Bon Iver Daytrotter Session

I can't stop listening to Bon Iver. It's pretty much the perfect thing to wake up to on a chilly winter morning. Luckily, their breakout album doesn't appear to be a fluke, as Justin Vernon and friends are continuing to put out great stuff on their new EP and on this HIV/AIDS benefit compilation. I also recently discovered the killer live tracks downloadable for free at Daytrotter.com and this great take on a Feist tune. Take a look around the Daytrotter Session archives for some more live goodies.

Illustration by Casey Weldon.

PB&J have "Nothing to Worry About"

This new Peter Bjorn and John song has a great beat and an equally great video. Not at all what you might expect from the guys who brought us "Young Folks."


PB&J's new album, Living Thing, is out March 31. Here's the album art...


Go grab a free MP3 of "Nothing to Worry About."

New Bon Iver and Andrew Bird

Let's face it. 2008 sucked for new music. Nobody's albums were as good as their previous ones. Luckily, there were a few great newcomers like Bon Iver, whose amazing For Emma, Forever Ago is Beard Crumbs' official choice for album of the year. (Even though it first came out in '07, most people are counting the re-release date on Jagjaguwar.) Some other top newbies were Fleet Foxes, The Accidental, Santogold, She & Him, and in case you haven't turned on your radio in a year, Vampire Weekend was undeniably catchy.

Bon Iver is already back this month with a new EP. Why not make a full album? Who knows, but you can go have a listen to the four song Blood Bank EP at MySpace. It's damn good stuff, but let's hope he got the Kanye out of his system with that last track. You can pick this up on January 20.

Update: The full EP is no longer on MySpace, just the title track.

Double Update: Grab a free MP3 of "Blood Bank" here.



Another sign that 2009 will be a better year in music is Andrew Bird's upcoming release, Noble Beast. This guy is good. Really good. But don't listen to what some dumb blog says, go see for yourself... they've got the whole album streaming on NPR. The record -- along with the instrumental deluxe-edition disc Useless Creatures -- is also out January 20.

Triple Update: Noble Beast is no longer streaming on NPR, but is on MySpace.

For what it's worth, the 'Crumbs did like a few other albums in 2008. Most notably, Death Cab, Beck, The Black Keys, and although they were once again over-hyped, TV on the Radio had some stellar tracks. What do you guys think? Any faves of '08 or anything looking good for '09?

HELLAWEEN

Need a quick Halloween playlist for the weekend? Go grab HELLAWEEN, a 50-minute Girl Talk-esque mega-mix that's sure to get all your freaky monster friends to mash it up on the dancefloor.

Fleet Foxes at Pitchfork Music Festival

Seattle's Fleet Foxes provide more evidence that melodic folk jams are best sung through thick sweaty beards. More videos of more bands at the Pitchfork Music Festival can be found at Pitchfork.tv.

Fleet Foxes' self-titled debut is out now on Sub Pop.


Download: "White Winter Hymnal"

Update: I don't know how long this will last on YouTube, but they had a great performance of "Blue Ridge Mountains" on Letterman.

Feist Still Great

Oh Feist, why must you tease us like this? First, you dial the cuteness up to 11 while getting some Sesame Street-cred... then you absolutely tear shit up on Good Morning America. But no U.S. tour? I hate you.

Ok, I'm over it. Download the kiddie version of "1234".

The Accidental & Supermundane

I first came across the foxy sounds of UK minimalist folk band The Accidental when they were posted on Kitsune Noir a while back. I was really digging both their sound and the album art (top image), but kind of forgot about them until I came across the site of designer Rob Lowe aka Supermundane. The music and artwork are a really good fit for each other, so I suggest you first click to The Accidental's MySpace for audio pleasure, then click to Supermundane for visuals that will complete your cyber time-wasting experience.

Free MP3 can be snagged here.

Albert Hammond, Jr. - "GfC"

I have no idea what "GfC" means, but this is a pretty solid track from The Strokes' Jew Fro'd guitar man Albert Hammond, Jr. His new album ¿Cómo Te Llama? is out now. MP3 freebie here.

New Sigur Rós

If any band can get away with a video full of naked people, it's Iceland's (same place that gave us Björk) Sigur Rós. If you're familiar with the band's gloriousness, you probably won't be shocked that their new video for the single "Gobbledigook" is artsy, cool, and super naked. What may surprise you is that the song rocks pretty damn hard.

Found through Kitsune Noir. More info and free MP3 at Stereogum.

Update: By now I've probably watched this video at least half a dozen times, but it wasn't until the last viewing that I really saw it again. My reaction on the first viewing was basically, "Wow naked people... that's kind of shocking and slightly gratuitous." Now that the initial shock has passed, I can see it as something much more significant. I think this video is about seeing humans in the same way we see animals... as a part of nature instead of something separate from, and supposedly superior to nature... it's about rethinking our place in this world. Lovely.

Flight of the Conchords Album

New Zealand music/comedy duo Flight of the Conchords already won a Grammy for their EP titled The Distant Future. Now that we're actually living in the distant future, we can prepare to Robo-Boogie to their full-length album debut on April 22.




More info and a free MP3 at Sub Pop.

Update: Another free MP3 on their MySpace.

Kitsune Noir Mixtape

One of the more interesting single-author blogs out there for art & design is Kitsune Noir, written by an L.A. designer named Bobby S... The dude's got an eye for design and an ear for good tunes. One reason why the blog is cool is things like Sunshine Sometime - A Kitsune Noir Mixtape. He took the time to make a mix just for his faithful readers. Cool album art and everything. Not that we Beard Crumbers don't love you, but seriously... who has that kind of time?

Anyway, it's a solid mix with really peaceful and happy tracks by Paul McCartney, Jens Lekman, Underworld, Phantom Planet, Yo La Tengo, and more. Oh, and it's all one long MP3, so love it or hate it, you actually have to listen to it as a mix. Go here to download Sunshine Somtime.

M. Ward & Zooey Deschanel Album

I've always wondered why Elf-ette Zooey Deschanel hasn't been recording music with those saucy pipes she exhibits in many of her films. The reason is she just hadn't found the right collaborator... until now! Zooey is teaming up with indie folkster M. Ward for an album of evocative goodies under the name She & Him. More info and a free MP3 at Merge Records.

Additional live tracks found here.

Amazon's MP3 Store

Last week Amazon.com launched their MP3 download store. All files are DRM-free 256-kbps MP3s (unlike iTunes, there are no copying/sharing restrictions). So far, two of the major record labels are on board, EMI and Universal. Songs are selling for 89 or 99 cents each and albums going for $5.69 to $9.99. Check out the store at amazonmp3.com.