Hidden Track

When we first heard that Peter Gabriel teamed up with electropop aces Hot Chip to record Vampire Weekend’s Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa, we wondered how the track would turn out. Turns out they actually did a fine job of it. I’m sure Petey got a big kick out of singing his own name. [via Abeano]

Here’s a look at what else is happenin’ this week…

• Animal Collective calls for fans to leak their new album
• Stephen Malkmus would be open to a Pavement reunion
• JasonK created this fantastic Caribbean Holidaze montage
• The Who’s Kids Are Alright is getting the reissue treatment
• Warren’s Christmas Jam benefits Ronald McDonald House
• Brooklyn Vegan shares pics from Of Montreal in Williamsburg

Finally, Neil Young absolutely kicked ass at the Garden on Monday night and his voice and guitar are still as powerful today as they were in his peak. Speaking of Neil Young’s peak, the trailer for the long-awaited Archives Volume 1 project came out yesterday. Check it out after the jump…

Every year around this time our partners at Glide poll your favorite artists on their tops shows, albums and experiences of 2008 along with predictions for the coming year. This year’s list of participants contains more outstanding acts than most major festival announcements including Mike Gordon of Phish, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Reed Mathis of Tea Leaf Green/Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, Hardy of Dead Confederate and so many others.

[Photo by Adam Kaufman]

Keep your eyes on Glide tomorrow for all of the entries. To whet your appetite, here’s Ryan Stasik of Umphrey’s McGee’s picks for the Glide Magazine Best of 2008…

Best Album(s) of 2008

Skeletal Lamping – Of Montreal, Chinese Democracy – Guns n Fuckin’ Roses, Robotique Majestique – Ghostland Observatory

Favorite Song(s) of 2008

My favorite song of 2008 is from 1968. Just pick one!

Your Personal Favorite On-stage Moment/Show of 2008

Omega Moo’s show in Boulder CO, with Brendan, Jamie, and Darren…12-4-2008

Classic Album or Artist You Discovered This Year

Sparks, Lalo Schifrin, NKOTB (im sure I’d like it if I heard it)

Best Film You Saw This Year

Rediscovered Russ Meyer and all his works

READ ON for the rest of UM bassist Ryan Stasik’s Best of 2008…

2008 has been a great year for Phish archival releases and the year was capped off by last week’s surprise announcement that the legendary show from December 30, 1997 at MSG would be next. This awe-inspiring concert has it all from bustouts to lengthy exploratory jams to random covers. To celebrate the holiday season, our […]

Jack Johnson and an assortment of musicians on his Brushfire Records roster pitched in to create a debut holiday album called This Warm December.

On the compilation, Money Mark contributes a quirky track called Stuck at the Airport. Mark is probably best known as the Beastie Boys’ longtime keyboardist. Aside from his contributions to the Beasties, he also tours and collaborates with Jack Johnson, and has released a number of impressive solo albums. Mark’s original material is filled with original and catchy tunes and a unique sound that’s tough to stick a label on. Money Mark shares his thoughts below about electric gingerbread guitars, Rudolph the stoned reindeer, and yummy apple cider…

Jack Spilberg: What do you want for Christmas?

Money Mark: I want a full size gingerbread Fender Telecaster guitar with a red licorice whammy bar- yummy!

JS: What’s better, naughty or nice?

MM: Ever heard of WWBD? “What Would Belushi Do?”

JS: Which do you prefer, real or fake Christmas trees?

MM: Fake aluminum Christmas trees mounted upside down on the ceiling- ha ha!

READ ON for more of Jack’s interview with Brushfire’s Money Mark…

Year after year, it is tough to top KINK.FM’s holiday benefit concert. Proving their station’s motto, “True To the Music”, the KINK staff outdid themselves once again. Christmas spirit, a kick ass silent auction and four headliners on the same bill, this yearly extravaganza is truly the show to see in Portland.

Start with the silent auction. Hundreds of items that run the gamut from a hand picked, 20 CD pack of KINK.FM artists to an electric guitar signed by John Mellencamp. Not your cup of tea? Spa treatments, autographed and framed concert posters, drum sticks, symphony tickets, hotel and resort stays. You get the picture. All done with great class and benefiting the Oregon Food Bank. This year’s take: over $23,000.00!!!

First up on the stage, the Bay Area’s Matt Nathanson. My first time seeing him, I was taken by his stage presence. Nathanson has an easy stage presence, relaxed and in control. Tossing one liners to the crowd while checking his tuning, he set up songs with phrases like, “This one is NOT about sex, it’s about ice cream”. He related a story about ‘Poop knocking at the Atlanta airport’ to introduce his wonderfully romantic song (up till I heard his explanation) song, Still.

READ ON for more from KINK-FM’s Holiday Benefit Concert…

If you’ve been paying attention to the Best Of lists that have been rolling out these last couple of weeks the one album that seems to be floating near the top has been Bon Iver’s debut album – For Emma, Forever Ago. I previously drooled over this one when I put together my Top 6 […]

Jack Johnson and an assortment of musicians on his Brushfire Records roster pitched in to create a debut holiday album called This Warm December.

One highlight of the holiday compilation is Mason Jennings’ interesting acoustic take on Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. With his original acoustic folk, rock, and country-influenced sound, and intellectually stimulating lyrics, Jennings has successfully cultivated an incredibly loyal base of dedicated and passionate fans over the course of his musical career. Below, Mason shares his thoughts about the holiday season.

Jack Spilberg: What’s better, naughty or nice?

Mason Jennings: I’ll take Nifty. Or Knopfler. Or Knuckley. Or Nascar.

JS: Which do you prefer, real or fake Christmas trees?

MJ: If you believe it is real, it’s real. I like our real tree, same one we’ve had for 10 years.

JS: Who personifies Scrooge the most in the world today?

MJ: I would have to say I do, at least the part about him being a man and changing his ways

READ ON for more of Jack’s interview with Mason Jennings…

The Dave Matthews Band continues to do well when included in Cover Wars as they have walked away the winner of last week’s edition when we looked at covers of Burning Down The House. DMB also announced their initial tour dates for 2009 yesterday to promote a new studio release. The tour begins at Madison Square Garden on April 14, which is also the release date of the as-of-now untitled album.

Moving on to this week’s edition, we’ve got the last track on The Beatles’ 1967 release, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Paul McCartney recently performed the first ever live rendition of A Day In The Life by a member of The Beatles at the Liverpool Sound Concert on June 1, 2008.

As always, be sure to register/login to IMEEM before starting the playlist below to ensure you listen to full-length clips.

READ ON for the tale of the tape on this week’s contestants…

As we speculated two weeks ago, Rolling Stone’s sources tell the mag that Phish will headline two nights of Bonnaroo 2009 with Bruce Springsteen set to close the festival on Sunday night. What remains to be seen is whether the soon-to-be-reunited Dead join in on the fun. We can’t wait to see what Pitchfork and […]

We were looking forward to checking out the Gene Ween Band tour on Thursday night at the Highline Ballroom, but that show and the other remaining shows have been canceled due to Gener’s sudden illness. We’ve got no further details, but Ween’s manager tells us to hold tight for more info on refunds and rescheduling. […]