Exploding Hearts' Bankston Cooks Up Memphis Treet

Though he left Exploding Hearts before the release of their first (and, sadly, only) album, Guitar Romantic, "King" Louie Bankston has carried the rock torch for his former bandmates since the untimely deaths of the Hearts' Jeremy Gage, Adam Cox, and Matthew Fitzgerald in a 2003 automobile accident.

Bankston has recorded in several incarnations in recent years. His most recent full-length, Memphis Treet, is credited to King Louie & the Loose Diamonds, a group that includes members of Tearjerkers, Kajun SS, and Viva L'American Deathray Music. The record was mixed by the legendary Jim Dickinson, who has produced Big Star, the Replacements, and many, many others.

Empty Records will release Memphis Treet on June 5.

Thanks to reader Ben Glover for the tip.

The Nice Boys, the new band from surviving Heart Terry Six, released their self-titled debut album last year. They have a few shows scheduled for the end of May in the Pacific Northwest. [MORE...]

Sufjan Pens Eggers' Nonrequired Collection Intro

When the 2007 edition of The Best American Nonrequired Reading hits bookshelves (in paperback and hardcover formats) on October 10 of this year, it'll come packed with one extra reason to make fans of literate, sensitive white guys get all McSwooney.

In addition to series editor Dave Eggers (of You Shall Know Our Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius fame), who once again selects the essays, short stories, screenplays, comics, blogs(!), and lit ephemera that comprise this eclectic collection, the sixth volume in the annual series will feature an introduction penned by Sufjan Stevens, very much in touch with his literary side in recent months.

Sufjan follows in the inkblots of previous Nonrequired intro scribes like Beck, Matt Groening, Viggo Mortensen, and Zadie Smith. We'd venture to guess that #1 Decemberists fan Carson Ellis did the cover art for this one.

Published by Houghton Mifflin, The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2007 also includes contributions from Stephen Colbert, Alison Bechdel, Matt Klam, Scott Carrier, Lee Klein, and others. Students from Eggers' 826 Valencia writing center helped the editor choose material for this year's collection.

Interpol, CSS, Bloc Party Play San Fran's BFD
Also: Kaiser Chiefs, QOTSA, the Faint

The BFD-- a yearly grand day out put on by San Fran terrestrial radio station KITS Live 105-- is, as its name would suggest, a Big Festival Day (wink). And this year, it's gotten even bigger, featuring indie-friendly (though, curiously, not always radio-friendly) acts like Interpol, Queens of the Stone Age, Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, CSS, the Faint, Cold War Kids, and Silversun Pickups.

Though the rest of the lineup is peppered with the likes of Sum 41 and the Bravery, there's always the chance you could catch Sum 41 hubby Avril Lavigne skulking around, yelling at babies or something.

BFD will rattle Mountain View, CA's Shoreline Amphitheatre on June 9.

Dinosaur Jr. Touring All Over

It wasn't enough for Dinosaur Jr. to stage one of the finest indie rock resuscitation of all time; they had to go and make it stick.

The prehistoric prog-poppers, who've gotta be feeling good about their immensely satisfying, freshly-issued record Beyond, have added a whole lot of dates to the back end of their tour. What's more, Lou Barlow himself will pull double-duty as he opens a handful of the band's U.S. dates by his lonesome.

In other Dinosaur Jr. news, the guys are involved in few new DVD projects: one being a compilation of performances from the Netherlands' Vera Club, and the other a live set captured at a number of locales on their 2005 tour. The Vera Club DVD's is out now in limited Euro-only edition; Live in the Middle East, as the latter's called, is out May 29 from Image Entertainment. And Barlow backers will be glad to know there's a 52- track reissue of Sebadoh's debut out July 10 from Domino, too.

And don't forget that on June 11, Dinosaur Jr. will perform an 8:00 pm free show at the Urban Outfitters in  Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as part of Free Yr Radio. Remember, that Yaris thing that benefits local community radio stations? This show benefits WERS.

Man, if real dinosaurs moved this fast, we'd all be dead. [MORE...]

Brightblack Morning Light Kick Off Euro Tour Tonight

Keeping it fine and mellow is Brightblack Morning Light's business, and business is booming. The repose-rockers-- still flying high on the strength of last year's fine self-titled debut-- have soared all the way to the great European beyond for a string of dates ("The Many Nations Peaceful Crystal Totem Turr") kicking off tonight in London.

They'll switch off club sets with stints at some of the continent's biggest festivals before taking a big ol' vacation through most of June. That is, unless they schedule more dates, or plan to spend the month kicking around Holland, both of which we'd believe. Set an alarm, guys. [MORE...]

The Horrors Ditch BRMC, Schedule Solo Dates

It turns out the Horrors have love for the U.S. after all. Though their debut LP, Strange House, was previously reported as a UK-only release on Loog Records, the album is out in the U.S. today via Stolen Transmission.

The London quintet have canceled their North American tour partnership with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, but they will celebrate the album's release with a North American headlining tour beginning June 4 in Brooklyn. After wrapping things up on these shores in June, the band will head to Europe for a couple fistfuls of festival dates. [MORE...]

Prince, Andre, Kweli, Rhymefest on Cornel West LP
Plus: Black Thought, Killer Mike, KRS-One, Dead Prez's M-1, Michael Eric Dyson

Dr. Cornel West-- prominent intellectual and scholar, author of Race Matters and Democracy Matters, and current professor of religion at Princeton-- follows up his 2001 foray into recorded music, Sketches of My Culture, with another CD marrying the topics of the day with beats and rhymes. And this time he's brought some friends.

Prince, Outkast's Andre 3000, Talib Kweli, Rhymefest, the Roots' Black Thought, Killer Mike, KRS-One, Dead Prez's M-1, and Rah Digga all contribute to Dr. West's Never Forget: A Journey of Revelations, out June 19 on soul imprint Hidden Beach's new Hidden Beach Forum offshoot, according to Billboard.com.

"This is an attempt to go back to hip-hop's prophetic roots," West told the publication, "which are about truth-telling, exposing lies, and having fun."

Fellow thinkers Michael Eric Dyson and Tavis Smiley also guest, as does singer Gerald Levert, who passed away last fall. [MORE...]

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.

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.)