From our friends at Austinist: “Though you can listen to the upcoming Midlake record The Courage of Others at NPR, we think it’s a lot more fun to get together with friends, have a couple beers, and give away some vinyl when we do a listening party. That’s why we’re teaming up with WOXY again for another listening party at the Scoot Inn on February 2 at the Scoot Inn. Join us!

In addition to the CD and digital album release, the band will release a deluxe edition, featuring a copy of the band’s short film directed by Jason Lee, a double LP, 45 rpm version of the record, a 32-page book and a live CD. We’ll have a few goodies (some vinyl included) for contest winners and much more at the event, so come on out and say hello.”

Visit Austinist to enter to win our vinyl contest.

If you’ve been to Marfa, you’ve got a story to tell. You’re probably always looking for a reason to go back to the vast landscapes and friendly people, back to a place where the sheer beauty of our fair state shines through without hesitation. Everyone loves Marfa, and WOXY is so excited to be a part of the city’s legendary film festival, happening May 5-9. Marfa is a small town alone on a high plateau, a place defined by a history of separation, where life proceeds at its own distinct pace as a harmony of antithesis: cowboy culture and high-art. Designed as a gasp of fresh air, Marfa Film Festival is a retreat far away from the chaotic and competitive environments found on the festival circuit. It’s a get-a-way that is truly WAY out there.

Because Marfa’s wide-open plain, distant mountains and incomparably starry nights are part of the draw, Marfa Film Festival will have outdoor screenings during the festival. Indoor screenings – 30 hours of features, shorts and experimental works – will be anchored at the state-of-the-art Crowley theater. Festival headquarters will be at the famous Paisano Hotel (where James Dean and Elizabeth Taylor lived during the filming of “Giant”).

WOXY will be giving away some day passes to the festival between now and May – email us at woxycontests @ gmail.com with the subject line ‘Marfa’ to be entered to win.

Marfa Film Festival [Official] [Facebook]
May 5th to May 9th, 2010
P.O. Box 999, Marfa, TX 79843
Tickets ($20-$450)
info@marfafilmfestival.org

Oklahoma-based space rockers The Flaming Lips will make their triumphant return to Austin on March 12, performing at the Austin Music Hall. WOXY is proud to let you know that we’ll have a pair of tickets to give away to a couple of lucky listeners.

The Flaming Lips will be touring in support of their latest full-length, Embryonic as well as their collaboration with Stardeath and White Dwarfs with Henry Rollins and Peaches and their version of Dark Side of the Moon. Embryonic has been hailed as a return to form for the band, garnering plenty of praise in 2009. Pitchfork said of the record, “Musically, too, Embryonic leans heavily on the Lips’ formative 60s/70s psych-rock influence (like In a Priest Driven Ambulance’s “Take Meta Mars” before it, Embryonic’s formidable opener “Convinced of the Hex” grooves heavily on Can’s “Mushroom”), but never before has the band recorded an album so unwaveringly sinister, or so devoid of pop-song levity. (Hell, even Zaireeka had “The Big Ol’ Bug Is the New Baby Now”.) Wayne Coyne no longer assumes the role of the endearingly creaky, puppet-toting crooner. Instead, he’s a world-weary fatalist describing scenes of environmental holocaust in a chillingly unaffected monotone on the rampaging “See the Leaves”. Or he’s a cult leader deviously summoning his minions on “Sagittarius Silver Announcement”, before leading them to a fiery demise on the monstrous, stoner-metal onslaught of “Worm Mountain” (featuring fuzzbox-stomping assistance from MGMT). The atmosphere of dread reaches its fever pitch in the album’s spellbinding seven-minute centerpiece “Powerless”, where, over top a coolly ominous bass riff, Coyne’s nervous verses yield to a Syd Barrett-on-Mandrax guitar freak out.”

Tickets on sale Jan. 30. ($35) Email woxycontests @ gmail.com with the subject line “Flaming Lips” to be entered to win tickets.

Fiery Furnaces are hitting the road and heading to Austin to play the Parish on January 28.

In 2009, the brother-sister duo Matt and Eleanor Friedberger released “The End Is Near”, a full length called I’m Going Away and its reworked covers companion Take Me Round Again. They also premiered the video for “Even in the Rain”, featuring the Friedbergers as well as Ted Travelstead (a friend and co-writer of the director Scott Jacobson), Jon Wurster (drummer for Superchunk and the Mountain Goats and part of the brilliant radio comedy team Scharpling and Wurster), Jason Loewenstein (bassist for The Fiery Furnaces and also a member of Sebadoh) and of course John Oliver (Daily Show).

The band didn’t make it to Austin on their last round of shows, so we’re happy to be presenting their show here in Austin together with Austinist and The Onion. Send an email to us at woxycontests @ gmail.com with the subject line ‘Fiery Furnaces’ to be entered to win a pair of free tickets to the show.

Vampire Weekend will release their sophomore effort, Contra on January 12, 2010 on XL.. To celebrate, WOXY and Austinist are hosting a listening party at the Scoot Inn here in Austin on that Tuesday at 8 p.m. We’ll also be giving away a handful of “Cousins” 7″s and an exclusive remix bonus CD. Waterloo Records will be on-hand selling copies of the record, so you can listen and take home all at once!

To enter to win a Cousins 7″ or bonus CD, RSVP at woxycontests @ gmail.com with the subject line “Contra”. You’ll be notified the day of the listening party if you’ve won – you’ll be able to pick up your prizes at Scoot Inn.

Watch the video for “Cousins”.
Share the Facebook event.
More hints at Ithinkuracontra.com.

Track listing after the jump.

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Austin Psych Fest 2, a film documenting 2009’s Psych Festival, is being released on DVD. Join us for a screening at Christmas Cacophony, happening Dec. 19 at the Mohawk. The movie will screen at 8 p.m. and will be on sale at the event. The music starts after the movie.

Produced by Alta Real Pictures and directed by Oswald James the DVD features performances by A Place to Bury Strangers, Dead Meadow, The Black Angels, and more. Extra Features include additional festival performances and a documentary on Sky Sunlight Saxon, of the legendary 60s rock group the Seeds, and his last band The World Spirits.

Live music and mind-expanding visuals courtesy of Shapes Have Fangs, Viet Minh, Horse + Donkey and The Ghost Songs. We’ve had our eyes on Shapes Have Fangs for a while, watching their sound evolve into what it is today: a brightly lit homage to the Kinks and all that’s good about psych pop, topped off by a riveting live show. The rest of the lineup is equally strong — we’re particularly pleased to see Horse + Donkey on the bill, considering we thought we saw their last show sometime in 2008.

WOXY, Sailor Jerry’s and Laced with Romance are proud to sponsor this incredible event. Cost is just a mere $5, and the event includes a Holiday Photo Booth and Vintage Fashion Boutique. For a chance to win a pair of free tickets, email us at woxycontests @ gmail dot com and use the subject line “Christmas”.

You might have been with us during ACL weekend when we presented Broken Social Scene at the Seaholm on a grand outdoor stage, but if you missed it, you’ve got another chance to check out this truly impressive space for New Year’s Eve. We’re partnering with Rare Events to bring you Flosstradamus, Car Stereo (Wars) and our own Matt Shiv doing DJ sets inside the gorgeous art deco Seaholm power plant.

Ticket price includes bountiful hors d’oeuvres & treats from Austin’s best restaurants throughout the night, as well as complimentary champagne and a cash bar for cocktails & beer. Comfortable lounges, brilliant light shows with a LED video board countdown, the best view of the downtown fireworks, and the best dance party in the southwest are just a few of the amenities at Seaholm.

Flosstradamus, the oft-mentioned Chicago DJ duo comprised of J2K (Josh Young) and Autobot (Curt Cameruci) have been dominating the party scene nationwide with their tag-team DJ sets (3 turntables, 2 mixers) for just over a year and show no signs of slowing down. Both established DJs in Chicago prior to their alliance as Flosstradamus, J2K and Autobot initially linked up while DJing a house party together in 2005, decided to start performing as a duo, and the rest is history. Gathering vast influences from their respective backgrounds in punk and hip-hop, Flosstradamus brought normally divided crowds together with their unique mixes of Baltimore club, hip-hop, house, obscure remixes, and juke. A monthly party soon followed (“Get Outta The Hood”) at Chicago’s Town Hall Pub, and within a year Flosstradamus turned a stagnant bar into the proverbial place-to-be, lines stretching down the block while sweaty kids crowd surf and get down inside. National press soon began to take notice, with features in URB (“Next 100 for 2006”), MTV (featured in “My Block”), and The Fader. Other recent accolades of note include 2006 appearances at SXSW, CMJ, Pitchfork Festival, Pop Montreal, parties for VICE, The Fader, Jane Magazine, DKNY, URB, and Puma, not to mention performances with Clipse, Common, and Rick Ross.

In the coming year, Flosstradamus plan to show off the rest of their multifaceted talent. Coming soon will be a full length Flosstradamus LP with J2K and Autobot on production duties, a mixtape with up and coming rappers The Cool Kids, and a European tour with A-Trak and Kid Sister.

Mash-up DJ Chris Rose performs as Car Stereo (Wars) throughout the trendiest dance spots, where he delivers a pop culture buffet by pulling together interesting, high-energy song combinations that keep sweaty dancers on their feet. As the Statesman described him, Car Stereo (Wars) is a one man Big Bang, mash-up maestros like Girl Talk and Diplo, his full length, The Bandit, is the perfect party-starter better than anything your iPod Shuffle can dish out on its own.

Live at Seaholm: 2010 Uncorked
December 31, 3009 – 9:00 – 3:00 a.m.
With: Flosstradamus // Car Stereo (Wars) // SHIV
Buy your tickets here.
Email us at woxycontests @ gmail dot com for your chance to win a pair of tickets!

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Blakroc is a brand new rap rock collaboration album by Ohio-based blues rock band The Black Keys and several hip-hop and R&B artists. The project has been overseen by Damon Dash, co-founder and formerly owner of a share in Roc-A-Fella Records. Its contributors will be Raekwon, RZA and the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard of the Wu-Tang Clan; Jim Jones, formerly of The Diplomats, and NOE, formerly a DipSet affiliate; Mos Def; singer Nicole Wray; Pharoahe Monch; Southern rapper Ludacris; Billy Danze, one half of M.O.P.; and Q-Tip, formerly of A Tribe Called Quest.

We’ll be listening to the record at Waterloo Records (6th & Lamar) Wed., Dec. 2 at 5 pm. Food provided by Austin Pizza. Join us and RSVP for a chance to win a copy of the CD (must be present on Dec. 2 to win).

From now through the New Year, we’re pleased to offer up the WOXY HOLIDAY MIXER! This special collection features hundreds of seasonal tunes and is filled with unique renditions of your holiday favorites by modern rockers from around the globe. We have a little bit of something for everyone. You’ll hear modern rock faves like Sufjan Stevens, Belle and Sebastian, My Morning Jacket, The Flaming Lips, and Yo La Tengo heavily featured in the music mix along with some things you might not expect (like tracks from “A John Waters Christmas”, Pee Wee Herman, or Spinal Tap).

To balance out all the modern rock tunes, we have a nice mix of classic tracks from artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and James Brown. You’ll also hear some of these truly vintage artists get a more contemporary spin off of compilations like the new “Verve Remixed Christmas” CD. To round things out a little more, we’ve also included some tunes about winter, snow falling, and the month of December, mainly because we know you can only hear “Jingle Bells” so many times…

A lot of the tracks we selected are out-of-print or hard to find and we had a lot of fun rounding them all up for you. We hope you enjoy the WOXY Holiday Mixer, and all of us at WOXY wish you a safe and happy holiday season!

Beginning November 27, WOXY will be at Stubb’s Jr. for our local residency series. The kick-off to it all is Thanksgiving weekend with The Tunnels and Neon Indian, fresh off his Fun Fun Fun Fest performance.

Neon Indian’s Psychic Chasms has garnered praise from all over, and his live show has blossomed into one of the most notable on the tour circuit. His other outfit, Vega, is also still in full effect, keeping Texas-raised Alan Palomo and his visual affects artist Alicia Scardetta busy. The nostalgic indie pop mixed with fuzzed-out psychedelics fuse effortlessly throughout the record, and we just know that the intimate stage at Stubb’s indoors will be a perfect showcase for the visual and aural experience of Neon Indian.

The Tunnels just released a 7″ on Austin’s Super Secret Records and will be featured on an upcoming episode of Local Lixx Austin. Their blend of psych-daze music is a perfect compliment to Palomo’s hazy sounds.

RSVP to our Facebook event for a chance to win free tickets to the show. We’ll contact a winner on November 25.