Album Picks:

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Mosquito

CD $11.98

Deluxe CD $19.98

LP $19.98

Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ sultry fourth record starts with a bang, a big soul-rocker complete with gospel choir called “Sacrilige.” From there it’s a smorgasbord as colorful as their mosquito-attacking-a-baby album cover, including moody, atmospheric sound pieces (“Subway”), Banshees-esque post-punk rockers (the title track), dubby soundscapes (“Under the Earth”), “X-Files”-inspired new age ballads (“These Paths”) and rockers (“Area 52”). And that’s all before you get to a dark collaboration with Dr. Octagon and James Murphy (“Buried Alive”), as well as breathtaking new entries into Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ pantheon of after prom-style bittersweet ballads in the form of the picturesque “Always,” the slow-burning, oddly uplifting “Despair” and touching “Wedding Song.” Mosquito is a very different beast from the previous YYY’s albums and takes some getting used to, for sure, but repeat listens offer new rewards (as with every album the band has produced since its debut). Its eeriness and campiness at times call to mind a Cramps record, while its hollowed-out space represents something else entirely, something new and alluring. You might miss some of their previous raucousness (or continuity), but hearing them fling new ideas to the wall to see what sticks is intriguing enough. Yeah Yeah Yeahs are one of the few bands who know how to make its constant tinkering with its sound both interesting and entertaining. Hearing them restlessly forge new ground on Mosquito screws with your head in the best way possible. It inspires you to shake old notions of what stadium-size rock bands can and should do, and that lone is something to celebrate. Pick up "Mosquito" at any Amoeba store 4/16 and get a limited edition autographed lithograph and a special 7” (while supplies last).

New York City: As reported here on the Amoeblog today by Billy Gil at the Hollywood Amoeba, Record Store Day 2012 has been hectic with folks lining up outside the Sunset Blvd. store from 2:30am this morning, eight long hours before Amoeba would open its front doors. Up north in the Bay at both the Berkeley Amoeba and the San Francisco Amoeba a similar scenario was playing out with folks showing up long before doors opening for their chance to snag some of the much coveted Record Store Day 2012 exclusive releases. Of that long list of exclusive releases among the top most sought after items was a release by the group Phish which was what the folks first in line outside the San Francisco Amoeba wanted as reported on the Amoebog YouTube posting earlier this afternoon. Back here in NYC shoppers were also hot to track down Phish. "All day we got calls for the Phish and Flaming Lips records," Jonathan Sklute who owns the East Village Good Records store told me this afternoon, adding that. "A friend of mine I was talking to over at [nearby] Other Music said that they got about 700 calls for Phish but they didn't have near that many copies to satisfy that level of demand."

Mastodon have just unveiled a brand new video that captures the much-revered metal band in their best setting - live in concert and killing it on the song "Dry Bone Valley" which is the second single from the band's critically acclaimed Mike Elizondo-produced album The Hunter - the band's fifth studio album that was released by Roadrunner Records via Reprise/Warner in late September.

This is the second video for this song: the first been the Tim Biskup created music video (see below). The above live video of the song was recorded at the Atlanta, GA band's recent sold-out show at London's Brixton Academy on February 11th.  The new video arrives just in time for diehard Mastodon fans (and there are many of those!) who have been anxiously awaiting their anticipated 2012 North American tour that kicks off this week featuring the super-skilled hard rock ensemble's Troy Sanders (bass guitar/vocals), Brent Hinds (guitars/vocals), Bill Kelliher (guitars), and Brann Dailor (drums/vocals).

The new US/Canada tour begins tomorrow night (04/04) in Portland, ME and ends on May 12th in Atlanta, GA. Unfortunately for Cali fans the hectic tour, with co-headliners the Swedish progressive metal band Opeth plus opening act Ghost (who are well worth checking out), includes only two Golden State dates so if you don't already have them, so get tickets now. Those two Cali dates are just three weeks away: Thursday April 26th in LA at the Gibson Amphitheatre and the following night (Friday April 27th) at the Fox Theatre in Oakland.  Pick up Mastodon's The Hunter in each of the three Amoeba Music stores on directly from the online Amoeba.com shop.

Do you realize?! Wayne Coyne tweeted this photo today of posters created for what promise to be two of the most rousing shows of the summer -- The Flaming Lips playing first The Soft Bulletin and then Dark Side of the Moon at Hollywood Forever Cemetary! Tickets here.

Crazy busy as Record Store Day (RSD) at Amoeba Music was on Saturday -- there are still some RSD 2011 releases available for sale. But likely these remaining RSD 2011 releases will be snapped up pretty darn quickly since they are all limited edition pressings, so head over to your local Amoeba Music to get them while you can! Note these are not sold on the website; they are only in the stores.

At Amoeba Hollywood, where Amoebite Rik figured there was about "30% of the Record Store Day stock" left over as of yesterday/Sunday mid afternoon, these numerous RSD 2011 titles include such goodies as the 10" vinyl collectibles from both Adele ("Rolling In The Deep") and Bruce Springsteen ("Gotta Get The Feeling"  / "Racing In The Street"), the Robbie Robertson LP How To Be Clairvoyant, and the Panda Bear Tomboy vinyl LP / /T‐Shirt bundle in blue in both medium and large. Other RSD 2011 goodies still available at the Hollywood Amoeba, where you will find the RSD releases all together in the one area right after you walk in the front door, include the Flaming Lips LP box set Heady Nuggs: The First 5 WB Records 1992 - 2002, and CDs by Jimi Hendrix ("Fire"/"Touch You") and The Decemberists (Live at Bull Moose). 12" vinyl RSD 2011 titles still available include Ray Lamontagne ("Live Fall 2010"), Lady GaGa ("Born This Way"), and Beth Ditto ("I Wrote the Book").
 
Note that due to the limited run on all of the RSD titles that each store has only certain titles left over. The Berkeley and San Francisco Amoebas, which don't have all the exact same titles I've listed available at Amoeba Hollywood, still do have a great many RSD 2011 titles, including the Flaming Lips LP box set and the Hendrix CD.