The Above Ground Episodes

“The Above Ground Episodes” is a currently-open Kickstarter project, by French Kicks‘ Josh Wise. Along with fellow French Kicker Nick Stumpf and Brooklyn filmmaker Theo Burtis, Wise is aiming to craft an ambitious work combining limited-edition LPs, experimental visuals on DVD, paintings, and live performances. It sounds like an amazing project, and it’s still funding for about 10 more days– so get on over to Kickstarter and get in on this while you still can.

Stream MGMT’s Congratulations in its entirety at WhoIsMGMT.com

Check out a video performance and a free MP3 download of the fantastic new Beach Fossils track, “Wide Awake,” courtesy of Insound’s Studio Sessions. The long-awaited full-length is due soon on Captured Tracks/Woodsist.

In the New York Times, Paul Westerberg remembers Alex Chilton.

Pop & Hiss recaps the SXSW Alex Chilton panel.

Pitchfork remembers Alex Chilton.

The Guardian reports that Sleater-Kinney members Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss are forming a new band, and a Sleater-Kinney reunion may be on the horizon.

Metacritic lists spring's 25 most anticipated albums.

Free at Amazon MP3: Acrassicauda's 4-track Only the Dead See the End of the War EP.

Indie Music Universe lists the top 20 cities with the hottest indie music venues.

Twin Sister - “All Around And Away We Go” “All Around And Away We Go” may be thick with atmosphere, but everything else about it is light, almost entirely weightless. The piece is anchored by a sequences of bass grooves that have a slick, gestural quality that reminds me of fashion illustration — elegant simple lines with subtle, fluid variation of thickness. The rest of the song seems to flow out of or through that part. Clicking guitar, woozy synthesizer drones, breathy vocals, flourishes that are like sparkles in soft focus. It’s a gorgeous, incredibly sexy sound; very carefully arranged but seemingly effortless.

Click here for more music from the Twin Sister website.

Prins Thomas - “Ørkenvandring” To a large extent, this is a straight-up Neu! pastiche, but with a slightly more raw and “organic” tone. That’s sorta selling it short though, as this is an exceptional take on the motorik aesthetic. You get that wonderful infinite-horizon feeling, but also the sensation that the keyboard and guitar parts are spiraling outward in all directions. Compared to other songs in this vein, the endlessness seems to be all around you, as opposed to just right in front of you.

Buy it from Amazon.

In an interview with Pedestrian.TV, filmmaker David Jordan Miller discusses his Daniel Johnston biopic.

How are you going to portray older Daniel Johnston?

That's a really good question. We're either putting Gabriel in a fat suit or there's so many people that are reaching out that are huge Daniel Johnston fans. Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C. Reilly for example, Johnny Depp's a big Daniel Johnston fan though we'd like him to play the older brother. But we haven't really arrived at that yet - we're just in the scripting process at the moment but once we get the script finished we'll be able to get a better handle on what the budget will be.

The London Evening Standard profiles Phoenix.

“We don't try to make sense,” says Mars, who sings the catchy tunes in impeccable English with a West Coast accent. “In lyrics, we end up deleting everything that makes too much sense. [Our songs] are the opposite of a message, they are cryptic.”

Skylight Books shares a music playlist to enjoy while reading David Foster Wallace's novel Infinite Jest.

NPR's All Things Considered and PopMatters remember Alex Chilton.

Entertainment Weekly's Music Mix gathers reactions from Craig Finn, Paul Westerberg, and Patterson Hood to Chilton's death.