It’s finally the holiday season and I think you’d agree that the best gift is always new music. This week in new releases, Jessica Simpson drops yet another Christmas album for our… enjoyment… and the party continues with one of the more popular DJs, Deadmau5. We can’t deny that the album of the week title goes to Feist on her new CD/DVD release, so check out what the critics are saying about this week’s batch:

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Beyond the western horizon, nestled within the city of Austin, awaits a festival teeming with holistic musical vibes and a down-home appeal that you could only get from an oasis in the heart of Texas.

Stemming back to 2002, Austin City Limits is still holding tight to its roots this year.  Bringing together rock, hip-hop, reggae, world fusion, indie and local flavor, the festival is proving to have its most memorable year yet.

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Another week, another group of artists fall victim of having the world get their hands on a new album before it is released. According to Diditleak’s twitter account we have a list of the albums that have recently leaked, some that aren’t even scheduled to be released until the end of September!

List of albums that have leaked this week:

• Why? | Eskimo Snow | Due out September
• Arctic Monkeys | Humbug | Due out August 24th
• Frankmusik | Complete Me | Due out August 3rd
• Tantric | Mind Control | Due out August 5th
• The Bloody Beetroots | Romborama | Due out August 25th
• Deadmau5 | For Lack of a Better Name (promo) | Due out September 22nd
• Breathe Carolina | Hello Fascination | Due out August 18th
• Slaughterhouse | Slaughterhouse | Due out August 11th

Have you gotten your hands on any of the music yet? What do you think?

Ruckus‘ closure of  leaves room for other companies to target universities, get mobile remixing with Touch Mix, and Google adopts a new policy towards music sharing blogs. Here’s the newest in technology:

• Ruckus, a music service directed at college students, shut down this weekend. The service wasn’t compatible with Macintosh, and charged $15 a month for free access to tracks embedded with copyright protection software (DRM), which apparently wasn’t user-friendly enough for students. To fill the void, Warner Music is backing Choruss, a program that plans to exact payment first from universities then ISP’s, amounting to a compulsory “tax” for music. Will universities agree to a file-sharing blanket license? [Wired]
• The new iPhone/iPod touch application Touch Mix allows you to remix 10 Deadmau5 songs. The house producer endorsed the app, which will have a more open version in the future that will allow you to import other songs. The mobile mixer lets you switch between two virtual decks, each with cross-fader and volume controls. You can adjust BPMs, scratch, and apply effects like delay and flanger. Check it out at the Apple App Store. [Music Radar]

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For some, Halloween is a time for families and friends to carve pumpkins, be merry, and trick or treat. For everyone else, Halloween is a bigger deal. The parties are outrageous, the people are rambunctious, and good times are looking to be had.

HARD Haunted Mansion was no different.

EVERYONE was looking to have a good time. The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles was the hot spot, where the event was held. There was traffic all over – on the streets, and in line. On top of the $52 ticket that many had to pay for the event itself, parking was $20, but many paid without hesitation. Continue Reading