There appears to be a "battle of the bands" going on in our pop forum.

In case it wasn't made obvious (predictable) by the beautiful banner above, we're now streaming the first four tracks from Hit the Lights' new album, This Is a Stick Up... Don't Make It a Murder, on the band's AP.net profile.

Circa Survive have posted a video on Myspace.

Showtime has picked up Arrested Development (the best show ever) for 26 more episodes. That's all I know, but I'll post more when I find out.

I will be interviewing We Are The Fury and Pistolita; so leave any questions you may have in the comments. When you leave questions, make sure you specify the band you'd like me to ask.

Pitchfork recently released an article on how Best Buy is screwing over indie-record stores.

Looking for tickets to the upcoming Taking Back Sunday tour? I'd look here.

Tour Dates

March 31 - Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
Presale Dates: Wednesday, Feb 22nd @ 9 AM-Friday, Feb 24th @ 10 PM
4 ticket limit per customer

April 1 - Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue
Presale Dates: Wednesday, Feb 22nd @ 9...[read more]

AP.net's very own Scott Weber and his co-host Scott are looking for in-studio guests to be on their college radio show over the next few months. Their show is from 9-11pm (PST) on Tuesdays and is located at the University of Washington in Seattle. If you're a touring band and you're going to be in the area on a Tuesday, email Scott at scottweber@gmail.com.

The following albums, as well as a few others, are on sale for $7.99 this week (January 22-28) at Best Buy:

Time To Go To Best Buy

Plain White T's - All That We Needed
Hawthorne Heights - The Silence In Black and White
Action Action - An Army of Shapes Between Wars
New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
Broken Social Scene - S/T
From First To Last - Dear Diary My Teen Angst Has a Body Count
Antony and the Johnsons - I'm a Bird Nowread more]

Dates for Motion City Soundtrack's upcoming tour are selling out left and right, and some shows are even being switched to bigger venues. For example, the Chicago date has been moved from The Vic Theatre to The Rivera Theatre, and the Salt Lake City show will now be at The Avalon Theatre. Get your tickets now before they're all gone and you get that sad puppy dog face.

The tracklisting for Warcon's The Best of Taste of Chaos has been announced. The two-disc album releases January 24th.

Best of Taste of Chaos Tracklist

Side One
The Used - Sound Effects and Overdramatics
Underoath - I’ve Got Ten Friends and a Crowbar That Says You Won’t Do Jack
Story of the Year - Our Time Is Now
Thrice - Stare at the Sun
Matchbook Romance - In Transit for You
Thursday - I Wanna Hear Another Fast Songread more]

Below is a message from Heath Saraceno of Midtown:

Message

Hey Guys...
So, this summer I got the chance to produce a record for some good friends of mine, and it just so happens that they are the featured artist this week on pureVOLUME. I'd really appreciate it if you could check out read more]

Further Seems Forever have decided to call it quits. A "best of" disc is set for release on April 4th. Head to their website for their statement.

I have posted a new feautred download; New Atlantic - "The Best Day Of Your Life." Click here to see the feature, and click here to download the song.

Goldspot's "Tally Of The Yes Men" is featured on NPR as "One Of The Best CD's You Didn't Hear This Year".

Jordan of Every Time I Die has created his "Best Of 05 list":

Jordan's Best Of 05

Everyone else is doing it, but why stop at cd's?
1. KING KONG
2. DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979 - you're a woman, i'm a man
3. (tie) JAPAN/AUSTRALIA
4. TURBONEGRO - party animals
5. SOUNDS OF THE UNDERGROUND TOUR
6. PSP
7. EVERY TIME I DIE - gutter phenomenon
8. THE HIVES - live at...[read more]

You can check out the Best of 2005 lists for a few bands such as Xiu Xiu, Glitter Pals, Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower, Comeback Kid and others over at HSB, here.

Deathwish Inc. (Doomriders, 100 Demons, Some Girls) & friends top picks of 05.

Reminder: Though the picture links have not been uploaded, Best of 2005 Lists from Garett, Gabe, Frank, and Pat have been posted. Click each name for the respective list.

You've seen each staff member's individual lists, but not one from the entire website. Rohan and I have spent several hours putting together a definitive best of 2005 list for the staff here AP, using a weighted points system, combining the rankings of all the staff members to create one list. Enjoy!

Because I'm not internet savvy enough to figure out all the quips of the site. I too will let Rohan get my picture and link up on the Best Of 2005 Forum. Until then, go here for my Best Of 2005. Cheers and I hope you all have a great holiday season.

Our best of 2005 feature will be up by the end of this week ... so this is the official last call for any bands to contact Rohan to have your lists included.

My American Heart's cover of Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" is now up for listening on the band's pureVOLUME.com page.

Our news archive system now works with formating (bold/links/etc.) so you have no excuses for ever missing any of our old news posts.

The Best Of Taste of Chaos compilation will be released through Warcon Records on January 24, 2006. Check out some information and the the twenty six song tracklisting below.

Best of Taste Of Chaos Tracklisting

The Best of Taste of Chaos to be Released January 24th by WARCON Enterprises

Much-Anticipated Compilation Includes Songs by The Used, Story of the Year, Shadows Fall, Killswitch...[read more]

Get 2 Tooth & Nail and Solid State CD's For Only $15 at BestBuy.com! Through December 17th, you can get 2 Tooth & Nail or Solid State CD's for only $15 at BestBuy.com! This is your chance to stock up on CD's for yourself and to do all your holiday shopping at the same time! Choose from 35 titles in all! Click here for more details and to place your order...[read more]

The fantastic and underrated indie-pop band, Dolour, have a "Best Of" album out now entitled, A Matter of Time (2000-2005). It is currently available from Quince Records.