It’s that time of year again.

Year-end best-of lists will be popping up all over the internet and magazines this month, with varying opinions on who had the best record, song, music video, live show, etc. etc.

The music-related website Pitchfork, however, is offering music fans the opportunity to pick their favorites in their annual Readers’ Poll. And a few local acts have made their longlist of nominees in a couple of categories. Chapel Hill country-rock band band Spider Bags are nominated for Best New Artist.

Raleigh’s own experimental folk group Megafaun’s fantastic second record, Gather, Form & Fly, is nominated for Most Underrated Album.

Chapel Hill guitar heroes Polvo are up for Best Reunion/Comeback.

And last, but certainly not least, Greenville ex-pats Future Islands, who also recently signed to Thrill Jockey, are up for Best Hope For 2010. So take a few minutes off from whatever you’re doing to waste time at work and head over to 2k9survey.pitchfork.com and help support some fantastic, home-grown music.

And while we’re on the subject of nominations, North Carolina hip-hop and soul group The Foreign Exchange have been nominated for a Grammy for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for the track “Daykeeper” off of their recently released sophomore effort Leave It All Behind. Durham-via-Mali kora player Mamadou Diabaté is also up for Best Traditional World Music Album for his record Douga Mansa.

Interpol Courtesy of Rolling Stone

1. Interpol has announced its follow-up to the 2007 album, “Our Love’s to Admire,” will be released sometime next year. When asked about how the album will sound, drummer Sam Fogarino said, “The new record falls back towards the first.” Although no exact dates, track listing, or title have been released, it is described as being closer in the overall sound to their debut album. (via Paste)

2. Future Islands has signed to the label Thrill Jockey. Next year they will release their sophomore album “In Evening Air” on the label. Currently, the band is touring down the east coast and will play at Local 506 in Chapel Hill on Saturday, November 21. (via Pitchfork)

3. Rogue Wave has announced its fourth album titled “Permalight” will be released next year. This is the first album since 2007’s “Asleep at Heaven’s Gate,” and they will follow-up the Spring release of their next album with a tour, including a stop at Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro. (via Pitchfork)

4. Iggy Pop and the Stooges are set to play its iconic 1973 album “Raw Power” at New York’s music festival, ATP. This is apart of the “Don’t Look Back” series, where bands play a classic album of theirs in its entirety. This news comes early, due to the fact that ATP won’t begin until Labor Day weekend, next year. (via Pitchfork)

5. The Cribs are set to have their first North American tour with guitarist Johnny Marr. The band will be touring their new album “Ignore the Ignorant” at 14 venues starting in January. (via NME)

Only something so important and profound could bring me out of my food science/chemistry induced blogging slumber the day before a microbiology exam: Troika Music Festival.   Not only is this the biggest and baddest three- day long local music extravaganza in North Carolina but this is the best line-up they have ever had.  I just had to wet my paws on this one.

Troika this year is just not fair.  It’s not fair at the amount of awesome shows the will be happening and the amazing bands that will be playing each day.  It isn’t fair because there is only one of me.  I want to be at every show and hear every song by all the bands playing.  I hate you Bonnaroo Troika, yet, I love you.

Because I can’t be everywhere at once, I have mapped out the path I will try to take as I wind my way around downtown Durham to every show.   The weather might be a tad chilly but it should be nice enough to walk or ride your bike around downtown Durham and enjoy all the shows you can. This listing is just where I plan to be (subject to change). Feel free to modify my path and comment below.

Adam’s Top Troika Bands of 2009
1. Mount Moriah 2. Luego 3. Megafaun 4. Schooner 5. Caltrop 6. Pistil 7. All Your Science 8. Birds and Arrows 9. Future Islands 10. The Tender Fruit

Thursday Night
7 p.m.
Of course I will be starting off Troika as I did last year: Broadcasting on WKNC live from the Festival Kickoff in Durham Central Park.   The Beast is going on first, followed by Megafaun. If you don’t make this, you don’t like local music.

8:30 p.m.
After the Festival Kickoff this gives me plenty of time to walk on over to the Durham Performing Arts Center for one of my favorite up-and-coming band, Ghost Cats of the South.  This new folky sounding indie group from Durham caught my ears over the summer with their demo and I have yet to see them live, though I have yet to hear a bad thing.

9:45 p.m.
For the next hour I have to head over to the Pinhook for House of Fools and Aminal.  Aminal played LBLB a while back and wowed the audience as well as myself.  Plus, I have had their two EPs they put out earlier this year on constant rotation in my house.

10:45 p.m.
Since I saw Max Indian last Friday, and I saw Bowerbirds before its members left for Europe a couple of weeks ago I am going to drop back by the Duke Coffeehouse to catch the last two shows there for the night.  EAR PWR and Future Islands are two bands my feet have been craving recently. (I will make it up to The Moaners somehow).

Friday Night
If I didn’t have a radio gig (The Local Beat, people!) on Friday I would probably be heading to The West End Wine Bar from 7 to 8:30 p.m. for what could be one of the best shows of the night.  Tea and Tempests, Liza Kate, and Birds & Arrows back-to-back-to-back.  I’ll try not to think about what I am missing there for what should be a chilled-out good time, especially since I have not heard Tea and Tempests before.

8:45 p.m.
I saw the Huguenots fairly recently, otherwise I would be hitting them up at the Trotter Building.  Instead I am going to drop by The Pinhook to see The Scientific Superstar.  Probably one of the stranger groups in the area (they base their songs off of the comic books that go along with their albums) I have yet had the pleasure to see what they do in front of a crowd.

9:45 p.m.
Jews and Catholics are always a must for me when they play in Raleigh (which isn’t often enough) so I am sure to swing by Broad Street Cafe for the first time in ages. Depending on how far I mind walking, I also wouldn’t want to miss Brett Harris either who is playing at the same time at the Trotter Building.  Decisions, decisions…

10:15 p.m.
Assuming that my hearing is almost gone by this point, I may have to skip Caltrop, which is still ringing in my ears from the last time they melted my face off and stop by the Duke Coffeehouse instead for the Pneurotics.  Even though I interviewed them about their latest release, Second Skin, I have not had the time to see them live when they have played.  I can’t wait to hear the new songs in front of an audience that includes more than just me.

11 p.m.
I Was Totally Destroying it has been playing A LOT recently and  sounds tighter than ever.  Plus, I am always down to hear some more of their new tracks from Horror Vacui.

11:30 p.m.
My last show before I call it a night will be to see All Your Science who is playing late night at Bull McCabe’s.   I havn’t seen them since Troika last year when they completely won me over.  It’s been too long.

Saturday
Assuming that my beloved Wolfpack are not getting destroyed early by Maryland on Saturday it seems unlikely I will be leaving the game at Carter Finley early.  If I did however, I would NOT miss Mount Moriah (playing at 2:30 at the Trotter Building), possibly my favorite band in the Triangle right now.  You have got to hear them.

9 p.m.
The Bronzed Chorus put out one of my favorite albums of 2009 with I’m The Spring and I have never seen them live.  I hear they really put on a good live show though so I will be getting over to the Trotter Building first and foremost to watch them play Saturday evening.

9:45 p.m.
Once the Bronzed Chorus is done I will be sticking around to watch Maple Stave.  Though I would love to see Veronique Diabolique since I couldn’t make it to their show last weekend.  This could be a tossup.

10:30 p.m.
I just saw Schooner last Friday (who completely ruled) and I have seen them probably more than any band in North Carolina, so instead I will be going to Luego for the second time in as many weeks.   Luego is just one of those bands I cannot get enough of.

11:30 p.m.
The Butterflies are one of those bands I just have never been able to get around to seeing live.

12:15 a.m.
Pistil is by far the best band playing late on Saturday and one I havn’t been able to see in quite some time as well.  I will be ending my night at Bull McCabe’s once more to round off Troika.

For video footage of Troika bands, check out WRAL’s entertainment vlog.

The Troika Music Festival is a three-day music festival in Durham, NC and features several local bands. Attending is a great way to support the local scene!

Local bands on this year’s line-up include The Love Language, Bowerbirds, Dexter Romweber Duo, Birds of Avalon, The Moaners, Red Collar, Future Islands, Hamer No More The Fingers, Lonnie Walker, Embarrassing Fruits, Max Indian, and many more. For a complete list, check out the schedule!

New this year is “Rock, Paper, Scissors”, on Saturday, November 7, from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., which features a unique market of art and handmade wears from local artists and crafters.

Come out to support the local music and arts scene November 5,6, & 7.

Brian Corum of Lonnie Walker

Brian Corum, front- man for everyone’s favorite Lonnie Walker, has graciously given us his top song list this week.

Make sure to check out Lonnie Walker September 5 at Local Beer Local Band at Tir Na Nog with Americans in France and Anti Bubbles.

“I couldn’t put any kind of order to this list so these are just 10 of my favorite jams right now,” Corum writes.

2. Girls – Lust for Life
“This song is ridiculously catchy and the first line is a guy singing, ‘oh I wish I had a boyfriend’ which I’ve caught myself singing out loud before and in turn have gotten some strange looks from people.”

3. Fleetwood Mac – Not that Funny
“It’s got this weird tone that comes in and out of the mix and I really like the snarl in Buckingham’s vocal delivery.”

4. The Rentals – Sweetness and Tenderness
“I hadn’t really listened to the Rentals much since high school, but I played the album Return of the Rentals the other day while driving and was over-flooded with sweet memories.”

5. Americans in France - Nose Job
“I really like the snotty nose brat aesthetic that this band does so well — and they are local. I got the album Pretzelvania, and I think it’s great. We’re playing together on Sept. 5 at Tir Na Nog too, along with a new band called AntiBubbles. I’m real excited about this show!”

6. Gillian Welch – By the Mark
“The best song about Jesus Christ, ever. So pure, and her voice. I love her voice.”

7. Talking Heads- Animals
“Super paranoia — this song is pretty strange even for the Talking Heads. It’s filled with a bunch of jagged rants about how the animals are laughing at the human condition.”

8. Angelo Badalamenti – The Straight Story Soundtrack
“The Straight Story is one of my favorite David Lynch films. It’s tame compared to a lot of his stuff, but you can still tell Lynch made it. The score fits so great, too.”

9. Magnetic Fields – Kiss Me Like You Mean It
“The line, ‘come here baby and kiss me like you mean it,’ sounds like it should be an old Humphrey Bogart quote.”

10. Cluster – Zum Wohl
“The album Sowiesoso was playing at Schoolkids one day while I was looking around and I ended up buying it instead of everything else. It’s a super warm sounding electronic album, great to work to, and I thank Brad for talking me into buying it.”

On Friday, March 13, we at the Local Beat had a stroke of good luck.  It rained and rained and rained, and the NC State baseball game was postponed until Saturday.  That meant that we got to have our full 3 hour show!  After celebrating with Future Islands‘ “Beach Foam” and an impromptu station-wide dance party, we got down to business.

Red Collar, c/o redcollarmusic.com

At 5:15 I was fortunate to be joined by Mike Jackson of Red Collar via phone from Washington, DC.  The band was excited to be kicking off their several-month tour that includes some shows at SXSW and a Saturday stop at Triangle Brewing Company in Durham for their CD Release Party.  Mike described it as a “house party, with the biggest house we could find”–perfect place for Red Collar to have a CD release show, if you ask me.

Mike and I chatted a bit about the release show, the recording process, and live versus recorded music, in general.  Red Collar has a reputation for putting on a blistering live show, and he affirmed that the CD is “a flyer for the show.”  Check out the two-part interview below.

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At the 7:00 hour, I was joined by fellow DJs Cabbage, Gray Matter, and Mikey P and special guest T Bo, the entertainment coordinator for the Hillsborough Street Renaissance.  We talked about the finer things in life: food and music, both of which were integral parts of the Hillsborough Street Renaissance.  Check out the interview below, divided into 3 parts.

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Be sure to join us this Friday, 3/20 for an abbreviated version of The Local Beat (baseball takes over at 6) with Gray Young, still fresh off the release of their album Firmament, at 5:00 PM sharp.

Gray Young at Slim's Downtown

I haven’t had the chance to do much music buying lately, as my bank account’s been slightly restricting as of late. However, my birthday is this coming weekend (Valentine’s day, a blessing and a curse) and I’m using that as an excuse to head over to Schoolkids and buy me some new jams. What kind of jams? Well, there’s only three non-local records that are on my list right now (new ones from Animal Collective, Antony & The Johnsons, and Bon Iver). There are several local records, however, that I really want. First off, there’s Hymns For A Dark Horse and Bury The Square, the debut records by Bowerbirds and Megafaun, respectively (Megafaun have a new one on the way and if the new songs they played the Cat’s Cradle show I caught recently are any indication, this one will be just as great as the first). I’m headed up to Boone this coming weekend and both bands’ take on folk (Bowerbirds’ being dark and haunting, Megafaun abstract and rambling, both reflective) would serve as an excellent soundtrack to a weekend driving around the mountains. Then there’s the new debut from The Love Language, with their excellent lo-fi take on 50’s pop. Lonnie Walker, with their rambling folk rock, are quickly becoming one of my favorite bands, and I’m holding my breath waiting for the release of their debut record, as well as the new one Schooner is working on.

One of my favorite releases of the past decade was Hotel Lights‘ self-titled debut, full of melancholy and beautiful folk-pop gems. I’ve spun their new one, Firecracker People, on my show a few times, but have yet to pick the record up This must change, as everything I have heard off the record has been excellent. I’ve managed to catch EAR PWR’s dance party live show three times within the past couple months, and am dying to pick up some of their records. Same goes for Greenville ex-pats Future Islands (who also have some great new songs). There are great new records from David Karsten Daniels and Gray Young.

My record collection is calling out for the wonderful, Cat Power-like musings of Alina Simone. New ones from I Was Totally Destroying It and The ExMonkeys are on their way. The fact of the matter is, out of all the new records coming out, for the most part, the best ones seem to be coming either from acts right here in North Carolina or NC ex-pats. And that’s saying something. Time to go buy me some records