Black Mountain, Bon Iver Kick Off Joint Tour Tonight
NPR to stream tonight's gig, 4AD to issue Bon Iver' album in UK/Europe

Black Mountain photo by Jessica Miller

From Forever Ago to way off In the Future, they'll flock: Jagjaguwar labelmates Black Mountain and Bon Iver kick off their joint North American tour tonight at Washington, DC's Rock and Roll Hotel. From there, the two entities will bring their potent blend of arresting, atmospheric folk and punishing hard rawk to stages far and wide for three weeks or so before jointly making their ways to SXSW.

And if you're not available for a trip to the District this evening, feast your ears on this: NPR's All Songs Considered Live in Concert series will bring the whole streamin' thing to its website starting tonight at 9 PM EST. And, if you've been unable to make it to a North American record shop today to pick up the Jagjaguwar reissue of Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago, 4AD will bring the disc to the UK and Europe May 12.

Bon Iver recently added a few Midwestern dates in April to follow his brief post-Mountain run with Phosphorescent, so we've got those if you're looking for 'em. And Black Mountain's "Don't Run Our Hearts Around" (along with tracks from Ladyhawk and Vetiver) appears in Murray Siple's shopping cart racing flick Carts of Darkness, which is making the festival circuit at present.

And, hey, speaking of the festival circuit, Black Mountain will join the rest making the rounds at the ATP vs. Pitchfork festival in early May. [MORE...]

Hot Chip, Diplo, Spank Rock Remix Delicious Vinyl

Remember "Wild Thing"? How about "Bust a Move"? "Drop"? "What's Up Fat Lip"? All were released by pioneering L.A. hip-hop label Delicious Vinyl.

This summer, the imprint responsible for launching the careers of Tone-Loc, Young MC, the Pharcyde, Brand New Heavies, and many more will celebrate itself with the remix compilation Rmxxology. Hot Chip, Diplo, Spank Rock and Amanda Blank, Ed Banger's Mr. Flash, Phillipians, and Bobby Evans of Brother Reade are among those who will contribute tweakings of the Delicious Vinyl catalog.

The compilation's first single was Peaches' remix of Tone-Loc's "Wild Thing". Its second is by Baltimore club connoisseurs (and Lily Allen pals) Aaron LaCrate and Debonair Samir, who have remixed Young MC's "Know How Theme" and Masta Ace's "Jeep Ass Niguh". The "Delicious Gutter" single is out February 26 on 12", CD, and digital download.

Check out the single's cover up there at the top of the story, and the "Gutter" remix of "Know How Theme" right here:

Tilly and the Wall Tour, Pressnall Does Flowers Forever

Something happened to Tilly and the Wall's Derek Pressnall. Something weird, inexplicable, and otherworldly. Just what happened isn't exactly clear, but it was a powerful enough trip to cause Pressnall to drop the Tilly stuff for a bit and form Flowers Forever, a new band featuring Pressnall and pals. The self-titled debut full-length from Flowers Forever hit stores today (February 19) from Team Love, and a couple live dates are set to follow.

Fear not, though; Pressnall's break from Tilly, like his break from reality, is only temporary. Here, come see Tilly and the Wall as they tour the country with labelmates Capgun Coup in the coming weeks! Ahh, that's better. [MORE...]

TVT Files for Bankruptcy, Trent Reznor Rejoices

Current home to Lil Jon, the Ying Yang Twins, Pitbull, Dude 'N Nem, the famed Crunk Hits compilation series, and (why not?) the Polyphonic Spree, NYC-based TVT Records has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection, according to an official statement released today.

The independent label made the move "in order to address urgent financial challenges and to support its future development," according to a press release, although it plans to "continue to market and promote its current projects and schedule upcoming releases." Affiliate company TVT Music Publishing will not be affected by the filing.

"The downturn in the music business has affected all of us, independents and majors alike," said TVT president and founder Steve Gottlieb in the statement. "We all seek to adapt to a new business model. I believe our history of innovative marketing, creative branding, and artist discovery are as much in demand today as ever before and that we will emerge from this reorganization a stronger entity."

While focused primarily on hip-hop and the odd indie band in recent years, TVT originally gained prominence with early releases from Nine Inch Nails and KMFDM, and went on to release records from Guided by Voices, the Brian Jonestown Massacre, and Autechre-- among many others-- over its 23 years so far in the business.

A representative from TVT tells Pitchfork that the label plans to continue to put out new records by all of its artists, including the Polyphonic Spree, Dude 'N Nem (check out these amazing new songs), Ambulance LTD, the Holloways, Lil Jon, and others. However, the label's financial setbacks will slow down business as usual, naturally.

For commentary on the situation, we turn to Trent Reznor, mastermind behind former TVT signing Nine Inch Nails. "Not ALL news about the music industry is bad these days," wrote Reznor in a posting on the NIN site yesterday that included a link to AllHipHop.com's breaking story about TVT's bankruptcy. The title of that post: "you're gonna get yours." No hard feelings, huh Trent?

Matthew Friedberger, Times New Viking Play Book Party
Dean Wareham participates in reading

The Fiery Furnaces' Matthew Friedberger, Times New Viking, and Guided by Voices' Doug Gillard will kick March off the indie rock way at the paperback release party for John Sellers' book Perfect From Now On: How Indie Rock Saved My Life.

True to its name, the book is a memoir of Sellers' obsession with indie rock (particularly Guided by Voices). On March 4, Simon and Schuster will deliver the book's first paperback edition. Thus, the aforementioned indie rockers will perform at Don Pedro's in Brooklyn on March 1 for a celebration culminating in a set by Guided by Voices tribute band the Textbook Committee.

The Textbook Committee will also perform a week later in Minneapolis at another release party for the book. That party is just one of many readings and shows Sellers has scheduled for March, ending with a Brooklyn reading with Dean Wareham (Galaxie 500, Luna, Dean and Britta) on March 26. [MORE...]

Lyrics Born Goes Everywhere at Once on New LP

Featuring a live backing band and bolstered by guest appearances from Jurassic 5's Chali 2na and producer extraordinaire RJD2, Everywhere at Once marks the first studio LP from Bay Area MC Lyrics Born in five years. The 18-track set arrives April 22 on Anti-, while first single "I Like It, I Love It" hit iTunes exclusively today (February 19), backed with "Hott 2 Deff", which features Chali 2na

Fresh off a trip Down Under, Lyrics Born will return to the States for SXSW in March. [MORE...]

Todd Barry Releases New Album From Heaven

New York City comedian Todd Barry will unleash his latest deadpan opus on the world via Comedy Central Records on March 4. Titled From Heaven, the CD is Barry's third, following previous full-lengths Medium Energy and Falling Off the Bone.

From Heaven was recorded in a Cambridge, Massachusetts comedy club above a Chinese restaurant, and just from looking at the tracklist, we expect a pretty heavy onslaught of pop culture, shopping, and restaurant references. That is, unless he's pulling a David Cross and misleading us with the titles.

Barry also has a fair amount of live performances scheduled, continuing February 29 in Arlington, Virginia and including a stop at SXSW next month. [MORE...]

No Depression to End Print Publication

Mailboxes and newsstands the world over, bid a fond farewell to No Depression, the long-running alt-country magazine named after the Carter Family tune. It was announced today via a press release and the magazine's website that after the publication of the May-June issue-- the magazine's 75th-- No Depression will cease to exist as a print magazine.

In a note printed in the March-April issue and online, publishers Grant Alden, Peter Blackstock, and Kyla Fairchild promised to expand their online coverage in the months to come, though that will "in no way replace the print edition." They cited decreased advertising revenue (largely due to record labels' shrinking advertising budgets) as well as rising printing and mailing costs as reasons for the decision to shut down the magazine.

Launched in September 1995 with a relatively fresh-faced Son Volt on its cover, No Depression began as a quarterly magazine and turned bi-monthly a year after its inception. Spotlighting the finest in off-the-beaten-path roots music, the magazine helped further the careers of Wilco, Whiskeytown and Ryan Adams, the Drive-By Truckers, Gillian Welch, and many others.

A number of anthologies of the magazine's best bits have been published, and in 2005, No Depression celebrated its tenth anniversary with a series of concerts featuring such notables as Sufjan Stevens, Solomon Burke, and Jon Langford and Sally Timms of the Mekons.

But wherever there's a busted-up mandolin sitting in a corner of a bar somewhere, the spirit of No Depression lives on.

The full text of the publishers' note is printed below. [MORE...]

Boris Reveal Smile Tracklist, Artwork, New Dates

Turn that grin rightside up, detail-mongers: Boris' Smile has itself a tracklist. The eight-song LP, due March 7 in Japan on Diwphalanx and April 21 in the UK and Europe and April 29 in the U.S. on Southern Lord, runs the gamut from such cutesy cuteness as "Flower Sun Rain" (a cover of a song originally by PYG, and featuring pal Michio Kurihara on guitar) to the more domestically menacing "My Neighbor Satan" (also featuring Kurihara). Now there's a guy I wouldn't "BUZZ-IN" if he locked his keys in his apartment.

Southern Lord overlord/ Sunn 0))) doomsayer Stephen O'Malley also contributes, lending guitar to an untitled track.

While the album cover (pictured above) for the Southern Lord version of Smile is pretty sweet, check out the Japanese artwork:

Now that's something to smile about.

As previously mentioned, Smile will be preceded by a limited-edition single for "Statement", due February 26 on Southern Lord.

Boris have added a few more live dates to their itinerary recently, and all the factual information you can stand is hidden right behind this. No, really! [MORE...]

Pixies' Santiago Scores Football Ad for Nike

Well, from the sound of it, we won't be seeing a new Pixies album anytime soon (if at all), so that leaves the various Pixies free to roam.

Kim Deal's got her new Breeders album and tour to attend to, Frank Black's tackling Lee Hazlewood with Isaac Brock for his umpteen-hundredth post-Pixies disc, and David Lovering always has his magic (plus a newish outfit called the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn). So where does that leave axe-slinger Joey Santiago?

Plying his trade for the suits at Nike, it would seem. According to a press release from EliasArts, the NYC-based "music, sound and audio identity company" that employs Santiago, the Pixies guitarist has scored a documentary titled Nike Presents: Blood, Sweat and Tears: Football in the Rough (the "football" in question here being what Americans might call "soccer").

According to a representative from AKQA, the company that created the ad-umentary, "Santiago's sonic guitar riffs and his moody harmonies were perfect for the pace we needed in the film. Joey's score definitely makes us reflect harder on the subjects discussed in the documentary." Work hard, play hard...reflect hard?

A Nike rep adds, "This film is about guts and determination and Joey's work definitely helps surface both of these qualities."

The first chapter of the multi-part Football in the Rough doc is expected to appear on NikeFootball.com later this month, under the "Asia Pacific" region heading.

Hardly a newbie to commercial score work, Santiago previously worked on 2000 film Crime + Punishment in Suburbia and television shows "Undeclared" and "Weeds".

Ratatat, Herbert Remix Bjork on "Wanderlust" Single
Plus a 3-D video, complete with glasses!

Photo by Ashley Williamson

Björk will keep the Volta singles train a-choo-chooing with "Wanderlust". The 12" and CD release of "Wanderlust" in the UK on April 14 via One Little Indian will make it the album's fourth single.

The single's four tracks come from a predictably impressive cast of remixers, including Ratatat, Matthew Herbert, and Mark Stent. Also included is a DVD featuring the 3-D video for "Wanderlust", as well as a pair of 3-D glasses. Hmm... sounds familiar...

Of course, Björk still has quite a few tour dates ahead of her this year, continuing tonight, February 19, with the first of two shows in Tokyo. [MORE...]

Xiu Xiu Extend Tour Through May

Once the haikus are scribbled, the vocal submissions tallied, and their North American tour complete, Jamie Stewart and the rest of the wild spirits possessing Xiu Xiu are headed to Europe on a three-and-a-half week tour.

The band kicks things off on May Day in Austria and winds up in Spain on the 24th, leaving puzzled looks and copies of Women As Lovers aplenty in their wake. Bon voyage, Xiu Xiu! [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.)