Monday News Mash-Up

John “Marmaduke” Dawson, lead singer and principle songwriter for 60s country rock gods The New Riders of the Purple Sage, passed away of stomach cancer Thursday. He was 64. The likes of Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Ryan Adams can attribute their early sound to the blend of hippie counterculture and Nashville country cool bred in 60′s coastal California.

Ex-Galaxie 500 couple Damon & Naomi are being compiled once more with The Sub Pop Years. The collection, obviously spanning the duo’s 1995-2002 output with Sub Pop, is not-so obviously being released by the 20|20|20 label September 8th.

The on-again/off-again talk surrounding prolonged exposure to Britpop favorites Blur seems to have found its way into the off position once more. Wave bye-bye to rumors of U.S. dates and the dream of a new Blur album. We’ll always have Glastonbury.

If there was ever a modern model to follow to find success with the self-loathing and grandiose among us, perhaps it is the path taken by Once stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova -- The Swell Season. Make a movie, tour relentlessly, and then sneakily prepare the release of your second album, Strict Joy, under the cover of Anti-. Strict Joy is due September 29 -- and no, there are no plans for Twice.

In an effort to have some of you re-examine the way music is digested, may we suggest checking out some cassettes? Goaty Tapes just released a new batch, highlighted by Circuit Des Yeux (who also has a LP coming out via De Stijl) sharing space with Cro Magdon and Bird. Not to be outdone in the weird department, EXBX just dropped five cassettes spanning the worlds of punk, collage, drone, and electronic-tinkerings. Now you have an excuse to break out your boombox and camp out on the nearest stoop.

Rumors are swirling concerning Daft Punk preparing tour dates -- or at the very least a handful of events -- behind the supposed score for 2011′s Tron Legacy. The French duo rarely grace stages with their dance hits but it seems the tide is slowly changing. Considering the soundtrack is for an uncompleted movie that isn’t due for two years, make sure to keep your excitement in check.

Their HBO program may be wrapped up nice and neat in a tight, curly bow but The Flight of the Conchords have an album’s worth of TV tunes to give onto the masses. I Told You I Was Freaky will boast songs from the second season of the duo’s eponymous program -- and though you probably bought the songs on iTunes the day after each debuted on HBO, the October 20th album will feature three unreleased show tracks -- if that’s what you’re into.

Tip of the hat to Stereogum for linking to our recent videos from White Rabbits‘ in-studio performance at KEXP. According to the website, the band has licensed their single “Percussion Gun” to accompany Ralph Lauren’s Fall Collection.

The KEXP Blog