R.I.P. Bill Doss of The Olivia Tremor Control

The music world has suffered a great loss today with the passing of Bill Doss, founding member of The Olivia Tremor Control and Sunshine Fix.  Doss also was a co-founder of the Elephant 6 collective, which included OTC, The Apples in Stereo, Neutral Milk Hotel, the Music Tapes and many more like-minded groups.

Doss grew up in the tiny town of Ruston, Louisiana, where he met Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel and Will Cullen Hart, his harmonic other half in OTC.  The three became fast friends and eventually formed the Olivia Tremor Control.  After moving to Athens, Mangum split off to form Neutral Milk Hotel, while the other two went on to record two psychedelic masterpieces, Music From The Unrealized Film Script:  Dusk at Cubist Castle and Black Foliage:  Animation Music.  

No details of his death have been released at this point. 

Here is a video of OTC from this years Pitchfork Music Festival:  

Polaris Prize Announces Short List for Music Prize

The Polaris Music Prize has announced its short list of album nominations.  Some notable inclusions:  Kathleen Edwards, anthemic rockers Japandroids, Grimes, hip-hop superstar Drake, and a ton more.  Proof positive that Canada is producing some amazing music these days.

Check out the whole list here.