First Look: Sigur Ros Documentary Heima

Last summer, Sigur Rós staged a series of free, mostly unannounced concerts in their native Iceland, untangling cables and setting up gear in abandoned herring factories, small town parks, modest coffee shops, and tiny community halls. The band huddled together to beam epic rock songs into the western fjords, trekking deep into the Asbyrgi canyon to ping tracks off the trunks of birch and willow trees, sheepishly (and literally) offering their music back to the land which spawned it.

Shot by director Dean DeBlois (a Canadian animator best known for co-directing Lilo and Stitch), the film Heima (which translates loosely to "at home") chronicles the entire tour, interspersing live footage with band interviews, acoustic performances, and mesmerizing reaction shots from local families who wandered outside to see what was happening.

Visually, Heima is stupidly gorgeous; DeBlois shoots like a photographer, hovering, still and steady, before Iceland's wet, lunar landscapes, clearly infatuated with the country's strange and violent countryside. Watching, it's hard to believe it's all real: blonde, fair-skinned children sail blood-red kites, everyone is wearing thick wool sweaters, fresh water runs free and fast through unspoiled valleys, and Sigur Rós slam their guitars in unison, while vocalist Jón Por ("Jónsi") Birgisson howls at the heavens, eyes squeezed shut, shoulders high.

It's difficult to describe Sigur Rós's celestial swells without reaching for grand, cinematic descriptors, and the band's music is almost comically well-suited for DeBlois' high-def photography. And while most music documentaries-- tour documentaries, especially-- feel contrived or inconsequential, Heima is a stunning record of an extraordinary endeavor: Don't be surprised if you stumble out of the theater with tear-striped cheeks, dreaming of rotten shark and glaciers.

As previously reported, Heima will be released on DVD on November 6 in the U.S. via XL and the day before in the UK on EMI. It is accompanied by the double CD Hvarf/Heim.

Photos: Boris with Michio Kurihara / Damon & Naomi [Chicago, IL; 09/30/07]

You know a band means business when they bring a fucking gong onstage-- and flank it with two massive, double-column stacks of amps. Yes, Boris are indeed the "Roaring" part of the tour that's being billed as "The Roaring Silence Revue" (scope this sweet poster), which kicked off last night at Chicago's Empty Bottle and brought together the Pink pulverizers, Galaxie 500 descendants Damon & Naomi, and-- playing with both acts-- Ghost's Michio Kurihara.

Quite an unlikely sonic pairing, were it not for the Kurihara connection-- but, as D&N's Damon Krukowski joked between playing songs from the just-released Within These Walls, Kurihara brings the roar to Damon & Naomi's silence, and the silence to Boris' roar. I'll drink to that.

D&N were also joined by Espers' Helena Espvall on cello and one Bhob Rainey on soprano sax for this gig, which also capped off The Wire's 2007 Adventures in Modern Music festival. Oh, and Boris and Kurihara totally had a Rainbow album first, you guys. Dates and more photos ahead.

BORIS with MICHIO KURIHARA






DAMON & NAOMI with MICHIO KURIHARA



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Photos: Iron & Wine / Arthur & Yu [New York, NY; 09/30/07]

Photos by Kathryn Yu

This past weekend at New York City's Town Hall, Arthur & Yu opened for Iron & Wine in what will surely become the classic matchup of the ampersands (although the latter needs to pick one conjunction format and stick with it already).

In their first major tour outing in support of debut LP In Camera, folky duo A&Y goofed about with a number of musical oddments, including a couple of these twirling wormy noisemakers. Sam Beam and company, meanwhile, showed off Iron &/and Wine's new Pitchfork-approved album, The Shepherd's Dog. More photos and tour dates below.

IRON & WINE




ARTHUR & YU

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Kanye West Has a Nerdy-Ass Blog!
And I wonder/ if you know/ about this Bat for Lashes video

Kanye West photo from Rolling Stone

Kanye, Kanye, Kanye! If he's not releasing a totally sweet new album, he's releasing totally sweet videos, doing double time as his own hype man on late-night TV, or losing his shit at awards shows. Oh, and now he's also maintaining a blog over at his nifty new website, KanyeUniverseCity (wah wah).

The blog is about 75% YouTube videos (everything from Feist, Bat for Lashes, and Lupe Fiasco music videos to commercials, a confusing Kate Moss hologram at some sort of art or fashion show, and that still-hilarious "Grape Lady Falls" clip). The other 25% is mostly pictures (fashion shows, shoes, Kanye with his famous pals) and links to his own press.

We're hardly surprised that the rapper who orchestrated a collaboration between himself and Peter Bjorn & John would keep a blog, but it's worth a read for sure, if only for the titles of his posts. For example, "I USED TO WANT TO BE A FREESTYLE BIKER, SO I EXTRA LOVE THIS VIDEO - BAT FOR LASHES 'WHAT'S A GIRL TO DO'".

Mr. West will update from the road this fall on a decent-sized tour that continues October 12 in Nashville. [MORE...]

The Libertines' Best Collected on Time for Heroes

There's a reason people continue to talk about the Libertines several years after their last record, and it's got nothing to do with glass pipes or long-suffering supermodels. They were, for a time, one of the finer things going on in British rock, and even if both Carl Barât and Pete Doherty spent the rest of their lives striving to make good on the promise of Up the Bracket, they'd still be able to say they made two great records-- and a few fine tracks-- together.

So with the band deep in what appears to be a permanent identity crisis if not an official breakup, here comes Time for Heroes - The Best of the Libertines, a 13-track collection due October 29 in the UK and December 4 in the U.S. from Rough Trade. Heroes collects tracks from both Bracket and 2004's self-titled effort, as well as a handful of well loved singles and B-sides.

Though reunion rumors continue to fuel the ever-incendiary British press, both Carl and Pete have their own stuff going on at the moment. Amazingly, the more fucked Libertine is the one with the most going on at the moment; Babyshambles have a new album and a tour, while Carl Barat's Dirty Pretty Things have a new track entitled "Radio Song" (not an R.E.M. cover, apparently) on the soundtrack to the David Schwimmer/Simon Pegg/Michael Ian Black flick Run Fatboy Run.

Warm up that arguing muscle: Time for Heroes' tracklist (as well as those Babyshambles dates) is after the jump. [MORE...]

Photos: Bright Eyes With Los Angeles Philharmonic / Yo La Tengo / M. Ward [Los Angeles, CA; 09/29/07]

Photos by Akmal Naim

Los Angeles got a taste of some more over-the-top indie rock pageantry last night as Bright Eyes performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the historic Hollywood Bowl. In case you haven't been paying attention, this is only one in a series of shows that has matched prominent young songwriters and bands with the orchestra, under the majestic arches of Hollywood's favorite outdoor amphitheater.

Joining Conor Oberst and co. for the night of extravagance were Yo La Tengo and Portland folkie M. Ward. The members of the orchestra itself, meanwhile, were given a rare opportunity to leave the tuxes at home and don hoodies and other casual attire for the occasion. So really, it was an evening of chilled-out extravagance. More photos and tour dates below.

BRIGHT EYES






YO LA TENGO




M. WARD



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M.I.A. Adds Shows With the Cool Kids

Photo by Kirstie Shanley

M.I.A. is for the kids, and the coolest of kids-- or the ones most willing to stomach the flashing neon of her website-- at that. And now, the Cool Kids are for M.I.A., in the form of tour support. She of the spandex and they of the flat brims have announced a whole heap of shows together, one of which also features Paul Wall! The first is in NYC on October 18.

Today, October 1, marks the release of M.I.A.'s "Jimmy" single via XL. She has a handful of dates without the Cool Kids, too, and the next one of those is tonight in Perth, Australia.

The Kids also have some dates of their own, including a few stops on the previously reported Fool's Gold Tour. They've got a single, "88" / "I Rock" (backed by B-sides "Gold and a Pager" and "What It Iz"), out soon on Fool's Gold. Their next show is in Riverside, California on October 3. [MORE...]

British Sea Power Ask: Do You Like Rock Music?
Well, do ya, punk?

If you found the title of British Sea Power's forthcoming Krankenhaus? EP a little curious, wait 'til you get a load of the name of their new album. Do You Like Rock Music? is the third LP from the seafaring sorts, slated for a February 12 release on Rough Trade/World's Fair in the U.S. and January 14 on Rough Trade in the UK.

The similarities between Krankenhaus? and Rock Music? are staggering; they both feature "Down on the Ground" and "Atom" (though the EP's version is slightly shortened), they both feature ex-Arcade Fire drummer Howard Bilerman and Godspeed/Silver Mt. Zion's Efrim Menuck, and they're both named after silly questions. Krankenhaus? Sure, why not? Do you like rock music? Of course you do!

British Sea Power are still touring both in the U.S. a little and the UK a lot. Can you really be sure you like rock music? Hit up a show and let your conscience be your guide. [MORE...]

Photos: Thurston Moore / Christina Carter [Boston, MA; 09/27/07]

Photos by Jason Bergman

On vacation from Sonic Youth, Thurston Moore brought the surname-free Trees Outside the Academy inside an academy of sorts this past Thursday, rocking Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. It was College Night, which meant young men and women of letters were free to roam the museum's galleries after hours and catch Thurston, opener Christina Carter (of Charalambides), and a couple DJs spinning amid the masterpieces.

And yep, Thurston is indeed sporting the t-shirt of a certain Wu-Tang Clan brainiac who warmed the stage for Sonic Youth at the 2007 Pitchfork Music Festival.

Mr. Moore's still got plenty of face to melt before the month is up. Catch him in Northampton tonight, and with the rest of Sonic Youth later this week.

THURSTON MOORE






CHRISTINA CARTER

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T.V. Eye: October 1-7, 2007

Live music on TV this week:

Monday, October 1:

NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: VHS or Beta

Tuesday, October 2:

FUEL: The Daily Habit: High on Fire
NBC: The Tonight Show With Jay Leno: John Fogerty
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Mark Ronson

Wednesday, October 3:

FUEL: The Daily Habit: Panthers
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Nick Lowe

Thursday, October 4:

CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Rihanna
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Bloc Party

Friday, October 5:

CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Iron and Wine
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Animal Collective

Saturday, October 6:

NBC: Saturday Night Live: Spoon

Radiohead Album Coming Out as Regular CD Too

Okay people! Take a couple deep breaths, count to 10, switch the caps lock off, clean up the triple espresso you just spit all over the computer screen, and check this: that new Radiohead album, In Rainbows? The one that the world knew practically zilch about 24 hours ago? The one that drops digitally (DRM-free, no less!) in nine days, for a price of your own choosing? The one that's also coming out in a deluxe "discbox" in December? Well, it's also coming out in good, old fashioned CD format early next year.

No word on when exactly or through which label-- if any label at all-- but that's the news thus far from the band's publicist.

So, let's sort this whole mess out, shall we? You will eventually have three ways to pick up the seventh Radiohead LP, the Nigel Godrich-produced In Rainbows. It all depends how much you want to pay, which goodies you'd like, and how soon you want the tunes. Observe:

1. As a DRM-free mp3 download, beginning October 10 (and available for preorder now), via www.inrainbows.com (interestingly enough, last week's RickRoll, www.radioheadlp7.com, now directs here as well). This version contains the 10 tracks that comprise In Rainbows, and you can pay whatever the hell you want for it. This is basically the band leaking the album and asking you for a donation to access it.

2. As part of a deluxe "discbox", available for preorder now and shipping in December. In addition to the 10-track In Rainbows on CD, you also get the release on LP and as a digital download, plus an enhanced bonus CD packed with eight more tracks, photos, and artwork (and an LP of the bonus tracks), plus art and lyrics booklets and some nifty looking packaging. This thing costs £40.00/$81.00.

3. As a traditional CD, available in early 2008. This will presumably cost as much as traditional CDs tend to cost.

What Radiohead's doing here is actually pretty cool. Rather than preface their new album's release with the usual three months of press ballyhoo, only to have it leak at some random time before it comes out, they've kept it completely under wraps, then essentially gone and leaked it themselves. What's more, they've turned this into a moral question of sorts, by giving us the freedom to pay actual money for what amounts to an album leak.

Only a band in Radiohead's position could pull a trick like this. Well played, gentlemen.

Colin Mee Back in Deerhunter?

On Saturday night, a few of us Pitchforkers headed down to the Empty Bottle here in Chicago to check out the fourth night of The Wire magazine's excellent Adventures in Modern Music festival. No Age slayed despite amp problems, and free jazz legend Daniel Carter blew minds fronting a trio that also included guitarist Ben Vida (of Bird Show and Town and Country) and the Pitchfork Music Festival's own Mike Reed on drums. (Yes, he plays as expertly as he organizes music festivals.)

But when it came time for the evening's headliners, Deerhunter, we were shocked to find five people up there on stage. Guitarist Colin Mee, who quit the band just a month ago, was back in action. With frontman Bradford Cox free of guitar-playing duties, he could be his typical showman self. Struck with a nasty case of the flu, Cox remained charismatic despite the fact that he spent much of the performance crouched down at the front of the stage, coughing and sneezing and, at one point, even vomiting.

So what's going on here? Is Mee back in Deerhunter for good? What happened? Nobody seems to know...or wanted to tell us. It seems that Mee had played a couple shows with the band leading up to Saturday night, but not even members of the band could say (or would say) how much longer this is going to continue. We sure hope Colin Mee remains in Deerhunter; the band just isn't the same without him.

Deerhunter continue their eternal tour tonight in Urbana, Illinois, and hit CMJ next week before heading to Europe. Bradford Cox is gearing up for the release of his Atlas Sound album Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel on Kranky. He's got one solo gig scheduled so far, at the Fader Sideshow in New York City on October 19, during CMJ. [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.)