Popular "mixtape" sharing site, Muxtape, has been temporarily shut down due to some conflict with music industry trade organization, the RIAA. The website now displays this message:

Muxtape will be unavailable for a brief period while we sort out a problem with the RIAA.

The popular site allowed users to make and share mixtapes of MP3s - using their own music - and included fans in many bands and record labels. The trade organization spoke to Rolling Stone about the problems with muxtape:

For the past several months, we have communicated our legal concerns with the site and repeatedly tried to work with them to have illegal content taken down. Muxtape was hosting copies of copyrighted sound recordings without authorization from the copyright owners. Making these recordings available for streaming playback also requires authorization from the copyright owners. Muxtape has not obtained authorization from our member companies to host or stream copies of their sound recordings.

According to the article, for the site to obtain the rights to stream the music, it would need to set up a licensing arrangement with record labels. Rolling Stone also spoke to some legal experts about the issue, Fred Von Lohmann, Electronic Frontier Foundation’s senior intellectual property attorney noted:

I think they have a strong legal defense. The problem is if they might not have that money to go to court and take on the RIAA. But it’s a measure of success to be sued by the RIAA. Once you’re popular enough, that’s when they come calling.

Update: Valley Wag has an update which suggests that problems may also stem from the high costs of running the site, which apparently could run as high as $30,000 per month. As the site only raised $95,000 in startup capital, this may also be a factor in the shutdown.

The first round of bands have been confirmed for this Fall's Fun Fun Fun Fest. The event is set to take place November 8-9 in Austin, Texas at Waterloo Park.

The lineup includes Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The National, Atmosphere, Minus The Bear, Rival Schools, Tim Fite, Magnetic Morning (Swervedriver/Interpol), Kevin Seconds, Walter Schreifels (Quicksand/Gorilla Biscuits), Tom Gabel (Against Me!), Ben Nichols (Lucero), Tim Barry (Avail), Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music), ALL, Dead Milkmen, Flipper, Integrity, Adolescents, Integrity, Bouncing Souls, Swingin Utters, DOA, Killdozer, The Cro-mags, Scared of Chaka, Young Widows, Leftover Crack, Trash Talk, World Burns to Death, Krumbums, Mammoth Grinder, Cute Lepers, Bitter End, High Tension Wires, Born to Lose and many more.

Tickets go on-sale this Friday at http://www.frontgatetickets.com/.

You can click Read More for the stage-by-stage lineup.

Mae has announced their departure from major label Capitol Records. The band's drummer Jacob Marshall explained:

This time last year we were in Time Square celebrating the release of our first (and only) major label record. As all things converged into a single black hole, and EMI was bought up by Terra Firma, we were smashed against a large brick wall and we broke. We lost two long time members. We parted ways with our manager. Ultimately, we parted ways with Capitol. As we rubbed our eyes and looked around, we decided that there was still enough life inside to give this another shot. We picked up the pieces and slowly inched forward.

ow, after the last few months of planing and gearing up for a new season, I am proud to say that we will be making our most meaningful statement yet. We are over half way through with a new batch of songs that are the most musical yet. We have split our time between Drexel University working with amazing student engineers and are returning home to Earthsound with Mark Padgett to finish some tracking and mixing. For those hoping for a return to the sonic pallet of Destination:Beautiful... you will have it.

Senses Fail have posted a new song from their upcoming album. The record is titled Life is Not a Waiting Room and is due out October 07, 2008. It is the follow-up to Still Searching which was released in 2006.

You can find "Family Tradition" on their myspace page.

Dragonforce have launched a full album stream of their upcoming album. The record is titled Ultra Beatdown and is due out August 26, 2008.

You can check it out on their myspace page.

TV On The Radio have announced plans to release their next album this Fall. The record is titled Dear Science and is due out September 23, 2008. It is their second major label album and the follow-up to Return to Cookie Mountain which was released in 2006.

You can check out the freshly released artwork on their Punknews.org Profile and a new song on their myspace page.

We've got a full album stream of the brand new record from Suicide Note. The album is their first album in four years and draws influence from Drive Like Jehu, The VSS, Sonic Youth, and Fugazi. It was released earlier this month via Hawthorne Street.

You can check out the album on their Punknews.org Profile.

The East Bay's Wolves & Thieves and Sacramento's Bastards of Young are celebrating the release of their new split LP on Swagger City Records. The up and coming Californian punk acts have provided the entire record, save a special bonus track for vinyl collectors to discover, for the Punknews community to preview.

You can hear talk the album at Wolves & Thieves' Punknews Profile and the other over at Bastards of Young's Punknews Profile.

Fat has posted a release date and artwork for the highly anticipated new album for Dillinger Four. If any of you doubted that the album would be released this calendar year, banish those doubts now (and confirm for yourself here.)

The record is due out October 14, 2008. It is the follow up to Situationist Comedy which was, ironically, released during the actual Civil War. Sadly, the band did not opt to go with our concept art, perhaps believing that zombies would not provide an adequate amount of gravitas to the project.

You can click Read More for the artwork.

Set Your Goals has apparently parted ways with Eulogy. The band's contract was purchased by the band's manager rather than another label. The band's vocalist Matt Wilson noted:

The truth is we have many options for our next record and self-releasing is one of the best and a very likely option. This has been discussed within our band and management since the buyout was first brought up.

Yes, that's right, our manager is personally offering to buy us out because he has that much faith in our band. There's no promise from a label (though many labels have since caught wind of this and gained interest) and no contract being written up with anyone else waiting to buy us.

The melodic/hardcore outfit most recently reissued their full length, Mutiny!.

Bloc Party has announced that their new album, Intimacy, will be available for digital download on Thursday, August 21st, for the price of $10, with other formats of the album being released on October 27th.

Fansite blocparty.net obtained the track listing. You can click Read More for the details.

This is their third album and a follow-up to last year's A Weekend In The City .

MTV has posted a series of live performances from Sunny Day Real Estate recorded for their alternative/indie show 120 Minutes. The set, shot in 1994, features the beloved band performing two tracks from their genre-defining debut, Diary as well as the track "Rodeo Jones" which was a demoed in the same era but eventually appeared on LP2.

You can check out "Rodeo Jones," "Seven" and "In Circles" here.

Gaslight Anthem earned a review in the New York Times as they gear up for the release of their new full length, The '59 Sound, due out today.

Of some note is the opening of the article which makes reference to a article we posted on a particularly notable day.

You can check it out here.

In related news, video sharing website Moshcam has posted a live video stream of the Gaslight Anthem show from the Annandale Hotel, Sydney that was recorded last month. With a total of twenty-one songs up for streaming, it's a massive set to post online.

You can view them all here.

NOFX fans may want to start packing now, as the long-running punk band is headed to Denver next week to play the entirety of their fan favorite album, Punk In Drublic, during the Democratic National Convention.

The band adds:

To celebrate Barack “Punk Rock” Obama’s nomination, NOFX will perform Punk in Drublic in its entirety and in order. Side Note: Fat Mike is pretty sure he is on Barack’s VP shortlist. Keep yer fingers crossed everybody!

Released in 1994, the album was NOFX's best-selling record. The album went Gold (500,000 copies) despite the fact that the band had no radio or video play.

You can click Read More to check out a video of one of the album's many classic tracks as recorded in 1996.

The Hold Steady have announced tour dates that will take them through the end of the year. The band is supporting Stay Positive on the tour which will see them sharing the stage with Sonic Youth, Drive-By Truckers, and many more while venturing to the US, Europe and UK .

You can click Read More for the dates.

Dillinger Escape Plan have dropped off the upcoming tour with Suicide Silence, Emmure, Beneath The Massacre and Architects:

Due to circumstances beyond our control (no we're not breaking up so don't believe anything that might start floating around on the Internet), we will not be taking part in that tour. We wish every other band on the tour well, and hope that it is a great success for them and for the people behind the scenes working hard to make it a great tour.

Valencia have launched a full album stream of their new full length. The record is titled We All Need a Reason to Believe and is due out August 26, 2008. It is the follow-up to This Could Be a Possibility which was released in 2005.

You can check it out on their myspace page.

Dance Gavin Dance have launched a full album stream of their new full length. The record is titled Dance Gavin Dance and is due out August 19, 2008. It is the follow-up to Downtown Battle Mountain which was released in 2007.

You can check it out here.

Anchor Arms and Dirty Money have announced a post-Fest tour set to kick off in early November.

You can click Read More for the dates.