COLDTUBE

Having already recruited Santogold for their Viva La Vida tour, Coldplay will now employ a YouTube contest that will allow unknown groups the opportunity to be an opening act for one of the biggest bands in the world. The contest is run in conjunction with radio stations in six markets: Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Hartford, Philadelphia and San Jose, CA. In each case, potential warm-up acts are asked to upload their videos onto YouTube, where a panel of judges comprised of radio station employees will watch all the clips and whittle the nominees down to fifteen. After that, fan voting reduces the finalists to three. Coldplay will watch the final trio and decide which band wins. The prize: 20 minutes of stage time as Coldplay’s opening act, $2,000 and ten tickets to the concert. To enter the contest, check out Coldplay’s tour page.

SOURCE:ROLLINSTONE.COM
PHOTO:GETTY IMAGES

IN CASE YOU MISSED EM...

Coldplay was on The Today Show this morning! Check them out performing live in front of a huge crowd! Viva La Colplay!

LIGHTS IN THE SKY

NIN posted a note about their upcoming LIGHTS IN THE SKY tour on their website. Also, you can check out their live tour rehearsals - CLICK HERE!

'We are hard at work preparing for the upcoming tour. Lots of new surprises in store, and a stage that makes my head hurt thinking about it (kind of in a good way... kind of).'

'Anyway, our computer wizards presented some data to us in an interesting way and we thought we'd share it with you. CLICK HERE to download a Google Earth KML file representing downloads of our latest record The Slip according to geographic region. We've had just over 1,400,000 people download The Slip from our site since its release May 5th (that number represents individual people, and excludes multiple downloads from the same order), and this map displays ONLY downloads that came directly from us.'

'To open the file, make sure you have the Google Earth software installed first. If the KML doesn't open automatically, find the downloaded file on your hard drive and double-click it. Once it's open, you'll want to turn off other layers for the best view. Slower computers might have some trouble running this file.'

'P.S. - If you are one of the people from Fiji who got the record, can we crash on your couch'?

'The idea for this visualization originally came from some data sent to us by Topspin. These guys helped us out with our digital delivery for a while and are in my opinion the best option out there for artists to deliver their goods to their audience on their own terms. Keep an eye on them - they are leagues ahead of everyone else in terms of infrastructure and philosophy.'

LAST WEEK TO ENTER!

This is your last chance to enter to win an advance copy of Kerli's upcoming album LOVE IS DEAD. We will be choosing one winner next week, so ENTER TODAY!! Her debut album drops July 8th!

Email: musicbleep@gmail.com

Also, I have exciting news about Kerli that I can share with you next week!

SSMF 08

The Sunset Strip Music Festival kicks off tonight! A bunch of great acts are taking over the Sunset Strip, June 26th, 27th & 28th. Hot Hot Heat, Juliette & The Licks, Louis XIV, The 88 and more...

Click here for schedule and tickets!

BROKEN RECORD

When is it going to stop? The expected EMI layoffs have begun. Pink slips were given out at its Nashville office and at subsidiary labels Blue Note and Caroline, according to reports. The major label previously announced plans to let go 2,ooo of its employees.

I've been there peeps...NOT FUN! Enjoy your summer!

LITTLE BIT OF LYKKE LI

My friends over at Current TV sent this clip of one of my favorite Swedes.

Lykke Li discusses her style, her first break working with Peter Bjorn, the concept behind her latest music video, and her new dance moves.

Check it out!



Watch her latest video for "I'm Good, I'm Gone"!

IN CASE YOU MISSED EM...

Martha Wainwright was on KCRW last week. Check out the live in session with Martha on Morning Becomes Eclectic. It's so good!!

SUMMER IS HEATING UP

As you know, I went to catch Keaton Simons at the Hotel Cafe last night. First, I want to thank Jim for inviting me out last night, and for last weeks shows in LA as well.

My friend and I arrived and headed straight for the bar (it was one of those days). It was hot and we were parched... I must say I really enjoy seeing shows at the Hotel Cafe. It's probably my favorite venue in all of LA. The sound is great, the setting is perfect, its intimate, and it just has an all around great vibe. It's a great place to see a budding artist!

I didn't really know much about Keaton or his music, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. Al I can say is WOW! It's like reaching that chocolaty part in one of those Drumsticks.... You don't expect that chocolate at the bottom of the cone, but it's such a nice surprise when you reach it. That's the only way I can describe it...haha! I'm sorry - it's cuz I'm totally craving one right now! Anyhoo...he was amazing! He kind of sounds like a mix between Gavin Degraw and Citizen Cope. If you like them, then you will love Keaton. He's blues mixed with rock. Last night totally brought me back to my days in Indiana, when I would take the train up to Chicago with friends and hit up the a great local blues bar or even one of the many festivals Chicago has to offer. I enjoy nothing more than a warm summer night and some blues. It's one of my favorite things to do when I can.

You still have a few chances to catch Keaton in LA before he continues on his CD RELEASE/CBS TOUR WITH WILL DAILEY.

CLICK HERE FOR TOURDATES!






SeeqPod - Playable Search

HOTEL CAFE TONIGHT

I know it's Monday, and you're probably still recovering from the weekend, but I really think you should come out to the Hotel Cafe tonight. I'm picking up one of my friends and we are off to check out Keaton Simons. I'll have a full report tomorrow!

www.myspace.com/keatonsimons
www.hotelcafe.com

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

It's been 16 long years since My Bloody Valentine has performed live. Over the weekend MBV made their long-awaited return to the stage with a performance that cemented their reputation as the loudest band on Earth. The five-night stand that began on Friday at London’s legendary Roundhouse marked the first live performances from the revered noise-pop band in more than 16 years.

MBV run at the Roundhouse ends tomorrow with the band moving on to gigs in Manchester and Glasgow before hitting the European festival circuit this summer. An eight-date tour U.S. tour is set to begin in late September

IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS...

I'm still coming off my Martha high from Thursday night, and I'm obsessed with my new RedLasso player. Martha + RedLasso = Last Wednesday's episode of The Late Show with David Letterman, Martha performed "You Cheated Me". ENJOY!!

MOVEN ON UP...

I'm so excited, because I was just approved for a RedLasso account! It's basically like YouTube, but I think I can find and create clips when I can find them on YouTube. I dunno...I'm still figuring it all out. I just created this clip of Kate Nash when she performed on The Tonight Show a few months back. I wanted to see if it would work, and it did... Check it out!