Dead Meadow | "That Old Temple"
Dir. by Artificial Army

We know who Dead Meadow are: a three-piece psych rock group with the itch to tastefully jam between verses and choruses, all without ever making listeners bore in the indulgence. What we don’t know is what film project this music video is a preview for. According to a release, Dead Meadow are part of a "multi-media project to surface later this year on Xemu." Xemu, of course, being Dead Meadow’s label and apparent web hub for this hyped film project by Artificial Army (whose work includes The Mars Volta, The Sword, and Coheed and Cambria). The video itself is hallucinating, and until more information comes out on this alleged multimedia project, we’ll just let it stand on its own.

As you already know, The Deli runs in several major cities across the country, and when the Best Of poll comes around, this means mega, mega, mega traffic. While we love the attention (we really do) this often goes hand-in-hand with severe congestion and traffic outages which result in delays and balding. So just hold tight, Angelenos — we’ll let the rest of our sister sites go ahead of us until it’s our turn. If there’s anything we know how to do, it’s wait in traffic, amiright!? In the meantime, keep checking in for regular posting. Rock!

Cyan Ides | "Hesperian Gardens"
Dir. by Joshua McClain

Ambient-electronic duo Cyan Ides don’t have much to say about themselves. Their bio starts and simply ends with, "Cyan Ides are Frances Allen and Kevin Polzer." With that, we leave you with this excellent video mash-up of vintage B-film clips to the tune of their single "Hesperian Gardens" from their latest EP Sedi Nayc, available now. Before more news comes out from the ambiguous outfit, we’ll have to wait around until they show themselves.

Behind the veil of pretense and the parade of plug-ins, software and pedals used in modern music, most musicians often forget that rock in its most basic trio form can be just as thrilling and, well, good. Enter rock group Year Long Disaster: there’s not exactly anything new to their brand of high octave-lead rock reminiscent of, say, your favorite Guitar Hero tracks, but they do it really, really, really fucking well. It’s not every day our breath is taken away by the exaggerated hugeness of a group, so only imagination can muster up what Year Long Disaster are like live. With a 2009 that included an opening slot with the Foo Fighters and a commissioned video by the guys at Aqua Teen Hunger Force, heads are turning for a reason, and, as of right now, so are ours.

This is huge. For the first time Daedelus, Nosaj Thing and Jogger will be hitting the road for a tour showcasing some of the finest in LA’s electronic scene. We’ve been witness to this trio of artists at FMLY events, downtown throwdowns and local festivals along the way, but this feels more like a celebration and tribute to this very moment in time as opposed to a contractually obligated commitment. And considering the multi-sensory overload typical of any of these three artists sets, we’ll be sure to check out the second stop at the Echoplex on Feb. 5.

For your downloading/tour preview pleasure (courtesy of the fine people at Terrorbird Media):

Nosaj Thing — "Islands (The XX Remix)
Jogger — "Napping Captain" (Dark Party Remix)

Marianne Keith | "Kiss Me In The Rain"

As sugar coated as Marianne Keith‘s music is, the alt-pop singer/songwriter’s crossover status is worth mentioning: in one piece, Keith teeters on Sheryl Crow and Michelle Branch territory, while the next she’s biting and attacking as hard as Liz Phair and, one of her major influences, blues extraordinaire Susan Tedeschi. Most Top 40 kids are often one-trick ponies, but Keith’s capable of testing the waters until the right crowd comes around. That time might be soon with Keith’s latest LP Cathartic (Unison Music), available now.

You listened to them, you love them, then you submitted them — here are The Deli LA’s top 5 contenders in our Open Contest, now eligible to be on our Best of 2009 poll! Congrats to Light FM, Mississippi Man, My Imaginary Friends, Spindrift, and Warpaint. Come back tomorrow to start voting for the best LA artists of 2009 in our massive poll put together by bloggers, industry heads, DJs, print journalists and, of course, you. Good luck to all participating artists and thanks to everyone in the community who’s helped put this behemoth poll together for the third year in a row!

It’s hard to say whether classic rock revivalists Rival Sons can hold a candle next to obvious heroes like, say, any ginormous British rock act between 1965 and 1978, but the execution might be worth checking out. Scour their MySpace page and a monster of new classic rock will come pleasantly crashing in, crappy speakers or not. Rival Sons hold Sunday nights at Cinespace all this month — the cost is free and, yes, there will be loads of free vodka swimming around.

Cold War Kids | CurrentTV’s Embedded Tonight

While we fully understand Cold War Kids have far surpassed a long gone underground status–especially the kind that merits some mention on our beloved site–it’s their faithfulness to the DYI spirit that keeps us listening. KROQ or not, they exploded without the typical transformation that goes hand-in-hand with lost dignity. Watch as the lead-singer-loses-voice-before-show drama unfolds tonight on CurrentTV at 11 p.m. [via LosAnjealous]

Warpaint | "Elephants" [via FADER]
Dir. by Bruce Muller

Strangely enough, this video plays more like a dim preview inside the souls of one of our favorite ambient outfits. It’s all sorts of intriguing, from the director’s manipulation of time to the group’s apparent desire to stay hidden behind their freshened up exteriors. Mission accomplished in the enigmatic department, Warpaint. Mission accomplished.

Warpaint play The Natural History Museum on Feb. 5 with Yesayer.

Courtney Coles

Local Natives played a sorta-farewell set to a sold out crowd at the Echo just before Christmas Day, sharing their bill with Chief and Voxhaul Broadcast as openers. It would be Local Natives’ final home show until they return to Europe in March. Their debut album, Gorilla Manor (nickname of their home/rehearsal spot/party dungeon) was released November 2 in the UK (Infectious Records) and won’t be available in these states until February 16 (Frenchkiss Records). The band had a few copies available for purchase along with a Christmas gift to the sold out crowd: a poster bill specially made for this night’s event. Show closer "Sun Hands" ended in true Local Natives fashion: by inviting the bands they’ve toured with on stage including Johnny Wilson (The Union Line) and Stewart Cole (Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes). -Courtney Coles

Click here for more photos of Local Natives’ holiday show.

Up until early 2009, singer/songwriter Joe Firstman played bandleader for NBC’s Last Call With Carson Daly before the program’s restructuring. Since then, the soulful Firstman has been putting together El Porto, his latest LP and fifth overall release documenting life between the El Porto coast and Venice Beach. Luckily, his neighbors never called the cops: "For three months, my neighbors were tortured with the slow, often painful incarnations of the music blasting out of the windows of my house/studio," Firstman said. "And they never complained, even when we recorded a full horn section in my living room." When it’s worth hearing, it’d be a crime to call the cops.

Joe Firstman plays the Hotel Cafe on Jan. 21 | 21+ — El Porto releases Jan. 26