After 16 years repping hip-hop music and culture, Vibe magazine has ceased publication. Since its inception in 1993, the magazine has chronicled hip-hop and R&B culture and even published a few books along the way.
Sometimes being a superfan can pay off: Death Cab For Cutie fan Ross Ching made his own video for the DCFC song “Little Bribes” and now Atlantic has hired him for a future video project.
Wayne Coyne has recently revealed that Karen O and MGMT collaborated with The Flaming Lips on their upcoming album. Apparently the difficulties of recording the new album, entitled Embryonic, were so great that he forgot he collaborated with them.
The fallout from these file sharing/digital downloading times has caused some major labels to rethink their strategy and take a few tips from successful independent labels. In fact, Sony has gone so far as to join forces with IODA, who provide distribution, marketing, and technology solutions for many independent labels. Whether Sony will be the changer or the changee in this new arrangement remains to be seen.
Pirating: the new business model. Seems The Pirate Bay, whose founders were recently sentenced to serve a year in jail and pay $3.6 million in damages, will be sold for over twice as much to Global Gaming Factory X AB, who plan to turn the bit torrent monster to a perfectly legal lapdog. Napster, anyone? …anyone?
Don’t look for EELS to tour their new album, Hombre Lobo, any time soon. Frontman E (Mark Oliver Everett) tells Spinner that he’d rather not “disrespect the audience by going out there and doing something that [his] heart’s not into.” At least, that’s “right now.” After three world tours in four years, he’s earned a rest… just not too long of a rest… okay, E?
U2 kicked off their new tour, their first in three years apparently (has it been that long?), at Barcelona’s Camp Nou and paid tribute to Michael Jackson by dedicating their performance of “Angel Of Harlem” to him. Bono, who reportedly called Michael “an unspeakable talent,” dropped lyrics to “Man In The Mirror” and “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” into the song. And in seeming Jacko fashion (too soon for a joke?), the Irish icons are asking fans to wear masks, but this time with the express purpose bringing attention to the incarceration of Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy in Burma, who’s been a political prisoner in her own country for 13 years. From photos submitted to the band’s website, The Edge will select the best to be featured in a gallery on U2.com.
In the sorrow caused by the deaths of Michael Jackson and Farah Fawcett, many missed the passing of Sky Saxon, a member of the The Seeds as well as Source Family — the group associated with spiritual leader and folk mystery Father YaHoWha. L.A. Record has a wonderful eulogy from current Wilco fixture and friend of Saxon, Nels Cline.
As rumors of a lengthy Blur reunion persist, the group stokes the flames with the announcement of the release of limited edition recordings of the band’s upcoming July 2nd and 3rd Hyde Park shows in London. You can pre-order the 2xCD sets or MP3s but be prepared to give up a few pounds (in currency, not in weight though it’d be a marvelous diet).
Sigur Ros is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Icelandic release of Agaetis Byrjun by making available two exclusive live performances from the album’s original launch party concert at the Icelandic Opera House on June 10, 1999. You can signup for the their mailing list and download “Hafssol” and you can watch video of “Nyja Lagid” right here:
Yoko Ono will release Between My Head and the Sky September 22nd. The album will feature son, Sean Lennon, as well as the talents of Yuka Honda and Cornelius.
Amy Milan, better known as the lovely female chanteuse of Stars, is readying her second solo album, Masters of the Burial, for a September 8th release date. The follow-up to Honey from the Tombs will feature a guest appearance from Feist (she’s everywhere!) and a cover of Death Cab for Cutie’s “I Will Follow You Into the Dark.”
Billboard announced this week that the cause of Jay Bennett’s death was an accidental overdose of fentanyl. The pain killer is prescribed to alleviate chronic pain. It was widely discussed that Jay was awaiting a hip surgery before his May 24th death.
Forget the Night Ahead is the title of the upcoming LP by The Twilight Sad LP, due in late September. The band is already offering up the first single for download:
The Twilight Sad - Reflection of the Television (MP3)
Local doom behemoths sunn O))) have the West Coast in their sites with a planned tour that kicks off with a two-night stand at Neumos August 5th and 6th.
While Seattle gears up for Bumbershoot, our friendly neighbors to the south in Portland are readying their annual blowout, Music Fest Northwest. The September 16th-19th festival announced its line-up this week, which finds the newly reunited Sunny Day Real Estate at the top of an eccentric list that includes Girl Talk, Mudhoney, Explosions in the Sky, Bad Brains, and a list too long to reproduce in this space. That’s why clickable links were invented. Look for KEXP broadcasting from MFNW once again!
Since there are no new live performances on the late night talk shows this week, it’s a good time to get caught up on some you may have missed. Don’t miss these again:
Monday, June 29
David Letterman: Steve Earle (R 6/3/09)
Jimmy Fallon: Yeah Yeah Yeahs (R 4/15/09)
Tuesday, June 30
Take the night off
Wednesday, July 1
Conan O’Brien: Taj Mahal (R 6/9/09)
Last Call: Little Boots (R 3/4/09)
Thursday, July 2
David Letterman: PJ Harvey and John Parish (R 6/12/09)
Conan O’Brien: Neko Case (R 6/11/09)
Jimmy Kimmel: Phoenix (R 6/26/09)
Friday, July 3
Jimmy Fallon: Keane (R 5/26/09)
Last Call: N.A.S.A. (R 3/6/09)
Jimmy Kimmel: Bat For Lashes (R 6/24/09)
Carson Daly was doing his new show from Seattle last week, and while he was visiting Sub Pop, our own DJ Sharlese tweeted that he should come here… so he did! Check out the video of Carson at KEXP meeting Sharlese, Kevin Cole, Rachel Ratner and others. “It’s kinda cool” he was here! (The KEXP stuff happens two minutes from the end.)
Speaking of Seattle music, Sub Pop legends Sunny Day Real Estate have announced a reunion and a 20-date fall tour. There’re also Bumbershoot rumors about the emo pioneers and, apparently, news of KEXP Twitters travel fast. The last show of their tour is fittingly here in Seattle, October 16, at the Paramount. Lucky for you, there’s a presale tomorrow, Friday 6/26, from 10AM to 10PM! Use the password “KEXP”.
Scott Kannberg, aka Spiral Stairs, will release his first solo album under his longtime nickname on Matador. The album, entitled The Real Feel, is out October 20. The former Pavement guitarist/vocalist wrangled plenty of collaborators, including Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew, but interestingly enough, no appearances by Pavement alums are on the album. I guess the reunion conspiracy theories can continue. Here’s preview of the album:
Billy Corgan is auctioning off a lunch date for one lucky fan in LA or Chicago. Times must be really rough for the lone Pumpkin left: the winner is responsible for the bill.
Ray Davies of The Kinks has confirmed that a Kinks film is on the way, with director Julien Temple on board for the project. No word yet if the movie is a biopic or documentary. Unfortunately, despite reunion rumors in late 2008 after getting back together to perform, Davies also said it’s unlikely the band will officially reunite.
The Beastie Boys have finalized detail on their new album, Hot Sauce Committee Part 1. The album, due September 15, features appearances from Santigold and Nas. Word, yo.
Armed with their new album, Dinosaur Jr. has announced a fall tour. If you look at the dates, amidst the Portland and Vancouver dates and the four-day break between San Francisco and Portland, a Seattle date is suspiciously missing…
If you hadn’t heard already, Bob Bogle, lead guitarist of The Ventures and master of the whammy bar, died this past weekend in Tacoma. He was 75. Bogle started The Ventures in Tacoma in 1958 with fellow masonry worker Don Wilson. The group was well known for their theme to the show Hawaii Five-O and “Walk, Don’t Run” and popularized if not originated the surf rock sound. Even when their popularity dwindled in the U.S., The Ventures continued performing and became, and remained, the most popular American rock group in Japan. They finally got their due at home last year when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Bogle, unfortunately, was unable to attend as a result of his decades-long struggle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma to which he finally succumbed last Sunday. His work as a music innovator will never be forgotten. Read more.
Although I’m way too young to know anything about them (today is my twenty first birthday!), Os Mutantes are apparently legends of tropicalia. The group, who reunited to perform shows a few years back, has signed with Anti- and is getting ready to release their first album of new material 35 years. Now I’ll get to know how great they are.
Jack White is non-stop, and if you still can’t get enough of him, The White Stripes are turning their 2007 Canadian Tour into a documentary. The tour had some strange stops, like a transit bus, fishing boat, and classroom, so a documentary only seems natural.
Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, has dropped his beef with Coldplay over alleged plagiarism over the British group’s hit “Viva La Vida.” Islam still believes the group took the main melody from his song “Foreigner Suite” but forgave the group and even invited them for tea. I hope he has scones and treats for Chris Martin and Co. to crush the catfight.
Chad Syme
The Raveonettes are Twittering like mad in promotion of their fourth album, which hasn’t even been recorded yet! The band has been releasing studio demos of songs and encouraging fans to live chat with them about the new songs. (The next chat is today at 12PM PST.) Join in the fun at Vice Records.
Seems like The Features‘ excellent album Some Kind of Salvation has been release several times already, but it’s apparently hitting the shelves once again as the first release of a new label (as yet unnammed) imprint co-run by Kings of Leon. According to the press release, the boys of KOL have joined up with publishing company Bug Music to sign and develop “dynamic artists that are committed as a band and writing extraordinary music.” Further details are pending.
Devo has recruited LCD Soundsystem’s main man James Murphy for a collaboration on their new album. Yes, it’s for real. Yes, it’s that awesome.
Bands announcing their late summer tours. Among them, Ra Ra Riot, who will be at Marymoor Park with Death Cab for Cutie in July; The Dodos whose forthcoming album, Time To Die, is due 9/15 on FrenchKiss and who will perform in Seattle on August 14 as part of KEXP’s Summer Concerts series at the Mural Ampitheater (free!); and Modest Mouse, who will be at Bumbershoot this year on September 7.
A frugal savings message from Sigur Ros:
“Our great friends in London Fanfarlo are making their amazing debut album, ‘Reservoir’, available for $1 (USD) until Independence Day (July 4), along with 4 exclusive bonus tracks. It’s got Sigurrós and her cousin Disa on the front cover in a pic by Jónsi’s other sis Lilja (true), and we urge you all to go and get it straight away.”
If you’re unfamiliar with Fanfarlo, keep listening to KEXP as you’re bound to hear one of our many DJ’s playing it (and they were featured recently as one of our Song of the Day podcasts), but for a buck, how can you really go wrong? Download it now here.
The Capitol Hill Block Party just added to the already stellar lineup Built to Spill, The Lonely Forest, Fences, KEXP favorites Pela! Also added: Wild Orchid Children, Awesome Color, and a reunion of dance party masters Sing Sing. How many more reasons do you need to get your tickets now?
While it may be a stretch to call themselves the Monsters of Folk, it isn’t a stretch at all to put lofty expectations of the upcoming release of Jim James, M. Ward, and Conor Oberst. The trio have traveled together in many forms through the years, so the supergroup’s self-titled album, due September 22nd, should provide fans with many jaw-dropping and goosebump inducing moments — or at least 15 songs of bliss.
Merge continues to celebrate its 20th year in existence with the recently announced release of the book, Our Noise. Written by John Cook, with help from label founders Mac McCaughan and Laura Balance as well as an introduction written by Ryan Adams, Our Noise will map the label’s beginnings while exploring its continued success. Thrown in for good measure will be artist profiles on many of Merge’s biggest and brightest, including Spoon, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Arcade Fire.
Label anniversaries abound! Warp Records, home to a wealth of ambient, electronic, and avant releases in its 20 years of existence, is putting the finishing touches on a five disc, five 10-inch box set, Warp20. Featuring some of the label’s seminal releases and a heavy dose of unreleased material, the set also comes with a 192-page hardbound book with the artwork of every Warp release through August 2009. The set will be ready by the end of September.
The on-again off-again rumors or a Blur reunion are definitely back on and there’s now proof! In fact, only a mere 150 people got to witness their return (their first performance in nearly a decade) at the East Anglian Railway Museum in Essex on Saturday. Four more warm-up gigs are expected before they take their act to the big stages of the world. Read the review here and enjoy this snippet courtesy of Blur themselves:
Clear Channel and Frontline Management, in a stab to take a bit of the audience away from the personalized and homogenized satellite radio crowd, is introducing A.P.E. (Artist Personal Experience). The program promises 24-hour online radio stations produced by musicians. Beginning in the July, the inaugural stations will consist of Weezer, The Eagles, and Christina Aguilera. The stations can be heard from any local Clear Channel radio station website, will feature advertisements, and the favorite selections of the namesake artists involved.
On the heels of last year’s Black Wooden Ceiling Opening, Phil Elverum (AKA Mount Eerie) is taking his black metal sound — kindly dubbed “black wooden” by Mr. Elverum — into the full length album spectrum with the August 18th release of Wind’s Poem.
South African band BLK JKS are preparing to follow up their critically acclaimed Mystery EP with their full-length debut, After Robots, produced by Secret Machines’ Brandon Curtis and featuring Chicago’s Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. You can preview a song here from the album, due September 8 on Secretly Canadian:
For those of you who ignore Twitter (and no one blames you), you may be missing a chance of nabbing free music from your favorite musicians. A few artists have decided to spring new material on unsuspecting fans via the 140-character driven hype site, with The Raveonettes bequeathing demos to fans via the site. Not to be outdone, Roberto Lange (Prefuse 73, Savath & Savalas) has released tracks from Tuitero Roto, his latest mini-album.
Need more free music? How about a heavy dose of early 90s computer graphics? Sub Pop is giving you both with the downloadable label mix, Cybersex.
It’s a very slow week on the late night talk show circuit this time around. Spinal Tap are “Back from the Dead” with Conan tonight while Camera Obscura is performing songs from their beautiful new album on the Late Late Show. Thursday’s the night you really need to park it on the couch, though, as Phoenix, The Dead Weather and Metric will all be live. There are only a few other highlights and your weekend is free and clear, that is, unless you want to stay home for the Jonas Brothers on SNL.
Monday, June 15
Conan O’Brien: Spinal Tap
Late Late Show: Camera Obscura
Last Call: Doves (R 5/26/09)
Tuesday, June 16
Last Call: Diane Birch
Wednesday, June 17
Last Call: Zee Avi
Ellen DeGeneres: Keane
Thursday, June 18
David Letterman: Phoenix
Conan O’Brien: The Dead Weather
Late Late Show: Metric
Last Call: Peaches
Jimmy Kimmel: Ben Harper
Friday, June 19
David Letterman: The Sounds
Last Call: The Ting Tings
Wanna feel old? The Smashing Pumpkins recently have been jamming with a 19 year old drummer named Mike Bryne, hanging out in the studio with the kid, and even working on demos with the Oregon youngster. An update on the Pumpkins website states” Billy has been working with young (19) Mike Byrne on demos. Word from the studio is that Mike is an exceptionally talented and gifted drummer and things are going very well. And that is that.” If you want to see some clips of who Corgan calls “the drummer of the future,” go here.
What other festival could host Jimmy Buffett and Passion Pit on the same night? Bonnaroo Festival in Manchester, TN, kicks off tonight and rolls through the weekend, mixing the hippie jam bands like Galactic, Gov’t Mule, and Phish with hipster jam bands like Animal Collective, The Decemberists, and Of Montreal. Check out the full lineup at Brooklyn Vegan, which also includes a list of bands whose performances AT&T will be streaming live. David Byrne (no relation to Mike above) curates his own stage tomorrow, with Santigold, St. Vincent, Dirty Projectors and Katzenjammer. Here’s The Knux pitching the festival for all of you holdouts:
In a pun taken farther than most, Pavement multi-man Bob Nastanovich took a fan out for a “Date with Ikea“. The young lady, Jenny, is pretty hell bent on getting a new bed that isn’t an air mattress.
Peanut butter and Jelly. Ying and Yang. Simon and Garfunkel. Le Tigre and… Christina Aguilera? According to Pitchfork, the brash punk dance trio are working with the former Mouseketeer in the studio. Although it may seem out of nowhere, Aguilera has recently worked in the studio with Goldfrapp, Ladytron, and Sia. Those are some seriously strong women. Who’s next, Beyonce?
Ready for the most egotistical tour of 2009? Kanye West has announced a tour later this year along with diva queen Lady Gaga. Says Kanye, “We’re doing it together, with no opening act.” With two heads that big, we’ll see how that works out. Glitz. Glamour. Gaga. Gag me.
Okay, maybe not as weird, but Britpop icons Oasis enlisted freak folk hippie Devendra Banhart to remix a track from their latest, Dig Out Your Soul. Banhart’s choice? “(Get Off Your) High Horse Lady,” which you can listen to for free, but you gotta register at Oasisinet first.
Chona Kasinger
Fresh off their tour with The Kills, The Horrors have announced dates for their own US tour later this year. The tour kicks off in Boston on September 15 with a Seattle date scheduled for October 6 at Neumo’s.
Bat for Lashes is extending their North American tour, so if you didn’t catch them last night, you can see Ms. Kahn and company at Neumo’s on August 26.
Jack White never stops making music, but it’s usually with other people. However, the Detroit rocker has recently said that he hopes to begin working on a solo album by the end of the year. The dude has a lot going on. Let’s hope he finds that time.
Singer/songwriter Jeff Hanson was found dead Friday in his Minneapolis apartment; the cause of an apparent accidental fall. The 31-year old artist, known for his high pitched vocals, has been releasing his solo albums with the Northwest label Kill Rock Stars with last year’s Madam Owl being his latest.
New Zealand band The Clean will be releasing their first album in 8 years. Merge will play host to Mister Pop, set for a September 8th street date. The Clean are credited to be the influence of such revered bands Pavement and Yo La Tengo.
Which reminds us… Yo La Tengo will be delivering Popular Songs come September 8th via longtime home, Matador. The label plans to give Popular Songs the Buy Early Get Now treatment, with details forthcoming.
Apparently it’s cool for the hard rockin’ set to get their own brand of sneakers. Vans, the 90s alternative sneaker, will be releasing a four special versions of the brand inspired by Mastodon. Not to be outdone, Converse has announced plans to release brands of their ever popular shoe with the help of rock gods AC/DC and Metallica. What about those of us waiting for Captain and Tennille Keds?
Ted Leo just released a new song on his website as a stop-gap to appease anxious fans, claiming, “it’s been a while since there was anything new recorded and we’re still writing and figuring out what we’re going to do with all that, so it’s gonna be a little bit more time yet before a new album arrives.” Ted Leo & The Pharmacists are currently on tour with Titus Andronicus but look to be breaking at the end of the month. Hopefully, they’ll figure it out then. For now, here’s “Where Was my Brain?“:
Rather than subject the world at large to a violently out-of-touch festival, the minds behind Woodstock will deliver a 6-disc retrospective of the 1969 edition of the famed event. Due August 18th, the Rhino release Woodstock - 40 Years On: Back to Yasgur’s Farm promises 77 tracks (38 previous unreleased) chronicling the three day Flower Power Love-In. The original Woodstock documentary soundtracks are also being remastered and reissued June 2nd.
Stephen O’Malley enjoys spreading his drone and doom as far as his imagination will allow. This time it happens to have found a home in a reworking of Dennis Cooper’s short story-turned-play, Jerk. The play’s debut is set for July 1-3 in London’s South London Gallery. Buy your plane tickets!
If there were an award for it, Green Day would certainly win for “Band Most Willing to Shill Their New Album,” as they continue their late night talk show onslaught with a mini residency on Last Call and an appearance on SNL. Black Eyed Peas and Mos Def tie for second place with two appearances each this week, but the must-see events have to be Amadou & Mariam on Fallon, Sonic Youth on Letterman, Neko Case on Conan, and P.J. Harvey & John Parish also on Letterman (man, is he getting hip!). Get your DVR’s ready:
Monday, June 8
David Letterman: Mos Def
Jimmy Fallon: Amadou & Mariam
Last Call: The Ting Tings (R 4/27/09)
Jimmy Kimmel: The Airborne Toxic Event (R 5/14/09)
Tuesday, June 9
David Letterman: Black Eyed Peas
Conan O’Brien: Taj Mahal
Jimmy Fallon: Mos Def
Last Call: Green Day
Wednesday, June 10
David Letterman: Sonic Youth
Conan O’Brien: Rancid
Jimmy Fallon: Manchester Orchestra
Last Call: Green Day
Thursday, June 11
Conan O’Brien: Neko Case
Last Call: Green Day
Friday, June 12
David Letterman: P.J. Harvey & John Parish
The View: Black Eyed Peas
The legendary Queen of the Blues, Koko Taylor, died yesterday at age 80 due to complications resulting from her recent surgery to correct a gastrointestinal bleed. Last month Taylor received her 29th award as a blues musician, making her the most honored artist in the genre and has shared the state with just about every other great blues musician during her long career. Read more about her life here.
Tour dates have been announced for the Dan Deacon/ Deerhunter/ No Age extravaganza this summer. In addition to being an amazing billing, the shows will feature members of all three bands collaborating on stage throughout the set. As if they needed a gimmick to sell this one. Pitchfork has the full story and complete list of dates.
Ten years ago this month Sean Fanning launched Napster and the ensuing P2P craze that has had the music industry on its head ever since. Billboard just sat down with Hilary Rosen who resided over the RIAA when Napster launched up until her resignation in ‘03. The Q&A session brings to light a lot of complexities involving the industries’ possible adoption of online music and is well worth a read and may give pause to anyone with blind anger towards the industries’ actions over the past decade.
After merging with Atlantic five years ago and getting a time out, Elektra Records is back. Known mostly for housing staple rock acts like The Doors, The Stooges and The Eagles, Elektra is poised to make a comeback with an initial lineup that includes Justice, Little Boots and Cee-Lo. Since next year also marks the 60th anniversary of Elektra’s founding, expect to see some hefty reissues in the near future.
In festival news, Calgary’s Sled Island Fest, set for June 24-27 (with some spillover), now has a complete lineup. Taking place at dozens of venues across the city, Sled Island consists of an overwhelming array of music, art, film and other media. The varied batch of bands includes HEALTH, Biz Markie, The Breeders, Final Fantasy, Seattle’s lost boys Japanther and a ton of others. Get thee to Calgary!
On a sadder note, Exene Cervenka of the band X has revealed she’s been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Regarding her illness, Cervenka had this to say:
My focus will certainly be on maintaining my health,” Cervenka, 53, said. “Many people remain strong and continue to live their lives as productively as they had before an MS diagnosis, and I plan to be one of those people.
Regarding her near-future plans with X, Cervenka says, While this diagnosis will most certainly mean some changes for me, personally, it will not affect my commitments to the current X U.S. tour, nor will it affect my solo album that is slated for release this fall.
It appears Roger Waters has his own Road Map to peace in the Middle East. According to NME, Waters has offered to play Pink Floyd’s ‘79 album The Wall, in its entirety and on location, if the wall in the West Bank comes down. The performance would be a repeat of Waters’ show in Berlin following the 1990 bringing down of the Berlin Wall.
Who says traumatizing little kids can’t be fun? Check out the brand new video for MGMT’s “Kids”:
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s featured selection is “A Woman’s Voice” by Chuck Prophet, recorded live during KEXP’s broadcast from Berkeley, CA.
Chuck Prophet – A Woman’s Voice (Live on KEXP) (MP3)
Chuck Prophet, depending on where you are standing, is often a forgotten or ignored slice of original Americana. His ability to weave wit and candor in a swatch of storytelling devices seems wasted when it goes unnoticed but so goes the current crop of singer/songwriters that don’t exist within the lines of conformity. Prophet’s songs read like snippets of Neil Simon, John Steinbeck, or Ken Kesey and that we allow the nation’s conscious to go on existing with the knowledge of Chuck seems like a crime. Thankfully, fans and admirers alike are turning on a wide audience to the literary appeal and sly smile of Chuck’s work. Like a painter colors a canvas, Chuck Prophet uses song to capture the everyday existence of the noblest, wisest, and most normal in each of us — that he does so with a truckstop charm and words as sweet as pecan pie may make him an unlikely candidate to be the next Norman Rockwell but as Chuck continues to teach us, appearances are deceiving.
MySpace is sad to inform us that Chuck isn’t touring at the moment but that doesn’t stop us from enjoying his past works. For example, did you know Chuck makes music videos that are fun? If you didn’t, allow us to show you with “Freckle Song”:
Here’s the video for this very performance at KEXP’s Bay Area broadcast from Opus Music Ventures studio in Berekely, CA:
According to several reports, Pearl Jam performed a secret show at Showbox in Seattle this past Thursday. The 300 or so attendees were told only that they would attend a filmed “rock concert” and be compensated for their time, but after signing non-disclosure agreements and so forth, they were treated to a repeated performance of a new song that, according to Stereogum, is called the “The Fixer” and will supposedly be featured in an upcoming Target ad, which friend to grunge Cameron Crowe was directing.
Ever wonder what Spector’s Wall of Sound would become within the heavily fortified concrete walls of a maximum security prison? Phil Spector, convicted of second degree murder in April in the 2003 death of Lana Clarkson, was sentenced with 19 year-to-Life Friday.
Microsoft refuses to let the Zune die. The MP3 device allowed subscriptions for iPod users recently, sure to help out the brand’s digital marketplace but now the software and gaming giant is going for the music gold once more with the announcement of the Zune HD. The updated device expands with a built-in HD Radio receiver, a 16:9 touchscreen, and a full-screen internet browser. Microsoft will also incorporate the Zune Marketplace into its Xbox Live service, furthering their goal of making all branded devices into Skynet.
This week brought promises of new albums. Breathe in, breathe out: Magnolia Electric Co. will release Josephine July 21st, WHY? readies Eskimo Snow for a fall release, Lightning Dust delivers Infinite Light August 4th, and not to be left out, Sigur Ros — despite numerous solo efforts and side projects by the Icelandic band — have announced they are putting the finishing touches to a new album due at the beginning of 2010.
The Brooklyn based No Fun Fest played itself out two weekends ago, so why are we still talking about it? Because Carlos Giffoni is taking his beautiful beast to Europe — Sweden to be exact. No Fun Fest bombards Stockholm September 18th-20th with Wolf Eyes, Emeralds, Burning Star Core, and Giffoni himself headlining the eclectic line-up.
Tim DeLaughter, former frontman of Tripping Daisy and founder of the choral mass The Polyphonic Spree, recently finished the score for the art DVD, Wee See. The project, a collaboration with visual artist Rolyn Barthelman, mutated from kid-oriented beginnings into a full-blown release full of black-and-white imagery to stimulate young and old alike. The DVD can be found at Wee See’s website.
Big Star is getting the box set treatment with Keep An Eye on the Sky, due September 15h via Rhino. The four disc set chronicles 1968-1975, collecting nearly everything the band did as a unit or solo with rarities, alternative recordings, and an entire disc of a 1973 Memphis show that caught the band in a mood to cover The Kinks, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and T. Rex.
Not much going on during the late night talk shows this week. Green Day and Tori Amos continue their barrage of the sleep deprived, and we’re guessing you can hear that new Pearl Jam song when they make a rare appearance on Conan tonight. The must-see events, though, are Steve Earle and Elvis Costello on consecutive nights on Letterman, Doves on Fallon, and TV on the Radio on Saturday Night Live.
Monday, June 1
Conan O’Brien: Pearl Jam
Late Late Show: Tori Amos
Tuesday, June 2
Conan O’Brien: Green Day
Wednesday, June 3
David Letterman: Steve Earle
George Stroumboulopoulos: Perry Farrell
Thursday, June 4
David Letterman: Elvis Costello
Jimmy Fallon: Doves
