All tracks can be downloaded for free, right now, over at the NME site.

Those who favor the tangible can bag a physical copy of the sampler by entering the magazine’s new contest. Just comment on the NME site with your favorite summertime tune, “one track that sums up lazy days in the park with good friends and a few ciders.” Winners will be chosen on Monday, May 24.

Better Pop Music
01 There Will Be Fireworks – “Foreign Thoughts”
02 The Forest & The Trees – “To the Forest”
03 Acrylics – “Molly’s Vertigo”
04 Miniature Tigers – “Cannibal Queen”
05 Fitness Club Fiasco – “Forest City”
06 Class Actress – “Journal of Ardency”
07 Memory Tapes – “Graphics Remodel Edit”
08 Caribou – “Odessa”
09 Ceremony – “Someday”
10 Jessica Lee Mayfield – “Kiss Me Again”
11 Freelance Whales – “Generator 2nd Floor”
12 The Silent League – “When Stars Attack”
13 Air France – “GBG Belongs to Us”
14 Washed Out – “Feel it All Around”
15 New Moods – “Dying Trying”
16 Memory Cassette – “Surfin’”
17 Phoenix – “1901 (Memory Tapes Remix)”
18 Fear of Tigers – “Please Don’t Leave”
19 Rest – “Drinking Again”

01/29 South Bend, IN – Legends of Notre Dame
01/30 Akron, OH – Music
02/05 Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Academy of Music
02/08 San Francisco, CA – The Warfield
02/09 San Diego, CA – House of Blues
02/11 Los Angeles, CA – Wiltern Theatre
02/13 Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
02/15 Chicago, IL – Vic Theatre
02/16 Toronto, Ontario – Phoenix Concert Theatre
02/18 Boston, MA – House of Blues Boston
02/19 New York, NY – Terminal 5
02/20 Philadelphia, PA – Trocadero
02/21 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
03/03 London, England – Union Chapel

Image Credit: Ben Ritter



Wilco
After a quick trip through Canada, our favorite Chicago powerhouse will hit Japan, Australia, the US, and probably many more places before the year is over. Just another average day for Wilco.

02/07 Missoula, MT – Adams Center
02/09 Portland, OR – Arlene Schnitzer Hall
02/10 Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre
02/12 Victoria, BC – Royal Theatre
02/13 Vancouver, BC David Lam Park *
02/15 Edmonton, CA – Northern Jubilee Auditorium
02/16 Edmonton, CA – Northern Jubilee Auditorium
02/17 Saskatoon, SK – TCU Place
02/19 Duluth, MN – Decc Auditorium
02/20 Madison, WI – Overture Hall
02/21 East Lansing, MI – Wharton Cobb Great Hall
02/23 Hamilton, ON – Hamilton Place Theatre
02/24 London, ON – Centennial Hall
02/26 Quebec City, QC – Imperial De Quebec
02/27 Montreal, QC – Olympia De Montreal
03/01 Ottawa, ON – National Arts Centre
03/02 Halifax, NS – Halifax Forum
03/25 Savannah, GA – Johnny Mercer Theatre
04/22 Osaka, Japan – Big Cat
04/23 Tokyo, Japan – Zepp Tokyo
04/27 Auckland, New Zealand – Civic Theatre
04/28 Wellington, New Zealand – Wellington Town Hall
04/30 Brisbane, Australia – The Tivoli
05/01 Sydney, Australia – State Theatre
05/02 Marrickville, Australia – Factory Theatre
05/05 Melbourne, Australia – Forum
05/06 Melbourne, Australia – Forum

* Part of the 2010 Winter Games
Image Credit: Michael Segal

Memory Tapes
Dayve Hawk doesn’t leave his house much, but the one-man band known as Memory Tapes will be getting out and across the pond in January, for his first-ever UK dates.

01/16 Manchester, England – The Corner
01/20 London, England – Luminaire

Girl Talk
The first of mashup master Greg Gillis’ 2010 tour dates have arrived. Expect this list of shows to double—nay, triple—in size.

01/15 Auckland, New Zealand – Big Day Out
01/17 Gold Coast, Australia – Big Day Out
01/20 Melbourne, Australia – Palace
01/22 Sydney, Australia – Big Day Out
01/23 Sydney, Australia – Big Day Out
01/25 New Town, Australia – The Enmore
01/26 Melbourne, Australia – Big Day Out
01/29 Adelaide, Australia – Big Day Out
01/31 Perth, Australia – Big Day Out
05/02 East Rutherford, NJ – Meadowlands Sports Complex

Great Lake Swimmers
Toronto’s Great Lake Swimmers will start the year in China—an unlikely indie-folk destination—before heading home to Canadian soil for several shows.

01/07 Beijing, China – Yu Gong Yi Shan
01/08 Chengdu, China – Little Bear
01/09 Wuhan, China – VOX
01/10 Shanghai, China – Yuyintang
01/26 Saskatoon, SK – House Concert
01/27 Victoria, BC – Alix Goolden Hall
01/29 Vancouver, BC – The Vogue Theatre
01/30 Prince George, BC – Cold Snap Festival
02/06 Toronto, ON – Trinity St. Paul’s United Church
02/13 Whistler, BC – Whistler Village Stage
02/18 Montreal, QC – Meropolis Theatre

Image Credit: Candace Meyer

Jay Farrar & Ben Gibbard
One fast move and they’re gone, so catch the Son Volt and Death Cab frontmen channelling Kerouac’s ghost at one of these dates.

01/23 Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
01/24 Seattle, WA – The Showbox
01/27 Austin, TX – Antone’s
01/29 Ann Arbor, MI – Hill Auditorium
01/30 Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall
01/31 Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater

Image Credit: Andrew Youssef

Final Fantasy
Multi-instrumentalist and one-man band Owen Pallatt has a week or so of shows scheduled around the release of his new Domino album, Heartland.


01/12 Toronto, Ontario – Mod Club
0/14 San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill
01/16 Chicago, IL – Schubas
01/18 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
01/25 London, England – Union Chapel

Image Credit: Swatch on Air

Spoon
Transference is out in January via Merge, and here are the first few in what will be many, many performances from the boys in Spoon.

02/14 Glasgow, Scotland – King Tut’s
02/15 Manchester, England – Academy 3
02/16 London, England – Electric Ballroom
02/18 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
02/19 Cologne, Germany – Luxor
02/20 Berlin, Germany – Frannz Club

Dayve Hawk, a.k.a. Memory Tapes, gave us two new freebies earlier this week, and today, the Philly based production upstart returns with a remix of the teaser track off Yeasayer’s forthcoming Odd Blood release.

DJ /rupture & Brendt Arnold already gave “Ambling Alp” a spin through the remix board, stamping some sinister ragga beats all over the music. Hawk’s take on the track is all about ’80s-style piano melodies and some wriggling electronics, making for yet another unique take on the already hugely popular track.

As usual, grab the music, along with some very creepy glove artwork, over at Hawk’s Weird Tapes blog.

“Graphics” and “Easy Pert Mom” follow the standards set by previous tracks—meticulously layered electronics as complex and hypnotic as that artwork above. Grab them here to add to that ever-expanding collection.

“Walk Me Home”