I'm not exactly a huge Man Man fan - that's Eggs' territory - but when I saw that La Blogotheque had posted some new videos of the band, I decided to watch at least part of one (primarily because I dig most of La B's videos). I was a little surprised, then, to find that I felt compelled to watch all five installments of Man Man's musical jaunts around Paris. La Blogotheque main man Vincent Moon did an exceptional job with the videography; this is some of his best work yet. It helps that the band (and frontman Honus Honus in particular) got so into the spirit of things; they look as though they were having a great time. Watch the videos to see Sergei Sogay getting his head shaved while the band musically accompanies the barber, Honus Honus attempting to negotiate a jewelry purchase, some enthusiastic assistance from a group of rollerskating kids, and other Man Man-style antics.

View the rest of the videos after the jump

"Van Helsing Boombox":

There are several album reviews we've been meaning to write for some time now, but just haven't found the time (and/or proper discipline) to get the words onscreen. We've slapped ourselves on our collective wrists and, tails between our legs, pledge to improve. This post will kick things off with Cereal's take on The Sour Notes' debut effort, The Meat of the Fruit.

Read the review after the jump

New England singer/songwriter Ray LaMontagne will be hitting the road this fall with a US tour in support of his third album, Gossip in the Grain (due out Oct. 14th). The 28 show tour is set to take off on Sept. 30th in Indianapolis, IN and will end on Nov. 9 in Seattle, WA. LaMontagne's unique sound in combination with his intimate stage show should make for an blissfully calm night of music. Fellow songwriter Leona Naess will be on the tour in support of LaMontagne and is also featured in the songs "I Still Care For You" and "A Falling Through" off of his new album. This will personally be my first time to see Ray - I will be making the trip to Kansas City, MO, so look for upcoming coverage of the night.

Tour dates after the jump

The Austin City Limits Festival is still a good month and a half away, but my excitement level is already starting to grow more and more by the day. There are so many incredible acts playing ACL that I haven't seen yet, including one of the more recent additions to my favorites list, England's Spiritualized. Jason Pierce aka J. Spaceman's vocal approach is not comparable to any other artist making music today. After seeing their name on the ACL line-up, I started to build my collection of their material including their latest album Songs in A&E (which has not left my car's CD player in quite some time).

Last night, Mr. Spaceman and Spiritualized stopped by The Late Show with David Letterman to play through "You Lie You Cheat", one of the many gems off of Songs in A&E. Give it a listen:

Oh, I can't wait until September!

Over 90 musicians and music industry personages have banded together to draw the presidential candidates' attention to New Orleans and the Louisiana coast. My Morning Jacket, R.E.M., Pearl Jam, and Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor are among those who signed a letter calling upon Barack Obama and John McCain to attend a September 18 debate in NOLA. The letter, which was developed by the Gulf Coast Restoration Network and Tab Benoit's Voice of the Wetlands organization, asks that "the future President of the United States direct the resources and attention necessary to restore coastal Louisiana and secure the future of Louisiana's communities." Rapid loss of coastal wetlands and unhealthy water are mentioned as primary causes for concern. Neither candidate has yet committed to the event, which will be sponsored by Google/YouTube and New Orleans universities.

Read the press release after the jump

Fresh off one of their largest shows, a headlining spot at England's Glastonbury festival, Kings Of Leon are ready to hit the road in support of their latest studio effort, Only By The Night. The follow up to 2007's Because Of The Times, set to be released on September 23rd, will also feature a full North American tour in support. For this trek they have enlisted the help of a few acts that will more than enhance the evenings events. For the whole tour, We Are Scientists will take the opening slot, while The Stills and The Whigs will rotate support duties for different dates.

The first single from Only By The Night, entitled "Sex On Fire", is streaming on their MySpace page as we speak, so after you see if they are coming to your town (they're coming to mine!), head on over there to check out the new tune.

See the full dates after the jump

We already know what all of the hipsters and folkies were up to this past weekend, but since most of you are undoubtedly asking yourselves: "What were all the hip-hop heads up to?", I thought that I would fill you in. Both Miami and New York City hosted a who's who of hip-hop allstars for the third edition of Rock The Bells. While both cities already featured stellar line-ups that included Nas, Mos Def, De La Soul, Method Man and Redman, and a re-united A Tribe Called Quest, along with whole host of others, New York brought a little something extra to the table by serving a few choice guest spots that no one was expecting.

Check them out after the jump

My biggest musical regret of this year so far is skipping the opportunity to see the Fleet Foxes in March when they came through with Blitzen Trapper. Due to Toast's early evening arrival in Houston the same night, and plans to see Wilco, My Morning Jacket and Yo La Tengo that weekend, we opted to lay low that night instead. If they come to your town, do not make the same mistake.

Last night they stopped by The Late Show with David Letterman to play through "Blue Ridge Mountains" off of their eponymous debut LP. Check it out:

MMJ meets CSNY; can you dig?

It is quite obvious that Weezer has embraced the Internet's expansive grasp on today's music world, especially on YouTube. Recently they released a video for their newest single, "Pork and Beans", which highlights a host of characters that all received their fifteen minutes of fame due to the viral video site. Today they uploaded another clip to YouTube that finds them announcing their tour in quite a fun way. Give it a watch and see if you can figure it out.

If the video lists the cities in order, "The Weezers" tour will start in Boston on September 23rd, and then make stops in New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, Austin, Dallas, Houston and Atlanta as well as some others that I can't figure out. Any guesses as to what other cities they will be stopping in?

Thanks to Cold Pizza for the tip!

Now updated with full dates after the jump

While most hipsters were attending Chicago's main event this past weekend, the grandaddy of all American folk festivals was going on about a thousand miles away in Newport, Rhode Island. Over the course of August's first weekend, the Newport Folk Festival featured performances by Trey Anastasio, Brian Wilson, Jimmy Buffet, The Black Crowes, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Levon Helm, Gillian Welch, Cat Power, Richie Havens and dozens more acoustic guitar-toting artists and bands. National Public Radio took care of streaming and recording duties, and have kindly put several of the sets up for listen on their website.

Take the jump for links to the available sets.