News-header
Down-arrow 12 Recent Items
Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | More... Next>

Ladytron Sign to Nettwerk, Prep Fourth LP
Slag off old label, Rykodisc

Dig it: Ladytron have a new album, the follow-up to 2005's exquisite Witching Hour, due in May 2008. Well, almost: they're actually in Paris right now recording it with co-producer and Ed Banger dude Vicarious Bliss. And that's not all. Ladytron have inked with a new label, Nettwerk, to help bring that as-yet-untitled fourth album home to roost.

What, you don't know Ladytron? "Ladytron is one of the coolest, most vital and cutting edge bands around right now," according to Nettwerk co-founder Mark Jowett's press release quote. How about that?

Speaking to Billboard.com yesterday, Ladytron's Daniel Hunt was geeked about the signing as well: "We wanted to work with people who really understood where we were. The best thing about the Nettwerk deal is that the band and the management will have the ability to be really hands-on with the marketing and planning. This time around, nothing will be left to chance."

Hunt was notably less geeked about Ladytron's former label, Rykodisc, which gobbled up their former former label, Emperor Norton. "We were not on Rykodisc by choice," he told Billboard.com. "They wanted to keep us and we said no. The only reason our last record did so well was because we worked really hard and toured on it for two years. The label really did nothing." Rykodisc could not be reached for comment.

The most recent round of Ladytron touring, meanwhile, recently wrapped up, but the band does have a pair of DJ dates in the weeks to come. [MORE...]
Horizontal-dotbar-2col

Arctic Monkeys Choose "Teddy Picker" for Next Single
B-side features guest vocals from Richard Hawley

Arctic Monkeys' "Teddy Picker" already has the distinction of being the best (only?) extended metaphor about a crane game ever set to music, but soon, it can claim another honor: its very own single. Domino Records will issue "Teddy" in the UK December 3 on 7", 10", CD, and download, with a digital-only release to hit North America the following day.

All but the 7"-- due to size, of course-- will feature not only "Teddy Picker" and a cover of Pat Farrell and the Believers' 1969 classic "Bad Woman" featuring Mr. Richard Hawley on vocals, but new Monkeys tracks "The Death Ramps" and "Nettles" as well. Maybe when you're older, 7".

All this, of course, comes as the band is on a rare break in their mighty world tour (which picks up again November 27 in France). No last-minute addendums have been made to that itinerary at the moment: perhaps this single is, in fact, the last screech we'll hear from the Monkeys in 2007? I dare not comment; we've spoken too soon on the matter before. [MORE...]
Horizontal-dotbar-2col

Alan Sparhawk's Black-Eyed Snakes Go Skiing on DVD
Black Mountain pissed they didn't think of idea first

Usually when a band releases a DVD, it's of some live show, or it's a documentary chronicling the history of the band, or maybe it's some kooky music-related movie with interviews and music videos as extras. Not so for Low guitarist/vocalist Alan Sparhawk's Black-Eyed Snakes side project.

The Snakes have released a short film called Cross Country With the Snakes on DVD, featuring the cross-country skiing talents of the band and, in particular, those of drummer and one-time Olympic hopeful Brad Nelson. And sure, the DVD-- shot by skiing fanatic Hansi Johnson-- also has some live footage from the shows the band played on its Colorado/Utah road trip, but the real prize is getting to see the Snakes' impression of Low's "Belarus" video.

As part of the Banff Mountain Film Festival tour, Cross Country With the Snakes will screen at Minneapolis' Midwest Mountaineering on November 16 and 17 and at the Duluth Cross Country Ski Club on November 18 and 19. The DVD is available from Low's chairkickers.com now.

For their part, Low still have those Down Under dates scheduled in January, starting January 9 in Auckland, New Zealand. [MORE...]
Horizontal-dotbar-2col

Dan Deacon Reveals Ultimate Reality Tour Details
Tour to focus on music, images rather than globalization, poverty, alienation

Wham Citizens Dan Deacon and Jimmy Joe Roche have turned Ultimate Reality, their collaborative DVD/"dominant pansexual ubermyth" into a dominant pansexual ubercircus with the announcement of a 2008 tour in support of the recent release.

On these dates, Deacon's regular set will come after a screening of the DVD, which will be accompanied by live music from Deacon, Roche, and drummers Kevin O'Meare of Video Hippos and Jeremy Hyman of Ponytail. Deacon has plenty of regular old tour dates as well, starting with a show in Baltimore on November 15.

According to Deacon's label, Carpark, he is readying a Spiderman of the Rings follow-up for a tentative May release. In the touring department, he hopes to supplement his February/March trip to Australia with February dates in Japan, followed in the spring by a potential European Ultimate Reality tour.

And finally: "Wham City" ringtone. [MORE...]

Horizontal-dotbar-2col

The Band's Levon Helm Helps Ida Prepare Prayers

When it came time to record Lovers Prayers, their follow-up to 2005's Heart Like a River, New Yorkers Ida did the Bon Iver retreat-into-the-woods thing. The thing is, they chose a pretty cool patch of woods for the retreat: the home studio of Levon Helm (Arkansas native, drummer for the Band, actor in The Right Stuff, all-around cool-seeming guy) in the Catskill Mountains.

While there, the band was able to get Helm to sit in with them for a little bit of drum recording. And in addition to the work of new band members Jean Cook (Mekons) on violin and Ruth Keating on drum and multi-instrumental duties, contributions to the album included guitar, drums, and cover art from Tara Jane O'Neil, cello from Jane Scarpantoni (R.E.M., Lou Reed, Rufus Wainwright), pedal steel from Matt Sutton, and engineering from Justin Guip, Helm's own engineer. Longtime Ida collaborator Warn Defever (His Name Is Alive) helped the band produce the album.

Lovers Prayers marks Ida's seventh full-length overall and second for Polyvinyl, which will release the record on January 29. The band has three New York dates scheduled for this month, starting with an NYC show on November 15.

Finally, during the time they recorded Lovers Prayers, Ida were also afforded the opportunity to collaborate with one of their heroes: songwriter Michael Hurley, who lends fiddle to Lovers. The band is currently working with him on another new project. [MORE...]
Horizontal-dotbar-2col

Photos: The Walkmen [San Diego, CA; 11/10/07]

Photos by Natalie Kardos

Hamilton Leithauser and his Walkmen strolled into San Diego this past weekend to, yes, rock the Casbah. The Saturday night gig was but one of several engagements the NYC five-piece has lined up in the days to come. Tonight finds them in Santa Barbara, and apart from one lone date in Mexico next month, December is wide open for all the "Sex in the City" DVD-viewing slumber parties these guys could ever want.






[MORE...]
Horizontal-dotbar-2col

Major Stars Join Drag City Roster for New LP, Tour

Almost 10 years into their recording career, Major Stars' pummeling psych attack doesn't look to let up any time soon. And for their sixth album, Mirror/Messenger, Massachusetts natives Wayne Rogers and Kate Village have found a new label, Drag City, and four additional members, giving them a three-headed hydra in the guitar department.

Drag City will release Mirror/Messenger on November 20, and the band will follow the album's release with a rare tour of East Coast and Midwest dates. Their first show is November 27 in Pittsburgh. [MORE...]
Horizontal-dotbar-2col

Los Campesinos! Name Album, Add 2008 Dates

Things seem to be going swimmingly on the current Los Campesinos! world tour. Except for "the twat in Newcastle who tried to steal the Melody Horn, the smegga in Southampton who DID steal a microphone and the dickstick in Cambridge that tried to cause a fight after 'coming on' to Ellen," the enthusiasm radiating from the band's latest MySpace bulletin/outpost from the road is contagious. And while you seek out a real live British person to tell you the meaning of smegga (...icky!) and furiously Google in hope of helping Gareth in his quest to find a "decent Bis t-shirt," feast your eyes on the title of the forthcoming debut LP from the LC!:

Hold On Now, Youngster...

"This is the title of our album," Gareth writes on behalf of the band and their new ellipsis-laden thesis statement, "because it is the best title for any album ever." Debatable, but that'll do. You kids sure do like punctuation! The band has "a tracklisting and stuff too" for Hold On Now, "but that's all secret for the time being."

The disc is set to drop around the time Los Campesinos! embark on a fresh new run of tour dates in February. "We promise we'll have some amazing bands playing with us, because we know no other way." Indeed: just check out the ever-expanding lineup for next May's Pitchfork vs. ATP festival if you don't believe 'em. [MORE...]

Horizontal-dotbar-2col

Travis Morrison Rounds Up Hellfighters for Fall Tour
Call him T-Mobile

Photo by David Holloway

When I found out Travis Morrison and his Hellfighters are about to go on tour, I immediately pictured one of the Orcs-gearing-up-for-battle scenes from the Lord of the Rings movies. Fortunately for the audiences at these shows, Morrison is easier on the eyes than that.

But even without Hellfighter accompaniment, Morrison's Prince-like live antics are not to be missed. So get on down to these shows, which start November 15 in NYC, and watch TM and band tear into some All Y'all tunes. [MORE...]
Horizontal-dotbar-2col

Un-T.V. Eye: November 12-18, 2007

As the Writers Guild of America strike goes into its second week, we've got even more reruns for ya here at T.V. Eye. The two exceptions: Fuel TV and Fearless TV.

Monday, November 12:

CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Ryan Adams (rerun)
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Thurston Moore, Common (rerun)

Tuesday, November 13:

NBC: The Tonight Show With Jay Leno: Cold War Kids (rerun)
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Modest Mouse (rerun)
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: They Might Be Giants (rerun)

Wednesday, November 14:

FUEL TV: The Daily Habit: Ra Ra Riot
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Ben Lee (rerun)

Saturday, November 17:

FOX: Fearless TV: Heavy Trash, Clare & the Reasons
NBC: Saturday Night Live: Foo Fighters (rerun)

Horizontal-dotbar-2col

Art Brut's Argos, Black Box Recorder Cut Xmas Single
Help them take it to number one!

"Top of the Pops" may be off the air, but that clearly hasn't quashed the ambitions of Art Brut's Eddie Argos one bit. If this year is anything like last year, there will be a "TOTP" Christmas special, and Argos hopes to crash it with a bona fide Christmas number one.

To do so, Eddie has teamed with another UK act fond of the speak-singing, lovable cynics Black Box Recorder, and a pal who goes by the name of Keith Top of the Pops. Together as the Black Arts, this upstanding bunch has recorded a holiday heatseeker, conveniently titled "Christmas Number One", about-- get this-- a Christmas single that takes on a life of its own. This "One" has it all: jingle bells, children singing, some tacky rhymes, a bridge in waltz time, the delirious barks of Argos, and the authoritative coo of BBR's Sarah Nixey.

Meanwhile, B-side "Glam Casual" has Argos reminding us that "the internet is full of mean and evil people." Errr...

Fantastic Plastic offers up "Christmas Number One" as a limited edition (1,000 copies) slab of green 7" vinyl on December 10, and as a digital download on December 3. But it's up to you, the record-buying public, to take it to number one. And if you don't, THERE WILL BE NO CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR. (Haha, kidding, but Christmas won't be nearly as funny.)

This isn't the first time Argos has comingled with the Black Box Recorder camp. BBR's John Moore and Luke Haines joined Eddie and Keith to form the English Travelling Wilburys (nevermind that George Harrison and Jeff Lynne are English, and the original spells it "Traveling"), who recorded a BBC radio session, while Moore played on both Art Brut records. World, watch out: the crew may try its hand at a Eurovision entry next.

Black Box Recorder have no immediate plans for the moment, while Argos and Art Brut are on the road now. [MORE...]
Horizontal-dotbar-2col

Kanye, Bowie, Cat Power Design Charity Lunchboxes
Also: Bright Eyes, Beastie Boys, TV on the Radio, Interpol, Lily Allen, Michael Stipe

Superman, move over. There's a new batch of lunchbox designs in town. Kanye West, David Bowie, Cat Power, Interpol, the Beastie Boys, Bright Eyes, Coldplay's Chris Martin, Yoko Ono, Michael Stipe, Rufus Wainwright, Lily Allen, TV on the Radio, Courtney Love, Patti Smith, and Scissor Sisters among many others (including lots of famous Hollywood types), have all decorated pails for this year's Lunchbox Auction, an online charity auction for hunger relief in New York City and South Africa.

Bidding on the celeb-designed lunchboxes will begin at TheLunchboxAuction.org on December 6, and the proceeds from the auctions will go to two charities: The Food Bank for New York City and the Lunchbox Fund.

Check out some lunchboxes from the 2005 auction. Here's Conor Oberst's:

And Interpol drummer Sam Fogarino's:

And a collaborative effort between David Bowie, wife Iman, and daughter Lexi:

Horizontal-dotbar-2col
Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | More... Next>
Horizontal-dotbar-2col

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.)

Horizontal-dotbar-2col
Horizontal-dotbar-fw
Horizontal-dotbar-fw
Horizontal-dotbar-fw
Horizontal-dotbar-fw
Other-recent-news
File-icon-gray Fri: 12-14-07 File-icon-gray Thu: 12-13-07 File-icon-gray Wed: 12-12-07 File-icon-gray Tue: 12-11-07 File-icon-gray Mon: 12-10-07 File-icon-gray Fri: 12-07-07 File-icon-gray Thu: 12-06-07 File-icon-gray Wed: 12-05-07 File-icon-gray Tue: 12-04-07 File-icon-gray Mon: 12-03-07 File-icon-gray Fri: 11-30-07 File-icon-gray Thu: 11-29-07 File-icon-gray Wed: 11-28-07 File-icon-gray Tue: 11-27-07 File-icon-gray Mon: 11-26-07 File-icon-gray Wed: 11-21-07 File-icon-gray Tue: 11-20-07 File-icon-gray Mon: 11-19-07 File-icon-gray Fri: 11-16-07 File-icon-gray Thu: 11-15-07