In November 2010, The Bicycle Music Company in conjunction with Trent Reznor’s Null Corporation released the newly remastered reissue of Nine Inch Nails’ groundbreaking debut album Pretty Hate Machine (2010 Remaster) to critical acclaim. And while remastered albums can give us a fresh sonic perspective on a classic work, sometimes it is the original version that holds the true feeling of the album.

And so after many years of being out of print, and for the first time ever digitally, comes the original version of Trent Reznor’s 1989 industrial synth-pop masterpiece Pretty Hate Machine as well as the EPs associated with the album’s hit singles (Down In It, Sin and Head Like A Hole). All songs, including the breakthrough singles “Sin,” “Down In It” and “Head Like A Hole,” were written, arranged, programmed and performed by Reznor. With sales surpassing 3 million copies, ultimately reaching Triple Platinum status, this highly influential album is a significant document and testament of its era and a natural companion piece for NIN fans and purists.

Thousands of people mourned when Indian Spiritual Guru Puttaparthi Sai Baba passed away in April. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recognized Baba as a spiritual leader who inspired millions to lead a moral and meaningful life even as they followed the religion of their choice, noting “His teachings were rooted in the universal ideals of truth, right conduct, peace, love and non-violence.” Aside from attracting thousands of religious devotees, he also established an organization that still funds health and education projects in India, including hospitals and clinics that say they cure ailments beyond the capabilities of mainstream medicine. He also inspired several artists, including Bombay S. Jayashri, Kalyani Sundararajan and Chithra to produce devotional albums in his honor. While he has passed on, the legacy of his teachings and his actions will be remembered by many for years to come.

As the ultimate songwriter’s songwriter and the unsung hero of American popular music, Mickey Newbury’s influence is immeasurable. His early success as a songwriter in Nashville and his selfless and relentless championing of others paved the way for Kris Kristofferson, Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark and David Allen Coe. Joanna Newsom recently cited the inspiration of Mickey Newbury (alongside Kris Kristofferson and Sandy Denny) as a songwriter with “the ability to compose a lyrical line that is so perfect, so distilled and clean and pure”.

Newbury songs have, to date, been recorded over 1300 times by more than 1000 performers including Johnny Cash, Scott Walker, Ray Charles, Joan Baez, Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette, the Box Tops, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and Nick Cave. He is the only songwriter ever to have number one hits (with different songs) in the pop, country, R&B and easy listening charts within the space of one year (three of those songs were in the charts simultaneously). But Mickey Newbury himself was by far the best interpreter of his own songs.

A visionary album in the vein of Love’s Forever Changes and Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks, Looks Like Rain immerses the listener into a vividly-painted emotional landscape of heartbreak, madness and despair tracked by the sound of wind chimes and rain. Mickey followed this masterpiece with another, 1970′s ‘Frisco Mabel Joy—recently voted number 6 in an Uncut reader’s poll of the 50 greatest ‘lost’ albums. Here he broadened the palette, incorporating the sound of the Nash Philharmonic, an ‘orchestra’ consisting of electric and steel guitars, to produce what Mojo described as “an hallucinatory suite of sad, soulful songs”. The cycle of Cinderella Sound albums ended in 1973 with a third epic, Heaven Help The Child, by which time Mickey’s increasing confidence in the studio was clear and he had definitively laid out his stall as a recording artist.

Mickey himself thought of these albums as one piece—conceptually, thematically, musically and lyrically. “[They] all tie together in my head,” he said. “Some of the songs refer to the same situation, just looking at it from a four-year difference in time.” And Peter Blackstock, the editor of No Depression magazine, has said of these records: “There may be no more fully realized cyclical trinity of albums in American popular music.” Once you’ve heard them you’ll understand why.

If you caught our Digital Digging post on Sleeping at Last a few weeks ago, you would have read about the Yearbook project the band started up last October. Basically, the band decided to release a three-song EP for each month, and now that June is in full swing, it’s time for their newest EP to hit the shelves.

This is a pretty creative venture, even in an age where gimmicks surrounding releases are becoming increasingly prevalent. But this has a lot more implications for the band than a giveaway or a ‘name your price’ scheme. Producing an album is no easy task, so to commit to the process for an entire year seems almost silly. And yet, the project has been extremely successful so far. Fans have the option of purchasing each EP individually for $3, or subscribing to all 12 EPs at any time for $30.

But the success of the venture has more to do with the talent of Sleeping at Last and their music than the gimmick itself. The seasonal EP format has allowed them to branch out creatively and experiment with new sounds rather than focusing their efforts on one cohesive album, meaning each EP captures a different vibe from the rest. 8 EPs into the Yearbook project, they have yet to disappoint, keeping fans eagerly anticipating the next month to hear what’s next.

You can read more about the Yearbook project on Sleeping at Last’s website.

LTM’s Boutique Label imprint presents a digitally remastered compilation CD of classic electro tracks by cult German producer and Vocoder maestro Zeus B. Held, recorded between 1978 and 1981.

Having first made his name as keyboards player in progressive band Birth Control, Zeus formed one half of pioneering electro duo Gina X Performance in the late 1970s, as well as making the three solo albums (Attack Time, Europium and Zeus’ Amusement) from which this new collection is compiled. The CD also features a reworking of signature GXP dance track “Nice Mover”, as well as a new edit of 1978 Eurodisco hit “On the Road Again” by Rockets, on which Zeus provided the Vocodered voice and percussion as well as harmonica and synth.

If you are a fan of electronic music or even if you are not, take a listen to one of the earliest electro and vocoding pioneers as he takes electronic music into a new era.  The foundation and root for what a lot of today’s electronic music stems from.

“White Wedding”

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When Pigs Fly is a compilation album comprised of songs one would not expect to hear a particular artist perform. All songs (except for Roy Clark’s) were recorded exclusively for this project.  This unique compilation ventures over genre walls to bring some of music’s most “unforgettable” tunes to your ears as never heard before.

The recordings include Ani DiFranco and film star Jackie Chan doing a re-make of the Nat King Cole classic, “Unforgettable;”  new wave icons Devo performing Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s “Ohio;”  80′s pop stars, The Fixx, creating their own take on the Nancy Sinatra hit, “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’;”  Lesley Gore singing the AC/DC tune, “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap;” and country music legends, The Oak Ridge Boys, recording the Kansas megahit, “Carry On My Wayward Son.”  And of course Herman Hermits’ ultimate cover of the great Billy Idol’s “White Wedding.”

Whether you are a classic rocker, a metal head, a hip-hop junky, or a lounge lizard this is a delightful sonic treat, well worth listening to.

Balancing relatable melodies with obscure influences, Sleeping At Last has made it their mission to produce music that pushes the limits of conventionality while remaining accessible. They’ve toured with the likes of Switchfoot, Yellowcard, Something Corporate, The Format and Zwan, and signed a contract with Interscope Records after being championed by Billy Corgan of Zwan and The Smashing Pumpkins. Their song “Quicksand” was also featured on the third season of Grey’s Anatomy.

Sleeping At Last typically work through the format of an album, preferring the process of creating an extended idea rather than smaller, individual singles. But last October, they decided to start a project called “Yearbook,” where they would release three songs at the beginning of each month for twelve months, so each EP would correspond to the month of the release.

May’s edition features Ryan O’Neal’s tender vocals over Dan Purdue’s ethereal keyboards that rise and fall with a wide range of instrumentation including guitar, piano, ukulele, and strings. It’s a delicate take on the month that channels a curious pre-summer sense of open possibility with a relaxed end-of-springtime vibe.

In the tradition of long strange trips across wide open spaces, the Colin L. Orchestra arrived at the offices of Northern-Spy Records via Colin Langenus’ previous project, USAISAMONSTER.  He’s exchanged his previous duo for a full-scale rock orchestra of his bestest buds on multiple guitars, drums, violins, keyboards.  Their first project, Infinite Ease/Good God, is full-scale indeed.  Though three years in the making, the tracks contained on the album flow as smoothly as an inner tube on a lazy stream on a Summer’s afternoon. Three years setting schemes and arranging sleeping dreams have culminated in two lush, flowing albums full of anthems and wee small moments.  From the supple bass line that opens, “You Need Sleep,” to crunches of guitar shred melting into velvet strings on their way to a country ditty that would do Graham Parsons proud.

The Colin L. Orchestra takes simple country melodies and twists them together with classic rock n’ roll guitar licks and harmonica jams in a medley that is inclusive of those genres, yet distinctly separate from them at the same time.  Just when you want to label a song as country it will turn into a Rock n’ Roll anthem featuring all the whistles and bells you would expect from a classic rock act.  Dirty guitar jams and radical instrumentation break the conventional boundaries that define genre and begin to illustrate a new and authentic musical style.  To say that Infinite Ease/Good God can be  defined by genre or placed into a specific musical category would be limiting to the actual properties that can be found when listening to the album.

Here is a double-pleasure that re-envisions the “jam band” and, at the same time, “indie rock,” meshing together minimalistic repetitive jams, bright melodies, and loose, easy-going vocals all in the sole service of aiding your bliss.

Tindersticks have been known for their complex and often dramatic albums that fall somewhere between bizarre indie rock and gentle chamber pop, but they’ve also been composing soundtracks for French director Claire Denis’s films, starting with Nénette et Boni in 1996. Since then, the band has produced three other Claire Denis soundtracks as a band, and members Stuart A. Staples and Dickon Hinchliffe have composed one apiece on their own. On April 26, the band will release all six soundtracks as part of a digital box set that will be available on iTunes. The release has garnered the attention of indie media giants, Pitchfork, who have published an announcement of the release along with a video of the opening song from the film Trouble Every Day. You can see the article in its entirety here. And be sure to check out the video exclusive below…

Hailing from a city well known for birthing incredible musical acts, comes Athens Georgia’s own, Yip Deceiver. Originally intended to be a solo project from Of Montreal’s Davey Price, it has since turned into a collaborative effort with a little help from Sugar and Gold’s Nicolas Dobbratz. Considering the origins of both artists it is no surprise that the fusion of creativity on their joint venture produces some rather impressive results.  But yet, we are still surprised and delightfully impressed when we begin to unpack the contents of their self titled debut EP, which will be available worldwide starting tomorrow.  Yip Deceiver’s music is an exciting take on experimental dance pop featuring strong hooks and playful elements of new wave, ’80s R&B, and electro. This limited edition vinyl release with four brand-new songs marks the first 12” release on Aerobic International. The band is currently working on its debut album, due out late 2011.