Photos: LCD Soundsystem [New York, NY; 03/30/07]

With this past weekend's preview gigs in the can, LCD's North American (and beyond) parade proper kicks off for real at Coachella on April 28.








[MORE...]

Ashlee Simpson Working With Robert Smith?!?!
I've been looking so long at these pieces of me that I almost believe that they're real

Plasticine-faced pop auteur and slept-on sibling Ashlee Simpson deserves a little credit; most prefab sprouts would've given up the ghost-vocals after an ill-timed late-night hoedown like hers. But Ash (or, more likely, Papa Joe) don't take no mess, and she's soldiered on, issuing the tough-as-nails I Am Me, taking a role in a London stage-production of Chicago, and, now, as EW.com reports, announcing a truly-bizarre but potentially cred-boosting list of contributors for her upcoming third album.

John Legend, Timbaland, the unfamous guy from the Neptunes, the dude from Keane that didn't go to rehab, perpetual should've been Kenna: the only eyebrow Ashlee's amassed agenda of collaborators raises is the absence of total whore Scott Storch (maybe Timmy shooed him off).

But when you add Robert Smith-- yes, that Robert Smith, the one from the Cure/that poster in your bedroom from when you were 15-- into the fray, you've tipped the scales of incredulousness. Is this an April Fool's joke, Entertainment Weekly?!

Maybe it's not so surprising after all; you may recall that Blink-182's self-titled 2003 effort featured a guest vocal from Mr. Smith (supposedly a longtime fan), or that the gents from South Park managed to coerce the seemingly-humorless Smith into slaying Mecha-Streisand in an early episode. But Ashlee Simpson-- more talented than she's often portrayed for sure, but still the co-author of "you make me wanna la-la"-- pairing with scene hero Robert Smith is perplexing at best, disheartening at worst. What results from the link-up remains to be seen, but something tells us we're still better off placing our wagers on Mike Watt and Kelly Clarkson.

In more pedestrian Smith news, the Cure will headline Japan's Fuji Rock Festival, going down July 27-29. And a note on their website hints at a few tentatively-scheduled spots: Hong Kong July 30, Singapore August 1, and a stop in Australia without a date attached.

Stream: Ashlee Simpson: Various Tracks
Video: The Cure: Just Like Heaven [from the Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me LP]

Dizzee Rascal Reveals New Album Details

Dizzee Rascal has set a June 4 UK release date for Maths & English, which will come out on XL and Dizzee's own Dirtee Stank label. June 4 also happens to be the release date of fellow grime MC/Dizzee nemesis Wiley's new one, Playtime Is Over.

According to Dazeddigital.com, the previously reported Joss Stone track was scrapped (whew!), but Maths & English still features Lily Allen on "Might As Well Quit". Other collaborators include UGK ("Where Da G's"), the Arctic Monkeys ("Temptation"), and Newham Generals ("Lemon"). Maths features production from Dizzee's manager and long-time collaborator Cage, Future Trax, and Shy FX, who produced "Da Feelin", "Industry", and "World's Gone Crazy".

In addition to "Pussy'ole", Dazeddigital.com also has the names of a few of Maths' raunchier numbers: "Suck My Dick", "stripper anthem" "Flex", and "Bubbles", which covers tried-and-true hip hop themes "money, gash, and champagne."

Maths' first single, "Sirens", will debut on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show tonight, with a release planned for May 21. Director Wiz is responsible for the song's video.

Dizzee will play several European festivals this summer, but his first show is a club date in Porto, Portugal on April 14. [MORE...]

Stream: Dizzee Rascal: Various Tracks

Photos: Sufjan Stevens [Grand Rapids, MI; 03/30/07]

T.V. Eye: April 2-8, 2007

Pitchfork's T.V. Picks for This Week:

Monday, April 2:

CBS: "Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson": The Noisettes

Tuesday, April 3:

CBS: "Late Show With David Letterman": Nas

Wednesday, April 4:

NBC: "Late Night With Conan O'Brien": Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Thursday, April 5:

ABC: "Good Morning America": Regina Spektor
NBC: "Late Night With Conan O'Brien": Kaiser Chiefs
CBS: "Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson": Ice Cube, Omarion

Friday, April 6:

NBC: "Late Night With Conan O'Brien": Albert Hammond Jr.
NBC: "Last Call With Carson Daly": Bloc Party

Sunday, April 8:

MTV: "Subterranean": Ted Leo 

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah to Europe

MP3: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: Love Song No. 7 [from the Some Loud Thunder]

The Rapture Announce Spring/Summer Tour

Whoo! Alright! Let's fall apart! The Rapture have announced their grueling tour schedule for the spring and summer of 2007, which places them on the road from April through July. (OK, they get June off.)

The trek takes them around the world, from Australia and Japan to North America to Europe, touring alongside the likes of the Killers, Shiny Toy Guns, and, of course, Daft Punk.

They're even playing the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, Florida-- where Anna Nicole Smith died! [MORE...]

Video: The Rapture: Whoo! Alright - Yeah...Uh Huh. [from the Pieces of the People We Love LP]

Hold Steady, M. Ward Pay Tribute to Bruce Springsteen
Plus: Badly Drawn Boy, Steve Earle, Ronnie Spector, Josh Ritter

"The Music of Bruce Springsteen" straps its hands across the engines of New York City's Carnegie Hall on April 5. The Boss-baiting benefit bonanza, produced by Knitting Factory founder Michael Dorf, will feature live Bruce covers from the Hold Steady, M. Ward, Juliana Hatfield, Steve Earle, Ronnie Spector (with Jesse Malin), Badly Drawn Boy, Josh Ritter, Elysian Fields, North Mississippi Allstars, Pete Yorn, and more.

Video: Bruce Springsteen: Dancing in the Dark [from the Born in the U.S.A. LP]

New Pornos, Malkmus, De La Soul Added to P4K Fest
Also Battles and the Ponys!

Stakes is high! The Pitchfork Music Festival, taking place July 13-15 at Union Park in Chicago, is pleased to pull back the curtain on several additions to our all-star lineup: indie rock heavy hitters the New Pornographers and Stephen Malkmus, hip-hop legends De La Soul, art-rock supergroup Battles, and hometown heroes and recent Matador signings the Ponys!

All will join the company of previously announced festival performers Cat Power, Clipse, Of Montreal, Iron and Wine, Girl Talk, Jamie Lidell, Grizzly Bear, Professor Murder, Ken Vandermark's Powerhouse Sound, and, of course, Sonic Youth performing their landmark 1988 album Daydream Nation (in collaboration with All Tomorrow's Parties' Don't Look Back).

If that's looking pretty good to you so far, keep in mind, more than 40 artists will perform at this year's Pitchfork fest-- we haven't even announced half of them yet! Plus, there are still two more artists to announce who, like Sonic Youth, will be performing their classic albums as part of Friday's ATP/Don't Look Back festival kickoff.

Here's the lineup as it stands today:

Friday, July 13:

Sonic Youth performs Daydream Nation

Saturday, July 14:

Cat Power
Clipse
Iron and Wine
Girl Talk
Grizzly Bear
Battles
Professor Murder

Sunday, July 15:

New Pornographers
Stephen Malkmus
De La Soul
Of Montreal
Jamie Lidell
The Ponys
Ken Vandermark's Powerhouse Sound

Tickets are on sale now at Ticketweb. Three-day passes cost $50, Friday night costs $15, Saturday and Sunday individual passes cost $25, and a Saturday/Sunday pass costs $35.

Keep up on all the latest festival news and details by bookmarking the Pitchfork Music Festival webpage and by tuning into the Pitchfork Music Festival podcast.

Dan Deacon Spazzes Across America Some More

Dan Deacon is his name. He's just signed to Carpark, he has an LP called Spiderman of the Rings out May 8 (and some reissues as well), and he's out there right now, terrorizing the status quo with his own bonkers brand of electronic pop.

Deacon has tacked a whole mess of dates onto his tour since we last reported, including a couple with similarly spastic Girl Talk, and quite a few with road warriors ADULT. and Parts & Labor. Catch him before he's the next Death Cab for Cutie. [MORE...]

MP3: Dan Deacon: The Crystal Cat [from the forthcoming Spiderman of the Rings LP]

Jana Hunter Sets Home Free, Tours
C'est chic, le freak-folk

Texan songstress and Gnomonsong signee Jana Hunter will cast off the shackles of domesticity on her sophomore disc, There's No Home, heading to the buyer's market April 2. Fans of the strummy stuff may recall "Farm, CA," the Hunter tune stuck in the mangy beard that was the Devendra Banhart-curated Golden Apples of the Sun freak folk showcase record, as well as her own well-received 2005 effort Blank Unstaring Heirs of Doom.

Recorded at a friend's home in Houston, There's No Home packs plenty of the cathedral-ceiling harmonies, finger-plucked acoustic guitars, and freeform song structure you've come to expect from the freak-folkies. Guest-turns on the record are slim given the collective's tendency towards collaboration, but Jana's brother John Hunter contributes a few vocals, and John Adams of the Fatal Flying Guilloteens and Matt Brownlie of Bring Back the Guns handle a few instrumental duties.

The now Home-less Hunter will hit the road for a number of U.S. dates through April, then take a spin around Europe this May. [MORE...]

Stream: Jana Hunter: Various Tracks

Gonzales Enlists Feist, Jamie Lidell for DVD
Also releases solo album

Electro-MC, symphony-minded producer, Feist/Jamie Lidell/Daft Punk/Peaches collaborator, and sometimes-solo pianist Gonzales has of late been working a little harder on that "sometimes" gig, as evidenced by the Solo Piano CD he'll drop on our heads April 3. Yeah, so maybe the creative synapses weren't fully firing in the title department, but that doesn't mean Gonzales won't blow minds with his signature blend of classical forms and electronic flourishes.

Gonzales has been tickling ivories aplenty of late in his Piano Vision performance series, which finds him on the bench by his lonesome, schooling a "masterclass" of stage-storming audience members, and capping things off with appearances by the likes of Feist, Jamie Lidell and Mocky. Gonzales' vision will see its way to you in DVD form May 8 when From Major to Minor, a film capturing Gonzales and friends at play, sees release. Note that the US release of this DVD will differ from the double-disc version already available in Europe.

Gonzales is also looking to unlock his 88 keys for a handful of late-spring dates. [MORE...]

Video: Gonzales: Take Me to Broadway

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.)