If you’re a music lover who has tried buying concert tickets from Ticketmaster and Live Nation, you’ve probably noticed how ridiculously difficult it is to find good seats. Blame hackers like the “Wise Guys”, who were charged today with fraud, among other things. These hackers are behind the elaborate scheme to buy out the best seats and resell the tickets for more than face value. Today, three of the four self-titled “wise guys” appeared in Newark, New Jersey’s federal court. The hackers are responsible for breaking into the computer ticketing systems to buy millions of the best tickets for numerous artists like Bruce Springsteen, Miley Cyrus, and Billy Joel, among others.

Vampire Weekend is back with their sophomore album, Contra. The four-piece indie rock band met at Columbia University before producing their debut album in 2008. The band has said that their influences are drawn from popular African music and western classical music. Give one of their songs a listen and you’ll quickly realize how true this is – and indeed, how great it sounds.

By Lindsay Wallace
Chicken Soup For the Soul: The Story Behind the Song
The Exclusive Personal Stories behind 101 of Your Favorite Songs.

Jo Ann Geffen compiled a book of 101 songs by your favorite artists from Kanye West to Richie Sambora. Why hadn’t anyone ever thought of this before? Surely at some point in our lives, everyone [...]

This psychedelic rock vibe is alluring and different from the everyday norm in psych rock. Blake plays his guitar wildly and purposefully in his solos, Paz is just a whirlwind powerhouse on her guitar, and Derek is wildly pounding, master of the drum set.

On October 8th and 9th, the legendary Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band rocked Giant’s Stadium with the final of five shows at the venue. These shows are the last that Giants Stadium will ever see before it is knocked down.

Derek and the Trees began where a lot of great bands do — on the Jersey shore. The lead singer, writer and guitar player Derek John, had a dream and a passion stemming from early teenage years that he only recently was brought to fruition. I caught up with Derek on the beach in New Jersey to talk about his new music.

For fans, seeing U2 live in concert is a downright religious experience. But for those who haven’t been able to catch them on the 360 tour, the best way to describe it would be along the lines of “strikingly beautiful” or “gloriously splendid”.

“We started this band 21 years ago, writing songs and playing live because we enjoy doing that,” McGrath said. “Nothing’s changed. It was in our hearts, and it’s the same 21 years later. It’s just about being in a band again day to day. We still have a dream and a passion.

The first chords of the album instantly pull you into their meditative yet provocative world of atmospheric reverberance where you can just “put your guard down, breathe and follow through.” This blues rock/folk band was clearly not afraid to step out of the dull indie guitar rock scene and create music of sheer beauty, vigor and quality that sustains throughout the entire album.

Sugar Ray transformed a club down the block from Union Square into a headbanging gravitron of rock fury, plastering everyone in its wrath against the wall. These guys have the “Summer Vibe” on lock down, and the pics in this gallery are all the proof you need.

Perfecto Vegas, is an unambiguous return to his roots in electronic groove – and a clear reminder that this turntable genius is still one of the best spinners in the world. After his recent stints in pop music collaborations, the world famous DJ was inspired by his weekly spot at Las Vegas’ Rain Nightclub to truly get back to his beginnings as a club/trance electronic mixer.

Bat For Lashes is certainly the real thing when it comes to music of pure quality and enduring significance, a hypnotic intermix of mystical vocals and heavy exotic vibes.