Vampire Weekend still dress the Ivy League part (see right) as they did upon the release of their 2008 self-titled album, but the same can’t be said about their music. Their influences remain the same, but they took a different spin on things for 2009’s Contra. We’ll have past and present music from Vampire Weekend prior to their performance at the IU Auditorium tonight.

Here they are covering The Boss live last Sunday in Vancouver:

Interpol are getting ready to release their fourth studio album, which is also bassist Carlos D’s last effort with the band. Carlos, after quitting the band in May, agreed to stick around and record the forthcoming Interpol with them before his actual departure. But what about touring? We’ll answer that question and preview their new album tonight.

We’ll also have local music from Bloomington’s Gardendale & Berkley and their debut release Charlie Potential.

All tonight at 8pm!

Well, as with the last time we celebrated the magic of albums (on Record Store Day a few months ago), OverEasy again wants a piece of the action.

Our feature album this time sets the wayback machine to an album celebrating 25 years, a great but underrated album, either of whose sides grant a lot of pleasure.  We’ll be enjoying tracks from the reissued edition of R.E.M.’s album Fables of the Reconstruction, an album produced by folk and folk-rock legend Joe Boyd — interestingly enough, just ahead of his work on an album for 10,000 Maniacs, The Wishing Chair.  From a cold winter in London in 1985 came Fables, an album full of some R.E.M.’s best material, although there is some question as to whether all of the band agrees with that.  Peter Buck, in his essay from the reissue, says they like the album, but others haven’t been so forthcoming over the years…

Make up your own mind, on the September 5th edition of OverEasy.  

But first, check out something so very EIGHTIES:  

WTTS Indy Underground is back with the best music from the local, independent and underground music scenes.

Sufjan Stevens had three big announcements last week.  And no, he isn’t going to finish his 50 states project.  Sufjan and crew released a new EP with no prior announcement or publicity, his new album, Age of the Adz, was given an October 12th release date, and he gave fans a free download of a new song from the album. We’ll have something from his new EP, All Delighted People, to hold you over until the full-length hits stores.

Broken Bells had some help from Christina Hendricks of Mad Men fame on their new video. We’ll dig deeper into their debut self-titled album.

Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol has been getting in touch with his country side. We’ll give you a preview of his new Tired Pony project a month before it hits shelves in the US.

Catch WTTS Indy Underground Mondays at 8pm and Saturdays at 9pm. After the show, visit the WTTS Indy Underground page for playlists, artist bios, and information on how to submit your local music!

This week on WTTS New Music Monday, we’ll introduce you to English band Florence and the Machine:

Their critically acclaimed album Lungs earned them a spot on the soundtrack for the upcoming Twilight movie, and songs from that album can be heard on shows like Grey’s Anatomy and The Vampire Diaries. Listen this Monday to hear a selection from that record. Also on WTTS New Music Monday, we’ll have your first listen to Matt Costa’s September 21 release Mobile Chateau, dive deeper into Sarah McLachlan’s Laws of Illusion, and explore David Gray’s double album Foundling. Stick around and catch the latest from The Arcade Fire, Robert Francis, and Alejandro Escovedo. Every Monday night at 7, it’s an hour of all-new World Class Rock.

This week, we’re revisiting a recently released album, chock full of good stuff:

We were initially fooled a little bit by the song “Beg, Steal or Borrow” by Ray LaMontagne, when it came to us a few weeks ago.  The song itself appeared to be something of an homage to Neil Young’s Harvest period material, sounding as if it wasn’t newly recorded, but newly excavated, like it had been dropped onto a reel of tape sometime in 1972 and vaulted away, never expecting to be heard again.  Now that we have the new album by Ray, God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise, in hand, we can report that although a couple of songs do skew to that dynamic (the aforementioned single and the song “For the Summer”), the album as a whole is a lot broader, with Ray and the band of all-stars (including session ace Greg Leisz on pedal steel and drummer Jay Bellerose, known for his work on the Plant/Krauss album Raising Sand) going wherever their muse is taking them.  Prime example is the lead-off cut “Repo Man” — not a salute to the eighties film, but instead something a little more jam-bandy than we have been accustomed to, at least from Ray on his prior major-label albums. 

Join us as we dig once more into Ray LaMontagne’s new album – number three on the charts, no less, thanks to you – this week on WTTS OverEasy.

This week on WTTS New Music Monday, Ben Folds returns with help from author Nick Hornby (High Fidelity, Fever Pitch). The two have collaborated (Ben with the music, Nick with the lyrics) to create Lonely Avenue, and we’ll have a taste for you. Much like Mr. Folds, The Arcade Fire are also capable of rockin’ The Suburbs:

The Canadian seven(!)-piece released their third album to much acclaim this month, and we’ll have your first listen. Also on WTTS New Music Monday, we’ll preview Eric Clapton’s newest, simply titled Clapton (why not?), and round it off with KT Tunstall, Donavan Frankenreiter, and Keane. Every Monday night at 7, it’s an hour of all-new World Class Rock.

String Cheese Incident covering KC & The Sunshine Band?  New music from JJ Grey & Mofro and Widespread Panic?  Live Keller Williams?  Michael Franti & Spearhead with backstage music from Bonnaroo?  It’s all a part of this week’s WTTS Groove Show – Saturday night from 10pm – Midnight.   Tune in for two hours of jam bands, funk & reggae.

One of the cooler moments from Bonnaroo 2010…

The Black Crowes say it’s time for some extended time off and we want to put you in the best seats in the house for their reunion/farewell-for-now tour. Listen to the Morning Music Mindbender weekday mornings with Paul and Todd on the WTTS Morning Show for your chance to win tickets to see the Black Crowes Wednesday August 25 at the Murat Theatre at the Old National Centre! Winners will receive the best seats in the house for the show, starting with Mondays winner receiving 5th row seats, going all the way through Friday’s listener winning front row seats to see the Black Crowes! In addition, one winner out of the week will get the grand prize: valet parking into the show, and VIP access into the Crown Room.

Between touring with Radiohead and recording with Radiohead, drummer Phil Selway found time to write and record an album’s worth of material over the course of ten years. His first solo album Familial sees an August 30 release in the UK, but we’ll have your first listen tonight on WTTS Indy Underground.

Check out this wild mash-up of Radiohead’s “15 step” and Dave Brubeck’s “Take 5″ — there’s nothing better than two songs in 5/4 time signature:

Mumford & Sons‘ debut album Sigh No More has turned the British quartet into a folk phenomenon. Already working on a material for a sophomore effort, (this time with more percussion!) we’ll take a closer listen to their aforementioned debut.

Not even two-weeks old, Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs is spreading like wildfire. We’ll feature more from the band’s third album tonight as well.

All at 8pm on WTTS Indy Underground!

This week on WTTS New Music Monday, we’ll take a listen to a couple of grizzled veterans who don’t seem to be slowing down. Tom Petty and Robert Plant have new releases, and we’ll preview them both for you. If you feel like two years has been too long a wait for a new Shawn Mullins album, look no further than WTTS New Music Monday to give you what you need. Also this week, something to help you get excited for Guster’s October 10th show at the Egyptian Room, a new track from Los Lobos (a band that penned a song covered by another artist from this week):

Originally written by Los Lobos, and performed here by Robert Plant, it’s the official video for “Angel Dance”, the first single from the highly anticipated Band of Joy.

We’ll also have a further look at One Eskimo’s self-titled release, and a new one from Donavan Frankenreiter. Every Monday night at 7, it’s an hour of all-new World Class Rock.

It’s the sound of two men, fed up with the state of modern recordings, tapping into a muse from another time, resurrecting an old tape recorder from five decades ago, heading to places like Sun Studios in Memphis and the hotel room where Robert Johnson cut some of his best-known blues 78s - and then, just to make things more interesting, our two heroes decide to record everything for the album with only ONE microphone.  Hear the results as we preview the new John Mellencamp album No Better Than This, produced by the legendary T Bone Burnett.

The WTTS Groove Show is back this Saturday night at 10pm, with two hours of jam bands, funk & reggae.

This week, we’ll feature new music from Widespread Panic’s latest CD Dirty Side Down, along with new music from JJ Grey & Mofro’s Georgia Warhorse. And it’s not too late to download a live exclusive from Phish, recorded at (what was then called) Deer Creek in the Summer of 1998.  Click here to download the free track.

Chan Marshall (a.k.a Cat Power) has teamed up with the Department Of Education in their efforts to increase and encourage literacy. She recently went to Washington, D.C. and read Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree to a group of students while not looking like a musician — she donned a Hillary Clinton-esque pant suit. However, even more bizarre than Chan actually dressing up rather than in her usual relaxed wardrobe was the government official’s fashion choice of tan suit and cowboy boots.

Either way, they’re assisting in child literacy, right? Let’s hope they didn’t take a page from the classy/casual handbook.

For more from the independent music scene, listen to WTTS Indy Underground every Monday at 8pm and Saturday at 9pm!

Tonight on WTTS Indy Underground, Beck and Devendra Banhart are back in the studio again, and unlike last time they’re not recording Leonard Cohen’s Songs Of Leonard Cohen as part of Beck’s Record Club. This time they’ve combined their efforts to help out director Todd Solondz’s latest film Life During Wartime. Fun fact: he also penned the lyrics for the song. However, there is no official US release set for the film, but we’ll still have a song from it tonight.

Here they are during Beck’s Record Club with help from MGMT:

After Jon Brion caught wind of the music of Ferraby Lionheart, he started to take music more seriously. In his latest album The Jack Of Hearts he was inspired by the works of Harry Houdini’s trick to escaping which we’ll reveal tonight.

Also, we’ll take a closer listen to Avett Brothers‘ I And Love And You prior to their performance opening the show for John Mayer on the 15th at Verizon Wireless Music Center.

All tonight at 8pm on WTTS Indy Underground!