About a month ago we made a significant switch on THE DROP website. The adjustment came as a way to incorporate the multitude of ways that users would interact with the website. We had been using a social plug-in and it really started out working amazing. Last month I was introduced to ShareThis and I found that the plug-in was easy to use and that it actually gave the user more options to pass around the info and would be crucial in the interaction of social media to the site. The user would then be able to add or share the posts via their Myspace or Facebook but could also email them to friends if they so chose. A little while back The Drop was featured on the ShareThis site. We got sandwiched between infertility and obscure movies - I don’t think it’s a bad start.

I also had a chance to join their Publishers Group on Facebook. What I loved about this was that I then could put faces with the code writers and other bloggers/new media types who were employing the same pieces and any additional strategy that they may have. ShareThis has just been named one of the Top 20 plugins to have on Wordpress and I highly recommend it.

Radio Magazine sat down with Dan Portnoy about a month ago to get the skinny on Radio options in the digital age. (more…)

It’s March Already! So much happened in the month of February that it’s thrown off our space/time continuum. We relocated to Sunny Southern California to better work with some clients. And heres the updated address:

556 S. Fair Oaks Avenue, Suite. 101 #318
Pasadena, CA. 91101
ph. 434.426.8523

The dust is still settling and as the shelves get filled with our vast collection of Precious Moments Dolls we plan on rocking the southern California business community with New Media Expertise

This week THE DROP received a full redesign to more of a magazine layout. After a lot of thinking about how our readers were interacting with the site, one thing was painfully obvious:

There was too much content for readers to grab in any orderly fashion. (more…)

Myk Porter (guitarist/vocalist of Brandtson) has been taking of advantage of the bands time off. He has come up with a few alternative experimental tracks for your listening pleasure under the moniker May This House Be Safe From Tigers. Turn off the lights and check out the music its better in the dark.
Also in stores tomorrow:
Cartel ” self-titled [Epic] (find out what they really accomplished in the bubble)
Rilo Kiley ” Under The Blacklight [Warner Brothers] (indie/disco/alternative?)
and it’s my friend Casey’s birthday tomorrow, wish him a happy one.

My first order of business is Fountains of Wayne. Like Bruce Willis in Die Hard, these guys are back with a vengeance. If you read that last sentence and it evokes a humdrum “blah blah blah,” I’ve been there with you. However, if you’ve got any soul to your music tastes, you will take my vehemence of passion and see for yourself the goodness these guys possess in their latest record, Traffic and Weather. Don’t be one of the countless paltry listeners who dub these guys the “Stacy’s Mom band” and write them off as a one-hit wonder. Trust me. With songs like the title track, “Fire In The Canyon,” “Yolanda Hayes,” and the balladry of, “I-95,” you’ve got powerpop at its finest. Skip the foreplay of their myspace, and just buy the record here. Here’s to these guys sticking around for the long haul.
Second order of business. Go read Coury’s last post and show him some honor and support by checking out, A Fine Frenzy. Only $7.99 on Itunes right now!!! No explanation needed.

Like our own Mr. Benson, I too have a soft spot for female vocalist. The last week, I can’t seem to pull away from a melancholy little ditty by the name of “Near to You”. This achingly beautiful ballad can be found on A Fine Frenzy’s debut album, “One Cell In the Sea”. Buried towards the end of this piano pop odyssey, “Near” is a standout and is quickly becoming an itunes favorite. Check it out.

You might not know John Paul White yet but you soon will. Last year the world got a small taste of his haunting acoustic sound on the OC compilation, “Covering Our Tracks”. His cover of ELO’s “Can’t Get It Out of My Head” is an intimate slow burn that makes you long for an entire album of similar treatments. Available on itunes.

I’ve been on hiatus finalizing plans on The Great American Road Trip - here’s this weeks playlist
Oh John - Jeremy Enigk
Distant Street Lights - Codes in Clouds
Section 29 (Light to Follow) - The Polyphonic Spree
Penny On A Train Track - Ben Kweller
You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb - Spoon
You Don’t Know Her Name - Maps
I Believe - Abra Moore
Boundaries - Kyte
Big Day - Tahiti 80
When Did Your Heart Go Missing - Rooney
Samson - Regina Spektor
Girls Who Play Guitars - Maximo Park
Rest My Chemistry - Interpol

This weeks episode features international troubadour, Josh Rouse. Dan talks with Josh about the latest album, Country Mouse, City House, his thoughts on world music and how you can get a hold of Josh’s latest recommendations through his Bedroom Classics. Download it today.

Download Josh Rouse - Country Mouse, City House

With an upcoming performance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Ferraby Lionheart is solidifying his spot as a modern day troubadour. This month Lionherat releases his first major label album (Digitally on August 7th, physically on September 4th) on Nettwerk and to give you a taste they’ve got a special FREE download Ferraby Lionhearts music draws easy comparisons to Richard Swift and Sondre Lerche and it’s worth checking out.
Grab the FREE Download of Ferraby Lionheart’s “Small Planet” here
Track listing for “Catch the Brass Ring”
1. Uno Ballo Della Luna
2. Small Planet
3. Vermont Avenue
4. Call Me The Sea
5. The Car Maker
6. A Bell And Tumble
7. Under The Texas Sky
8. Youngest Frankenstein
9. Before We’re Dead
10. The Octopus and the Ambulance
11. Put Me In Your Play
Grab the self Titled EP on iTunes here

Download Small Planet

As if you haven’t seen enough of Tegan and Sara in the past few weeks, they’ve got one more surprise. A new music video for “Back in Your Head”.
Also, The Con is tearing it up… It debuted at #34 on the Billboard 200 and is the #20 most downloaded album on iTunes. Congratulations T&S!

Big news out of the Matt Pond PA camp:
Mike here from Altitude Records. Just letting you know, you can swing by the matt pond PA MySpace page to hear a track from the new album LAST LIGHT!

They have also launched a great pre-order for Last Light, which hits shelves on September 25th (all pre-orders include a free poster). This is an LP you do not want to miss out on.

CocoRosie is the sisterly duet whose delicate and finely tuned sound is penetrating coffee shops all over the country. Sierra Rose Casady and Bianca Leilani Casady are their real names.
Being born only a few years apart from one another, they spent most of their adolescence apart due to complexities with their parents separation. The estranged sisters reunited as adults and formed the band. Their raw sound is created by incorporating all the innocence of a childs toy with the sophistication of an opera singer. Sharing the stage and touring with the likes of TV on the Radio, Bright Eyes, Devendra Banhart, and many more. Bianca has her own record label under the moniker, Voodoo Eros Records. Sierra started another band called Metallic Falcons which signed with her sisters label. CocoRosie addresses the complexities of defining innocence in a changing world like our own. As a listener you may feel as though your very life is flashing before your eyes with the emotion that CocoRosie achieves. Theyve just got a sweet sound and are masterful at putting to use your own emotion to draw you in a way that is unmatched.
Their official website is a fun one: http://www.cocorosieland.com/
Check out their video - Hairnet Paradise

Guest written by Annie, shoot me you feedback on this article by leaving a comment or email me at dan@thedroponline.com Interested with sharing your musical thoughts with the world? Drop me a line

Aussie sextet Architecture in Helsinki will release its third album, Places Like This on Aug. 21 via Polyvinyl Records, and will launch a full US tour on Oct. 10 in Philadelphia. The single, Heart it Races, is out now on CD EP, 12″ and 7″ formats. The band is currently in their native land playing to huge sell-out crowds, and will tour Europe extensively in August and September, including their first show ever actually in Helsinki on Aug. 18!
10-10 Philadelphia, PA - Starlight Ballroom
10-11 New York, NY - The Gramercy Theatre
10-12 Brooklyn, NY - Studio B
10-13 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
10-16 Chicago, IL - Metro
10-18 Toronto, Ontario - Lee’s Palace
10-19 Montreal, Quebec - La Tulipe
10-24 Minneapolis, MN - 400 Bar
10-26 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
10-27 Salt Lake City, UT - In the Venue
10-29 Seattle, WA - The Showbox
10-30 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
11-01 San Francisco, CA - Fillmore
11-02 San Diego, CA - House of Blues
11-05 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
11-10 Tucson, AZ - Solar Culture
11-13 Denton, TX - Hailey’s
11-14 Austin, TX - Emo’s
11-15 New Orleans, LA - The Republic
11-16 Tallahassee, FL - Club Downunder
www.architectureinhelsinki.com
www.myspace.com/aihmusic
Check out the Video for “Hold Music” on Vimeo and don’t forget to download the track below.

Download Architecture in Helsinki - Heart it Races

This week is for the Music lovers. A special episode of THE DROP Live! features Pattern is Movement who are destroying audiences (in a good way) with their version of Post rock pop melodies. AND THEN David Bazan takes the stage and gives up the ghost as he travels from old school to new in his performance. Taking from A DROP show in February. Download it today!