Pitchfork Seeks Video Editor for NYC Internship
Pitchfork is seeking a fast, efficient video editor/production assistant for an internship in New York. Our ideal candidate is a film major with experience in Final Cut and/or Avid (After Effects a plus) who is available to work two days a week during business hours, for credit if possible. To apply, please send your resume to jobs@pitchforkmedia.com, along with a link to your demo reel. Submission deadline is Tuesday, October 9th at 6:00 p.m. eastern.M.I.A. Does Track With Aussie Kids for Heaps Decent
Front page photo by Kirstie Shanley
Not that we'd ever suggest that M.I.A. was following in Diplo's footsteps, but she is indeed helping her old pal Wes' Heaps Decent project come back with power power. On a recent trip to Australia, M.I.A.-- along with French rapper Yelle, producers Tepr and Grand Marnier, and some young ladies from a school within an Australian youth detention center-- have recorded a track with the likely title of "Popo Mind Control".
Beyond describing the jam as the "HOTTEST CLUB TRACK YOU EVER HEARD," the Heaps Decent MySpace blog explains the sessions like this:
Early last week we got an email from M.I.A.'s management saying that M.I.A. was keen to get involved with us while she was in Australia for the Parklife festival. "Hell yeah!" we excitedly replied, and a few days later we were in the lobby of the Sydney Hilton with Maya and a bunch of Frenchies.
Turns out these Frenchies were pop starlet/gangsta rapper YELLE and her producers and bandmates TEPR and GRAND MARNIER! We were big fans of them too, so we asked them if they wanted to come and help record the greatest song ever. Lucky for us they did.
The next day we hit the road... after an hour or so of driving we reached our destination - an all girls school in a juvenile justice centre where we would spend the next two days making beats and rhymes with the small student population...
Produced by Tepr & Grand Marinier and featuring M.I.A and the girls from the centre this new song we did is CRAZY. I don't even know what it's called. Although M.I.A. screams "popo mind control!!" on the hook so maybe it's called that? How about we say it's a crazy hot new jam with the working title of POPO MIND CONROL?
The plan, it seems, is to "release this jam legit" once hott producer Switch-- whose touch is all over Kala-- is done mixing it. As Diplo mentioned when he told us about the project, all proceeds will go back into the Heaps Decent project.
M.I.A., who's currently in Japan, recently announced she'd pegged the Cool Kids to open much of her North American tour. Those dates after the jump. [MORE...]
Gutter Twins Reveal Debut Album Title
The Gutter Twins, aka the dynamic duo of Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan, have announced the title of their debut album: Saturnalia.
According to their publicist, "Saturnalia was a feast/festival back in Ancient Roman times where the slaves became the masters. A fitting title for this album."
Oooooh...
As previously reported, the album is due out next year on Sub Pop. In early 2008, the Gutter Twins will play a few shows in the U.S. and abroad to preview the album.
Both men have been keeping busy popping up on other peoples' albums recently, with Lanegan pitching in on the Soulsavers' new album, and Dulli popping up on the debut album from Intramural, the new project from Desaparecidos guitarist / Statistics main man Denver Dalley.
Also, for some reason Dashboard Confessional cover "Crazy" by the Afghan Whigs on their new covers album, which is just weird.
Former Unicorn Drops Clues With New Band
Was it...Mr. Penner, in Montreal, with the guitar?
Alden Penner, the Unicorn member not involved in either Islands nor Th' Corn Gangg, has pooled his magical powers with those of Brendan Reed (formerly of the Arcade Fire and Les Angles Morts) and Bethany Or (Shanghai Triad) to form a new project of his own, Clues.
While the Montreal-based trio plans to release its debut album soon, they will first make their official live debut on Sunday, October 7, as part of the Pop Montreal festival. The gig, presented by Said the Gramophone and the Bleating Heart Shows, also features Elfin Saddle, Casey Dienel, and Horse Feathers as openers for the band at Montreal's Birks Chapel.
The day before, Islands will also play Pop Montreal, one of two scheduled shows for them. [MORE...]
Photos: Patrick Wolf [New York, NY; 10/03/07]
Photos by Kathryn Yu
Patrick Wolf loves to play dress-up, as we know well. So when he donned a Mozart wig last night at New York's Webster Hall, it came as little surprise-- but it was still pretty sweet.
Of course, Mr. Wolf's eccentricities seem to know no bounds, and indeed the wig was possibly not the strangest site of the evening: there was a forest backdrop, a shirt that looks like it's made out of blue draperies, and even a somersault! Wolf's sometimes-girlfriend (and current opening act) Bishi was also on hand to lend her talents to one of the set's songs.
Catch the rest of P-Wolf's odd manners and his remaining tour dates below.
Sigur Ros Push Back Heima DVD, Add Shows
Crack wise about how slowly they always do things if it helps, but turn that frown rightside up anyhow: Sigur Rós have pushed the release of their "stupidly gorgeous" Heima DVD back two weeks to November 20 (UPDATE: this is only true for North America. The DVD will be released everywhere else November 5.). No reason was given, but as a consolation of sorts, fans in the general vicinity of our nation's capital can check out the recently added theatrical screenings of the film October 6 at Baltimore's Rotunda Cinematheque or the following day at D.C.'s E Street Cinema. (We hear Clarence Clemons likes to hang out there.)
A bunch of other screenings at various cities around the world have also been added, many also including brief acoustic performances by the band themselves.
Sigur Rós themselves will be on hand at the New Yorker festival for brief acoustic performances, a conversation with John Seabrook, and two screenings of Heima October 6 at New York's French Institute on October 6. They'll pull this screening/show trick (sans Seabrook, natch) a couple more times throughout the fall in various locales, but still, if you're stuck in Sheboygan with nothing to watch on November 6, you're just gonna have to settle on Mandroid for the time being.
However, the Hvarf / Heim CD still drops as planned November 5 in the UK from EMI and the day after in the U.S. from their new Stateside imprint, XL. [MORE...]
Sufjan Song Chosen As Franciscan Theme for October
November's Theme: "Shout at the Devil" by Motley Crue
The dozen rules of the Franciscan order are put in place to help guide Franciscans-- a subset of sorts within several Christian churches-- through leading a moral life. (Kind of like the ten commandments.) Franciscans the world over are a tight-knit bunch, ever tighter since the internet provided them with opportunities for large-scale fellowship heretofore impossible.
Each month, the Franciscans participate in something called "Franciscanized World vocation," to which there is a kind of meditative theme song. This month, that song is Sufjan Stevens' "All the Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands", from the Seven Swans LP. (Thanks to the Sufjan fan site All Good Naysayers for the tip!)
Of course, Seven Swans lays the Christian imagery on pretty thick, but it's in a generally nondenominational way. According to Sister Mary Carol Kopecky of Manitowoc, Wisconsin's Holy Family Conservatory, "On October 4th the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, patron of ecology, is celebrated throughout the world. Francis could easily have spoken the words, 'And I heard from the trees a great parade.' All nature, even the smallest creature spoke to Francis and he was in awe of all of God's creation. The lyrics read as a litany or stream of consciousness. Reflection on each idea is up to the individual. Each of us, with our varied experiences, will relate differently to the message. The ostinato (repeated) instrumental and later background vocalists are conducive to meditation. Pray Psalms 147, 148 and 150 to praise God for all creation. Yes, you will 'be invited to the sound'." Neat! Can I get a plus one?
Anyhow, if you're feeling the hand of St. Francis on your shoulder or just want a free download of a pretty good old Sufjan cut, you can head here. May the grace and peace of a beloved indie rock singer-songwriter be with you.
In other Sufjan news, he's paused work on his forthcoming Delaware: Hi! We're in...Delaware! (or whatever) to pop up on a couple new discs from Marla Hansen and Chris Schlarb, and an even more docile version of one of his Christmas cuts is on that lullaby comp.
Parlophone NOT Releasing Radiohead Album...For Now
HMV, the ginormous British-based chain of media shops, must take some pleasure in the jumping of the gun. They famously suggested that Chinese Democracy might actually be coming out (on a specific date, no less) by offering preorders for the album through their website, leading an awful lot of people far less pessimistic than I to throw their money into the cosmos.
And, much to the chagrin of Radiohead fans who enjoy touching things (but not too many things), they recently bumped Radiohead's In Rainbows to preorder availability status, suggesting the record was coming out in physical, non-discbox form from the Parlophone imprint on December 3.
It's not.
According to Radiohead's publicity camp, negotiations for the standard release of In Rainbows are still underway, and nothing has been decided yet. Of course, In Rainbows actually is coming out in six days (OMG OMG OMG) for free-99, and you're gonna get that big box in early December should you shell out for it. But for those of you who absolutely cannot wait for the regular-ass in-store version, don't believe everything you read on the subject.
Chinese Democracy! LOL
New Bloc Party Single Due Next Month
"Flux", the new single from Bloc Party, finds the band's gaze reaching beyond the City and into new, as-yet-uncharted territory. The track was put to tape with the help of A Weekend in the City producer Jacknife Lee, and according to NME.com, it will be released as a single in the UK on Wichita as both a CD and 7". The CD gets "Emma Kate's Accident" on the B-side, and "The Once and Future King" is carved into the vinyl.
Americans can flip to "Conan" tonight, where the band will play "Flux". How convenient! However, we have to wait until November 20 to buy the track, when Vice will release it digitally both on a "new, improved digital re-release" of A Weekend in the City and on its own digital EP. The EP will feature additional material still to be confirmed.
Having just wrapped that brief tour with Deerhoof, the band have one more U.S. date on their plate before they make their next move. All those remaining shows after the jump. [MORE...]
Photos: Beirut Live on KEXP [Chicago, IL; 10/03/07]
Photos by Sanchez and Kitahara
With all the tours we report on a daily basis, it's easy to forget
they're actual events that involve real people losing sleep and
spending days in vans just to play their music for an hour or so
before doing it all over again.
When Beirut arrived at Chicago's Engine Studios yesterday for a live radio session on KEXP, they inadvertently
reminded me of the reality of touring with their mussed hair, dirty
clothes, and general grogginess. But they didn't need to look rested to
play their six-song set like pros. All they needed was a little warm-up
(which, due mostly to the band's instrumentation, looked and felt like
a high school band rehearsal) and the presence of bandleader Zach
Condon's strong vibrato.
That voice would probably sound good over rush hour
traffic, and I feel bad for the bandmate that has to harmonize with
him. But the whole ensemble gave five songs from The Flying Club Cup
and one traditional ("Cocek") a casual feel that suited the
music well, allowing those of us present to drift in and out of
Condon's already dream-like world.
The set was a prelude to Beirut's show tonight at the Portage Theater,
and when the session's host asked Condon if the band plans to ease up
on the touring any time soon, he responded, "You go until you collapse,
basically." That's great, guys, but please don't actually collapse.
More photos and tour dates below.
Setlist:
Nantes
A Sunday Smile
Cocek
Forks and Knives (La Fête)
Cherbourg
The Penalty
Hear the whole thing HERE.
[MORE...]
Fujiya & Miyagi, Busdriver Do Shows for Autistic Kids
Camelot for Kids is a nationwide organization that offers assistance and therapy for children and teens with mental and behavioral problems, such as autism. They help kids via outreach programs, schools, and residential treatment centers, and music plays a big role in therapy.
Josh Scholl, Director of Community Relations for Camelot's Des Plaines, Illinois treatment center, used to work in the music business, and he understands the value of rocking out to live bands, no matter who you are. Scholl has helped line up a pair of private shows for the Camelot kids taking place over the next two months at Chicago's Empty Bottle.
Tomorrow evening, October 5, Fujiya & Miyagi will perform a short set for the Camelot folks before taking the stage that night for a regular show. They will also participate in a question and answer session. Busdriver will follow suit November 16 before his own show at the Bottle.
Malkmus, Albini, Molina in Silkworm Documentary
Former Silkworm members form new band, Bottomless Pit
Following the death of drummer Michael Dahlquist in a 2005 car accident, unassuming indie rock mainstays Silkworm were gone-- but not forgotten by the loyal cult of fans who kept them going for so long (since 1987!). Among those fans are director Seth Pomeroy and producer Shawn Girvan, who have decided to use their love for the band to document its history in a documentary called Couldn't You Wait?
So far, the film features interviews with Stephen Malkmus, Steve Albini, and Jason Molina (hilariously featured in the trailer below asking, "Are you saying that a Henry James novel is inaccessible just because you don't want to read all those pages?"), but it's not yet completed. The filmmakers still have over two dozen interviews with musicians and label owners to do, but they created the trailer to help raise the money they need to finish shooting. They are accepting donations to the project via this PayPal link.
Couldn't You Wait? trailer:
However, Couldn't You Wait? isn't the only way fans can expect a taste of new Silkworm-related material. There's also Bottomless Pit, the new band featuring Silkworm members Tim Midgett and Andy Cohen collaborating with Seam's Chris Manfrin and .22's Brian Orchard. The Chicago-based foursome will release their debut album, Hammer of the Gods, via Comedy Minus One on November 6. (No, you're not crazy-- we have indeed mentioned Bottomless Pit before.)
BP also have a handful of tour dates scheduled for this fall. The first is in Milwaukee on October 19.
Finally, apropos of very little, here is a screenshot of Stephen Malkmus in Couldn't You Wait?'s trailer sporting a Spencer Krug porn 'stache. Also, that shirt sure looks familiar. It's laundry time, Malkatraz!
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.)
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