notes: Wye Oak should be here but we toured with them + they’re labelmates + I intend to sing “Civilian” at some point so like there’s a proximity factor that’s too intense but Civilian was top 3 for me; Ride for Revenge has a new album due in December and they’re reliable best-of-year dudes; I listened to much more classical music than popular music this year.

Top tens?  Come on… its a Vegan Donut list… you know I had to pick a baker’s dozen.  13 donuts from 4 bakeries in 4 different states.  What food should my next vacation be centered around?

1. Blueberry Donut – Pepples Vegan Donut Farm
2. Chai Tea Donut – Dun Well Doughnuts
3. The Loop (Fruit Loop) Donut – VooDoo Doughnut
4. Salted Caramel Donut – Pepples Vegan Donut Farm
5. Peanut Butter and Jelly Donut – Dun Well Doughnuts
6. Kaffir Lime Donut – Pepples Vegan Donut Farm
7. Cinnamon Sugar Donut – Dun Well Doughnuts
8. Glazed Donut – VooDoo Doughnut
9. Lemon Lavender Donut – Dun Well Doughnuts
10. Toasted S’more Donut – Dun Well Doughnuts
11. Marshmallow Cream Donut – Vegan Treats
12. Diablos Rex Donut – VooDoo Doughnut
13. Jelly Filled Donut – Vegan Treats

Bonus Pastry! Apple Fritter – Pepples Vegan Donut Farm
It was so good I blacked out… could have also been diabetic shock.

Lauren Bernal’s top 10 Wild Flag moments of 2011 or how to appear like a stalker/huge nerd:

1. Hearing a rumor Carrie and Janet were playing music together with Mary
Timony?! Prayers: answered.
2. They signed to Merge!!! (“the secret” works!)
3. Video of “Future Crimes” from their first show. There may have been
goosebumps involved…
4. Future Crimes/Glass Tambourine 7″ YES!
5. Both Rock Shop shows. Possibly the best of my life. (cc: Erin)
6. THE RECORD! (the best of 2011 and all other years ever)
7.  Wild Flag with Sonic Youth, at the Bell House, and Bowery Ballroom
(bonus: Yellow Fever and Eleanor Friedberger as openers)
8. “Romance” and “Electric Band” videos (Can Wild Flag have a tv show a la
The Monkees, please?)
9. My #1 most listened to song in 2011: “Something Came Over Me”
10. Just knowing Wild Flag exists.

Pete D’Angelo’s Top 10 Beers of the Year:

Founders Breakfast Stout
Full Sail Session Black
Dogfish Head Bitches Brew
Sixpoints Crisp
Pretty Things Jack D’or
Trappist Rocherfort 10
Sierra Nevada / Dogfish Head Life & Limb 2
Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
Sierra Nevada Celebration 2011
Captain Lawrence Xtra Gold Tripel

Jamie & James sport this season’s hottest shirt, brought to you by Wild Flag!

The Rosebuds

The band recently released a video for the track “Woods,” directed by Steve Choo. Watch it on the Merge Blog now!

You can order The Rosebuds‘ new album Loud Planes Fly Low on CD, LP, and digital download now in the Merge store, or at your favorite local record store.

The Rosebuds on tour:
# – w/ Bon Iver
July 12 Vancouver, BC Media Club
July 14 Boise, ID The Neurolux
July 15 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge
July 16 Denver, CO Hi-Diver
July 19 Minneapolis, MN 7th Street Entry
July 20 Eau Claire, WI House of Rock
July 21 Madison, WI UW Union Terrace
July 22 Milwaukee, WI Riverside Theater #
July 23 Milwaukee, WI Riverside Theater #
July 24 Chicago, IL Chicago Theatre #
July 25 Indianapolis, IN Murat Theatre #
July 27 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium #
July 28 Atlanta, GA Cobb Energy PAC #
July 29 Raleigh, NC Raleigh Amphitheater #
July 30 Richmond, VA The National #
Aug 01 Washington, DC 9:30 Club #
Aug 03 Upper Darby, PA Tower Theatre #
Aug 05 Boston, MA House of Blues #
Aug 06 Holyoke, MA Mountain Park #
Aug 08 Toronto, ON The Sound Academy #
Aug 09 New York, NY United Palace Theatre #
Aug 10 Brooklyn, NY Celebrate Brooklyn! #

The Mountain Goats‘ latest album, All Eternals Deck, is available now on CD, LP, and digital download in the Merge store.

Listen to the remix at RCRDLBL.com

DJ LGBT—Michael O’Neill of both Men as well as the band in question—transforms The Ladybug Transistor’s “Clutching Stems” from a pretty anthem in the vein of Arcade Fire into an intensely percussion-driven epic that just barely carries the suggestion of club music. O’Neill raises the stakes by excavating the song’s darkness, latent in the lyrics. “It’s all coming apart,” Gary Olson sings and instead of a delay-drenched guitar sounding off, the song’s melody cuts out, leaving only the rhythm of the ominously clanging thump of the drums.

Clutching Stems is in stores on June 7. Pre-order in the Merge store now!

The Ladybug Transistor on tour:
May 31 Madrid, Spain – El Sol
Jun 01 Huesca, Spain – CC Matadero
Jun 02 Barcelona, Spain – Catwalk
Jun 03 Valencia, Spain - Matisse
Jun 04 Zaragoza, Spain – CAI Independencia
Jun 29 New Haven, CT – BAR (FREE SHOW!)
Jun 30 Cambridge, MA – TT the Bear’s
July 06 Brooklyn, NY – Knitting Factory
July 07 Pittsburgh, PA – Carnegie Museum of Art Sculpture Court
July 08 Kalamazoo, MI – The Strutt
July 09 Madison, WI – UW Madison Union Terrace
July 10 Chicago, IL – Schuba’s
July 11 North Manchester, IN – The Firehouse (FREE SHOW!)
July 12 Cincinnati, OH – Mayday (FREE SHOW!)
July 15 Baltimore, MD – Ottobar
July 16 Raleigh, NC – Kings Barcade
July 17 Charlottesville, VA – The Southern

The Mountain Goats head to Europe in a few weeks but will be back on the North American roads in June! Check the tour page for all new shows!

May 22 Dubin, Ireland Whelans
May 24 Brighton, UK Coalition
May 25 London, UK KOKO
May 27 Manchester, UK Academy 3
May 28 Leeds, UK Brudenell Social Club
May 29 Glasgow, Scotland King Tuts
May 30 Newcastle, UK Cluny
June 14 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theater
June 16 Seattle, WA The Showbox
June 17 Vancouver, BC The Biltmore Cabaret
June 18 Portland, OR Aladdin Theater
June 20 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
June 21 Costa Mesa, CA Detroit Bar
June 23 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre
June 24 Santa Barbara, CA SoHo Music Club
June 26 Bloomington, IN Plan-it-X REcords
July 27 Lewiston, NY Art Park #
July 28 Belknap, NH Meadowbrook Pavilion #
July 29 Shelburne, VT Ben & Jerry’s Concerts on the Green #
July 30 Montreal, QC Osheaga Festival
July 31 Baldwinsville, NY Paper Mill Island Amphitheater #
August 03 Grand Rapids, MI Meijer Gardens #
August 04 Indianapolis, IN Egyptian Room #
August 05 Chicago, IL Lollapalooza
August 06 Chicago, IL Lollapalooza
# with Bright Eyes

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks to Sloan Simpson & Mike White for the recording!

Jeff Mangum also has some tour dates coming up (!!):

Aug 12  Toronto, ON  Trinity St. Paul’s United Church
Aug 13  Toronto, ON  Trinity St. Paul’s United Church
Sep 09  Cambridge, MA  Sanders Theatre at Harvard University
Sep 10  Boston, MA  Jordan Hall at New England Conservatory
Sep 30  Asbury Park, NJ  ATP America – I’ll Be Your Mirror – Paramount Theatre
Oct 03  Asbury Park, NJ  ATP
Oct 29  New York, NY  Town Hall
Nov 06  Jersey City, NJ  Loew’s Jersey Theatre

All Enternals Deck is available for pre-order from the Merge Store now!

We at Merge are longtime fans of eMusic; it has for years been one of the premiere places to discover new and independent music, and their editorial is among the best around.  We are truly grateful for their coverage, and have enjoyed working with them for many years.

Unfortunately, eMusic’s unilateral changes in an effort to bring on the major labels has created a situation where it would be harmful to the interests of Merge and our artists to continue our partnership at this time.

We encourage those who regularly purchase Merge titles from eMusic to head to your local independent record store, the Merge Digital Store, or one of our other digital music partners.

This weekend, The Love Language celebrates the release of Libraries at a few Triangle area stores. This is your last chance to see the band locally before their US tour with Local Natives in September! Stuart talked to Aquarium Drunkard this week about the album, the influences, and their recent gigs.

Saturday 8/21 – 4PM @ Schoolkids in Raleigh, NC
Sunday 8/22 – 2PM @ Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, NC

The Love Language on tour:
08-21 Raleigh, NC Schoolkids Records
08-22 Chapel Hill, NC Flyleaf Books
08-28 Wilmington, NC The Soapbox
09-03 Atlanta, GA The Earl
09-04 Charlotte, NC Visulite Theatre
09-11 Raleigh, NC Hopscotch Festival
09-12 Nashville, TN Exit / In
09-13 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon
09-14 Austin, TX Emo’s Inside
09-17 Los Angeles, CA The Music Box at Fonda
09-18 Los Angeles, CA The Music Box at Fonda
09-19 Solana Beach, CA Belly Up Tavern
09-20 Santa Barbara, CA SOHO Music Club
09-22 San Francisco, CA Fillmore
09-24 Seattle, WA Showbox at the Market
09-25 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom
09-28 Boulder, CO Fox Theatre
09-30 Omaha, NE The Waiting Room
10-01 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
10-03 Columbia, MO The Blue Note
10-05 Oklahoma City, OK Academy of Contemporary Music
10-06 Dallas, TX House of Blues
10-07 Houston, TX House of Blues

Photos by Brian Vetter

Today, the curtain was pulled back a little more.

This afternoon, I opened an email from friend-of-Merge Phil at Toronto-based digital provider Puretracks which contained one amazing sentence and a link.  The line?  “So I thought I would send you a video of me dancing in a mall this weekend for fun.” The link?:

Click here to view the embedded video.

A+, my friend.

Ron Liberti, graphic artist and frontman for Merge band Pipe, designed an awesome poster in celebration of Record Store Day. Hand-screened and limited to 100, you can get yours now at recordstoreday.com!

It has been 5 long years since their last album Man-Made was released to universal acclaim, so it is no overstatement to say the new album is keenly anticipated. While most bands are lucky to have one great songwriter, Teenage Fanclub are blessed with three, hence Shadows is overflowing with the kind of gorgeous, harmony-driven classics you’d expect to find on a greatest hits album. Teenage Fanclub plan to tour the US in September.

Shadows will be released on CD and digital download on June 8, but you can download “Baby Lee” for free now!

Tracklisting:
1. Sometimes I Don’t Need To Believe In Anything
2. Baby Lee
3. The Fall
4. Into The City
5. Dark Clouds
6. The Past
7. Shock And Awe
8. When I Still Have Thee
9. Live With The Seasons
10. Sweet Days Waiting
11. The Back Of My Mind
12. Today Never Ends

Tour dates (so far!):
May 1st – London Koko – Camden Crawl Headline
May 27th – Manchester Academy 2
May 28th – Sheffield Leadmill
May 30th – Dublin The Academy
June 1st – Aberdeen
June 2nd – Glasgow ABC
June 3rd – Edinburgh The Picture House
June 4th – Leeds The Cockpit
June 6th – Bristol Academy
June 7th – Birmingham Academy 2

Featured on individual critics’ year-end lists at The Onion AV Club, Pitchfork, NPR Music, and more, Bonfires on the Heath is in a sense a return to the Clientele’s roots, the dreamlike suburban landscapes first encountered in the early singles, their trippy sense of menace stronger now. Back in London, they’ve drawn on older traditions of English folk, which exist here side by side with the band’s more familiar bossa and pop elements. Mel Draisey’s contributions on piano and violin add beautifully to MacLean’s timeless, eerie songs.

Bonfires on the Heath is available on CD, LP (with MP3 download), and digital download in the Merge store. Watch video of The Clientele playing a stripped-down version of “Bonfires on the Heath” from XX Merge!

Having just completed a largely sold out UK/Europe trek, the dudes of Spoon are gearing up for their 2010 North American tour, which commences with a March 17 South by Southwest kick off show at Stubbs in Austin, with Spoon headlining a bill featuring Broken Bells, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, The Walkmen and more. Tickets are selling out fast, so don’t wait!

Spoon’s new album Transference is available now on CD, LP and digital download in the Merge store.

SPOON NORTH AMERICAN TOUR 2010
17-March Stubbs – Austin, TX
18-March Republic – New Orleans, LA
19-March Workplay Soundstage – Birmingham, AL
20-March Tabernacle – Atlanta, GA
22-March 9:30 Club – Washington, DC * SOLD OUT
23-March 9:30 Club – Washington, DC * SOLD OUT
24-March The National – Richmond, VA
26-March Radio City Music Hall – New York, NY * SOLD OUT
27-March House of Blues – Boston, MA, USA * SOLD OUT
29-March Sound Academy – Toronto, ON
30-March Royal Oak Music Theatre Royal – Oak, MI
1-April Aragon Ballroom – Chicago, IL
2-April First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN * SOLD OUT
3-April First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN * SOLD OUT
5-April Ogden Theatre – Denver, CO
6-April Ogden Theatre – Denver, CO
7-April In the Venue – Salt Lake City, UT
9-April Moore Theatre – Seattle, WA
10-April Moore Theatre – Seattle, WA
11-April Orpheum Theatre – Vancouver, BC
12-April McDonald Theater – Eugene , OR
13-April Fox Theater – Oakland, CA
17-April Indio, CA – Coachella

The fantastic Tall Dwarfs records Weeville and Fork Songs are on sale for six bucks each from our good friends at Cloud Recordings, with 100% of the proceeds going to benefit Chris Knox in his recover from last year’s stroke.

And don’t forget to pick up Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox in record stores now.

Visit the Merge store for more information about what is included in SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records, and order your box set today before they are gone forever! All proceeds will benefit charities chosen by the 14 curators.

Spin Magazine described The Knot in their “Best Albums You May Have Missed” roundup, “Singer/guitarist Jenn Wasner’s hypnotic songwriting has obvious Americana roots, but on the duo’s sophomore full-length, her dreamy vocals artfully join ragged riffs to drummer/keyboardist Andy Stack’s layers of thunderstorm drums and surging keyboard drones.”

Preview and purchase The Knot on CD and digital download in the Merge store.

Also, listen and watch their live performance from the studios of Oregon Public Broadcasting!

Wye Oak on Tour:
1/29 Baltimore, MD G Spot
3/24 Atlanta, GA The Earl
3/25 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506
3/26 Washington, DC Rock and Roll Hotel
3/27 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
3/28 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda’s
3/30 Cambridge, MA TT The Bear’s
3/31 Montreal, QC Canada La Sala Rossa
4/01 Toronto, ON Canada Lee’s Palace
4/02 Ithaca, NY Castaways
4/04 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall
4/06 Minneapolis, MN 400 Bar
4/07 Grinnell, IA Gardner Lounge – Grinnell College
4/09 Norman, OK The Opolis
*All shows with Shearwater except 1/29

New chocolate brown tees for men, women and babies! Cherry red tees for toddlers and kids! Brown hoodies for all the grownups on your holidays list! Also, freshly reprinted Superchunk tees for men, women and toddlers!

All Merge wear is 100% cotton and made by American Apparel.

Read the discussion and tell us what the role of the record label is for you!

Groovy-looking book for music geeks from Found Magazine’s Jason Bitner. Check out the magnificent contribution by The Magnetic Fields’ Claudia Gonson and stream the entire mix tape from her high school boyfriend, John, who – along with friend and bandmate Stephin Merritt – she thanks for her musical education.

Ask for it at your local bookstore.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Today on Converse.com, see Wye Oak play an acoustic version of “Take It In” from their new album, The Knot.

The Wye Oak video joins an ongoing series at Converse.com showcasing six Merge bands performing stripped-down sets somewhat spontaneously in various locations during the festival. Visit the XX Merge section of Converse.com for videos from Superchunk, The Clientele, Telekinesis, Lou Barlow, and now Wye Oak.

Check back next week for the next clip in this series of unique sessions courtesy of Converse.com. And don’t forget to check out the Merge channel at Babelgum for live footage from the XX Merge shows held July 22-26th at the Cat’s Cradle and Memorial Hall.

Watch all five and share them with your friends at The Clean’s Vimeo page. Mister Pop is available on CD and digital download in the Merge store.

“These guys invented guitar-organ grooves back in the 1980′s – lean, propulsive, intense, intoning the mantra.”
~ Rolling Stone

Pitchfork has the new video for “One Machine, One Long Fight” today! As always, you can watch past weeks’ videos at LooTube!

Goodnight Unknown is in stores on October 6!

Richard Buckner is on the road again, and is stopping in at KDHX in St. Louis tonight. You can listen to a session tonight, 9pm central, at KDHX.org.

Catch him on the road:
09.22.2009 St. Louis, MO Billiken Club at SLU
09.23.2009 Little Rock, AR Juanita’s
09.25.2009 Orlando, FL The Social
09.26.2009 St. Augustine, FL Cafe Eleven
09.27.2009 Columbia, SC The Whig
09.28.2009 Mt. Pleasant, SC Village Tavern
09.29.2009 Atlanta, GA The Earl
09.30.2009 Charlotte, NC The Evening Muse
10.01.2009 Winston-Salem, NC The Garage
10.02.2009 Asheville, NC The Grey Eagle
10.03.2009 Hickory, NC Fanjoy-Labrenz Gallery

Photos at Chromewaves!

Go to Spoon’s website this week to download four mp3s in honor of the deluxe digital releases of classic Spoon albums: Telephono/Soft Effects, A Series of Sneaks, Girls Can Tell, and Kill The Moonlight.  “Get Out of The State,” “Metal Detektor,” “Chicago at Night,” and “Paper Tiger” are all up for free download!

You can now listen to the entire M. Ward concert recorded at the 9:30 Club  July 30th by NPR!

Visit NPR Music to listen to the show!

Telekinesis will play a special set for KEXP listeners on Saturday, September 12 at 1:15pm Pacific at the LIVE from Bumbershoot Music Lounge!

You can listen live on KEXP.org – video to follow!

Stereogum posted “Don’t Apologize,” the first music video for Goodnight Unknown! Check it out on Stereogum today! As the weeks go on, you can catch up on all the videos (including the documentary) at LooTube!

Watch the Lou Barlow documentary-style video about the process of making Goodnight Unknown. This behind-the-scenes vignette is the first in a series of videos from Goodnight Unknown that will be unveiled weekly leading up to its October 6 release date. Download “Gravitate” from Goodnight Unknown, too, and be sure to see Lou Barlow + The Missingmen on tour this fall!

Wye Oak‘s “Take It In” from their new record The Knot was featured on NPR Music as the “Song of the Day” yesterday. Listen and read the review here and order your copy of The Knot on CD and digital download in the Merge store. Go see Wye Oak on tour this fall, too!

The Clean – Mister Pop
Mister Pop sees The Clean continue the great pop pastiche they began in 1978. Circus ragas (“Moonjumper”), gorgeously hazy sunset anthems (“In the Dreamlife You Need a Rubber Soul”), and the sometimes-loose Dada approach to wordsmithery continue right alongside “proper” lyrical forays, and a few Autobahn-referential instrumental moments to boot (“Tensile”). Robert Scott’s love of pastoral UK folk has brought some added weight into the overall Clean equation, as does David Kilgour’s Eastern and African guitar jones, though all this has always fit in with—and still constitutes—the total basis of the Clean sound journey.

Polvo – In Prism
Polvo formed in 1990 in Chapel Hill, NC. Their lineup consisted of vocalists/guitarists Ash Bowie and Dave Brylawski, bassist Steve Popson, and drummer Eddie Watkins.  The band released 2 full-length albums and 2 EPs on Merge Records, and 2 full-length albums for Touch and Go before disbanding in 1997. Polvo, joined by drummer Brian Quast (Cherry Valence), reformed in 2008 when asked to perform at ATP by Explosions in the Sky. Several festival shows followed, and new songs emerged. The Philadelphia Weekly said in a recent preview, “In the 1990s, no one used more hard angles, sharp turns and squirrelly tunings than the dos guitarra barrage of Ash Bowie and Dave Brylawski.”

“the noise-rockers are still in fine, angular, all-over-the-map form.” ~Stereogum.com

Download the acoustic version of “Detroit Has a Skyline” from The State of Things performance now!

Click to watch video of Jenn talking about her love of "Wheezy" on Uncensored Interview

In case you missed the big news, Wye Oak’s new album, The Knot, is streaming in the Merge store. Go ahead and pre-order your copy while you are at it!

Wye Oak have a CD release show at the Ottobar in Baltimore with special guests Oakley Hall on July 21st. Then, they will join She & Him and American Music Club at Memorial Hall in Chapel Hill on July 26th for the grand finale of XX Merge. Tickets still available!

Lambchop filmed a Take Away Show on their last trip to Europe. The videos are now online at La Blogotheque!

Jeff Mangum: Starlit Crypt A Baby for Pree/Glow into You is up for your viewing pleasure at Pitchfork this week!

Directed by Spencer Gentz.

Telekinesis is on the road today with Margot and The Nuclear So & So’s! Check the tour page for an updated list.

photo by Chona Kasinger

Michael Benjamin Lerner & the Telekinesis crew stopped by KEXP on their return to Seattle last month! NPR now has the full session online in the NPR Music section.

Telekinesis on tour:
05.14.2009 Seattle, WA Crocodile Cafe
05.15.2009 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge
05.16.2009 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
05.18.2009 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour
05.19.2009 Costa Mesa, CA Detroit Bar
05.20.2009 Phoenix, AZ Rhythm Room
05.22.2009 Denton, TX Hailey’s
05.23.2009 Austin, TX The Mohawk
05.24.2009 Norman, OK The Opolis
05.30.2009 Neustrelitz, Germany Immergut Festival
06.01.2009 Vienna, Germany Chelsea w/ Kristoffer Ragnstam
06.03.2009 Nuremberg, Germany Muz w/ Kristoffer Ragnstam
06.03.2009 Munich, Germany Orangehouse w/ Kristoffer Ragnstam
06.04.2009 Berlin, Germany Magnet w/ Kristoffer Ragnstam
06.07.2009 Chicago, IL Schubas
06.08.2009 Pontiac, MI The Pike Room at The Crofoot
06.10.2009 Toronto, ON Canada Horseshoe Tavern
06.11.2009 Montreal, Club Lambi
06.12.2009 Northampton, MA Iron Horse
06.13.2009 Brooklyn, NY Union Hall
06.14.2009 New York, NY Mercury Lounge
06.16.2009 Philadelphia, PA Kungfu Necktie
06.17.2009 Washington , DC Black Cat Backstage
06.18.2009 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506
06.19.2009 Atlanta, GA The Earl
06.20.2009 Nashville, TN The End
06.22.2009 Omaha, NE Slowdown Jr.
06.23.2009 Denver, CO Hi Dive

Photo by Jason Quigley

Ross Flournoy, Danny Iead, and Brian “lil champ” Whelan visited OPB Music in Portland in late February during their west cost tour with the French Kicks.

You can listen to the session at OPBMusic.org.

Set list:
Ambuscade
Down in the Valley
On the Bubble

Even more live material is popping up from the recent tour dates! This time, M. Ward visits KCMP in Minnesota with the full band.

M. Ward at KCMP