Four takes on the Flaming Lips’ performance at the 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, IL (07/19/2009).

M83’s set was relatively the same as others I’ve seen before, but the surroundings and the timing just seemed to make it marvelous.

…I fought my way through all of the people streaming out of the festival’s Balance Stage area and prepared for the bombast of the flamboyant Danish band, which was playing as a five piece this evening.

Women is a young band which will hopefully grow into a group that will continually deliver on the promise of its fantastic debut record. But…

I arrived at day three of the Pitchfork Music Festival roughly five minutes before the start of Frightened Rabbit’s performance, and the Scottish four-piece really got my day off to a great start with an engaging and lively 45 minute set.

Playing to the day’s largest crowd, the National delivered a stirring, emotional set that not only showed that it has the capabilities to enthrall a massive audience with its quiet, somewhat delicate songs, but also has a mass appeal that warranted Saturday night’s headlining spot.

Saturday’s performance lived up to my lofty expectations and more as the young four-piece band delivered what was my favorite set of the day.

There is an underlying earnestness threaded throughout Fanfarlo’s glorious debut album Reservoir, both within the heartfelt tracks themselves, and the young English band’s unorthodox decision to forgo the larger labels that were courting them and self-release the record.

Built To Spill had the unenviable task of following up the Jesus Lizard’s explosive set, and at first their performance suffered from a letdown in energy and a rather curious string of songs to start out the show.

Mew is a group that has managed throughout its career to be unclassifiable both in sound and in standing, consistently delivering music that successfully blends many different styles and genres, all while remaining blissfully outside of any category that tries to claim it.

Though all other stories this month were rightfully set aside by the upsetting news of Michael Jackson’s death, there were still many highlights to better help remember June in a more positive light. Here are 10 of the best as chosen by Culture Bully.

Last week everyone was surprised to learn that Spoon would be releasing a new Got Nuffin EP, the band’s first newly recorded material since 2007’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. I was recently able to ask Britt Daniel a few questions about the progress he’s making on recording a new full-length album, how his songs evolve, and just what he thinks of the Keepon robots from the “Don’t You Evah” video…