As part of Rdio’s huge 1-year anniversary ticket giveaway, we have a special ticket giveaway for Rdio’s hometown: San Francisco. Win two 3-Day passes to our own music and arts festival, Outside Lands—this year’s outstanding lineup includes: Phish, The Shins, Muse, The Black Keys, Girl Talk, Arcade Fire, Deadmau5, The Decemberists, The Roots, OK GO, Big Boi, Ellie Goulding, Best Coast, Foster the People, Major Lazer, Little Dragon.
Already have tickets? Then Rdio is just the place for you to brush up on music from the bands you’ll see live. Follow Outside Lands on Rdio to browse their collection of performing bands, and listen to their Outside Lands 2011 playlist.
Win Two 3-Day Passes
How do you enter the Outside Lands Ticket Sweepstakes? Enter your name, email address and the the band or musician you’re most excited to see live from the lineup in the form below. Do that between now and 1:30 PM PST on August 5th and we’ll randomly select someone to win. For more information, read the Official Rules.
Update: Thanks for playing! The entry form for The West Coast Ticket Giveaway is now closed.
To kick off Rdio's huge 1-Year Anniversary Ticket Giveaway, we have 11 pairs of tickets for you to win. Today is especially for people who live on the West Coast, so if you're in or around Seattle, Portland, San Francisco or Los Angles and love Rdio, imagine yourself at any of the following shows:
West Coast Ticket Giveaway
8/12: Imelda May at Neptune Theatre in Seattle, WA
Winning West Coast concert tickets is incredibly easy. To enter, submit your Name, Email Address, Location and pick the tickets you want to win from the form below. Do that between now and 12:00 PM PST on August 5th and we’ll randomly select someone to win. For more information, read the Official Rules.
Update: Thanks for playing! The entry form for The West Coast Ticket Giveaway is now closed.
We have more in store for you, much more. To properly celebrate the occasion, we planned a week of awesome concert ticket givaways, have some 1-year Unlimited subscriptions to pass around and stocked up on swag that we want to send you. We also have special playlists from Influencers, Labels and the Rdio staff and some exciting announcements to make.
Ticket Giveaways
Over the next few days, you could win one of almost 30 ticket pairs from shows across the country. See bands like 311, Incubus, Of Montreal, Manchester Orchestra, Blue October, Death Cab for Cutie, The Get Up Kids, and Tapes N Tapes.
How will this huge ticket giveaway work? Starting today, we’ll have giveaways for 3 geographic regions. If you’re in California, Oregon or Washington state, enter today’s West Coast Ticket Sweepstakes (including an extra-special Outside Lands Giveaway). Tennessee, New York and Connecticut? Enter Friday’s East Coast Ticket Sweepstakes. And for everywhere in between, like Denver, Wichita, Minneapolis, Saint Louis and Chicago, win tickets during tomorrow’s Central U.S. ticket giveaway.
To get you amped for what’s to come, here's the complete list of shows.
West Coast Ticket Giveaway Wednesday, August 3
8/12: Imelda May at Neptune Theatre in Seattle, WA
The Black Lips stand apart in Atlanta—though they hail from Georgia, which is typically associated with southern hospitality, these guys unapologetically rock out. Their sixth album, Arabia_Mountain, was their first ever created with the assistance of a producer—Mark Ronson (yes, the same one behind “New Direction (Mark Ronson Dub Remix)”).
We have three great things for you related to the Black Lips today (four, if you count the Exclusive remix). Black Lips singer-guitarist and new Rdio Influencer Cole Alexander answered Five Questions with the Band and put together a playlist: “music that the black lips like to listen to on road it inspires us. some of this music sounds nothing like the music we make. but i want to make some music like this.”
Finally, we have a pair of tickets for their Empty Bottle show in Chicago, to celebrate their Lollapalooza appearance and East Coast tour. So press play on this playlist and dig in.
Five Questions with the Black Lips
Who do you think is an important musician that most people have never heard of before? Cole Alexander: Robert Lee “Sugar” Hightower (of Slim & The Supreme Angels and The Supreme Angels
If you had access to any record in the world, what would you listen to right now? CA: Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville’s legendary paper recording of the voice of Abraham Lincoln. Technically it’s phonautograph. Not sure if it actually exists but there is some speculation that it is buried deep in the vaults of the Library of Congress unbeknown to them
Which album or artist do you most associate with your childhood? CA: Nirvana and The Beatles
We hope people are ______________ when they listen to our music. CA: KOOKIE
We were thinking about ______________ when we wrote music for the new album. CA: Spiderman being MOLESTED
Win Tickets to See the Black Lips in Chicago
We have two tickets for the August 5th Lips show at the Empty Bottle in Chicago to give away. How do you enter? Tweet a link to the Black Lips’ “New Direction (Mark Ronson Dub Remix)” track on Rdio, plus the hashtag #BlackLipsRemix—do that between now and Wednesday, July 27th, 2:00 pm PST and we’ll randomly select a winner. For more information, read the Official Rules.
If you can’t see them in Chicago, the Black Lips are coming to a city near you:
July 27 Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theater (tickets)
The Damnwells sound like a band that’s been places, traveled around and experienced life. This isn’t a stretch—they’ve seen numerous incarnations since lead singer Alex Dezen recruited some friends to jam with him in 2001. They even had a documentary made about their journey called Golden Days.
Their easy-going songwriting and straightforward Americana-tinged songs seem like the perfect road-trip music or a soundtrack for your next cookout. They’re bringing their music to a town near you during their No One Listens To The Band Anymore tour. If you’re in Los Angles, we have a pair of tickets to give away. Everyone else can enjoy their mix of addictive touring songs, “Damngood Music by the Damnwells”.
Five Questions with the Damnwells
Who do you think is an important musician that most people have never heard of before? The Damnwells: Unless you were under a rock for much of the 90s (or weren’t born yet), you probably remember that catchy Del Amitri song “Roll to Me.” What you might not know is that lead singer and songwriter Justin Currie has since made a couple of solo records that are simply brilliant, especially the gut-wrenching opus What Is Love For? That’s my favorite record of the last 12 months.
If you had access to any record in the world, what would you listen to right now? TD: Right now, at this very moment, I have “Veronica” by Elvis Costello stuck in my head. I guess I would listen to that.
We hope people are ______________ when they listen to our music. TD: Alive
We were thinking about ______________ when we wrote music for the new album. TD: Hang-overs
Win Tickets to The Damnwells in L.A.
If you live in Los Angeles, you could go see the band on us—we have a pair of tickets to their July 29th show at The Mint. Tweet @Rdio with the name of the song that you’d most like to see The Damnwells perform live, and include the hashtag #DamnwellsLive. Do that before 2:00 PM PST on Monday, July 18 and we’ll randomly select one lucky winner. Read the Official Rules for more information.
June is Gay Pride Month in the US, and here at Rdio we really like parties and celebrations. And thus we are celebrating in a variety of ways.
First of all we’re thrilled to present, “I….Amanda Lepore”, a live concert event in New York City on June 25. Not only will the legendary Amanda Lepore make her concert debut, but you will also see The Ones, Kat DeLuna, Ana Matronic of the Scissor Sisters, and our very own Rdio influencer Cazwell. To win a pair of tickets to this show, see the info below.
Speaking of Rdio Influencers, we’re celebrating Pride with some loud and proud new additions. The one and only Jake Shears (also of the Scissor Sisters) is newly on board, as is PeaceBisquit Records (home of Colton Ford, Cazwell, Ultra Nate, Crystal Waters and more). And if you follow music on other blogs, you’ll see Arjan Writes and Towleroad on Rdio, picking and clicking along with you. And for our Canadian friends, über media honcho Shaun Proulx is now recommending music to his followers as well.
Since we are all about the music, we curated a The New Sound of Gay Pride Playlist that is anything but old fashioned! Check it out and collaborate—you’ll see our Influencers adding to it regularly. Happy Pride everyone!
Win Tickets to “I….Amanda Lepore”
If you’re in New York City next weekend, you could win tickets to attend the “I….Amanda Lepore” show. How does one enter to win? Tweet @Rdio your favorite song to celebrate Pride and use the hashtag #RdioPride between now and midnight tomorrow. We’ll randomly pick someone to win two tickets to the June 25th “I…Amanda Lepore” show at the Highline Ballroom. Read the Official Rules for more information.
If you were born to love music and born to rock out, then we have a very special giveaway for you today.
Win Free Music for Life from Rdio to celebrate the release of Lady Gaga’s new album, Born This Way.
To get started, Like the Rdio Facebook page and enter your details. When you’re done tweeting and sharing it with friends on Facebook, we have something else extra-special for you, curated by Lady Gaga herself—the Born This Way playlist.
Choosing the path opposite anything slick, glossy and over-produced, Times New Viking built their sound on the imperfections and personality that come with lo-fi production. Although they recorded their new album in a studio and not in a home set-up, Dancer Equired is as fun, informed and true to their style as any of their four previous albums.
Turn up the album and keep reading below for Five Questions with the Band, a playlist of Bands They’ve Toured With and a Brooklyn ticket giveaway.
Five Questions with Times New Viking
Who do you think is an important musician that most people have never heard of before? Times New Viking: wow, tough question. if i think of a record i play over and over again that is under the radar would be bobb trimble. i love john lennon, and he is the indiana version.
If you had access to any record in the world, what would you listen to right now? TNV: right now i would want to listen to suicide. that kind of day.
Which album or artist do you most associate with your childhood? TNV: elo. telephone line in particular, that part where jeff lynne sounds like he is singing through a telephone. i loved literalism even back then.
We hope people are ______________ when they listen to our music. TNV: Open minded and maybe drunk/hungover.
We were thinking about ______________ when we wrote music for the new album. TNV: Sunshine and fleetwood mac.
If you live in the Big Apple and love Times New Viking, it’s your lucky day. We’re giving away two tickets to their May 27th show at the Knitting Factory Brooklyn.
How do you enter? Comment on this blog post (and make sure to leave your email address) or Tweet @Rdio your favorite Times New Viking song and include the hashtag #TNVtix between now and Tuesday, May 10th, 1:00 pm PST. We’ll pick a random winner—free Times New Viking tickets are that easy. Here’s the list of Official Rules.
Begun after the demise of The Promise Ring and The Dismemberment Plan,Maritime find themselves four full-length albums deep into their legacy. Their most recent album, Human Hearts, was released last New Music Tuesday, and if you haven’t spent time with it yet, you will certainly want to after reading the rest of this post. As a bonus, if you love Maritime and live in Chicago, we’ve got an easy way for you to win tickets to their April 22nd show, so keep reading.
Five Questions with Maritime
Who do you think is an important musician that most people have never heard of before? Dan Didier: Honestly, not only because he is a friend of mine, but because he is an amazing songwriter… Mike Feuerstack who creates music under the name Snailhouse out of Montreal. His first record Fine is still one of my favorite records ever. It is a gem of a record that I am shocked that no one really knows. Davey von Bohlen: Phil Ochs. Phil Ochs. Phil Ochs.
If you had access to any record in the world, what would you listen to right now? DD: Recently my hard drive that had all of my music on it crashed, so of all the CDs I burned and then sold, the one I have been missing lately is an album called Strand by The Spinanes. Some of those songs keep creeping back into my head and it kills me that I ever got rid of it. DvB: Phil Ochs, Rehearsals for Retirement
Which album or artist do you most associate with your childhood? DD: This would have to be The Rolling Stones as Tattoo You, the first record I bought. I remember excitedly bringing it home and listening to it on our HUGE record player, you know, back when record players were actual pieces of furniture. DvB: The Guess Who - ‘45’s’, Simon & Garfunkel - Bookends
We hope people are ______________ when they listen to our music. DD and DvB: Better off somehow
We were thinking about ______________ when we wrote music for the new album. DD and DvB: Not thinking too much
1. HOT CHIP (Thieves in the Night) A great opening track for their albumOne Life Stand that is the shortest six minute song I’ve heard. I am drawn to this song because of the imagery of somebody lost in a crowded club calling out to a loved one with all of this innocence and desperation, “open your arms I want to be found!” DD 2. USHER (Oh My Gosh) For a dance song, this is one is so organic and strangely natural to me, that I was blown away the first time I heard it (on the radio driving in a rental car with Mike Kinsella (Owen) through downtown SF). I also love the song’s chorus of “oh my gosh”, which is so sissy it actually wins cool points. Plus, for all the entertainers out there, Usher can actually do it well. DVB 3. NATHANIEL RATELIFF (You Should’ve Seen the Other Guy) I saw this band live before I ever heard their record. You could have heard a pin drop in the 1500 seat theatre within a minute of this “opener’s” first song. They pulled off the most amazing harmonies live so, naturally, I had to buy the record. This track just stuck with me from the first listen, especially after reflecting back on their performance. JDK 4. LADY ANTEBELLUM (Need You Now) Kudos goes out to the songwriter here, as this song is so easy and great that Lady Antebellum can’t screw it up. Would be awesome if any genre had picked it up. I am a sucker for the male/female power duet (Lita Ford/Ozzy etc) as well, so this one sorta scratches my itch too. Lyrically it sags, but whatever top 40 song gets bumped because of the overplay of this one is probably way worse. DVB 5. BEACH HOUSE (Walk in the Park) There was a period of some time in 2010 where Teen Dream was the only record I listened to, so clearly I think the whole record is amazing, but this song especially stands out nicely. I don’t know if the vocal delivery reminds me sweetly of theCocteau Twins or if the lyrics remind me of the hours I spend walking around the cities we play on tour, but something grabs onto me. DD 6. TAIO CRUZ (Dynamite) When I was in LA overseeing some of the mixing of Human Hearts I rented a car and the radio station that was on when I started it played mostly top 40 and R&B type stuff. I was surprised that I never thought to change it to something else the whole time I was there. There must of been a part of me that appreciated the ‘ear cleanser’ after sitting in the mixing studio for most of the day. This station basically played the same handful of songs throughout the day so when I got into the car I always hoped that Dynamite was on. DD 7. VOLCANO CHOIR (Island, IS - Live in Tokyo) For a guy who demands a lot of structure in song, I am totally carried away by the mashup ofJustin Vernon’s voice and COCO Bees playing. The record came out in 2009 and was wonderful, but when I saw the video of the show at O-Nest I had one of those moments where making music seems so important that anything else one does in life is either unimportant or should be put to music. Just an incredible collection of musicians, can’t say it enough. DVB 8. BUILT TO SPILL (Things Fall Apart) As a long-time Built to Spill fan, this record was really refreshing. After their last couple of releases, I was beginning to think they’d lost something. It turns out they haven’t. I found myself missing those eerie jams from Perfect from Now On and this track filled that void. It never gets crazy or overdriven, but it just has an incredible vibe that sucks me in for the whole six minutes. JDK 9. JUNIP (In Every Direction) I absolutely love Jose Gonzales’ voice and think the way that they pull off this “acoustic with fuzz” sound is amazing. This leadoff track just grabs you right away and sets the tone for the whole record. It’s close to sonic perfection in my ears. JDK 9. JONSI (Grow Till Tall) Now, there are far better songs off Go than this one, but none of them match what Jonsi accomplished with this song live. Every time I hear it I am reminded of that crazily amazing stage set and video production that went along with the ups and downs of the song and specifically the buildup to the bombastic end. Just think of how you feel when fall turns to winter while the wind picks up and the world gets dark and things start crashing in around you. DD
Maritime Ticket Giveaway
Chicago-based Maritime fans get a special treat today—the chance to win two tickets to the April 22nd show at the Empty Bottle. Respond at the bottom of this blog post or tweet @Rdio with your favorite Maritime album + the hashtag #MaritimeFavorite. Do this between now and 1:00 PM PST on Monday, April 11th, we’ll pick a random winner. Read the Official Rules for more information.
Since overtaking SXSW with their many high-energy performances, The Naked and Famous have climbed the Rdio Top Charts and are probably gracing your network’s Heavy Rotation too. If you can’t get enough of their new album, Passive Me, Aggressive You, we have a treat for you—Five Questions with the Band, a playlist of what they’re listening to and a ticket giveaway for some lucky people in Austin. They’ll be performing with Foals andFreelance Whales—so locals, be sure to enter.
Five Questions with The Naked and Famous
Who do you think is an important musician that most people have never heard of before? The Naked and Famous: F In Math is Michael Logie from New Zealand. Very clever and entertaining individual. Check it out.
If you had access to any record in the world, what would you listen to right now? TNAF: I would listen to Ravedeath, 1972 by Tim Hecker which I have right now!
Which album or artist do you most associate with your childhood? TNAF: Who ever wrote the Power Rangers and Pokemon theme songs.
We hope people are ______________ when they listen to our music. TNAF: Wearing headphones or driving really fast or wearing headphones while driving really fast
We were thinking about ______________ when we wrote music for the new album. TNAF: Various themes but a lot of time was spent thinking about pizza.
We have two tickets to The Naked and Famous at Austin’s own La Zona Rosa on April 21st. They’re performing with Foals and the Freelance Whales—it’s sure to be an awesome show. How to enter? Leave a comment below with your favorite TNAF song or respond on Twitter to @Rdio with the hashtag #TNAFtix. Do it between now and noon Friday and we’ll randomly select a winner. Read the Official Rules for more information.
Choose the music you want to play and listen as much as you want — from the web or your phone, even when you’re offline. Find new music by following what your friends are listening to. No ads.
As part of Rdio’s huge 1-year anniversary ticket giveaway, we have a special ticket giveaway for Rdio’s hometown: San Francisco. Win two 3-Day passes to our own music and arts festival, Outside Lands—this year’s outstanding lineup includes: Phish, The Shins, Muse, The Black Keys, Girl Talk, Arcade Fire, Deadmau5, The Decemberists, The Roots, OK GO, Big Boi, Ellie Goulding, Best Coast, Foster the People, Major Lazer, Little Dragon.
