Mercury prize nominee Laura Marling performs TOMORROW on Morning Becomes Eclectic at 11:15am PST and you won’t want to miss it. Here’s a preview, a video of the UK folk singer’s song “Rambling Man.” (thx to Buzzbands.la for the tip).
Sadly it is not embeddable so you have to go to You Tube – and watch a commercial — before viewing it.
RR

I’ve watched Ra Ra Riot go from being the most talked about band of the SXSW music festival in 2007 to being signed to Barsuk Records and now having Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla mix most of their new album. It’s an exciting time for the band and we have high expectations for their second album, The Orchard, considering the strength of their first single “Boy.”
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Jason is really digging the track, which has more electro pop sounds than their previous work. Every instrument …

Hot Hot Heat blew us all away this morning with a set of poppy, punky rock. It’s the first time I’ve seen the Canadian rockers live, even though I’ve been a fan since their full length debut , Make Up the Breakdown, which had one of the catchiest songs of the 2002 with “Bandages.” They seem so young, it’s hard to believe they topped the charts nearly 10 years ago, but they definitely seem dedicated to playing what makes them happy at this point in their career.
Singer Steve …

From DJ Anne Litt:
“Maybe it’s just me, but the lazy part of the summer has me in a firm grasp.  I’ve been on vacation, slowed down, relaxed…  There’s a certain psychedelic haze drifting over me.
That’s where Darker My Love’s new album, “Alive As You Are,” fits in.
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
It’s not an accident that it was recorded in San Francisco and I can only imagine that the band has listened to its share of Crosby, Stills, and Nash and Grateful Dead.  To leave it there would be …

DJ Anne Litt snuck into the studio last night to put up streamers so Morning Becomes Eclectic host Jason Bentley could celebrate his birthday in style! Hot Hot Heat also got in on the festivities:

We love our comics here at KCRW and have hosted many personalities from that world on our Guest DJ Project, talking about songs that have inspired them. If you’re having Comic-Con withdrawal, this is a good time to check them out!
Comic writer Mark Waid
Actress Scarlett Johansson – who will be playing the Black Widow in the upcoming film The Avengers
Jon Favreau, who directed both Iron Man movies and the upcoming western science fiction film Cowboys & Aliens
Smallville actress Cassidy Freeman (and former KCRW volunteer!)
Author Brad Meltzer
Comic writer and graphic novelist …

KCRW Music Director Jason Bentley is the music supervisor for the highly anticipated action film TRON Legacy, which made a big splash at Comic-Con this past weekend.  The TRON party was held at Flynn’s Arcade on Sixth Avenue in downtown San Diego and was a maze of lights and renovated arcade games, with Jason on the decks of course.  Check out some photos:

The Walkmen are one of few bands in indie rock with a guitar sound so distinctive you immediately know it’s them. And vocalist Hamilton Leithauser is one of the best out there – he can be subtle, but it’s the promise of him unleashing a fury that gives each song a bit of tension that keeps you on edge in the best way. And when he lets it all go, it’s a beautiful thing.
Check out the track “Angela Surf City.”
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Their new album …

From DJ Eric J Lawrence:

Los Lobos are more than just a band, they’re an institution.  And not just a Los Angeles institution, as their 1978 album, “Just Another Band from East L.A.,” satirically alerts us.  They are an international, Grammy-Award-winning, alternative rock (in the truest sense of the phrase) institution, whose newest release, Tin Can Trust, only proves the point.
Their first album of original material in four years, “Tin Can Trust” encapsulates the best of Los Lobos.  Recorded and self-produced in a small studio in the heart …

The last night of the Hammer Museum’s “Also I Like to Rock” music series was a blast, with a series of extra special last minute surprises.
Ferraby Lionheart jumped on stage as the sun was setting for a short acoustic set of songs, including my current favorite “Harry and Bess.” For those who didn’t get enough of Ferraby, he’ll be playing a set tonight at Bardot in Hollywood, alongside Gram Rabbit and Villagers, who are a big buzz band right now with their recent Mercury Music Prize nomination. The show is …