Dominik Eulberg to Issue Bionik in December

Video: Dominik Eulberg: Live

Dirty on Purpose Decide They Like Bees on New EP

No, silly: Like Bees is the next EP from the shoe-glancers of Dirty on Purpose. Like Bees manages to pack in four originals, a cover of Aussie new-wavers Real Life's "Send Me an Angel", and guest appearances from the Jealous Girlfriends' Holly Miranda and New York folkie Jaymay.

You can net Like Bees when it emerges January 15 on North Street Records.

Having recently wrapped a spate of shows with those Fujiya & Miyagi gents, the Dirty dudes have but one gig to their names at the moment. It's not one to be slept on, however: Tomorrow, November 3, they play an all-night "Takeover" party at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (post-Sufjan) along with Be Your Own Pet, Antibalas, Heartless Bastards, and the Exit.

Once rested up, the band plans to record some new tunes (four, apparently) to be released through RCRD LBL next year. [MORE...]

Video: Dirty on Purpose: Car No Driver [from the Hallelujah Sirens LP]
Stream: Dirty on Purpose: Like Bees / Audience in the Room / Send Me an Angel [from the forthcoming Like Bees EP]

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks Name New Album
Also diss Stockton California

So that Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks album that's coming out in March on Matador now has a title. And it is...drumroll please...

Real Emotional Trash

That's got a nice ring to it.

Looks like they're going to tour the United States in the spring, and then Europe and Asia. Right now, they've only got two shows scheduled: December 19 at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco and on December 21 at the Doug Fir in Portland, Oregon. Both shows feature Blitzen Trapper opening.

All of this was posted yesterday on the band's website, along with a strange rant against the city of Stockton, California that involves Todd Haynes' new Bob Dylan movie I'm Not There. (As you know, Malkmus contributed to that movie's soundtrack.)

* (FYI, Matador Records hasn't confirmed any of this information yet, so don't be too surprised if the album title changes.)

UPDATE: It's confirmed!

Full rant below. And thanks to Colin Loustalot for noticing it! [MORE...]

Stream: Stephen Malkmus and the Million Dollar Bashers: Maggie's Farm (Bob Dylan cover) [from the I'm Not There soundtrack]

Photos: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists / The Pogues [Los Angeles, CA; 10/31/07]

Photos by Akmal Naim

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists joined their spiritual brethren the Pogues on Wednesday night for a Halloween show at Los Angeles' Wiltern. Shane McGowan, reunited with his classic crew, assumed the guise of a mariachi band in celebration of the holiday, while Leo and the boys dressed up as, um, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. Great costume, guys!

More photos and tour dates below.

TED LEO AND THE PHARMACISTS






THE POGUES



[MORE...]

Everything You Wanted to Know About Sufjan's "BQE"
Sort of

Right at this very moment, an opera house full of some very lucky New Yorkers is taking in the premiere of Sufjan Stevens' orchestral piece "The BQE" at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The rest of us are patiently waiting to find out what the hell "The BQE" actually is.

Lucky for us, the Asthmatic Kitty website posted today a tractor-trailer-load of information about the piece.

Want a brief overview of Sufjan's fascination with the hippest highway in indie rock? Go here. How about Sufjan's thoughts on how the hula hoop is related to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway? There ya go. Or a list of things Sufjan and the NYPD found on the side of the road? (Choice quote: "4. Your cane. Why walk, when you can drive the BQE!") The official bird of the BQE? The House Sparrow, of course.

What about, you know, the actual music thing? Oh, that. Here's a list of everybody who's performing with Sufjan. Looks like My Brightest Diamond, Marla Hansen, and members of Crystal Skulls, Clare & the Reasons, Antony's Johnsons, and many, many more.

So what did we learn here? Well, Sufjan is a very good writer. And a funny guy! Also, we should all move to Brooklyn.

Video: Sufjan Stevens: The BQE (excerpt live on WNYC)

Chamberlin Sick, Pumpkins Reschedule Dates

Photo by Shervin Lainez

Another cancellation today? Nah. It's just a postponement for the Smashing Pumpkins, who've moved a handful of dates on their current tour due to the illness of drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. Experiencing chest pains, Chamberlin was taken to an Atlanta hospital Tuesday where he was diagnosed with a partially blocked artery. He was released yesterday, but due to his recovery, the band was forced to shelve their last two shows and the next three, all of which have been moved back a few weeks starting November 11. All tickets will be honored for the rescheduled dates.

Quoted on the band's MySpace blog, Chamberlin says, "the good news is that my heart checked out. No damage. Basically a small build up of plaque on one of my arteries. This combined with stress, fatigue, and all of the other good things that go along with being on tour was the cause of my pain. So obviously we had to postpone the end of the tour while I recover. It should only be a week or so until JC is ready to rock again." For a full message from, um, JC, go here.

Just to recap: Jimmy Chamberlin refers to himself in the third person, by his initials. This band, I tell ya. [MORE...]

Video: Smashing Pumpkins: Tarantula [from the Zeitgeist LP]

Daniel Johnston, Lightning Bolt's Chippendale Show Art

Video: Plastic Little: Dopeness [from the She's Mature LP]

Darnielle Writes About Sabbath, Drew Daniel Writes About Throbbing Gristle, Plus More 33 1/3 Series News

For people who like their music criticism lengthy, in-depth, and focused on one album at a time, Continuum Books' 33 1/3 series is the place to turn. There are currently over 50 books in the constantly growing series, and chances are good there's one about your favorite album just waiting for you to read it. (As previously reported, previous volumes have included the Decemberists' Colin Meloy examining the Replacements' Let It Be, Joe Pernice of the Pernice Brothers writing about the Smiths, and tomes about Prince, Sonic Youth, Nirvana, My Bloody Valentine, the Beastie Boys, David Bowie, and many, many more.)

Pitchfork's own Associate Editor-in-Chief Scott Plagenhoef is responsible for one of the most recent entries in the series, about Belle & Sebastian's If You're Feeling Sinister. Check out an excerpt here. Pitchfork contributor Amanda Petrusich's book on Nick Drake's Pink Moon just came out as well; an excerpt is available here. Stephen Catanzarite's take on U2's Achtung Baby is also out now.

Several other Pitchfork contributors have books forthcoming in the series. December holds the release of Forker Carl Wilson's book on Céline Dion's Let's Talk About Love and Forker/Matmos half Drew Daniel's book on Throbbing Gristle's 20 Jazz Funk Greats.

Lest someone suspect Pitchfork staffers of stealing the show, David Smay's book on Tom Waits' Swordfishtrombones also comes out in December. Then in March and April, the series will reload with books on albums by Black Sabbath (by Mountain Goat John Darnielle), Slayer (by DX Ferris), and Patti Smith (by Phil Shaw).

Or, if you've got a short attention span (or prefer singles to albums-- zing!), there's 33 1/3's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2, which compiles excerpts from many titles in the series.

Now, if you just read over that list of forthcoming titles, you may have noticed that Carl Wilson's choice of a Céline Dion album is, perhaps, less traditionally canonical than the rest of the series' subjects. But wait! The book isn't just about Céline Dion. It's subtitled "A Journey to the End of Taste", and according to the book jacket, "As Wilson strives to understand Céline's immense global popularity, he faces the question of what drives personal taste-- and whether it's possible to change it."

The folks at 33 1/3 are convinced that the book is so good, they will send PDFs of the first two chapters to anyone who sends an email to letstalkaboutceline@yahoo.com. You can also read an excerpt from the book's third chapter at the 33 1/3 blog here. It's just like the library!

Video: Celine Dion: My Heart Will Go On [from the Let's Talk About Love LP]

Decemberists Cancel Rest of "Long and Short of It" Tour

Sad! Just two dates into their fall "Long and Short of It" tour, the Decemberists have announced that they are calling the whole thing off. It looks like the sickness that befell a member of the band a month ago, resulting in the cancellation of their British tour, just hasn't gotten better.

Here's the statement from the band:

"With much regret the Decemberists have cancelled the remainder of 'The Long and Short of It' tour.

"One of our band members has been ill for a while but we thought all would be well in time for these tour dates. After a couple shows, though, it has become clear that the illness is much worse than we had initially realized. We need to return home so our friend can mend.

"It saddens us to disappoint our fans. We hope everybody understands it is only because of an extreme situation that we had to cancel a tour we've all been excited about doing since the idea was originally hatched.

"Our deepest apologies but at this time no plans are being made to reschedule the dates. Ticket holders should seek refunds at point of purchase."

Get well soon, guys! [MORE...]

Stream: The Decemberists: The Perfect Crime #2 (Junior Boys remix) [from the Perfect Crime #2 EP]

The Rumble Strips Come to America

The Rumble Strips, those English lads with the tremble-causin' moniker and the loads of punky, horn-y hooks, are coming to the U.S. at last. On November 27, Kanine will issue the boys' first Stateside release, the Alarm Clock EP. In addition to a half-dozen hot slabs of British rock and/or roll (including a cover of Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back in Town"), the disc comes with videos for both "Alarm Clock" and "Oh Creole".

The band will harness that Rumble of theirs on a handful of plotted live appearances both at home and abroad, including a number of rare Stateside gigs in late November and early December. And on November 19, they'll release new single "Time" in the UK. [MORE...]

Video: The Rumble Strips: Alarm Clock [from the Alarm Clock EP]

Michaels Showalter & Ian Black Tour Together
My buddy, my buddy/ Wherever I go, he goes...

Photo via Chicagoist

Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter share more than just a first name and a knack for absurd humor. For starters, their resumes both include "The State", "Stella", and Wet Hot American Summer. They also both have new albums (Black's I Am a Wonderful Man is out now, Showalter's Sandwiches & Cats comes out November 13 via JDub). And now, the Michaels have decided to share a handful of U.S. stages in support of those records.

Though three dates of the tour have already passed, there are still six remaining. Their next show is November 14 in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. [MORE...]

Video: The Michael Showalter Showalter: Michael Ian Black interview

Interpol Expand Love With DVD, Prep Single

Video: Interpol: No I in Threesome [from the Our Love to Admire LP]

Do you have a news tip for us? Anything crazy happen at a show you attended recently? Do you have inside info on the bands we cover? Is one of your favorite artists (that's not somebody you know personally) releasing a new record you'd like to see covered? You will remain completely anonymous, unless we are given your express permission to reveal your identity. (Please note that publicists, managers, booking agents, and other artist representatives are generally exempt from this rule, but will also be granted anonymity if requested.)