The National, Ted Leo, Mastodon on Human Giant DVD
Second season begins in March

Since the announcement of their 24-hour-marathon-spawned second season on MTV, everything's turning up Human Giant. The guys are crafting new episodes and documenting it over on their website's production blog, complete with pictures of bloody escapades, guest stars like David Cross and Isiah Whitlock Jr. from "The Wire", and a Christmas monkey.

All the hard work and goofing around will pay off on March 11, when the premiere of "Human Giant"'s second season airs at 11 p.m.

Exactly one week earlier, Human Giant will release Human Giant: The Complete 1st Season on DVD via MTV and Paramount Home Entertainment. In addition to the eight episodes (with commentary from the cast and guests), there will be two hours of never-before-seen footage and a highlight reel from the aforementioned 24-hour MTV takeover. Performances by Mastodon, the National, and Ted Leo are all included, as are appearances from the likes of Michael Cera (Superbad, "Arrested Development"), Zach Galifianakis, Bob Odenkirk ("Mr. Show"), Patton Oswalt (Ratatouille), Andy Samberg ("Saturday Night Live"), Will Arnett ("Arrested Development"), Bill Hader ("Saturday Night Live"), Eugene Mirman, Todd Barry, Fred Armisen, and many more.

Dead Meadow Slay on Winter Tour

Dead Meadow have some fresh new ideas for how to unleash their fresh new Old Growth LP, but this ain't one of 'em. Following their previously announced early-record-release gig at New York's Bowery Ballroom, the dirge-rockers will head to the West Coast and start winding their way through the country for nearly a month's worth of tour dates. After that it's off to Europe.

It's a fairly usual move for such an unusual band, but then again, it pays the bills. And we have to assume a band called Dead Meadow goes through quite a bit of dough on landscaping.

Old Growth emerges February 5 on Matador. [MORE...]

A Place to Bury Strangers Recording Live LP

A Place to Bury Strangers have added a show to the tour itinerary we laid out last week. Big whoop. But wait! This isn't just any old show. The band is recording its January 16 gig at its Brooklyn home studio/venue Death by Audio for a live album. Important Records will release the vinyl-only LP sometime this spring. We don't know when exactly, or what they're calling it, or even what's gonna show up on the disc, but one thing is fairly certain: it ain't gonna show no mercy to your earholes.

Let's not forget that A Place to Bury Strangers pop up on another spring release, the environmentally friendly Green Owl compilation. [MORE...]

Om and Lichens Team Up for Tour
Om also tour with Lungfish's Daniel Higgs

U.S. coasts, get your drone caps on! San Francisco's Om and Chicago's Lichens are bringing together their experimental goodness for a brief West Coast tour starting January 16. Om will then continue to the East Coast in February for a round of dates supported by Lungfish's Daniel Higgs, while Lichens makes his previously reported rendezvous with Explosions in the Sky.

Both Om and Lichens are touring behind albums that came out last year. In Om's case, that means Pilgrimage, and for Lichens, it's-- appropriately enough-- Omns. [MORE...]

The Kills Return With a Boom on New LP
Band works with Armani XXXchange on album's production

Grimy little duo the Kills have returned from the garage rock ether to deliver their third album, Midnight Boom, due March 18 via Domino Records.

Partially inspired by the playground songs in a documentary about inner-city school children in the 1960s called Pizza Pizza Daddio, the follow-up to 2005's No Wow hews close to the guitar'n'beats sound found on previous Kills records. This time, however, they had a little help in the beats department, as Spank Rock producer Armani XXXchange lent his hand to some of the production.

The Kills plan to tour the U.S. in support of Midnight Boom; for now they have only a handful of dates, beginning tomorrow night (January 15) at London's Soho Revue Bar. [MORE...]

Bjork Wilds Out on Kiwi Photographer

Photo by Ashley Williamson

Jet lag is a bitch, and Björk knows this as well as anyone (e.g. her 1996 freakout on a journalist in a Thailand airport). After arriving at the Auckland International Airport in Auckland, New Zealand at 7:50 a.m. yesterday, January 13, the Icelandic singer attacked a photographer from The New Zealand Herald when he snapped pictures of her in spite of a request not to do so.

Glenn Jeffrey, the photographer, explained the incident to the Herald: "I took a couple of pictures, and I got about three or four frames of her... And as I turned and walked away she came up behind me, grabbed the back of my black skivvy [shirt] and tore it down the back.

"As she did this she fell over, she fell to the ground. At no stage did I touch her or speak with her."

Jeffrey added that a man accompanying Björk told her, "B, don't do this, B, don't do this."

A follow-up story from the Herald reports that neither Jeffrey nor the newspaper is pressing charges.

When asked for a response, Björk's management issued no comment.

The reason for Björk's visit to Auckland is the first of her 2008 tour dates, which kicks off the Big Day Out festival on January 18. She has added shows in Indonesia, China, and England since our last report. [MORE...]

Cat Power Extends Tour

That Cat Power is some mighty strong stuff. It's enough to give Chan Marshall the strength and endurance to travel the world doing good, tackle the works of some of the world's greatest songwriters and the best rapper alive, and still find time to put on globe-spanning tours.

Looks like she's eeked out a little time in early March for a trip to Australia, as Marshall and her Dirty Delta Blues band will head Down Under for a week's worth of dates kicking off in Cairns March 7.

Jukebox, Cat Power's forthcoming (mostly) covers LP drops January 22 from Matador.

Thanks to Cydde Miller for the tour tip. [MORE...]

U-God Sues Wu-Tang Clan's Label
Cash continues to rule everything around us

For a minute there, everything seemed to be going OK for the Wu-Tang Clan. Despite tensions between RZA and the other members, 8 Diagrams turned out fantastically (even landing at #38 on Pitchfork's Top 50 Albums of 2007 list) and the tour seemed to be going pretty great.

But apparently all is not well in Wu world. According to TMZ.com, on January 8, Lamont Hawkins, aka U-God, filed a lawsuit against Wu Music Group, the Clan's label, alleging breach of contract. U-God seeks $170,000 from the Universal Music Group subsidiary for its "failure and/or refusal to fulfill its financial payment obligations" in exchange for his contributions to 8 Diagrams and several tours. (TMZ has the court documents here.)

The Wu trek in support of 8 Diagrams continues tonight in South Burlington, Vermont. U-God has been appearing with the group on this tour so far. But now, who knows. UPDATE: U-God will still be performing with the Wu-Tang Clan. [MORE...]

Jay Reatard to Open for Black Keys

Why, it was only Tuesday that we spun a tale of the Black Keys, whose new LP, Attack & Release, features production work from none other than Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton. And it was still the wee hours of Wednesday when we reported that Jay Reatard had signed to Matador Records for a series of singles.

Well, the news gods have united these guys once again: Jay and the Keys will be heading out on tour this spring. Yes, that very same Black Keys tour we reported last week now contains approximately 75% more Jay Reatard, as he'll be opening for the Akron duo on most of those dates.

Thanks to Omaha City Weekly contributor Chris Aponick for the tip. [MORE...]

Goldfrapp Shake Tree for Box Set, Vinyl, "A&E;" Single
Is that an Olson twin on the album cover?

Plucked like a ripe fruit from the sturdy limbs of Goldfrapp's forthcoming Seventh Tree comes "A & E", the first single from the synthy sensations' forthcoming LP. The single emerges digitally February 3, with a physical release to follow February 11, both via Mute. It features remixes from the likes of Gui Boratto, Maps, and Hercules and Love Affair. I trust A&E's delightful Criss Angel pops up somewhere in the mix, too. That dude is a real mindfreak!

Seventh Tree drops on Mute February 25 in the UK and the following day in the States. And there are many ways you can take this Tree home with you: on CD, vinyl, or in a hoity-toity box set. The deluxe "mottled finished" box contains four art cards, a big old foldout poster, and a lyric book featuring recreations of Alison Goldfrapp's original handwritten verse. There's a DVD in the box as well, with a short film examining the growth of Seventh Tree and the recently Forkcasted video for “A & E”. The vinyl version is a gatefold, and, like the box, comes with a poster.

Al and Will have scheduled themselves a couple live engagements over the next few months, both in London. They did, however, throw a little tidbit in a recent MySpace blog post regarding "more exciting news to come." [MORE...]

Clinic Do It on New Album, Tour
Big Things Poppin'

Back with "an energized and increasingly psych-rock influenced sound" (sez a press release), the spookily surgical garage-rocking Liverpudlians of Clinic will issue Do It, their fifth LP, April 8 on Domino Records.

The disc will be preceded by the single for "Free Not Free" (wait, which is it?), which, along with B-side "Thor", will be available for free download-- complete with artwork-- through the band's website starting February 1. And here you thought the only cool schwag at the free Clinic were those glow-in-the-dark jimmy hats!

Clinic will begin accepting appointments for their bizarre brand of house calls beginning on Do It's release date, with a handful of UK dates preceding a hop over the pond for a North American trek in May. They'll preview their well-honed surgical skills over the radio a couple times before that, with a live session January 24 on Marc Riley's show on BBC Radio 6, and invite winners of a contest on their website to join them in Liverpool February 1 for a similar gig on Radio Merseyside.

Want the cold, sterile, cut-and-dry facts? They're all here, behind this thing. [MORE...]

Carla Bozulich's Evangelista Says Hello
Featuring Silver Mt. Zion members

Photo by Nicolas Amato

Carla Bozulich, onetime Geraldine Fibber and Ethyl Meatplow-er and half of Scarnella (with Wilco guitarist Nels Cline) has forged yet another path for herself and whoever she sees fit to join her. Evangelista, her latest musical endeavor, was christened after her 2006 solo LP of the same name.

Evangelista will issue Hello Voyager, its first full-length missive, March 11 on Constellation, with nine of Bozulich's tunes dressed up in beautiful noise courtesy of bandmates Tara Barnes and Shahzad Ismaily and members of A Silver Mt. Zion. The disc will arrive on CD and 180 gram LP, packaged in custom cardstock with a lyric sheet and paintings by Evangelista contributor Nadia Moss. [MORE...]

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