Three is the Magic Numb-a! We're Giving Away Three Copies The Hold Steady's Heaven is Whenever

Here's a poorly kept secret around here: we love The Hold Steady a whole bunch. Their newest record, Heaven is Whenever dropped yesterday and it's really good. And we want you to hear how good it is too, so we're giving away three copies!

Interested? Drop us an email here or leave us a comment below with the name of your favorite Hold Steady song, and we'll choose three people at random. Contest will end Tuesday, 5/11 at midnight, EST. Good luck!

Give a Listen: Touchless (HIW extra track)-The Hold Steady/Buy Heaven is Whenever

Feeling Lucky? Donate to KCRW, Possibly Go See The National in NYC

If you have tuned into the local DC NPR station, WAMU, the last couple of days, you know the recent member drive has begun. Sure they're annoying to listen to, but pledge and member drives are what keep stations like WAMU in business. However, I often wonder who thinks up the giveaways with each pledge; I know they want folks to feel like they're getting something materially tangible perhaps for their $50 pledge, but really, a coffee mug? Me, I'd rather donate and get a thank you note than a mug that cost me $50.

I think perhaps NPR's flagship station for Southern California, KCRW 89.9 FM, which hosts one of the greatest and influential music shows around, Morning Becomes Eclectic, may have just hit on one of better pledge gifts I've seen, at least if you're a music nerd-a chance to win tickets!

“The National Live in NYC Flyaway Sweepstakes" was annnounced today, which is a special sweepstakes for a trip for two to NYC to see The National perform a special benefit concert for the Red Hot AIDS charity on Saturday, 5/15 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in NYC. The winner will fly to NYC on Friday, 5/14 and have two nights at the ACE Hotel in Manhattan. Transportation to the hotel and concert are also included.

Rules and whatnot for the contest can be found here, but the gist of it is this: Anyone who joins, renews or makes an additional donation to KCRW between Tuesday, 5/4 (that's today!) and Friday, 5/7 at noon, will be automatically entered to win. KCRW Star Members, who contribute on a monthly basis, are automatically entered as well. Donations can be done online even (here).

What's also cool? The concert will be webcast live on You Tube and filmed by DA Pennebaker, the man who's directed such legendary movies like Bob Dylan's "Don't Look Back," David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars," and "The War Room," a documentary from the end of Bill Clinton's '92 Presidential Campaign.

To top it all off, KCRW is currently streaming all of High Violet, The National's forthcoming record that's out next Tuesday.

Great stuff all 'round and for a great cause...

Tickets do go sale for the show via the BAM Box Office on Thursday, 5/6.

Give a Listen: Runaway-The National/Buy High Violet

Who Dat? We Dat! A Big Fine Giveaway of CDs from Artists on the Preservation Hall Benefit Record

Day 2-Voodoo Experience Festival, New Orleans, LA (10-31-09)-2511, originally uploaded by BetweenLoveandLike.

The Preservation: An Album Benefitting Preservation Hall and the Preservation Hall Music Outreach Program record came out in February and it was chock full of incredible contemporary musicians doing classic New Orleans songs with the great Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Tom Waits proclaimed "Tootie Ma" to be a big fine thing on it, but what's bigger, as well as finer?? Why free records of course! As a way to say thanks to some of the artists involved, as well as showcase their individual work, our friends at 'Stache Media gave us a package of the latest CDs from seven of those artists to give away. The artists/releases in the package are...

Cory Chisel and The Wandering Sons-Death Won’t Send a Letter
The Del Mccoury Band-Family Circle
Julie and Buddy Miller-Written in Chalk
Steve Earle–Townes
Andrew Bird–Noble Beast
My Morning Jacket–Evil Urges
Jason Isbell–Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit

To be eligible, post a comment below telling us the one thing you like the most about New Orleans, and we'll choose a winner at random. Contest ends Thursday, 4/15 at midnight, EST. (Sorry European friends, US mailing addresses only).

Give a Listen:
Nobody Knows You-Jason Isbell/Buy Preservation: A Benefit Album
'Taint Nobody's Business-Steve Earle/Buy Preservation: A Benefit Album

Celebrate the New Year! The Free Music and Clothing Contest from the Happy Hollows!

"We have finished a difficult year. We have come through a difficult decade. But a new year has come," said President Obama last night in his SOTU speech. And what better way to start off this new shiny year than with free stuff!

One of our Silver Lake favorites, The Happy Hollows started off their new year by putting out their very first full-length record Spells this week. Stripped down and fuzzy guitared up, it's the roar of garagey-shoegaze coupled with the lithesome rock star voice of lead singer/guitarist Sarah Negahdari. And it's good. Real good. Like that first sip of cold beer on a hot day at the beach good. Even that God-on-high Pitchfork gave Spells a 7.2, and Pitchfork doesn't think there are any good indie upstart bands in Los Angeles. Who knew?!

We here knew, and in honor of the Spells release, we are giving away a package of Happy Hollows goodies to celebrate. The package contains your very own copy of Spells on CD and a copy on 7" vinyl, a sticker, and a band t-shirt. Drop us an email at betweenloveandlike at gmail dot com (or just click here) and tell us the latest thing that put you in a "spell." The winner will be announced next Friday.

Give a Listen: Faces-The Happy Hollows

"High Wire," another song from Spells, is also the song you hear on the latest Samsung commercial (!!!).

From Me to You: The Hold Steady "Positive Rage" DVD/CD Giveaway

Recently the nice people at Vagrant Records sent me a copy of A Positive Rage, the new Hold Steady live CD/DVD from the "Boys and Girls in America" tour that comes out tomorrow. And I love it but I've decided to give it to one of my fair readers instead.

Call it paying back karma if you will...a very sweet woman I talked with for about 20 seconds on the plane to SXSW this year was the only reason I made it into the Rachel Ray day party (she and her friend gave me and my friend her badges as they left). The Rachel Ray day party is where I got to see and photograph The Hold Steady at a ridiculously close range (I was catching the sweat of bassist Galen Polivka. Bad thing? Hell no, I mean, have you seen the man? :)) And that ridiculously close range is what garnered me some of the best photographs I think I've ever taken.

I'll go more into the details of this show and the other show I saw/shot them at, the Quack Media day party at Red 7 with my forthcoming SXSW wrap ups, but the long and short of it? I see a lot of music, and saw a lot by this point since arriving in Austin. But The Hold Steady live reminded me that seeing music live can be, and should be, a joyous event. And that's a feeling I think you'll get with this DVD. "Rock and roll salvation coming to a city near you," indeed.

Contest
If you'd like to win this DVD, send us an email (here) and we'll pick one entry at random. Deadline will be this Friday, April 10...call it a celebration of the last fasting day of Lent (woot!)

"A Positive Rage" trailer

And the winners are....

Awhile back, I ran a contest for TV On the Radio swag (vinyl copy of their latest, 'Dear Science,' and a nifty cool poster designed by TVOTR lead singer, Tunde Adebimpe). And, as is sometimes the case, Blogger ate the post and I forgot to redo it.

So! It's high time to post our winners! They are...

Vinyl: Mariana
Poster: Scout

Please send your addresses at Between Love and Like's email address and I'll it along. Thanks for playing y'all.

Shout Me Out: TV on the Radio "Dear Science" (Vinyl) and Poster Giveaway

“I like pop music,” Kyp Malone said in a telephone interview. “I also like the sound of a dying refrigerator. I can listen to that for an hour and a half if I’m in the mood.” (Read this rest of this really excellent piece on TV on the Radio and their new record, "Dear Science" here.)

TV on the Radio/myspace are funny, wicked smart, and a serious force to be reckoned with live. I caught them last week at the Monolith Festival, and was absolutely blown away, both by them and lead singer Tunde Adebimpe's amazing dance moves. I'm here to tell you their long awaited new record, Dear Science, in stores today, will be on everyone's best of lists for this year, you can count on it. So what better way to start giveaways here at Between Love and Like than with some goodies from this eloquent and fabulous band?

Contest:
I am giving away a nifty vinyl copy of "Dear Science, as well as a poster that Tunde Adebimpe designed specifically for the record's release.



If you are interested in either, please leave the following in the comments:
* Which item you are interested in (vinyl or poster)
* How you discovered TV on the Radio

Contest ends Thursday.

A video for one of the first songs off the record, "Golden Age" is below. It's a song with a pop sound reminiscent of Michael Jackson's "Off the Wall" and 70s David Bowie, coupled with funk undertones from that paisley place in Minneapolis. Where the dancing cops are from, however, that's anybody's guess...