Roisin Murphy Injures Eye Socket at Moscow Gig

Poor Róisín Murphy! Seems the UK dance-pop chanteuse was Overpowered by a derelict stage prop during a performance in Russia this past weekend. While treating fans at Moscow's Ikra Club to Overpowered jam "Primitive" on Saturday, October 27, Murphy hit her head on a chair and had to be rushed to a hospital.

As the statement from Murphy's camp puts it, she "severely damaged her eye socket." Thankfully, she's now back in the UK and recovering, and "despite [a] serious concussion and losing a lot of blood, her vision is unimpaired."

Murphy has had to cancel at least a week's worth of gigs, including upcoming performances in Warsaw, Berlin, and Prague. Other European dates-- beginning November 3 in Munich and wrapping up November 24 in Hamburg-- are on for the moment, but may be nixed depending on Murphy's condition. UK and Ireland dates thereafter, however, "should be unaffected."

Murphy hopes to reschedule the cancelled dates before the end of the year. [MORE...]

Iron & Wine Announces 2008 Dates

Once a band starts incorporating "world" influences, the slippery slide toward the jam circuit, wonky new age solo projects, and votive candles at the merch table often begins. Fortunately for us, Iron & Wine's Sam Beam braved such territory with subtlety and an ear for solid tunes, so we got The Shepherd's Dog instead of a sequel to "Brand New Day".

And so, to go along with the announcement of Beam and co.'s European 2008 trek that will follow their currently scheduled UK and U.S. dates, we say, "Go forth, Iron & Wine! See the world! Incorporate its influences! Extract from it new songs that you can use to soundtrack your eventual Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech."

Until then, Iron & Wine will keep touring. They next play London tomorrow, October 31. [MORE...]

Six Organs Craft Exclusive CD for Co-Written Book

For exactly 50 of you, here's some very good news: walk into Los Angeles' Book Soup bookstore around 7 p.m. this Halloween and you'll be presented with a Six Organs of Admittance Empty the Sun soundtrack CD free of charge. The disc won't be available anywhere else, and there's only a few of 'em out there: more than 50, though, as the purchase of any Hotel St. George Press book on that evening will get you one, too. Still, that's a generous offer... a little too generous if you ask me. Must be a catch, right?

Eh, not unless you're allergic to the written word. The night is a celebration of Akashic Books' new experimental imprint Hotel St. George Press, and a number of HSG authors-- including co-founders Alex Rose and Aaron Petrovich, the latter reading in a straitjacket-- will be on hand to read from their work. So, too, will Joseph Mattson, whose Empty the Sun is a collaborative novel with Six Organs of Admittance. Man, Ben Chasny, when do you sleep?

Not anytime soon: Chasny and his Organs have a string of West Coast dates and a single British gig next month. What's more, their latest LP, Shelter From the Ash-- pressed in a quantity exceeding 50, we're sure-- drops November 20 on Drag City. [MORE...]

Goldfrapp Reveal New LP Details

Don't we have enough confusing sevens to deal with as music fanatics? Well, here's one more to add to the pile. In February 2008, Goldfrapp will treat U.S. and UK denizens to Seventh Tree, the duo's fourth long-player.

According to a post on the band's website/MySpace, Seventh Tree came to life in the Somerset studio of Goldfrapp's own Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory, who both also wrote and produced the new record. Longtime home Mute will have the privilege of releasing it, which they will do on February 25 in the UK and the day after in the U.S.

As reported just last week, Seventh Tree may, in the band's words, "come as a bit of a shock" to some fans. The most recent MySpace post elaborates: "A sensual counterpoint to the glitterball glamour of [previous LP] Supernature, Seventh Tree is gilded in the butterfly colours of an English surrealism shared from Lear to Lennon. It shimmers and shines with the warmth of a hazy summer, an electric whirlpool over which Alison's glistening voice soars." Ooh, I like butterflies!

Tracklist details, like many butterflies, remain elusive for the moment.

Will Gregory, however, does not; as previously reported, he will premiere his new score to 1924 film He Who Gets Slapped, with help from Portishead's Adrian Utley and others, this December. [MORE...]

Best of Common's Early Years Collected on Hits Comp
Jennifer Lopez wants her album title back

thisisme then: the best of common should come emblazoned with a warning a little bigger than its lowercase "then." The 15-track collection from the Chicago MC is culled almost entirely from Common's first three albums, all released in the 90s on the Relativity label: 1992's Can I Borrow a Dollar?, 1994's Resurrection, and 1997's One Day It'll All Make Sense.

There's a single exception-- "High Expectations" from the soundtrack to Soul in the Hole, a 1997 documentary on Brooklyn streetballers-- but it's not exactly a career highlights package without "The Light", is it?

Eh, we're just griping. thisismethen does a fine job of hitting the highlights from his Common Sense period and (slightly) beyond, and it's fleshed out with guest appearances from Lauryn Hill, Cee-Lo, Erykah Badu and Q-Tip. Pop the disc in your computer device and you'll be greeted with the videos for "Take It EZ", "I Used to Love H.E.R.", "Retrospect for Life", and (non-thisismethen cut) "Invocation". The disc drops November 27 on Relativity/Legacy.

As for Common, he'll be on the big screen soon in the second-most highly anticipated thing called American Gangster you're likely to take in this fall. And he recently launched the Common Ground Foundation, "an effort dedicated to the empowerment and development of urban youth through education," according to a press release. [MORE...]

Modeselektor, Poirier, Yellowman, TTC on Scion 12"s
Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh exhibits art at Scion Space

The jury is still out on whether or not Scion cars look more like the actual future or the 1980s version, but that ambiguity perfectly matches the old-songs-made-new-again aesthetic of the Scion Remix Project, sponsored by the car company's Scion Audio/Visual label.

The Project consists of five digital singles, each highlighting a signature track from the following labels: Greensleeves, Vice, Ninja Tune/Big Dada, Light in the Attic, and Strictly Rhythm. In addition to the tracks themselves-- from artists such as Betty Davis, Yellowman, Panthers, TTC, and Ghislain Poirier-- the singles also feature remixes of each track. The list of remix contributors also includes Poirier as well as Federation Sound, Modeselektor, BSOD, and DFA's Holy Ghost!.

Scion A/V will unleash the Remix Project to online retailers on October 30.

So that's the audio, but how about the visual? Turns out Scion also runs a gallery space in Los Angeles, and that space will soon host an exhibition of works by Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh. "Rugs During Wartime and Peacetime" opens November 17 at the L.A. Installation Gallery, aka Scion Space. According to the press release, the exhibit explores "the imagery we choose to bring into our homes and how we interact with it for the purposes of comfort and peace-of-mind rather than an esoteric sense of art for art's sake." Groovy. [MORE...]

Menomena's Seim Blogs, Preps New Lackthereof Album

This Menomena news story is all about choices. Want a headache? Just head on over to the Menomena website. Want some live Menomena? Catch the band across the U.S. and Canada this fall (dates recapped below). Want the skinny on the latest album from Meno-man Danny Seim under the Lackthereof moniker? Just read the next paragraph.

Seim will hit us with the eighth (!) Lackthereof record this December, via FILMguerrero. It's called My Haunted and comes in vinyl and digital formats. Just what happened to the other seven Lackthereof albums, you ask? Apart from 2004's Christian the Christian (LP7)-- copies of which are still available via FILMguerrero-- the other releases were limited-run CD-R affairs that Seim hopes to re-release at some point.

A true solo joint, My Haunted is all Danny, with some background vocal contributions from his wife, Holly Seim. Check out the track "Every Kind Word", available for download below, and check Forkcast tomorrow for another treat.

Amazing Mr. Seim found time to tour and make solo records and stuff, as the guy recently posted a 7500+ word blog entry on the Willamette Week website detailing Menomena's autumn exploits in Europe. The highlights are too many to name, and if the word count sounds daunting, don't worry-- there are plenty of pictures too. Check that here.

Finally, want to scope the latest wacky, film-spoofing Menomena tour poster by artist Tyler Stout? That's it right up there, next to the last two. Want it on your wall? Pick up a copy at one of Menomena's upcoming shows. Your roommates will thank you. [MORE...]

Sons & Daughters Return With a Gift on New LP

Photo by Joe Dilworth

The men and women of Glaswegian foursome Sons & Daughters have some pretty cool friends. Not only are they buddies with fellow Scots Franz Ferdinand, but they enlisted former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler to produce their sophomore album, This Gift.

Domino will release This Gift, the follow-up to 2005's The Repulsion Box, on January 29 (North America) and January 28 (elsewhere). The album's first single, "Gilt Complex", landed today (October 29) in the UK and Europe; it's due tomorrow in North America. The single comes as a download and a UK-only seven-inch.

S&D have tour dates, kicking off October 31 with a London in-store and running through December. After This Gift's release, they will head to North America for another, yet-to-be-announced tour. [MORE...]

Bon Iver Signs to Jagjaguwar

Bon Iver, aka former DeYarmond Edison member Justin Vernon, has signed to Jagjaguwar for the official release of his sweet-spot-hitting debut For Emma, Forever Ago early next year.

For Emma is Bon Iver's (pronounced "bohn eevair") souvenir of a three-month stay in a cabin in the woods of northwestern Wisconsin. Vernon originally self-released the record, which explains the fact that Pitchfork already (very favorably) reviewed it and tagged it as a Recommended album.

Vernon will venture out this fall for a handful of shows starting November 10 in Madison, Wisconsin. [MORE...]

T.V. Eye: October 29-November 4, 2007

Live music on TV this week:


Monday, October 29:

ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Justice (rerun)

Tuesday, October 30:

NBC: The Tonight Show With Jay Leno: Sex Pistols

Wednesday, October 31:

CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: The Go! Team
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Sex PistolsNBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Regina Spektor

Thursday, November 1:

FUEL: The Daily Habit: Two Gallants
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Ryan Adams
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Thurston Moore, Common

Friday, November 2:

FUEL: The Daily Habit: Black Lips
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Jay-Z
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Talib Kweli

Saturday, November 3:

NBC: Saturday Night Live: Feist
PBS: Austin City Limits: Wilco

Spoon, Explosions, Aesop Rock Play Antipop Fest
Plus: Black Kids, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Busdriver, Craig Wedren

They call it Antipop, but no matter your ideological stance on all things catchy, the thing sure is poppin'!

Over four nights at nearly a dozen Orlando, Florida venues, this year's Antipop Music Festival packs in Spoon, Aesop Rock, Explosions in the Sky, Black Kids, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Craig Wedren (ex-Shudder to Think), Busdriver, the Postmarks, the Stills, All Smiles, David Bazan (ex-Pedro the Lion), Daedelus, Blockhead, Johnny Cash's Legendary Tennessee Three, and more.

The sustained affront to all things pop kicks off November 7, with more acts expected to join the fracas in the days leading up to the fest.

Photos: Kevin Drew [Portland, OR; 10/27/07]

Photos by Nilina Mason-Campbell

Kevin Drew's Spirit If... tour continues to make its way across the world, having landed on American shores this weekend, after a month of European exhibition. As predicted, Drew's beard (as well as a couple of his bandmates') has indeed continued to grow over the course of the tour, which hit Portland, Oregon's Aladdin Theater Saturday night. On this trek, the Broken Social Scenester has been joined at times by album collaborators Andrew Kenny of American Analog Set, Treble Charger's Bill Priddle, and Uncut/Hawaii member Sam Goldberg, as well as BSSers Brendan Canning and Justin Peroff, not to mention Metric's James Shaw.

The night before, at Seattle's Moore Theatre, Drew and co. were joined by special guests Ben Gibbard and Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie for an encore of "When It Begins". Check out Joshua C. Bis' photos here.

More photos and remaining tour dates below.








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