The Tallest Man On Earth – “Love Is All”

Another day, another streaming 7-inch: today it’s another from those paramount pop purveyors over at Slumberland. The “I Own It” single from Phil Wilson (of 80s legends The June Brides) marks his first new songs since his late-80s solo singles, and comes from his forthcoming full-length, God Bless Jim Kennedy. Pick up this single for just $4, and also, go check out Yesboyicecream — the UK-based label with whom Slumberland is co-releasing these Phil Wilson records.

Thank You – “Birth Reunion”

Pitchfork gives the remastered Weezer album Pinkerton a 10.0.

Rivers Cuomo talks to Rolling Stone about the album.

Eye Weekly profiles the Morning Benders.

Berkeley, California–bred four-piece band The Morning Benders are the Muhammad Ali of pop-rock: their summery melodies float on leader Christopher Chu's airy vocals like butterflies, but their lyrics sting like bees that've crawled under your sleeve when you weren’t looking.

The Charleston City Paper profiles Wolf Parade.

Rock Edition interviews Ryan Hahn of Local Natives.

Fast Company profiles singer-songwriter Amanda Palmer and her unique approach to the music business.

Palmer says that since early on in her music career, she's loved connecting directly with fans. "I've grown the fan base literally person by person," she says. "I've been saving money plus establishing huge connection with fans by 'twitchiking,' asking for rides to and from airports, etcetera, on Twitter. It works! But you must be fearless and have a fan base you trust. I also borrow practice keyboards from locals instead of renting for my hotel rooms, saving me almost $500 for every city I'm in. I've also been saving money on hotels, for example a $600-per-night hotel suite for a week in San Francisco for $150 by tweeting for suggestions and getting a tweet back from a fan who was a hotel manager. Fans love to help."

PopMatters interviews Kevin Drew and Charles Spearin about the new KC Accidental reissues.

At Drowned in Sound, Olafur Arnalds shares a "young composer's guide to dining in Reykjavik."

SXSW has named its first round of invited acts for 2011.

Because “why not?”, we’re going to be posting a brand new streaming 7-inch for you here at MBV every day for the next 2 weeks. Kicking things off is the latest from Brooklyn’s Crystal Stilts. The Shake The Shackles single is the band’s first new release since Love Is A Wave and should act as a nice amuse bouche for their forthcoming full-length, due in 2011. Grab this puppy on lovely white vinyl for a mere 4 bucks (while you can) from the good folks at Slumberland.

And tune in tomorrow for another fine Slumberland record…

Mr. Dream - “Learn the Language”I put off listening to Mr. Dream for a while because two members of the band are colleagues of mine. I try to avoid music made by people I know for reasons you can probably understand if you give it a bit of thought. I’m glad I set that aside and gave it a shot because as it turns out, they are making exactly the kind of brainy yet very physical rock music that is always desirable but generally scarce, especially in the past decade. “Learn the Language” is a lumbering giant of a song, loud and violent and difficult to ignore. There’s not a lot of subtlety to it in terms of form and function, but there’s a hidden grace in the band’s performance that makes it ruthlessly effective rather than blunt and dumb. They lock in together with great intensity, but keep things loose enough that even the expected moves seem slightly unpredictable, and you kinda flinch with each dynamic shift. Adam Moerder’s vocal performance is fantastic all on its own — an unaffected deadpan at some points, a self-aware laugh breaking through one line, and a unrestrained holler at the climax. Every bit of this song is very well-thought out, but it’s played on instinct, which is always an ideal balance in loud rock music.

Visit the Mr. Dream MySpace page.