My Morning Jacket Reveal Evil Tracklist

Stream: Jim James and Calexico: Goin' to Acapulco [from the I'm Not There OST]

Xiu Xiu Launch Women as Lovers Tour Tonight
It's up to you to make this picture a reality, Xiu Xiu fans

MP3: Xiu Xiu: I Do What I Want When I Want [from the Women as Lovers LP]

Club 8 Back Catalog Gets Expanded Reissue Treatment

Video: Club 8: Jesus, Walk With Me (live in a Stockholm church)

Subtle to Hit the Road in May

Once May rolls around, Adam "Doseone" Drucker and the rest of his Subtle crew will take to both ExitingARM and entering clubs all over North America. The bizarre and frequently brilliant assemblage will take to the road in support of Lex Records' May 13 release of their third proper LP. Along for the ride in various opening band slots are Black Moth Super Rainbow, Efterklang, Slaraffenland, Fog, and Pit Er Pat.

One can expect more North American dates through June to emerge, and a trek to Europe is in the works. In the meantime, the band are hunkering down with Big Gulps, furiously coding that as-yet-unveiled ExitingARM website of theirs, and, of course, going about their business with more than a modicum of reserve. [MORE...]

MP3: Subtle: Unlikely Rock Shock [from the ExitingARM LP]

Lil Wayne, Condom Spokesperson
"No vaseline" doesn't mean "no protection"

UPDATE: Image removed, sorry

Chronological thoughts upon seeing Lil Wayne's ad for Strapped Condoms [above]:

1) Anything promoting safe sex is commendable, right?

2) Something something obvious homoerotic implications something something.

3) Wait, why are we associating wrapping it up with criminal behavior??

We're just...stunned. Also, we'd be remiss not to point out the Strapped Condoms MySpace blog post titled "STRAPPED CONDOM LARGE ORDERS". Act now!

(Via XXL / Nah Right)

Lil Wayne has some tour dates too, but, like, whatever. [MORE...]

Video: Lil Wayne: Gossip (Live in San Diego) [from The Leak EP]

Earlimart to Issue Hymn and Her in July
Playing in Austin a lot next week for some reason

Earlimart are known for a few things-- palling around with the late Elliott Smith, a deft wit in the title department, being pretty good-- but they're not exactly renowned for their prolificacy. In fact, in their decade or so of existence, they've averaged about one album every two years, and the space between 2004's Treble & Tremble and last year's Mentor Tormentor was-- as you math majors have already worked out-- three years.

But that may well be changing. Having pared their lineup down to a two-piece for their last LP, Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray crafted its follow up, Hymn and Her, "rather quickly," and expect to have it out July 1on the Shout! Factory subsidiary Majordomo. What's more, the pair have made a vow to "release at least one record every fiscal year for the next 10 years. Or, unless Aaron and Ari decide that they don't want to," according to a press release. Cheeky.

Still, this fiscal year, we'll get Hymn and Her, recorded at the band's very own Ship Studio in Eagle Rock, CA. Due perhaps to its more spontaneous creation, the disc is described as the band's most "organic and diverse" set yet. Oh, sure, that's what you'll be telling us about the follow-up come tax time next year.

You'll have plenty of chances to sneak a peek at Hymn and Her at next week's SXSW. Beyond that, there's nothing in the way of tour plans, though between Austin and the album's release, "Ari will be busy writing her first musical 'Hop Sing'......some sorta kung fu/bob fosse thing............i'll be busy with volunteer work at the gas station......and working on my moustache............," according to a MySpace post from Espinoza. [MORE...]

Stream: Earlimart: For the Birds (Windows only) [from the Hymn and Her LP]
Video: Earlimart: We Drink on the Job [from the Everyone Down Here LP]

Low Add Dates, Subtract Bassist
Related: Retribution Gospel Choir Add Dates, Subtract Bassist

MP3: Low: Breaker / Violent Past / In Silence / Sandinista (Daytrotter Session)
Stream: Retribution Gospel Choir: Breaker [from the forthcoming Retribution Gospel Choir LP]

Report: Plug Awards [New York, NY; 03/06/08]

Text by Matt LeMay, photos by William Kirk. Above: Nick Cave

Last night, music fans young ("Indie rock? I love that!") and old ("Hey, cheap Nick Cave show!") packed New York City's Terminal 5 for the third annual Plug Awards ceremony. As an indie rock awards show with extensive corporate backing, the event was predictably awkward and weird; a cordoned-off counter set aside for "bloggers" bordered on self-parody, and the inescapable presence of the event's numerous sponsors made the awards' name seem oddly apt.

The presentation of the actual awards was almost hilariously anti-climactic-- big wins by the Arcade Fire (Album of the Year, Live Act of the Year) and Radiohead (Artist of the Year) were met with what could only be described as deafening "meh"s, and only a handful of winners were actually on hand to give brief and inadequately amplified acceptance speeches.

But host Patton Oswalt was gracious and good-natured throughout, tacitly acknowledging the hurried weirdness of the night but never appearing frustrated or bitter. Intermittent mixtape-themed videos provided by Michael Showalter may very well have been funny, but it was almost impossible to hear them over the crowd. Indeed, sound problems plagued the night; the volume of the show often fell just below the not-so-ambient noise of the crowd, with the exception of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' excellent, if too-loud, performance.

White Denim's set started the night on an appropriately haphazard note-- noise emanated from behind the curtain while Oswalt was still trying to make a handful of announcements. As the curtain rose, the band's drummer was flanked by a small group of clapping and shouting cronies; they plowed through two quick songs to a crowd that already seemed antsy fifteen minutes into the night. It wasn't clear whether their parting statement of "thanks for the exposure" was a tongue-in-cheek fuck you to a generally unresponsive and chatty audience, or an attempt at genuine gratitude somehow lost to the night's strange mood.

St. Vincent offered one of the more memorable sets of the night, performing three songs with remarkable confidence and charisma. I hadn't seen Annie Clark since back when she performed under her given name, and I was amazed at how well her music and stage presence worked at a venue as large as Terminal 5. Clark and her band worked seamlessly and forcefully in unison, mirroring the ebbs and flows of her music and keeping between-song delays to a minimum. She was rewarded with a win in the Female Artist of the Year category.

The Forms, who followed St. Vincent, did not fare so well, unfortunately. A short set at a large club with bad sound was definitely not the right environment for them, and cast their songs as generic rock band satire. (Their generic "The ____s" name and status as relative unknowns didn't seem to win them many points with the crowd, either).

Dizzee Rascal suffered almost the opposite problem. While the Forms dutifully performed their songs without engaging the audience, Dizzee's attempts to get the crowd enthused largely fell flat. Even a rousing rendition of "Fix Up, Look Sharp" was met mostly with blank stares and chatter.

José González played a lovely and very short set, but amidst the noisy crowd it was difficult to focus on his performance. By the latter part of the night, the rushed feel of the ceremony itself was beginning to get to everybody; I would be hard pressed to think of a worse environment for taking in González's subtle, attention-rewarding songs.

Ultimately, the night belonged to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, whose 50-minute, nine song set quickly laid waste to the stifled strangeness that had preceded it. It wasn't until Cave took the stage that the odd demographics of the awards show began to make sense. The second Cave appeared on stage, the bald spots dotting the crowd began bobbing up and down excitedly. Even Cave seemed to have just a bit of trouble settling into the night, but by his third song it was clear that we were in the presence of a master. In fact, the formal dress and unerring professionalism of Cave and his band put to shame the night's half-assed hipster approximation of awards show flair.

As the crowd shuffled out of Terminal 5, Cave's performance was clearly the favored topic of conversation, even among relative newcomers to Cave's work (myself, admittedly, included). Sure, the "indie rock trade show" atmosphere of the night was bizarre and a little upsetting, but if that's what it takes to put on a $10 Nick Cave show, maybe it isn't so bad after all.

P.S. Thanks a lot to everybody who voted for Pitchfork for the Music Website of the Year Plug Award. We're very happy to have won for the third year in a row!

More photos below, including a few from Bat for Lashes' pre-party set. [MORE...]

The Explorers Club Unveil Debut Album, Single

MP3: The Explorers Club: Do You Love Me? [from the forthcoming Freedom Wind LP]

Radiohead, NIN to Top Lollapalooza 2008 Bill?

Foals Add Dates, Open for R.E.M.

Video: Foals: Balloons [from the forthcoming Antidotes LP]
Video: Foals: Cassius [from the forthcoming Antidotes LP]

Shellac Announce Rare Tour

The typical "record, release, tour, repeat" schedule has never played too well with the dudes in Shellac, but if their willingness to busy up their schedules for the first half of 2008 holds through the second half, Steve, Bob and Todd are gonna have an uncharacteristically productive year.

Shellac's next move is to South America, where they'll head later this month for a weeklong tour. The infrequent travelers must've grown some sealegs over the winter holiday, as they'll follow a month-long break after the South American dates with a trip to Europe in May and a lone French date in June.

After that, who knows? Another record, perhaps-- a follow-up to 2007's excellent Excellent Italian Greyhound? Holding one's breath is inadvisable in this matter.

Also, this is so awesome (Via Chicagoist / The Rich Girls Are Weeping):

[MORE...]

Video: Shellac: Live at the Touch and Go 25 Festival

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