What’s Up Thursday?

Well kids we are rolling into the weekend! We made it! And the best part about this particular weekend is that it is Cinco de Mayo, and the tequila will be flowing! Here are some thoughts about where I think you should be tonight!

-Tonight kicks off the beginning of the ten day 500 Songs For Kids at Smith’s Olde Bar! In its 6th year, this year’s fundraiser includes performances from Janelle Monae, Sonia Leigh, Coy Bowles and the Fellowship and more!

-You gotta hand it to Nashville, they just know how to pump out some amazing songwriters. Tonight at Eddie’s Attic, Patrick Davis, who co-wrote Jason Michael Carroll’s Top 10 hit, “Where I’m From,” as well as the closing track, “Be Wary of a Woman,” on fellow South Carolinian Darius Rucker’s platinum-level Learn To Live album will be performing. His songs are being heard on new albums from Lady Antebellum, Jewel , Josh Kelley and Carroll. Hannah Miller joins.

-The multi-instrumentalist, Hanni El Khatib, serves as singer, songwriter & producer for his one-man band that is part blues, part garage rock, part soul, part folk & part doo whop. Check him out tonight at The Earl.

-Tonight at the Drunken Unicorn check out Racebannon with Order Of The Owl and there satanic imagery.

-Park Tavern is excited to announce a new monthly concert series, Unfiltered Live, featuring an array of live performances from artists from various genres. Celebrating music at its core, Unfiltered Live is hosted by Radio Potato.com’s Allison Rizk and will be held in Park Tavern’s expansive air-conditioned Garden Tent. Los Angeles party blues musician Andy Frasco with Phillip Roebuck will be the featured artist today. Doors open at 6 p.m. with music kicking off at 7 p.m.

Win Tickets To See Fun; Playing Center Stage March 9th

New York indie pop band, Fun, have toured with the likes of Jack’s Manequin and Paramore, and in September 2011, Fun announced they would support Janelle Monáe on The Campus Consciousness Tour. The band is most known for its hit single “We Are Young”, featuring Janelle Monáe, which was also covered by the cast of the TV show Glee in its 3rd season. Getting ready to release their latest album, Some Nights, on Feb 21, the band is currently on tour and coming to Atlanta on March 9th. Enter below to win a pair of tickets to the show!

New Video from Fun. and Janelle Monae for ” We Are Young”

She might only have a small role to play, but it’s still exciting to see our lovely Janelle doing some new songs. And Fun. aren’t too shabby either. We’ll be excited to see the band when they return to Center Stage on March 9.  Fingers crossed for a special appearance by our favorite tuxedoed girl!

If I Were In England Right Now… Atlanta Music In England This Weekend

By Eileen Tilson

Cheerio, Old Chap! Since this is a semi-slow music weekend here in Atlanta, I decided to take a pretend plane ride over to England to partake in festivities that are happening across the pond. Luckily for us, the Georgia music scene is being very well represented in the U.K.!

TONIGHT:

-Georgia’s own, Zac Brown Band, has been busy in England with touring with the Kings of Leon, and tonight will be headlining the O2′s  Shepherd’s Bush Empire with Kassidy.

-And of course the world famous Glastonbury Music Festival is happening this weekend, including headlining acts from first time festivalites U2, Coldplay, Morrissey, Elbow, Beyonce, and surprise secret show from England’s most famous act, Radiohead.

SATURDAY:

-Atlanta is getting lots of love overseas with Big Boi, Cee Lo Green, and Janelle Monae on the Glastonbury West Holts Stage

-For a complete line-up and coverage make sure and check out Glastonbury’s Homepage : www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/

AMG Weekend Picks: Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys, Old 97′s, Steamhouse Lounge Oysterfest and More!

Put away those boots and coats – Spring is on the way! This weekend is going to be great for the typical early signs of warmer weather that Atlanta relishes in (take that, New York!). We’ll be taking full advantage of the lack of frigid temperatures by hanging out at the annual Steamhouse Lounge Oysterfest all weekend – see you there! … Continue Reading

AMG’s Top Atlanta Releases of 2010

Hey! It’s another Best of 2010 List! We almost chose to forgo the usual list-making duties that every writer/blogger/music-lover/mother-and-your-brother goes through at this time of year, but we just couldn’t stop ourselves from giving these locals another lil’ pat on the back for making us rock out, chill out, and groove on a bit more this year.

Janelle Monae – The ArchAndroid

It should really go without saying that Janelle tops our list (after all, she’s topped countless others, like those of The Guardian and the AP). We’ve been admires of her for an awfully long time, and said of her first full-length album, “There will be references to future worlds, poetic social commentary, sharp sounds mixing every genre from Stax soul to Studio 54 disco to mountain bluegrass to sweet Tin Pan Alley, and so much more than you could every dream of.”

The Selmanaires – An Animated Shadow

The lads released lots of bits and pieces throughout the year, but it was EP An Animated Shadow that saw the longest and most involved release. We said it “sees the band getting even mellower and more experimental, but thankfully still listenable and terribly enjoyable. Lovely stuff.” With founding member Tommy Chung now in New York, we’re interested to see how the band further develops. … Continue Reading

Bits and Bobs: The District Attorneys, Janelle Monae, Amy Winehouse, Kylie Minogue and More!

- The District Attorneys will be joined by Black Coffin Thieves and Telegram for a special Thanksgiving show tonight at Smith’s Olde Bar. There will be a heckuva lot of brass, thanks to Telegram’s horn section, which is being kindly lent to The District Attorneys for a few songs.

- In other Smith’s Olde Bar news, the annual Winter Soulstice ArtJam takes place at Smith’s on December 11. Stokeswood, Attention System and others will be playing to raise money for the wonderful WonderRoot and their Creativity for Kids program.

- Amy Winehouse is starting her comeback in Brazil – and guess who she’s taking with her? Our own lovely Janelle Monae! Monae will be touring with Winehouse at her dates in January. Hopefully she’ll make Winehouse see the light and bring her trainwreck-free to Atlanta. Check out the details over on NME.com.

- Kylie Minogue debuted a gorgeous new video for “Better Than Today,” just in time for her appearance at the Macy’s Day Thanksgiving Parade which airs on NBC, November 24, as well as her performance at the Rockefeller Center annual Tree Lighting on NBC November 30. Check it out below.

Picture Book: of Montreal, Janelle Monae at Variety Playhouse, November 7

By Matthew Smith (www.shadowboxerphoto.com)

Full gallery after the jump…

… Continue Reading

Bits and Bobs: Prince, Janelle Monae, Madonna, Take That and More

- The Great Purple One known as Prince announced yesterday that he will be embarking on a huge tour soon, and among those stylish girls and guys who will be joining him (like Sheila E.) is our very own Janelle Monae. He’ll start off the jaunt with a residence in New York, which is fine, as long as he brings the tour down our way. Rolling Stone was at the press conference and has more details. Our favorite quote? “Bring footspray because it’s gonna be funky.”

- Madonna wrote an only-slightly-snarky-by-Madonna-standards letter during the filming of A League Of Their Own, and Letter of Note have it up on their blog, thanks to the Hard Rock Memorabilia website.

- The newly-reunited (with Robbie Williams) Take That have released video for their new single “The Flood,” which features the strapping lads in a rowing competition. Idolator has the video.

- The Little Five Points Halloween Festival and Parade is this weekend and you should really go. There will be music from bands like The Pinx, Grinder Nova and Young Antiques, food from Westside Creamery, Sheik Burritos, Pallookaville Corndogs, Kings of Pops and more, an artists market, and, of course, the coolest Halloween parade in the city.

CD Review: of Montreal — False Priest; Playing Variety Playhouse with Janelle Monae, November 6 & 7

of Montreal
False Priest
Polyvinyl Records

By Scott Roberts

On their 10th full-length release False Priest, goofy, but often brilliant, Athens-based band of Montreal and their musical guru Kevin Barnes have temporarily set aside a generous portion of their obvious love of ’60s psychedelia to make way for their inner Prince and Bowie. So, how you felt about the bulk of their previous work, and how you feel about the funkier side of the aforementioned pop icons, will significantly determine how you much you enjoy their new CD. … Continue Reading

Bits and Bobs: Janelle Monae, Fred Schneider, Emma Thompson, Fun Fun Fest

- We’d previously mentioned how Kele’s video for “Everything You Wanted” was our generation’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” but it seems that we were mistaken. Janelle Monae‘s one-take video from the neck up with a surprising outburst of genuine emotion obviously takes this honor. The video is below, and if you don’t get a little verklempt then you have no heart. Idolator has a little more information and some quotage about the filming session. In other Janelle news, she was on “So You Think You Can Dance” last night showing off her “Tightrope” moves. Idolator has the video again.

- Something we’ve surely all been waiting for: The B-52s’ Fred Schneider is signing a solo deal with Fanatic Records and is releasing a Christmas album on October 25. Destination… Christmas! will feature 11 original holiday songs by Schneider and his band The Superions. You can check out the trailer HERE. It’s guaranteed to make you giggle.

- Emma Thompson will be making a special appearance in Atlanta next Thursday, August 12 at the Margaret Mitchell House. She’ll be discussing her latest Nanny McPhee movie, adapted from the Christianna Brand Nurse Matilda book series, but we hope she’ll have some time to chat about, well, the rest of her career and life. Everything basically. Details on how to RSVP are HERE.

- How much do we love Austin, Texas? The ultimate BBQ (brisket!) city, more bands than you can shake a stick at, countless great venues, and of course the madness of SXSW. Add the annual Fun Fun Fest to that list. It’ll be taking place November 5-7 at Waterloo Park, and joining the stellar lineup of Weird Al (who is at the top of their list – which we love), MGMT, Devo, Wavves and loads more are our own Deerhunter and Mastodon.

Bits and Bobs: Emmy Noms, Strange Boys, Gentleman Jesse, Lady Gaga, Robbie Williams and More!

- The Emmy nominations came in this morning, and it’s a pretty darn impressive list. Bits we’re most excited about? Neil Patrick Harris (two noms!), “Modern Family,” “Return To Cranford” (we’re obviously Britcentric here), Kristen Wiig, John Hamm AND Will Arnett for “30 Rock” guest spots, Alan Cumming, Betty White (SNL), Elaine Stritch (“30 Rock”), Lily Tomlin (“Damages”) and, last but not least, our beloved Coco! Also looks like “Glee” swamped the nominations, which is also pretty rad. Read the full list of nominations on Gawker.

- Robbie Williams is releasing an epic two-disc retrospective spanning two decades of pretty fab pop songs. It’s called In and Out of Consciousness – The Greatest Hits 1990 – 2010, is being released on October 12 and will feature a song written and sung with Take That’s Gary Barlow. Yes, I’m pretty giddy about this. You can watch the video for the album trailer HERE.

- Atlanta’s own rock ‘n’ roll star (well, we think he’s a star) Gentleman Jesse and his Men will be joining kick-ass Austin garage rockers Strange Boys and cool chicks Those Darlins on a short ‘n’ sweet tour this September. The crew will all be stopping in Atlanta for two gigs on September 9 and 10 at The EARL. More information is over on Paste Magazine.

- Speaking of Georgia stars, Janelle Monae and Of Montreal will be touring together on a tour of mammoth proportions, which will “transform the venues each night, so it becomes this exceptional experience for everyone,” Of Montreal’s Kevin Barnes told Pitchfork last month. This we have heard about. This has gotten us all excited. But then there was the news of the actual dates and the let down – no Atlanta date to be seen. So far. We hope this will change. Creative Loafing kvetches along with us, and Pitchfork has some good quotes.

- And finally, Idolator has some stellar pictures of the stellar Lady Gaga performing in New York’s Madison Square Garden Tuesday night. The Couture Crazy will also be performing on “The Today Show” tomorrow, Friday, July 9.

Bits and Bobs: Arcade Fire, Limelight, Colour Revolt and More

- Arcade Fire will make a sure-to-be-watched-by-millions-of-hipsters everywhere (ourselves included) appearance on “The Daily Show” on August 12, just a few days after their album is released.

- Famed Atlanta nightclub Limelight will be making a comeback (sort of) for one night only at the Buckhead Theatre. Atlanta INtown has some reminisces and details. And if you really want a giggle, watch the videos (unable to embed, unfortunately) of buff men, skinny ladies and bad dancing.

- For all you Twihards out there, in honor of the latest bloody (which we mean in more ways than one) film, Rolling Stone has put up a gallery of skillfully photo-shopped rock ‘n’ roll vampires. While we do take issue with their use of the word “rockers” (erm, Miley Cyrus?), it’s still a good bit of fun.

- Big Boi throws his “Art of Life/Canvas for Kidz” benefit July 17, which will feature one-of-a-kind, original art work from some of our favorite people (Martha Stewart, Janelle Monae, George Clinton) up for auction. There’s other fancy stuff up for grabs as well as some great food, all in aid of Big Kidz Foundation. Atlanta INtown has more information.

- Paste Magazine reports on Colour Revolt‘s new album (The Cradle, our August 10) and gives away one of its songs for free. The band will also be playing The EARL on August 20.

Bits and Bobs: Harry Potter, Andre 3000 Covering The Beatles, New Of Montreal

- The latest trailer for the new Harry Potter film is now up. Though the last book (number seven, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) will be split into two films, this trailer is for both films. And it looks epic. Check out the trailer below.

- We now have a full-length version of Andre 3000 covering The Beatles’ “All Together Now,” which first appeared in a Nike/NBA commercial. It’s over on Idolator now.

- Of Montreal will release their 10th album on September 14. False Priest will feature collaborations from the likes of Janelle Monae and Solange Knowles. You can download the first single “Coquet Coquette” on the band’s website.

Bits and Bobs: Pinkberry, ATL Throwdown, Glastonbury, BET Awards and More!

Looks like it was a busy weekend, with a fabulous awards show, an epic U.K. festival and more. Here’s some bits and bobs we think you should know about:

- The famed frozen yogurt company Pinkberry has opened its first Georgia shop on Cobb Parkway. Atlanta Dish was there and has some crazy yummy-looking pics. Just in time to beat this sweltering heat then. … Continue Reading