Photos: !!! / The Field [Austin, TX; 10/02/07]

Photos by Zach Vowell

The Field's Axel Willner joined Chk-Chk-Nic Offer and his punctuation-minded pals !!! in Austin, Texas Tuesday night for a show show at La Zona Rosa. The warehouse was shaking all night as the Field manned the ones and twos (or the "one" and "two" keys on his Vaio, anyway) for a set of his discombobulated dance tunes. !!!, meanwhile, got hips shaking and feet moving with a set of tunes mostly culled from their recent album, Myth Takes. Willner plays a few more dates with !!! this month; see more photos and their schedule below.

!!!




THE FIELD



[MORE...]

Robyn Issues "Handle Me" Single, Tours Europe
Album coming out in the U.S. this winter, maybe?

When you make an album comprised entirely of potential singles, it would be foolish not to try to make every track a hit, right? That seems to be the thinking behind Robyn's recent campaign to chop Robyn into a tiny pieces and serve it up in bite-sized portions.

"Handle Me" is the latest in a string of fabulous singles by the Swedish pop maverick. Her own Konichiwa imprint will release the diss track in the UK as a digital download on October 22, with the CD, 7" and 12" coming a week later on October 29. "Handle Me" will be remixed by the likes of Björn Yttling (of Peter, himself, and John), Williams, OrtzRocka, and Soul Seekerz. There's also an acoustic version of her last single, the Kleerup-assisted "With Every Heartbeat" on the CD, too, which oughta slay.

We just figure she's gotta get these singles out of her system before she starts work on that follow-up, right?

Hey, and speaking of the Robyn LP, Entertainment Weekly recently reported that the disc will hit U.S. shelves December 4. (FREAKIN' FINALLY, ahem) This info hasn't been confirmed yet, but, boy, if it does, a whole lotta people I know will be having a sassy Swede-pop kinda holiday. Sounds a little more merry than a sleepy Sufjan Christmas, no?

In other Robyn news, she's got quite a few live dates to her name in October and November in Europe. The Trentemøller remix of "Konichiwa Bitches" pops up on his new thing, and "Bum Like You" is in some soccer video game or something. Is Robyn's ubiquity threatening to overtake that of T-Pain? Could it, please? [MORE...]

Video: Robyn: Konichiwa Bitches [from the Robyn LP]
Video: Robyn: Handle Me [live at London's Cargo]

Drones Release 7", Tour With Band of Horses

The Drones are taking a break from drinking Foster's, shooting dingos, riding kangaroos, and all the other stuff we're sure totally happens all the time in Australia to release a new single and tour both their native continent and North America alongside Band of Horses.

The single is the first in ATP/Recordings' Custom Made series of limited edition gatefold seven inch/digital download releases, in which contributing artists are asked to include something old, something new, something borrowed (a cover), and something blue (open to interpretation). No word on whether or not they are also asked to exchange vows with their singles.

Each entry in the series will come in a run of 1,000, 100 of which will have silk-screened covers numbered and signed by the sleeve designer. The Drones single features artwork by Michael Motorcycle.

The Drones' Custom Made comes out in the UK on November 5, and here's how the single's four tracks meet the requirements: Their "something old" is a new recording of old song "Cockeyed Lowlife of the Highlands". "Something new": Gala Mill's "I Don't Ever Want to Change". "Something borrowed": a cover of Charles Aznavour's "I Drink". "Something blue": Wait Long by the River's "Shark Fin Blues".


The Drones are currently on the road in Australia, and will head to North America at the end of October for their tour with Band of Horses. [MORE...]

MP3: The Drones: I Don't Ever Want to Change [from the Gala Mill LP]

Feist Extends Tour Into 2008
Tour in support of popular television commercial continues

Video: Feist: 1 2 3 4 / I Feel It All / My Moon My Man [live on VSPOT's Unplugged]

Wu-Tang: A Beatles Interpolation, Not a Sample; Download the Song Now!

Photo by William Kirk

Remember the big to-do the Wu-Tang Clan made yesterday about how they'd secured the first Beatles sample in history? Turns out, they didn't.

This evening, they posted the following message on their MySpace page, under the headline "**We didn't Sample the Beatles, it was a replay, pardon**":

"The statement that we made yesterday was incorrect and we apologize for any confusion it may have caused. We DID NOT sample the Beatles, I repeat, we DID NOT sample the Beatles, rather we did an INTERPOLATION of the classic George Harrison composition 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps.' In a historic collaboration, Dhani Harrison, son of George, through his friendship with the RZA, played guitar on the song and he himself helped secure the REUSE LICENSE. Also appearing on the song are John Frusciante, guitar player for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Erykah Badu singing the chorus.

'To satisfy everyone's curiosity, the song will be streamed exclusively on loud.com tonight. It will be the first single and video from the forthcoming album '8 Diagrams' in stores December 4.

'Thanks again to Dhani Harrison and the Harrison Estate for helping us make history."

And it's true-- the song is available on loud.com right now-- as an mp3! Check out the link below. Not quite as historic, but still pretty cool. Try to ignore the creepy loud.com whispers though.

MP3: Wu-Tang Clan ft Dhani Harrison, Erykah Badu, and John Frusciante: The Heart Gently Weeps [from the forthcoming 8 Diagrams LP]

New Stephin Merritt Song Coming to Volvo Ad, iTunes

Video: Stephin Merritt: The Wheels on the Car [Volvo ad]

Dan Deacon Cancels Several Dates Due to Exhaustion

Photo by Jason Bergman

The road between a headline like "Dan Deacon Adds Even More Dates" (emphasis Maher's) and "shows canceled due to exhaustion" is a short one, paved with good intentions though it may be. In the case of Dan Deacon's, the road took less than a week to travel down, and now, well, here we are.

After missing one gig a short while back due to gunk, Mr. Deacon-- a more dedicated performer than most, we're compelled to add-- has axed a few dates over the next two weeks due to that pesky exhaustion thing. When Britney gets exhausted, we assume the worst; when it happens to Dan, he's just a tired dude.

So, then, tomorrow night in Oberlin is out, as are all dates from October 11-13. The rest of the shows are still happening, including a few in between Ohio and St. Louis. One dares not even dream of standing up a seasoned professional like Tay. [MORE...]

Stream: Dan Deacon: Totally Boner Eat Shit [from the Crystal Cat 7-Inch)

Wire Announce New Read & Burn EP

Stream: Wire: Various Tracks

Subtle Reveal LP With TVOTR, Wolf Parade Members
MP3: "Deathful" ft. Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio

Subtle's had a bad run. As we've reported in these pages, in the last two years, the genre-bending Oaklend sextet survived a tour van crash that left keyboardist Dax Pierson a quadriplegic, were robbed in Europe, and their major label debut, last year's For Hero: For Fool, received raves from the critics but less-than-breakthrough sales. Subtle's magnetic, magnanimous frontman, Adam Drucker, aka Doseone, has been a cult phenomenon in avant-hip-hop circles for years, but his intricate lyrics and jawd-ropping live performances have yet to find a wider audience.

So what do they do? Keep working. Yell & Ice, a remakes and remixes collection based on For Hero: For Fool, comes out on Lex Records October 23. It features contributions from members of TV on the Radio, Wolf Parade and the Notwist, as well as Anticon associates Why? and Chris Adams of Bracken and Hood. Check out "Deathful", featuring Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio, by clicking on the link below. (The full tracklist for Yell & Ice and Subtle's upcoming tour dates cam also be found below.)

Doseone describes Yell & Ice as a labor of love. "Like fuck it, make it fun for these artists that we're cold-calling, that we love," he said. "We're not paying, there's no money turned around on this record-- which I love-- and so it's like, I send this to you, you should take what inspires you and fuck it up a little bit, ruin it, make it pretty, send that to us, we will do the same, and just keep remaking things. What I like is that it expresses, quietly and in a mature way, how committed we are to the depths in our music. That we can go in and remake all these songs because we made a bunch of rights, and we could've made lefts. And they're just as valid."

We recently spoke with Dose about his upcoming albums and projects, Dax Pierson's recovery, and how a cover of Shellac's "Prayer to God" wound up on Subtle's setlist this year. We also talked at length about the storyline behind the three Subtle LPs, A New White, For Hero: For Fool, and the upcoming conclusion, ExitingARM, which will come out as both an album and a website. And much, much more. Stay tuned to the Features section of Pitchfork, where the full interview will be published within the coming weeks. [MORE...]

MP3: Subtle: Deathful ft. Tunde Adebimpe [from the forthcoming Yell & Ice LP]

Morrissey Cuts Dates Due to Burst Pipe, Preps New LP

Photo by Alissa Anderson

Generally, we don't throw "Morrissey" and "bursting" into a sentence together without some reference to a heart swollen with emotion or something. But it was water-- and not salty tears-- flowing through Los Angeles' Palladium last night that caused the icon to axe both yesterday's and tomorrow night's gigs.

Lucky for Moz fans, his current L.A. residency means he's not darting off to Salt Lake City straight away, and tickets for the canceled gigs will, according to NME.com, get you into either the October 8 or 9 gig at the same venue or a refund of your purchase price. But heaven knows I'm miserable now!

But no one can burst the wellspring of misery located within the well-formed skull of Steven Patrick Morrissey. New in the world of hurt is chatter regarding the follow-up to last year's Ringleader of the Tormentors. He recently told the BBC, "The plan is to make a new album after this tour. It's absolutely written and completely ready." He hopes to release the LP in September 2008, though Morrissey's currently without a label. Eh, no big deal. [MORE...]

Video: Morrissey: That's How People Grow Up [live on the Late Show with David Letterman]

Photos: White Williams Tour Diary Part 3

Welcome to the fourth installment of the Girl Talk/Dan Deacon/White Williams tour diary, which has been extensively photojournaled by Mr. Williams himself. We're getting to the homestretch here, following our heroes around the great American west, from Houston and Austin to L.A. and San Diego, with a lot of desert in between. Once again, your guide for the journey is Joe (are we supposed to call him White?) himself, whose comments accompany each photo. Be sure to check below to see what roads the three will take when they part ways (after just one more show together!).

DAY 13: Houston, September 24, 2007


Tyler and Joe brushing their teeth upon arriving at the venue.



We're teaching Andrew how to exercise regularly.



Joe carefully balances two Ws in his gentle hands.
[MORE...]

Spiritualized Finish Album, Schedule Euro, U.S. Shows

Those Spiritualized blokes are the last people you'd need to remind that just one hit just ain't gonna cut it. In between a number of Spanish, Danish and British gigs, Spiritualized have snuck a mid-November show at New York's famed Apollo Theater, which promises to be the "first of several" U.S. shows for the veteran psych-rockers. That show-- like many of Spiritualized's recent engagements-- is being characterized as "acoustic mainlines," which means pretty much exactly what it sounds like.

UPDATE: They have since added San Francisco and Los Angeles shows.

While you sit fiending for more, this bit of news won't quell that jones deep down in those bones: That long-promised new Spiritualized LP is coming, but not 'til early next year. According to NME.com, the band has wrapped recording sessions, and frontman Jason Pierce describes the follow-up to 2003's Amazing Grace as "the work of the Devil... with a little guidance from me." Sure you won't consider pushing it up to Halloween? My "Spooky Sound Effects" record is scratched. [MORE...]

Video: Spiritualized: Come Together [from the Ladies in Gentlemen, We Are Floating in Space 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.)