Hot Chip Do Gigs, DJ Dates, Single, Shrigley Benefit
Two words: Todd Rundgren

What's shakin', Hot Chip? Besides, you know, my ass to your songs? Quite a few things, as it happens, are astir in camp Chip of late, so let's set the ass on simmer, pull up a chair, and brush up on the latest.

First up, Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor joined forces recently with Gang Gang Dance's Brian DeGraw to create what Taylor called (on the HC website) a "one-off audio-visual piece." The piece, which marked the first Taylor/DeGraw collaborative effort, premiered at the ICA in London on September 6 as part of the Beck's Fusions series, alongside new offerings from Matthew Herbert and others. No word yet whether it will turn up elsewhere (the "one-off" part is less than encouraging), but here's hoping.

Hot Chip as a whole, meanwhile, have a limited edition 12" due this month with "Shake a Fist"-- perhaps you caught it in Forkcast?-- featuring none other than Todd Rundgren. While a Chip publicist could not confirm whether it's a sample or whether Todd actually worked with Hot Chip, our dads are still thrilled to see the name.

Furthermore, the latest and third Hot Chip album, which may be called Shot Down in Flames or 4 or Made in the Dark or something else entirely, is coming along nicely. The quintet hope to have it out, via DFA/EMI, in February 2008. Fingers crossed!

And remember David Shrigley's Worried Noodles project, where Shrigley provided lyrics and tons of your favorite bands, Hot Chip among them, made the music? The two-disc/three-vinyl set isn't out until October 23 (on Tomlab), but folks in London can taste an early portion of Noodles on October 14, as Hot Chip and others perform at Scala. Shrigley himself will be there providing animation, while HC, Max Tundra, Psapp, Simon Bookish, Cibelle, James Chadwick, Munch Munch, Scarlet's Well, and more wiggle their Noodles contributions. It's both a launch party and a benefit for Amnesty International, with all proceeds going to the organization. You really don't want to miss that.

Finally, Hot Chip's Joe Goddard has been out there setting dancefloors ablaze like some kind of party arsonist. Catch one of his upcoming DJ dates, listed for your convenience-- alongside a brief run of Hot Chip South American fest dates-- below.

Oh, and don't forget Hot Chip's Kraftwerk remix action, coming atcha next week. [MORE...]

Film School Hit the Road, Play Dates With Land of Talk

Photo by Marla Aufmuth

Ah, film school. 'Tis a storied time in the life of every young undergrad, the left-field urge to cast off the shackles of biomechanical engineering and make that angsty semi-autobiographical black-and-white feature that's been kicking around in the back pages of your calculus notebook for years now. Of course, dreams of film school are fleeting, and the reality-- as your local middle-aged burger-flipper can tell you-- can be a little limp.

Not so for the songcraftin' Scorseses of Film School, who've got themselves lined up with a number of screenings of their recent Hideout, which dropped this week on Beggars Banquet. Following a couple dates in their native California, they'll head out on location for a few wide shots of their tuneful shoegazing antics. Sounds more like a Wim Wenders thing, actually. For quite a few dates they've casted Land of Talk to co-star. [MORE...]

Slaraffenland Gig Across Continents

Slaraffenland-- the purty, proggy Danish five-piece with the larynx-clearing gutteral moniker-- will make their way to the land of the corn dog for a month or so starting in late September. Sandwiched between a lone homeland gig and a bundle of dates upon their triumphant return to the land of the kroner, they'll play a series of shows culminating at the CMJ festival/conference/cause of much jealousy in New York City. [MORE...]

The Cinematic Orchestra Kick Off Fall Tour

The Cinematic Orchestra are all tuned up and ready to play music on stages this fall in support of this year's Ma Fleur.

The trek, almost as epic in length as the group is in name, begins tonight, September 14, in Los Angeles.

In late September, the Orchestra will head back over to Europe for a month of shows culminating in a handful of dates in their native UK. [MORE...]

Devastations Beckon With Yes, U, Epic Tour

Photo by Joe Dilworth

Hey you! Yes, U! The glum-rock superfriends in Devastations have announced plans for their next LP, and they're practically begging you to pay attention. Yes, U asserts itself September 17 in the UK and the rest of Europe on Beggars Banquet, though U.S. audiences will have the choice between import fees and a February 5 release. That's, like, next year!

Speaking of next year, Devastations have a devastatingly long line of tour dates to come in the wake of Yes, U, stretching well into '08. [MORE...]

Austin City Limits Fest Starts Today

It's getting darker out earlier, and the weather is starting to cool off ever so slightly, which means festival season is...still happening!

We realize that festival-going is practically a year-round activity now, and apparently, not all parts of the planet plunge into winter at the same time, thanks to the crazy voodoo of this thing called "the equator." But traditionally, the arrival of the Austin City Limits Music Festival heralds the end of a summer full of sunburns, overpriced water, and unbelievably long lines for portable toilets that have just run out of TP.

So put on your SAD faces, because ACL goes down this weekend (September 14-16) at Zilker Park in Austin, Texas, naturally.

Again, here's a meager helping of bands who will play this year's festival (White Stripes not included, alas):

The Arcade Fire, Bob Dylan, Björk, My Morning Jacket, Wilco, LCD Soundsystem, M.I.A., Spoon, the Decemberists, Queens of the Stone Age, Yo La Tengo, Bloc Party, Arctic Monkeys, Peter Bjorn & John, the National, Common, Andrew Bird, Blonde Redhead, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Muse, Midlake, the Killers, St. Vincent (just added), Crowded House, Kaiser Chiefs, Lucinda Williams, Regina Spektor, Patterson Hood, Stephen Marley, Ziggy Marley, the Broken West, DeVotchKa, the Little Ones, and many more.

Finally, for those who can't make it down to Texas this weekend, AT&T's blue room will webcast the event live. Head on over to attblueroom.com/music for the action.

The Walkmen Announce Fall Dates

Having recharged their batteries following some time in the studio-- where they're wrapping up work on the follow-up to the 2006 double-dose of A Hundred Miles Off and Harry Nilsson redo Pussy Cats-- the Walkmen are ready to play music for you once again.

Fast forward to October and you'll find the NYC quintet, led by lumbering Hamilton Leithauser, playing a trio of dates up north. They'll then put the gigs on pause for a month or so, before returning for another round in November. Oh yeah, and they're set to rock Williamsburg tonight.

As the combo wrote on its website recently, "we have a ton of songs and scraps to sort through before we can finish up" the fourth LP proper. Expect to hear some new tunes and works-in-progress at these autumn engagements. [MORE...]

Johnny Cash Pardoned for Picking Flowers!?!
Star Wars fans pardon George Lucas for prequels...in sixty years

While he was alive, Johnny Cash made a name for himself with his charismatic presence, a host of cultural achievements, and, you know, a ton of awesome music. But it seems the city of Starkville, Mississippi is only now giving him the respect he deserves.

After holding a 42-year grudge, the city will soon issue a posthumous pardon to Cash for the night of public drunkenness he had there on May 11, 1965, according to an AP report.

Cash documented the night in jail in the song "Starkville City Jail", which points to his flower-picking and curfew-breaking as the reason for the arrest. There are plenty of other versions of the story, but the point is, the city of Starkville is posthumously pardoning Johnny freakin' Cash for a petty crime he committed over 40 years ago!

To celebrate the occasion, which is as much about the idea of redemption as it is about the ceremonial pardoning, the city will hold the Johnny Cash Flower Pickin' Festival from November 2-4. The festival will include musical events, religious events, a charity auction, and a possible discussion by authors who have written books about Cash. Admission to the festival is free, but there is a suggested $10 donation that will go to a local Boys and Girls Club and the Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum.

QOTSA to Appear on Anthony Bourdain Holiday Special
Kohl's ads right around the corner...

Photos 1 & 2 by Aliya Naumoff, photo 3 by Lyndsay Siegel

Josh Homme and his Queens of the Stone Age crew give off badass rock'n'roller vibes like it's their job, which it sort of is. So if seeing them dressed to the nines in holiday sweaters best suited to little old ladies doesn't totally contradict their image, it at least complicates it. Truth told, who among us doesn't like to get in touch with his or her inner octogenarian once in a while?

But for what occasion did these hard rocking dudes don such festive duds? A holiday television special, of course. Specifically, an episode of chef Anthony Bourdain's Travel Channel show "No Reservations", according to a report from Rolling Stone's Rock & Roll Daily blog.

The forthcoming episode finds Queens rocking the basement of Bourdain's Connecticut home while he is upstairs cooking a holiday feast for them to enjoy together. In addition to their own tunes, the band also performs a version of "Silver Bells", renamed "Turkey Bells".

The report goes on to say the episode will include "karaoke, surly adolescents, and a Japanese businessman." As for those sweaters, Homme said, "I think someone Googled the word 'horrible,' and that's how we found them."

Queens of the Stone Age have plenty of tour dates to keep them busy until the wacky holiday special airs. Their next show is tomorrow, September 14, in Austin, Texas.

Oh, and below, we've included a picture from the MTV VMAs of Homme with Mastodon's Brent Hinds, who we're told is recovering well from his head injury.

[MORE...]

Scout Niblett Plots Fall Tour
Seeks camera and director of photography for music video

While songwriter and new non-smoker Scout Niblett prepares to tell North Americans that This Fool Can Die Now on October 9 (October 15 for Europeans), she has scheduled a fall tour of the continent to hammer the point home.

Even more dates are forthcoming, but as it stands now, the tour begins in Portland on October 9, preceded only by a British festival date on September 14. She'll return to the UK after she's done with North America for a handful of dates in November.

Finally, Niblett needs help from a fan and his/her camera to shoot the video for This Fool's first single. She lays the situation out clearly in a MySpace blog entry printed below in its unmodified entirety:

"i need you and your camera.

i need someone to shoot the video for the upcoming single from my next album.

i have a story board already mapped out. i just need a d.o.p

please send me a message if you are able and willing with links to clips you've shot already.

it will take place in the next 6 weeks somewhere in the US."

The post ran a few weeks back, so be advised that Niblett may have found her person already. [MORE...]

Ben Bridwell Explains Wal-Mart License, Band of Horses Announce Fall Tour Dates
"We promise to use the money to buy camcorders (at Wal-Mart) for people to film 'The Funeral,' so I can get mad and crap my diaper. Fuck it."

Photo by Stephen Lindley

Call Band of Horses what you will: totally awesome, meanies, sellouts... Wait, sellouts? When did this happen? Do we have a link for that?

Er, yeah, unfortunately. Seems the Band has licensed a song apiece to a forthcoming Ford commercial and a really tacky Wal-Mart website-- the latter of which suggests some link between cheap warez and existential satisfaction.

Though the marriage of cool tunes and uncool companies is hardly news, any whiff of indie rockers making nice with corporate interests tends to raise a bit of stink among purists. So we asked Band of Horses main man Ben Bridwell if he'd like to comment on the thinking behind the band's decision to lend their music to Wal-Mart and Ford.

He responded with the following statement,

"Dear friends,

"As you may have heard, there's been some recent discussion of a couple of licenses for BoH songs. Just to provide some clarification...

"I did allow Wal-Mart to use a song for a new website they created and have also given permission to Ford Motor Company to license a song from our new album. Because some people see Wal-Mart as a huge, evil corporation, they seem to be especially bummed about this license and see us as posers and/or corporate whores as a result.

"I'd like to just state for the record that we let all kinds of folks use our songs in all kinds of mediums - TV, films, school projects, etc... My personal stance is that once that music is recorded and released to the world then I don't really care where it goes. "The Funeral" has been licensed to death (ha, wretch) at this point and if somebody wants to throw down some duckets for it, then feel free. It also beats the hell out of stealing batteries from Wal-Mart to sell them back for 8 bucks.

"As for Ford: I drive a 1986 F-150 that still runs great. Maybe I'll get the a/c fixed with the cash they kicked down. I'm also stoked that people will hear our song on TV and we might pick up some new listeners in the process. I see no negative.

"That's our reasoning and I'm okay with it. I hope fans of the band are, too.

"We promise to use the money to buy camcorders (at Wal-Mart) for people to film "The Funeral," so I can get mad and crap my diaper. Fuck it.

-bb"

Dub these Horses sellouts if you wanna (we report, you decide, etc.): Just don't call 'em slackers. Having wrapped a short run of late summer dates last night in Portland, the band has just announced their fall plans, which include a stampede throughout North America in October and November. Hey, kinda like how they made that one album, then cranked out another one real quick-like!

And about that album they cranked out: it's pretty good! You can find it at stores much less depressing than Wal-Mart October 9, thanks to Sub Pop. Preordering the disc directly from Band of Horses' site will not only get you a fine rock'n'roll record, but a handsome Band of Horses beer koozie to boot!

Also in the works of the Band: hanging with friends and going to the record store. [MORE...]

Boredoms' Eye, Lindstrom, Tussle on Supersound Comp
Plus: 120 Days, Sunburned Hand of the Man, Arp, Kim Hiorthøy, Bjørn Torske

Smalltown Supersound-- the little avant label that has brought us fine releases from the likes of Lindstrøm, Boredoms' Yamataka Eye, 120 Days, Sunburned Hand of the Man, Tussle, Bjørn Torske, Kim Hiorthøy, and the Whitest Boy Alive-- will release its next state-of-the-label compilation in the UK on September 17.

That comp, called The Portable Supersound (as a tribute to Galaxie 500's The Portable Galaxie 500 compilation), features contributions from all of the above mentioned artists except for the Whitest Boy Alive.

Eye appears here under his moniker the Lift Boys, and the Sunburned track is the result of the band's studio collaboration with Four Tet on the Fire Escape LP that arrives October 2.

Also included on The Portable Supersound is new signing Arp (aka Alexis Georgopoulos, formerly of Tussle), who will release In Light on November 6, and diskJokke, who is preparing his debut, Staying In, for release early next year. [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.)