Here are the Top 10 albums played on The Alternate Side for 4/17/09.

10. Asobi Seksu, Hush, Polyvinyl Records

9. Coconut Records, Davy, Young Baby Records

8. Doves, Kingdom Of Rust, Astralwerks Records

7. Various Artists, Dark Was The Night Compilation, 4AD Records

6. Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Domino Records

5. Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, Glassnote Records

4. Passion Pit, Chunk Of Change EP, Frenchkiss Records

3. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, It's Blitz!, Interscope Records

2. The Decemberists, Hazards Of Love, Capitol Records

1. The Dead Weather, Horehound, Third Man Records

Hey Alternate Siders...meet The Dig!

These four musicians have put into motion a successful plan to pump out supersonic, old school rock with a fresh bite. Since 2007, The Dig have made acclaimed efforts to bring reform to the current music scene with their debut EP, Good Luck and Games. And recently, the band has put forth a three song stimulus package to help you get through these trying times. No, this demo won’t put dollars in your pocket, but it will instantly make you feel better, or at least offer you some musical escapism, with the nasty bass lines in songs like “Penitentiary” and the perfect clash of the innocent tambourine and loads of dirty guitar distortion on songs like, “She’s Gonna Kill That Boy.”

The Dig have recently played three different residencies at Piano’s on the Lower East Side and have also been featured on Fox’s Fearless Music. This may be confidential information, but there has been talk that The Dig has plans to raise all bored and forlorn listeners up with a much anticipated, extensive undertaking: a complete album!

The Dig recently visited The Alternate Side studios. Here they are performing "Penitentiary:"

If you've been listening to The Alternate Side over the past couple of months while slacking in your cubicle, you may have heard the music of Low Water. The band is based out of Brooklyn (shocking, I know), and recently released a new album called "Twisting The Neck Of The Swan." They have a sound that has been compared to The Replacements and Elvis Costello. We hear a Wilco influence in their music as well.

As for their interestingly titled new album, frontman Johnny Leitera was asked about what it's all about in a recent interview with IndieSoundsNY and commented, "It's a reference to Mexican poet Enrique Gonzalez Martinez who basically encouraged young writers to write from the heart. I came across the quote in a Garcia Marquez novel and liked the sentiment."

Being fans of Low Water's music, WFUV's The Alternate Side had the band up to our studios for an exclusive performance. Here's "Voodoo Taxi:"

If you listen to The Alternate Side here on the web or on WFUV-HD3 - you're bound to hear new music from:

Coconut Records - Davy

Jason Schwartzman is a talented fellow. He is of the Coppola family and his mom is actress Talia Shire. Such facts don't make him talented necessarily, but they do make him cool. You may recall his own acting work in movies like Rushmore, I Heart Huckabees and The Darjeeling Unlimited. Plus, he's a had a career as a musician - first with Phantom Planet (who were never the same once he left) and now as Coconut Records. "Davy" is his sophomore release as Coconut Records, and Schwartzman produces and plays most of the instruments on the record. It's infectious indie pop...and Schwartzman is proof that it is possible to act well AND be a talented musician at the same time. Jared Leto was the first to prove this.

BLK JKS - Mystery

Are you aware of the South African alternative scene? What?!?! NO?!?!? Slacker. Had you been on top of your alternative music from Johannesburg, you'd have already heard of BLK JKS. They've drawn comparisons to TV On The Radio, and for good reason. There are lots of thumping afrobeat drums on this record, multi-layered vocals and well-arranged fuzz and distortion. If that's your thing, you may want to check these guys out. They'll be in NYC in a few days. Here are the dates:

03/13/09 Brooklyn, NY - Union Hall

03/14/09 New York, NY - Santo's Partyhouse

Speaking of TV On The Radio...they contribute to this new release:

Various Artists, Nat King Cole Re-Generations

OK - we've read some pretty nasty reviews of this new release. And, to a certain extent, we get it. The voice of Nat King Cole is timeless. His legend well established. So the argument that you don't need to bring new sounds to classic ditties doesn't go over our heads. But there are enough talented artists re-contextualizing Mr. Cole's sound and voice to make it worthy of a listen. TVOTR, The Roots, Cut Chemist, Cee-Lo and others.

If you listen to The Alternate Side here on the web or on WFUV-HD3 - you're bound to hear new music from:

Passion Pit - Chunk Of Change EP

The band Passion Pit has been winning awards in the Boston area since their earliest shows. The Phoenix, a Boston music rag, awarded them the prize of Best New Act of 2008. And since then they've received accolades from the BBC, Pitchfork and others. The hype machine is in full swing, my friends. Their debut full-length album is called "Manners" and it will be out this Spring. From a shallow and superficial perspective (is there any other way?), they're also very very cool. We tried to get into one of their shows recently but were turned away at the door for not wearing proper attire. White rim sunglasses, a white belt and a v-neck shirt is must wear apparel when you go see Passion Pit perform. Don't say we didn't warn you.

Vetiver - Tight Knit

Full disclosure: I (won't speak for the entire Team) am a very big fan of Thom Monahan. Through the years, Monahan has worked as a musician and producer with bands like The Pernice Brothers, Devendra Banhart, Matt Pond PA, The Bigger Lovers and others.

With this in mind, I knew I would love this Vetiver album before I heard it for the simple reason that he produced it. Monahan has worked with Vetiver in the past, and their music has a folk sound that is intelligent, quirky yet accessible, and just really pleasant overall. Even if you don't fall in love with this band, you will certainly not regret giving them a listen.

Cotton Jones - Paranoid Cocoon

Have you ever heard of Michael Nau? He's the talented writer and musician behind the indie rock outfit Page France. Nau is from the Maryland area, and he put out three underrated indie-folk sounding albums with Page France. A past couple years ago he created a new side-project called The Cotton Jones Basket Ride (later thankfully shortened to just Cotton Jones). These days, Cotton Jones is Nau's full-time band, and their debut album "Paranoid Cocoon" has been getting a lot of love in The Alternate Side offices. It's a slow record without being boring. It's also a sad and sometimes depressing record, but isn't that what we're looking for out of our music sometimes? Who has time for happy records anyway? Especially late in February when our seasonal affective disorder is in full swing.

Also new to The Alternate Side: The Tallest Man On Earth!