With the official release at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, excitement for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the last book in the series, is massive. Perhaps nothing is more indicative of Potter Mania than the music genre it has given birth to - wizard rock. Using Hogwarts characters as inspiration and dealing with themes from J.K. Rowling’s popular series, the group Harry and the Potters are accredited with starting the genre five years ago. Since then, the number of wizard rockers has grown to approximately 180 and sites like The Wizrocklopedia and WizardRock.org are dedicated to following the artists and their shows (sometimes held at libraries) where muggles rock out.

As a tribute to the finale of the wizarding saga, Hypeful has collected 17 tracks (Harry’s age in Hallows) by wizard rockers to share with you. Load these tracks up on your muggle iPod and hopefully they’ll help keep your life spoiler-free while you wait to learn about the fate of The Boy Who Lived. Also, you may want to check out recent articles about wizard rock done by Salon and NPR.

MP3s:
Bella’s Love - “Angsty Wizard Summer”
Danny Dementor - “Where’s Your Hood At?”
Draco and the Malfoys - “My Dad is Rich”
Dumbledore’s Army - “Firebolt”
Harry and the Potters - “Song for the Death Eaters”
Hogwarts, A History - “Neville Neville Neville”
How Airplanes Fly - “Luna I Believe In You”
Ministry of Magic - “Snape vs. Snape”
The Moaning Myrtles - “Prefects Are Hot”
The Mudbloods - “Freedom is Just a Hippogriff Away”
The Parselmouths - “It’s Not Half Bad”
Potter and the Lightning Bolts - “Hogwartz”
The Remus Lupins - “Remember Cedric”
Tom Riddle and Friends - “Fleur, Mon Ami”
Weezard - “The Order”
The Whomping Willows - “Draco and Harry Secretly Want To Make Out”
Wyrd Sisters - “This Is The Night”

When Dave Matthews goes dark, good things have happened (please see The Lillywhite Sessions). Now there’s news that Dave has penned the song “Fly” which plays a crucial role in the creepy film Joshua.

“Joshua” is about a musical child whose family life dramatically alters once his baby sister is born. Quickly, the family starts to fall apart, and Joshua seems to be at the center of its downfall. The film’s release eerily follows the recent birth of Matthew’s son, who was thankfully not named Joshua.

Here’s a mini-music video of the song while we wait to hear more.

ARTIST:
Blue October

ACL DATE/TIME:
Saturday, September 15, 4:30 PM

PREVIOUS ACL APPEARANCES:
1 (2005)

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It’s the day after Monday, so that means new albums are dropping. The following four new releases caught Hypeful’s attention today - please enjoy.

Editors - An End Has a Start
MP3: “Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors”
STREAM: Entire Album

The Magic Numbers - Those the Brokes
MP3: “This Is A Song”
STREAM: Entire Album

Monster Bobby - Gaps
MP3: Monster Bobby - “The Closest Experience to That of Being With You Is the Experience of Taking Drugs”

Rooney - Calling the World
MP3: “Calling The World”
STREAM: Entire Album

Listening to Los Campesinos!, one suspects a crazy party could break out at any moment like a scene from some lost 80’s flick. In their song “It Started With A Mixx”, seven-piece Los Campesinos! seem to self-reference their sound with the well-stated lyric, “Trying to find the perfect match between pretentious and pop.” Thankfully, the Welsh band skillfully puts their music where their mouths are and delivers songs that straddle the line between twee and something more dangerous.

Alternating between raucous male and euphonic female vocals, LC! (as they’re known in some circles) have been compared to Art Brut, The Futureheads, and Broken Social Scene. At once manic and controlled, “We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives” is a two and a half minute blast that delivers precisely what the title promises. By comparison, the densely layered “You! Me! Dancing!” clocks in at over six minutes and demonstrates LC! are more than capable of writing a lengthier track that never overextends its welcome. Check out these tracks and prepare yourself for spontaneous shindigs to breakout!

MP3:
Los Campesinos! - “We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives”
Los Campesinos! - “You! Me! Dancing!”

VIDEO:
“We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives”