Adam "MCA" Yauch

PARK CITY -- Festival goers may not have noticed it, but Sundance seems to be the first stop of many in  promoting the Beastie Boys' new album. Thankfully for Adam "MCA" Yauch, it coincides with one of his other favorite pastimes.

Shorts Program I premiered last night at the Sundance Film Festival, and in it was the 30-minute short film "Fight For Your Right Revisited," written and directed by the Beastie Boy, out through his Oscilloscope Laboratories. And half an hour was just enough time to preview three tracks from the hip-hop veterans' "Hot Sauce Committee Part 2": "Too Many Rappers" featuring Nas, "Make Some Noise" and "Say It.

Of course, the former has been around for couple years now, released as a single and even garnering a Grammy nomination.

But the other two hadn't gone wide -- until now.

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Low

Credit: Sara Kiesling

After a four year wait, Low are prepared to release another new effort, titled "C'mon." Sub Pop drops it on April 12, with tour dates forthcoming.

It's the follow-up to 2007's "Drums and Guns," and upon a couple listens, think less guns. Think more healing than aching, maturing rather than ominous. But, considering it's slow-core, shoegaze Low, of course there's still that good old ache. Slow-builder "Nothing But Heart" alone will put you in that lonely but happy place.

"With the last couple of records, we were grappling with something outside of ourselves," said frontman Alan Sparhawk in a statement. "This one feels more like, 'Well, forget that. I'm looking in your eyes right now, and we need to figure out how to get through the next moment, together, as human beings.'"

For this one, the Minnesota-based band returned to Sacred Heart Studio, built out of an old church, to take advantage of the vaults and natural reverb. Amen.

This is working for me on a number of levels, including the fact that last night it was seven degrees here in Park City, Utah, and Spring is far, far away. Let's just say "C'mon" is gonna be that first crack of melt come April.

From "Beats, Rhymes & Life"

Underneath the a firm base of snow in Park City, a hotbed of hip-hop is warming up for Sundance.

The festival this year will be featuring a number of films, performances and soundtracks with a hip-hop, rap and urban music bent, including a documentary on A Tribe Called Quest, appearances from Beastie Boys and a killer "Mixtape" with a score from The Roots' Questlove.

"Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest" as previously reported, turns the lens on the rise and fall of ATCQ, with Michael Rapaport helming. Not only will artists like Kanye West, Nas and De La Soul be providing some commentary on the troupe's influence, but producer and MC Madlib was on hand to compose the score and Peanut Butter Wolf was in charge of music supervision.

Check out stills from the documentary here.

Another doc, "Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975" focuses in on the Black Power movement in America during that year span, but has powerful contemporary voices with and behind the story. Questlove of The Roots is composing the score, and commentary from Black Star rapper and solo artist Talib Kweli and firey R&B/Urban singer Erykah Badu will feature.

And, of course, we've been eager to see Adam "MCA" Yauch take the stage to discuss his film short "Fight For Your Right Revisited." The star-studded film appears to have grown even star-studlier these days. Elijah Wood, Danny McBride and Seth Rogen are confirmed to play the Beastie Boys in part of the clip, with Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly and Jack Black on board to play the trio in another part.

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The Decemberists, "The King Is Dead"

Credit: Capitol/EMI

While a lot has been made of “The King Is Dead” being a more country or Americana-leaning set, the ‘90s guitar rock makes quite an appearance, too. Particularly on “Down By the Water” (hey jealousy?) and “Calamity Song,” frontman and songwriter Colin Meloy allowed for a specific showcasing of R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck, doing what he does.

Buck’s contribution (or perhaps Chris Funk’s) on “This Is Why We Fight” really ties the room together and makes for one of the best songs the Decemberists have ever made. The drumming is tight; the chugga chug of acoustic properly preps the listener for this tiny war, capped by a fireside postmortem from Gillian Welch.

And it’s Welch’s voice that helps make this album stand out as more than wallflower music. Opener and single “Don’t Carry It All,” sweetened with tittering mandolins and harmonica, feature simple harmonies from the alt-country great, like a good omen that hangs over the rest of “King.”

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"Blue Valentine"

Way, way back last January I had pulled out "Blue Valentine" as one of my favorite Sundance Soundtracks. Why? Not only did indie fave Grizzly Bear leave their mark (ew) all over that thing, but Ryan Gosling actually sounded exquisite in the film, singing pop tunes from the '50s.

Now the film has gone wide(r) after a long battle with the Rating Appeals Board -- going from NC-17 to R -- and more folks are seeing just how sad is. But hey! On the bright side, more exposure for them Bears and Daniel Rossen's Department of Eagles.

Lakeshore, which works in tandem with the film company of the same name, will drop "Blue Valentine" on Feb. 1.

There are no previously unreleased Grizzly Bear songs on here, but some alternate versions. And Gosling's appropriate cover of "You Always Hurt the Ones You Love."

Fun fact: when I asked Gosling at Park City last year if he was planning on taking his mad vocal and ukelele skills wide, he laughed it off and offered up young Matilda Ledger -- real-life daughter to co-star Michelle Williams -- as the real musical talent. See you in 20, kid.

Here is the tracklist to the "Blue Valentine" soundtrack:

1. Granny Dinner - Grizzly Bear
2. In Ear Park - Department of Eagles
3. Easier (Instrumental) - Grizzly Bear
4. Lullabye (Instrumental) - Grizzly Bear
5. I Live With You (Instrumental) - Grizzly Bear
6. Foreground (Instrumental) - Grizzly Bear
7. Dory (Instrumental) - Grizzly Bear
8. You Always Hurt The Ones You Love – Ryan Gosling
9. You and Me – Penny & the Quarters
10. Shift (Alternate Version) - Grizzly Bear
11. Alligator (feat. Zach Condon, Dave Longstreth & Amber Coffman) [Choir Version] – Grizzly Bea
12. Easier - Grizzly Bearr
13. Lullaby – Grizzly Bear
14. I Live With You - Grizzly Bear
15. Foreground - Grizzly Bear
 

The Dodos

The Dodos' last two albums have been incredible, so I'm quadruple-y excited for the third. Particularly since Neko Case appears to be involved.

"No Color" will be out on March 15 via Frenchkiss, who insanely continue to put out solid records, damn them. Alt-country standout Case is singing on about half the set, according to FrenchKiss.

This is after the San Francisco-based band has gone back to being a guitar/voice and drums duo, losing the vibraphonist the helped out on their last "Time to Die." Instead, expect a '90s comeback. Welcome to the twenty-teens

“I have a love for ‘90s riffs that I haven’t gotten to showcase in this band,” said singer/guitarist Meric Long in a release. “The most fun I had with this record was when I got to strap on the electric guitar and come up with Billy Corgan riffs while the tape was rolling.”

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Black Keys on "Colbert Report"

This holiday shopping season, in particular, you may have noticed the abundance of commercials sporting an indie-rock soundtrack. Two of the most spirited contributors -- the Black Keys and Vampire Weekend -- earned their public due for the feat on "Colbert Report" last night, as Stephen Colbert had Ezra Koenig, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney had a little chat at the Comedy Central studio.

The Grammy Award-winning host was parsing through his own 2011 Grammy ballot, musing the past winners behind "screwing on your lunch break" ("Afternoon Delight") and "touching Justin Bieber" (a current best new artist nominee).

And then the battle for best alternative album was staged. Literally. Colbert forced Koenig from Vampire Weekend and Carney and Auerbach from the Black Keys into a "sell-out-off" -- combatants who had "equally whored out your music."

Let's just say the ultimate face-off involved "Holiday," "Girl Is on My Mind," a baseball bat, chains, a crowbar and the Recording Academy president.

[Check out the video after the jump...]

Cake's "Showroom of Compassion"

The good news, Cake fans, is that the band is still up to its old tricks. The bad news is, it feels like bad news. 

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Cover for Kanye West and Jay-Z's "H.A.M."

It's kind of nice that when Kanye West says he's gonna do something, he's actually done it. A 30-minute mini-film for "Runaway?" A collaboration with Justin Bieber (sigh)? Solid Getting Out Our Dreams (G.O.O.D.) signees and a G.O.O.D. Friday release every week leading up to his album release last year? Check, check, check, check.

When he boasted of a forthcoming EP -- and then a full-length album -- with Jay-Z, I'll admit I doubted. But this thing, "Watch the Throne," just got a lot more real.

As previously reported, Ye and Hov plotted a single release for today, and I'll be damned, they're trying hard. "H.A.M." is raucous and urgency, bursting with paranoia when those choral voices jump in, dripping with bravado when both rappers are released from their respective cages with some of the same *rowr* they harnessed in "Monster" from West's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy."

But -- hear this -- West's nasally "haaaam" on the chorus sounds downright silly, a made-up acronym for "hard as a motherfucker," as bleating, double-time beats, a full string-orchestra and instrumental interludes force "Transformers" level of mechanized drama. It makes me take the thing less seriously, but I don't blame producer Lex Luger, who's signature move is those gargantuan peaks. Jay-Z seems to have more fun with his rhymes, so maybe it's just West you makes it sound like he's the only one who thinks he's got something left to prove.

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Abigail Washburn and writing partner Kai Welch

Abigail Washburn’s new album “City of Refuge” isn’t any one thing, but a montage of American(a) songwriting styles, from the soft-rock of “Chains” to the dots of bluegrass and old-timey music weaved between folk traditional and country structures. And Washburn’s natural diction and whirring voice is its leader. 

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