The New Pornographers are releasing their latest album, Challengers, next Tuesday August 21st. We are super excited. We’ve already ordered our copy of the album through the Buy Now, Get Now program.

Yesterday, the BNGN people sent out an email they were selling tickets to a secret show The New Pornographers were performing on Monday August 20th at the Bowery Ballroom. Unfortunately, we weren’t one of the lucky bastards to get tickets despite our best efforts to buy them. The link was down before we ever arrived at thenewpornographers.ducatking.com.

But today the BNGN people released 50 more tickets to the show. They said a technical meltdown delayed the email and we received it after all the tickets were sold. We didn’t get one of those 50 tickets either. But today’s email also included a link to tickets to a show on Tuesday at Ticketmaster. Jump on it. Tickets were still available the last time we looked.

It should be a great show — it’s the night their CD is released.

We’ve heard the album in its entirety. It’s a great album. It’s more mellow than their previous energetic work. So on a scale of 1 to 10 they’ve shifted from an 11 to like an 8. We love it. We can’t wait to see Neko Case and A. C. Newman and the rest of the gang.

From Challengers:

“My Rights Versus Yours”

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

(download)

“Myriad Harbor”

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

(download)

Photo by holland1945

Magnolia Electric Co released their latest album, Sojourner, this week. We think Jason Molina‘s voice is super sexy and love the country twang of his music. Sojourner reminded of us when we first fell in love with Molina way back on his Songs: Ohia album, The Magnolia Electric Co.

Jason, what’s your deal with magnolias and band names? We guess it doesn’t matter if you keep singing.

From Magnolia Electric Co’s Sojourner:

“Montgomery”

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

From Songs: Ohia’s The Magnolia Electric Co:

“Farewell Transmission”

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

“John Henry Split My Heart”

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Tonight at the Bowery Ballroom we saw Ra Ra Riot and Tokyo Police Club.

We’ve seen Ra Ra Riot three times this year. The first time we saw them we were surprised and won over by the enthusiasm of the musicians in the band. We often feel that Ra Ra Riot’s best songs sound like six musicians accidentally playing in the same room. They seem to be lost in their own inner worlds until the music snaps together and creates this great sound that suddenly makes sense as a whole. We love them.

Tonight’s set was great. The passion and practice was apparent. The band played at least three songs that we haven’t heard before. We can’t wait to see them again in the future when these new songs are as strong as the rest.

Tokyo Police Club headlined the night. We discovered Tokyo Police Club listening to the KEXP Song of the Day podcast when we heard “Citzens of Tomorrow”. Maybe our understanding of the band’s themes were shaped too completely by this song, but we think most of their music sounds like the lost soundtrack of a great Philip K. Dick Sci-Fi flick about a dystopian future, i.e. very cool.

Whatever. They’re great. They had the crowd clapping along twice. We enjoyed the flying tambourines. We can’t wait to see more of Tokyo Police Club.

The show stopper was kick-ass. Both Ra Ra Riot and Tokyo Police Club crowded Bowery Ballroom’s stage to play a raucous cover of The Rentals‘ “Friends of P.” We wish we had a bootleg of the show made from the soundboard. If we find a copy of this song, we’ll post it.

From Tokyo Police Club’s A Lesson in Crime:

“Citizens of Tomorrow”

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

“Nature of the Experiment”

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

From Ra Ra Riot’s eponymous album:

“Each Year”

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

From Ra Ra Riot’s myspace page:

“Anthony (Live)”

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

UPDATE

Someone uploaded a video they took with (we guess) their camera of Tokyo Police Club and Ra Ra Riot playing “Friends of P” at the Bowery Ballroom.

Okay, we freaking love it.

We love the cultural clash between Unk‘s “Walk It Out” and Gwen Verdon‘s great, rump-shaking dance. Who knew Hip-Hop and Broadway go together like peanut butter and chocolate? Whoever combined the two, we thank you.