Famed for his live shows, Dan Deacon is a musician who doesn’t play onstage, but in the audience. While this might be a unique way of getting people pumped, it does seem like a dangerous way to go about it. If you’ve ever been a part of the electronic crowd then you know that they aren’t the most careful bunch. Fingers get bent, toes get stepped on, and in the case of Deacon, back problems occur.

According to Pitchfork, Deacon has been hospitalized with acute sciatica, and has been forced to cancel come shows.

There’s no word on what caused his back problems, but surely being a part of dance electronic party every night isn’t helpful.

Deacon’s label, The Carpark Records tweeted:

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UPDATE: The links to the contest items have been fixed!

Don’t have anything to do on a Friday night besides twiddle your thumbs? Well, we got you. Actually, Dan Deacon‘s got you.

Although we’re still a little upset for him canceling on FYF Fest, we’re happy to announce that he is, indeed, going on tour again. Deacon sets out on tour on October 1st and this time he is solo. There won’t be 14 others on stage with him anymore.

To get everyone pumped up for the tour, he’s got a challenge for everyone. See this photo we posted above? Well, that’s just less than half of the insane poster Deacon has made as part of a contest. The contest’s winner will get 1) $500 cash 2) A portrait of you painted by Dan Deacon 3) One of the last copies of Wham City Box Set #1 and 4) A copy of each of Dan Deacon’s first eight releases (which are IMPOSSIBLE to find) To participate in the contest, all you have to do is…

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Dan Deacon is still riding the waves of his latest album, Bromst, and apparently so is the star of his new music video for “Paddling Ghost.”

Directed by Natalie Van Den Dungen, a pirate-wannabe ghost literally paddles his way through a journey where it is joined by a skeleton pirate and a man (who oddly resembles Deacon, himself) in what at first seems like a submarine-like contraption and then later… a spaceship?. Watch Deacon’s adorable little ghost paddle a boat out into the waves, go horseback riding, go in a cave under water and eventually out into space.

If anyone has seen the film, Paper Heart, the direction is a bit similar giving off the same sincere vibe. Check it out below!

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The end of day two of the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona comes to me almost as a surprise – somewhat like being awakened from a hypnotic trance. You can watch our video summary of day two. Here’s my written reconstruction of what happened:

First was Art Brut, an English and German indie punk rock group named after French painter Jean Dubuffet’s definition of outsider art. Lead vocalist Eddie Argos was keen to add more information to the stories told through his lyrics, such as past adventures in the Van Gogh Art Museum, and how he is no longer afraid of sex. In fact, he joked that most of the lyrics were about taking his clothes off. Drummer Mikey Breyer plays standing up, which might seem unconventional, but at least he’s not hidden behind any cymbals. He uses two high-hats, one open the other closed, to make up for his one-footed drumming style.

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Dan Deacon was just a DJ playing basements and small clubs six years ago, but eventually his spastic electric-pop spread like fire and he is now one of Baltimore’s leading artists. After Spiderman of the Rings was a success, he set out to tour the world along with 14 others accompanying him in support of his latest album, Bromst.

I suppose all this could get you featured in NPR’s Exclusive First Listen series. (It also helps that Deacon went to school for all this!) They’ve gone as far as describing him as “electro freak-pop” but also did a good job pointing out that Bromst goes beyond Spiderman of the Rings by adding organic instruments such as the piano, glockenspiel, and marimba to his former electronic-only sound. You can listen to the Bromst on NPR before its release on March 24th via Carpark and get a free download of “Getting Older” from us.

We’ve also got the rest of his tour dates below!

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You may not ever sweat the small stuff… but we do! Check out today’s music news odds and ends:

• What do you get when you take members from Gomez, Phantom Planet, and Maroon 5, put them on a plane to Maui, Hawaii, and set them up in a secluded tree house compound? Apparently, a full-length album. Fourteen musicians gathered together for four months to jam and record and formed Operation Aloha, who will release their self-titled album on May 12. The music is described as “blues inspired rock and Hawaiian folk music.” This is good news for Phantom Planet fans who thought the boys might be retiring for good after their sudden break up. No official website or MySpace yet, but we’ll keep you posted!

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So apparently, Toyota really cares about the status of our independent radio stations today. Toyota Yaris teamed up with Urban Outfitters to run the Free YR Radio campaign to prove it. Does this make Toyota cool? Not really. Does making CDs with music we like on them cool? Yes – even better when you only have to pay 99 cents.

Next Tuesday, January 27, they will be releasing The Free Yr Radio 2008 Benefit Compilation (I know; They couldn’t have come up with a better title?), which features unreleased material from great bands like No Age, Yeasayer, and more. The CD is only available through InSound. By looking at the track list, you’ll get much more than the 99 cent worth though!

Help generate awareness for independent radio and check out the track list below!

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It’s a new year and that means it’s time for brand new music! Pitchfork has already named Animal Collective’s Meriweather Post Pavillion the first great album of 2009. Does this fact make it hop on top of your list?

Some are highly anticipated because of the wait (Morrissey), some have been hyped up through serious tours (MSTRKRFT), and some are just exciting because you never know which album will include your favorite crass lyric in the future (Lily Allen)!

Take a look at some albums BeatCrave highly anticipates, and let us know what you think!

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Yesterday, we saw the artwork for Dan Deacon‘s new album “Bromst” and today we get to hear a free track from it. Pretty sweet.

For the last three years Dan Deacon has been working on Bromst. Fusing together the growing intensity of his live performances with his background in electro-acoustic composition, the outcome is a collection of pieces that are intense and epic and at the same time down to earth and welcoming. Bromst embodies the same energy and excitement as Spiderman of the Rings, however the craftsmanship and composition on Bromst have a wider scope and richer palette.

Unlike the completely electronic Spiderman of the Rings, the instrumentation on Bromst is a mixture of acoustic instruments, mechanical instruments, samples and electronics. The player piano, marimba, glockenspiel, vibraphone, live drums, winds and brass give Bromst a much richer tone than his previous work.

Check it out below…

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