Tiny Vipers Raises Hands on Sub Pop

Photo by David Belisle

Sub Pop Records: indie lifestyle label? Once midwife to grunge, the celebrated Seattle imprint now seems happy to offer indie musics for all occasions. Planning a party? Crank that CSS record. Wooing a crush? Take your pick: Postal Service, Iron and Wine, the Album Leaf, or Dntel. Funny bone need a tickling? Try the Cross/Mirman/Oswalt hat trick. Neighbors getting on your nerves? Wolf Eyes and Pissed Jeans to the rescue!

And if you're feeling down-and-out, alone and isolated, a wee bit weepy and self-pity-prone, or just plain contemplative, perhaps the debut from Seattle singer-songwriter Jesy Fortino, aka Tiny Vipers, is just the thing for you. Her previously mentioned Sub Pop hello (now an LP), Hands Across the Void, arrives July 24 and includes seven tracks of spare, quiet brooding and aching melancholia. Just the thing for a rainy day or a post-CSS comedown.

Tiny Vipers play Seattle's Chop Suey tonight (May 15), along with Sub Pop offshoot Hardly Art's first signing, Arthur & Yu. [MORE...]

Deerhunter's Cox Talks LP3, Atlas Sound, Dresses
"All this has ever been to me is a little boy fantasy that I've had since I was a kid."

Photo by Greg Silver

It's difficult to reconcile the affable, chatty offstage Bradford Cox with the guy up there smearing himself in fake blood, sun-dress poking out from under his Tupac t-shirt. But Cox's transformation from self-described "unassuming dork" to galvanizing force behind Deerhunter seems as natural and engrossing as this year's throbbing, hypnotic Cryptograms. Cox is startlingly candid in his words and remarkably insightful about his own creative process, and, just as Deerhunter's music possesses a human warmth that belies its often distant, muddied sonics, Cox's manner reflects the charm that sets Cryptograms apart from so much other noise rock. Pitchfork spoke with Bradford recently about the shift in sound the band is making on their forthcoming third album Microcastle, his love of the LP form, and the root of his affinity for ladies' apparel-- not to mention the Arcade Fire's skill at Whirlyball.

Pitchfork: Much has been made of the leap you guys took, musically, between Deerhunter [the band's 2004 self-titled debut] and Cryptograms.

Bradford Cox: With Deerhunter, we were just happy to get a record out; it was kind of like premature ejaculation, you know what I mean? We totally stuck it in, and it was like, "whoa... oh, sorry." I'm so ashamed of it because the mixing and the vocals are distorted.

But I really am happy with Cryptograms. I'm so, so elated that it got a good response. Because it's like, we really tried so hard. It wasn't like we shit it out and we're just too cool... it's kind of like shitting in front of somebody, or shitting in public. It's embarrassing. We really tried so hard and put everything we could into it. Unlike the first record, I really am satisfied with it. So my satisfaction means to me, "okay, let's explore something totally different."

Pitchfork: So the next record, then, will be a departure from Cryptograms?

Bradford Cox: I'm more interested in the micro-structure. I want things to be a lot shorter, I don't want there to be as much long-windedness to it. I want it to be more collage-like. I think maybe the next record will sound a little dirtier or more blown-out or something. Less droney, less mopey. There will probably be a little less ambience. I definitely like trying on different clothes in terms of sound. I wouldn't want to repeat the next record either. I really like so many types of recording styles and so many different types of music and stuff, I think it would be a waste of time to try and find a sound and duplicate it, you know what I mean? I don't want to become a one trick band or anything like that.

I'll tell you this, here's an exclusive for Pitchfork: the next album is going to be called Microcastle. Swear to God. [MORE...]

Exclusive: Leo, Johnston, Circulatory System Do Popfest
Plus: Dark Meat, Bunnygrunt, Casper & the Cookies, American Revolution [ft. Robert Schneider]

Hand-holders, flower-waterers, sticker-collectors: gather round. You too, barrette-donning barista girl and cokebottle glasses guy. And the forest critters and imaginary friends as well. It's time to get all twee up in this bitch. Twee like the fourth annual Athens Popfest, titivating the confines of that Georgian college town's 40 Watt Club and Little Kings Shuffle Club from August 8-11, 2007.

Actually twee frequently proves a misnomer with this initial lineup, which suggests Athens' fest-- presented by beloved local indie-pop imprint Happy Happy Birthday to Me-- seeks to paint Pop in gleefully broad strokes. We have the electrified power-pop of Ted Leo and his Pharmacists, the unabashed, heart-on-sleeve folk-pop ditties of Daniel Johnston, and the psych-pop digressions of the enigmatic and elusive Elephant 6-affiliated Circulatory System, who had better put out their damn second album soon, or I'll cry.

Add to that a rare performance from the American Revolution (featuring Robert Schneider of the Apples in Stereo and Craig Morris of HHBTM act Ideal Free Distribution, who also play) and sets from cuddlecore titans Bunnygrunt, sprawling Athens supergroup Dark Meat, eclectic glam-poppers Casper & the Cookies, Iowa's wacky Poison Control Center, and Apples offshoot the High Water Marks, and you've already got yet another Popfest worth getting giddy about.

This Popfest is not to be confused, of course, with the Memorial Day weekend bash of the same name going down in New York and featuring several of the same twee superstars.

Schedules and additional acts for Athens Popfest 2007 will be announced on the fest's website in the near future. The rest of the lineup to date: Elekibass, Red Pony Clock, Cars Can Be Blue, Baby Calendar, the Smittens, Venice Is Sinking, the New Sound of Numbers, Yellow Fever, M Coast, Darren Hanlon, We Versus the Shark, Cinemechanica, How I Became the Bomb, Velcro Stars, Kite Flying Society, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Fishboy, Ryan Anderson, Birds of Avalon, Violet Vector & the Lovely Lovelies, Titans of Filth, Patience Please, Hat Company, Christopher's Liver, Black Kids, and Jerk Alert.

Depeche Mode Remaster/Reissue Hysteria Culminates

So you splurged on the Depeche Mode vinyl back in the day, and those new-fangled cassette things, and the CDs when those came out, plus like all 22 greatest hits/singles collections, the Gahan and Gore solo stuff, and even-- during a Saturday afternoon lapse of judgment in 1992-- a minidisc of Violator. You are the supreme Depeche Mode fanboy/fangirl, and we tip our hats to you.

You've of course also been all over the recent spate of remastered reissues, spanning DM's illustrious catalog and repackaging classic albums from the Essex quartet-turned-trio with DVDs, bonus tracks, deluxe gatefold cases-- the works. Today's news may then strike you as bittersweet, as Depeche Mode have announced the final two reissues in their ambitious remasters campaign: 1997's post-rehab set Ultra, and post-millenial comedown disc Exciter, from 2001. Those holding out for a deluxe Playing the Angel remaster, we feel your pain. Maybe next year.

Both discs hit stores July 24 via Rhino and come bolstered with the usual extras, including a DVD with 5.1 Audio/Enhanced Stereo of live tracks, alternate versions, rarities, and B-sides. Specifically, Ultra also includes singles collection standout "Only When I Lose Myself", and B-sides "Painkiller", "Slowblow", and "Headstar", plus three tracks recorded live in London. Exciter, meanwhile, bundles a cover of the Stooges' "Dirt", B-side "Zenstation", alternate versions of "Easy Tiger" and "When the Body Breaks", and a bunch of live jams from Paris. Both DVDs also include video featurettes and interviews.

In other Depeche Mode news, Dave Gahan hopes to release his next solo album-- the followup to 2003's Paper Monsters-- in October 2007. Superfans, let the quest for a pre-order link begin! [MORE...]

RJD2, Banana Rum, Napoleon Dynamite = WTF
OK, this fan-generated video contest thing has officially gone too far

Some things defy explanation except as the sum of their parts, and the "How Do You Banana Malibu?" video contest is a prime example. Here are the contest's parts: RJD2, an expanded "flavor portfolio," YouTube, "Day-O (Banana Boat Song)", the guy who played Pedro in Napoleon Dynamite, and the choice between a tropical banana grove or $25,000 in cash.

Obviously, alcohol is also involved.

For those whose brains have not exploded, here's how the items on that list fit together: According to a press release, rum brand Malibu is introducing banana into its "vibrant flavor portfolio," and to do so, the company is sponsoring a video contest through YouTube.

Until June 13, contestants (fill out entry form here) can upload video accompaniments of the Malibu Banana-commissioned RJD2 remix (download here) of the fruit's definitive song, the immortally inane spring break classic known as "Day-O (Banana Boat Song)".

The viral video public will then determine the 10 best videos by June 22, and on June 25, Efren Ramirez-- aka the guy who played Pedro in Napoleon Dynamite-- will select the winner "based on creativity, originality, and capturing the spirit of Malibu."

That winner will receive "the deeds to a lush tropical banana grove or a $25,000 cash prize alternative," and if that person chooses the former, we wish him or her good luck explaining to the roommates the sudden presence of a banana grove in the apartment to. "Um, what banana grove?"

You must be 21+ to enter the contest, and each person depicted in the video must be at least 25 (click here for the full list of contest rules). Since the most prolific YouTube users usually seem to fall short of both age requirements, I will be out on the tetherball court selling fakes at recess starting today.

Patton Oswalt Confronts Werewolves on Sub Pop Debut

Photo by Ryan Russell

Patton Oswalt has joined the ranks of David Cross and Eugene Mirman as a comedian on Sub Pop. He will release his debut for the label, Werewolves and Lollipops, on July 10. Werewolves is his second full-length album, but he's been a comedian for almost 20 years and has appeared pretty much everywhere recently with his funny friends, including the aforementioned Cross and Mirman, Sarah Silverman, Human Giant, and the Comedians of Comedy. And the list goes on.

Oswalt has also appeared in numerous television series-- including "The King of Queens" and "Reno 911!"-- and will provide the voice for the lead character in the latest Pixar flick, Ratatouille, about a rat named Remy who aspires to be a gourmet chef. We hope Werewolves' 19th track, "Great Food Is Cooked by Psychos", addresses this matter in hilarious fashion.

The voice behind Remy the rat will head out on a U.S. tour in June, though he has a ton of shows in L.A. before then, and-- for those who plan that far ahead-- one D.C. date scheduled all the way in October. Mark your calendars. [MORE...]

Aereogramme Call It Quits

Photo by Jayne Duncan

After nearly 10 years together, Scottish rockers Aereogramme are finishing the last of their currently scheduled tour dates and disbanding.

In a statement on their MySpace blog, they explain that their reasons for breaking up "are multiple and complex. It is however fair to say that the never-ending financial struggle coupled with an almost superhuman ability to dodge the zeitgeist have taken their toll, ensuring that we just don't have any fight left in us. We are immensely proud of the four albums that we made over the past seven years [including 2007's My Heart Has a Wish That You Would Not Go]. We hope that they continue to grow in your hearts. We plan to honor and celebrate the beautiful friendships we have made along the way with these final shows over the summer."

The band's final club dates begin May 30 in Aberdeen, Scotland, and though they have four festival dates afterward (including one in Scotland), they wish for fans to consider their June 16 show in their hometown of Glasgow as their farewell UK show.

The quartet's statement ends with fond sentiments: "Finally, we want to thank you all for listening to our music and coming to our shows over the years. You have given us a glimpse of something truly special."

Thanks to reader Martin Allen for the tip.

A casual browse through Aereogramme's other MySpace blog entries uncovers evidence that the split is hardly the result of a spontaneous decision. In an April entry documenting the band's thwarted North American tour with the Twilight Sad and A Northern Chorus, bassist Campbell McNeil wrote the following in a rant about depressingly vulgar dressing room graffiti, raising a good question:

"If I was in that type of band [to write on dressing room walls] and I was the designated scribe, my repertoire would consist of just one phrase. And I would write it on every dressing room wall in every venue in text a foot high as one man's cry for sanity. It would simply read WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF? It's a basic enough question but one that I feel too few musicians ask themselves.

"You see, being in a band is like being in prison. You start to become institutionalized, you start to accept the unacceptable and you stop thinking about how and why you got there in the first place. We once toured with a German band called Kate Mosh. The Question was rearing its ugly head within me for the first time and I shared the thought with the band's drummer, a nice chap whose name now eludes me, he had no answer and looked confused and worried. He quit the band and music 2 months later. It is a wise man who knows his own mind and has the courage to act upon it.

"As you can probably guess things haven't been going too well on our first foray into the U.S. in almost 4 years. A string of bad luck so prolonged and so ugly that it would shake the conviction of even the most confirmed atheist. Surely someone up or down there has taken a personal interest in our endeavor, thereby ensuring that I find myself asking The Question on an almost hourly basis. Botched visa applications, a 7 hour visa interview hell, canceled shows, canceled flights, delayed flights, no backline, no vehicle, broken vehicle, broken promises and a level of financial uncertainty that has seen the tour dubbed Aereogramme: Live Without A Net 2007. Combine this with a market appeal that appears to have become shall we say, "selective" and you're probably starting to see where we're at." [MORE...]

Ted Leo, Tapes 'n Tapes Help Human Giant Invade MTV
If this disrupts Adventures in Hollyhood in my TiVo to-do list, I am gonna bug out

Like us, the suits up there on the top floor of MTV must have taken a shine to Aziz, Paul and Rob, aka the boys of Human Giant. (Perhaps they thought "Shutterbugs" was some sort of homage to corporate tastemaking?) The errantly-named network will hand over both MTV and its bohemian, chain-smoking cousin MTV2 to the boys for 24 hours starting at noon on Friday, May 18. According to Aziz Ansari's blog, they're letting the boys' wildest fantasies come alive:

"Last week, MTV told us we could get 24 hours on MTV and MTV2 to do whatever we want. So this Friday at noon - we'll take over both channels for a full day and will host live from MTV's Times Square studio. They're literally letting us do whatever we want - we can program whatever shows we want, have guests, bands, music videos, anything! We just have to stay up for 24 hours and get a million hits on our website."

So it's like a telethon in support of nothing, then? Cool with us.

The trio's got a rowdy roundup of guests in the works, primarily from the comedy side of things, with more to be announced: Will Arnett and Michael Cera of Arrested Development, Eugene Mirman, Zach Galifianakis, the Daily Show's Rob Riggle, Andy Blitz, Jon Glaser, Slovin and Allen, and Jon Benjamin. On the musical tip, they're no slouches, either: Ted Leo, Tapes 'n Tapes, Tegan and Sara, and, yikes, Morningwood.

One presumes there'll be plenty of pop-ins, too, and a block of MC Skat Kat videos come 4 AM. A boy can dream, right?

Those looking to get in on the action and be in the audience (for free!) can e-mail their name, age and phone number to battleofthebands@mtv.com.

Elliott Smith Remembered With Photo Book, Live CD

Elliott Smith will be remembered with a photo book titled Elliott Smith and compiled by Autumn De Wilde, who famously captured the late singer-songwriter in front of the blue-and-red swirl of a Sunset Boulevard locale for the cover of 2000's Figure 8, Billboard reports.

According to Billboard, Elliott Smith is tentatively scheduled for a November release by Chronicle Books. The book gathers over 200 pages of De Wilde's many photos of Elliott, as well as handwritten lyrics and interviews with Smith's sister Ashley Welch and friends Ben Gibbard, Sam Coomes (of Quasi and Smith's old band Heatmiser), Matthew Caws (Nada Surf), and Jon Brion. Proceeds from the book will be donated to the SIMS Foundation, which provides affordable mental health care to musicians, and Portland-based homeless youth advocacy group Outside In.

The book will also include a five-song CD featuring previously unreleased live acoustic tracks recorded by Smith at L.A.'s Largo club. The CD features a trio of Smith fan favorites-- Either/Or's "Angeles" and "Between the Bars", and "Clementine" from his self-titled LP-- as well as covers of Quasi's "Clouds" and Hank Williams Jr.'s "All My Rowdy Friends Have Settled Down".

In other Elliott Smith news, New Moon, a double-disc collection of Smith rarities, was released May 8 on Kill Rock Stars.

For Carnation EPs Reissued by Touch and Go

If the name of Louisville post-rockers the For Carnation doesn't strike a chord, it could be cuz they've largely rested on their laurels since the release of their debut self-titled LP at the turn of the century. Heck, this is a band whose old label still links to a defunct Geocities page as their official website, to give you some idea of how long it's been.

Or it could be because the For Carnation were always doomed to be overshadowed by main man Brian McMahan's other band, Slint. (McMahan was also in Squirrel Bait and played with Will Oldham in the Palace days.)

But this summer, just as Slint themselves re-emerge from the shadows, the For Carnation will bloom again. On July 10, Touch and Go will reissue two For Carnation EPs, 1995's Fight Songs and 1996's Marshmallows (both originally on Matador), compiled together into a set titled Promised Works. On these tracks, McMahan was joined by members of Tortoise as well as Slint-mate David Pajo.

Don't forget, Slint are on tour this summer, playing their classic Spiderland album in full. Thanks to the fine folks at All Tomorrow's Parties/Don't Look Back, their first stop in North America will be July 13 at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago's Union Park! [MORE...]

Photos: The Thermals / Menomena Invade High School [Portland, OR; 05/11/07]

Photos by Nilina Mason-Campbell

The first of two homegrown headline bands to take the stage Friday night at Portland's Cleveland High School auditorium-- as a part of a benefit to raise funds for music programs in Portland public schools (which, to maximize the geographical confusion, was organized by student government at PDX's Lincoln High School)-- Menomena played a rousing set, alternating between laptops and live instrumentation-- including that signature saxophone.

The Thermals closed out the evening, entering with a "Good evening, Cleveland!"-- the irony seemingly lost on the majority of the predominantly teenage crowd. Keeping things PC, they performed tracks from a set list that stretched over two taped together sheets of paper and spanned much of their catalog.

The bands then mingled with students, faculty, and other concert-goers in the hallways of the high school to cap off a unique, slightly surreal, one-off charity night.

The Thermals hit up ATP vs. the Fans this weekend to kick off a hefty overseas trek, while Menomena's summer escapades have them romping across the U.S. and Canada, destination: the Pitchfork Music Festival.

THE THERMALS




MENOMENA

[MORE...]

T.V. Eye: May 14-20, 2007

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

Tuesday, May 15:

CBS: "Late Show With David Letterman": Wilco
ABC: "Jimmy Kimmel Live": Feist

Wednesday, May 16:

PBS: "Tavis Smiley": Lily Allen
NBC: "Late Night With Conan O'Brien": Silversun Pickups
CBS: "Late Show With David Letterman": Mavis Staples
CBS: "Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson": Modest Mouse

Thursday, May 17:

CBS: "Late Show With David Letterman": Rufus Wainwright
NBC: "Late Night With Conan O'Brien": M. Ward
Fuel: "The Daily Habit": Cursive

Friday, May 18:

CBS: "Late Show With David Letterman": Elvis Costello
NBC: "Late Night With Conan O'Brien": Blonde Redhead
NBC: "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno": Peter Bjorn & John

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.)