The New Music

Rising funk ambassador DâM-FunK has teamed up with nocturnal lo-fi mistress Nite Jewel. Together they are Nite Funk, and XLR8R has the premiere track, “Am I Gonna Make It.”

The Big Pink and A Place To Bury Strangers will become tourmates through March and April 2010. The two bands will stop in Vancouver on March 13th, Toronto on March 24th and Montreal on March 25th. Bring your earplugs…

F**ed Up have revealed the gloriously, spirited cover and more details on their star-studded benefit Christmas single, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” According to their label Matador, it “should be available from iTunes on [today], and will be released as a 7-inch single with an unreleased F**ked Up song on the b-side in February 2010.”

Earlier this year, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon performed live with Eau Claire, a jazz band from his old high school. Now that performance has become an album. A Decade With Duke will feature a set of Vernon’s songs as well as a set of Duke Ellington standards.

Finally, a number of music sites/mags have unveiled their year end picks for best album. The Quietus chose Sunn O)))’s Monoliths & Dimensions. The NME picked The Horrors’ Primary Colours. Gorilla vs Bear selected Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. II. SPIN championed Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion. And FACT, well, it’s gonna stretch it out for the rest of the week and reveal the winner on Friday.