Stephen Malkmus Talks Trash
"It's like if you look at eBay rare acid folk psych albums and the guy will describe it, 'I don't see how there's any way this could possibly have sold a single copy when it came out,' and that's a good thing."

A month ago, a post on the website of Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks mentioned "how to make a great record the VERY hard way." That great record? Real Emotional Trash, due March 4 on Matador. The VERY hard way? Well, under normal rock'n'roll circumstances, we'd assume that would involve inter-band rifts, overdoses, and other Behind the Music-type stuff. But the way Malkmus-- 41 years old and recently a father for the second time-- tells it, the hangups were appropriately adult. The biggest hurdle, it seems, was finding just the right place to mix the thing.

We recently rang up Malkmus at his Portland, Oregon home, where he was putting the finishing touches on Real Emotional Trash. He told us the tale of the record's birth, which took the band from Montana to Jeff Tweedy's place to Brooklyn, and gave us a preview of its sound. He also explained the meaning of each and every lyric on the album. (Kidding.)

In the process, we discussed Pavement's legacy, Malkmus' work on the I'm Not There soundtrack, and the Portland scene. Also, how too many beer ads at a show suck.

Pitchfork: So what's going on?

Stephen Malkmus: Not much. Let's see, I did another interview before. But what's going on? Oh, you know, just down in the basement, fucking around.

Pitchfork: With anything in particular?

SM: Trying to secure the cover art for this new album. Like, all the inside stuff. But yeah, just another day here. [laughs] I'm renting some movies. That's about it.

Pitchfork: Sounds pretty good. If you're already dealing in artwork, this record must be pretty close to done at this point.

SM: It's all done except for the artwork. It's coming out in March. And yeah, song order, mastering, that's all done.

Pitchfork: Does it feel good to have it all behind you?

SM: Yeah, that does. At this point, it's taken us quite a while to make up our minds about everything, so it got a little bit fussy at the end but, you know, even if it doesn't matter, you can't help but go there sometimes. About song order or some cymbal being too bright or something. But yeah, it feels good, I guess. At this point, more like a relief.

Pitchfork: You guys made a comment a few weeks back about "making a great record the very hard way." Care to get into that?

SM: Yeah. It's just how we chose to record it. We just went to this wild card place (Snow Ghost Studios) in Montana that we could drive to-- we live in Oregon-- and we didn't know the guy that well, but he had pictures online. It turned out to be a nice place, but it was slightly deceiving how big the room was, so we moved out into this other big room. And then, for the tape machine, the tape was this Dutch tape-- they're not making tape anymore, you know? So we hooked up with this Dutch company and we decided to go with them because it was a little cheaper, and then it was like a bad batch of tape and it started shredding off. But it lasted through the drums, so we did the drums on there and some of the bass and then we had to put it in the computer for the rest, which we didn't plan on doing. But, you know, that's what people do these days.

It was just kind of weird there. The place was brand new so it didn't have any bugs in it, but it was just this clean, clean place that the recording engineer [T.J. Doherty] wasn't really familiar with, so it was a challenge for him. T.J. recorded Wilco's last album and the one before that, and he said we could go to Wilco's place and do the singing, which is a really generous offer; it was mainly Jeff Tweedy's place, but he's a really gracious, nice guy. He's like, "you guys can go in there, you're mature, you won't trash things." So we went there. So that was traveling to another place to sing because it was a free studio.

Then we tried to mix it in Portland, but then this place that was a nice place was sort of too far away to drive every day. And things just kind of went south there. Which had never really happened to me, you know, where the sound's not right, wasn't how I remembered it, it's going weird. So we decided not to do it with T.J. anymore, because he recorded it all, and he was like "this sounds pretty good to me," but he was just getting crazy, I think, from trying to figure out all these weird places that he was. So then we said, "okay, we're going to mix it somewhere else."

So then we had to hunt down someone to mix it with. I asked Nigel Godrich-- sorry, I'm kind of name dropping a bit here-- but I asked Nigel to do it and he was busy. He had finished that In Rainbows album and he was burnt out. And I just went to what I knew, people I knew, and then I was like, "Hey, what about Nick [Vernhes] at [Brooklyn's] Rare Book Room?" He's been in a lot of stuff that Pitchfork would like, like Fiery Furnaces and Animal Collective -- I didn't know he'd done that-- and he has a new label, and he's nice, and he's like "Yeah, I'm free." He had done the Silver Jews' American Water with me and I'm, like, "oh yeah," you know? That was great, finally the point where we could say "okay, we've got something."

We did it in his computer, which I wasn't planning on doing, but at that point it's like you don't care about being all vintage or running things through a machine. You just want to do it great, you know, do it fast and a way that someone else knows. So we did it at his place in New York about a couple of months ago, and that went really well. In the end, everything was great, but it was just this long way around the question. It would've been nice just to go to one place.

Pitchfork: I see what you mean by the "very hard way." [MORE...]

Ike Turner R.I.P.

Ike Turner, rock'n'roll pioneer, r&b legend, and volatile husband to Tina Turner, passed away at his San Marcos, California home today, according to TMZ. Aged 76, he reportedly died in his sleep.

Born Izear Luster Turner, Jr. in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Turner first found fame as leader of the Kings of Rhythm, whose 1951 single "Rocket 88"-- billed to Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats-- is regarded by some as the first true rock'n'roll recording.

Turner's place in popular music history wasn't cemented, however, until he met a young, fiery vocalist by the name of Anna Mae Bullock in 1956. Bullock would eventually take the name Tina Turner, and the pair would enter a relationship, both musical and romantic, as notoriously tumultuous privately as it was electrifying live on stage and on record. Throughout the 1960s and early 70s, Ike and Tina remained at the forefront of rock'n'roll culture, touring with the Rolling Stones, recording with Phil Spector, and churning out hits like "Proud Mary" and "River Deep - Mountain High".

Turner's reputation was, of course, mottled at best. He has been painted as an abusive and domineering husband to Tina, who left him in the mid-1970s. Turner also landed in prison in the early 1990s after various drug charges, and was in fact incarcerated when Ike & Tina Turner were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.

Yet Turner had, by most accounts, cleaned up his act in subsequent years. He also regained some of his footing musically, winning a Best Traditional Blues Grammy this year for Risin' With the Blues. He was also apparently working with the Black Keys and Danger Mouse on a forthcoming album.

Calexico Tour-Only Jams Now Digital Via Touch & Go

As they hit the dusty trails of the world, those traveling troubadours in Calexico pack up their gunny sacks with the usual fare: lonesome horns, reverby guitars, and, of course, tour-only EPs aplenty. But before December 4, the only way a person would have been able to grab these goodies would have been to hitch up alongside Calexico while they were out on the road. (Or order them from Calexico's website.) Now, six previously tour-only releases are available through Touch and Go/Quarterstick's digital store. From 1999's '98-'99 Road Map to this year's previously reported Toolbox-- with Travelall, Aerocalexico, Scraping, and The Book and the Canal in between, they're all up for grabs now. Shed your former constraints and roam free, Calexico jams!

In addition, mildly offensive Michigan punks The Meatmen have seen the entirety of their Touch and Go catalog issued digitally through the T&G site as well. Blud Sausage, the Crippled Children Suck EP and the Stud Powercock comp are exclusive at the Touch and Go outpost, with We're the Meatmen, the Crippled Children Suck LP and Meatmen frontguy Tesco Vee and the Meatkrew's Dutch Hercules LP available for download elsewhere.

As for Calexico, they've got a lone date of their own to attend to: December 28 at Tucson, Arizona's Temple of Music and Art.

Bradford Cox Publicly Apologizes to Samara Lubelski
"I take total responsibility for what a dickhead I was."

If you read Pitchfork's interview with Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox published in June, you may still have a bad taste in your mouth from a series of comments Cox made in reference to Samara Lubelski.

The NYC-based singer/songwriter/producer helmed some Cryptograms recording sessions, although the resulting material was subsequently scrapped. When asked about the shaky recording situation, Bradford, well, pretty much tore into Samara. We'll spare Mr. Cox the further embarrassment of reprinting those comments here; they're in the original interview, if you care to find them. Needless to say, they were nasty.

And anyway, Bradford has already gone and reprinted them himself-- along with a detailed, profuse apology to Samara-- in a recent Deerhunter blog entry.

"My single biggest regret [this year]," writes Cox, "is that I allowed what started as a simple nervous breakdown to [culminate] in a public defamation of a very talented musician, technician, and artist: Samara Lubelski.

"Unfortunately, due to my immaturity at the time, and my admittedly fucked up mental state I used the [interview] opportunity to fuck over someone who absolutely did not deserve it. What makes it worse is that I made statements that were not factual, or that were based on my completely warped perspectives.

"Make no mistake, I take total responsibility for what a dickhead I was...To Samara, I sincerely apologize for my bullshit."

Read Bradford's complete statement here, and please, if anyone ever starts a website that rates apologies based on their humility, give that one a 10.0.

The Deerhunter blog has, surprise surprise, seen a flurry of activity of late, including a year-end list of sorts, heaps of Atlas Sound mp3s, several mixtapes, and an interview Cox conducted with influential Athens act Pylon.

The Deerhunter band, meanwhile, is now officially in "hiatus" mode, though they'll reemerge for ATP vs. Pitchfork in May. Cox takes Atlas Sound for a whirl beginning February 19 and delivers the act's debut LP the very same day. Samara Lubelski's latest, Parallel Suns, is out now thanks to the Social Registry. [MORE...]

Yorke Preps 12"s With Field, Four Tet, Burial Remixes
And also Various, Modeselektor, Surgeon, and Christian Vogel Remixes

Lonely? Looking for love? Good thing it's singles day all up in here at Pitchforkmedia.com today, eh? And our de facto tribute to the shortest-playing of formats continues right now with the announcement of a newly-pressed series of three-songers from Thom Yorke, due early next year.

Wait a minute, Thom Yorke? Didn't that guy's solo album come out in, like, 2006? It sure did, but that hasn't stopped XL Recordings from preparing a trio of slick new 12"s collecting remixes of assorted tracks off The Eraser. Bearing the clunky but informative titles "And It Rained All Night (Burial Remix) / Skip Divided (Modeselektor Remix) / Analyse (Various Remix)", "Atoms for Peace (Four Tet Remix) / Black Swan (Christian Vogel Remix 1) / Black Swan (Christian Vogel Remix 2)", and "Harrowdown Hill (The Bug Remix) / The Clock (Surgeon Remix) / Cymbal Rush (The Field Remix)", the 12"s contain, well, precisely that. Look for them in UK shoppes beginning January 21, January 28, and February 4, respectively.

Oh, and if a few of these remixes sound familiar, perhaps you downloaded them off Yorke's site one whole year ago this week.

In related news, some band involving Yorke did something something tour blah blah Rainbows etc. [MORE...]

Diplo Remixes Spoon's "Don't You Evah" for Charity

Spoon's "Don't You Evah", from their fine Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga LP, has a nice little swing to it, sure. But leave it to Diplo to crank up the bottom end in just about anything he touches, even a straight-ahead rock track from a bunch of tightly-wound Texans.

Diplo's crafted a remix of "Don't You Evah" which the Merge Records digital store is selling this very moment. All proceeds from sales of the tune go to the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, an organization that advocates fair practices within Texas courts.

When they're not matching wits for a good cause, Spoon and Diplo are out on the road. (Not together.) Both have but a handful of dates over the next few months. And Spoon presently have a poster signed by the band up on eBay as part of Merge's previously reported charity project. [MORE...]

Robyn Invites Us to "Be Mine" on Latest Single, Dates

UK Robyn fans wondering just when "Be Mine" might be theirs ought look no further: the stellar track from the Swedish pop starlet's 2005's self-titled masterstroke (released in the UK just this year) finally gets a single this winter from Konichiwa.

Starting December 21, you can download a "top notch remix package" for the tune at digital outlets worldwide, sporting, as you may have guessed, a whole bunch of "Be Mine" remixes. The "Ballard Version" of the single hits digital outlets January 11, while CD and 12" versions-- bolstered with various remixes from the "package" folks and others-- hit UK shelves January 14. Confused? We don't blame you, so everything's all spelled out after the jump.

In other Robyn news, her album is finally coming to the States next year, which means we'll have to think up a new closing line for all these Robyn stories. Ooh, how about this: Robyn's touring! She's got a number of live dates lined up around Europe next year, including a stop at the Netherlands' EuroSonic festival. And, though she hasn't yet made good on her promise to personally visit the States, we'll gladly keep reminding her about it until she does. [MORE...]

Morrissey Reveals New Single Details
Greatest hits gets UK release date

Now that Morrissey's settled all that label drama and let the NME know what's what, he can finally get back to what he does best. No, not crying, silly. Recording and releasing popular music to soundtrack your tears!

January 28, Moz will issue his inaugural release for Polydor/Decca: a tri-format UK single for "That's How People Grow Up", one of two new tracks on his forthcoming fifteen-track greatest solo hits collection (due UK-ways February 4; U.S. date TBA). Recorded with You Are the Quarry producer Jerry Finn (who's also helming sessions for Moz's next solo LP, due this fall), "Grow Up" will be backed by a handful of live takes on Moz/Smiths classics culled from 2007 tours on a CD and a pair of 7"s. No word yet on a U.S. release for the single.

In addition to his plethora of '08 releases, Morrissey's got that previously announced European tour he'll kick off in mid-January. Three tracklists and a tour itinerary after the jump. [MORE...]

Liars, No Age Members Team for Sissy Spacek Show
The band, not the actress, awesome though that would be

Prolific avant artist and noisenik (also Sunn O))) collaborator) John Wiese will play a show with his group Sissy Spacek at Los Angeles' the Smell tomorrow night (December 13). But Sissy Spacek are from L.A., so another hometown show is no big deal, right?

Not quite, since the Sissy Spacek playing this show isn't the usual duo or trio. It's the Sissy Spacek 13-Tet, a 13-piece orchestra consisting of members of bands like Liars, No Age, White Magic, and Mika Miko.

The 13-Tet will perform two sets at the Smell on Thursday, and the full list of the orchestra's members (including what they'll play) is as follows:

Mitchell Brown (ex-Gasp), percussion
Kate Hall (Mika Miko), percussion
Joseph Hammer (L.A. Free Music Society), tape
Aaron Hemphill (Liars), guitar
Tim Koh (White Magic), percussion
Giles Miller, woodwinds
Damion Romero (ex-Slug), electronics
Corydon Ronnau (Obstacle Corpse), guitar
Jarrett Silberman (ex-Young People), guitar
Dean Spunt (No Age), percussion
David Scott Stone, electronics
Shannon Walter (16 Bitch Pile-Up), electronics
John Wiese, electronics

Black Lips Add Tour Dates (Yep) Again

Photo by Daniel Arnold

Just when you think you've written the definitive "whew, looks like I won't be writing another Black Lips tour story in a while" Black Lips tour story, the band goes ahead and schedules dates in freakin' May. May, please, we'll all be too busy playing with our new iPhone Minis by then to go out and see live music.

But if for some reason you're not, and you live in the UK or Ireland, you can go to one of these new Black Lips shows in May. If you live anywhere else, Black Lips have plenty of tour dates for you too. Hell, they're probably planning an intergalactic tour at this very moment.

Finally, don't forget that one of Black Lips' May dates is at the ATP vs. Pitchfork festival weekend. [MORE...]

Explosions to "Drop off the Face of the Earth" After Tour
"For awhile", anyway

Explosions in the Sky sure know how to make up for lost time. Though they were forced to cancel their European tour this summer, they have more than made up for it with a 2008 tour that extends almost to June.

The rescheduled European shows join the band's rescheduled UK shows, but the new schedule also includes stops in the U.S. and Australia. While there are a ton of these shows, Explosions announced via their website that "after June 2008, we plan on dropping off the face of the earth for awhile, so these will probably be our last shows for quite some time. We hope some of you can make it out."

Opening all of the U.S. shows will be Kranky artist Lichens, aka Rob Lowe of 90 Day Men.

Just before quitting time is Explosions in the Sky's appearance at the ATP event they are curating, which takes place May 16-18 in Minehead, England. [MORE...]

Yeasayer Announce Big 2008 Tour

Photo by William Kirk

Yeasayer might seem like they're everywhere right now, but there are some key places their wild live show hasn't penetrated just yet. Despite releasing a Pitchfork Recommended debut in All Hour Cymbals and playing plenty of shows in the UK and Europe this year, the band has yet to tour its home continent. The foursome will remedy that situation next year with their first full-blown North American tour, where they'll be joined by fellow Brooklynites MGMT. Following that tour are even more European dates, including a stop at the ATP vs. Pitchfork event in May.

Yeasayer are also planning the UK single release of another All Hour Cymbals song for early 2008. The identity of the track is currently undisclosed, but it will come with a previously unrecorded and also undisclosed "live favorite" on the B-side, according to a press release. [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.)