Friday, March 14

Live afternoon broadcast from the
Paste Magazine/Stereogum Party
from the Dell Lounge featuring:
Lightspeed Champion
The Weakerthans
Kaki King
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
Liam Finn
The Whigs

Just posted! Video from SXSW including Lou Reed's keynote speech and performances from the Paste Magazine/Stereogum party as well as more NPR webcasts!

The previous evening's My Morning Jacket concert will be rebroadcast at 8pm ET on WXPN/Y-Rock on XPN.

Featured Artists at the
Paste/Stereogum Party, 3/14

Lightspeed Champion
Falling Off the Lavender Bridge

Label: Domino Records
Origin: Barfly, Cambridge, UK
Website | MySpace
Video: Tell Me What It's Worth
Audio: Listen to the NPR Webcast

British singer-songwriter, Devonte Hynes is known from the band Test Icicle, and has moved on to a completely different sound. His new group, Lightspeed Champion, is a popular emerging indie folk group. Early in 2007, Hynes came to Nebraska to record his debut album with Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes along with many other established artists under Saddle Creek records. Though Hynes is known for numerous unofficial releases, his official debut Falling Off the Lavender Bridge, a mixture of dreams and reality (according to Hynes), was released in January. After the release of his single, "Galaxy of the Lost" in late July of 2007, Lightspeed Champion received a great deal of airplay and his tender words and skilled guitar hit the UK market with a bang. The release of his third single "Tell Me What It's Worth" reached #75 on the UK Singles Chart, and the CD hit #45 on UK charts.

The Weakerthans
Reunion Tour

Label: Epitaph Records
Origin: Winnepeg, Canada
Website | MySpace
World Cafe interview
Video: Civil Twilight
Video: Watch their performance from the Paste Magazine/ Stereogum party
Audio: Listen to the NPR Webcast

Ex-Propagandhi member John Samson formed The Weakerthans in 1997, joined by bassist John P. Sutton and drummer Jason Tait. Their debut, Fallow, was released that same year to critical acclaim in Canada. Taking three years to record a follow-up, the band released their second album Left and Leaving in 2000, followed by Reconstruction Site on Epitaph Records in 2003 and Aside in 2005, which proved to be quite a sleeper success in the U.S. A single off of that album was featured on the Wedding Crashers soundtrack and was lauded as one of the ten best Canadian Albums Chart hits in 2005. To date, it is their best selling record. A year following its release, however, bassist Sutton left the band and was soon replaced by Greg Smith. Taking another long break to regroup, the band jokingly titled their newest album Reunion Tour. The lyrics are chock full clever allusions to various films and Hopper paintings. The album's atmosphere and artistic references characterize the album and give it a "Canadian feel."

Kaki King
Dreaming of Revenge

Label: Velour Records
Origin: Atlanta, GA
Website | MySpace
Video: Playing with Pink Noise
Video: Watch her performance from the Paste Magazine/Stereogum party
Audio: Listen to the NPR Webcast

Kaki King is a young indie artist who plays off of her experience with percussion and guitar in order to create brilliant and expressive songs. It all began with her New York subway performances, which caught the eye of Velour Music Group. With a total of three albums and a fourth one on the way, King's style has gained her a lot of recognition from other artists. In 2007, she was guested on the Tegan and Sara album The Con and performed several times with the Foo Fighters. Her music and personality resonated throughout the television appearances, winning over audiences. Additionally, King composed several songs for the film Into the Wild and August Rush. Over the course of her career, King's musical virtuosity has noticeably expanded and evolved. In 2004, she played mostly acoustic compositions, and a year later she began incorporating electric guitar and loops. Still maintaining her fret-tapping and percussive guitar playing, she now applies greater instrumental breadth to her work. Her upcoming album Dreaming of Revenge, produced by Malcolm Burn, encompasses many instrumental tracks; however, according to King, these tracks are melodic pop-oriented. The album, due out this March, has been described as raw, emotional but effervescently upbeat.

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
Pershing

Label: PolyVinyl
Origin: Springfield, MO
Website | MySpace
My Morning Download
Video: Pangea
Video: Watch their performance from the Paste Magazine/ Stereogum party
Audio: Listen to the NPR Webcast

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin (SSLYBY) hails from Springfield, Missouri and became worldwide darlings of the "blogoverse" in 2005 with their stellar lo-fi MP3s and low-res JPEG art. Their debut record, Broom, in the vein of classic rock 'n' roll, is expertly crafted and considered an indie pop gem. Spin magazine came upon an SSLYBY blog, downloaded their music and declared the Missouri band "could succeed The Shins" - sparking a viral sensation. A slew of bloggers ranked them ahead of Wilco and Iron & Wine in Leafblower's annual "Top Bands of America Today."

Liam Finn
I'll Be Lightning

Label: Yep Roc/Liberation Music
Origin: New Zealand
Website | MySpace
NPR's Second Stage appearance
Video: Second Chance
Video: Watch his performance
from the Paste Magazine/ Stereogum party
Audio: Listen to the NPR Webcast

Originally the frontman of the New Zealand band Betchadupa, Liam Finn has now released his solo debut I'll Be Lightning, which was recorded at his father's studio - his father being Neil Finn of Crowded House. Liam more than matches the talents of his father and is an incredible one-man-band in concert, layering multiple effects on loop pedals.

The Whigs
Mission Control

Label: ATO Records
Origin: Athens, GA
Website | MySpace
NPR piece
Video: Right Hand on my Heart
Audio: Listen to the NPR Webcast

Before signing to Dave Matthews' ATO Records, Rolling Stone called The Whigs "the best unsigned band in America." A garage rock band from Athens, Georgia, their 2nd CD, Mission Control, was released in January. The Band's lineup includes Parker Gispert on guitar, lead vocals and keyboard, Julian Dorio on drums, and Tim Deaux on bass.

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