Here's a new animated video for M. Ward's "Rave On" -- his crazy Buddy Holly cover -- the second single off his cool album, Hold Time. Ward has just added some new dates to his summer tour, so make sure you check him out if he comes to your area--you won't be disappointed!

M. Ward Dates:

Apr. 17 - Indio, CA - Coachella
Apr. 18 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre
Apr. 19 - Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theatre
Apr. 20 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater
Apr. 22 - Tulsa, OK - Cain’s Ballroom
Apr. 23 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown
Apr. 24 - Milwaukee, WIK - Pabst Theater
Apr. 25 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
Apr. 26 - Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre
Apr. 27 - Toronto, ON - The Phoenix Theatre
Apr. 28 - Montreal, QC - Le National
May 16 - Oakland, CA - Fox Theatre

May 18 - Visalia, CA - Fox Theatre
May 22 - Eugene, OR - McDonald Theater
May 23 - George, WA - Sasquatch Music Festival
Jul. 23 - Salt Lake City, UT - Twilight Concert Series
Jul. 27 - Athens, GA -40 Watt
Jul. 28 - Nashville, TN - Cannery Ballroom 
Jul. 30 - Washington, DC - 930 Club 
Aug. 01 - New York, NY - Summerstage

Here ya go, fellow Wilco fans. This is the trailer for Ashes of American Flags, their first live concert DVD. Ashes features footage from Wilco's February '08 tour, including gigs at Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa, the Ryman in Nashville and some shots of the guys in their sweet Nudie Suits from Lollapalooza.

The DVD comes out on April 18th. Head here for more info. 

Paul McCartney made an appearance on last night's Colbert Report to plug his awesome new Fireman album, and we have to admit, that Stephen Colbert has got some balls! 

The two trade shots back and forth. McCartney saying he's never watched Colbert's show, Colbert retorts by admitting he's never heard any of Paul's music. Somehow Colbert manages to get McCartney to admit Ringo is his favorite Beatle, and that the Dalai Lama may turn to cannibalism in an emergency.

Pretty funny.

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 [Video: Pete Maiden/Eric Helton; Editing by Pete Maiden]

Joseph Arthur & The Lonely Astonauts - "Temporary People"

One of our favorite singer-songwriters, Joseph Arthur, was kind enough to drop by the S.S. to play a few songs, and he brought his band the Lonely Astronauts with him.

One of the most prolific writers around, Arthur was discovered in the early '90s by Peter Gabriel, and signed to Gabriel's label, Real World Records. His debut album, Big City Secrets, was released in 1997 and was followed by the Grammy-nominated EP, Vacancy, in 2000. Since then, Arthur hasn't slowed down. He's released 11 EPs and has just cut his seventh full-lengh album, Temporary People. He's loved by contemporaries like Ryan Adams, Lou Reed and Michael Stipe, who covered Arthur's "In the Sun" for Hurricane Katrina victims. Also a talented painter, Arthur had his own art gallery in Brooklyn before being evicted in September '08.  

Arthur is playing a couple of shows this weekend at the Bell House in his current hometown, Brooklyn, with Harper Simon opening, before shipping off for a mini-tour of France in March.

JA&LA were nice enough to play four tracks off their latest release, Temporary People. Check out the title track above, and click the jump for "Dead Savior," "Turn You On" and "Faith."

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Oh, and speaking of Fleet Foxes, how unbelievably brilliantly amazing were they on Saturday Night Live?!

(Too bad Rosario Dawson can't act, or it could have been one of the greatest SNL's ever!)

Check out "Mykonos" and "Blue Ridge Mountains."

Fleet Foxes - "Mykonos"

Fleet Foxes - "Blue Ridge Mountains"

This new video from Antony & the Johnsons, "Epilepsy Is Dancing," is pretty incredible.

The clip was produced by the art collective AFAS, which includes the Wachowski Brothers, the dudes behind The Matrix.

"Epilepsy Is Dancing" appears on A & the J's brilliant new disc, The Crying Light, out now.

The Ting Tings - "Great DJ"

[Video: Pete Maiden/Eric Helton; Editing by Pete Maiden]

A couple weeks ago we had the pleasure of having English pop duo the Ting Tings up in the Smoking Section for an awesome performance. 

When we originally posted the videos we also announced that whoever sent us the most awesome note on why they loved the Ting Tings would win two special prizes, a drumhead autographed by Katie and Jules, as well as a vinyl copy of their debut, We Started Nothing! 

We got amazing letters from all over the world -- from Spain to England to Canada to the Phillipines. We will forward all of your kind notes to the Tings, who will certainly be blown away by the creativity and love.

But there can only be one winner... Congrats to S.S. reader Crecencia Jasso, who wrote, in part:

"Their song, 'That's Not My Name,' is the story of my life... My whole life people continually try to call me by other names like Chris, CC, CJ, Chencha, Chrissy and I've always said, 'That's not my name!'"... I've spelled it out for people, but it seems like they can't get it right."

Now, when people fuck up her name, she just sings the Ting Tings:

"They call me hell, they call me Stacey, they call me her, they call me Jane. That's not my name, That's not my name..."

Crecencia adds, "Oh and also their CD is FANTASTIC!" 

Stay tuned for more exclusive gifts from the S.S.!   

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What an incredible inaugural ceremony. Seeing the Mall filled with millions, and hearing our new Prez's inspirational words gives us all hope for the future.

One aspect of the ceremony we were looking forward to the most was Aretha Franklin's rendition of "My Country, 'Tis of Thee."

'Reeth can do no wrong. Nobody could have brought as much grace, dignity and power to the ceremony.

We don't want to sound like ungrateful bastards, but... we thought the arrangement of "My Country" kinda sucked. 

The first two verses were dope, but then Aretha's voice was muddled by too many strings and overwrought instrumentation.

We would've preferred her to do it without so much accompaniment. And all the "Rings" at the end were a tad redundant. And Aretha only got three minutes to sing! If she'd gotten four or five, she would have brought the whole house down.

The happy ending, of course, is that we have a new President.

What did you think about "My Country, 'Tis of Thee"?