – “Twenty-Five For the Rest of Our Lives”

We here at Consequence of Sound are all about Los Angeles four-piece The Henry Clay People and their brand of fuzzy, shout-along pop-punk (that’s what got them CoSigned). If we were to run through the streets en masse, high fiving and having a raucous good time, we’d be doing that along to the title track and first taste of The Henry Clay People’s upcoming  LP, Twenty-Five For the Rest of Our Lives. Guitarist/vocalist Joey Siara’s riffs and impassioned vocals are equally defiant, belting out lines like “we’re not gonna settle down, we’re not gonna settle for anything.” This track is a battle cry, a rallying flag full of ass-kicking distortion and thundering drums. -Adam Kivel

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Island Twins – “The Wolfs Lair”

“The wolfs lair is haunted, you don’t want to be there,” sing brother and sister Erik and Megan Brauer on “The Wolfs Lair”, a cut from their band Island Twins’ upcoming eponymous debut LP (which looks to be due June 1st). The endearingly big, sloppy guitar hooks, sleepily charming vocals, silly lyrical content, and lo-fi buzz draws equally from Pavement and the Unicorns, a strange but giddily sweet mash. If the rest of the album works this well, this summer might have a sleeper hit on its hands. -Adam Kivel

Island Twins – “The Wolfs Lair”

Yuck – “Chew”

Kick-starting with a riff culled somewhere between Nevermind and Slanted and Enchanted, “Chew” signals that Yuck has no reservations about perpetuating the stream of ’90s indie-rock comparisons they’ve received since last year’s self-titled debut. But while the bands most referenced when talking about the London-based four-piece should still include Pavement and Sonic Youth and the like, there are definitely some welcome My Bloody Valentine-style shoegaze undertones to this number. Also, “Yuck” and “Chew” — there’s a decent punchline to be written here. -Mike Madden

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Today, flower punk outfit Black Lips released their new single “Sick of You” featuring two outtakes from last year’s Arabia Mountain. The B-side, “Dance With You”, is right in line with the album’s ’60s-inspired sound, forging together bits of The Animals and even some Doors to create a howling, quasi-psychedelic number custom-made for dancing in the desert. Stream it below (via SPIN.com).

Black Lips – “Dance With You”

Snag your copy of the single at iTunes. Black Lips will be on tour this summer and you can find the full schedule listed on their label’s website.

The Osheaga Music and Arts Festival returns to Montreal’s Parc Jean-Drapeau from August 3-5th. The Black Keys, Snoop Dogg, Sigur Rós, and Justice top this year’s bill, and they’ll be joined by MGMT, Florence and the Machine, The Weeknd, Bloc Party, M83, Franz Ferdinand, Metric, and Garbage.

Also playing are Passion Pit, Yeasayer, City and Colour, Brand New, Young the Giant, Portugal. the Man, The Walkmen, ASAP Rocky, Zola Jesus, Atlas Sound, Amadou & Mariam, Black Lips, Little Dragon, Calexico, The Black Angels, Gary Clark Jr., The Ravonettes, Of Monsters and Men, Kathleen Edwards, Austra, Tame Impala, Zeus, The Death Set, Freelance Whales, Michael Kiwanuka, Bombay Bicycle Club, Plants and Animals, Madeon, and Zeds Dead, among others. Check out the lineup in poster form below.

Additional acts and the daily lineup will be revealed in April, and you can stay up to date with all the latest Osheaga news at our Festival Outlook.

Three-day passes will go on sale Friday, March 23rd at Noon ET. Visit the festival’s website for complete ticketing info.

The 36th annual Beale Street Music Festival runs May 4-6th at Tom Lee Park in Memphis, Tennessee. The festival usually has an eclectic lineup and this year is no different. My Morning Jacket, Florence and the Machine, Jane’s Addiction, Girl Talk, and Primus top the bill, and they’ll be joined by Megadeth, Lupe Fiasco, Al Green, Wiz Khalifa, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, and Bush.

Also playing are Coheed and Cambria, Childish Gambino, Three 6 Mafia, Buddy Guy, The Cult, Cold War Kids, The Head and the Heart, Dr. Dog, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Big K.R.I.T., Black Lips, The Civil Wars, Son Volt, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Volbeat, Gary Clark Jr., Old 97s, and Zoogma, among others.

Single-day, three-day and VIP packages are now available via the festival’s website.

The 11th annual Bonnaroo Music Festival runs June 7-10th in Manchester, Tennessee. This year’s bill is headlined by Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Phish, and the reunited Beach Boys, with Bon Iver, The Shins, Dispatch, Foster the People, The Avett Brothers, Skrillex, Feist, and Aziz Ansari among the other heavyweights.

Other notables include The Roots, Ben Folds Five, Black Star, Alice Cooper, St. Vincent, Mogwai, Major Lazer, Flying Lotus, Alabama Shakes, Dawes, Flogging Molly, Childish Gambino, Ludacris, tUnE-yArDs, SBTRKT, Battles, Black Lips, Kendrick Lamar, Danny Brown, The Joy Formidable, Young the Giant, Kurt Vile and The Violators, EMA, The Antlers, Delta Spirit, Das Racist, The War on Drugs, Laura Marling, Here We Go Magic,  Yelawolf, and Mac Miller.

Also playing are Umphey’s McGee, The Word (featuring Robert Randolph, John Medeski, and North Mississippi Allstars), Bad Brains, Mariachi El Bronx, The Devil Makes Three, Charles Bradley and his Extraordinaires, Gary Clark Jr., Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Kathleen Edwards, Phantogram, Two Door Cinema Club, Fitz and the Tantrums, The Civil Wars, City and Colour, The Kooks, Big Freedia, K-Flay, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Grouplove, White Denim, SOJA, Big Gigantic, Fruit Bats, Moon Taxi, The Soul Rebels, The Lonely Forest, ALO, Blind Pilot, Ben Howard, Trampled By Turtles, Mimosa, and Spectrum Road (featuring Santana, John Medeski, Jack Bruce, Cindy Blackman, and Vernon Reid.)

This year also promises another one of Bonnaroo’s trademark superjams; however, the participating artists have yet to be announced.

In all, over 125 bands and 20 comedians will perform across 13 stages during the four-day event. Additional artists and comedians will be revealed in the coming weeks. Below, you can watch the lineup announced by ESPN’s John Anderson.

Tickets go on sale beginning Saturday, February 18th at Noon ET via the festival’s website.

Update: Here’s the poster:

Primavera Sound returns to Barcelona, Spain from May 30th to June 3rd. Acts like The Cure, Björk, Jeff Mangum, Wilco, Justice, Death Cab For Cutie, Franz Ferdinand, Spiritualized, The Afghan Whigs, The xx, Mazzy Star, Yo La Tengo, Beach House, ASAP Rocky, araabMUZIK, and Neon Indian have already been announced.

Today, the festival revealed the rest of its 2012 bill and new highlights include Refused, Rufus Wainwright, Beirut, Chavez, The Pop Group, Atlas Sound, Laura Marling, Sharon Van Etten, The Rapture, Wavves, Danny Brown, Black Lips, Lee Ranaldo, Hype Williams, Kings of Convenience, Archers of Loaf, Dirty Three, The Wedding Present (performing Seamonsters) Girls, Real Estate, The War on Drugs, Saint Etienne, Richard Hawley, Iceage, Japandroids, Thee Oh Sees, Death Grips, Trash Talk, Bleached, Friends, Dirty Beaches, Lower Dens, The Field, Field Music, and Obits. In addition, Big Star’s Jody Stephens, R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, and others will come together for a special performance of Big Star’s Third. Check out our Festival Outlook to see the complete lineup.

Festival tickets are now on sale for 180 € (+ booking fee), however, the price will increase to 190 € beginning February 4th. Visit the festival’s website for complete ticketing information.

As previously reported, the organizers of Primavera Sound are also launching a sister festival in Porto, Portugal called Optimus Primavera Sound. Acts include Björk, Jeff Mangum, Death Cab For Cutie, Spiritualized, Explosions in the Sky, The Afghan Whigs, The xx, The Walkmen, and more. Check out our Festival Outlook for additional info.

Other notables include St. Vincent, Arctic Monkeys, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, The Weeknd, Frank Ocean, Justice, Mazzy Star, M83, Explosions in the Sky, Childish Gambino, Flying Lotus, Destroyer, Cat Power, Madness, SBTRKT, Beirut, Amon Tobin, DJ Shadow, fIREHOSE, Miike Snow, The Rapture, M. Ward, Jimmy Cliff with Rancid frontman Tim Armstrong, The Horrors, Buzzcocks, James, EMA, Girls, tUnE-yArDs, and more.

The lineup also packs Wild Flag, ASAP Rocky, Kendrick Lamar, Neon Indian, Santigold, Modeselektor, The Big Pink, Wu Lyf, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, The Head and the Heart, Laura Marling, Company Flow, AraabMUZIK, Kaskade, Le Butcherettes, Real Estate, Wild Beasts, La Roux, Thundercat, Azealia Banks, Kasabian, Goyte, Manchester Orchestra, Black Lips, Atari Teenage Riot, and more. Check out the full lineup below or at our Festival Outlook.

Update: Tickets go on sale Friday, January 13th at 10:00 AM PT. According to Pop & Hiss, three-day passes are $285, three-day with shuttle are $335, and VIP are $665.

It’s been a long year. Scratch that, it’s been a veeerrrry long year. From social revolutions to the end of our occupation of Iraq, from the death of celebrities and dictators to a man who sneezes bullets and the mystery of planking, the world experienced a slew of emotions and all sorts of cultural and political upheaval in 2011. And that’s not even counting the plethora of music news that had the blogosphere abuzz this year.

So, as the question begs, what comes next? Well, 2012. If you were to believe certain factions, it’ll be the end of days. A more likely scenario, though, is that it will be another busy year, with people to meet, triumphs to celebrate, disasters to mourn, and a whole other set of memories to file away as we march perpetually onward toward the Great Unknown. A dreary prospect for sure, one that almost makes the impending Apocalypse sound warm and fuzzy. However, there is temporary respite in the form of New Year’s Eve.

New Year’s Eve is that magic night where one year is all but over. It’s the chance to stop worrying for a moment. It’s an opportunity to celebrate surviving the last 364. It’s the start of a whole new scheme or design for the upcoming 365. Rather than chugging cheap champagne and letting off fireworks, NYE should be commemorated with the one thing that makes any year bearable: music.

As we have for every other major celebratory occasion, CoS has your back with our handy-dandy New Year’s Eve 2011 Concert Guide. From the beaches of Miami to life in the City of Angels, and everywhere between, our guide has everything you’ll need to know to see your favorite bands live. Whether you’re planning to rock out with Patti Smith at New York’s Bowery Ballroom, get freaky with The Flaming Lips and Yoko Ono in Oklahoma City, or hit up BOTH of Kaskade’s NYE shows (in two different state mind you), our guide is the only New Year’s Eve accessory you need (save for maybe a noisemaker). Plus, if you’re not one to brave the weather and the sea of drunks, we’ll tell you what you should be watching on the old boob tube. The point is, if it’s happening on NYE, it’s in this guide. Your only concern will be how to get home and/or where to pass out at the end of the night.

If we’ve missed any gathering or shindig, please let us know in the comments below. Call this a cliché bit of writing, but we’d like to leave you with some parting words from the immortal Benjamin Franklin to guide you into what lies ahead: “Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.”

See ya in 2012.

-Chris Coplan
News Editor

New York City

– AarabMUZIK, Balam Acab: 285 Kent

– Assembly of Dust: Mercury Lounge

– Avicii: Pier 34

– The Bad Plus: The Village Vanguard

– Charles Bradley, The Budos Band: Music Hall of Williamsburg

– Chuck Berry: B.B. King Blues Club

– Dark Star Orchestra: Wellmont Theatre (Montclair, NJ)

– Deadmau5: Pier 36

– Deer Tick, J. Roddy Watson and the Business, Dead Confederate: Brooklyn Bowl

– Fitz and the Tantrums: The Gramercy Theatre

– Gogol Bordello: Terminal 5

– Gov’t Mule: Beacon Theatre

– Infected Mushroom: Best Buy Theater

– The Knocks: Gansevoort Park Avenue

– Laidback Luke: Pacha

– Lee Fields & The Expressions: The Bell House

– Los Lobos: City Winery

– Matt and Kim, Super Mash Bros., Body Language: Hammerstein Ballroom

– Neru: Webster Hall

– The New Deal: B.B. King Blues Club

– New Kids on the Block, Boyz II Men: Roseland Ballroom

– Nick Catchdubs: Loreley

– Nosaj Thing: Glasslands

– O’Death: Spike Hill

– Patti Smith: Bowery Ballroom

– Phish: Madison Square Garden

– Steve Lawler: District 36

– Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: Maxwells (Hoboken, NJ)

Chicago

– Alkaline Trio: Metro

– Big Gigantic: Riviera Theatre

– Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears: Double Door

– Cage the Elephant, Sleeper Agent: Aragon Ballroom

– Cave: The Hideout

– Disco Biscuits, Future Rock: Auditorium Theatre

– The Hood Internet: Lincoln Hall

– Keys N Krates: Chicago Urban Art Society

– Local H: Bottom Lounge

– Murder By Death: Subterranean

– Old 97s: Intercontinental Hotel Grand Ballroom

– Rusko, Sinden, Switch: Congress Theater

– The Spits: Cobra Lounge

Los Angeles

– The Aggrolites: Alex’s Bar

– Benny Benassi, Paul Van Dyk, Kaskade, Dada Life: Anaheim Convention Center (White Wonderland)

– DJ Quik: Key Club

– Duck Sauce, Diplo, Chromeo, Felix da Housecat, The Bloody Beetroots, LA Riots: Oak Canyon Park (Together As One)

– The Henry Clay People, Races: The Satellite

– Give Up the Ghost: Ukrainian Culture Center

– Jenny and Johnny, Cults: The Standard Hollywood

– John Digweed: The Avalon

– Junkie XL: Detroit Bar

– L.A. Guns: Whisky A Go Go

– Lupe Fiasco: Hollywood & Highland Center

– Musiq Soulchild: House of Blues

– Wanda Jackson, Best Coast, Dan Sartain: Club Nokia

San Francisco

– The Fresh & Onlys, Thee Oh Sees: Brick and Mortar Music Hall

– Furthur: Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

– Kreayshawn: The Regency Ballroom

– The Limousines: Rickshaw Stop

– Maceo Parker: Yoshi’s

– Santigold, Amon Tobin Islam Live, Beats Antique, Claude Von Stroke,: Concourse Exhibition Center (Sea of Dreams)

– Primus: Great American Music Hall

– The Slip: Cafe du Nord

– Sonny & The Sunsets: Amnesia

– Talib Kweli: Sloane Squared

– Tedeschi Trucks Band, The New Mastersounds: The Warfield

– Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue: The Fillmore

– X: Slim’s

– Yeasayer (DJ Set): W Hotel

– DJ Z-Trip: Fort Mason Center

London

– The 2 Bears: XOYO

– Adam Beyer: Fabric

– Ferry Corsten: Brixton Academy

– Gabby Young and Other Animals: Royal Festival Hall

– Gary Numan: All Star Lanes

– Gross Magic: The Victoria

– Joker, Brekage, Roska, Plastician, Sigma: Electric Brixon

– Kasabian, Chase & Status, Zane Lowe: The O2

– Toddla T: The Nest

– The Wedding Present: Dingwalls

Elsewhere

Aspen

– Jane’s Addiction: Belly Up

Athens (Georgia)

– MartyParty, Dubconscious: New Earth Music Hall

– of Montreal: Go Bar

– Reptar: Georgia Theatre

Atlanta

– Against Me!, Fake Problems, Franz Nicolay: The Masquerade

– Cake: Fox Theatre

– JJ Grey & Mofro: Variety Playhouse

– Kylesa: The Earl

– Naughty By Nature, Ed Kowalczyk: Hyatt Regency

– Perpetual Groove: Center Stage

– STS9: The Tabernacle

– Zac Brown Band: Philips Arena

Atlantic City

– Brand New: House of Blues

Austin

– Big Freedia: The Mohawk

– The Black Angels, Wooden Shjips, Ume: Emo’s East

– Bob Schneider, Quiet Company: Paramount Theatre

– Designer Drugs: Austin Music Hall

– Gary Clark Jr.: Antone’s

– Groupo Fantasma: Beauty Bar

– Hayes Carll: La Zona Rosa

– Penguin Prison: American Legion Hall

– Russian Circles: Red 7

– White Denim, Royal Bangs: The Empire Space

– Willie Nelson: Moody Theater

Australia

– Arctic Monkeys, Crystal Castles, Dan Deacon, The Naked and Famous: The Falls Festival (Lorne)

– Fleet Foxes, Beirut, CSS, CANT, Unknown Mortal Orchestra: The Falls Festival (Marion Bay)

Baltimore

– Carbon Leaf: Hyatt Regency

– SOJA: Baltimore Soundstage

Boston

– David Wax Museum: Lizard Lounge (Cambridge, MA)

– Lucero: Paradise

– New York Dolls: New England Conservatory

Charlotte (North Carolina)

– Widespread Panic: Time Warner Cable Arena

Dallas

– Girl Talk, Ghostland Observatory, MSTRKRFT, Neon Indian, Pendulum (DJ Set): Lights All Night

– The Polyphonic Spree, Centro-matic: House of Blues

– Quinton and Miss Pussycat: Zubar

Denver

– Flux Pavilion, Doctor P: Colorado Convention Center

– Gauntlet Hair, Pictureplane: The Larmier Lounge

– Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad: Cervantes’ Other Side

– Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Orgone: Cervatnes Ballroom

– Ladytron (DJ Set): City Hall

– Pretty Lights: 1stBANK Center (Broomfield, CO)

– Railroad Earth: Ogden Theatre

– Truckasauras: The Summit

– Ween: The Fillmore

Detroit

– The Detroit Cobras: Magic Stick

– Greensky Bluegrass, The Macpodz: Majestic Theatre

– Maze featuring Frankie Beverly: Masonic Temple

Greenville (South Carolina)

– The Avett Brothers: Bi-Lo Center

Houston

– Blue October: House of Blues

– Christopher Lawrence: Stereo Live

– Young Jeezy: Reliant Arena

Lake Tahoe

– Bassnectar, Pretty Lights, Thievery Corporation, The Glitch Mob, Childish Cambino, A-Trak, Theophilus London, YACHT: Snowglobe Music Festival

Las Vegas

– Chris Brown: Pure Nightclub

– Guns N’ Roses, Sebastian Bach: The Joint

– John Legend: Pearl Concert Theater

– Kaskade: Marquee

– NOFX, Lagwagon: House of Blues

– Paul Oakenfold: Rain

– Steve Angello: XS Nightclub

– Stevie Wonder: Cosmopolitan

Louisville (Kentucky)

– The Pass: Butchertown Pub Studios

Miami

– The Heavy Pets: Tobacco Road

– Spam All-Stars: The Catalina Hotel

Minneapolis

– Dawes: Varsity Theater

– EOTO: Skyway Theater

Milwaukee

– Skrillex, Dillon Francis: The Rave

Nashville

– Bassnectar: Bridgestone Arena

– Moon Taxi, Apache Relay: Exit/In

New Orleans

– Big Sam’s Funky Nation: The Joy Theater

– Black Lips: One Eyed Jacks

– Dr. John: House of Blues

– Funky Meters: Tipitina’s French Quarter

– Galactic, Anders Osborne: Tipitina’s Uptown

— Rebirth Brass Band: Howlin’ Wolf

Northampton (Massachusetts)

– Josh Ritter: Calvin Theater

– Rubblebucket: Pearl Street Nightclub

Oklahoma City

– The Flaming Lips, Yoko Ono: Brickstown Events Center

Orlando

– Trivium, Sevendust, Black Tide: House of Blues

– Slightly Stoopid, The Expendables: Hard Rock Live

Ottawa

– Electric Six: Mavericks

Philadelphia

– Clutch: Trocadero

– Eternal Summers, Bleeding Rainbow: Level Room

– Good Old War, River City Extension: Theatre of Living Arts

– Lotus: Festival Pier

– Man Man (DJ Set), Dr. Dog (DJ Set), Sun Airway (DJ Set): Johnny Brenda’s

– Smoking Popes: North Star Bar

Phoenix

– Meat Puppets: Clubhouse Music Venue

Portland (Maine)

– moe.: State Theatre

Portland (Oregon)

– Leftover Salmon: Roseland Theater

– Nurses, Radiation City: Mississippi Studios

– Pierced Arrows: Ash Street Saloon

– Red Fang: Star Theater

– Reverend Horton Heat, Supersuckers: The Crystal Ballroom

– Talkdemonic: Misson Theater

San Diego

– Fedde Le Grand, Porter Robinson, Hardwell, Bart B More: Valley View Casino Center (OMFG! NYE)

– Kinky: 4th & B

Seattle

– Mustard Pimp: King Cat Theatre

– Starfucker, Champagne Champagne: The Crocodile

St. Louis (Missouri):

– Cowboy Mouth: Old Rock House

– Devon Allman’s Honeytribe: Blueberry Hill

– Excision: Koken Art Factory

– Umphrey’s McGee: The Pageant

Toronto

– Elliot Brood: Lee’s Palace

– Kyuss! Lives: Cherry Cola’s Rock N’ Rolla Cabaret & Lounge

– The Sadies: Horseshoe Tavern

– Steve Aoki, Thomas Gold: Kool Haus

Vancouver

– Tiësto: Pacific Coliseum

Washington, DC

– Animal Collective (DJ Set), Le Tigre (DJ Set), ANR (DJ Set): 1800 L Street NW (BYT NYE)

– Drive-By Truckers, Booker T, Alabama Shakes: 9:30 Club

– Gucci Mane: Love Night Club

– Morgan Page: Fur Nightclub

– Painted Face: Rock and Roll Hotel

On TV

– Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve (ABC): Lady Gaga, Florence and the Machine, Blink-182, Nicki Minaj

– New Year’s Eve with Carson Daily (NBC): Drake, The Roots, Cee-Lo Green

– NYE in NYC (MTV): J. Cole

– Coldplay New Year’s Eve: An Austin City Limits Special (PBS)

John McCauley and Robbie Crowell of Deer Tick, Ian Saint Pé of Black Lips, Steve Berlin of Los Lobos, Hardy Morris of Dead Confederate, and Bryan Dufresne of Six Finger Satellite have come together to form Diamond Rugs, as The AV Club points out. The drunk-punk super group will perform their first gig on December 29th in Atlanta, GA (ticket info here), with their debut album scheduled to drop sometime this spring via Partisan Records.

To preview what yuletide magic these six men can make together, the band has debuted the cheer-inducing “Christmas In A Chinese Restaurant”. Powered by a distinctly sharp piano and very little else, the track would be hilarious if the man’s tale of being lonely on Xmas wasn’t so darn believable and gut-wrenching in a black comedy sort of way. Plus, McCauley’s vocals are at their most emotionally vulnerable and cynical, which only worsens our guilt. Check it out below.

McCauley also recently performed a solo rendition of the song for Rollo & Grady , which you can watch below.

What: Part of Urban Outfitters Music Video Series, the new Black Lips video sports an eccentric cast (i.e. the meth addict from The Wire, aka Leo Fitzpatrick) over a crime-ridden plot. If you liked “Sabotage”…

Directed by: Phil Pinto

It seems the Black Lips really didn’t like being called adorable. After the blasphemous video for “Family Tree”, the Atlanta-bred psychedelic rockers return as corrupt cops in “Raw Meat”. Abusing their power, the band wave their guns around and harass random citizens (including poor Johnny Weeks from The Wire) between rolling around in their ’70s-era cop car. It’s like a punk version of the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage”, but with way less awesome facial hair.

The band’s latest album, Arabia Mountain, is out now.

The Black Lips, Atlanta’s self-described “flower punks,” are notorious for their live show theatrics, which have been noted to feature nudity, pyro, the release of multiple bodily fluids, and a general raucous punk mentality. While we imagine the X-rated content will be saved for a more appropriate theater, the four-piece will plug in this afternoon for a special hour-long webcast on SPIN.com. The broadcast kicks off at 2 p.m. ET with a 10-minute interview, followed by a live performance sure to feature cuts off of June’s Arabia Mountain. Tell any teachers or bosses that you’ve contacted a three-hour bug, prep some snacks, and then watch the stream below or via SPIN.

The polished punk that the Black Lips offered up on this year’s Arabia Mountain was possible, in part, thanks to the work of UK super producer Mark Ronson. Now, Ronson is reworking his Frankenstein with a dub-y remix of “New Direction”. The slick track is the sonic equivalent of giving the hyperactive Lips a giant-sized dose of Adderall. Check out a sample below; to hear the whole thing, register for a free trial with Rdio here.

Then, check out the fantastical and adorable music video for the original “New Direction” below.

As wonderful and wholesome as the Black Lips were in the video for “New Direction”, it’s nice to see them get back to basics in the clip for “Family Tree”. And by “basics” we mean offending people’s religious beliefs and lighting stuff on fire only to chop it up with a chainsaw. Welcome back, boys!

Black Lips’ latest album, Arabia Mountain, is out now.

Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 goes down from November 4-6 at Auditorium Shores, and tickets remain available through the festival’s website.

For the latest album from the Black Lips, the Atlanta four-piece added some polished studio magic and Mark Ronson-facilitated pop sheen to their sound and came up with Arabia Mountain. Despite how nicely they’ve cleaned up, the band haven’t forgotten that they used to drink piss on stage. Adjusting accordingly, the video for “New Direction” (available above via Listen Before You Buy) is a slice of cuteness served up with a heaping of DIY ethos. Flying around the world, jamming out with all their might in a clip done purposefully to look cheap and goofy, those good old boys are reassuring their public that they’re still wild and crazy punks at heart. Message received loud and clear.

You can peep the whole list of shows below, but here are some “must sees” in our book: Death From Above 1979 at the Metro on Thursday, The Vaccines/Tennis at Schubas on Friday, and Titus Andronicus/Fences hitting up Reggie’s on Saturday. If you’re willing to brave the House of Blues, you can catch more of Lykke Li (who wouldn’t?) and the Arctic Monkeys, performing their new brilliant LP. It should be noted that there are no planned performances at the Vic Theatre, where Soundgarden and Pearl Jam both performed pre-weekend sets in previous years. Could there be something in the works? Maybe a Foo Fighters gig? Speculation, sure, but you never know. We’ll have to play the waiting game.

In the meantime, here are your shows and check out Do312.com for ticket information!

Lollapalooza 2011 Aftershows
08/03 – Cold War Kids w/ Gold Motel, Carbon Tigers, Katz Company @ Metro
08/04 – Death From Above 1979 w/ Metz @ Metro
08/04 – Crystal Castles w/ The Naked and Famous @ House of Blues
08/04 – Smith Westerns @ Schubas
08/04 – Delta Spirit w/ Reptar @ Lincoln Hall
08/04 – Cults w/ Guards, Riter @ Empty Bottle
08/04 – Feed Me w/ Savoy @ Logan Square Auditorium
08/05 – Black Lips w/ Night Beats @ Empty Bottle
08/05 – Atmosphere w/ Prof, Evidence, Blueprint @ Metro
08/05 – Lykke Li w/ Foster The People @ House of Blues
08/05 – Portugal. The Man w/ Wye Oak @ Double Door
08/05 – The Vaccines w/ Tennis @ Schubas
08/05 – Afrojack w/ Perry Farrell @ The Mid
08/05 – Tinie Tempah & Young the Giant @ Subterranean
08/05 – Local Natives w/ Walk the Moon @ Lincoln Hall
08/05 – Sam Adams w/ Kyle Lucas & Captain Midnite @ Bottom Lounge
08/05 – Pretty Lights & Skrillex @ The Congress Theater
08/06 – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart w/ Young Man @ Empty Bottle
08/06 – Arctic Monkeys w/ Disappears @ House of Blues
08/06 – White Lies w/ Rival Schools @ Double Door
08/06 – Fitz & the Tantrums w/ Christina Perri @ Schubas
08/06 – MSTRKRFT w/ Midnight Conspiracy, Nathan Scott, Compact Disco @ The Mid
08/06 – Dom w/ Typhoon @ Subterranean
08/06 – Two Door Cinema Club w/ Grouplove @ Lincoln Hall
08/06 – Titus Andronicus w/ Fences @ Reggie’s
08/06 – Daedelus w/ Eskmo, Lorn @ Bottom Lounge
08/06 – 12th Planet w/ 16bit, Richie August, Mega Mike @ Logan Square Auditorium

Ronson’s presence stays true to the Black Lips’ psychedelic and “flower punk” influences while giving Arabia Mountain the feel of wafting out of a crackly FM radio. Roaring opener “Family Tree” entices the listener into a raucous and energetic trip that doesn’t let up until the fuzzy “You Keep on Running” emits its last foggy note blended with fading beat-boxing. Arabia is framed with warped surf-rock and woven in with dirty hooks—Ronson’s signature throwback sound that makes this album gleam and move faster than its 16 tracks let on. Chiming guitars on Peter Parker ode “Spider’s Curse” complement experimental studio sounds like the band’s alleged use of a human skull with a microphone inside.

“Bicentennial Man”, “Go Out and Get It”, and “New Direction” offer blissed-out, handclap-driven summer tunes with gritty smirks in tow. Arabia Mountain’s unifying thread of bleary guitar and blissed-out beach vibe floats throughout every track without sounding overdone or stale. Touches of sax (“Mad Dog”) and floating piano (“Dumpster Diving”) help support the album’s wandering groove, trademarked by the Lips’ snarky songwriting. Recent live gigs have seen a more mature Black Lips, and with Ronson’s influence, their latest effort makes for an album worthy of several spins this summer and numerous re-visits.

Mark Ronson is best known for being a producer to a number of great, albeit specific set of artists. His long list of clients, which dates back to 1998, includes recent big-names like rapper Wale, songbirds Lily Allen and Adele, and pop overlords Duran Duran. So, when it was first announced that Ronson would be working with grimy rockers Black Lips on their new album Arabia Mountain, some people might have wondered what he’d do to the sound of the Atlanta four-piece.

For our third sneak peak off the forthcoming LP, the band has dropped a decidedly British Invasion-esque offering titled “New Direction”. The track, available for sampling below (via RollingStone.com), is a concise, high-energy affair the takes the band’s extraneous tendencies and hones them to their most fun and effective. Perhaps odd couples really can live happily ever after.

Arabia Mountain hits stores June 7th through Vice Records. Two other early previews are available in the form of “Go Out and Get It!” and the video for “Modern Art”.

Update: The Black Lips have also announced another round of U.S. tour dates leading up to their appearance at Lollapalooza. Find their complete itinerary below.

Check Out:
“New Direction”

Black Lips 2011 Tour Dates:
05/17 – Paris, FR @ 104
05/18 – Brussels, BE @ Les Nuits Botanique
05/19 – London, UK @ The Garage
05/20 – Liverpool, IK @ Sound City Festival
05/21 – Cheshire, UK @ Friends of Mine Festival
05/22 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
05/24 – Glasgow, UK @ Stereo
05/25 – Dublin, IE @ The Button Factory
05/26 – Cork, IE @ Cypress Avenue
05/27 – Galway, IE @ Roisin Dubh
05/31 – Zurich, C @ Exil
06/01 – Vevey, CH @ Rocking Chair
06/02 – Vienna, AT @ Flex
06/09 – San Diego, CA @ The Casbah *
06/10 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Velvet Jones *
06/11 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall *
06/12 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall *
06/14 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom *
06/15 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom *
06/16 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos *
06/17 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory *
06/18 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge *
06/19 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater *
06/21 – Tucson, AZ @ Plush *
06/22 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room *
06/23 – Costa Mesa, CA @ The Detroit Bar *
06/24 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Music Box *
06/25 – Pomona, CA @ The Glass House *
07/27 – Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theatre
07/28 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
07/29 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
07/30 – Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell’s
08/01 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Small’s Theatre
08/02 – Lexington, KY @ Buster’s
08/04 – St. Louis, MO @ Firebird
08/05-07 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
09/08 – Raleigh, NC @ Hopsctoch Festival

* = w/ Cerebal Ballzy

Other heavyweights include A Perfect Circle, Bright Eyes, The Cars, Big Audio Dynamite, Ween, Arctic Monkeys, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley and Nas, Explosions in the Sky, Death From Above 1979, Deftones, Cee-Lo Green, Beirut, Flogging Molly, OK Go, The Kills, and Cold War Kids.

A number of indie favorites are confirmed, including The Mountain Goats, Atmosphere, Titus Andronicus, Ratatat, Best Coast, Crystal Castles, White Lies, Lykke Li, Local Natives, Black Lips, Delta Spirit, Sleigh Bells, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Wye Oak, The Drums, Smith Westerns, The Naked and Famous, Phantogram, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., The Joy Formidable, Young the Giant, and Cults.

If that weren’t enough, Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump, Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, Cage the Elephant, Rival Schools, The Chain Gang of 1974, Friendly Fires, Portugal. The Man, Manchester Orchestra, Two Door Cinema Club, Noah & The Whale, Lissie, Foster the People, Mayer Hawthorne & the County, Fences, City and Colour, and Gold Motel are also confirmed.

This year’s edition will also feature an expansion of Perry’s Place, the festival’s electronic-oriented stage. Designed to accommodate a crowd of 15,000, the area will host the likes of Girl Talk, Kid Cudi, Pretty Lights, Skrillex, The Glitch Mob, Jay Electronica, Modeselektor, Daedulus, Feed Me, Busy P, and Joachim Garraud.

Find a complete list of confirmed acts at our Festival Outlook.

Three day and VIP passes are priced at $215.00 and $850.00, respectively, and are now available via the festival’s website.

September in North Carolina is already a pretty spectacular time of the year, but it just got a little better for residents of Raleigh as the second installment of the Hopscotch Festival has just announced the complete lineup for 2011.

In just its second year, the three-day festival (Sept. 8-10) has tapped The Flaming Lips, Guided By Voices, Superchunk, Drive-By Truckers, The Dodos, and The Light Pines to play shows in Raleigh City Plaza, while more than 130 acts like Swans, Yelawolf, Japandroids, and Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis will spread their performances across 11 clubs that are all within walking distance of each other.

Other notable acts include Twin Shadow, The Black Lips, Rhys Chatham G3, Cold Cave, John Vaderslice, Xiu Xiu, Royal Bangs, and Julianna Barwick. The Budos Band, Little Scream, Toro Y Moi, The Love Language, and Beach Fossils. But the coolest thing about it all is the festival’s flexible ticketing scheme.

Fans who don’t want to commit to three-day passes, which are modestly priced at just $105 ($155 for VIP), can spring for a $65, three-day wristband that gets them into just club shows, or even purchase tickets to individual City Plaza shows on Friday and Saturday for only $32 and $34, respectively. Hopscotch’s official website says that organizers are committed to making all the shows accessible and have made only a limited amount of wristbands and single day City Plaza tickets available for purchase. “Fan experience has been a priority from the beginning,” they wrote, “we don’t enjoy waiting in line anymore than you do, [so] we are not overselling the festival.”

City Plaza shows are all ages, but younger festival goers should be aware that a few clubs do have age requirements including a handful that are 21 & up. A complete list of those clubs and more details are available at the website, and the full lineup is available here. Detailed ticketing information is available here.

The Black Lips’ latest album, Arabia Mountain, isn’t available for another two months (June 7th via Vice), but the band has already offered our second early taste in the form of the music video for “Modern Art”. Whereas “Go Out and Get It” was all about summertime binge drinking, “Modern Art” packs some weird-as-fuck imagery, ranging from trippy animations to Williamsburg, NY dive bars. Also of note is the appearance of a human skull, which may or may not be the same one the band used when recording the 16-track album with producers Mark Ronson and Lockett Pundt (of Deerhunter fame) at at Brooklyn, NY’s MetroSonic. Peep the video above, then scroll down for every other piece of info you might need.

Arabia Mountain Tracklist:
01. Family Tree
02. Modern Art
03. Spidey’s Curse
04. Mad Dog
05. Mr. Driver
06. Bicentennial Man
07. Go Out And Get It
08. Raw Meat
09. Bone Marrow
10. The Lie
11. Time
12. Dumpster Dive
13. New Direction
14. Nock-A-Homa
15. Don’t Mess Up My Baby
16. You Keep On Running

Black Lips 2011 Tour Dates:
04/06 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle #
04/07 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar #
04/08 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat #
04/09 – Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero #
04/12 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall #
04/13 – Pawtucket, RI @ The Met #
04/14 – Boston, MA @ Paradise #
04/15 – Montreal, QC @ Le National #
04/16 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix #
04/17 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick #
04/19 – Columbus, OH @ Outland Live #
04/20 – Newport, KY @ Southgate House #
04/21 – St. Louis, MO @ The Firebird #
04/22 – Chicago, IL @ Logan Square Auditorium #
04/23 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater #
04/25 – Omaha, NE @ Waiting Room #
04/27 – Dallas, TX @ The Loft #
04/28 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s #
04/29 – Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s #
04/30 – Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon #
05/06 – Barcelona, ES @ Bikini
05/07 – Santiago de Compostela, ES @ Sala Capitol
05/08 – Madrid, ES @ Sala Heineken
05/09 – Montpelier, FR @ Rockstore
05/11 – Strasbourg, FR @ La Laterie
05/12 – Hamburg, DE @ Grunspan
05/13 – Berlin, DE @ Festsaal Kreuzberg
05/14 – Munich, DE @ Garage Fest
05/16 – Amsterdam, NL @ Trouw Amsterdam
05/17 – Paris, FR @ 104
05/18 – Brussels, BE @ Les Nuits Botanique
05/19 – London, UK @ The Garage
05/20 – Liverpool, IK @ Sound City Festival
05/21 – Cheshire, UK @ Friends of Mine Festival
05/22 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
05/24 – Glasgow, UK @ Stereo
05/25 – Dublin, IE @ The Button Factory
05/26 – Cork, IE @ Cypress Avenue
05/27 – Galway, IE @ Roisin Dubh
05/31 – Zurich, CH @ Exil
06/01 – Vevey, CH @ Rocking Chair
06/02 – Vienna, CH @ Flex
06/09 – San Diego, CA @ Cashbah *
06/11 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall *
06/12 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall *
06/14 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom *
06/15 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom *
06/16 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos *
06/17 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory *
06/18 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge *
06/19 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater *
06/21 – Tucson, AZ @ Plush *
06/22 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room *
06/23 – Costa Mesa, CA @ The Detroit Bar *
06/24 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Music Box *
06/25 – Pomona, CA @ The Glass House *

# = w/ Vivian Girls
* = w/ Cerebal Ballzy

If the first taste from the Black Lips‘ upcoming album Arabia Mountain hit the right spot for you, then you’ll be equally pleased to learn that the other 15 tracks aren’t far off. Via RollingStone.com, the follow-up to 2009′s 200 Million Thousand will be available June 7th through Vice Records. Recorded at Brooklyn, NY’s MetroSonic, the album features the production work of Mark Ronson and Deerhunter guitarist Lockett Pundt, marking the first time the band used outside producers.

In support of the release, Black Lips have mapped out a whole slew of tour dates, including two legs in the U.S. Find out when and where below:

Arabia Mountain Tracklist:
01. Family Tree
02. Modern Art
03. Spidey’s Curse
04. Mad Dog
05. Mr. Driver
06. Bicentennial Man
07. Go Out And Get It
08. Raw Meat
09. Bone Marrow
10. The Lie
11. Time
12. Dumpster Dive
13. New Direction
14. Nock-A-Homa
15. Don’t Mess Up My Baby
16. You Keep On Running

Black Lips 2011 Tour Dates:
04/06 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle #
04/07 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar #
04/08 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat #
04/09 – Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero #
04/12 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall #
04/13 – Pawtucket, RI @ The Met #
04/14 – Boston, MA @ Paradise #
04/15 – Montreal, QC @ Le National #
04/16 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix #
04/17 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick #
04/19 – Columbus, OH @ Outland Live #
04/20 – Newport, KY @ Southgate House #
04/21 – St. Louis, MO @ The Firebird #
04/22 – Chicago, IL @ Logan Square Auditorium #
04/23 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater #
04/25 – Omaha, NE @ Waiting Room #
04/27 – Dallas, TX @ The Loft #
04/28 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s #
04/29 – Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s #
04/30 – Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon #
05/06 – Barcelona, ES @ Bikini
05/07 – Santiago de Compostela, ES @ Sala Capitol
05/08 – Madrid, ES @ Sala Heineken
05/09 – Montpelier, FR @ Rockstore
05/11 – Strasbourg, FR @ La Laterie
05/12 – Hamburg, DE @ Grunspan
05/13 – Berlin, DE @ Festsaal Kreuzberg
05/14 – Munich, DE @ Garage Fest
05/16 – Amsterdam, NL @ Trouw Amsterdam
05/17 – Paris, FR @ 104
05/18 – Brussels, BE @ Les Nuits Botanique
05/19 – London, UK @ The Garage
05/20 – Liverpool, IK @ Sound City Festival
05/21 – Cheshire, UK @ Friends of Mine Festival
05/22 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
05/24 – Glasgow, UK @ Stereo
05/25 – Dublin, IE @ The Button Factory
05/26 – Cork, IE @ Cypress Avenue
05/27 – Galway, IE @ Roisin Dubh
05/31 – Zurich, C @ Exil
06/01 – Vevey, CH @ Rocking Chair
06/11 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall *
06/12 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall *
06/14 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom *
06/15 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom *
06/16 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos *
06/17 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory *
06/18 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge *
06/19 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater *
06/21 – Tucson, AZ @ Plush *
06/22 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room *
06/23 – Costa Mesa, CA @ The Detroit Bar *
06/24 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Music Box *
06/25 – Pomona, CA @ The Glass House *

# = w/ Vivian Girls
* = w/ Cerebal Ballzy

The Black Lips’ forthcoming LP, Arabia Mountain, due for release this June via Vice, marks the first time ever the band hit the studio with a producer. Mark Ronson was the man who had the honors, and the end result is described as “less muddy” than 2009′s 200 Million Thousand. Another fun fact: a human skull was brought in to serve as an echo chamber.

Above, you can get an early taste of Arabia Mountain in the form of the video for “Go Out and Get It!”. The clip was filmed during last month’s Bruise Cruise, and it makes us totally jealous that it’s not summer yet.

The four piece pysch-dreamers Deerhunter became a sextet on Letterman last night, temporarily adding to their lineup Cole Alexander from Black Lips and Adam Bruneau from The Back Pockets on the guitar and keys, respectively. The six ATLiens charged into “Memory Boy” from last year’s masterpiece Halcyon Digest and augmented the brief song by inserting an accelerando interlude utilizing the two ringers’ talents and amping up the song. It’s not often you get to say “Deerhunter rocked!”, but it’s more appropriate here than ever before.

Deerhunter will be playing a set in Austin at South by Southwest next month, and then set out on a European tour. Check out all the dates for the tour on the band’s MySpace.

Of the 14 gazillion acts that will end up playing South by Southwest 2011, here are some more to consider:

Widespread Panic, Emmylou Harris, Black Lips, and Okkervil River head the latest batch additions to this year’s lineup. Other newly confirmed notables include Diplo, Kylesa, Wavves, Times New Viking, Cold War Kids, Tim and Sam’s Tim and the Sam Band with Tim and Sam, Greenhornes, The Raveonettes, Friendly Fires, The Chain Gang of 1974, OFF!, Boys Noize, Richie Hawtin, Esben and the Witch, The Chapin Sisters, Cults, Tennis, and Tech N9ne.

Still going: Raphael Saadiq, The Moondoggies, Edwyn Collins, Deer Tick, Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, Fake Problems, Eli “Paperboy” Reed, Fang Island, Twin Shadow, Memoryhouse, April Smith and the Great Picture Show, and Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band are also set to play, as are Dirty Ghosts, Ear Pwr, Emmure, Gold Panda, Ha Ha Tonka, The Hood Internet, Shabazz Palaces, Tape Deck Mountain, Denison Witmer, The Octopus Project, and Royal Bangs.

And while we’re on the subject, it’s also worth mentioning that Foo Fighters have announced that they will premiere their forthcoming documentary at this year’s festival. Hopefully we’ll get a show at Stubb’s, too.

For an exhaustive look at all of this year’s confirmed participants, head on over to Festival Outlook.

The music portion of South by Southwest 2011 runs from March 16-20 in Austin, Texas. For ticket information and all other necessary details, visit sxsw.com.