Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records, one of our favorite indie labels, is packing up shop and moving to Athens, GA... and doing it in some seriously cool style. Mike from HHBTM just confirmed the rumors - in honor of his label relocating, he's hosting a FOUR DAY festival in Athens, from August 4-7, at two different venues... the lineup might just be the most solid we've seen this year, and this should be a DO NOT MISS event if indiepop's your thing. The label is setting up a website for the fest that should eventually exist HERE - the website should provide directions, info on hotels and food, etc. Expand this story ("Read More") to see the full line-up!

Spirituality: the experience or relationship with the empowering source of ultimate value, purpose and meaning of human life producing healing and hope, and is articulated in diverse beliefs and practices of individuals and communities.

Spirituality, as defined above, is not a common trait to the world of indie rock, which often seeks solace in irony and apathy as much as it does in preaching and overcooked melodrama. It's refreshing, then, to hear the articulate musings of C'mon Miracle, Mirah Zietlyn's third album for K records.

There's been a lot of hubbub in the music industry this week surrounding our pal PRINCE. Yep, THAT Prince. It seemed like an odd strategy when the Purple One announced that all fans attending one of the shows on his sold out tour would receive a copy of his new album, "Musicology." Now it's starting to become clear why... it turns out that Soundscan counts every one of those albums as a sale, which helped push "Musicology" to a #3 debut on the Billboard chart. Every time Prince sells out an arena, he's also racking up thousands upon thousands of sales of the record. Some record labels (i.e. all of them that aren't Prince's) are decrying the new practice as chart manipulation along the lines of the $.49 CD single. Other labels are leaping onto the bandwagon, as we've reported earlier that Gomez will be trying a similar strategy on their coming US tour.

Ever been to a great show and wanted to take the gig home in a doggie bag afterwards? Soon, you might just be able to. eMusic is in the process of launching eMusic Live, a service that will allow you to keep hold of your favorite gigs beyond the concert hall. Here's how it works. For $20, you purchase a keychain that contains a small hard drive capable of holding two hours worth of music. As you watch your favorite band play live, a feed goes directly from the soundboard to a machine that encodes the audio into mp3 format. At the end of the gig, you go to a machine in the venue, stick in your keychain and $10, and presto, you've got a legal soundboard-quality recording of the show that you can take home and upload via USB to your computer. Whether both fans and artists will embrace the idea is still up in the air (but we think it's kinda neat.) The first club to have access to eMusic Live will be Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ (who often play host to a variety of stellar bands,) and more are to follow.

SING-SING have issued an internet appeal to their fans. The band (the new project from LUSH's Emma Anderson, in case you've been in a cave for the past couple years) have left their record label and set out on their own to independently record and promote their second album. Trouble is, they don't have enough funds right now to go into the studio and record it!

The band are urging fans to order a copy of their independently-released EP, "Madame Sing-Sing". All proceeds from the sale of the EP will go to fund the studio time required to record the new full-length. Songs are written, producers have been found, now they just need the funding. We won't kid you, the internet appeal issued today sounds a bit dire, with Emma and Lisa saying the future of the band now rests in the hands of its fans. We here at Excellent love Sing-Sing and are huge fans of Emma's, and we strongly encourage you guys to pick up the new EP (it's quite good!) Help save a fantastic band!

One of the nation's most colorful, independently-owned radio stations is in trouble. WOXY (97X) Cincinatti was founded in 1983 and quickly positioned themselves as one of the first modern rock stations in the United States. Last year, WOXY became one of the most vocal stations in the fight to continue broadcasting their feed over the 'net. In January of 2004, however, WOXY announced that the financial backers of the station had sold out to the Dallas-based First Broadcasting Investment Partners, who we'll just call "The Man."

At that time, the managers of the station announced a bold plan - regardless of what format/programming changes were in store for 97X, they planned on continuing WOXY in its original independent format via online streaming ONLY... Sadly, now THOSE plans seem thwarted. A message on WOXY now says that when 97X stops broadcasting in May, the internet stream may now also stop... unless some kind of quick financial resolution comes into play.

The costs of paying internet royalties combined with the cost of maintaining the station's broadband feed will be enough to close the station for good... unless they find a financial backer, and soon. Not that we expect any of you to pony up the dough... but man, if somebody reading this COULD, you could help save and fund one of the only good blips on the radio dial today. In the meantime, go to WOXY and enjoy one of the best stations out there for as long as we continue to have it around.

Former Le Grand Magistery recording artist A GIRL CALLED EDDY, Erin Moran, has signed a record deal with ANTI . The label, which also holds such artists as Tom Waits, Nick Cave and Tricky, will be releasing her debut album on June 21. The record will be self-titled and was produced by former LONGPIGS and PULP guitarist and Richard Hawley in Sheffield.

Moran's voice has been one of the best hidden gems in music for several years now. Her earthy vocal power was shown on her debut EP, "Tears All Over Town," to rival Tracey Thorn, Dusty Springfield or Beth Orton. According to ANTI this record, "eloquently captures the bittersweet-ness of a life seen through a romantic yet crystal-clear lens." Rave reviews have been out for years on Moran's music... "Marrying the smooth tones of soul with the soft flavorings of chamber pop, the debut EP from A Girl Called Eddy is as poignant as it is alluring. [All Music Guide]"

It gets my back up when bands put on a lacklustre performance in the first third of their set, and then yell at the audience for not being engaged. Personally, I think that's cheating. If you have to yell at us to dance, or to come closer to the stage you're cutting corners.

Do you live in New York, Pittsburgh or Columbus? If so, when GOMEZ comes to your town this June you can take buy a "special ticket package" that includes admission to the concert, a copy of the band's new album, "Split The Difference", and an email. An email? Yes... in that email will be a link to three live downloads from the show you saw. Hmm... not a bad idea.

If you don't live in one of those 3 places don't fret yet... this tour could be more extensive than the 3 announced shows and if not the band will be back in July as part of the Lollapalooza tour that will be criss-crossing North America in July and August.

The Village Voice announced today the details for this year's SIREN MUSIC FESTIVAL in New York. The Saturday, July 17 show will feature DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE, BLONDE REDHEAD, HAR MAR SUPERSTAR, TV ON THE RADIO, Constantines, The Fiery Furnaces, The Fever, The Ponys and MANY more bands and DJs that will be announced shortly. The festival will be taking over Coney Island all day, will welcome pop kids of all ages and be totally free (yes, I did say free). Get your tickets now... oh wait, we don't need any! Want your band to play too? You've got until Friday to get a demo in to the powers that be.