What is scarier than..Minnnessooota? (especially with winter just around the corner?).

Minnesota songwriter, Jeremy Messersmith collaborated, for a second time, with Eric Power, to create a neat little Halloween video for he Messersmith song, A Girl. A Boy. And a Graveyard. Their first collaboration was a 2 minute long summation of the Star Wars Trilogy using only construction paper (and the Messersmith song, Tatoine).


As an added bonus check out the track, Organ Donor, above. There is a video for that but you can use your browser skills to find that one (or click on Messersmith's name above to go to his website).

Hot Sugar ( Nick Koenig) is about to release an ep of his own, Muscle Milk. You can check out a couple of tracks from the release here. One of the two tracks, Color Wars, is available above and it features  vocals by Aaron Livingston (he has sang for The Roots and RJD2). The second track, The Seagull, is also available above

These songs are the first of several that Hot Sugar will be sharing with the public. Of special interest to us, Koenig is also a filmmaker. He will be using those skills to release videos to support Muscle Milk. You can check out these trailers at Hot Sugar's Myspace page.

A full length is scheduled for a 2011 release.

The  Triangular Daisies EP , from Rubblebucket, by came out on Sin Duda Records  October 19), The Brooklyn-based band just released a new video of their song, Came Out of a Lady, which you can see below. The video is directed by drummer, David Cole. The band constructed the set too. They must be very handy folks.

They are also currently out on tour to support the ep. You should check them out if you get a chance. The title track from the ep is also posted above for your perusal.

Juliette Commagere is her second full-length, The Procession today and since she is awesome she is sharing both a remix and the original version of her song, Impact, with the great unwashed masses. Commagere, based in Los Angeles was first in the public eye as the front woman of the glam-esque act, Hello Stranger (why do they still try the glam thing in LA?). Both in the band and solo she has played with a load of acts of all different genres.

This track, and presumably this full length, isn’t about the glam. It defies genres a tad while maintaining a certain, eeriness (appropriate for the season perhaps). Impact isn’t eerie though. Have a listen and check out the remix by Keepaway too.

Ivan & Alyosha put out their latest, Fathers Be Kind, on Missing Piece Records in February. They are offering a free preview of the song, Glorify (above) now, for your perusal.

The band, out of Seattle, follows the band’s debut, The Verse, The Chorus. After the release of the new record keep an ear out for the band on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series.

Those among you who are literate (and what are the odds any of you are?) will note the band’s name comes from Dostoevsky’s Brothers Karamazov one of the many books by the Russian novelist I took a year to read.

Yes, yes I didn’t post stuff for a few days. I know, very bad of me. The robots will be angry. BUT I had other stuff to do. And what better way to return than with a free track from Method of Defiance?

Method of Defiance is Bill Laswell, Bernie Worrell, Dr. Israel, Hawk, DJRush, Toshinori Kondo and Guy Licata. Pretty top notch group of music types no? They have, collectively, worked with everyone from Tool to The Roots, from Laurie Anderson to Herbie Hancock, Tricky and Massive Attack.

The group was formed by Laswell, who always seems to be doing something interesting be it as a bassist, re-mixer, producer etc. I check out anything he has a hand in. I don’t always love it..but it is never boring.

Method of Defiance’s second record, Incunabula, comes out November 6th. A track by the band is above for your perusal. In April, 2011, the band will be releasing a remix project, Dub Arcanum Arcandrum.

Kermit Ruffins releases his latest album, Happy Talk October 26.  He also has performances lined up at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Red Hot + New Orleans in NYC on December 3 and 4. Appearing on this show with Ruffins are a great group of New Orleans musicians including: Trombone Shorty, Dr. John, Ledisi, Partners-N-Crimes, Marc Broussardand Irma Thomas.

Ruffins will also, as we mentioned in an earlier post, be featured with The Roots on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on December 7, in honor of Pearl Harbor Day (I made that last part up).

Happy Talk was produced by Grammy winner, Tracey Freeman and is Ruffin’s first foray into big band music. Check out the track above for a taste. It is about time someone brought back big band!

Tel Aviv-based Monotonix are touring the USA this fall in advance of their 2011 release, Not Yet. The band’s second release, Not Yet, was recorded by Steve Albini and comes out January 25 via Drag City.

You can check out the first single, give me more, from the record above.

The band will be touring for the next three months and have apparently played 800 shows in 4 years, which is a crazy amount of live shows. Two hundred shows a year?

 For more info head to www.monotonix.com.

Breathe Owl Breathe are out on tour to support their latest record, Magic Central (out on Hometapes). This segment of their tour begins October 21 and continues for the better part of a month. They are also offering a track of the record for your perusal, Across The Loch.

Magic Central is also coming out on pink vinyl on October 26 at your fave record store. If you are about the online ordering you can get it at the Hometapes Web Store.

The LP version does include a coupon for MP3 downloads and Breathe Owl Breathe videos.

On the West Coast portion of their current tour, Breathe Owl Breathe will be joined by Little Wings (an artist and songwriter). You can find tour dates on the band website.

Mapanare encourages everyone to vote. You cannot complain about anything if you don’t vote.

And as Ozomatli points out you are not going to get any respect as a group if you do not vote in high numbers—hence offering this track for download at
www.nclr.org (the website for the National Council of La Raza) and www.ozomatli.com.

Both sites also have voter information. When you vote, (and this is not Ozomatli or NCLR talking but me) be educated on who you are voting for. Know what they stand for and for the sake of all that is holy don’t pay attention to advertisements from anyone.