Kindercore Serves Up Xmas Charity Comp/Comic Book
Featuring Bunnygrunt, Headlights, Venice Is Sinking, King of Prussia, the Observatory

Kindercore Records is back and here to stay, and so is the label's beloved series of Christmas compilations. Third holiday offering Xmas-3: The War on Christmas! came careening down chimneys this week, its trusty sack packed with choice cuts from psych-tinged indie pop faves, all bundled with a compendium comic book and wrapped in that Stan Lee-inspired cover you see over there.

Bunnygrunt, Headlights, Venice Is Sinking, Elephant Six affiliates the Observatory, Je Suis France, and Kindercore's own King of Prussia and Ruby Isle are among those contributing festive fare to the 19-song suite. The doodles, meanwhile, come courtesy of Travis Fox, Ryan Lewis, Jesse Lockwood, Nethie Lockwood, Mat Lewis, Maya Livio, Rama Hughes, Lauren Gregg, and Craig Sheldon.

If you actually want to physically touch this thing, however, you'd best act fast. Only 100 hard copies have been pressed/printed; stall and you'll have to settle for the digital retailer version-- which does, let it be known, still include complete scans of the comic.

Best of all, all proceeds from sales of Xmas-3 go to Oxfam. So score a copy for you and/or your mother-in-law this Christmas. I mean, does she really need that Josh Groban CD? Does he do a holiday jingle called "Baby, Please Don't Get Stoned (It's Christmas)"? Didn't think so.

Kindercore's rebirth continues January 29 with the release of King of Prussia's debut mini-album Save the Scene. [MORE...]

Harry Potter Bands Rock Against Media Consolidation
Or, if you will, "Voldemedia"

Ah, well that explains a lot: Media consolidation-- that unfortunate trend that has humongous corporations snatching up their tiny competition right and left-- is actually all the work of the nefarious, nose-less, all powerful half-blood wizard hellbent on killing Harry Potter!

And we have the legions of Harry Potter fanatics the world over to thank for this alarming discovery. Best of all, these Potter-philes sure as hell aren't going to let Lord Voldemort get away with it. They've launched an all-out war against the perils of "Voldemedia", complete with an informative website and a free mp3 compilation packed with bands indirectly born of the pen of J.K. Rowling.

Our dear friends Harry and the Potters join acts like the Remus Lupins, Roonil Wazlib, and the Whomping Willows on Rocking Out Against Voldemedia, available for free right now on the Harry Potter Alliance-helmed, Stop Big Media-allied campaign's website. You should also swing over to said site to learn what you can do to fight media consolidation. Even if you're just a muggle.

Just a hunch, but maybe this atrocity is the work of Voldemort as well?

And hey! Speaking of Harry and the Potters, those funny dudes have a New Year's Eve gig planned at Boston's Hynes Convention Center. Sure beats another lonely night with Dick Clark. [MORE...]

Destroyer, Amy Millan, Tokyo Police Club on CBC Comp
Plus: Pink Mountaintops, Malajube, Tegan and Sara, Chad VanGaalen, You Say Party!

When CBC Radio 3's studios aren't beaming the finest in Canadian indie rock over the airwaves, they're collecting the best bits for their Sessions compilation series. The third volume of CBC's Sessions gathers a dozen such tracks culled from their treasure trove of in-studio sessions, primarily recorded in the booths of CBC's Vancouver and Toronto operations.

So who made the cut? Why, the likes of Amy Millan, Destroyer, Tokyo Police Club, Tegan and Sara, Pink Mountaintops, Malajube, Chad VanGaalen, You Say Party! We Say Die!, Shout Out Out Out Out, Cuff the Duke, Joel Plaskett, and Cuff the Duke. CBC Radio 3 Sessions - Volume III is available now in stores, on iTunes, and through the CBC's website. And, if you've got some time to kill, poke around the Radio 3 website's wealth of archived live sessions. [MORE...]

Nas, Rihanna, Method Man Rarities on Def Jam Comp
Plus: Redman, Ne-Yo, Fabolous

We're used to collections of rarities coming from indie rockers and singer/songwriters, but rappers usually get their non-album tracks out there with mixtapes. It's not a bad system. The rappers get to release even the most half-formed of tracks on their laptops, and we get to check them out for cheap, or free.

This makes Def Jam Sessions Vol.01-- a compilation of leftovers previously unreleased in the U.S. from recent albums on the label-- a little odd. You could certainly do worse than the comp's list of contributors: MCs like Nas, Method Man, Redman, and Fabolous alongside r&b singers like Rihanna and Ne-Yo. But what will we do without hearing a DJ "host" scream a catchphrase over each track every 30 seconds or so?

Our issues aside, Island/Def Jam/UMe will release the comp on December 18, exactly one week before your loved ones release a bunch of presents to you. [MORE...]

M.A.N.D.Y. Craft Fabric 38 With Boratto, Booka Shade

When they met as German teenagers with a shared affinity for Chicago house, could electronic duo and Get Physical label co-chiefs M.A.N.D.Y. (Patrick Bodmer and Philipp Jung) have dreamed they'd be asked to craft their own mix for London's Fabric club and record concern?

Probably not, since those things weren't around back then. But the London club's famed compilation series has quite a storied history of its own, to which M.A.N.D.Y. are proud to offer the 38th chapter.

The M.A.N.D.Y.-crafted Fabric 38 mix gathers a couple dozen of the group's fave raves, including tracks from Gui Boratto and fellow Get Physical chief Booka Shade, plus a remix from Matthew Dear's Audion and so much more. Keeping with Fabric tradition, the guys slide a new track of their own in the mix, titled "Don't Stop".

The group describes the disc as "subtle" and in posession of a "really nice flow" between its tracks, which should, says M.A.N.D.Y., "make you move your butt." That remains to be seen until the disc emerges in the UK and the rest of the world January 14, though it won't hit the U.S. until February 12.

If these M.A.N.D.Y. mixes seem right up your alley, don't forget about the career-spanning one we reported on late in August. Or, if you're seeking a little facetime with the two gentlemen of M.A.N.D.Y., they have a handful of live dates to close out 2007, both together and apart. First up, fittingly enough: a stop at London's Fabric. [MORE...]

Blue Note Collects Classic Hip-Hop Sample Material

As the 80s turned into the 90s, the sharp, sparse, clattering electro of hip-hop pioneers like Eric B & Rakim and Run-D.M.C. gave way to a smoother sound lifted largely from the jazz-funk of roughly two decades previous.

That horn-and-organ soaked boom bap largely made up the sound of the groovy Native Tongues hip-hop that flourished in the period: A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, and others. The source material for classic tracks from these formidable acts and a mess of others is collected on Droppin' Science: Greatest Samples From the Blue Note Lab, due February 12 on veteran jazz label Blue Note.

The disc includes ten classic cuts (with three bonus tracks on the LP/downloadable version) from the likes of Grant Green, Donald Byrd, Lonnie Smith, and others. In addition to the compilation, a series of ringtones based on the looped samples will also be issued. So now there's no excuse to keep that friggin' "Sex and the City" song. [MORE...]

Hersh, Donelly on All-Female Neil Young Tribute CD
Along with the Watson Twins, Britta Phillips, Elk City, Veruca Salt

The title of the forthcoming Cinnamon Girl - Women Artists Cover Neil Young for Charity pretty much hits all the bullet points: over two discs and 21 tracks, female artists and lady-fronted acts like Tanya Donelly, Britta Phillips, the Watson Twins, Elk City, and Kristin Hersh tackle classic tunes from Neil Young's 1969-1979 recordings.

It bears mentioning that tribute contributor Jill Sobule (who, with this piece, somehow makes her second appearance in Pitchfork News today) cheats a bit by joining John Doe of X/Knitters fame for a take on "Down by the River". (Phillips, however, appears sans frequent partner in crime Dean Wareham.)

The disc will be available worldwide from American Laundromat Recordings starting February 12, though for a limited time, it can be purchased on the ALR website; U.S. fans can also grab the set on iTunes right now. Proceeds from the disc go to Casting for Recovery, a program for women afflicted with breast cancer that offers support, education, and fly fishing retreats (no joke!).

American Laundromat are all about the tribute these days, with last month's release of Dig for Fire, their Pixies set. In other dispatches from the weird world of Neil, he's currently out on tour in support of his new LP, Chrome Dreams II. [MORE...]

Rare Book Room Comp (Ft. Avey Tare, Deerhunter, Silver Jews) Release Details Announced

Back in January, we reported about a compilation put together by Nicolas Vernhes, owner of Brooklyn's Rare Book Room Studio. The disc would mark the inaugural release from Vernhes' Rare Book Room Records, and it would gather brand new tracks recorded at the studio. Way back when, the disc had no proper title, release date, or even a fully confirmed tracklist. But today, friends, it has all three.

The set, now titled Living Bridge, has ballooned into a two-disc monster, with Deerhunter, the Naysayer (not to be confused with Yeasayer), Lia Ices, John Wolfington, and Doldrums added to a stellar lineup that already included the likes of Avey Tare, Silver Jews, Black Dice, Blood on the Wall, Fischerspooner, and Enon.

Other than the Silver Jews' "Self Ignition", which popped up on a UK single once upon a time, each and every song on Living Bridge was recorded specifically for the compilation.

Living Bridge emerges February 26. Future Rare Book Room Records releases include albums from compilation contributors Lia Ices and Palms. [MORE...]

T.I., Lil Wayne, Chamillionaire on Crunk Hits Vol 4

Crunk Hits-- for serious, maybe the most surefire compilation series on the planet-- is back like it forgot something on this, its fourth incarnation, due December 4 on TVT.

The eighteen-track collection documents crunk at a crossroads, with genre godfather Lil Jon's oft-delayed Crunk Rock still on the back burner and the all-encompassing mega-genre "ringtone rap" eating everything in its path. Despite all that, Crunk Hits still manages to wrangle eighteen of the wildest Southern rap cuts of the last many months for its latest volume. Though much of it may not be explicitly crunk per se, one is never wrong where "Stuntin' Like My Daddy" is concerned, and highlights include basically everything here.

On a somewhat sad note, unlike the last time we reported on Crunk Hits, there's no accompanying Hyphy Hitz collection to tell you about. Door's open, man. [MORE...]

Forrest, Lucky Dragons Do Deathbomb Arc Tape Club
Forrest crafts Birthday Party Berlin mix as DJ Donna Summer

It may be hard to imagine, but there was a time when iPhones, satellite radio, and even good old CDs were all just twinkles in Al Gore's eyes. It was the era of the cassette tape, a magical time full of experimentation, spiritual awakening, and killing music.

But the folks at Deathbomb Arc Tape Club (who also run cassette culture webzine Cassette Gods) aren't content to leave the tape in the past. So they founded the Club, which gives subscribers access to 24 bands each recording a single 9-to-10-minute-long track for a single side of one of 12 tapes.

DBAT Tape Club turns four next year, and the first 2008 tapes (subscribers get one a month) will ship in February. The list of contributors this time around includes Jason Forrest, Lucky Dragons, XBXRX member Hawnay Troof, 16 Bitch Pile-Up, and tons more (all listed after the jump). New to subscribers to the 2008 Club is a large vinyl case to hold all 12 tapes, with art by Andreas Barsleth of Tape Club contributors the White Tiger Prepade.

For more info on the 2008 Deathbomb Arc Tape Club, including how to subscribe, click here.

And speaking of Jason Forrest, the mix-up maestro's own Cock Rock Disco imprint will link with Deathbomb Arc to present a SXSW showcase in March and release some records in 2008. Forrest has also been rolling of late with the Birthday Party Berlin crew, for whom he adopted his DJ Donna Summer moniker and crafted the crew's first mix; check that here. [MORE...]

Obscure French Synth-Wave Collected on Comp

The folks at Everloving Records are hoping B.I.P.P.P.: French Synth-Wave 1979-1985 does just a little bit better in the marketplace than the original singles it's comprised of.

Originally curated by Parisian label Born Bad, the disc is culled entirely from lo-fi 7" singles from a quarter century ago. These things barely even qualify as obscure; to give you some idea, comp artist Ruth's album famously (well, as famously as an underperformer of this magnitude can be) only sold 50 copies.

Which means, despite their age, these tracks are a goldmine in need of a pick axe. In fact, Ed Banger label head Busy P recently mined Comix's "Touche Pas Mon Sexe" for the recent electro house stomper "Rainbow Man". If anybody knows French dance music, it's probably that dude. The disc drops February 12. [MORE...]

Ramones, Big Star, Mary Weiss on Norton Singles Comp
Also: Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Link Wray, ? and the Mysterians, Sonics, 5.6.7.8's

In my book, vinyl's not portable enough, and MP3s are barely there, so the CD is a perfect middle-ground medium. Obviously, a fair portion of the music consuming and producing public doesn't agree, including the folks at 21-year-old label Norton Records, who will release I Hate CDs: Norton Records 45 RPM Singles Collection Vol. 1 on December 4.

I Hate CDs is a digital compilation of 45 45s from Norton's history, including tracks by the Ramones, Big Star, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Link Wray, ? and the Mysterians, Mary Weiss of the Shangri-Las, the 5.6.7.8's, the Sonics, and the Dictators. Okay, I'm convinced! [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.)