Devendra Banhart Exhibits Art at San Fran MOMA

Photo by Alissa Anderson

From now through February 24 at San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art, a collection of music-inspired works from late Swiss painter Paul Klee will be exhibited next to the drawings of Californian freakazoid Devendra Banhart. They're calling the show "Abstract Rhythms", and if we may be so bold, it's an inspired pairing: both Klee's and Banhart's works contain a wide-eyed (occasionally childlike) wonder at the beauty of the world.

If you own Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, you've seen some of the pieces Devendra's displaying at MOMA, but don't think a spin through the CD booklet is a proper replica for the real thing. D.Ban's got ten new drawings and a series of photos of Devendra, friends, family and well-wishers up as well.

The drawings, like the album, apparently "spring from a personal narrative developed around a fictional protagonist named Smokey- an archetype of a person Banhart frequently encounters while on tour," according to a press release. Yeah, I bet there's a lotta Smokeys in your audience, beardo.

"I sing what I can't draw and draw what I can't sing," Devendra says.

Here's a little wall-text-speak on a couple of the pieces on display: "In Kadmon Smokey (2007), Banhart thematically draws from the kabbalah, presenting Smokey as the primordial Kadmon Adam (the first being created by the cosmos), pictorially represented as an abstract, mountainous form around which colorful planets revolve. In Banded King Snake and Thunder Maiden (2007), Banhart blends myriad cultural myths, including a reference to Quetzalcoatl, the ancient Aztec god who is half-bird and half-snake. In the drawing the snake's vibrant colors signify the plumes of the quetzal bird. Similarly, lightening bolts radiate from the hybrid figure's hat-an allusion to Indra, the god of thunder in Hindu mythology."

This is like that time I tried to read Siddhartha and instead ended up playing a "Duck Tales" video game for like seven hours.

To keep things swinging at SFMOMA, Devendra will bring his traveling rock'n'roll hoedown-- primed to hit Europe early next month-- there January 17, when he will play a live show.

For more Devendra art, check out the book Good Times: Bad Trips.

Full dates after the jump. [MORE...]

Photos: The Decemberists [Chicago, IL; 10/28/07]

Photos by Sanchez and Kitahara

If you know the long and short of the Decemberists' catalogue, then you're probably excited about the band's current "Long and Short of It" tour, on which the Portland rockers play two nights in each city, devoting one night to their lengthy jams, and one night to their shorter pop tunes.

It was a night of extended sea chanteys on Sunday at Chicago's Vic Theater, as Colin Meloy and crew worked through some of the longer tracks from last year's progtastic The Crane Wife and some of their more verbose tunes from albums past.

More photos and tour dates (delineated by length of songs to be played) below.








[MORE...]

Kanye Writes a Book of "Kanye-isms"
Editors scramble for dust jacket quotes from Chris Martin, John Mayer, guy from Maroon 5

It looks like Kanye is taking his role as purveyor of the printed word seriously. We're not sure how he was able to do it between near-constant updates of his new blog, but the Chicago MC will issue Thank You and You're Welcome!, his first book, early next year.

Written in collaboration with co-author J. Sakiya Sandifer, Thank You is, according to Kanye's blog, "an entertaining volume of 'Kanye-isms'-- the creative, humorous, and insightful philosophies and anecdotes used in creating my path to success. It captures the same wit, playful irony, and piercing insight found abundant in my lyrics. In Thank You and You're Welcome!, I deliver my personal message uncensored, without any five-second delay or media distortion."

Kanye will post sample pages from the future bathroom companion shortly, but the book is available for pre-order right now. It will ship no later than January 2, and West and Sandifer will autograph the first 500 copies sold.

Next up, an advice column! (We wish.)

Kanye's next show is tonight, October 29, in Boston. [MORE...]

Flaming Lips Play OK Show With Country Superstars
The Flaming Lips + Amy Grant = melted brain

The Flaming Lips are involved in a lot of weird shit. In addition to their famously over-the-top shows, there is the UFO-themed live DVD, the Halloween parade, the alley named after them, and Christmas on Mars. But none of those things holds a candle to the band's upcoming appearance at the Oklahoma Centennial Spectacular.

Aside from being the Lips' home state's celebration of 100 years of statehood, the performance is notable because of the rest of the artists on the bill: Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Toby Keith, Vince Gill, Carrie Underwood, Patti Page, All-American Rejects, and Amy Grant. Just...we're just...speechless.

The concert will take place at Oklahoma City's Ford Center on November 16. Here's hoping for a Toby Keith appearance alongside Wayne Coyne in the inflatable plastic sphere.

Thanks to reader Rock Strongo for having an awesome name and giving us the tip.

Don't forget that the Lips-featuring soundtrack to Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium comes out November 13, with the film following on the same date of the Centennial Spectacular.

Finally, there are still a few of those Zaireeka 10th anniversary parties left, with the next taking place tomorrow, October 30, in Dallas. [MORE...]

Photos: Jens Lekman [Philadelphia, PA; 10/26/07]

Photos by Michael Alan Goldberg

As Night Falls over Kortedala, the sun rises over here on the other hemisphere, where Jens Lekman has just kicked off his Night Falls U.S. tour. It began with a kids-only show in Bloomington, Indiana, home of his Stateside label, Secretly Canadian, and continued at Philadelphia's First Unitarian Church this weekend.

Lekman and his ladyfriends trot across the rest of the country through mid-November, and then head to the UK at year's end. And don't forget the Swedish songsmith makes an appearance on the newly-downloadable EP of Arthur Russell covers, available on Rough Trade.

More photos and tour dates below.








[MORE...]

Robyn's Robyn Finally Coming Stateside in 2008
Bonus: U.S. tour in the works!

Roll out the red carpet, break out the bubbly, and prepare to extend a warm American welcome to European pop royalty. Robyn, the fantastic long-player from a rejuvenated Robyn Carlsson, is finally coming to the U.S. in 2008-- some three calendar years after it initially landed over in Sweden, and one since the UK got theirs.

An Interscope rep tells us that Robyn will grace U.S. shops in non-import form at last thanks to subsidiary Cherrytree Records (who also sent the Pipettes our way; keep 'em comin', guys!). As mentioned, it's due at an unspecified point in 2008, not-- as reported in a recent EW.com article-- on December 4. Tracklist details have not yet been finalized, but it's looking like Kleerup collaboration "With Every Heartbeat" (not found on the original Robyn) will make the cut!

What's more, word is Robyn is planning to make an official U.S. visit-- what us commoners might call a tour-- sometime in 2008. Hot damn! For the moment, however, she's making the rounds in the UK. [MORE...]

Country Music Legend Porter Wagoner, 1927-2007

Country music legend and Grand Ole Opry star Porter Wagoner died Sunday, October 28, from lung cancer at the age of 80, according to a Reuters report. The report cites Wagoner's publicist, Darlene Bieber, who said Wagoner entered a hospice facility in Nashville several days before his death.

A Grammy winner and member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Wagoner was known for his penchant for flashy rhinestone suits. In addition to his solo career as a musician, entertainer, and television host, he nurtured the career of a young Dolly Parton as both a mentor and duet partner. He was allegedly the inspiration for Parton's classic song "I Will Always Love You".

The Howell County, Missouri native was a fixture of the Grand Ole Opry for 50 years, though he didn't shy away from controversy just to tow the party line. For example, in 1979, he invited James Brown to perform on the Opry stage, despite the objections of other Opry members.

Just this past June, Wagoner released his last album, Wagonmaster on Anti- Records. He opened for the White Stripes at Madison Square Garden in July.

Pumpkins Prep Another Best Buy-Only Zeitgeist

Why, Billy, why? Just when some people we know made up had finally finished paying off the credit card interest after buying FOUR different versions of Smashing Pumpkins' Zeitgeist-- which, let's face it, is no Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness-- at FOUR different retailers, you go and plop another one on us.

Zeitgeist: The Umpteenth Unnecessary Edition or whatever drops at Best Buy locations and only Best Buy locations October 30 (aka tomorrow). It seems indie retailers (not to mention fans) can suck it once again.

Why, when you already have the regular edition, the Target edition, the iTunes edition, and the original Best Buy edition, might you actually consider possibly wanting this artifact too? Well, it has a few bonus tracks-- one from the first Best Buy Zeitgeist ("Death From Above"), one from the iTunes Zeitgeist ("Stellar"), and one that appears nowhere else ("Ma Belle"). It also comes with a DVD sporting the full-length documentary Inside the Zeitgeist. And, um, somebody put the cover art in Photoshop and desaturated it. (They're calling this a "metallic silver color scheme"; it's a "scheme" all right.)

Well, at least they got one thing right. Excess is very much in the spirit of the times. [MORE...]

New Magnetic Fields Album Gets Release Date, Title

Thanks to reader Joe Roberman, this morning we discovered the following announcement on Stephin Merritt's website:

"The Magnetic Fields are happy to announce that their new album, titled Distortion, will be released on Nonesuch Records on January 15, 2008. The band will perform a small number of U.S. tour dates in February and March. Specific details regarding venues and ticket pre-sales will be announced shortly."

Nice. It's been awhile since we've heard from the Magnetic Fields; their last record, i, came out in 2004. In the meantime, Merritt's kept busy writing Showtunes, hanging with the Gothic Archies, appearing on Fox, and shilling for Volvo, but we're glad to see he's back to the main event.

Xiu Xiu, Deerhoof, Why? Members Help AIDS Orphans

Jamie Stewart has taken on AIDS in song (see Knife Play's "Hives Hives"), and he'll soon take it on in real life as well.

Along with Deerhoof's Satomi Matsuzaki and Why?'s Yoni Wolf, the Xiu Xiu mastermind will DJ at a benefit he helped put together for Kenya's Nyumbani, whose Children's Home houses orphans of parents claimed by AIDS. The event, called "Give In", takes place November 16 at Oakland, California's LoBot (Lower Bottom) Gallery.

Attendees are asked to present a donation of $7-$20 at the door, with proceeds going to Nyumbani. Nyumbani also sponsors outreach programs to increase AIDS and HIV+ awareness, and runs Nyumbani Village, "a self-sustaining community to serve orphans and elders who have been left behind by the 'lost generation' of the AIDS pandemic."

Even if you can't make the benefit, you're encouraged to learn more and donate directly at the Nyumbani website.

UPDATE: Kill Rock Stars has announced that they will match the amount of money raised at the party with their own donation.

As reported last week, Xiu Xiu deliver Women as Lovers, their sixth proper LP, January 29 via Kill Rock Stars. They also have that Polaroid book-cum-compilation out in November, and cover a Why? track on the U.S. version of Why?'s forthcoming single "Hollows", due November 19 on Anticon (the European version, sans Xiu Xiu, is expected November 18 on Tomlab). Deerhoof, meanwhile, play the ATP-sponsored Release the Bats Halloween shindig in London November 2.

PB&J; Nab Besnard Lakes as Openers; Peter Goes Solo

It's like a Neil Diamond song come to life, really: From the wilds of Canada to the snowdrifts of Sweden, they're coming to America! Montreal's Besnard Lakes have been added as support on all dates of Stockholm residents Peter Bjorn and John's forthcoming U.S. tour, which kicks off November 23 in Houston. It's a short tour, sure, but a good fit nonetheless. If anybody could help kick that jammin' PB&J set-ender into the next municipality, it's the Lakes.

Peter Bjorn and John have a short string of gigs in the UK with Maps early next month, while-- what's this?-- Peter Morén plays a solo set at NYC's Joe's Pub November 19. The same night as cabaret legend Ute Lemper, no less! Apparently, this show isn't a one-off thing either. According to the Joe's Pub website, Peter's got a whole solo album in the works:

"Peter writes a lot of songs-- too many to fit in the prospect of just one band with three songwriters, so in his spare time he has recorded a solo album that bears some kinship with Paul Simon, Tim Hardin, Brian Eno, John Cale, Caetano Veloso, Robyn Hitchcock, the Go-Betweens and maybe the Shins' acoustic ballads."

Sounds good! As for the Joe's Pub gig, "Peter will mostly play by his lonesome, but may invite guests or have some special treats up his sleeve."

And Peter's not the only one doing his own thing. Björn Yttling is producing the debut full-length from Swedish singer and Röyksopp/Kleerup collaborator Lykke Li; he'll join her for two NYC gigs this week, playing various instruments.

Seems PB&J have also made good on their promise to make up those Canadian dates they scrapped in favor of MTV last month. The trio has lined up Toronto and Montreal gigs in January, plus two more shows to boot.

As for the Besnard bunch, as previously mentioned, Jagjaguwar just last week reissued the Lakes' 2004 debut Volume 1. [MORE...]

Natalie Portman's Mixtape Tracklist Revealed

Upon reading the story we ran mere hours ago about the forthcoming Natalie Portman-curated Big Change: Songs for FINCA compilation that heads to iTunes on October 30, Portman herself flew to our Chicago headquarters outfitted in full Padmé Amidala dress, rang our buzzer, and stormed into the office demanding that we pay for her dry cleaning.*

She then politely handed us the compilation's tracklist, which is the after the jump. Turns out Tokyo Police Club, Vetiver, Wooden Wand, and Thee More Shallows, among many others, join the Shins, Beirut, Antony and the Johnsons, Devendra Banhart, M. Ward, and Norah Jones on the list of contributors. Also, Bjorn Yttling of Peter Bjorn & John did the Shins remix. Those freakin' guys are everywhere.

* This did not happen. [MORE...]

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.)