Traditionally, September has always been a big month for the release of new albums and September 2008 is looking finer than Sarah Palin. For this week’s B List, I’ve put together a list of the nine September releases you’ve gotta hear.

Let’s take a look…

9. Cold War Kids - Loyalty to Loyalty

One of my favorite albums of 2006 was Cowards and Robbers by the unknown at the time Cold War Kids. After seeing them steal the show at MSG last summer, where they opened for Muse, I realized these guys are the real deal: a band that produces amazing albums and bombastic live shows.

The Kids have been touring behind their latest album, Loyalty to Loyalty, and the new songs sound darker and groovier than the previous batch. Loyalty to Loyalty drops on September 23. For a taste of the new album check out the video for Something Is Not Right With Me on the Kids’ homepage.

READ ON for eight more terrific albums coming out this month…

The summer concert season is upon us and we here at HT know that it’s virtually impossible for us to afford every show we want to hit, and still be able to pay our insanely expensive NYC rents. Luckily for us, there are a plethora of fantastic free concerts throughout the summer that don’t cost a dime. We decided to weed through them to give you our 1st Annual Free Summer Concert Picks…

HT Recommends: Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet f. Bela Fleck

Where: Castle Clinton National Monument, Battery Park

When: Thursday, May 29, 7:00pm

Official Info: This all-star acoustic quartet led by Abigail Washburn (Uncle Earl) and partner Béla Fleck explores intricate, thoughtful arrangements of old songs and gripping instrumental tunes, all with the underlying influence of the Far East. Along with co-members Casey Driessen and Ben Sollee, the Sparrow Quartet has visited China and Tibet as musical ambassadors, doing what mass media cannot in representing contemporary American culture.

Other Free Shows At Castle Clinton:

7/10 - St. Vincent, 7/17 - Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, 7/24 - Akron/Family, 7/31 - The Long Winters

READ ON for more free shows to check out this summer…

Musicians aren’t usually known for having the best memories, so when they plan out which songs they want to play on a specific night they usually have their stage manager write down the setlist and tape it to the floor in front of each band member. Most of the time these stage setlists wind up in the hands of rabid fans after the gig, and other times they are lost forever to the garbage dump.

Recently scanned images of stage setlists from artists throughout nearly every genre have made it onto the ‘nets. Over the past few years photo and image search engines on the web have become much more sophisticated and include millions of new pictures each day. We spent all day yesterday using these search engines to find 60 stage setlists from our favorite acts. We’re gonna present 20 of these lists over three segments of the B List.

Here’s part one:

1. The Derek Trucks Band 06/24/07 Vancouver, BC:

[via Rock Music Daily]

Ross over at Rock Music Daily checked out the DTB at the Commodore Ballroom last summer and came back with the most beautiful stage setlist I’ve ever seen. Who has time to make something so visually stunning while on tour?

READ ON to check out stage setlists from U2, TLG, Springsteen, Cold War Kids, The Band, Arcade Fire, the Beastie Boys, Gov’t Mule, Metallica, Eric Clapton, Malkmus, Grace Potter, Kiss, GNR, LCD Soundsystem, and more….

The promoters of Coachella on Monday night unveiled a lineup that’s actually much more diverse than any of the previous seven festivals they’ve thrown in the deserts of Indio, California. Instead of featuring the typical mixture of indie flavors of the month and reunited bands from the alt-rock dynasty, the 2008 festival will feature a number of artists you wouldn’t typically hear in the hipster havens. Roger Waters? Jack Johnson? Of course, there are still plenty of acts like The Breeders and Cold War Kids on the bill to satiate the Pitchfork crowd.

So let’s preview this year’s Coachella by checking out some amazing recordings from eight of the bands that are scheduled to rock the desert on April 25-27, including Roger Waters, Sharon Jones and My Morning Jacket…

Roger Waters 03/14/2007 Pre-FM [FLAC, MP3]

Roger Waters isn’t exactly the first person that comes to mind when you think of Coachella, but festival-goers will be in for a quite a treat when he headlines that Sunday night — Waters has spent the last two years on the road perfecting his band’s performance of Dark Side of the Moon. Everyone who saw one of these shows had nothing but glowing things to say, including Ace, who ranked Waters’ MSG gig as his second favorite concert of 2006. The best-sounding bootleg to emerge from the tour comes from a radio broadcast of a March 2007 gig in Chile.

Roger’s backing band is in fine form throughout their performance in Santiago, especially during Dark Side of the Moon. Carol Kenyon delivers the booming high notes that are so essential to a well-played Great Gig In The Sky, while guitarists Andy Fairweather-Low and Snowy White both rip it up during Money. Even Roger’s usually ragged voice sounds perfect throughout the evening. Waters doesn’t spare any expense, recreating every aspect of the album both visually and aurally. Those Coachella attendees who are thinking about beating the traffic should just take a hit of acid and enjoy a mind-blowing set that will make you remember why Dark Side of the Moon is the fifth highest-selling album of all time. Read on for more…

We’d like to nominate Jeffrey Sofer’s 40th Birthday celebration for best party of 2007. Sofer, heir to the Turnberry fortune, threw himself a $2 million bash at an executive airport near Miami. Most people usually pay a band to play Get Down Tonight or 1999 at their parties, but Sofer actually hired both KC and the Sunshine Band and Prince to perform at his event.

Prince played a full set at the party, chock full of classics like Cream, Controversy and Let’s Go Crazy. The Miami Herald reports that the Purple One seemed happy during his performance, but we’ll need to see a YouTube before we believe that. [via thedailyswarm]

So let’s see what else is goin’ down on this marvelous hump day:

• Jason Bonham plays coy when asked about a potential Led Zep tour
• Rhapsody jumps into Facebook with a taste of their subscription model
• Cold War Kids gives their fans a free EP for the holidays
• Jay and Conan returning without writers? More time for the musical guests!
• New York Mag breaks down Pitchfork’s Top 100 Tracks, pie-graph style
• You can hear a simulcast of Widespread Panic’s NYE concert on Sirius
• Rolling Stone’s Joe Levy finds out what everyone already knew about vinyl
• Benji and Mike get Dead Sirius on the latest installment of Cold Turkey
• Amy Winehouse spent some time talking to police yesterday
• Aqua Teen Hunger Force’s Carl sounds off on The Mitchell Report
  

Finally, Tori Amos interrupted a recent concert in LA to urge writers to “Stop sucking the cock of the infested corporate clone.” You fuckin’ tell ‘em, girlfriend. Check out the video after the jump…

The Beastie Boys announced plans for a vocal version of the previously instrumental album, The Mix-up, according to Billboard. Adam Yauch (aka MCA) says the B-Boys have their eye on collaborating with M.I.A., Lily Allen and Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker. Apparently the Beasties have a thing for the British. Yauch also spoke about releasing a visual version of the album featuring footage he shot on tour. Now word whether it’ll be called “Awesome; We Fuckin’ Shot This.”

Let’s get the last day of the week started properly with a heroic dose of linkage:

• CBGB and MVD Entertainment Group have signed an agreement to release audio recordings from the legendary venue
• Rolling Stone brings us aboard Paolo Nutini’s tour bus
• 37 years after Jimi’s death, life continues to be messy for his heirs
• Did you really think Jay-Z would stay retired?
• Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino spoke about many interesting topics that directly impact fans of live music at a Goldman Sachs conference
• Philly.com provides a nice history of the Tower Theater
• Cold War Kids take on Sam Cooke — and Deeper Shade of Soul likes it
• Times’ Jon Pareles enjoyed the Rush concert at MSG as much as I did
• David Bowie has donated $10,000 to the legal defense fund of six black teens accused of attacking a white classmate in Jena, LA
• Ex-Black Crowes guitarist Marc Ford kicks off his fall tour on Saturday
• Crooked Hook straddles the line between jamband and metal

And if you’re swinging through Macon, Georgia, check out the Otis Redding exhibit “I’ve Got Dreams to Remember” at the Georgia Music Hall of Fame…

Wait, you missed our full coverage of Day One? Click here to get the skinny…

I’d love to look back and say all 16 acts we caught on the second day of Austin City Limits brought the heat, but instead it was the equatorial Texas sun that did the job. It was the kind of day that can convince even the laziest lardass to shed a few pounds. At one point the front of my lower legs from knees to ankles were drenched in sweat, which is something I never knew was possible. At least this festival is teaching me the basics of human perspiration.

Day Two of ACL lacked the sense of intensity and must-see urgency that the Friday session delivered, but that first day was admittedly tough to top. Still, only four of the 16 sets managed to truly floor me, with the rest of the day’s performances ranging from generously mediocre to only fairly impressive. Those four, though — Dr. Dog, Paolo Nutini, Andrew Bird and Arcade Fire — validated the entire afternoon and evening, even if we’re still a little pissed at the White Stripes for pulling out of the Saturday headlining spot against Quebec’s finest.

That introduction to the second day’s festivities shouldn’t imply a complete lack of good times at Zilker Park. But sandwiched between the instant reminiscence of Friday’s spectacular beginning and the eager anticipation of Sunday’s jam-packed lineup, the middle-day quasi-letdown was only natural. In any event, read on after the jump for a full recap of the day’s events, including our second straight photo gallery supplied by our photographic genius, Danfun.