Arcade Fire

Top Ten must-see Minnesota music videos this week

Local Frames is a weekly column spotlighting the best new music videos featuring musicians and directors with Minnesota ties. This week we kick things off with the strikingly gorgeous new video for the Ocean Blue's soaring new single, "Sad Night, Where Is Morning?" which was deftly directed by vete ... More >>

Palma Violets at 7th St. Entry, 4/30/13

Palma Violets With Guards 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis April 30, 2013 Palma Violets brought the raucous sounds of South London to the 7th Street Entry on Tuesday night, as the young quartet delivered a tempestuous 45-minute set filled with energetic garage-punk songs that brazenly mined sonic elem ... More >>

Dark Dark Dark release new EP, Nona records with the National

It's no surprise that the worldly, chamber-pop charms of the Minneapolis quintet Dark Dark Dark has found an audience throughout the U.S. and Europe. Their sound has both a classic appeal and modern flourishes that are pleasing both to the ear as well as the heart. At their transfixing Who Needs Wh ... More >>

BOY's Valeska Steiner: I'm glad we make music in English

The folk-pop act BOY is a couple of musically curious souls based in Germany who are in the midst of their polite onslaught on the United States for the first time. Valeska Steiner and Sonja Glass met years ago at a music camp, and the friendship that prevailed over the years has yielded Mutual Frie ... More >>

Imagine Dragons' Dan Reynolds: I was afraid of my heart being broken

Who knows why some albums are a success and others go unsung? Las Vegas band Imagine Dragons hit one of those pockets of luck with their latest album, Night Visions.The band is touring behind the album, this time around to a sold-out North American tour -- something they never expected. Before thing ... More >>

The 2013 Grammy Awards played it safe and got it wrong

If the Grammy Awards are indeed 'Music's Biggest Night,' then it's no wonder that the industry itself is in so much trouble. Despite the Academy's best efforts in recent years to draw the "alternative" music fan into the mainstream self-congratulatory love fest that is the Grammys -- even going so f ... More >>

The Maccabees' Orlando Weeks is a man of few words

The Maccabees haven't quite reached the British Invasion status of Mumford and Sons, but the Brighton, England-based indie rock band is well on their way to conquering the hearts and stereos of the U.S. hip set everywhere. The band's third album, Given to the Wild, was released in January 2012, and ... More >>

DJ Mike 2600: I'm alternately really excited about music or art & design

Some artists only have enough creative juices for one medium, but Mike Davis can tap a keg of creativity spilling out into art, music and even the beef jerky industry. By day, Davis sits at his computer creating posters for bands for Burlesque of North America, as well as stickers with classic And ... More >>

My mom reviews Pitchfork's top tracks of 2012

By Justin BakerWe just wrapped another year of wall-to-wall critics' lists, and the Pitchfork staff provided a carefully curated subset of hip music of last year. How does this music sit with the rest of the population? To  partly answer that question, we asked someone untainted by current musi ... More >>

Pitchfork People's List: Minneapolis voters love Neutral Milk Hotel more than Radiohead

See Also:Top 20 best Minnesota SongsTop 20 best Minnesota musiciansRadiohead at Sprint Center in Kansas City, 3/11/12Earlier today Pitchfork unveiled it's grand social music experiment, The People's List, a reader generated ranking of the top albums during Pitchfork's first 15 years, 1996-2011. 27,9 ... More >>

Death Cab For Cutie's Benjamin Gibbard unveils U.S. tour dates -- show at Woman's Club

See Also: Death Cab For Cutie at Roy Wilkins Auditorium, 8/26/2011 Death Cab For Cutie announce First Ave show, new album Low and Death Cab For Cutie team for tour After bringing his Death Cab For Cutie band mates through the Twin Cities twice in a span of three months last year in support of Codes ... More >>

John Mark Nelson CD release at 7th St. Entry, 8/12/12

John Mark NelsonWith Observer Drift7th St. Entry, MinneapolisSunday, August 12, 2012See Also:John Mark Nelson channels folk-pop sophisticationJohn Mark Nelson makes early Minneapolis impact via BandcampObserver Drift making chill waves with escapist debutAlthough the 7th St. Entry doesn't do "New Ba ... More >>

Trampled by Turtles play for Adult Swim's Squidbillies in "Walt Whitman" video

See Also:Trampled by Turtles play "Alone" on Late Show With David Letterman (VIDEO)Trampled by Turtles cover Arcade Fire's "Rebellion (Lies)"Trampled By Turtles lighten up on Stars and SatellitesAlthough every Trampled by Turtles show Gimme Noise has ever attended has been rowdy, there has always be ... More >>

Trampled by Turtles to play at Minnesota Twins game for Father's Day

Related:Ten local songs the Minnesota Twins should play at Target FieldFor all those cool dads (and their cool offspring and spouses) out there, here's a chance to make the tradition of a baseball game on Father's Day a little more interactive. Certainly the music folks at the Minnesota Twins must h ... More >>

Saxophonist Colin Stetson performs free at the Walker tonight

Related:Bon Iver's Sean Carey on Hoyas and why he didn't get a GrammyThe Walker Art Center has been on fire with amazing music this year and it ain't all just about Rock the Garden. In fact for those who know it's just as "in" to be "out" the Walker has consistently showcased fantastic experimental ... More >>

Record Store Day 2012 across Minneapolis

Related:Record Store Day 2012: Keep independent Twin Cities shops openDo Twin Cities record stores need Record Store Day?Slideshow: Record Store Day 2012Record Store Day 2012 was the biggest yet, as hosts of Twin Cities record stores gathered their enthusiasm and planned parties. Gimme Noise went in ... More >>

Critics' Picks: Andrew W.K., Megafaun, and more

Luke Redfield spills Willie Nelson and Ke$ha run-ins, explains Tusen Takk

​There is an element of exaggeration in all good storytelling -- and not to say that Luke Redfield is lying -- but his new album tells a sweeping tale of a man who has lived 100 lives in the ten songs off of Tusen Takk, the culmination of years of hard work and traveling.  The album emanates ... More >>

Fairfax, AK's "Just Fine" video, show at the Amsterdam Bar and Hall tonight

Facebook.com​When describing the new video for his band, Fairfax, AK's singer/songwriter Pat Dougherty sounds more like a humble musician than a salesman, "I think selling music is a pretty cold process but music is very personal thing for both the performer and the listener, so we wanted to do so ... More >>

Bon Iver's Grammys poster is far worse than Skrillex's

A small portion of the ugliness.​The past 24 hours have been admittedly strange for the cult of Justin Vernon. As has already been discussed in detail, Bon Iver's self-titled, pastoral folk album is up for four Grammys at the February 12 show, and these are in major categories that seem to be with ... More >>

Bon Iver set to play SNL, Justin Vernon starts his own record label

​Justin Vernon and Bon Iver had one hell of a year in 2011. Bon Iver's sophomore album is widely considered the best album of the year, the group played well-received, sold-out shows all over the world (including a memorable two-night stand at the Orpheum Theatre), and capped it all off with f ... More >>

Bon Iver isn't afraid to be beautiful

Justin Vernon is headed for the mainstream with his new LP

The Head and the Heart at the Varsity Theater, 8/7/11

Photos by Tony Nelson​The Head and the Heart August 7, 2011 Varsity Theater, Minneapolis There's a line from the Head and the Heart's standout track "Down in the Valley" where Jonathan Russell sings, "Lord have mercy on my rough and rowdy ways." The line fits in perfectly with the rest of the ... More >>

Bon Iver announce release date, track listing for new album

Photo by D. L. Anderson​Bon Iver's page on the Jagjaguwar site is down this morning, which can only mean one thing: Today's the day when the Indiana indie label is unveiling the details for the band's sophomore album. Last month, bandleader Justin Vernon conducted an interview with Rolling Stone t ... More >>

Treehouse Records celebrates another 10 years

​"Vinyl will always survive. Hopefully indie records stores can too." - Mark TrehusIt's been almost forty years since Oar Folkjokeopus first opened its doors on 26th and Lyndale. The storefront has outlived the 8-track, the cassette, and the cd as the dominant musical forms pushed by an industry ... More >>

Bon Iver set to release new record in June

Photo by Ben ClarkJustin Vernon performing with DeYarmond Edison at SXSW​Justin Vernon has kept mostly quiet about his next Bon Iver record until this week, focusing his energy on his side projects (Gayngs, the recent DeYarmond Edison reunion), and -- oh yeah, collaborating with one of the most fa ... More >>

Best National Albums of 2010

​As 2010 winds to a close, many of us here at Gimme Noise have been hard at work drafting up as many lists as humanly possible. Rather than create on unified list of the national albums that we loved this year, we thought it more appropriate to post each of our individual picks for the best albums ... More >>

Magnetic Fields documentary screening this week at the Cedar

​Unlike his heroes Doris Day, Ella Fitzgerald and Abba, who "wrote incredibly simple songs with extremely well worked arrangements giving every song an iconic quality you couldn't believe it hadn't been done before," Stephin Merritt has remained an enigma and somewhat still obscure genius of conte ... More >>

Yeti Records' co-owner and Gayngs member Jake Luck talks about his new venture

photo by: Stacy Schwartz​The Cities certainly have no lack of amazing record stores -- the Electric Fetus and Hymie's were recently included in Rolling Stone's top 25 -- and no scarcity of music fans either. There's plenty of love (and a slightly less plentiful amount of money) to go around we thi ... More >>

CRITICS' PICKS

Dada Trash Collage releases Neighbors

Band is one to top with its prolific output

Owen Pallett comes to the Varsity on Sunday, Star Road some day

Is that Link?​ Video-game appropriator and geek culture reference specialist Owen Pallett brings his one-man electrorchestra to the Varsity this Sunday for a barebones pense-fest that will most definitely be way more fun than the description "violin looper" allows for.

Adam Garcia: Designer for Nike, Rhymesayers and Arcade Fire (interview)

​ Just by the headline you can tell Adam Garcia must be a talented man, and like all talented men, they move away (not even hiding our jadedness!). Garcia, known back in the day in the Twin Cities as "Snakebird" was an instrumental designer in the hip-hop and street art scenes before moving to Phi ... More >>

Lemmy, Tobacco, Dark Castle, and more from Day One of SXSW

A play-by-play of our freelancer's first day at the SXSW music festival.

Basia Bulat

Electric Fetus Reborn, Song of Zarathustra, and more

5 Questions: BRLSQ designer Wes Winship talks Dre Day 2010

Wes Winship took some time away from stressing about bass cabinets and screenprints to talk to Gimme Noise about Dre.

Snoop Dogg, the Sounds, White Denim, and more

iPod Hijack! City Pages staff's Top Ten Most Played

The time has come to purify our hearts and minds of the guilty pleasures in our iPods. You could be next.

Best New Bands, the Killers, Adele, and more

Canadian Pride

Constantines release new album, tour in the name of Canuck-flavored indie rock

Vampire Weekend

Interpol: Our Love to Admire

What's Playing

Top 10 spins this week at 89.3 the Current

There Goes the Neighborhood

Ten local albums that kept the home fires blazing— then burned down the house

Hoarse Whisperers

Disconnected dreamscapes from Band of Horses

The Pitchfork Effect

How an upstart record-review site won the animosity—and allegiance—of indie music scenesters and changed the rules for breakout bands. (Ask Tapes 'N Tapes.)

Broken Social Scene: Broken Social Scene, The Most Serene Republic: Underwater Cinematographer

Prairie Home Theater Invasion

Maybe all I need is a cleaner window on the world