As you know (I think), I’m in New York for My Morning Jacket at Saturday Night Live (rehearsals were yesterday and that was pretty damn cool. Bill Hader is my new favorite person).

The last time I was at SNL was with Beck back in 1999.

The two most reported headlines on my Google reader yesterday and today were MMJ’s fall tour dates and Beck signing with XL in the UK.

I really need to work on my blogging skillz if everyone else is reporting my husband’s tour dates before me. I’m beginning to suspect that if you look up “lame” in the dictionary there’s a picture of yours truly.

Anyhoo, you can read about Beck at Pitchfork.

And here are the MMJ dates (my head hurts just thinking about all the travel that’s coming up. Flight prices are insane right now, but RED ROCKS! YANNI PLAYED RED ROCKS! I WILL GET TO STAND ON THE SAME STAGE AS YANNI!):

June 20: New York (Radio City Music Hall)
Aug. 16: Louisville, Ky. (The Great Lawn at Louisville Waterfront Park)
Aug. 18: Kansas City (Uptown Theatre)
Aug. 19: Council Bluffs, Ia. (Stir Cove)
Aug. 21: Morrison, Colo. (Red Rocks Amphitheater with the Black Keys)
Aug. 23: Dallas (Palladium Ballroom)
Aug. 24: Austin (Stubbs)
Aug. 27: Atlanta (Fox Theatre-Atlanta)
Aug. 29: Miami (The Fillmore Miami Beach @ the Jackie Gleason Theater)
Aug. 30: Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (House of Blues- Orlando)
Aug. 31: Myrtle Beach, S.C. (House of Blues- Myrtle Beach)
Sept. 02: Charlottesville, Va. (Charlottesville Pavilion)
Sept. 03: Washington, D.C. (Constitution Hall)
Sept. 05: Philadelphia (Festival Pier Penn’s Landing)
Sept. 06: Boston (Bank of America Pavilion)
Sept. 19: Berkeley, Calif. (Greek Theatre)
Sept. 21: Los Angeles (Greek Theatre)
Sept. 23: Tempe, Ariz. (The Marquee)
Sept. 24: Las Vegas (The Joint)
Sept. 25: San Diego (SDSU Open Air Theater)
Sept. 27: Portland (McMenamins Edgefield)
Sept. 28: Seattle (McCaw Hall)
Oct. 2: Minneapolis (Orpheum Theatre)
Oct. 3: Milwaukee, Wis. (Riverside Theater)
Oct. 4: Detroit (The Fillmore Detroit)
Oct. 9: Chicago (Chicago Theatre)
Oct. 10: Chicago (Chicago Theatre)

Okay, I’m off to slog through the streets in the cold and rain. I’m totally getting sick so if you have some “get well quick” remedies, please email them to musicblog@sxsw.com.

TGIF and stuff, lp

OurStage who sponsored the music interview suite Studio SX at South by Southwest 2008 and co-sponsored the packed SXSW Film Closing Party (where Moby and Addictive TV played) has announced a strategic partnership with AOL Music.

On OurStage.com, independent bands can upload music and videos and compete for prizes, with site members voting for the winners. This content, including new music by top-ranked artists, interviews, streaming audio, and videos will now be available for distribution on AOL Music.

"Our partnership with AOL Music has given us international exposure on the world's largest music site," says Dean Tsouvalas, VP of Product for OurStage.

OurStage has also announced a slate of music festival partnerships for the 2008 festival season. Bonnaroo, Noise Pop, and Bumbershoot, among others, will tap OurStage to help fill out their line-ups using the company’s fan-driven music filters to identify the best emerging talent on their site.

Since its inception in 2007, OurStage has developed relationships with dozens of music industry partners to create career-launching opportunities for artists who are charting on the site.

PHOTO: EJ Alyssa Jane Hale is interviewing OurStage band American Babies at SXSW Studio SX. From left to right the band members are: Scott Metzger (guitar, vocals), Tom Hamilton (vocals, guitar, piano), and Jim Hamilton (bass, guitar, vocals).

My evening began with Susan Sarandon sitting four seats away from me at Town Hall (actually, it began with tater tots and milkshakes, but whatever). Soon thereafter her “life mate” Tim Robbins (he who likes to sing songs about William Rehnquist - I’ve seen it happen!) joined her in row M. I sound like such a stalker right now, but I care only to bring you the full experience of the show!

Once Tom and the rest of MMJ joined us I began to wonder if this was going to turn into an Elizabethtown reunion as there was someone who looked suspiciously like Paul Schneider a few rows ahead.

I was excited to hear Flight of the Conchords again as the last time I saw them they were wooing and wowing the crowd at the SXSW Welcome Dinner, which you can see bits of on YouTube with their doc Flight of the Conchords : A Texan Odyssey (if you look closely you can even see Tom and me eating or something).

They are some funny boys, those kiwis. The audience thought they were pretty funny, too. And by that I mean the audience thought they were as funny as the band, yelling out song requests (including, of course, “Freebird") and clapping along out of time to various songs (one of my pet peeves, I admit. I didn’t pay to hear your lack of rhythm, people. Okay, I didn’t pay at all, but if I had… and yes, I am an insufferable snot). I did think it was cute when someone gave them robots… tiny little robots… in honor of some… errr… robot song.

I don’t know how many times Jemaine shushed the audience, which I thought was awesome. I heard at one show he held up their set list and said “See, it does not include ‘conversation with FOTC.’” Brilliant. JC has a really lovely actual singing voice, I discovered, and hope to hear again quite soon. Tom liked the Hip Hop Hippopotamus song. My favorite is the classic about Jenny. This post would probably benefit from some knowledge of actual titles, I suppose.

The after party afforded me the opportunity to once again be at a function with Eugene Mirman and once again be too shy to say hi. I am such a goober. I did get to catch up with my friend Sean Eden (I really miss Luna) and talk politics and conspiracy theories. Todd Barry walked away when I walked up (I have cooties?), but I thought he was a good opener and a fair bongo player. Maybe he will do my LP Questionnaire if I ask politely…

My night ended with, appropriately probably, SAUSAGE HEAD!! I was on Houston about to grab a cab when he walked up and tried to sell us his manifesto. My friend bought one. I can’t wait to read it. I bet it’s going to change the world.

Okay, I hope I’ve made the evening seem as real to you (through the power of name droppage) as it was surreal to me.

Thanks for stopping by. Send email type things to musicblog@sxsw.com.

SNL rehearsal tomorrow. I can’t wait to see the magic happen! Again!

I heart NY, lp

Before I head off into the city (okay, before I head off to H&M), here’s a few bits and pieces that have made their way into my Google Reader (and a MBV vid I found on YouTube).

Hugo Burnham and Dave Allen have left the semi-recently reformed Gang of Four. The story from Dave’s blog. Hugo, aka DGS BLX, and Dave were SXSW regulars and always good fun.

My Bloody Valentine will tour this fall after curating ATP New York. But where’s the new record?!! Also, now that we’ve got Swervedriver and MBV, does that mean Chapterhouse might reunite, too? I still have great memories of seeing them at the Marquee in London in ‘91 (crap, I’ve just admitted to total geezerdom).

And lastly, my old faves, Tindersticks, have a new record. How I long to hear the dulcet tones of Stuart Staples once again.

Are you still living in the BritPop days of yore? Email us at musicblog@sxsw.com. Subscribe to our feedie here.

I hear it’s nice outside, lp

From Brooklyn Vegan…

Neil Diamond is doing a how tonight (Wednesday) for the “MySpace community” (isn’t that everyone?) at The Bitter End.

In New York!

I’m in New York!

I LOVE NEIL DIAMOND!

Too bad I’ll be at the Flight of the Conchords show at Town Hall instead.

Please enjoy some vintage Neil from his early days at The Bitter End. “Kentucky Woman.” I’m totally sure he was singing about me.

Boom boom, lp