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Thursday, January 21

Bon Iver Plan to Open Music Venue

Bon Iver Plan to Open Music Venue

Good news, people of Eau Claire, Wisconsin! In Bon Iver, you not only have an awesome indie band to call your own, you also have a group of proud Eau Claire natives committed to bringing other awesome indie bands to your fair city.

VolumeOne reports that Bon Iver main man Justin Vernon and his brother and tour manager Nate are currently attempting to open a performance and cultural space in a building on South Barstow Street. The city's Redevelopment Authority has OK'ed their plan, an important step. According to VolumeOne, the Vernon brothers now "have 120 days to firm up financing, construction plans, and get all the ducks in a row needed to actually close the transaction, at which point the city hands over the keys and work can begin."

 

Franz Nicolay Leaves the Hold Steady

The mustachioed keyboardist has belted out his last "whoaaaa" Franz Nicolay Leaves the Hold Steady

Photo by Natalie Kardos

Hold Steady keyboardist Franz Nicolay, who has been a member of the band ever since sophomore album Separation Sunday, has left the group. In a statement on his website, Nicolay writes, "You should know: I've left the Hold Steady. I told the band I'd be leaving in early September, played my last show with them in Minneapolis around Thanksgiving, and dotted the t's and crossed the i's this week. Five years seemed like a nice round number. Thanks to everyone who was a part of the experience, especially the Unified Scene, who are nice folks." (Thanks to Tom Smith for the tip.)

 

The New Pornographers Come Together for New Album

Beirut, Okkervil River, St. Vincent guest. The New Pornographers Come <i>Together</i> for New Album

The Matablog has announced that on May 4, Matador will release the fifth album from the indie-power-pop supergroup the New Pornographers, titled Together.

In addition to the core lineup of A.C. Newman (who wrote nine of the album's songs), Dan Bejar (who wrote three), Neko Case, John Collins, Kurt Dahle, Kathryn Calder, Todd Fancey, and Blaine Thurier, Together also features contributions from Beirut's Zach Condon, St. Vincent's Annie Clark, Okkervil River's Will Sheff, and the horn section from the Dap-Kings. Check out a bunch of photos from the album's recording sessions over on the New Pornographers website.

 

New Raekwon/Ghostface/Method Man: "Our Dreams"

Also: Name their group! New Raekwon/Ghostface/Method Man: "Our Dreams"

Raekwon is such a nice guy! When someone leaks one of his songs, he doesn't get mad. Instead, he links to the leak on his Twitter. Or, in any case, that's what happened yesterday. A blog called the Best of Both Worlds posted the new Raekwon/Method Man/Ghostface track "Our Dreams", and Rae linked the track on his Twitter. Go here to hear it.

 

White Stripes Documentary U.S. Premiere at SXSW

White Stripes Documentary U.S. Premiere at SXSW

The White Stripes documentary Under Great White Northern Lights will receive its U.S. premiere during SXSW, taking place in Austin, Texas March 12-20. The film, which follows Jack and Meg White's whirlwind 2007 tour of every province and territory in Canada, had its world premiere in Toronto in September.

Under Great White Northern Lights will be released on CD and DVD and as part of a massive box set on March 16. Watch the trailer below:

 

Wednesday, January 20

Jay-Z and U2 to Team Up for Haiti Benefit Telethon Performance

With Rihanna, too! Jay-Z and U2 to Team Up for Haiti Benefit Telethon Performance

Yesterday, we reported that Jay-Z and U2 are teaming up to record a Haiti benefit song. We might get to hear that song as early as Friday night. The January 22 telethon "Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief" will include a group performance from Jay-Z, Bono, the Edge, and-- hey, look at that!-- Rihanna.

The two-hour telethon, apparently the most widely distributed ever, will air at 8 p.m. Eastern time on ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, BET, the CW, HBO, MTV, VH1, and many more cable networks, as well as websites like YouTube, Hulu, and MySpace. Basically, if you turn on your TV on Friday night, it'll probably be playing "Hope for Haiti Now". It'll feature performances from folks like Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay, Justin Timberlake, Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys, Wyclef Jean, Shakira, and Stevie Wonder. On Saturday morning, every song from the telethon will be for sale at iTunes, with all proceeds going to Haitian relief charities.

And just as we did yesterday and the day before, we've got a several more Haiti benefits from the music world to report:

 

Echo Chamber: Goner Records Founder Eric Friedl's Eulogy for Jay Reatard

Echo Chamber: Goner Records Founder Eric Friedl's Eulogy for Jay Reatard

"People asked me if there were any signs that his death was coming and I had to think. Jimmy renamed himself Jay Reatard. I run a label called Goner. Most of his lyrics are filled with death, disaster, and anger. But to me Goner isn't a prediction, it's a condition. Reatard, for Jay, is how he was branded by his schoolmates from acting out in class. We work against these words, fight for our success, despite the situation. Jay never meant for this to happen."

-- Goner Records founder Eric Friedl, from the eulogy he delivered at Jay Reatard's memorial. (via Memphis Flyer via Daily Swarm)

Posted by Tom Breihan on January 20, 2010 at 4:30 p.m.

Tags: Echo Chamber, Jay Reatard

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Watch of Montreal's Kevin Barnes Play a New Song: "Enemy Gene"

Watch of Montreal's Kevin Barnes Play a New Song: "Enemy Gene"

Today, of Montreal frontman Kevin Barnes-- who's rocking a pretty magnificent beard these days-- Twittered, "Working on something new."

He accompanied that with a link to a video of himself at the piano, playing a minute-long sketch of a new song called "Enemy Gene." Just goes to show that there's a seriously talented musical mind at work behind all those lobster costumes.

Watch the video below. Fun fact: The superintelligent robots that run YouTube have the Behind Enemy Lines trailer at the top of the "related videos" list.

 

Video: Spoon Rock "Conan"

Amidst all the drama surrounding the end of Conan O'Brien's run on "The Tonight Show", it's easy to forget that "The Tonight Show" is still, for the moment, an actual functional talk show that regularly features things like musical guests.

One of the probable final musical guests on Conan's show was Spoon, who have been sounding tenser than ever lately. Just like Conan! Last night, the band played their wiry Transference jam "Written in Reverse". Click below to see the video, which features a bonus NBC zinger from Conan, who's been on fire with those things lately. (Via Prefix.)

Posted by Tom Breihan on January 20, 2010 at 2:45 p.m.

Tags: Spoon, TV, video

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Gorillaz Reveal Full Album Details

Plastic Beach out March 9 Gorillaz Reveal Full Album Details

UPDATE: The official stream of "Stylo" can be found HERE.

Lots of Gorillaz updates today! Just hours after first single "Stylo" (featuring Mos Def and Bobby Womack) leaked, it has been announced that the new Gorillaz album, Plastic Beach, will be out in the U.S. on March 9 via Virgin. "Stylo" will be be officially released January 26.

Here's the story behind the album, according to a press release: "The band have taken up residence, recording on a secret floating island deep in the South Pacific, a Plastic Beach HQ, made up of the detritus, debris and washed up remnants of humanity. This Plastic Beach is the furthest point from any landmass on Earth; the most deserted spot on the planet."

Guests on the album include Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed, Barry Gibb, De La Soul, Mark E. Smith from the Fall, Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, and Mick Jones and Paul Simonon of the Clash. UPDATE: Though Barry Gibb was rumored to be on the album, in actuality, he isn't.

The full tracklist, along with the "Stylo" single cover, is below.

 

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