For those of you that just can't wait until Monday, you can listen to Kanye's latest and (not so?) greatest over at www.myspace.com/kanyewest right now.  Press release after the jump:

Words cannot describe how excited I am to be posting this news.  Earlier today Nate Ruess (formerly of greatest-band-ever, The Format) sent out an email to all the fans declaring his new band, aptly titled: fun.  I'm not going to waste anymore time with my useless words.  Take it away, Nate:

In preperation for their upcoming full-length, The Glass Passenger, Jack's Mannequin has released The Ghost Overground, a new, four song EP.

The EP is available today on iTunes and should help ease the pain while we wait for Passenger.  Grab The Ghost Overground here and head over to jacksmannequin.com to pre-order the full-length in three different flavors (digital, retro, traditional).

While we're in Mannequin mode, you might want to check out Curt's conversation with front man Andrew McMahon in case you missed it the first time around, or as a solid re-read while you listen to your shiny new EP.

The Raconteurs are launching a new live section on their website and, in a decidedly Web 2.0 move, want your help!  Reaching out to fans for YouTube ready footage of their live shows, the band has asked fans to send in their own shaky-cam, Blair Witch-esque amateur videos. 

It's nice to see a band that's actually encouraging fans to bring cameras and other recording devices to their show, rather than banning them from reliving their happy concert going memories.

Hit read more to read more.

Fans of Canada's indie super-group Broken Social Scene (which could currently be coined Brendan Canning and friends) will be excited to hear that the Torontonians have added more dates to their Something For All Of Us Tour. 

Full press release after the jump:

Hype can be a dangerous thing.  On one hand, you have the benefits of additional publicity and exposure; but on the other hand, you are monitored and criticized with the grueling expectations of demanding fans and cynical press alike.  Having been hailed as one of the best live acts to ever grace the stage (Spin magazine ranked them 8th – one below Green Day and one above Prince – on their Top 25 Current Live Bands list a couple of years ago), I went into this show cautiously optimistic, trying not to let my hopes get the best of me.  Overall The Hives met, and at times exceeded these hopes – albeit with some minor compromise. 

If you've seen The Hives live before, or even if you've read about their performances, you already know the formula to follow in this paragraph: flamboyant The Hives frontman Pelle Almqvist struts his stuff up and down the stage (and surrounding areas), exchanging humorous banter with the crowd, all the while doing his best peacock impression; meanwhile, Almqvist's sidekick, guitarist Nicholaus Arson brings a more visceral presentation to the stage, sweat dripping from his curly blond shag and a much harder look on his face.  The antics begin with Almqvist and end with Arson, which leads me to my only real criticism: the other three members become nearly invisible (with the occasional exception of drummer Christian Grahn).  In saying that, not everyone can be as over the top and outwardly entertaining as Almqvist – in fact I'd have a hard time naming even a few people that are in the same league as the energetic, eccentric Swede (Iggy, perhaps?), so this is really less a slight on the band and more an acknowledgement of just how crazy Almqvist is.  If he wasn't at the front of a stage he'd probably be in a padded room.

Join PopZap as we scour the globe with our favorite bands to find all those happenin' spots in their hometowns. The only travel guide you'll ever need!

Shawn Neary, bassist of Minneapolis based experimental indie-rock band Cloud Cult, cues us in on hot locales in his hometown:

Minneapolis Whoa!

1.) Minnehaha Park It’s on the city’s south border, and it has a waterfall. A big, thundering waterfall that freezes mid-flow in the winter. There’s also a trail at the base of the falls that leads to the Mighty Mississippi. Combine this with a little restaurant selling line-out-the-door-inducing tilapia tacos and bicycles built for two all over the place and you have a pretty good picture of the place.

 
Whoa. Where did this come from? Wasn’t Santogold (Santi White) supposed to be a carbon copy of M.I.A.? Listening through her new self-titled release instead I’m picking up elements of No Doubt, Tegan and Sara, Rilo Kiley, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and yes, M.I.A. as well. After being written off as an M.I.A. clone for months based on a couple tracks, Santi finally gets a chance to strut her stuff, and strut she does. 

Santogold is far and away more diverse than anything M.I.A. has done. Santi is able to go from the danceable and M.I.A.-esque, addictive “Creative” (one of my favorite songs so far this year) to “You’ll Find A Way”, echoing early No Doubt (read: good No Doubt). The most impressive part out of all of this is she is talented at every type of music she tries. Of course any album as genre-spanning and ambitious as this is going to have a few weak spots. As versatile an album as it is, it is hard for it to feel coherent, it feels more like a mixtape than a planned out album. However, that isn’t to discredit the quality of the music, it just doesn’t flow very well at times. If you can get past that though, you’ll find 12 tracks running the gamut of indie music, and doing all of it superbly. Maybe Santogold should take on a Sufjan Stevens-esque project, but instead of doing states, she could do genres? What do you say Santi? You can thank me in your liner notes.