Dr. Dre Speaks on Detox Delay
They tried to make him go to rehab / He said, OK, hold on, I'll get there eventually

Quite a few of us have learned to temper our expectations when it comes to the release dates of rap albums, so when Dr. Dre says his eight-years-in-coming Detox won't see release this year but that he's almost finished with it, a fair amount of skepticism feels in order. However, in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, the 42-year-old producer seems to earnestly believe just that.

"I was really hoping to have [Detox] out this year, but it's going to have to be pushed back a while because of some other things I've got to work on," Dre told the Times, saying the album is two or three tracks away from completion. But instead of forging ahead with work on it, he plans to spend the next two months working on a new Eminem album.

Dre also told the Times that Detox will be his final solo album, appropriate considering how long it has taken him to see the light at the end of the recording tunnel. He said, "I think it's time to move on." Nonetheless, he sees plenty of recording in his future-- just not as a solo artist. "I think a lot of Quincy Jones and how he is an inspiration. Look at the quality of his work over so many years. He didn't even make his best record, Thriller, until he was 50."

So, other than the Eminem record, what are some of the "other things" Dre has on his plate? For starters, there's his previously reported film production deal with New Line Cinema and his copyright lawsuit against Death Row Records. Then, of course, there is his family (he's been married to his wife Nicole for 11 years!), and, as VMA viewers may have inferred from his Barry Bonds-like physique, his other obsession: weightlifting. "I go in the gym two to two-and-a-half hours Monday through Friday. It makes me feel better and look better." Now if only it could make him record faster.

Photos: Les Savy Fav [New York, NY; 09/22/07]

Photos by Kathryn Yu

Les Savy Fav embark on a tour campaign to reaffirm their Friendship late next month, but not before treating their NYC home turf to a trio of live spectacles. Saturday night's gig at Bowery Ballroom, the second of these three shows, featured all the drunken hysterics, wacky costume changes (Sherlock Holmes, wtf?), fourth wall obliteration, and borderline indecent exposure you've come to love from these guys.

After one more home game-- opening for Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem, no less-- Tim Harrington and co. head to Europe. Let's Stay Friends is out now on French Kiss Records.










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Radiohead Post Encrypted Messages on Website

Gosh, those Radiohead fellas don't make it easy, huh? Following that very brief, since-deleted clip of a tune from their recently wrapped LP7 and photos of Colin and Nigel drumming up support among the youth, they've thrown another wrench in the fire with a mysterious-- but oh so darling-- series of codes on their website.

Though Pitchfork's crack cryptographic team is still too busy deciphering the menu at the local coffee shop at this early hour, the gumshoes at ateaseweb.com's message board-- who are always good for this sort of thing-- have knocked out the code already. An early post reportedly translates to "YES WE ARE STILL ALIVE," while at least one subsequent post seems to have something to do with the lyrics to "Bodysnatchers", a new song.

The most recent, posted today, seems to employ a slightly different code, but thanks to the atease crew, it has been translated as "A FLATLINE WE ARE IN A MEETING." Sounds like some experimental prog-rock band's got a case of the Mondays! Or maybe the free agents are in a meeting with Flatline Records?

That's about it, really. No release date, no tour, no MP3. But, hey, it's Radiohead. This mass confusion stuff is what they do best. Oh yeah, and make records. At least, that's my recollection.

In other Radiohead news, Jonny Greenwood's done his thing to the upcoming Paul Thomas Anderson flick. Score!

Thurston Moore Kicks Off Tour

Photo by Jason Bergman

Starting tonight, September 24, Sonic Young'n Thurston Moore supports Trees Outside the Academy, his first proper solo album in over a decade, with a Johnny Appleseed-like tour where he will plant Trees in the hearts, minds, and ears of audiences across the U.S.

Moore's tour has a three-week gap in October which is very partially filled by three Sonic Youth shows, all in Texas. Then, in early December, he will head to England to take part in the previously reported, Portishead-curated Nightmare Before Christmas ATP. [MORE...]

Photos: Morrissey [San Francisco, CA; 09/23/07]

Photos by Alissa Anderson

Well, Morrissey is all rested up and feeling better after a sick leave, and he's ready to rock your tears away. Moz has just begun the first leg of his rescheduled American tour, which includes multiple-night stands in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York. This weekend, we caught up with him at San Fran's Fillmore, where the icon was prancing around on stage like a man half his age.

More photos and the rest of Morrissey's U.S. itinerary below.






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Knife, Robyn, Royksopp on Trentemoller's Chronicles
Trentemoller tours too!

For a cat who's been remixing for nearly a decade and making records of his own for half that, you'd think Trentemøller would have more than one LP to his name.

But that Trentemøller's always got his mind in the future, and he's decided to eschew the potential sophomore slump in following up The Last Resort by unveiling a two-disc best-of of sorts entitled The Trentemøller Chronicles. Watch for retirement to come in December, with a comeback tour around Valentine's Day.

While it does feature a number of new songs, The Trentemøller Chronicles, out October 9 on Audiomatique, is primarily culled from previously issued comps, vinyl, and remixes. Our boy Trent tackles tracks from Robyn, the Knife, Moby, Röyksopp, and more. What else could you want?

A world tour, you say? Your wish is dude's command. Dates, plus the Chronicles tracklist, after the red thing. [MORE...]

Jesu Release Another New EP, Extend Tour
Hallelujah!

Jesu's Justin K. Broadrick must be getting high on Madlib's supply because he's still cracking away at the old to-do list, and by the looks of things, he's almost finished. The busy Brit will release another Jesu EP via Hydra Head on October 9. October 23. It follows the release of Jesu's excellent sophomore album, Conqueror, earlier this year.

The EP is called Lifeline and has four songs. One of them features a guest vocal turn from former Swans vocalist Jarboe. Avant metal mind melt, engage.

But wait, 2007 is hardly over for Broadrick and Jesu. The band still has two-and-a half months' worth of tour dates left starting October 4 in San Diego. The tour was significantly juiced up since our last report and now includes plenty of dates in the UK, Europe, and Japan.

Finally, for the most up-to-date info on any Jesu releases or side projects Broadrick might accidentally poop out in his sleep, check out the man's blog. [MORE...]

Pram Explore New Frontier on Forthcoming LP, Tour

How do they cram all that Pram into all those CD cases? You're liable to find out October 1, when Domino Records issues Pram's The Moving Frontier in the UK. The latest offering from the veteran British whizzes features fourteen new tracks of blissed-out studiolabbery, and will be available in both CD and LP varities. If only my Parallel Random Access Machine offered as many options as this other Pram!

Still hungry for the great taste of Pram? You can get more-- a whole lot more-- on a smattering of tour dates following the release of The Moving Frontier. [MORE...]

New Six Organs of Admittance LP Packs in Guests
Including Matt Sweeney and members of Magik Markers, Comets on Fire, and Fucking Champs

Photo by Kami Chasny

For the title to his follow-up on last year's The Sun Awakens, Six Organs of Admittance man man Ben Chasny went in more of a Dante's Peak direction. His next Six Organs of Admittance album is called Shelter From the Ash and is due out November 20 on Drag City.

Maybe most exciting is the fairly impressive crew Chasny gathered to appear on the album. Magik Markers' Elisa Ambrogio, the Fucking Champs' Tim Green, Chasny's Comets on Fire bedfellow Noel Harmonson, and Matt Sweeney (Chavez, Zwan, Superwolf) all lend their considerable musical talents.

There are no Six Organs of Admittance tour dates currently scheduled, but Drag City's website makes mention of "the Six Organs of Admittance Free Tour coming up in mid-November right on top of his new album release," so the announcement of some sort of shows can't be too far behind. And perhaps admission is free, provided you give the bouncer six of your organs? (OK OK, bad joke. Sorry.) [MORE...]

David Byrne Unearths The Knee Plays for CD Release

He may be 55 years old now, but except for the dashing gray of his hair, former Talking Heads principal David Byrne looks eerily like he did when he was in his 20s and 30s, tossing off gems like "Once in a Lifetime" and "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)". Thus, we have come to the conclusion that Byrne has simply transcended time.

For further proof, look no further than the fact that Byrne is, according to Billboard.com, issuing The Knee Plays-- his contributions to the soundtrack of Robert Wilson's the CIVIL warS opera (which also features music by Philip Glass)-- on CD for the first time over 20 years after he originally wrote them.

The Plays were originally intended to serve as musical interludes between parts of the mammoth opera, which was never performed in its entirety because of financial and logistical obstacles. However, Byrne adapted parts of his score with Wilson for use in a different piece that had a limited run in the U.S. and Europe in 1985.

Nonesuch will release The Knee Plays on October 30, supplemented with eight previously unreleased instrumentals. Also included is a DVD of the music set to a slideshow of 400 black and white photographs of the opera's production shot at 30-second intervals by JoAnn Verburg.

Digging into Pitchfork's own recent reporting past, we find that Byrne guested on the recently released Baby Elephant (aka Prince Paul and Bernie Worrell) LP Turn My Teeth Up! and that he will host "How New Yorkers Ride Bikes" at the New Yorker Festival on October 6.

Four days later (October 10, not that it matters if time means nothing to you), Byrne will participate in a conversation with evolutionary psychologist Geoffrey Miller at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. That talk is called "Connections Between Biology and Culture, Sex and Beauty, Genes and Creativity". Of course it is. [MORE...]

Onetime Ramone Sues Band, Digital Retailers

1-2-3-4! Richard Reinhardt-- better known as Richie Ramone, stickman for the iconic punkers from 1983-1987-- has, according to Billboard.com, sued Wal-Mart, Apple, RealNetworks, the long-retired band's management, and the estate of Johnny Ramone, claiming he's owed royalties to the tune of $900,000 on half a dozen songs he wrote for the group during his brief tenure as a Ramone.

Those tunes-- "Smash You", "Somebody Put Something in My Drink", "Human Kind", "I'm Not Jesus", "I Know Better Now" and "(You) Can't Say Something Nice"-- ain't exactly Ramones classics, but that's not really the point. Reinhardt claims that the band, their subsidiaries, and these digital music providers have been getting rich off his fertile dome, as there were no stipulations pertaining to digital sales of the tunes in writing. Yeah, dude, 20 years ago the idea of buying a song online was roughly as crazy a notion as the lady who danced with the cat in that video going on to co-host the most popular television program ever. My, this post-modernism is something, innit?

However this plays out, we'll keep an eye on it and let you know if it gets interesting. You, meanwhile, should keep an eye out for It's Alive 1974-1996, the forthcoming Ramones live DVD anthology.

Boredoms, Matmos, Gira, Hecker Do London Wire Fest

Well, Wire, cheers. You've outdone yourself. Following closely behind the Chicago incarnation of your Adventures in Modern Music festival is the London-based rag's own hometown party, stretched out into a wild month and taking the show to venues large and small, near and far.

And, fine as the U.S. lineup is, yours ain't nothing to scoff at, neither, what with Boredoms (as V∞redoms), Matmos (and Matmos gentleman/Pitchfork contributor Drew Daniel's the Soft Pink Truth), Michael Gira, Tim Hecker, Jackie-O Motherfucker, Lydia Lunch, Kode9 & Spaceape, and so forth to our Boris, No Age, Excepter, Qui, Deerhunter, and so on. Well played, Wire.

"The Wire 25" is-- you called it-- Wire magazine's 25th anniversary party, featuring films, workshops, and more experimental/left-field music than you can shake a theremin at. The London installment runs at various venues around the city October 26 through November 22. The entire musical performance schedule is available after the jump. [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.)