We all know that MGMT dropped a rather controversial album, but whether you think that they are visionaries or failed Brookkyn hipsters, you know they always put on a great live show.

April 17 – Indio, CA – Coachella
April 29 – Toronto, ON – The Mod Club Theatre
April 30 – Durham, NH – University of New Hamsphire
May 2 – East Rutherford, NJ – Meadowlands Sports Complex (Bamboozle)
May 28 – San Luis Obispo, CA – Avila Beach Bowl
May 29 – Santa Cruz, CA – Santa Cruz Civic Center
June 1 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
June 2 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
June 4 – Salt Lake City, UT – In The Venue
June 6 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s Bar-B-Q
June 7 – Houston, TX – House of Blues
June 8 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues
June 11 – Denver, CO – Red Rocks
June 13 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theatre
June 14 – Indianapolis, IN – The Vogue
June 15 – Columbus, OH – LC Pavillion
June 16 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore
June 18 – Chicago, IL – Riviera
June 20 – Milwaukee, WI – Riverside Theatre
August 8 – Chicago, IL – Lollapalooza

Last week, Marcus Dowling posted a 3.0 review of MGMT’s newest album, Congratulations, which obviously got a few of y’all riled up. This week, we post a counterpoint from DC indie rock stalwart Spikefish/Indigo Son. Follow @spikefish on Twitter.

For more reasons than I can count on the hands of my future children, I have been waiting for albums that sufficiently take me forward while appealing to the musical purist in me.  I’ve searched for albums that sound indie enough to be daring while sounding credible enough to be trusted and admired. “Congratulations” to MGMT for crafting and recording such a release.  And “Congratulations” to those of you out there who’ve been running thirstily at the mirages other albums have cast (Broken Bells, anybody?) – your wait is finally over.

In a day and age when fans run to amorphous indie sounds because almost all the majors sound like Pearl Jam ripoffs playing 2 hour sets in dive bars where no one orders anything pricier than a PBR thus allowing Sierra Nevadas to age to the quality and taste of a fine scotch; who can blame them for heralding albums that only succeed in delivering a mood.  I personally am not one for mood music. Why?  Because to me its code for “it’s time we made another album so that we can pay off the debts and day care….and we had no melodic ideas.”  What DO I like then?  You guessed it MELODIES DAMMIT!!!!

I live by the old adage, that I should be able to turn your song off and be able to hum it.  And with a few exceptions of the last few years, that has been impossible.  One of those exceptions was MGMT.  Here’s a former indie turned major (with Sony) who has melody (a plus) and doesn’t sound like Daughtry (double plus). Their new album Congratulations, while a long ways from their in-bound pass, 2007’s Oracular Spectacular, is an incredible reverse slam dunk over both defenders – raspy sounding majors and bad flavor of the month indies.

While literally traveling the band’s recording sessions to a mansion in Malibu they’ve time-traveled their sound to the same location, just in 1968.  Elements of classic 60’s era west coast pop buzz, crackle, and ooze through speakers and headphones while subtly nodding to the technological advances we’ve made since.  Ring Modulators, cheese organs and subtly sped-up background vocals greet you on the opening tack “It’s Working” waving at you like an episode of Hawaii Five-0 on a High Definition Plasma television.

It’s so easy to screw up a concept album, but this album so brilliantly avoids those pitfalls by being born of parents who’ve done their homework.  Production quality and appointments are accurate and deliciously excessive at times (the opening of “Someone’s Missing” gets away with more reverb on a falsetto than any non-Bee Gees record made after the original cocaine era should).  With their chameleon-like talents, I have no idea which shade this band will take on next, but I really am glad they stopped on this color for a little while.

On April 13 just buy the damned thing…you’ll be happy.

There have been hints that something big is coming to DC next weekend and here it is. The Kia Soul Collective is rolling through town on September 17th – 20th with performances by Wale, Dan Deacon, and MGMT, and DJs Stereofaith, Nacey, Gavin Holland, Chris Burns and more. In addition, were . More details to come real soon.

In the meantime check KiaSoulCollective.com and follow @kiacollective on Twitter

Thursday, September 17: 6:30 – 10 pm

Media/invite-only launch event / RSVP here !

DJ Set by Dave Nada

Performance by Ponytail

Test-drives all day

DJ sets all day by Stereofaith, Reed Rothchild and Chris Burns

Performance by Wale

Saturday, September 19: 12-8 pm

Test-drives all day

DJ sets all day by Noveau Riche DJs Gavin Holland, Steve Starks, and Nacey

Performances by Dan Deacon & The Creepers

Sunday, September 20:

Test-drives all day from 12-8 pm

DJ set all day by DJ CA$$IDY (GARUTACHI) & Dave Nada

6:30-10 p.m: Doors for MGMT performance; secure tickets after test driving a Kia Soul

Kia Soul Collective Warehouse
3330 New York Ave NE
Washington, DC
Sunday, September 20, 2009
6:00pm – 11:55pm

This year, instead of just having me yap on about my Best of lists, I reached out to several of our readers to give their Top 5 of the best releases of the year. I’ll be profiling a new reader each day until the end of the 2008. Today’s reader is Stephen, who works for an indie label in Brooklyn, NY, and a top reader of the site.

Name: Stephen
Location: Brooklyn

Albums
Portishead- Third
Black Milk- Tronic
Bon Iver- For Emma
No Age- Nouns
Dodos- Visiter

Songs
MGMT- “Time To Pretend”
Kid Cudi- “Day N Night” (honorable mentions to “The Prayer” too)
Big Boi- “Royal Flush”
Busta Rhymes- “Don’t Touch Me”
Lil Wayne- “A Mili” (and its myriad remixes)
Estelle f/ Kanye West- “American Boy”
Terminology f/ Bun B.- “This Is How We Rock”
Jay-Z- “Jocking Jay-Z”
Mr. Oizo- Stunt (Flying Lotus Mix)

Mixtapes
Gaslamp Killer- I Spit On Your Grave
Santogold- Uptown Top Ranking
Zion I- The Search and the Seizure
Beyond The Wizards Sleeve- Ark 1
Kid Cudi- A Kid Name Cudi
Eli Escobar- We Make It Good (Homeless Mix)
Stats & Black- 48 Hours in Transit
J.Rocc- Cooking Ingredients
Cosmo Baker- Live At The Do-Over
88 Keys- Adam’s Case Files

This year, instead of just having me yap on about my Best of lists, I reached out to several of our readers to give their Top 5 of the best releases of the year. I’ll be profiling a new reader each day until the end of the 2008.

Today’s writer needs no introduction. Lady Glock is a fixture on both sides of the Atlantic. Check out her website at ladyglockphotography.wordpress.com.

Name: Lady Glock
Location: Washington, DC
Website: ladyglockphotography.wordpress.com

Top Five (In no particular order)

1. Jerk It – Thunderheist
2. Walking on a Dream – Empire of the Sun
3. Going On – Gnarls Barkley
4. Lights Out -Santogold
5. Day & Nite (Crookers Remix) – Kid Cudi

Runners Up (In no particular order)

1. Magic – Robin Thicke
2. A Milli – Lil Wayne
3. Rolex It Up (The Heatwave Refix) – Beenie Man & Wiley
4. Inna Da Ghetto – Diplo & Buraka Som Sistema
5. Electric Feel – MGMT

Honorable Mention

1. Biko – Bloc Party

Name: Marcus KING KONG Dowling
Location: Greenbelt, MD
Website: True Genius Requires Insanity: http://www.tgrionline.com

So, I got asked by Stone to knock out what I thought were the top five songs of 2008. It’s a hard year to do this, as, if you ask anyone who has forsaken popular music in lieu of the musical revolution online that just EXPLODED this year, yeah. It’s hard. If I wanted to do a “Top Five Songs Art House Hipster Blogophiles Were Playing Off Their iPOD When They Saw that Cute Jenny Lewis Lookin’ Chick At Starbucks,” it’s a far far far different list than the “Comprehensive List of Five Songs That Will Make People Say, That Was The Best Music Anybody, Hipster, Blogger, Old, Young or Otherwise Heard in 2008.” That’s what I take this as, so, let’s go!

Without further ado:

Honorable mentions to TI and Lil Wayne, who made this year excellent, but, were oversaturated. Plus, I want to see if I can do this without their ubiquity.

5. Ne-Yo – Closer: The Smokey Robinson of our era finally has hit his stride as a pop auteur, and is now making a string of hits for himself. Closer was the best of all of them as his voice literally flutters and lands on the track. Beautiful, and oh so amazing.

4. Paper Planes – MIA: THE song of 2008. As in, people who intentionally try to be hip viewed this as their HIP song. You know that douchebag in your office who thinks they know what’s up? Yeah. He just started banging this in 2008. A year too late, asshole! And now it’s Grammy nominated. The song has the best hook I’ve heard in five years. Know who else agreed? The people that made Pineapple Express. People will forget that movie. Know who else agreed, Kanye West. He made a whole different part a great hook. That song, fucking priceless.

3. Electric Feel – MGMT: This song sort of snuck up on me and bit me square in the ass. It’s a song you’ve all heard, and wanted to dance, and wanted to sing, but didn’t know who wrote it or sang it. It’s equal parts eurotrash, funk and 80s power pop, and above all else, a song that made 2008 a lot of fun.

2b. I Kissed a Girl – Katy Perry: It’s such a great great great great pop song. Formulaic as a motherfucker, but with so many people breaking the formula these days, it’s great to have this around. From my own blog: “Controversial. I think not. There wasn’t a more insipid track with a more insipid hook on the radio this year. And sometimes, that’s what we need. Anytime Cobra Starship can make “I Kissed a Boy” and Dirt Nasty can do “She Kissed My Girl,” you’ve got something culturally relevant. Even though the lyrics IN NO WAY support homosexuality, it at least got the issue on the table and allowed gays and lesbians to have a rallying point this year. That’s bold, and that’s wonderful. Plus, it’s a hot little track, too. But yeah. it deserves to be this high.”

2a. Flashing Lights – Kanye West: Yeah. This was the track for me that signified that he was the best MC we’ve ever had. He’s on a Michael Jackson level of genius now, and makes us think. This song definitely shows the cracks that being THE artist of artists in our atmosphere can bring, and was a wonderful entry into the universe he’s in on 808s and Heartbreak.

1. American Boy – Estelle: Perfect in every way. Kanye put vocals on there that didn’t overshadow a brand new artist, and make them seem like AMIL to Ja Rule, if you catch my drift. He instead added to her cache of being important and worth listening to. Unrelatedly, it’s the first time a bespoke suit has EVER been in a song. And, Estelle captures a feeling and mood note perfectly. It’s hip, it’s hot, it’s sexy, it’s funky, it’s pop, it’s soul, it’s hip hop. And it succintly sums up 2008.

DC is getting some fly shows lately! They’re not free like our friends in New York , but I still can’t complain.

Gnarls Barkley at 9:30 Club – August 5th

Show just added today. Gnarls is rocking 9:30 with (er, transvestite fronted) Hercules Love Affair on August 5th. I saw Gnarls at the MCI Center when they opened for Red Hot Chili Peppers, but to see them at a club as small as 9:30 will be a treat. Tickets go on sale today at 10 AM.

Other shows to check out next month:

July 7th – Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, 9:30 Club
July 8th – Rza As Bobby Digital Feat. Stone Mecca, 9:30 Club
July 11th – Platinum Pied Pipers, Black Cat
July 16th – DJ Shadow, 9:30 Club
July 18th – Clipse, Club Five
July 19th – George Clinton And Parliament Funkadelic, 9:30 Club
July 25th – Anthony David, Black Cat
July 28th – MGMT, 9:30 Club

Also, in September:
Sept 21st – Mos Def Big Band, Kennedy Center

Adam Tensta – Dopeboy

I’ve been diggin’ Adam Tensta for a hot minute now, as most of y’all know, and I finally decided to cop his album. Again, there is something in the water in Sweden, which has officially replaced the UK as my go-to country of choice for new music. “Dopeboy,” isn’t what you think. Instead of glamorizing the trap-rap lifestyle, Tensta actually addresses the racism that he and his crew face while trying to enter an all white downtown club. The techno beat is added for irony as a backdrop to the whole mess and the chorus, “Do You Think That I Sell Drugs? plays off the beat perfectly. It’s a creative and clever song, on a great album that keeps it street, yet remains “bling” free.

MGMT – Electic Feel

I first heard of MGMT when the DC hipsters tried to stage a riot cause these dudes played the backstage at the Black Cat and not the larger, upstairs room. I usually don’t buy into Pitchfork hype but MGMT is slowly looking like the real deal. Some of their other songs are a little to pop for my taste, but I have to listen to Electric Feel every morning on the Ipod for some reason.

Justin Nozuka – After Tonight

Last time I checked, I wasn’t a 17 year old white girl from Omaha, so obviously I’m not in the target market for this ish. But there is something about this track that I’m digging. I saw this video at 5 AM on VH1 (you know, the only time they don’t show Flava Flav), and was like “damn!” Sure, this dude is for the John Mayer/Jack Johnson crowd, but I’m a sucker for acoustic soul.

Little Dragon – Constant Surprises

Again, Sweden stays winning right now, and Little Dragon is one of the reasons why. I actually knew about Yukimi Nagaro when she was singing for Koop (check “Wherever there is You” off of their 2006 release). I never knew about Little Dragon until a few months ago, but now it’s on constant rotation on the iPod. Anybody want to help me bring them to DC?

J*Davey – A Dollar or More

I know I go crazy over J*Davey sometimes, but I’m getting pissed that it’s been almost 4 years since I first blogged about these guys and they still are in record label limbo. They are releasing their EPs next month, however, everyone is really waiting for that album to drop, and at last Thursday’s concert, Miss Jack Davey’s announcement that this song, titled “A Dollar or More” is on the new album has whet our appetities even more.

Word is that this song isn’t about sex (mind out of gutter…now) but more about expressing her frustration about the music industry in general. Her screams of “Gimme My Money,” are so appropriate right now.

Bonus: J*Davey – New Song from Couch Sessions on Vimeo.