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Low's Sparhawk, Atmosphere's Slug Share Wisdom
Plus Tapes 'n Tapes bassist Erik Appelwick

Alan Sparhawk photo by Reverend Hans Johnson

Making music: actually not as easy as you think. But here to help guide you through the process by sharing some insight into their own are three near-legends of Minnesota music-making: Alan Sparhawk of Low, Sean "MC Slug" Daley of Atmosphere, and the guy who plays bass in Tapes 'n Tapes.

These three will partake in the latest series of talk/interview/performance spectacles known as Making Music and presented by the Twin Cities' the Whole venue. Erik Appelwick of Tapes 'n Tapes is this round's first guest, appearing September 27 (and to be fair, the bass is but one of Appelwick's specialties; he also produces, and records with Vicious Vicious). Sparhawk's up next on October 10, while Slug closes out the fall series on November 29.

All events are free and open to folks of all ages, but securing advance tickets is advised, as these things fill up. Each one goes down at the Whole, located inside the Coffman Memorial Union at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Past guests include Andrew Bird, Tapes' Josh Grier, P.O.S., Martin Dosh, and Haley Bonar.

In you're a mite confused about what you're in for, the series' website sheds some light: "Making Music...features long-format discussions with talented musicians about their art...[and] includes interviews, live demonstrations, videos, exclusive and unreleased tracks, prizes, and Q&A from the audience." Prizes! I'm so there.

Both Low and Atmosphere have plenty of dates in queue, with the latter act having extended its tour significantly since our last report. Sparhawk's Retribution Gospel Choir side project also gigs out a bit in late October. And Tapes 'n Tapes, as you may have read in these pages, play a benefit in Minneapolis on September 23. [MORE...]
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Photos: Simian Mobile Disco [Chicago, IL; 09/18/07]

Photos by Sanchez and Kitahara; text by Tyler Grisham

James Ford looked like a mad scientist on stage last night at Chicago's Empty Bottle. With his floppy plume of curls and an almost maniacal gleam in his eye, he hunched over a stitched-together system of Frankenstein'd synths and mucked about tweaking this and plugging that. Performing with James Shaw as Simian Mobile Disco, the duo rocked a Flavorpill-sponsored party, playing their hybrid mix of ravey dance tunes and electropop jams from their Recommended debut album Attack Decay Sustain Release.

Equally as impressive as the stacks of keyboards and amps was the circle of excruciatingly bright light columns set up in a circle around the stage, flashing in colorful sequences and recalling Daft Punk's laser pyramid at a much more blinding proximity. But the overall effect of seeing Ford's Elsa Lanchester 'do illuminated in pulsing green lights, while the guy bounced around playing both producer and hype man, was anything but frightening.

Tour dates and more stage shots-- plus the Jameses enjoying a slice of Chicago deep dish pizza-- below.








[MORE...]

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Hot Chip, DFA, Soulwax Remix Gorillaz on D-Sides

From kooky Blur side project to full-blown multimedia force-- inspiring a "circus opera" and sharing an artist with a line of vibrators, no less-- it has been a strange journey for Damon Albarn's Gorillaz.

That journey will receive further documentation with the release of D-Sides, the band's second collection of B-sides, remixes, previously unreleased tracks, and general rarities (the first being 2002's G-Sides). Remixers featured on D-Sides include Hot Chip, DFA, Soulwax, Jamie T, and Metronomy. The collection will come in double-disc standard and deluxe editions, and will hit UK retailers via Parlophone on November 5 (the U.S. release follows the next day via Virgin).

Fans of comic-inspired high culture, don't forget that the aforementioned "circus opera," Monkey: Journey to the West, is playing at Paris' Théâtre de Chatelet from September 26-October 13. [MORE...]
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El-P Hits the Road

Jaime Meline-- El-P to you and me-- is headed to the EU later this week for a brief run of live appearances. Along for the ride is Maestro Producto's "normal crew of bastards" (his words, not ours) DJ Mr. Dibbs, The Mighty Quin, and Wilder Zoby.

In a recent MySpace blog entry, El mentioned being particularly excited for his show at London's Scala, noting that "quite honestly london is the single fuckin most amped crowd on the planet right now." You got something to say, Bilbao?

In other El-P news, his MySpace blog also makes reference to a Def Jux (pre-CMJ?) showcase October 15 where he'll appear alongside Hangar 18, Yak Ballz, and others. Not sure where exactly the show's going down, but now you know at least that much. UPDATE: The Def Jux CMJ showcase is happening October 19 at the Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Also worth pondering: why are you listening to Yak Ballz right now?

UPDATE: El-P read this story, and now he wants everybody to hear this Yak Ballz song "Yak TV". It's available for download below. [MORE...]

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Sondre Lerche, Regina Spektor on Dan in Real Life OST
Lerche kicks off U.S. tour

Dan in Real Life is some sort of Steve Carell/Juliette Binoche filmic dramedy, in theaters October 26. It was directed by a guy named Peter Hedges, whose one previously directorial credit is the Katie Holmes dyejob flick Pieces of April, and who, it turns out, loves him a little Sondre Lerche. Okay, fine, he loves Sondre a lot: not only is Lerche all over the Dan in Real Life soundtrack (out October 2 on Capitol), he even shows up in the film itself.

Lerche-- whose youthful charms grace fifteen of Dan in Real Life's 16 cuts-- lent Hedges quite a few new and exclusive cuts for the soundtrack, met up with Regina Spektor for "Hell No", and even took on Pete Townshend and Elvis Costello. As Hedges said of Lerche's music in a press release, "there's a depth to it and you feel that this is a man who believes in love." Pete and Sondre, sittin' in a tree...

Sondre's touring too! His run of California dates kicks off tonight and includes several shows with Air. [MORE...]
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Enon Reissue Debut, Expand Fall Tour
Believo! dat

Photo by John Ray Fuller

When Enon's John Schmersal talked to Pitchfork recently about his band's forthcoming Grass Geysers...Carbon Clouds, he said, "The ellipsis is the most important part of the title. That's where the shit goes down."

Speaking of shit going down, Enon have plenty of it right now. On October 9, the same day that Touch and Go releases Grass Geysers..., the label will reissue Believo!, Enon's debut, originally put out by SeeThru Broadcasting in 2000.

Aside from Schmersal, Believo! featured an entirely different Enon lineup. The reissue leaves the original tracklist untouched, though it does come with the videos for "Cruel", "Come Into", and "Matters Gray".

Enon have also added even more dates to their fall tour since our last report, both in North America and in Europe. The tour begins October 5 in Newport, Kentucky. [MORE...]
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Photos: Monolith Festival [Denver, CO; 09/14 - 09/15/07]

Photos by Rich Orris and Marina Teper

Morrison, Colorado's gorgeous Red Rocks Amphitheatre served as the setting for the inaugural Monolith Festival, which took place last weekend, September 14 and 15. Because a festival's not really a festival until the Flaming Lips play, Wayne Coyne and co. christened Monolith in their trademark style: with costumes, confetti, smoke, and, of course, the bubble.

Missing in action, however, was the UFO. Coyne told the Monolith crowd that the contraption had been confiscated by the Department of Homeland Security, due to the fact that its lights came from the former Soviet Union and were possibly contaminated by Chernobyl radiation. Is it true? We don't know yet. Great excuse, though.

The packed Monolith lineup also included the Decemberists, Spoon, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Art Brut, Ra Ra Riot, Matt and Kim, Editors, and many more, all rocking out among the breathtaking geological formations.

FLAMING LIPS

DECEMBERISTS


ART BRUT


SPOON


CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH

[MORE...]

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Photos: White Williams Tour Diary Part 1

Girl Talk, Dan Deacon, and White Williams on the road together: two weeks of utter and complete chaos, right? Sure, but that's only the half of it. Here to shed a little light on the rest, with the help of his trusty camera, is Mr. White Williams himself.

Williams has kept a keen eye on the misadventures of his posse since their tour kicked off in Toronto last week. Today Pitchfork presents the first in a series of White Williams photo tour diary entries; this one spans the initial five days of these party-starters' joint jaunt. Turns out all those hours between raves leave plenty of time to delight in the mundane.

The captions that follow each photo come courtesy of Williams, whose previously reported debut LP, Smoke, drops November 6 via Tigerbeat6. Stay tuned for the next photo installment later this week.

Meanwhile, the latest GT/DD/WW orgy goes down tonight on Deacon's home turf of Baltimore.

Day 1: Toronto, September 12, 2007

Here we are at a truck stop. Our Driver John wants to show us something funny.


Hayes checks the rear view mirror for orbs.


Hayes and Joe are approaching the border with excited smiles.


Here are our passports. Hayes' passport has an RFID chip inside of it.


Celebrating our penetration of Canada.
[MORE...]
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New Ryan Adams EP Due in October
Includes an Alice in Chains cover

It seems the spells of ten new albums in a year have dried up (for now), but there are two new songs on Ryan Adams and the Cardinals' Follow the Lights EP, the follow-up to this year's Easy Tiger. The EP, which drops October 23 on Lost Highway, also includes a few studio takes on old favorites, and Adams' cover of Alice in Chains' "Down in a Hole".

What's more, according to the press material, "the two new songs on the disc, 'Follow the Lights' and 'My Love for You is Real' will both be featured prominently in this fall's season of the ABC primetime drama 'October Road'." Get your montage on, RyRy.

Ryan and his Cardinals are doing the tour thing for the next few months, both at home and abroad. Full dates, plus the EP tracklist, are yours if you want 'em: All you gotta do is click. [MORE...]

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T.V. Eye: September 18-23, 2007

Live music on TV this week:

Tuesday, September 18:

CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Steve Earle (rerun)

Wednesday, September 19:


CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Against Me! (rerun)
NBC: The Tonight Show With Jay Leno: LCD Soundsystem
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Rogue Wave

Thursday, September 20:

CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Gogol Bordello (rerun)
NBC: The Tonight Show With Jay Leno: Cold War Kids

Friday, September 21:

NBC: The Tonight Show With Jay Leno: Editors
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Zap Mama

Saturday, September 22:

FOX: Fearless Music TV: Illinois, Great Lakes Myth Society, World/Inferno Friendship Society
NBC: Saturday Night Live: The Shins (rerun)
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Photos: Qui [Seattle, WA; 09/15/07]

Photos by Michael Alan Goldberg

L.A.'s Qui are almost finished with the first leg of their gigantic late summer/fall/winter tour, wreaking havoc on the West Coast all the way up into Canada as they support their new Ipecac album Love's Miracle.

On Saturday, they blew the roof off of Seattle's Crocodile Cafe. As usual, legendary frontman David Yow (you know, Scratch Acid, Jesus Lizard, blah blah) was unable to stop his chest from seeking freedom from the restrictive confines of his shirt.

The rest of Qui's gazillion tour dates are listed below. Watch out for body hair.






[MORE...]

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DJ Shadow Spins at Cali Record Store for Entire Month

While the rest of us stocked up on notebook paper, No. 2 pencils, and Lisa Frank Trapper Keepers (or simply continued to stare at computer screens for eight hours a day), DJ Shadow has spent back-to-school season returning to his record-spinning roots.

Specifically, he has spent a few hours of every day in September spinning live at Village Music in Mill Valley, California-- over on the million-dollar-median-house-price side of the Bay. What's more, he will continue to do so until September 30, when there will be a bigger party commemorating the store's closure after 50 years of operation (also the explanation for Shadow's residency).

Today, Shadow hits Village Music at 4 p.m. with Cut Chemist.

Thanks to reader David Garland for the tip.

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