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Lady Gaga dumps Target over anti-gay donations
Target coverage on Blotter

Frank Ocean has just released arguably the hottest R&B album of the year in Channel Orange, but don't go looking for it at your local Target store. The Minnesota-based chain has unwisely decided not to stock the title by the jaw-droppingly talented singer who emerged from the the Odd Future hip-hop collective in Los Angeles to stardom. He's written songs for Justin Bieber and Beyonce, and collaborated with Jay-Z and Kanye West on their Watch the Throne album.

This move looks gross because Ocean recently publicly announced he is gay on his Tumblr page, even if it was a business decision.

You may remember Target made questionable political donations to MN Forward, a PAC that supported anti-gay gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer during the 2010 election angered Lady Gaga last year. There are several reasons why this is a stupid move, though.

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​At a mere 23 years old, Czech-born singer and songwriter Markéta Irglová has already enjoyed success in the United States, both as the co-star of the sleeper hit Once (which won an Oscar for Best Original Song) and as her film co-star Glen Hansard's bandmate in their touring project the Swell Season. But despite her ear for melody and her beautiful, understated voice, Irglová often was sidelined in those projects as Hansard stood center stage, inviting his Frames bandmates into the fold and making the Swell Season performances almost entirely about him.More »

​When seasoned rock 'n' roll bassist and songwriter Tommy Stinson came to Minneapolis this past May for a gig at the Mainroom, he hinted that his second solo album was finished and nearly ready to be released. Now, that album has an offiical release date and a name: One Man Mutiny will be offered up on Stinson's own label, Done to Death Music, on August 30.
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Photo by Stacy Schwartz

​When Craig Finn performed solo at the Fitzgerald this April for the MPR interview series Wits, the Hold Steady frontman took a detour from his band's upbeat bar-rock sing-alongs to debut three songs with a decidedly slower, sadder feel. It was clear then that Finn was in the process of developing new songs that would fall outside the Hold Steady's catalog, so it's no surprise the he posted this week that he is down in Austin, Texas recording a set of songs that will make up his first solo album.
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​Well isn't this just precious. A slew of indie darlings have joined Lou Reed, Patti Smith and even a former Beatle to pay homage to influential early rock 'n' roller Buddy Holly on new tribute album Rave on Buddy Holly, which is streaming in its entirety today over at NPR. Holly was only 22 years old when he died in a plane crash that also took the lives of his tourmates Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper J.T. Richardson while they were en route to a show in Moorhead, Minnesota, but his immaculately composed catalog of pop songs still sound fresh and relevant today and make for the perfect launch-pad for a project with artists of this caliber.

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Photo by Stacy Schwartz

​Spending a lot of time on the road can sometimes have an adverse affect on a band's output -- some find it impossible to stay focused enough to continue writing songs amidst the relentless touring cycle, let alone make their way into a recording studio to lay down new tracks. But for Peter Wolf Crier's Peter Pisano and Brian Moen, their rigorous touring schedule has only seemed to propel them forward into a new sound and new set of songs on their forthcoming sophomore album, Garden of Arms, due out September 6 on Jagjaguwar.
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​Coldplay announced today via their website that they will be streaming a new single on their website this Friday, called -- wait for it -- "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall." Naturally, this announcement has been met with more than a few stifled giggles across the blogosphere, mostly because the title sounds like it should have been a hidden track on a Dashboard Confessional album circa 2001.

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Photo by D. L. Anderson

​Bon Iver's page on the Jagjaguwar site is down this morning, which can only mean one thing: Today's the day when the Indiana indie label is unveiling the details for the band's sophomore album. Last month, bandleader Justin Vernon conducted an interview with Rolling Stone that shed some light on the forthcoming record, and today we learn that the new album is titled Bon Iver, Bon Iver and will be released on June 21.
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​It's hard to believe 10 years have passed since I picked up my first Radio K Stuck on AM compilation, because I still remember it vividly.

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Photo by Ben Clark

Justin Vernon performing with DeYarmond Edison at SXSW

​Justin Vernon has kept mostly quiet about his next Bon Iver record until this week, focusing his energy on his side projects (Gayngs, the recent DeYarmond Edison reunion), and -- oh yeah, collaborating with one of the most famous pop stars on the planet. But this week, thanks to an interview he conducted with Rolling Stone, some details are emerging about his second full-length album, which is due out later this year.

Here are eight things we know about Bon Iver's next record so far, cobbled together from a quick chat with Vernon, some recent press, and some things we've gleaned from social media.

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