CONTEST / GIVEAWAY: 2 New Eels releases + signed 7"

On January 15, 2008, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist, Mark Oliver Everett (aka E) and his revolving lineup of bandmates (known by many as Eels) are now set to unveil two new releases: a “best of” compilation - Meet The EELS: Essential EELS Vol. 1, 1996-2006 AND their first collection of rarities - EELS Useless Trinkets: B-Sides, Soundtracks, Rarities and Unreleased 1996-2006.

Spanning the first decade of EELS music, "Meet The EELS" offers 24 tracks that showcase the band’s evolution and growth of E as a songwriter, along with 12 videos. While "Useless Trinkets" is a must-have collection of 50 hard-to-find B-sides, film contributions and unreleased tracks, and a DVD of live performance footage from Lollapalooza 2006. All music has been digitally remastered and both releases are accompanied by notes from E and full-color booklets.

To celebrate the release of these TWO new Eels albums, ICTH will be giving away both albums PLUS a signed limited edition 7" (feat. two previously unreleased tracks: "Climbing To The Moon" (Jon Brion remix), and "I Want To Protect You"). All you need to do is email me at itcoversthe hillsides (at) gmail.com with your first and last name and EELS GIVEAWAY as the subject. That's it. Pretty easy.

Check out some tracks from both of these releases over at Eels' Myspace (link below).

Eels - website | Myspace

VIDEO: Les Savy Fav "What Would Wolves Do?"

This has been the worst winter ever...

I cannot believe I am sick AGAIN. I got some sort of flu-like monstrosity last week, and it is STILL raging a week later. This is not fun. I have been sick now three times this winter, a record for me. When I try to do things that require getting out of bed, or getting off the damn couch, I get dizzy and have to lie back down. That includes posting here unfortunately. Hopefully this will clear up soon, because lying around sleeping and watching mind-numbing TV is seriously taking it's toll.

I have been listening to some new tunes lately though, and a couple of things have really helped me through this last week of undying sickness: (1) the new Atlas Sound record "Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel" is simply AMAZING(!!!). I cannot exclaim the virtues of album enough, it is simply one of the most beautiful albums I've ever heard. Period. (It comes out 2/19/08) (2) The new Beach House album, "Devotion" (out on 2/26/08) has been much better at relaxing me than hot herbal tea (and tea is my best friend right now!). I can't wait to see these guys live.

Until I'm better, posts will intermediate...unless I die, then they will stop. I'm rooting for the "getting better" option.

FRIENDLY REMINDER: Dan Deacon & Ultimate Reality @ Eyedrum - TONIGHT

Just a friendly reminder that Dan Deacon will be performing his collaborative "Ultimate Reality" tonight at Eyedrum. The show starts at 9pm, and it only costs $10. I wish I could go to this but the holidays killed my wallet.

"Ultimate Reality is a collaborative performance by Baltimore’s Dan Deacon and Jimmy Joe Roche. It combines an intense musical composition for electronics and drums with a psychedelic montage of Arnold Schwarzenegger films that is projected at a monumental scale. The live energy of the performance has allowed the piece to freely move between art and music venues and grant it a wide audience of appreciation. The touring group also includes Jeremy Hyman (from Ponytail) and Kevin O’Meara (from Video Hippoes) on drums."

Two NEW songs from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart have put two new songs on their Myspace, which are available to download below as well. Hopefully this means we can expect a new album sometime soon! Both songs are as catchy as any of their previous work, and both have me hitting the skip-back button quite frequently. I highly suggest you check out more of their music, which you can find on their Myspace page as well.

[MP3] The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - A Teenager in Love from "unreleased" (via Box.net)
[MP3] The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Come Saturday from "unreleased" (via Box.net)

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - website | Myspace

MAN MAN: New Album and Tour Dates

Alright, here's yet one more album to look forward to in '08. One of my all-time favorite live bands, Man Man are releasing the follow-up to 2006's "Six Demon Bag", called "Rabbit Habits" via their new label ANTI-. It comes out April 8th. Until then, you can check out their fun-as-shit live show beginning in March.

Tour dates:
03-04 Baltimore, MD - Ottobar ^
03-05 Greensboro, NC - Greene St. Club ^
03-06 Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle ^
03-07 Mt. Pleasant, SC - Village Tavern ^
03-08 Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club ^
03-09 St. Augustine, FL - Café Eleven ^
03-10 St. Augustine, FL - Café Eleven ^
03-11 Pensacola, FL - Sluggo's ^
03-12 Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon ^
03-13 Austin, TX - SXSW
03-14 Austin, TX - SXSW
03-15 Austin, TX - SXSW
03-17 Lawrence, KS - Jackpot Saloon ^
03-18 Columbia, MO - Blue Note ^
03-19 Bloomington, IN - John Waldrom Arts Center ^
03-20 Louisville, KY - Headliner's Music Hall ^
03-21 Ann Arbor, MI - Blind Pig ^
03-22 Millvale, PA - Mr. Smalls Theatre ^

^ with the Extraordinairies

STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS: New Album and Tour Dates

Here's yet another new one to look forward to in '08...Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks' new album "Real Emotional Trash" comes out March 4th via Matador Records. This will be the first album with new Jick, and former Sleater-Kinney drummer, Janet Weiss. I'm excited.

Tour dates:
03-19 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
03-20 Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater
03-21 Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre
03-22 Indianapolis, IN - Vogue Theater
03-23 Newport, KY - Southgate House
03-25 Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge
03-26 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
03-28 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
03-29 Philadelphia, PA - Fillmore
03-31 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
04-02 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
04-03 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
04-04 North Adams, MA - MASS MoCA


[MP3] Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Baltimore from "Real Emotional Trash" (via Box.net)

BLACK MOUNTAIN: New Album & Tour Dates

Black Mountain has a new album coming out on January 22nd via Jagjaguwar entitled "In The Future". The first 10,000 copies come with a bonus disc with three exclusive tracks. But wait! That's not the extent of the love Black Mountain has for their fans, because if you pre-order their new disc now, you'll also receive a download code for the album two weeks prior to the release!! That's love! They've also released their upcoming tour dates with Bon Iver, Blood on the Wall, and Howlin' Rain:

Thu 01/31 - Seattle WA @ Neumos w/ Yeasayer, MGMT, Howlin' Rain
Sat 02/02 - Portland OR @ The Doug Fir w/ Howlin' Rain
Mon 02/04 - San Francisco CA @ The Independent w/ Howlin' Rain
Tue 02/05 - Los Angeles CA @ The Troubadour w/ Howlin' Rain
Thu 02/07 - San Diego CA @ Casbah w/ Howlin' Rain
Fri 02/08 - Tucson AZ @ Club Congress w/ Blood on the Wall
Wed 02/13 - Birmingham AL @ BottleTree w/ Blood on the Wall
Fri 02/15 - Atlanta GA @ The EARL w/ Blood on the Wall
Sat 02/16 - Asheville NC @ The Grey Eagle w/ Blood on the Wall
Sun 02/17 - Chapel Hill NC @ The Local 506 w/ Blood on the Wall
Tue 02/19 - Washington DC @ The Rock and Roll Hotel w/ Bon Iver
Wed 02/20 - Philadelphia PA @ Johnny Brenda's w/ Bon Iver
Fri 02/22 - New York NY @ Bowery Ballroom w/ Bon Iver
Sun 02/24 - Boston MA @ Middle East Upstairs w/ Bon Iver
Mon 02/25 - Portland ME @ The Space Gallery w/ Bon Iver
Tue 02/26 - Muncton NB @ The Manhattan w/ Bon Iver
Wed 02/27 - Halifax NS @ The Marquee Club w/ Bon Iver
Wed 03/05 - Toronto ON @ Lee's Palace w/ Bon Iver
Fri 03/07 - Louisville KY @ Headliners w/ Bon Iver
Sun 03/09 - Knoxville TN @ The Pilot Light w/ Bon Iver
Mon 03/10 - Nashville TN @ Exit/In w/ Bon Iver


[MP3] Black Mountain - Tyrants from "In The Future" (via Box.net)

RADIOHEAD: "Scotch Mist", New Year's Eve broadcast

This is the hour long broadcast of Radiohead's "Scotch Mist" from Current Television that aired last night right before midnight. Radiohead performed all of the tracks from their breath-taking new album, In Rainbows. I didn't watch this last night, but that's good because I needed something low key and interesting to watch today while I nurse a slight hangover. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

WHIRLYBALL SHOW: Black Lips, Gentleman Jesse & His Men, Baby Shakes, Coffin Bound

Henry over at Chunklet Magazine has done it again. Another Whirlyball Atlanta show, where the ticket is a 7" featuring unreleased songs from all the bands involved: Black Lips, Gentleman Jesse & His Men, Baby Shakes AND Coffin Bound...all for only $11 bucks!! It goes down on January 19th at Whirlyball Atlanta in Roswell with doors open @ 8pm. It is on sale exclusively through the insanely awesome Criminal Records in Atlanta (466 Moreland Ave., Atlanta, GA 30307). Hope to see some folks out for this, it should be a fuckin' blast!!

Oh and, thanks Asshole Santa..it's exactly what I wanted!!
Asshole Santa (Henry from Chunklet) with Jesse (from Gentleman Jesse & His Men / The Carbonas) and Cole (from Black Lips) over at Criminal Records (2007).

ICTH is officially ONE YEAR OLD today.

So it's official, this post marks one year in the life of It Covers The Hillsides. It's been fun...I've gotten to interview some really great people, see some fantastic shows, and got a chance to listen to/and discover some really amazing music, all because of this here blog. The only thing that I haven't accomplished yet, is to find another music geek to help me spread the sunshine over here at ICTH. If you, or anyone you know is interested in contributing their writing/HTML skills to this here blog, and being compensated in free music/shows please email me at itcoversthehillsides (at) gmail dot com (must live in the general Atlanta/Athens area). I know that ICTH could be that much better with some extra help, and because sometimes it's just too much to keep up with all by my lonesome. Otherwise, here's to another year! See ya' in '08!

Hope everyone's havin' a good holiday...

So the holidays have been good for me so far...busy, but good. I've been out of town until today, which is why there have been no new posts for a bit. I did see Sigur Rós' film "Heima" in the theater (HD and 5.1 surround...the ONLY way to see this BTW), which was really beautiful, but I will say that the editing was really shoddy. It could have been SO much better if some better editorial decisions had been made, but oh well. ICTH will be returning to it's normal posting schedule after the New Year, until then I will be posting intermittently. Hope everyone has a great holiday!!!

Meanwhile, here are some Atlanta shows to look forward to:

Mon. 12/31/07 - Black Lips (New Year's Eve show!!!) @ The Drunken Unicorn
Mon. 1/07/08 - Dan Deacon @ Eyedrum
Sat. 1/12/08 - Yo La Tengo (Acoustic show), Kurt Wagner (from Lambchop) @ The Variety Playhouse
Fri. 1/18/08 - Yeasayer, MGMT @ The Earl
Sat. 1/19/08 - The Jupiter Watts, Luigi, Drug Rug @ The Earl
Sat. 1/19/08 - Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings @ The Variety Playhouse
Sat. 1/19/08 - Black Lips, Gentlemen Jesse & His Men, Baby Shakes, Coffin Bound (WHIRLYBALL SHOW) @ Whirlyball
Tue. 1/29/08 - Ween @ The Tabernacle
Wed. 1/30/08 - Fiery Furnaces, Super Furry Animals, Holy Fuck @ The Variety Playhouse
Thu. 2/14/08 - Liars, No Age @ The Earl
Sat. 3/01/08 - Beach House, Papercuts @ The Earl
Wed. 3/12/08 - Pelican, Black Cobra, Unearthly Trance @ The Drunken Unicorn
Wed. 3/12/08 - Built To Spill @ The Variety Playhouse
Mon. 3/17/08 - A Place To Bury Strangers, Holy Fuck @ The Drunken Unicorn
Sun. 4/13/08 - Explosions in the Sky @ The Variety Playhouse