My Brightest Diamond Adds Shark Goodies, Tour

My Brightest Diamond's switch from Horse to Shark means Shara Worden has a lot of spring cleaning to do in preparation for her sophomore album's June 17 release on Asthmatic Kitty.

For starters, she released A Thousand Shark's Teeth's first single to the digital realm yesterday (May 6). The four-track "Inside a Boy" single comes with remixes from Tim Fite and Son Lux, the latter of which is already up in Forkcast.

MBD's other big recorded offering is a bonus EP that comes with Teeth pre-orders. The EP's six tracks consist of alternate versions of album tunes and one non-album outtake.

To top it all off, My Brightest Diamond hit the road this May and June for some U.S. headlining dates and European festivals. [MORE...]

The Vaselines Reunite!
Play Sub Pop 20th anniversary and Tigerfest; SP20 also adds Eric's Trip, Les Thugs

Though they have only 19 official recordings to their credit and broke up just after their lone full-length was released, the Vaselines have etched a special place in the hearts of many. Chief among these is a certain Kurt Cobain, whose popular grunge rock outfit Nirvana famously covered no less than three of those 19 Vaselines jams, including one (in slightly modified form) before a sizable television audience on "MTV Unplugged".

But enough boring backstory: the Vaselines are reuniting! The Scottish act, helmed by Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee, will reconvene for at least two festival performances in 2008. Hooray!

The first goes down May 16 at Dunfermline, Scotland's Carnegie Hall as part of Tigerfest. A bona fide Scottish lovefest, this gig will find the Vaselines sharing the bill with Teenage Fanclub's Norman Blake and the Pearlfishers' David Scott, all while backed by members of Belle & Sebastian!

And hey, the second appearance ain't too shabby either. The Vaselines will help celebrate the 20th anniversary of Nirvana's onetime label home Sub Pop at Redmond, Washington's Marymoor Park on July 12. Sub Pop also, of course, helped keep the Vaselines on the map by releasing The Way of the Vaselines: A Complete History back in 1992. You scratch my back, I'll rock yours.

Already rife with reunions from the Fluid, Green River, Seaweed, Red Red Meat, and now the Vaselines, Sub Pop's SP20 bash has turned up the nostalgia a couple more notches with the addition of defunct French punks Les Thugs and reunion-happy Canadian alt-rockers Eric's Trip. As previously reported, the fest takes over the aforementioned park near Seattle from July 12-13.

New Beck LP: 10 Tracks, 30 Minutes, Due This Summer

No title, release date, tracklist, or cover art just yet, but that Danger Mouse-produced, Cat Power-assisted Beck LP will indeed be coming at us a whole lot sooner than we thought a week ago. Clocking in at just over a half an hour, the ten track LP is due "this summer" from Interscope in the U.S.

Given how much we don't know about the project at this juncture, let's take an inventory of the rest of what we do know. Sez a press release: "The result [of Beck and Danger Mouse's collaboration] is a tightly assembled group of songs that range in lyrical tone from introspection and social commentary to off-the-cuff wordplay and lighthearted humor."

So it's a Beck album, then.

And the music? "Musically, the album's ten tracks vacillate between economy and experimentation, hybrid and pop classicism, while consistently manifesting Beck and Danger Mouse's shared interest in psych-rock, folk, electronic minimalism, and orchestration."

So it's a Beck album, then.

Beck's forthcoming summer tour? Still all laid out and ready to roll since our last report. [MORE...]

No Age Add Dates With High Places and Abe Vigoda
Plus: Photos from last night's No Age/High Places gig in NYC!

Photos by Drew Katchen

Nevermind all those nice adjectives folks heaped on Nouns-- No Age are all about the verbs at the moment. Shriek, thrash, holler, pummel, grin, leap, innovate, crowd-surf...these are but a few of the things you'll see No Age do in the live setting, and the duo is now poised to do those things in even more places with the recent addition of a number of North American dates.

The latest gigs find No Age buddying up with recent Thrill Jockey signees High Places (full disclosure: High Places include the sister of a former Pitchfork staffer) and their Smell-y, Skeletal pals Abe Vigoda. This very apt triptych kicks things off in the U.S. capital on July 8 and keeps rolling more or less straight on through to the Pitchfork Music Festival, at which both No Age and High Places will appear.

All three acts have plenty of dates besides, and No Age and High Places certainly ain't no strangers either. The two two-pieces rocked the crap out of New York City's Bowery Ballroom last night as No Age celebrated yesterday's release of Nouns on Sub Pop. Catch all the hot photo and tour date action below.

No Age








High Places



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My Bloody Valentine Remaster Loveless, Isn't Anything

Fifteen-odd years of near total silence, and now they just won't shut up! Fresh off news of the big reunion, the European tour, the insane All Tomorrow's Parties spectacle, and the North American visit, My Bloody Valentine are all up in our grills yet again, harping on about how their two unimpeachable classic albums-- Loveless and Isn't Anything-- will soon get the deluxe remaster treatment.

As initially reported on Wired's Blog Network and now confirmed by a Sony BMG UK rep, the only two MBV albums that matter (This Is Your Bloody Valentine was practically an EP anyway) will hit UK shops June 16 in newly remastered formats. While the Isn't Anything remaster spans only one disc, the Loveless one comes as a double-disc: the first disc remastered from both DAT (digital audio tape) and analogue tape, and the second remastered from just analogue tape. No needless bonus cuts or anything, just two gems in all their pristine, self-contained glory.

Vinyl editions of these remasters are expected to follow in the UK, and the Sony BMG rep suggests the band and label are mulling "other possible releases for later in the year." Ooh, maybe that long-rumored EP/rarities box? Or the new MBV album Kevin Shields teased us about late last year? We'll be gazing holes into our sneakers while we wait to find out.

Kevin and co. will be staring straight through to the soles of theirs as well, beginning June 20 in London. [MORE...]

Allen and Burnham Leave Gang of Four

Rhythm-heavy post-punk legends Gang of Four have lost their original rhythm section. Again. Bassist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham are choosing to focus their energies on pursuits other than the quartet, which reunited in its classic form in 2005. A post on Allen's blog, Pampelmoose (via an email from Allen), reveals the details of those other pursuits, and from its tone, there seems to be a healthy absence of hard feelings all around:

"The original and best-loved line-up of famed post-punk icons Gang of Four reunited in 2005 to great acclaim, but are no longer. Bassist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham are moving on, although singer Jon King and guitar player Andy Gill will continue, focusing on writing and recording new music as Gang of Four. Burnham last performed with the band at All Tomorrow's Parties in the UK in December 2006, while Allen played a few shows alongside a session drummer in 2007, and recently worked on new material with King and Gill.

"Allen says, 'At the beginning of April, I decided that I could no longer continue to be a member of Gang of Four. My ability to give 100% to the band is limited and I feel that if I can't do so, then I shouldn't continue. As I expand my research and thinking about contemporary music distribution on Pampelmoose.com, and as I focus on online technology and social networking at Nemo Design here in Portland [Oregon], I find myself conflicted about how the band's new music should be released. To retain any credibility for Pampelmoose.com about what the future of music distribution will look like, I have to move on and not hold back Jon and Andy's music plans. I have had a side project for a while now with John Askew of Tracker and Menomena's drummer Danny Stein [Seim--Ed.] called Faux Hoax (pronounced 'Folks'), and I look forward to fun times finding ways to get our music into peoples' hands in unique ways.'

"Burnham writes, 'It was a great couple of years of intermittently reminding people old and new, far and wide, just how powerful the original four of us were together. Age only increased our power and focus onstage, and it was a rare pleasure to work with the original band once again. Being in a band requires handling the business side of it too, and that became boring and the constant travel became debilitating. I am soon to start my doctorate, as well as broadening my teaching at more than one college here in Massachusetts, so my free time has become increasingly limited, making it difficult to be involved with them going forward. Musically, I am recording and writing with members of Boston noise-merchants the Bags and I have also been doing some recording lately with [former Minutemen/current Stooges bassist] Mike Watt. I wish Jon and Andy luck with their new musical endeavors; I am sure they will be interesting."

We wish the best to all parties involved, but it's hard to contain our surprise at the fact that Allen is quitting to focus on his blog. That is some serious dedication.

Gang of Four, minus Allen and Burnham, have a number of dates scheduled in the coming months, including an appearance at the Massive Attack-curated Meltdown festival in London on June 20. [MORE...]

Jose Gonzalez Tours Again, Releases "Teardrop" Single

Photo by Akmal Naim

With his "Green Tour" and the Earth Day release of the In Our Nature Remixes EP behind him, José González shows no signs of slowing down. He's already got a new single for us, and he's gearing up for another North American tour.

Mute released González's "Teardrop" digital single yesterday, May 6. The Massive Attack cover is taken from José's 2007 set In Our Nature and comes bundled with a B-side called "Four Forks Ache".

As for the tour, González's Bonnaroo appearance on June 13 serves as the start of a full-blown jaunt across North America, Mexico included. Following that tour, González has a bunch of scattered shows, mostly at European festivals. [MORE...]

New Pornos, Battles, Goldfrapp, Ice Cube Do Dour Fest
With Pinback, the Fall, the Raveonettes, Ellen Allien, the Notwist

Yes, the name's just a bit more off-putting to we English-speaking types than, say, the Fun Fun Fun Fest. Still, the 20th annual Dour Festival belies all connotations but one: it'll go down July 17-20 in Dour, Belgium.

And if this lineup doesn't sound like a blast, well, you're dour enough without it. Joining Dour for the the big 2-0 are the New Pornographers, Battles, Goldfrapp, Ice Cube, Pinback, the Fall, the Raveonettes, Ellen Allien, the Notwist, Why?, Enon, Foals, the Meat Puppets, Modeselektor, Bonde do Role, SebastiAn, Fujiya & Mijaygi, Miracle Fortress, Mystery Jets, Oxbow, Subtle, the Glimmers, Shout Out Louds, Boys Noize, Earth, Future of the Left, the Teenagers, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Do Make Say Think, Gogol Bordello, Men (the Le Tigre spin off) doing a DJ set, the Whitest Boy Alive, Tiga, Lady Saw, Heavy Trash, Alter Ego, the Enemy, the (International) Noise Conspiracy, and many many more.

See? Plenty of reasons to be Dour, grinning all the while.

Fennesz, the Field, Modeselektor, Tim Hecker Do Mutek
With Radio Slave, Quiet Village, Flying Lotus, Cristian Vogel, Kode9 & Spaceape

At five downtown Montreal venues over five stimulating days comes the ninth annual Mutek Festival, stretching innumerable extension cords betwixt the samplers, synths, laptops, and such of a wide spectrum of the electronic music community's brightest lights.

Joining this year's Mutek are Carl Craig, the Field, Radio Slave, Modeselektor vs. Pfadfinderei, Christian Fennesz, Cristian Vogel, Tim Hecker, Quiet Village, Kid Koala, Interstellar Fugitives, Nôze, Morgan Packard, Flying Lotus, Murcof, Kode9 & Spaceape, Sleeparchive, Chloé, Németh, Ben Frost, and Knifehandchop. And this, really, is just a blip; check out the full lineup of multimedia Mutek goodness over at the fest's website. Mutek 2008 runs from May 28 to June 1.

UPDATE: Unfortunately, Carl Craig's appearance at Mutek has been cancelled due to personal family reasons.

Joe Strummer Documentary Coming to DVD
Features interviews with Clash bandmates, Bono, Johnny Depp, Courtney Love

Plenty of documentaries have trained their cameras on the Clash and/or the band's magnanimous frontman Joe Strummer, and for good reason. Not only were the Clash inspiring like a lot of early punk bands, but musically, they outclassed pretty much all of their peers.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your tolerance for documentaries about worthy yet well-worn subjects), it's time to make way on the shelves for another Joe Strummer documentary.

On June 24, Legacy Recordings will release The Future Is Unwritten on DVD. The movie takes on Strummer's life inside and outside of music as its subject, including coverage of his time in the Clash as well as the 101'ers, the Latino Rockabilly War, and the Mescaleros.

Director Julien Temple (The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, The Filth and the Fury) rounded up tons of juicy interviews for the film, including Strummer's old Clash bandmates, Bono, Jim Jarmusch, Martin Scorsese, Johnny Depp, Steve Buscemi, Flea, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Courtney Love, Anthony Kiedis, Matt Dillon, Steve Jones, Don Letts, and plenty of others.

The soundtrack for The Future Is Unwritten came out last year, and you can check out our review of it right here.

Pitchfork.tv Seeks Director of Photography in NYC

With Pitchfork.tv now one month up and running, we're psyched to start expanding our content. And to help us make it happen, we're seeking out experienced New York-based DPs with experience overseeing crews of 2-4 camera operators in the field. (A producer is also present at all shoots.)

Responsibilities include (but are by no means limited to): prepping and setting up gear, coordinating crews, and capturing board feeds in live music settings around the city.

The ideal candidates will be creative, self-motivated, and possess extreme attention to detail as well as the ability to adapt stylistically from session to session. Applicants should be well-versed in various HD & SD cameras (especially DVX-100's). Experience with lighting and mics (directional and wireless lavs) are a definite plus.

If you have experience in these areas, please send a resume and cover letter to jobs@pitchforkmedia.com, along with links to previous work (no attachments please). Applications without links to previous work will not be considered.

Built to Spill Line Up Tour, Add Pre-ATP Perfect Show

Though they're currently in L.A. jamming out their follow-up to 2006's You in Reverse, Built to Spill have another album on their minds lately: 1997's Perfect From Now On, Pitchfork's 22nd favorite album of the 1990s.

As your next credit card statement will likely remind you, Doug Martsch and company will head to upstate New York way off in September to perform the noodly neo-classic at the inaugural ATP New York event. But never ones to let a Perfect opportunity pass them by, they'll hit the stage at Pappy & Harriet's in Pioneertown, California on September 12 for a warm-up run through Perfect From Now On. What's more, that gig also finds Camper Van Beethoven tackling the entirety of 1989's Key Lime Pie. I thought people didn't care about albums anymore?

Built to Spill have also scheduled a smattering of regular dates through the spring and early summer. [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.)