Photos: The B-52's / The Rapture [New York, NY; 10/31/07]

Photos by Ryan Muir

What's Halloween without a party? And what's a party without the world's self-professed "greatest party band?" New wave pioneers the B-52's joined the Rapture at New York's Roseland Ballroom last night for an evening of Halloween hullabaloo.

In the spirit of the holiday, the Rapture boys donned the khaki jumpsuits of the Ghostbusters and unloaded blasts of fiery dance-rock. And the B-52's-- who next year celebrate the 30th anniversary of their first hit single, "Rock Lobster"-- show no signs of stopping soon: the veteran popsters showed off songs from their forthcoming eighth LP, Funplex.

More photos and tour dates below.

THE B-52's






THE RAPTURE



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Reactivated Pylon Embark on Fall Tour

The DFA's reissue of jangly Georgian juggernauts Pylon's mini-masterpiece Gyrate must've been the kick in the rump the infrequently active act needed to move this whole reformation thing onto the front burner.

Tonight (November 1) in Atlanta, the band will embark on its first proper tour in quite some time, solidifying "five dates" as the magic number for hip, quasi-retired veteran types. Show 'em what you got, Pylon! [MORE...]

Robert Pollard Attack! Two More LPs, Art Show/Book
Bob's art to show in gallery run by guy from "The Sopranos". No, really.

Robert Pollard is, as we all know, a man with the Midas touch. Dude need only lay a finger upon a blank CD-R and-- presto!-- new album in the can. And not surprisingly, Mr. Pollard has been getting his magic fingers all over the place of late, which means we can expect two new Pollard-centric releases in the early '08.

"But wait!" you say. "Did Mr. Robert Pollard not just hit us with two simultaneous releases via the respected Merge imprint?" And indeed he did. But those, my friend, are so last month.

This month (um, November) is all about anticipating Pollard's upcoming Chicago show, while the next (that would be December) is reserved for experiencing and reminiscing about the guy's gig in Newport, Kentucky (and his art show, but we'll get to that).

Which leaves January wide open for the release of the next Pollard LP, Superman Was a Rocker. Due the 29th of that month from Bob's Happy Jack Rock Records (also responsible for that singles series), Superman finds Dayton, Ohio's own crime-fighter from another planet festooning a bunch of instrumentals he's been hoarding over the years with vocals. Old pals Tobin Sprout, Jimmy Pollard (pal and brother to Bob), Doug Gillard, Mitch Mitchell, Nate Farley, Kevin Fennell, and Kevin March all pop up on this release.

February 26, then, has the same label offering up We've Moved by Psycho and the Birds, Pollard's collaboration with Guided by Voices producer Todd Tobias.

And the Pollard touch doesn't stop at music, mind you. Also a master of that kindergarten art-making staple, the collage, Pollard will soon display some of his best work in the medium at a New York City gallery. "Do the Collage" runs at Studio Dante-- co-owned by Michael Imperioli of "The Sopranos" fame-- December 9-10 and features over 50 of Pollard's renderings in cut-outs and glue.

What's more, Pollard's cleverly juxtaposed clippings-- some of which have served as cover art for his myriad releases over the years-- will be collected in the book Town of Mirrors: The Reassembled Imagery of Robert Pollard, due from Fantagraphics in 2008. [MORE...]

Lil Wayne Precedes Tha Carter III With Leak
Just knows he's going to have to Tivo Sportscenter

New Lil Wayne tracks keep arriving from all corners of the internet, and yet, none of them are Bad Ass Grasshopper tunes. But even without an appearance from Wayne's full-band incarnation, there is still a constant barrage of beats and outer space/food/sports metaphors coming from the New Orleans native's camp.

In recognition of his prodigious collection of leaked songs, Lil Wayne will release Tha Carter III: The Leak on December 18, according to an MTV.com report. The record is a preview of sorts for Tha Carter III, his still-forthcoming follow-up to Tha Carter II.

According to the report, Wayne has tentative plans to release the official III on February 12. The album is rumored to feature contributions from Kanye West, Justin Timberlake, and Timbaland.

As for the contents of The Leak, Wayne told MTV.com, "Every song that was leaked is coming out on December 18, and we have four new songs. The song 'Gossip' is gonna be the first single from that album. I'ma shoot the video for that in about a week."

He also said the songs on The Leak will be updated from their original bootlegged versions. "I'm a perfectionist. I'ma change a couple verses, couple of lines. I ain't gonna change nothing up where it fucks up the song; I'll just make it more complete. There are songs out there that weren't finished; I'll add hooks, third verses. We're working for the fans."

As also reported by MTV.com, Wayne appeared in an Atlanta court yesterday, October 31, in connection with the drug possession/fugitive charges that put him in jail in early October. It was only a brief arraignment, and Wayne will return to court November 20.

Lil Wayne currently has a few shows scheduled for the next few weeks, starting November 1 in Nashville.

Finally, Wayne actually withdrew from a previously reported project (a first?). He will no longer be the host of TheNext.tv's "Making the Next Hit!". Instead, those duties will fall to Jagged Edge. [MORE...]

Photos: The Hold Steady / Art Brut [Chicago, IL; 10/31/07]

Forgive the fidelity of these photos, please. It wasn't my intention to do anything at last night's Art Brut / Hold Steady gig at Chicago's Metro but have a few beers and throw up a fist or two in the general direction of rock and roll and, as such, I wasn't really packing the proper light meters and whatnot. But when Eddie Argos took the stage in an ill-fitting Elvis getup (the crotch of which, it pains me to report, rode halfway to where the sun don't shine by set's end) and the rest of the Brut followed suit in appropriate Halloween getup, well, it was all I could do not to push my way to the front to help show them off. Alas, guitarist Jasper Future's Gladiator armor and drummer Mikey Breyer's feathered Blades of Glory spandex proved hard to capture, but rest assured, they looked dashing.

A Morricone western soundtrack heralded the Hold Steady's imminent arrival on stage, so it was no big surprise—but still a friggin' riot—when the band emerged dressed as caricatures of Mexican cowboys, draped in serapes with silly little moustaches. Craig's costume lasted exactly two songs, though the moustache glue proved stronger than his resistance to heat. Complete with chomped off stogie, guitarist Tad Kubler's ensemble took the badass crown, but you've got to hand it to a group of dudes willing to don carpets in a hot club and then flail around for an hour and a half.

Oh, and the show? Fucking tops. But you won't have to take our word for it: according to an announcement from Craig Finn from the stage, they taped it for a live album.

ART BRUT

THE HOLD STEADY

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Feist, Kevin Drew, Okkervil, Deacon Play Laneway Fest
With Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, the Presets, the Brunettes, and Devastations, too!

Reporting on this year's three-city St. Jerome's Laneway Festival, Pitchfork's Joe Tangari dubbed it "Australia's most insurgent and unique pop music event". Since then, the festival has added another city-- Adelaide-- and lined up a whole bunch of fine bands for the 2008 edition, sending its unique insurgency into previously unheard strata.

Feist, Okkervil River, Kevin Drew, Dan Deacon, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, the Presets, the Brunettes, and the Devastations highlight said bunch, with most showing up on all dates. (The Adelaide gig, perhaps due to its newness, is shy one Deacon, a Drew, and a pair of Brunettes). Adelaide kicks things off February 23 2008, and Melbourne follows the next day. When the working week is done, the fest hits Brisbane March 1 and Sydney March 2.

Ex-Ramones Manager/Seymour Stein's Ex-Wife Slain

Linda S. Stein, staple of the 1970s New York scene and ex-wife of Sire Records chief Seymour Stein, was-- according to a report in The New York Times-- bludgeoned to death Tuesday night (October 30) in her Manhattan apartment. She was 62.

In the late 70s, Ms. Stein co-managed the Ramones, who were at the time signed to her husband's label. Following her divorce from Mr. Stein, Linda became "real estate agent to the stars," arranging the transfer of property between her famous friends and acquaintances.

Stein was found with a severe injury to the skull, and the death was officially ruled a homicide yesterday. Authorities have yet to comment on any possible motive.

Stein is survived by two daugthers and one granddaughter.

Thrill Jockey Reveals Chicago Anniversary Bash Details
With: Califone, Sea & Cake, Fiery Furnaces, Trans Am, Arbouretum, Freakwater, ADULT.

It's a Quinceañera for Thrill Jockey! And, in the spirit of this fifteen year milestone, the beloved and venerated Chicago record-releasing institution has-- as promised-- planned a massive hometown fiesta.

With barely a month to recover from their upcoming London gala-- which goes down November 11 and 12, in conjunction with All Tomorrow's Parties-- Thrill Jockey will host a homecoming shindig at the Windy City's Logan Square Auditorium December 14 and 15.

Who's invited? You, of course, plus a hearty portion of the Thrill Jockey roster: The Sea and Cake, Califone, the Fiery Furnaces, Trans Am, Arbouretum, Freakwater, ADULT., the Zincs, Bobby Conn, Brokeback, Eleventh Dream Day, Archer Prewitt, Pit Er Pat, Field Music offshoot and new signing School of Language, Thalia Zedek, Angela Desveaux, Fred Anderson Trio, and Frequency.

Conspicuously absent: Chicago's own Tortoise (who will, however, perform at the London event). But members of Tortoise do play in the Sea and Cake and Brokeback as well-- and "surprise guests" are promised-- so let's not rule them out quite yet. They're slow creatures, after all.

Also making an appearance: the previously mentioned and recently Forkcasted Super Epic Thrill Jockey Mega Massive Mix put together by Gregg "Girl Talk" Gillis and Frank Musarra under the Trey Told 'Em banner. Folks who attend the Chitown or LDN parties will receive a copy of the mix, which mashes every last doggone Thrill Jockey artist ever into one 70-minute mindfuck. Super epic mega massive, indeed.

If a trip to Chicago or London isn't in the cards for you, you can still score the Mega Massive Mix-- in very limited quantities, we must warn-- through Trey Told 'Em or Thrill Jockey's mail order. And let's not forget the cover-swapping 7" box set, Plum, packed with hot Thrill Jockey artist-on-artist action and available at the anniversary shows. Plum hits UK shops December 3 and U.S. ones the day after.

Finally, just to keep you on your toes, Thrill Jockey is not revealing when each of the aforementioned acts will play in Chicago. So, you know, best to arrive early and take it all in, no? When jockeying for thrills, after all, is it not best to embrace the unknown?

PB&J;'s Peter Moren Reveals More Solo Album Details

Photo by Johan Bergmark

It's been a crazy busy year for Peter Bjorn and John, yet somehow the peanut in PB&J, Peter Morén, has found time to ditch the butter and jelly and put together a solo album. Salty!

As previously reported, Morén will give NYC audiences a taste of his solo self at Joe's Pub on November 19. Since that report, more details on Peter's opus have come to light-- not to mention that swank photograph up there-- so turn down "Young Folks" for a sec and tune in.

The Last Tycoon, as the album's known for the moment (title subject to change), finds Mr. Morén in home-recording mode-- honing his craft in apartments and rehearsal spaces, and calling in some friends when he'd reached the limits of his own musical prowess (pals played vibraphone and musical saw, for instance). Collaborators include Concretes guitar-slinger Daniel Värjö, singer-songwriter Tobias Fröberg, and string arranger Leo Svensson (of the Tiny).

Morén's still mixing the LP-- which draws inspiration from F. Scott Fitzgerald's unfinished final novel The Love of the Last Tycoon and On the Waterfront director Elia Kazan's filmic adaptation The Last Tycoon-- and he's yet to find a label for it. He did, however, part with some of the song titles. If you're feeling saucy at Joe's later this month, go ahead and request "Social Competence", "This Is What I Came For", "Le Petite Coeur", and/or "I Don't Gaze at the Sky for Long".

And if you're feeling really saucy, bark out those song titles during one of Peter Bjorn and John's many upcoming gigs with the Besnard Lakes and others. Butter and jelly will love you for it, I'm sure. [MORE...]

The Shins Cover Magnetic Fields on New Single

Photo by Akmal Naim

Their eerie hold over fictional Jersey gals and the record-buying public being rather well documented at this point, the Shins are turning their strange powers on yet another unlikely target: "Strange Powers", the Magnetic Fields song from Holiday.

According to Uncut, James Mercer and his Shins will take on the track for a B-side on a new UK-only single for Wincing the Night Away's "Sea Legs", appearing on 7" and digital download December 3 from Transgressive.

As for the vinyl pressing of "Sea Legs", well, the Shins aren't gonna press up too many more of those than they need, which makes it one of those "limited" editions. To drum up even more interest in those "Legs", the first 500 seven-inchers will be signed by the band. I hear Jesse Sandoval draws hearts where his "o" should be.

The Shins are off to Europe, with a little help along the way from the well-dressed young men of Vampire Weekend. They'll make their way to Japan mid-month for a brief run of shows there. [MORE...]

Black Lips = Movie Stars
Paparazzi = so dead

Photo by Daniel Arnold

2007 has been a banner year for the Black Lips. They came, they saw, and now they're making their move to the silver screen as the stars of the forthcoming film Let It Be. According to its website, the movie is "the story of the movement in underground American music that was known as D.I.Y." as told through the narrative of a fictional band called the Renegades, played by the Black Lips.

Springboard Films is working in collaboration with the Lips' label, Vice, on Let It Be, which will be produced by The Breakfast Club/Fried Green Tomatoes producer Andrew Meyer and Winn Coslick. It will be directed by Roger Rawlings.

Given the mid-late 80s setting of the movie and the name of the fictional band it takes as its subject, its title seems more an homage to the Replacements than the Beatles. According to a press release, "the movie will be filmed throughout the Southeast and will include notable music of the period and new music written by the band [Black Lips]."

The Lips have a month-and-a-half of dates scheduled for this year to keep them busy for at least a little while longer until production on Let It Be begins in May 2008. [MORE...]

Trail of Dead's Keely Tears Interscope a New One
"They really helped us to grow. They've taught us about the worthlessness of A&R people, how to yell at idiots running an art department, and how to shake hands with smiling retailers who have no idea who you are."

Photo by © Rachael Warner

An amicable split this was not. As reported earlier this month, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead have parted ways with Interscope Records after releasing three albums via the major label, including last year's So Divided. Never one to hold his tongue (nor pen), frontman Conrad Keely spoke out about the label shakeup this week on the band's website. The gist of Mr. Keely's words? Burrrrrrn.

UPDATE: THE MESSAGE HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM THE TRAIL OF DEAD WEBSITE

Interscope, naturally, took the brunt of Keely's barbs. Label chief Jimmy Iovine in particular: his work with John Lennon and Phil Spector was called into question by Keely, as were his alleged relationships with Stevie Nicks and "the lead singer guy of the Pussycat Dolls."

"He's had a great dating record," wrote Keely, "he just won't have the next TOD record." OK then.

As for the label itself? "At the expense of a massive debt to them of half a million dollars, they really helped us to grow. They've taught us about the worthlessness of A&R people, how to yell at idiots running an art department, and how to shake hands with smiling retailers who have no idea who you are." Furthermore, "their idea of marketing [was] keeping it a secret that we'd released a record."

Also caught up in the bilious crossfire: a recent set of Yahoo.com interview questions ("I was asked a bunch of dumb questions so I gave a bunch of what I thought were even less relevant answers."), Ratatat ("like a great band where they accidentally erased all the vocal tracks"), and an unnamed basketball video game ("which I hate").

Amidst all the animus and enmity, Keely did find at least one potential friend: "fictional guitarist Skwisgaar Skwigelf" of Trail of Dead's present tourmates, cartoon band Dethklok (dates below). "He and I will no doubt have many things to talk about."

Thoroughly amusing-- if a mite frightening (Happy Halloween, yo)-- the entirety of Mr. Keely's diatribe may be found here.

And speaking of outlets for pent-up aggression, how about roller derby? All girl roller derby, to be precise. Hell on Wheels is a documentary that explores the phenomenon, and it features original music from, you guessed it, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. The film has been playing at festivals from SXSW to CMJ this year; seek it out next time you yearn to burn someone or something. [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.)