College Pick of the Week

Today’s music pick is brought to you by WSBU-FM at St. Bonaventure University. Their in-store program is wrapping up this week and a giant thank you for their awesome picks. Watch the video below for Dale Earnhardt's live performance of "Vocal Chords."

AE Sessions: Liam Finn

Liam Finn performs an acoustic version of "Remember When" exclusively for AE.

Arctic Monkeys “Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair”

Loving the name of this song! The track is the first single proper from the Sheffield quartet’s highly anticipated fourth album, "Suck It and See" - out June 7th on Domino Records.

Costa Rican Charm: Guest Post from The Jungle Princess

This post comes to us from our friend Abby Tegnelia who writes the blog, The Jungle Princess. Abby spent a year between jobs exploring and writing about Costa Rica, our featured destination for The AE Nomad Summer Sweeps. She continues to blog about her life in Las Vegas as the Editor of Vegas Magazine. Here is her advice on what to see in Costa Rica.

Abby in Costa Rica

I am on email, Twitter and Skype all day long, keeping in touch with friends from all over the world, many whom I’ve met and some who I haven’t. Just this week I received my favorite type of email: from someone planning a move to Costa Rica, the slow-paced tropical little country I called home for one year. This particular traveler will be making her way all the way from India.

Another beautiful sunset in Costa Rica.

Even on my busiest days, I’ll always find time to write someone like her back, encouraging time in the land of pura vida, which means “pura life” in Spanish but can be translated to mean anything from “good morning” to “let’s put that off until tomorrow.” In Costa Rica, time really does seem to stand still. Getting out into the surfing towns and fishing villages, you can stroll along dirt roads, watching in awe as monkeys play in the trees or a flock of bright green toucans fly overhead. The sunsets are stunning, the cold beer cheap. Nothing is planned in advance, so the anxiety of my over-planned life in the United States melted away.

Monkeys are everywhere!

Everything is simple there; even the food consists mostly of fish, chicken, rice and beans. But the fish is on the oven rack was caught that day (the children fight over the eye balls!), and visitors to Costa Rica rave about its famous gallo pinto, black beans and rice.

Surfing towns like Guiones and Playa Grande revolve around the waves, forecasts spread among the locals and visitors like a game of telephone. Even those uninterested in hitting the waves can bask in the sun all day, watching the athletes at work, and hit the super-chill bars at night.

I spent a year in Costa Rica, unwinding. But no matter your time frame, the Central American country has so much to offer. From the volcanoes and hot springs of Arenal and the animal-packed hikes on the east coast, to the cloud forests of Monteverde and the quiet life of Coco, where I called home, Costa Rica can be truly life-changing. Slowing down and checking in with nature create the most centering, refreshing trip, the reason I think so many travelers fall in love with the country. I’m dying to hear who will be the next of my friends, virtual or otherwise, to head down there to experience the joy of this charming tropical country.

Enter HERE to win your chance to explore Costa Rica. You'll visit Finca Bellavista, Manuel Antonio and San Jose + enjoy 2 $250 AE gift cards. Sweeps ends May 25.

Today's Awesome New Music Releases

Apparently May 10th is Christmas in the music world because there’s a ton of great new releases hitting stores today and we couldn’t pick just one to feature. Do you plan to check out any of the new releases below?

Raphael Saadiq “Stone Rollin” out on Columbia
Saadiq’s brand of r&b puts a modern twist on old school sounds and we can’t help by groove to his sultry tunes



Man Man “Life Fantastic” out on Anti-/Epitaph

It’s been 3 years since we’ve seen a new release from celebrated avant-gard, shoe tapping rock outfit Man Man. Check out a stream of the title track here: http://soundcloud.com/antirecords/man-man-life-fantastic

Gang Gang Dance “Eye Contact” out on Beggars – 4AD

There aren’t enough words to describe the style and sounds that is Gang Gang Dance. Mindkilla has been on repeat lately and it’s a real burner.




The Cars “Move Like This” out on Hear Music

Move Like This is the long awaited reunion album from 80s new wave pioneers The Cars. We’re excited to see if they still got it. What do you think?




Okkervil River “I Am Very Far” out on Jagjaguwar
Austin’s most respected Indie rock band are back and their record is available to stream on NPR.

Wild Beasts “Smother” out on Domino
Smother is a promising follow-up to their Mercury-nominated Two Dancers.

MP3 Monday: The Rural Alberta Advantage

After a breakthrough 2009 that saw them earn comparisons to Arcade Fire and Neutral Milk Hotel, The Rural Alberta Advantage are poised to explode in 2011 with Departing out now on Saddle Creek. With The Rural Alberta Advantage’s new record, the band further refines the exuberant guitar work, everything-on-the-table singing, songwriting full of conviction and detail and majestic keyboard-sprinkled arrangements that have won it so many fans.

Download “Stamp” from Departing HERE

Check out the video below:

http://www.theraa.com/