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Mark Linkous Discusses the State of Sparklehorse
Working on new album, looking for a label, improvising with Fennesz, teaming with Danger Mouse, the Flaming Lips, and Gruff Rhys

Although Sparklehorse has stayed out of the spotlight for most of the time since the release of 2006's Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain and a subsequent tour, main man Mark Linkous has been keeping plenty busy. When Pitchfork chatted with the amiable, soft-spoken singer/songwriter last week, he opened up about his collaboration with Danger Mouse (featuring the Flaming Lips, Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys, and many others), his In the Fishtank session with Christian Fennesz, and the material he's working on for the next Sparklehorse album. He's also looking for a new label. Industry folks, take note!

Pitchfork:
It's been a little while since we've heard new music from you. What have you been up to?

Mark Linkous:
Well, I'm working on what I hope will be my next record and writing a lot of new songs that are sort of atypical of a lot of Sparklehorse stuff we've been doing. I've been trying to write really simple songs to make them sound like they're coming out of a satellite that's crashing into a gas giant or something.

Pitchfork:
[laughs] Where did that image come from?

ML: I don't know; I tried to imagine if you were in another satellite or if you were floating in space and you heard these amazing pop songs that were short and really simple, not unlike Buddy Holly songs, but you wanted to fuck 'em up in a way, but not gratuitously. So I don't know, you know those sort of suicide probes that absorb as much information as they can before crashing into the sun or some kind of other unfriendly atmosphere.

Pitchfork:
That seems like the kind of thing that would maybe translate into how you produce the record?

ML: Yeah, I'm trying to keep [the songs] short and simple but with a lot of cool noises and not be so anal about every little aspect of every track.

Pitchfork: Is that different from the way you've worked in the past?

ML: Well on, like, the first album... when people want me to sign records they usually always have Vivadixie[submarinetransmissions], and I think that's a lot of people's favorite record. And that was sort of when I was just learning what I was doing. So I think maybe I'm trying to forget or not be so conscious about plastic circuitry and just go for the feeling, not unlike that pact between Lars von Trier and all those guys. It was called Dogme something [Dogme 95 --Ed.]. It was between Lars von Trier and [Thomas] Vinterberg. They had this pact that they would make these movies, and if the lighting was terrible but the performance was great, they would use the great performance. Didn't use any music that wasn't playing in the scene, like coming off a radio or something. And yeah, the main ideal was to go for emotion and not technology. I mean when you watch Breaking the Waves, some of those scenes, the interior scenes, technically they're barely... you can't hardly see what's going on. [MORE...]

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Thom Yorke Turns NPR DJ on Valentine's Day

No doubt about it: the members of Radiohead love playing records. And what better day to spread that love than Valentine's Day (February 14, yo), the very date of Thom Yorke's forthcoming guest DJ stint on NPR program "All Songs Considered"?

Yorke follows in the paw prints of past "All Songs Considered" guest DJs like Conor Oberst and Joanna Newsom, and in addition to dishing out some choice cuts-- including, we hope, "Hottest Record in the World" "Archangel" by Burial-- Yorke will also chat with host Bob Boilen about In Rainbows, The Eraser, and how the Radiohead frontman goes about discovering new music. Say, Mr. Yorke, I know this website...

To find out what time this episode of "All Songs Considered" will air in your area, head here, and look out for a downloadable podcast version come Thursday afternoon here.

Following a Radiohead tour announcement and an Eraser benefit auction contribution, this dispatch hereby completes the Thom Yorke Pitchfork hat trick for this, the 12th day of the 2nd month of 2008. Hallelujah, amen. [MORE...]
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Constantines Reveal New Album Details

Kensington Heights: It's not just the name of the subdivision daddy's moving into with that nice lady he met at the grocery store. It's also the new album from Canada's Constantines. Their new label Arts & Crafts will issue the disc April 15 in the band's homeland, and it'll make its way to the States April 29.

Those of you lucky enough to have nabbed a copy of last month's limited edition "Easy Money" 7" are already privy to the disc's leadoff track.

The band aren't exactly lighting up the live circuit at the moment, though they've got a couple dates lined up for March. The first is a stop at New York's Mercury Lounge, and the second is an appearance down at South by Southwest. [MORE...]

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Dalek, Isis Members on Tracy Wilson (Dahlia Seed) LP

Lo, to be just another name in the Rolodex of Tracy Wilson. The former Dahlia Seed-ling has amassed quite a circle of friends in the decade or so since the demise of her beloved group, and just about all of them pop up on Decimal, her new LP under the Ringfinger heading.

Members of Dälek, Isis, Jessamine, Fontanelle, Cave In, Film School, Engine Down, Jah Division, Denali, and others help Wilson with the finer points of Decimal, of which J Robbins and Dälek's Oktopus each produced a portion. The album's been available for a minute in a digital way, though Magic Bullet's vinyl-only physical release of Decimal didn't arrive until today (February 12).

Wilson appears to have no plans to tour at the moment, but she is blogging, which is sort of like a tour... of her mind. Check that out here. [MORE...]
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T.V. Eye: February 12-17, 2008

Live music on TV this week:

Tuesday, February 12:

NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Band of Horses
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Louis XIV

Wednesday, February 13:

FUSE: The Sauce: Cassie

Thursday, February 14:

CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Bebel Gilberto

Friday, February 15:

NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Yeasayer
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Regina Spektor

Saturday, February 16:

FOX: Fearless Music TV: Sondre Lerche

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Foals Prepare Debut LP for Sub Pop/Transgressive

Photo by Nilina Mason-Campbell

Dave Sitek produced it (in Brooklyn no less), Celebration's Katrina Ford sings on it, and a few friendly folks from the Antibalas horn section play on it. Return to Cookie Mountain II: Cookie's Revenge? Nah, it's Antidotes, the debut full-length from Oxford, England's Foals. Look for this, Foals' debut full-length offering, in the UK via Transgressive March 24 and in the U.S. via new Stateside home Sub Pop April 8.

The fun, feisty post-punk tunes these guys craft will be splayed out over eleven tracks on Antidotes, though the Sub Pop edition is bolstered by a pair of tracks lifted from recent UK singles. Speaking of which, a single for album track "Cassius" is due from Transgressive March 10.

And, while they're skirting both sides of the pond, know this: Foals have dates both at home and abroad over the coming months. The next is tonight (February 12) in New York City. Perhaps they'll use the occasion to talk up their new fave rave, Barack Obama? [MORE...]
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Islands Sign to Anti- Records
Nick Thorburn interview coming tomorrow

Photo by Alex Wagner 

For their sophomore effort, the previously announced Arm's Way, Nick Thorburn (formerly Nick Diamonds) and his Islands have moved on into the Anti- fold. (Anti- being the Epitaph sister label that houses the likes of Tom Waits, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Neko Case, Bob Mould, Man Man, and many, many others.)

Islands will issue Arm's Way on May 20. Be sure to check back here tomorrow for our interview with Thorburn, where he discusses the label switch, the music of Arm's Way, and the state of some of those wacky side projects he's perpetually involved in.

Following a date in their native Montreal this weekend, Islands will set off on a tour of the UK and Europe before making their way to the U.S. for South by Southwest, Coachella, and quite a few other gigs besides. [MORE...]

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Apes Play Ghost Games on New LP, Tour

If it seems like a while since we've heard from Washington, D.C.'s Apes, rest assured, they haven't just been monkeyin' around (sorry). Rather, they've replaced longtime lead singer Paul Weil with visual artist/new vocalist Breck Brunson (great name, BTW) and busied themselves with some Ghost Games, which they'll release on CD and LP February 19 via Gypsy Eyes.

You can expect your Ghost Games CD and your Ghost Games vinyl to look vastly different, and not just because one is like four times bigger: the discs will come with different artwork. And, in the spirit of overdoing it on the creative tip, you can expect a bunch of videos for Ghost Games' tracks to emerge shortly, courtesy of a number of the band's craftier friends. The first, "Dr. Watcher", is available for Dr. watching below. Find more here.

And what's a new album without a brand new tour? Those Apes head out in support of Ghost Games tonight (February 12), joined at a number of stops by Anticon artist Sole and elsewhere by the rowdy An Albatross. [MORE...]
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Ladytron Reveal Velocifero Tracklist
Announce European Tour

Photo by Staphane Gallois

Looks like we got us a tracklist for Velocifero, the new one from that moody bunch in Ladytron, which hits U.S. shelves June 3 from Nettwerk. The disc, as we noted last week, was produced by the band in Paris, with Alessandro Cortini and Ed Banger associate Vicarious Bliss lending hands when needed. What we didn't mention (until now) was this slew of very Ladytron-y song titles. "Black Cat"! "Ghosts"! "Burning Up"! (Madonna cover?) And "I'm Not Scared"! Speak for yourselves, Ladytron!

There's a big ol' Ladytron tour on the way, too-- now with European dates! [MORE...]

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The Game Sentenced to 60 Days for Gun Charge

Live and learn: you can't whip out a piece on a school basketball court without upsetting a few people. Jayceon Terrell Taylor found this out the hard way yesterday (February 11), as the rapper-- better known as the Game-- was sentenced to 60 days in jail for possession of a firearm in a school zone (a felony), according to a Billboard.com report.

As previously reported, the Game was charged for the aforementioned offense and two others way back on June 4, 2007. During a February 24, 2007 pickup game of basketball at a Los Angeles school, the rapper allegedly "punched a player on the opposing team, went to his red Cadillac Escalade to pull out a gun, and came back threatening to shoot the other player."

After Taylor's defense's scrapped its claim that it was the Lupe Fiasco metaphysical character on the basketball court that day and not their client (jk), the Game pleaded no contest and received the 60-day sentence, which also includes 150 hours of community service and three years' probation.
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Replacements' Twin/Tone Catalog Reissued, Expanded
Deluxe editions of Sire albums due later in the year

Those long in the works Replacements reissues are finally here! Whether you've never pored over their tales of Upper Midwestern debauchery and desperation, or you just need to switch out your tired, beer-soaked copies for shiny new models, there's plenty for fans and new converts to dig into throughout Rhino's deluxe editions of the 'Mats' four releases for the Twin/Tone label.

On April 22, Rhino will throw a ton of stuff you've never heard on the back of these classic Replacements platters. 1981's Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash gets a bunch of demos and outtakes as well as the B-side "If Only You Were Lonely", the 1982 EP Stink gets some covers, 1983's Hootenanny gets rough mixes and alternate takes, and 1984's Let It Be (Pitchfork's 29th favorite album of the 1980s) gets T. Rex and the Grass Roots covers.

The reissues were overseen by producer/Replacements manager Peter Jesperson, and according to a press release, the band was involved in picking the bonus tracks.

Rhino plan to do all this again later this year with similarly stuffed reissues of the band's Sire catalog, including Tim, Pleased to Meet Me, Don't Tell a Soul, and All Shook Down.

In other Replacements news, All Over but the Shouting, a book about the band with contributions from Jesperson, Twin/Tone label co-founder Paul Stark, the Hold Steady's Craig Finn, R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, and Hüsker Dü's Bob Mould and Grant Hart, is out now on Voyageur Press. [MORE...]

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Pitchfork Seeks Graphics Intern in NYC Office
See what we did on the left there? That took us seven hours

Pitchfork Media is seeking a graphics intern in our New York City office. The ideal candidate must be available 10-15 hours a week, a pro at Photoshop, Illustrator, and Flash, and have work samples that kick our ass. Motion Graphics and/or Final Cut experience is a major plus, but not mandatory. Qualified applicants must submit links to samples of their work (no attachments please!), along with a resume and cover letter, to jobs@pitchforkmedia.com by Friday, February 15 at 6:00 p.m. EST. Please include "Graphics" in your subject header.
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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.)

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Fri: 02-29-08: 07:00 AM CST
The B-52's Cindy Wilson Talks New Record

Thu: 02-28-08: 05:30 PM CST
The Gossip Announce Live CD/DVD Release

Thu: 02-28-08: 04:45 PM CST
Hives Challenge Vancouver Canucks to Hockey Game

Thu: 02-28-08: 03:15 PM CST
Final Fantasy Tangles With Canada's Healthcare System

Thu: 02-28-08: 02:15 PM CST
Wilco, Pornos, MMJ, Death Cab on "Heroes" Soundtrack

Today's Other Headlines

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