Back in December, The Lovemakers, a glam-rock outfit from Oakland, decided to stay put and forego their national tour to record their next full-length album entitled "Love is Dead." (For a band called "The Lovemakers," that's quite a title!) According to their blog, they've also decided to "be a 3-piece [band] again for the next while live. Scott, Lisa and Michael Urbano on drums. Back to basics. Very cool. Very fun." What we didn't......

Our top 5 moments at Feist's Fillmore show on Tuesday, June 26th:      5. Hearing a cash register clang at the back of the venue in the middle of the set, and realizing that the sold-out crowd was perfectly silent. San Francisco concertgoers can really take their music seriously. You stay classy.      4. Instead of playing to the crowd, Feist literally played the crowd by dividing us into three sections (by type of shoe......

We've got two contests this week, one to celebrate over a decade of experimentation and the other to to support some stalwart locals. Giveaway #1! On Monday and Tuesday, Blonde Redhead make their gorgeous art rock at Bimbo's with openers Annuals. Annuals weave intricate melodies with ambitious sounds while still giving you hooks to hold onto (and remind us a little of the wonderful Aloha in the meantime.) One winner will get a pair of......

This week's giveaway comes from The Finches, a local duo who play endearing folk pop. The songs are refreshingly gentle and Carolyn's voice rings with a true sincerity. See them Saturday afternoon at 2pm when they play a free in-store at Amoeba, or celebrate their CD release at Cafe Du Nord on Wednesday night with The Moore Brothers, Colossal Yes and The Mantles. We're giving away a copy of their brand new CD Human......

This week we give thanks for the amazing music coming out of the bay area, and the best venues in the nation to see it in. Listen up to the local music you can hear this week, and let's show our appreciation to these hardworking musicians by heading out to catch some shows. On Friday, Love X Nowhere are at Hemlock with Rondo Brothers. On Saturday night, one of our favorite local labels Birdman......

We first heard of Rogue Wave when they opened for Spoon a few years ago, and though we liked them back then, we had no idea they'd make such gorgeous records. Descended Like Vultures, released last October, is a must-own and with airplay on MTV2, a deal with Sub Pop and tours with Nada Surf and The Shins, they're not our hometown secret anymore. Listen to "Publish My Love" or watch the video. Enter to......

Happy New Year everyone! Were any of your holiday presents of the musical variety? If not, don't fret because our giveaways are back. This week you can enter to win a copy of local chanteuse Paula Frazer's Leave The Sad Things Behind, released in October on local label Birdman Records. Paula's Cline-esque croon floats angelically over spooky, romantic songs with lush instrumentation including horns and steel guitar. Sounds like the soundtrack to a love scene......