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Tags: Hip-Hop/Rap, Iggy Pop, Indie Rock, New Stuff, Norman Reedus, On My iPod, Playlists, Rock, Sonic Youth, Spotify, The Walking Dead, Tom Petty

Image Credit: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images

On monstrously popular cable-TV beast The Walking Dead, Norman Reedus plays Daryl Dixon, an expert zombie killer whose lack of social graces are made up for with his efficiency with a crossbow.

It’s a stretch for Reedus, who tends to prefer painting or working on sculpture to taking out the undead. And, of course, expanding his musical horizons. When EW gave Reedus a call while he was deep in the heart of Georgia shooting the last episodes of the show’s current season, and he talked about the ways that music not only helps him get into character, but also lets him dictate his mood wherever he might be.

Check out his selections below, and hear all the songs on our customized Spotify playlist.

The Black Angels, “The First Vietnamese War”
“I can’t remember how I first got introduced to them, but when we first started this new season, I played that for our entire cast. I kept putting it on my iPod and passing it over to Andy [Lincoln] before shooting really violent, desperate scenes, and I was like, ‘This song should be on the soundtrack to our show.’ It’s so heartfelt, and it sort of described what we were shooting at the time: Getting into that prison and what people had to go through. It really felt like us.” READ FULL STORY »

Nov 20 2012 06:01 PM ET

Fiona Apple cancels tour dates because her dog is dying: Read her handwritten note to fans here

Tags: Fiona Apple, Indie Rock, Rock

Now for some sad news.

According to a lengthy, handwritten letter posted on Facebook, Fiona Apple’s beloved dog is dying, causing her to cancel her South American tour.

She writes that a tumor has been found in the chest of her 14-year-old rescue dog, a pitbull named Janet. The note is pretty heartbreaking, especially towards the end.

You can read the whole thing below (we included an image of the actual note as well), but be sure to grab a box of tissues first:

Nov 16 2012 01:15 PM ET

'Revenge' star Gabriel Mann: What's On My iPod

Tags: Gabriel Mann, Indie Rock, On My iPod, Pop, Revenge, Television, Things That Are Awesome

Image Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images

The first season finale of ABC’s hit primetime soap Revenge featured an excellent use of Florence + the Machine’s “Seven Devils,” and that good taste extends to more than just the show’s music supervisor, Season Kent.

Gabriel Mann — a.k.a. the show’s tousle-haired billionaire/amateur trouble-shooter Nolan Ross — and other members of the cast can often be spotted at concerts all around Los Angeles, or trading mixes with each other between takes.

In fact, Mann is one of the most enthusiastic, music-blog-knowledgeable stars ever to talk to EW for our regular On My iPod feature. Check out his impressive list below.

Alt-J, “Slow Dre”
“It’s just a killer. I think it’s the best thing I’ve heard out there recently. That one is getting burned to death on my playlist.”

Bear in Heaven, “Sinful Nature”
“This album is probably top five for me in 2012, maybe even top three. I like the whole record, but particularly the song ‘Sinful Nature,’ which has a very twisted video. It has a Pretty Woman concept behind it, except everyone is melting. Like, Julia Roberts is melting! It’s great.”

Youngblood Hawke, “We Come Running”
“In terms of something a little more poppy, I’m definitely bobbing my head to this one. It mashes up a whole bunch of different kind of sounds: There’s a poppy emo thing with a kind of low-fi bloggy thing. I don’t know, that particular song really feels like a stroke of genius. And it’s just a good name! You don’t even need to listen to the song, just drop the band’s name and you’re good.”

The XX, Coexist
“I find that it is definitely a bookend to their first album, but the simplicity and beauty of the songwriting is incredibly effective. Whatever they have discovered in the way that they like to make music—it’s just the sexiest record ever.” READ FULL STORY »

Nov 12 2012 05:43 PM ET

'Experiencing Nirvana': Check out never-before-seen photos of Kurt Cobain on Nirvana's first tour of Europe - EXCLUSIVE

Tags: An EW Exclusive!, Books, Indie Rock, Kurt Cobain, New Stuff, Nirvana, Photo Blog!, Things That Are Awesome, Books

Image Credit: Bruce Pavitt

Most of the narratives associated with legendary Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain are steeped in tragedy: He was painfully self-conscious about selling out, suffered from a debilitating undiagnosed stomach ailment, struggled with drugs, and ultimately took his own life, leaving an infant daughter behind.

But all those tales came after Nirvana became the biggest band in the world following the overwhelming success of 1991′s Nevermind. There are plenty of stories to be told about the band prior to its ascendence, when they were just another loud bunch of punk kids from Seattle making noise because it was fun.

One of those narratives arises in Experiencing Nirvana, a new ebook (available Tuesday, November 13) featuring photos and recollections by Bruce Pavitt, who co-founded Sub Pop Records, Nirvana’s original label. The book centers around a series of pictures taken by Pavitt over the course of an eight-day run across Europe in the fall of 1989.

Nirvana was on the road with fellow Sub Poppers Tad, both of whom were on a collision course with Mudhoney as part of the label-curated Lamefest UK at London’s Astoria Theatre. The show ended up being a definitive moment for Nirvana; they managed to capture the attention of the taste-making British music press, an accomplishment that built buzz exponentially and started a domino effect that eventually led to the hugeness of Nevermind.

Pavitt’s photos, taken on the fly with a pocket-sized Olympus, reveal a would-be superstar still in development. READ FULL STORY »

Nov 5 2012 11:34 AM ET

Fun Fun Fun Fest Austin recap: Run-DMC, Superchunk, and a whole lot of Ryan Gosling

Tags: About Last Night, Festivals, Fun Fun Fun Fest, Hip-Hop/Rap, Indie Rock, Music Festivals, Taco Cannons, Val Kilmer

Image Credit: Gary Miller/FilmMagic

What’s that? You didn’t realize that Austin had another music festival between last month’s Austin City Limits and March’s South By Southwest? Then you, sir or ma’am, are not Terrance Malick. (More on that later.)

This past weekend, Fun Fun Fun Fest — a three-day event with four stages of college-radio royalty, hip-hop heroes, and your cool older brother’s favorite hardcore bands — took over the sunny Texas capital for the seventh year in a row. And while this newish entry to the festival-industrial complex doesn’t yet have the hashtag ubiquity and Tupac holograms of its more established peers, it is able to rope in a reunited Run-DMC, top-shelf comedy, and enough Ryan Gosling appearances to justify its own Tumblr. Also, there was a taco canon. (None on that later.)

And Music Mix was there too. Forthwith, a day-by-day graded run-down of Fun Fun Fun Fest’s highlights. READ FULL STORY »

Nov 1 2012 07:00 AM ET

Benjamin Gibbard tries to revamp his image for 'Teardrop Windows' video: Watch here - EXCLUSIVE

Tags: An EW Exclusive!, Benjamin Gibbard, Death Cab for Cutie, Fall Music, Indie Rock, Music Videos, Video Exclusive

Death Cab for Cutie frontman Benjamin Gibbard’s solo debut Former Lives is one of the prettiest, most elegantly constructed indie records of the season. It doesn’t stray far from what people are used to hearing from him, which may be why he has taken it upon himself to lampoon his image in the new, sharply funny video for “Teardrop Windows.”

The clip, which co-stars comedian and Bunk host Kurt Braunohler, finds Gibbard looking to reinvent himself for the sake of selling a few more copies of Former Lives. But of course, in his particularly wry way, Gibbard can’t help but be a sweet guy.

Former Lives is in stores now, and Gibbard’s tour for the album kicks off tonight in Minneapolis. Check out the tour dates, as well as the exclusive premiere of the video for “Teardrop Windows,” below.

Oct 23 2012 05:20 PM ET

fun. go wild in NYC in their new 'Carry On' video: Watch it here -- EXCLUSIVE

Tags: An EW Exclusive!, Buzzworthy, fun., Indie Rock, Music Videos, New Stuff

Some nights are better than others — especially when fun. is involved.

In the video for their new Some Nights single “Carry On,” which you can watch exclusively here, Nate Ruess and the boys live like they’re young (oh look, there’s a song for that too!) in New York City.

The Big Apple tourism board might want to send the band a thank-you fruit basket — the trio hits up everything from Grand Central Station to a karaoke dive bar to a sold-out performance at West Side concert venue Terminal 5.

Fun. will also soon be cavorting at another New York institution: they’re set to play Saturday Night Live on Nov. 3, with Louis C.K. hosting.

Take a look at their “Carry On” video below:

Oct 23 2012 01:17 PM ET

Black Keys and RZA duke it out in the 'Baddest Man Alive' video: Watch it here

Tags: Hip-Hop/Rap, Indie Rock, Movies, Music Videos, RZA, The Black Keys, The Man With a Thousand Fists

You’ve already gotten a chance to listen to the soundtrack to RZA’s The Man With the Iron Fists, but you still have to wait until Nov. 2 to see the movie itself. Boo! But luckily, there’s a way to split the difference: the new action-heavy music video for the Black Keys and RZA’s “The Baddest Man Alive.”

The collaboration leads off the movie’s soundtrack, which hits streets today, and impressively blends together the Keys’ brand of bluesy bar rock and RZA’s iconic flow. But the best thing about the Chris Marrs Piliero-directed clip, which pits the Wu-Tang vet against the Akron band, has to be the innovative use of food as weaponry. The shot of RZA smacking Dan Auerbach with a fish is pretty priceless — and a good sign that The Man With the Iron Fists will probably be as awesome as it looks.

Take a look at the “Baddest Man Alive” clip below and let us know what you think:

Oct 18 2012 11:36 AM ET

Hear the Civil Wars play 'I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day' for 'Holidays Rule' compilation - EXCLUSIVE

Tags: An EW Exclusive!, Christmas, Downloads and Streams, Indie Rock, New Stuff, Pop, The Civil Wars

Image Credit: Allister Ann

It may not even be Halloween yet, but Christmas is already in the air.

Case in point: next week sees the release of Holidays Rule, a new compilation of eclectic seasonal songs from contributors ranging from Paul McCartney and fun., to Rufus Wainwright, the Shins, the Head and the Heart, and Calexico.

That lineup also includes Americana breakouts the Civil Wars, who put their own lo-fi spin on “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.”

Check out the exclusive premiere below (and check out the rest of Holidays Rule’s lineup here):