The official soundtrack for “The Huger Games” film is available to listen to for free on Rdio.

“The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond” was released by Universal Records on Tuesday and the film will hit theaters on Friday.

The album was produced by T-Bone Burnett and features Taylor Swift, Arcade Fire, Kid Cudi and Maroon 5. The 16 songs on the album range from indie to country. The diverse soundtrack will appeal to many audiences just as the film is expected to do.

Rolling Stones front man Mick Jagger is going to perform with singer Raphael Saadig at the Grammys this month as part of a tribute to soul star Solomon Burke, who died last year. Burke used to open for the Rolling Stones.

The 53rd annual Grammy Awards will be held on February 13, which will air live on CBS at 8 p.m.

The amazing thing is that even though we all know who he is (don’t we?), it will be his very first performance at the Grammys.

The Rolling Stones received a lifetime achievement award in 1986 and performed by satellite from London. Also the band won two Grammys in 1995.

Other than this British rock legend, there will be performances by Rihanna, Cee Lo Green, Gwyneth Paltrow, Eminem, Arcade Fire, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, Usher, Lady Gaga, Lady Antebellum and Justin Bieber.

The 12th Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, focusing on an expanded commitment to art, culture and community, will be held on April 15-17 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, Calif. The 2011 line-up was revealed, including headlining performances from Arcade Fire, Kanye West, and Kings of Leon.

The full line-up (alphabetical order):

!!!

12th Planet

Afrojack, Alf Alpha, Andy C, Angus and Julia Stone, Animal Collective, Arcade Fire, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, A-Trak, Axwell

Beardyman, Best Coast, Big Audio Dynamite, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77, Bomba Estereo, Boys Noize, Brandon Flowers, Brandt Brauer Frick, Breakage, Bright Eyes, Broken Social Scene

Cage the Elephant, Caifanes, Caspa, Cee Lo Green, Chromeo, Chuckie, City and Colour, Clare Maguire, Cold Cave, Cold War Kids, Crystal Castles, CSS, Cults, Cut Copy

Daedelus, Death From Above 1979, Delorean, Delta Sprirt, DJ Hype, DJ Kentaro, DJ Marky, DJ Zinc, Duck Sauce, Duran Duran

EE, Elbow, Electric Touch, Eliza Doolittle, Ellie Goulding, Emicida, Empire of the Sun, Erick Morillo, Erykah Badu, Excision

Fat Freddy’s Drop, Fedde Le Grand, Fistful of Mercy, Flogging Molly, Foals, Foster the People, Francis and the Lights, Freelance Whales, fun.

G.Q., Gayngs, Glasser, Gogol Bordello, Good Old War, Gord Downie, Goth Trad, Green Velvet, Gypsy and the Cat

HEALTH, Here We Go Magic, High Contrast, Hurts

Interpol

Jack Beats, Jack’s Mannequin, Jakes, Jenny and Johnny, Jimmy Eat World, Joachim Garraud, Joy Orbison

Kanye West, Kele, Kings of Leon, Klaxons, Kode9, Kyle Hall

Laidback Luke, Leftfield, Lightning Bolt, Lil’ B, Lorn, Los Bunkers

Magnetic Man, , Mariachi El Bronx, Marina and the Diamonds, Mary Anne Hobbs, MEN, Menomena, Monarchy, Mount Kimbie, Moving Units, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Mumford & Sons

Nas & Damian Marley, Neon Trees, New Pants, Nosaj Thing

OFF!, OFWGKTA, Omar Rodriguez Lopez, One Day as a Lion, Ozomatli

Paul van Dyk, Phantogram, Phosphorescent, PJ Harvey, Plan B,

Ramadanman, Raphael Saadiq, Ras G, Ratatat, Riva Starr, Robyn, Roska, Rye Rye

Sander Kleinenberg, Sasha, SBTRKT, Scala & Kolacny Bros., Scissor Sisters, She Wants Revenge, Shpongle, Skrillex, Sleigh Bells, Steve Angello, Sven?Vath

Take, Tame Impala, Terror Danjah, Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, The Aquabats, The Black Keys, The Chemical Brothers, The Drums, The Felice Brothers, The Henry Clay People, The Joy Formidable, The Kills, The London Suede, The Love Language, The Morning Benders, The National, The New Pornographers, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, The Presets, The Radio Dept., The Rural Alberta Advantage, The Strokes, The Swell Season, The Tallest Man on Earth, The Twelves, Thunderball, Tinie Tempah, Titus Andronicus, Tokimonsta, Trampled by Turtles, Trentemoller, Twin Shadow, Two Door Cinema Club

Warpaint, Wire, Wiz Khalifa

Yacht, Yelle

Zed Bias

The “Where The Wild Things Are” trailer was aired yesterday on Ellen Degeneres’ talk show and is now on Blast for your viewing pleasure.

Directed by Spike Jonze and based on the classic children’s story, “Where The Wild Things Are” hits theaters Oct. 16, 2009.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that At Mount Zoomer, the sophomore full-length album from Montreal quintet Wolf Parade, contains just nine songs. While that may appear to be a measly output on the surface, what the tracks lack in number they make up for in scope.

At Mount Zoomer clocks in at nearly 50 minutes thanks to cuts like 11-minute closer “Kissing the Beehive,” which manages to avoid growing tiresome thanks to steady tempo changes and extended jams that capture the band’s improvisational recording style.

The majority of At Mount Zoomer’s songs were recorded at the same Montreal church that fellow Canucks, Arcade Fire previously used as a studio. The benefits of such a venue’s acoustics are most evident on tracks like the Arcade Fire-esque “Soldier’s Grin.”

The haunting “Call It a Ritual” opens with a cinematic, strut-worthy piano notes, and a cheerful blend of keyboards and synthesizers inject some unexpected catchiness to “Language City.”

Throughout the record, the members of Wolf Parade (vocalist/guitarist Dan Boeckner, vocalist/keyboardist/guitarist Spencer Krug, drummer Arlen Thompson, keyboardist Hadji Bakara and guitarist/percussionist Dante DeCaro) wear their influences on their collective sleeve. The strut-worthy “Fine Young Cannibals” is essentially a thinly-disguised rip-off of Television’s “Marquee Moon,” but it’s a better tribute than the Bowie-imitating “Animal in Your Care.”

So while At Mount Zoomer doesn’t contain many more songs than any of the several EPs the band has released since 2003, it’s a helpful reminder to listeners that sometimes good things come in small packages.

Tour Dates:

July 7: Pontiac, MI @ Crofoot Ballroom
July 8: Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
July 9: Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
July 12: Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
July 13: Seattle, WA @ Marymoor Park
July 15: Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
July 17: San Francisco, Ca @ Fillmore
July 18: Hollywood, CA @ Henry Fonda
July 19: Hollywood, CA @ Henry Fonda
July 20: San Diego, CA @ Cane’s
July 21: Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
July 24: Dallas, TX @ Palladium Ballroom
July 25: Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa
July 26: Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
July 28: Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
July 29: Raleigh, NC @ Disco Rodeo
July 30: Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
July 31: New York, NY @ Terminal 5
Aug 2: Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
Aug 3: Montreal, QC @ Metropolis
Aug 9: Toronto, ON @ Koolhaus

Any serious music buff will tell you that a band’s second album is a make or break-type deal, especially if that band’s first release amassed enormous amounts of critical and commercial acclaim.

In the case of the Arcade Fire, I think it’s safe to say that their sophomore effort, Neon Bible, will make–or rather continue to make–the band’s already solid reputation within industry circles.

Rewind back to September 2004, when the Montreal-based outfit released their debut album, Funeral. The record immediately garnered extraordinary reviews from the independent local press to the New York Times. Overflowing with lush, textural sounds and endearingly sweet melodies, Funeral became a staple record for anyone who dared to call themselves fans of indie rock.

In juxtaposition, Neon Bible picks up where Funeral left off; the band perpetuates their signature sound of swooning, heartfelt melodies backed by an array of pleasantly uncommon instruments–accordions, harmoniums, harps, etc.

In terms of content, however, Neon Bible is a work far more diverse then both Funeral and other albums from bands of a similar feather. The Arcade Fire, in a sense, took a chance when recording this album, as it features a broader range of styles. Whereas Funeral was a slower-paced, more brooding album (it was inspired by the deaths of three different relatives of the band within one month), Neon Bible is more cheery than it is gloomy and introspective.

Recorded in a large church near the band’s hometown of Montreal, Neon Bible reflects this notion precisely; every track on the eleven-song album is spacious and grand, the layers of sound and instruments seemingly flowing through a tonal landscape of rich texture. Having worked around a giant pipe organ that the band found inside the church, the Arcade Fire produced, with the help of several musically-related friends (Wolf Parade, Calexico, Final Fantasy), an album of sonically epic proportions.

The standout tracks on this album—the unofficial “singles,” so to speak—are No Cars Go, The Well and the Lighthouse, Intervention and Keep The Car Running (the band performed the latter two songs on Saturday Night Live back in February). As a testament to the album’s diverse sound, all four of the aforementioned tracks differ immensely. No Cars Go showcase the band’s newfound penchant for a driving, fist-pumping melody, coupled with layers of almost heavenly violin orchestration. Intervention, on the other hand, makes full use of the discovered organ and provides the band with a soulful backing to an anthem-like song about misery and longing, harking back to the themes of Funeral.

That being said though, Neon Bible is not, for all intents and purposes, an amazing, ground-breaking album; those who are familiar with the previous work of the Arcade Fire will most likely peg it second to Funeral. For every good song on the record, there seems to be another one of mediocre quality (Rene, the female vocalist/instrumentalist, should steer clear of singing). It is, however, an album that remains true to the band’s unique sound, and even expands on it through use of several more interesting instruments, a more diverse body of songs, as well as impressively executed orchestration.

Overall, if you dug Funeral, buy this album to stay pleased with the Arcade Fire. And if you’re new to the band, buy this album to hear what serious instrumental talent and impeccable songwriting sounds like.