Murdoch, Albarn, Harvey Write Charity Postcards
Less than a week after our subhead suggestion of the merchandising similarities between Belle & Sebastian and Gorillaz, both bands' leaders are part of the same charity auction. Postcards written and signed by Stuart Murdoch and Damon Albarn join offerings from Robert Plant, PJ Harvey, Gorillaz artist Jamie Hewlett, and Massive Attack's Daddy G, among many others, as part of a benefit for Carers UK, an organization that gives financial and emotional support to individuals who provide unpaid health and social care.
The postcards, which were collected by Nothing to Write Home About authors Michelle Abadie (aka Maj) and Susan Beale (aka Dolly), are up for auction on eBay now.
Murdoch's touching little postcard is pictured above, with one of Plant's four abruptly hilarious ones below it. Among the other celebrity contributors to the auction are actress Helen Mirren and Ken Livingstone, the mayor of London. Check out the full list of participants here.
Dan Deacon to Greyhound Buses: Fuck You!
"These rats stink like rotten cum. Fuck them with 1000 fires...Eat my shorts you dickless pig fuckers."
Something strange is afoot on the Greyhound bus, and for once, it's not that guy in the trenchcoat who won't stop staring.
Included in this month's issue of electronic music mag XLR8R is a four postcard pullout advertisement emphasizing just how easy it is to traverse America's rock'n'roll underground via the notoriously slow transit system named after the notoriously fast dog. The insert bears the likenesses of Dan Deacon, Baltimore laptop-noise act Wzt Hearts, Japan's Ruins, and a crowdsurfer at a Team Robespierre gig. They say there's no such thing as bad publicity, but there are probably better ways to handle publicity concerns than the way Greyhound allegedly did with this foursome. Both Deacon and Wzt Hearts' Jason Urick have publicly complained that they were not contacted about the use of the photos, and, naturally, aren't too pleased.
Urick apparently caught wind of this business first, and made a post to crewcial.org's message board alerting friends and well-wishers to the budding controversy (his alias is "airplaneglue"). His first post asks, simply, "Can you sue if a company uses a picture and a blurb of your band without asking... because apparently Greyhound just did that with us. wtf?" The resulting discussion finds Urick and the rest of the board readers trying to determine just what Urick's legal rights might be in this situation.
In the meantime, Urick contacted friend and fellow B'more resident Dan Deacon, whose history with Greyhound is, apparently, a bit rocky. In a MySpace bulletin posted this afternoon entitled "IN NO WAY DO I ENDORSE OR PROMOTE GREYHOUND BUSES", Deacon railed against the corporation, claiming that no one had asked the permission of either him or New York's Silent Barn, where the shot was taken. He then went on:
greyhound bus company is one of the worst run, bullshit companies i have ever had the misfortune to use. they are a total monopoly and take advantage of that with poor service and price hikes and route cancellation. they have bought all the other smaller companies and run them out of their office in dallas. they treat both their employees and customers like shit. they are a cancer.
since i do not drive i used to use them to get to shows (when nothing else was available). on many occasions i had to cancel shows because the bus would be late, my luggage would get lost/stolen, the over sell their buses, and fuck i fucking hate them.
it really upsets me that i am being used to promote them. if i had my way i would see all their buses transport guns to all the people they have fucked over.
like many evil companies they are trying to use subversive advertising and i will not allow myself to be a cog in their wheel of lies and deceit. these rats stink like rotten cum. fuck them with 1000 fires.
in case this message finds its way to someone in the advertising department of greyhound: eat my shorts you dickless pig fuckers.
Oh, Dan, you always know what to say! [MORE...]
Lucky me, the noisy Los Angelenos in HEALTH have a great plan worked out, with a traveling paean to wellness making its way up and down the West Coast in early 2008. There, they'll be joined at times by fitness guru Dan Deacon and the gutbustin' White Williams, and I'll finally have a chance to put my old exercise tape to rest.
Dates are slowly trickling in for that previously mentioned jaunt with Crystal Castles as well. [MORE...]
Malkmus/Jicks Reveal Emotional Trash Tracklist
Photo by Jen ReelAre you ready for Real Emotional Trash? If not, you have until March 4 to prepare yourself for the arrival of the previously reported new disc from Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks. To aid in your preparations, here, just have the freakin' tracklist. No really, just scroll down and take it, free of charge.
Real Emotional Trash gets dumped all over us thanks to Matador, and marks the second release under the Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks banner (technically the follow-up to 2003's Pig Lib) and the fourth to bear the words "Stephen Malkmus" on the cover (first since 2005's Face the Truth).
It's also the first Jicks disc to include latest recruit Janet Weiss, who takes over drum duties from John Moen (now in the Decemberists). Trash was recorded by TJ Doherty (Sonic Youth, the Hold Steady, etc.) at SnowGhost Studios in Montana.
For the moment Mr. Malkmus has but two dates, but recall that he did promise a U.S. tour and possibly some dates in Europe and Asia as well. Let's hope he makes good on that in the '08. [MORE...]
Camel, Rolling Stone Under Fire for Indie Rock Ad
Cigarette company pulls campaign after class action suit
You don't see creepy Joe Camel anymore these days, and that's because he-- and any cartoon used to sell cigarettes-- has been made illegal, thanks to the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement of 1997 (Google it).
Yet if you scooped up a copy of the November 15 issue of Rolling Stone, you probably did see a four-page fold-out editorial section titled "Indie Rock Universe", rife with faux notebook doodles, ridiculous music/cosmology puns (Lost in Bass! Planet Twee!), and the names of pretty much every huge-to-marginally popular indie/indie-ish act you can think of. Laughable at best, but harmless-- were it not for the item's placement in the publication.
"Indie Rock Universe" fell amid several pages of advertisements for Camel cigarettes' "The Farm" campaign. The Farm's tagline? "Committed to Supporting & Promoting Independent Record Labels". Coincidence? Rolling Stone would have you think so, according to a New York Times report linked via The Daily Swarm. Publisher Ray Chelstowski, quoted in the NY Times piece, claims Camel's parent company R.J. Reynolds Tobacco "had no idea [the Indie Rock Universe piece] would take a cartoon format." Likewise, "the editors don't see the advertising."
Yet that plea of ignorance hasn't stopped Rolling Stone-- and, of course, Camel-- from drawing the ire of everyone from anti-smoking advocates and promoters of journalistic ethics to fans and the indie rockers themselves.
Amid increasing pressure and a lawsuit filed this week by nine state attorneys general, Reynolds has, for the moment, ceased the Farm campaign, according to a Winston-Salem Journal report (also via The Daily Swarm). Indeed, the campaign's website is presently down. The Journal also suggests Reynolds could face a fine of up to $100 million for violating the Master Settlement Agreement.
Still under debate are Camel-sponsored gigs, a number of which have popped up in recent years featuring big name indie acts like the Flaming Lips, Band of Horses, and the Faint. Camel has no plans to discontinue these right now, according to the Journal.
Meanwhile, Rolling Stone has come under fire from bloggers and message board pundits who believe the publication complicit in an alleged scheme to dupe lovers of indie rock. If some breach of ethics surrounding the advertorial/editorial divide is discovered, Rolling Stone could find itself in what we like to call the "Nasty Litigation Universe". (Regardless, it's pretty funny that this list is probably the only way that many of these bands would have ever appeared in Rolling Stone.)
Still, the greatest crime in all this may be the puns. "Lost in Bass"?!? C'mon, people!
DeVotchKa Sign to Anti-, Ready New Album
March 18, Denver's daring DeVotchKa will return with A Mad and Faithful Telling, their proper LP-length follow-up (epilogue?) to 2004's How It Ends. The disc, their first for the Anti- imprint, spices up its ten tracks with the band's trademark Eastern European folk-inflected flavor and, reportedly, "improved production." Isn't that somethin'?DeVotchKa have a trio of Spanish tour dates in the run up to Telling's release, and frontman Nick Urata will play a solo gig in his hometown December 14 at Lannie's Clocktower Cabaret. [MORE...]
Wilco Announce Spring U.S. Tour
Photo by Kathryn Yu
With Jeff Tweedy's "Early December Do-Goodery Tour" wrapping over the weekend at that Chicago Obama event, the men of Wilco are taking that generous spirit on the road for a liberal helping of new dates around the States. Yep, the Windy City ramblers will bring that badass live show of theirs to the right side of the U.S. for a little more than two weeks come late February, before heading off to another hemisphere on their previously reported tour of Australia and New Zealand.
Tweedy has also lined up yet another solo benefit show, this time January 26 at the Vic Theatre in Chicago. Proceeds go to raise funds for youth scholarships. (Thx Via Chicago.)
In other Wilco news, that Sky Blue Sky bonus material is out there if you want it, those UK dates remain to be rescheduled, and Jeff's handsome mug is in a new photo book by an old friend. [MORE...]
Mike Patton Lends Voice to Creatures in I Am Legend
Dude is still everywhere
While I tend to envy Mike Patton most for his expressive eyebrows, he's also quite respected as a popular music vocalist. Björk, John Zorn, Melvins, Sepultura-- he lends growls, howls, and a myriad of other vocal sounds to albums by all of them. And that's not mentioning his own innumerable bands and side projects (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Fantômas, Tomahawk, Peeping Tom, etc.) Recently we discovered that Patton will provide the voice of the main character in a remake of the Bionic Commando video game, and it's not even the first video game he's done. (It's not the last either, as next year he'll also contribute vocal effects to Left 4 Dead.)
But perhaps the Ipecac label head's most high-profile-- yet likely most unrecognizable-- current project comes as the provider of voices for "the dreaded creatures" (according to a press release) in post-apocalyptic Will Smith vehicle/The Omega Man remake I Am Legend, which hits theaters December 14. Says the Ipecac website, "He is the voice of the creatures in the movie. That is right, the evil
screams and howls coming from the 'creatures' will be courtesy of Mike." You can get a little taste of that evil via the film's trailer.
Patton's other film project next year marks his debut as a film composer. He has scored a black & white film noir short called A Perfect Place, which is about "a pair of bumbling friends trying to dispose of a body," according to the press release. The movie will come as a two-disc CD/DVD package with Patton's score via Ipecac in March.
And speaking of Patton and creatures, don't forget about those Ipecac toys.
Nick Cave Announces Single, Soundtrack Releases
Photo by Richard SharmanNick Cave plans to give us plenty of new music to Dig in the early months of 2008. Not only is there Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, his 14th studio album with the Bad Seeds (coming to the UK via Mute on March 3-- U.S. release details forthcoming), but there's also the album's first single, as well as Cave and fellow Bad Seed Warren Ellis' soundtrack to The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
The single is the record's title track, "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!", and Mute will release it in the UK on CD, download, and limited edition 7" formats on February 18. Another new Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds track, "Accidents Will Happen", will grace the B-side.
In a recent MySpace blog, Cave had a hefty chunk to say about "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!", and it's a pretty interesting read, so we've reprinted it below:
"Ever since I can remember hearing the Lazarus story, when I was a kid, you know, back in church, I was disturbed and worried by it. Traumatized, actually. We are all, of course, in awe of the greatest of Christ's miracles-- raising a man from the dead-- but I couldn't help but wonder how Lazarus felt about it. As a child it gave me the creeps, to be honest. I've taken Lazarus and stuck him in New York City, in order to give the song, a hip, contemporary feel. I was also thinking about Harry Houdini who spent a lot of his life trying to debunk the spiritualists who were cashing in on the bereaved. He believed there was nothing going on beyond the grave. He was the second greatest escapologist, Harry was, Lazarus, of course, being the greatest. I wanted to create a kind of vehicle, a medium, for Houdini to speak to us if he so desires, you know, from beyond the grave. Sometimes, late at night, if you listen to the song hard enough, you can hear his voice and the sad clanking of his chains. 'I don't know what it is but there is definitely something going on upstairs,' he seems to be saying. It is, most of all, an elegy to the New York City of the 70s."
Then there's the matter of the Cave/Ellis soundtrack to Jesse James, which-- for those who didn't catch its limited release-- stars Brad Pitt as James and also features Robert Duvall, Sam Rockwell, and Casey Affleck. Though the soundtrack is currently available for download, Mute will give it a physical release in the U.S. on the same date the movie hits DVD: February 5. [MORE...]
Photos: David Shrigley's Worried Noodles in Concert [New York, NY; 12/05/07]
Photos by Kathryn Yu; Above: IslandsFrom book to indie-star-studded compilation to concert extravaganza, David Shrigley's Worried Noodles project has come a long way. Last night at NYC's Knitting Factory, a handful of folks featured on the two-disc Tomlab feast cooked up the pasta of anxiety (anxioni?) live on stage. YACHT, Tussle, and lo-fi legend R. Stevie Moore were there, as was a special pared down incarnation of Islands, along with (not pictured) Phil Elverum (Microphones/Mount Eerie), Nick Krgovich (P:ano, No Kids), and others.
Best of all, these people weren't just noodling idly: proceeds from the event went to Amnesty International.
ISLANDS
YACHT
TUSSLE
R. STEVIE MOORE
[MORE...]
Bauhaus Mark Final Breakup With Final Album
Goth godfathers Bauhaus have once again called it quits after a second reunion that started in 2005 and culminated in a 2006 tour with Nine Inch Nails. A Billboard.com interview quotes drummer Kevin Haskins on the reason for breakup: "We were getting along really well, but there was an incident that occurred. Some of us just felt that we didn't want to carry on as a working unit."Mysterious indeed, but why tell us now, a good year since the band was active in reunion 2.0 mode? That answer is much more straightforward: Bauhaus are marking their official disbandment with the release of a final studio album, Going Away White. The title seems like a cheeky subversion of the all-black goth stereotype, so at least they have a sense of humor about the whole thing.
Bauhaus will release Going Away White on March 4 via their own Bauhaus Music (via Redeye Distribution). [MORE...]
Destroyer, Amy Millan, Tokyo Police Club on CBC Comp
Plus: Pink Mountaintops, Malajube, Tegan and Sara, Chad VanGaalen, You Say Party!
So who made the cut? Why, the likes of Amy Millan, Destroyer, Tokyo Police Club, Tegan and Sara, Pink Mountaintops, Malajube, Chad VanGaalen, You Say Party! We Say Die!, Shout Out Out Out Out, Cuff the Duke, Joel Plaskett, and Cuff the Duke. CBC Radio 3 Sessions - Volume III is available now in stores, on iTunes, and through the CBC's website. And, if you've got some time to kill, poke around the Radio 3 website's wealth of archived live sessions. [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.)
Fri: 01-11-08: 05:30 PM CST
Goldfrapp Shake Tree for Box Set, Vinyl, "A&E;" Single
Fri: 01-11-08: 04:48 PM CST
Clinic Do It on New Album, Tour
Fri: 01-11-08: 03:45 PM CST
Update: Rejected Justice Fabric Mix Turned Xmas Gift
Fri: 01-11-08: 02:32 PM CST
Rhymefest and Lupe Fiasco Debate Politics Online
Fri: 01-11-08: 01:30 PM CST
M. Ward/Zooey Deschanel Album Details Surface
- Carla Bozulich's Evangelista Says Hello
- Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, Bat for Lashes on Xfm Comp
- Thunderbirds Are Now! Guy Fires Up Friendly Foes
- Sally Shapiro, Johan Agebjorn Cut "Spacer Woman" 12"
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Browse
- Castanets Head West for Tour, Work Up New 7"
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- Dirty Projectors, White Williams Split a 7"
- The Breeders Announce First Tour in, Like, Forever
- Common Does Benefit for Chicago Schools Program
- British Sea Power Tour All Over
- Mountain Goats Add Dates, Darnielle's Book Revealed
- Radiohead to Take Over BBC Radio 1 Airwaves
- Thermals Kick Out the Jams for Live Band Karaoke
- Low Tour, Retribution Gospel Choir Prep Debut LP
- Islands Return to the Road
- Morrissey Reveals Greatest Hits Details, Bonus CD
- Annie Returns With New Single, Preps Album
- Blonde Redhead Plan Brief East Coast Tour
- Dan Deacon Inaugurates Wham City Records With 7"
- Cat Power Checks in From India, Bangladesh
- Xiu Xiu Announce Spring Dates
- Serena-Maneesh Compile Early Tracks, Rarities
- Bodies of Water, Sons & Daughters Announce Tour
- Autechre Offer Up Quaristice Tracklist, Tour
- Fogarino/Franklin's Setting Suns Forced to Nix Name
- Kim Gordon, Lavender Diamond's Stark Appear in Film
- Rare Disco, Electro Gems on Disco Not Disco Comp
- Polly Jean Harvey, John Parish Meet Again for New LP
- Arbouretum, Lungfish Dudes Ready Human Bell Album
- Broken Social Scene Head Out on World Tour
- Hukkelberg's Rykestrasse Leads to North America
- No Age Come up With a Few Good Nouns for Sub Pop
- Nada Surf Get Lucky With Ben Gibbard on New Album
- Radiohead (Sorta) Announce North American Tour!
- Spoon Head Down Under
- Black Kids Tour With Sons & Daughters, Kate Nash
- Jay Reatard Signs to Matador, Plans Singles Barrage
- Sufjan, MBD, Asthmatic Kitty Roster on New DVD
- Malkmus' Real Emotional Trash Album Cover Revealed
- Men [ft. Le Tigre's Samson, Fateman] Play Shows
- Marty Crandall Domestic Abuse Case Dismissed
- Jens Lekman Announces Spring Tour
- Von Bondies Return With Album, EP, Tour
- Baltimore's Wye Oak Sign to Merge, Issue Debut
- Hold Steady Work on LP4, Line up UK Tour
- Black Heart Procession Head Out on Short Tour
- The Black Keys Reveal Danger Mouse-Produced Album
- Kenyan Extra Golden Members Need Your Help
- Silver Mt. Zion Lend Tune to "Lost" Ad
- Blitzen Trapper Announce Giant North American Tour
- R.E.M., MMJ, Robyn, Jens Lekman, Bun B Do SXSW
- Spiritualized's Spaceman Scores Harmony Korine Film
- Justice Announce World Tour, Dates With Diplo
- Son Lux Signs to Anticon
- Sub Pop Responds to Arrest of Shins' Crandall
- T.V. Eye: January 7-13, 2008
- Vampire Weekend Plot North American Tour
- Dan Deacon's Ultimate Reality Tour Kicks Off
- Battles Storm Australia
- The Cool Kids Line Up Winter Dates
- Drive-By Truckers Brighten 2008 With Album, Tour
- Bill Callahan Tours the South
- Echo & the Bunnymen, Orchestra Play Ocean Rain Live
- Six Organs of Admittance Set to Hit the Road
- Band of Horses, McCombs Play Halfway to Forecastle
- Caribou Announces Huge World Tour
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- A Place to Bury Strangers Announce Spring Tour
- Daft Punk, Hot Chip, Pipettes, T.I. Design Playboy Shirts
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- Silver Jews' David Berman Talks Lookout, Outlook
- Facing Lockup, Rapper Prodigy Turns Video Blogger
- Belle & Sebastian's Jackson, Oakley Hall Do Guitar Fest
- Flipper Recording New Album With Krist Novoselic
- Radiohead Manager Explains Amplive Remix Snafu
- Califone, Fugazi Members Soundtrack Brent Green Films
- MMJ, Wrens, Mekons Folks Aid New Orleans Musicians
- The Go! Team Tour Away Winter Languor
- Walkmen, White Williams, Bon Iver Play Chicago Fest
- The Streets' Skinner Retires the Beats Label
- Raveonettes Plot Tours of North America, Italy
- Robyn Announces U.S. Tour Dates!
- Jose Gonzalez Goes Green for North American Tour
- Under Byen Enlist Symphonic Help on New EP
- Black Mountain Add Dates With Bon Iver
- Nick Cave's Lazarus Gets Tracklist, U.S. Release Date
- The Long Blondes Set Up Couples, UK Tour
- Antony Designs Dress for Charity
- Amplive Nixes Radiohead Remixes at Warner's Demand
- The Fiery Furnaces Add Dates, Surprise Surprise
- Casiotone Drops a Few Singles, Plays a Few Gigs
- Fennesz Releases Two New Singles
- No Age, Mae Shi, Cline Play Smell Anniversary Shows
- Man Man Adopt Rabbit Habits, Tour U.S.
- Yo La Tengo's Ira Kaplan DJs on WFMU
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- Hot Chip Reveal Made Tracklist, Single, New Dates
- M83 Reveals Full Album Details
- Grand Archives Reveal Sub Pop Debut Details, Dates
- Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks Tour for Trash
- Boredoms to Invade America This Spring
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- Evan Farrell (Magnolia Electric Co./Rogue Wave) R.I.P.
- Panda Bear Designs Sweatshirts
- Neko Case Schedules Winter Shows
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- While We Were Out
- Radiohead Celebrate New Year With Webcast
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- R.I.P. Oscar Peterson, 1925-2007
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- Country Singer J.D. "Cast" King R.I.P.
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- Photos: GZA Performs Liquid Swords [New York, NY; 12/13/07]
- Thrill Jockey B-Day Bash: Become Yr Fave Album Cover!
- The Decemberists to Return to the Road in January
- Rocket From the Crypt Resurrected on Live CD/DVD
- Lupe Fiasco Plots Sizable U.S. Tour, Cool Happenings
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- Black Lips Release Very Limited Edition Single
- Portastatic, Annuals, Rosebuds Rock Trekky Recs Xmas
- Beach House Team With Papercuts for 2008 Tour
- Labels Seek Apology From Rolling Stone for Camel Ad
- Electrelane Organize Anti-Trafficking Benefit
- Donations Sought for Ailing Country Singer Cast King
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- Harry Potter Bands Rock Against Media Consolidation
- My Bloody Valentine Headline Benicassim Festival
- Sambassadeur Let Migration Free in the States
- Kevin Barnes, Jeff Mangum in Wacky Elephant 6 Movie
- Liars, No Age Announce Joint Tour
- Justice Release "Phantom" Single
- Stephen Malkmus Talks Trash
- Ike Turner R.I.P.
- Calexico Tour-Only Jams Now Digital Via Touch & Go
- Bradford Cox Publicly Apologizes to Samara Lubelski
- Yorke Preps 12"s With Field, Four Tet, Burial Remixes
- Diplo Remixes Spoon's "Don't You Evah" for Charity
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- Morrissey Reveals New Single Details
- Liars, No Age Members Team for Sissy Spacek Show
- Black Lips Add Tour Dates (Yep) Again
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- Yeasayer Announce Big 2008 Tour