Local H have posted a very special Christmas gift for you on their official website. Click on the shemale to unwrap the package (what?).

Dysrhythmia, sporting new bassist Colin Marston, will be hitting the road (with Isis and These Arms are Snakes, among others) for a few dates in early December. They'll also be releasing a live CD of their set at the Contamination Festival recorded in January of '03. The release will be limited to 1,000 copies and available only through Relapse beginning December 3rd.

The Golden Republic is on tour with Sondre Lerche. We've already told you the dates but you needed a reminder.

The Touch & Go Records site has the video for "AFK", the most rockin track from the latest Pinback record, Summer In Abaddon. You can watch it here.

My jaw dropped upon reading that Prefuse 73 and The Books will be releasing a collaborative EP entitled Prefuse 73 Reads The Books. " It's comprised of familiar material and improvs The Books handed off to me. then I took it from there." says main man Scott Herren. No word on a release date but we'll keep you posted.

The White Stripes DVD, Under Blackpool Lights will be released December 7th. The disc documents the duo's performance at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, England. If your TV screen is too small you can catch a simulcast of the disc at your closest major city AMC theatre on December 9th.

The Walkmen have made the song "Christmas Party" available on their site to download (right here) and reveal that it is to be included on a limited edition 7" also featuring the song "Eggnog" and a cover of Jonathan Richman's "Fly Into The Mystery." The guys are also on tour with Cake so check the more for the specific dates.

Stereolab will be releasing a 33-track two-CD/one-DVD collection of rarities and b-sides for release in mid-April.

After 10 years together, Brit-pop band Gene have decided to call it quits. If you haven't heard their debut record, 1995's Olympians, make sure to add it to your Christmas list. Click the more for the word straight from the horse's (band's) mouth....

Los Angeles radio KROQ has set up the bill for their next 'Almost Acoustic' X-Mas party. The show, happening on December 11th, will feature Franz Ferdinand, The Shins, The Killers, Modest Mouse, Interpol, Jimmy Eat World, Keane, Muse, Snow Patrol, Taking Back Sunday and The Music. Some say 'best X-Mas EVER'.

The Flaming Lips are set to drop a DVD. On March 23rd, they will release My Life With The Fearless Freaks on DVD. I'm guessing it's just a video of them dropping acid backstage, but who knows?

Mercury Rev is set to release their new album through the internet months before it's street date. The Secret Migration will be available exclusively through Apple's iTunes as of January 25th, while retailers will have to wait until sometime in April. This is very similar to what The Secret Machines had done with their new album, Now Here Is Nowhere, earlier this year. Thanks to Coolfer for the info.

To update a previous story, The Mars Volta will release their new album, Frances The Mute, sometime in February of 2005, per NME.com.

lazyboytv, the debut album from LazyBoy, "is a marriage of words & music unlike any other – blurring the line between fiction & fact, and touching on everything from the rolling of joints to the swallowing of spiders, from Elvis to eskimos, from boy scouts to Cliff Richard, and a great deal more besides…" Weird. More details below, but check out the video for "Under Wear Goes Inside Your Pants" in Windows Media and Real Media.

The winner of this year's Shortlist Music Prize has been announced. TV On The Radio beat out the likes of Wilco, Eagles of Death Metal, Franz Feridnand, Loretta Lynn and Air. A re-broadcast of the corresponding concert that featured the winner and a few of the other nominees will be aired on MTV2 Nov. 20. Nicely done.

We told you about the rockin soundtrack. Now head over to the official SpongeBob SquarePants Movie site to be entered to win, among other things, a Burton Dominant Snowboard. How freakin cool is that?

Get your 100% legal mp3 download on courtesy of Wired and the licensing consent of the bands. Sixteen tracks featuring a wide of variety of artists such as Beastie Boys, Spoon, David Bryne, The Rapture, Cornelius, Matmos, and many more can be yours if you just go here.

The follow-up to the debut Mars Volta album will be entitled Frances The Mute. The band reveals that Storm Thurgeson will be preparing the artwork again and has booked some European tour dates for early next year. No firm release date quite yet but we're betting Spring 2005.

It's almost funny how many times the Team Sleep record has been pushed back, so it's no surprise that we can wait until sometime in 2005 to finally get a legit release. Chino Moreno says the label actually liked the album more than they thought they would and "really want to promote it." So while the Internet buzz spreads.. we wait.. patiently.

Epitaph has announced plans for the first ever Epitaph Tour. The tour isn't until February 2nd – March 19th 2005, but the line-up has been confirmed as Matchbook Romance, Motion City Soundtrack, and From First to Last, as well as The Matches and Scatter the Ashes in select markets.