The Strokes have decided to release a new album this year. They’ll give us a sneak peek of the record very soon, when their brand new single hits a a prominent radio station. Also, there’s new Phoenix music on the way. The band has named their upcoming album and we’ve got the details for you below. Also, Bat For Lashes announced she’ll be going on tour, and Metallica revealed the release date for their 3D concert film Metallica Through The Never. All that and more below.

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Late last night we shared the news with you in regards to the upcoming soundtrack for Eclipse, the third installment of the Twilight series. Although a couple of movie stars may be holding production back by demanding a pay raise, Alexandra Patsavas and her people at Chop Shop Records and Atlantic Records are ready to share the music with you. Exciting, right? Even if you’re not a Twilight fan, you have to admit the last soundtrack was pretty rad with their choice to go for a “softer” indie touch.

The con to this soundtrack track list? We’re going to have to wait all day to have the final list of songs and artists much like we had to wait all day for the Bonnaroo lineup…  The track list will reveal itself here but we’ve got the first batch of artists who are on the Eclipse soundtrack below! We’ll be updating it here on the site until we have them all! Check it out so far after the jump!

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The MTV Video Music Awards released their nominees for Best Breakthrough Video earlier this week. Just like we were impressed with MTV’s Top Albums of 2009 list, we are amazed at how much depth this nominee list has.

The Breakthrough Video category have been absent from the awards show on and off for the past few years, but we’re excited to see it’s back. We’re especially elated that many of the video nominees feature a handful of indie artists! Artist videos include Bat for Lashes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Matt and Kim, Death Cab for Cutie and more. Now we know that the video filmmakers/directors get to take this award home, but we can’t help but think it’s rad that they’ve worked with some of our favorite artists.

Take a look after the jump and watch all the videos that made the list!

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The Mercury Music Prize shortlist nominations are in, and indie artists have taken over! Usually dominated by mainstream artists, 2009′s shortlist nominations include some of our favorite artists.  The dreamy Bat For Lashes is nominated for her prolific Two Suns, Florence and The Machine (tomorrow’s BeatCrave Fav) is nominated for her powerful album, Lungs, our favorite androgynous duo, La Roux (and another one of our BeatCrave Favs) is nominated for their self-titled album, and of course, Glasvegas is in the mix!

The Mercury Music Prize is an annual music prize awarded for the best album from the United Kingdom or Ireland. Each year 12 artists are chosen and are heavily promoted for their nominated album and one artist wins the glorious amount of £20,000. The Mercury Prize has a reputation for “being awarded to outside chances rather than the favorites,” but we couldn’t be happier with the short list nominees this year. See the list with all 12 artists below!

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Bat For Lashes, AKA Natasha Khan has announced details on the follow-up to her debut album Fur and Gold, Two Suns. The album is set to be released on April 6th on Astralwerks in a press release the label described the album by saying “it is an album of epic geographical and artistic scope. Envisioning herself as two separate yet ultimately attached beings, Khan introduces the inner character of Pearl, a destructive, self-absorbed, blonde, femme fatale of a persona who acts as a direct foil to Khan’s more mystical, desert-born spiritual self. The songs on the album unfold the story of these two sides of the same coin, as they intertwine and overflow into each other’s worlds, reconciling their differences and their needs.”

Check out a track list for the album after the break:

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