Despite the disappointment surrounding rumors of Kid Cudi falling through, there has been a surprisingly high amount of good shows announced around CNY in recent weeks. Acts coming through in April/May now include Sleigh Bells [17], The Hold Steady [18], Matt & Kim [19] and a triple-bill of Passion Pit, Dirty Projectors and Dan Deacon [20]. This is all before you include the Flaming Lips at Cornell (on sale to the general public 2/18) [21] and whoever SU eventually brings to campus this spring.
+ Speaking of Cornell, their programming board is running an open suggestion box for acts and they have a history of leaning towards the indie crowd (in the past 5-6 years they've had The Decemberists, OK Go, Girl Talk, Ra Ra Riot, Death Cab For Cutie, and The Strokes among others). Send in some suggestions [22] and plan on taking the roughly one-hour drive. If you need some acts to get you started, I mean, Phantogram officially released their album to rave reviews last week [23].
+ A couple quick good, legal downloads to note this week. First, Graham Wright of Tokyo Police Club is still offering his side project album entitled NOVELS [24] for free on the official web site (all you need to do is then promise to pass the music along to someone... even Abe Lincoln [25]). Second, Kid Cudi is set to star in an upcoming HBO series and there's an official mixtape [26] to celebrate the launch.
+ Finally, a few quick things to tide you over until the next big interview, concert coverage or podcast here on the Otto-Tune blog.
1) Make your own music online with this cool synth interactive site [27].
2) Read about Snooki interviewing Phoenix [28].
3) Read up on the upcoming releases from Ra Ra Riot [29] or The Strokes [30].
