Thursday, popscene brings another great act to San Francisco, The Sessions. Hailing from Vancouver, these guys remind us of the Killers, the Bravery, and These Electric Lives. Friday, BAGeL RADIO presents San Francisco's own indie-rock band, Love is Chemicals. Not only a BAGeL RADIO party, it's also Love is Chemicals' CD release party. You can't go wrong with that combination.

The concert that we 100% recommend: Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile at The Independent. Chris Thile is a genius. Absolute genius. We were so upset that Nickel Creek called it quits and ended their farewell tour with Fiona Apple. (What a terrible idea!) It looks like he has redeemed himself, though. There will be two shows, one at 7pm and the other at 10pm. Punch Brother's new CD comes out February 26th.

Check the jump for full show listings...

Each Tuesday we will feature new music that should (or whatever) be on your radar.

Other CD's being released today:
1. Nancy LaMott - Ask Me Again
2. Morrissey - Greatest Hits*
3. Carrie Newcomer - The Geography of Light
4. Michael Jackson - Thriller 25th Anniversary Edition
5. Simple Plan - Self Titled
6. Widespread Panic - Free Somehow
7. The Puppini Sisters - The Rise & Fall of Ruby Woo*

We recommend*
Image courtesy of amazon.com

Robyn graces the popscene stage on Thursday night in support of her new Rakamonie EP, that was released digitally on January 29th. The UK has already showed their love for Robyn and the EP, as her track “With Every Heartbeat” reached #1 in the charts there. Over in Berkeley, the Audiophiles, will be opening over at Blakes for The Federalists. These four high school guys from San Francisco have been tearing up the local music scene for awhile now and they deserved to be noticed. Update: The Audiophile show is on Friday, not Thursday.

Friday, you have two choices: The Bruises or Editors. If you like smaller venues that serve up amazing local music, then head over to the Red Devil Lounge for The Bruises' CD release party. "We just make music we like, without trying to be a part of any fad or musical trend," says guitarist/singer Jen Black. Now, if you want to see a huge, genuine rock show, then the Editors/Hot Hot Heat/Louis XIV concert at the Warfield, is the place to be. SFist's Krissy saw their 2006 show and said, "Though we’re hard-pressed to find the originality in it, Editors do what they do extremely well." Sounds good enough for us.

Take the jump to see the full listings...

Each Tuesday we will feature new music that should (or whatever) be on your radar.

2. Shelby Lynne - Just A Little Lovin': If you are looking for some music to accompany your romantic evening on Valentine's Day, then look no further. Shelby Lynne's newest release, "Just A Little Lovin'" is exactly what the title entails. Lynne has created a new (somewhat jazzy) twist on several older romantic standards such as, "I Only Want to Be With You" and "The Look of Love." The results are: sexy, sublime and sometimes even a bit steamy. It's the perfect album to accompany any romantic evening, not just Valentine's Day. To watch a livecast of her performance at Amoeba Records in L.A., then watch here, tonight, January 29th, at 7pm. Start your Valentine's Day early - there's no reason to put off a little lovin'.

Take the jump to see what other CD's are coming out today...

Barton Carroll (seen above) will be headlining, on Tuesday, at Hotel Utah. Carroll's new CD, The Lost One, comes out the same day. His genuine, story-telling folk songs creates the perfect North Carolina backwoods' atmosphere of his childhood home. Wednesday, if you are ready for some true rock n' roll, then head over to The Independent to see Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.

Vampire Weekend is back on Thursday. This time, they are taking their over-buzzed, yet still completely lovable, afro-punk music to 330 Ritch Street hosted by the ever-so-hot popscene. Last time, we were at popscene, it was packed. We have a feeling, it will be again. Don't worry if you already bought tickets to The Lovemakers (who we recommended a couple of weeks ago), Vampire Weekend will be back for two nights in March.

For our weekend recommendations and the full weekly listings, take the jump...

Each Tuesday we will feature new music that should (or whatever) be on your radar.

Take the jump to see what other CD's are coming out today...

Why does every radio station go on commercial break at the same time? Is it some sort of conspiracy in which Clear Channel makes it so you won't be able to switch to another station because they’re all doing commercials too? If you were a radio station, wouldn't it make sense to stay on when every other radio does commercials just to lure all the people who flip through channels?

Blazers 109 Warriors 91- So much for all that good mojo gained from the Spurs victory. Playing against one of the hottest teams in the league (Jesus, just think how good the Blazers would be with Oden), the Warriors didn't do much of anything. As the saying goes, or should go, as Davis does so does the Warriors and Davis only scored four points. The Warriors have now lost three out of four, all against Western Conference foes.

-There has been one local franchise that’s been quiet lately so we checked in to see what was happening with the Giants and discovered that well…umm…uh….nothing is going on. Is Sabes on vacation?

-We started watching "Friday Night Lights" over the weekend and we have to say it's a great show. However, the show touches on one of our huge sports movie/tv show pet peeves in that every game features an unbelievable rally consisting of completely unbelievable plays. We hate when that happens and it’s particularly jarring on "FNL" because the show is so realistic in almost every aspect. It's like watching "the Wire" (and yes, we're obsessed about it lately) and having every scene involving the Major Crime Units going after Marlo or Stringer Bell feature a car chase and gun shoot out through downtown Baltimore.

Name

Perfect Machines

Sam Chase – Vocals/Guitar
Ben Corey – Guitar/Vox
Johnny Evil – Bass/Vox
Adam Gooseff – Drums/Vox

Introduce yourself in one sentence:
We are Perfect Machines, you’re welcome.

Age and Occupation
Old enough to know better, not old enough to care.

Each Tuesday we will feature new music that should (or whatever) be on your radar.

Don't be fooled by the juvenile hand-writing or Crayola markers on the cover of this album. This is anything but juvenile. Each song Sia creates an emotional journey - sometimes literal, sometimes metaphorically - where she discovers something very important. The life-saving "Little Black Sandals" lets us see her struggle on starting a new life. She sings, "These little black sandals/Are walking me away/These little black sandals/Saved my life today." Sia travels back and forth between hopeful optimism and deep emotional betrayal. The heartfelt pleas in "The Girl" seem a bit shallow until you realize that the song is really called "The Girl [You Lost to Cocaine]." "No I don't need drama, so I'm walking away/Yeah I am a girl with a lot on her plate." Yikes.

In "You Have Been Loved" her lover walks away and she is left behind feeling empty: "Only sadness remains/And it will pass." This album ends up being emotionally-charged without being superficial and meaningless yet somehow it still remains upbeat. If you missed her last show at the Fillmore, it's okay, she's back in February (the 18th to be exact). Get your tickets now; it was nearly sold-out last time.

Download: "Day Too Soon" and "You Have Been Loved"

For more info on other CD releases, take the jump...

For now, let's focus on Popscene's continued success in picking the perfect bands for their Thursday night soirées at 330 Ritch Street. Though they didn't make the Popscene's Top 20 Hottest Acts, this week it's L.A.'s indie-rock band, Division Day. (Maybe they'll have a chance for next year's list!) Division Day has had a full schedule this year: releasing several awesome remixes including Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence", touring across the country making stops in San Francisco earlier in September and released a new CD entitled, Beartrap Island. They're on a roll and it's time to celebrate their successes; they'll be partying over at Popscene on Thursday.

Saturday includes one of our favorite San Francisco's artists, Persephone's Bees. With the 2006 release of Notes from the Underworld, Persephone's Bees are still gaining a lot of attraction from their quirky Russian-influenced pop music. They just recorded the "Little Boxes" theme song from the hit Showtime TV show, "Weeds" which aired in October. The best part about this is they are opening for The Psychedelic Furs, the punk-rockers from the late seventies into the early nineties. They're back and they are still rocking thirty years later. Damn.

Take the jump for a full listing...