What Music TV Shows are Playing this Month

We all know TV shows can have quite an impact on viewers in terms of discovering new music as it’s immediately associated with their favorite characters and occasionally a touching scene or two. This is my first post in an ongoing series to highlight a few songs that have appeared on previous episodes of my favorite [...]

Projekt A-Ko

In the end of the 90s if your band’s name wasn’t “Radiohead” and you resided in the UK, most chances were that you were busy producing pale Beatles or Stones imitations and receiving high praise from publications that should have known better. Over at Scotland exceptions were being made to the rule. One band in [...]

Red Wire Black Wire at the Middle East

Handsome Furs play Great Scott Monday (RSL tix giveaway!)

The Lions Rampant – It’s Fun To Do Bad Things

When it comes to loud rock n’ roll and you wanna raise your can of PBR to, there are not many better options that Cincinnati’s own The Lions Rampant. The Cincy trio have been burning up midwest highways in the past couple years converting all those who will listen to the church of “Blue [...]

Soundcloud Dropbox Discoveries #1

So I have been trying out the Soundcloud dropbox on the right hand side of our site here lately, and have been receiving some really interesting tunes as a result. I have received alot of submissions, and honestly have not listened to them all yet, but of the ones I have I thought I [...]

A Little Bit oF BK In The VA Back & Better Than Ever

Hello everybody and welcome back to the Berkeley Place Blog. I am here to try to revive this blog with some all new super cool content about all topics imaginable. This new stuff might include content related to all pasts posts or it could incorporate all kinds of brand new stuff. Ekko will not be [...]

MATTHEW PERRYMAN JONES-”Swallow the Sea”

Who is Matthew Perryman Jones? [Insert Chandler reference here.] I’m not sure who he is, being that “Swallow the Sea” is the first album I’ve heard of his. But color me impressed. The work is very similar, vocally and lyrically, to the work of Ryan Adams, but it lacks the bitterness, the edge, [...]

Coming Soon

New posts and contributors coming soon, y'all. Hold tight for my lazy ass to get everything done.


Love,
Lady Byrd

You'll Love My Nuts

I've been MIA getting readjusted to living back in Brooklyn, but I think it's time to resurrect this zombie of a site. Weather is getting warmer, and there are more shows coming around NYC to liven my love of music back up.

Please note that our new snail mail address has been updated under the contact/submissions section on the right sidebar, so be sure to start sending in your albums to review there. Also, I'm bringing on another NYC contributor next week, and looking for one or a few more to add on. I tried doing that before, but it's honestly hard to keep a hold on a team with a site that is purely non-profit, especially when the profitable day jobs of the writers get in the way. But if you think you might be cut out for posting once a week with your own style of reviews or playlists, please be sure to email me your information (i.e. preferred genres, links to your personal sites, etc) and available schedule (which day each week you could post) to: contact(at)whoneedsradio(dot)com. Be sure to include "WNR Contributor Position" in the subject line so it doesn't get mistaken for spam. Also, you do not have to be located in NYC, or even the USA to be a contributor.

NOTE: This is NOT a paying gig. Everything that goes into keeping this site running comes out of my own pocket and the pockets of our wonderful supporters. I strive to keep us anti-radio... which means solely independent, ad-free, and all about the music.

As a contributor, you get the following perks*:

• Your mug shot listed under the contributors section with all of your information (links to your own site / band / myspace / facebook / etc.)
  
• Your own @WNR email address to use
  
• Free music
  
• The occasional list spots at shows in your area so you can cover/review the shows.

* And You'll also get to say that you're doing something straight from the heart... for the good of music.

Moving on, I just saw this video today... and I have to say that Steve Porter's remix is fucklarious.


It's so good, that I decided to rip the audio to MP3 so I can throw it into one of my future sets. But I like to share with my friends, so here's the MP3 for your own enjoyment:
Rap Chop (Steve Porter's Slap Chop Remix)

Stay tuned for more frequent updates starting next week. Until then, I'm off to prepare for my camping trip in the Catskill Mountains this weekend.


Ciao,
Lady Byrd

What's going on Thursday?

WKYK @ Obama Benefit, Knitting Factory - Jan 29, 2008 (Anya Garrett) * The Thermals @ Studio B * Benevento @ Sullivan Room * The Teenagers play Hiro Ballroom * Toumani Diabate @ Bowery Ballroom * Joanna Newsom & an...

Nick Cave & Dizzee Rascal playing Plug Awards, $10, albums

PLUG is proud to announce comedian/actor Patton Oswalt as our host this year. Show will include performances by nominees St. Vincent, Dizzee Rascal, José Gonzales and more, and a special headlining set from this year's PLUG Impact Award Honoree Nick...

Barzin Writes Notes to an Absent Lover

Artists that write from a retrospective view often do it for good reason. It is a characteristic that can carry into their music, since reflecting upon one’s experiences with a modernistic mindset can provide aid for their struggles in the present. In the case of songwriters, artistic difficulties are encountered rampantly throughout one’s career regardless [...]

Obscure Sound: Best of June 2009

June was an interesting month in terms of diversity. Not so much in the actual styles presented, but rather in the tone and polish of each differing delivery. This compilation was designed to present, in order, groups that show varying amounts of flexibility in their sound. Most artists here within the realm of indie-rock, but [...]

Homonym Monday ∞ Idaho

No real reason for this musical Homonym. Other than I have been really digging Gregory Alan Isakov’s This Empty Northern Hemisphere. Very laidback album. Perfect for winding down after a busy holiday weekend.

Gregory Alan Isakov ∞ Idaho
Josh Ritter ∞ Idaho

Which song do you dig best? Or did I leave out your favorite “Idaho” song? Leave a hullabaloo.

More:
Homonyms

Use some of you 50 FREE Downloads from eMusic to get more of Homonyms.

Random Friday ∞ Easy To Love

Way back in August of last year, I made this proclamation:

Leslie Mendelson’s album “Easy Love” will be the first great new release of 2009. Leslie’s music leans on the pop with substance side. Comparable artists = the three Sarahs: McLachlan, Bareilles and Harmer.

Mendelson is from NYC. She likes to bum around with James Maddock – who some may remember from the band Wood.

Download this mp3. And when she hits the big time in ’09, you can say, “Oh Leslie. I’ve been listening to her months.”

Hopefully you have been listening for 11 months, because Leslie is poised to make the big time. Easy Love has become Swan Feathers – out now. Her song “Hit The Spot” was this week’s Discovery Download at iTunes. AND she swung by RAWSession and did this cover of Sex On Fire.

As for James Maddock, he has a new album coming out in June. Look for more on him soon.

Listen:
Leslie Mendelson ∞ Sex On Fire

More:
Randomness

Use some of your 50 FREE DOWNLOADS from eMusic to get more randomness.

Progress Report: The Cribs

NAME: The Cribs
PROGRESS REPORT: Wrapping up recording on their fourth album, Ignore The Ignorant, with new band member Johnny Marr. Recorded at producer Nick Launay's home studio in Los Angeles.

Gary, Ryan, and Ross Jarman have worked with indie rock's elder statesmen before: Scottish legend Edwyn Collins produced the Cribs' second LP, and Sonic Youth's Lee Renaldo performed a spoken-word track on their last record, 2007's Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever. They've also worked with Suede's Bernard Butler and Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos. But those collaborations have nothing on working with their newest member, Smiths/Modest Mouse guitarist Johnny Marr. Adding in anyone with his own sound and reputation should have been tricky -- the Cribs' lineup has always been twins Gary and Ryan, along with younger brother Ross -- but Ryan says the transition into a four piece was very easy. "It all comes together really organically. We just jam and treat him the same way we treat each other," he says of their songwriting sessions. "None of us felt weird about telling each other what we did and didn't like."

Continue reading Progress Report: The Cribs...

New Arctic Monkeys - "Crying Lightning"

Longstanding Diddy buddies Arctic Monkeys have long been working on the followup to their Favourite Worst Nightmare with lead stone aged Queen Josh Homme. Songs have made it into their setlists -- this song in particular -- but today the band debuted the studio version of "Crying Lightning" from their forthcoming Homme-fied Humbug on BBC's Zane Lowe show. It's on the darker side of the Arctic spectrum, a sort of noir rocker that patiently builds where the younger lads would have stormed, and a promising look at the band's third LP.

Continue reading New Arctic Monkeys - "Crying Lightning"...

[Mini Mix] Happy Fourth of July!

Friday is here and so is the Fourth of July! Maybe it's just me, but this summer seems like it is flying by faster than usual - is it seriously July already? You really can't complain though, since the weekend of the 4^th is almost always welcomed, relaxing, and memorable (unless one drinks irresponsibly - yes, please!). I'm off to Chicago for the weekend to celebrate with some friends, catch the firework bonanza, sample the Taste of Chicago, and toast fine American Independence. Enjoy some tunes for the occasion and one of my favorite Fourth quotes - Happy 4^th, enjoy the weekend!

[MP3] Jimi Hendrix - The Star Spangled Banner (Live)
[MP3] Elliott Smith - Independence Day (Live / 1998)
[MP3] Boston - Star Spangled Banner/4^th of July Reprise
[MP3] The New Pornographers - July Jones
[MP3] Sufjan Stevens - The Star Spangled Banner (Live)

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism." -Erma Bombeck

[Video] Grizzly Bear: "Cheerleader" (Live on Jimmy Fallon)

I feel awkward writing about Grizzly Bear's performance of "Cheerleader" right when I come to find out Billy Mays, the infomercial God, has died. Both Mays and Michael Jackson passed away at the young age of 50, add that to Farrah Fawcett and the tragic death of Dangerbird Record CEO Mike Castelaz's 6 year-old son, Pablo, and it's been one emotional weekend. However, nothing can raise the spirits quite like good music. While Phoenix played Kimmel on Friday night, Grizzly Bear were playing on the other (better) Jimmy's late show. Although the band look a little worn down from their national tour, as seen in Ed Droste's sleepy eyes, they put on a solid set for Fallon. Who knows, maybe a fine collaboration will now take place between ?uestlove and Grizzly Bear?



A mini-mix for the weekend:

[MP3] Michael Jackson - You Rock My World (feat. Nas)
[MP3] Michael Jackson - I Want You Back (feat. Lil Wayne)
[MP3] Modest Mouse - Bankrupt On Selling (Live)
[MP3] Fire Theft - Heaven