• Joanna Newsom’s new album will apparently be three discs long. Seriously. She can do that. She’s Joanna Newsom. Additionally, a bare-bones harp-and-voice track called “‘81″ is streaming on Drag City’s site.

• As The Stranger pointed out, LCD Soundsystem posted a behind-the-scenes video [embedded below] from the LA mansion where James Murphy has been working on the band’s new album. As Murphy wrote in a MySpace blog, “…basically, we’re back.”

• Check out Phoenix covering one of my favorite under-appreciated Bob Dylan tracks from Pitchfork:

• On February 11th the Moore Theatre hosts “Defriending Cancer,” a benefit/variety show featuring solo musical performances from James Mercer of the Shins and Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse. Also, comedians Todd Barry, Neil Hamburger, Tim Heidecker (from Adult Swim’s Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!), Natashe Leggero (a regular on Chelsea Lately), Eugene Mirman, and Tig Notaro (featured on the Sarah Silverman Program).

• Relatedly, the new video from Broken Bells has been released for their first single, “The High Road.” It features the duo (Danger Mouse and the aforementioned James Mercer) walking down a dark desert highway with nothing but flashlights to guide them. They run into bizarre a burlesque dancer, a surreal car accident, and steal a toy from a little kid. Check it out below.

• Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp, Jennifer Hudson, Smokey Robinson, John Legend, Seal, Natalie Cole, the Blind Boys of Alabama and more artists to be announced soon, will perform at a gigantor Black History Month special being hosted by President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle and emceed by Morgan Freeman and Queen Latifah. It’s called “In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement,” and will air on PBS on February 11th.

• This week in WTF: Justin Timberlake joins Brother Ali on stage to beatbox. And it all happened in Wyoming. Really. Don’t believe me? Check out the following crappy video proof.

• There was a time when playing on MTV Unplugged carried a weighty value. Clapton’s reimagining of “Layla” for the over-40 set, LL Cool J changing the rap game by taking it unplugged. But MTV went young as most of us grew old, but it reckons that some of those who passed on flannel for khakis will get a kick of the latest Unplugged participant: Vampire Weekend. Click the band’s name to watch the episode.

• The wealth of tribute albums in the market could make anyone’s head spin. From the epic to the gutter, tribute albums range in variety, range, and style. Yet the idea of a new tribute toward the Thin White Duke, David Bowie, is due in May via Manimal Vinyl. The titleless tribute will feature contributions from Vivian Girls, MGMT, and Duran Duran among others. All proceeds will benefit the charity, War Child.

• Although a Smiths reunion seems no closer to happening than when the group first split, former bassist Andy Rourke, who’s maintained a royalty dispute with Morrissey, joined the NYC-based Smiths cover band Sons & Heirs at Brooklyn’s Bell House on Saturday night. Though doubtfully paving the way to friendlier relations, Rourke went so far as to cover a couple of Moz’s solo tunes with the band.

• It’s been a few weeks since a peep from Animal Collective, so allow this newly released video of “Brother Sport” from Merriweather Post Pavilion serve as a refresher:

• Aside from hosting the wonderfully obtuse Spectacle, people may recall that Elvis Costello was and is a recorded musician with a pile of albums to his name. Now it’s time to add the second edition of Costello’s recent live series, Live at Hollywood High, to the top of the stack! The album captures a live 1978 show from Costello (with The Attractions).

• About a year ago, the Bay Area band Citay joined us for a mind-melting in-studio session. Now, they’re ready to release their third LP, Dream Get Together, and have asked their friends Jens Lekman, The Antlers, Suckers, Steve McBean of Black Mountain and Pink Mountaintops, Nicole Atkins, Bishop Allen, Akron/Family, and others to describe what their imagined “dream get togethers” would be. Merrill Garbus of tUnE-YarDs provides the first description on the band’s website and also guests on “Mirror Kisses” from the new album:

• There is a lot to hate Billy Corgan for: making kids whiny in the 90s, walking around with a bulbous head (and that’s not a Jessica Simpson joke), and the inflated size of his ego that grows three sizes larger per day. But then he wakes up one day with an idea that may actually work such as beginning his own label and signing The Germ to that label.

• Vampire Weekend again breathes life into the talk show circuit this week, which still features mostly repeats. But you can see them twice, on Conan and Ferguson if you’re so inclined.

  Monday, January 11

  Conan O’Brien: Vampire Weekend

  Tuesday, January 12

  Carson Daly: The Raveonettes (R)

  Wednesday, January 13

  Carson Daly: Lisa Hannigan (R)

  Thursday, January 14

  David Letterman: The Low Anthem
  Craig Ferguson: Vampire Weekend
  Carson Daly: Pete Yorn (R)

  Friday, January 15

  go see a live show!

Animal Collective loving animals

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of 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. Each and every Friday we offer songs by local artists. Today’s selection, featured on the Morning Show with John Richards, is “What Would I Want? Sky” by Animal Collective from the 2009 Fall Be Kind EP on Domino Records.

You might be thinking, why would a band already a top contender for album of the year want to go and put out even more music before the year is up, especially music so good it might compete with their own initial album? But really Fall Be Kind, the group’s second release of 2009, is a long time in coming. The off-again, on-again story of our Song of the Day begins immediately with the January release of Merriweather Post Pavilion. After one of their shows, on the day that followed MPP hitting shelves, high profile blogs like Gorilla vs. Bear were already talking about a new song on the band’s live playlist that was not on the new album, one that sampled the Grateful Dead’s “Unbroken Chain.” Fans were curious: was the continually forward-thinking band already thinking of the next album? In an interview with Pitchfork posted the day before the release, Dave Portner (aka Avey Tare) admitted that they had a few unfinished songs but suggested that “they probably won’t end up on an EP,” leading some blogs to lament the loss of the song and try to satisfy themselves with live recordings of it.

Fortunately, though, new hope arrived in July when Pitchfork reported on AC successfully clearing the first ever officially licensed Grateful Dead sample. Big news to somebody, certainly, but it was hard to imagine either the jaded indie rock kids or the grizzled Deadheads thrilled with the union. Fortunately, we don’t live in a world of stereotypes, and the growing legion of AC fans were quite pleased to learn that the now officially named “What Would I Want? Sky” would somehow see a release. To The Onion’s A.V. Club, Brian Weitz (aka Geologist) explained that the song was intended for MPP but time ran out before they could finish it — though one would guess that the rights clearing hadn’t happened at the time anyway. And despite Avery Tare’s suggestion that the song might be paired with their Autumn single, “Bloodsport,” the song eventually became part of this solid new EP that contains studio recordings of other live favorites, “Bleed” and “Graze” more recently, and “On a Highway,” which dates back at least to ‘07.

So yeah, it’s sort of an odds & sods approach, but the songs fit together so perfectly that you’d never consider these to be cast-offs, let alone b-sides. Worth the wait? Hell yeah! Worth the purchase if you have MPP? Of course! The EP may even appeal to a wider audience including those who didn’t quite get the MPP craze. In fact, “What Would I Want? Sky” could be considered their most accessible song of the year’s entire output, but like most AC material, it requires a bit of patience. For the first three minutes, over-blasted drum beats, a looped vocal run, and ambient electronics loom heavily… until the “sky” opens up as the warmed over ‘Dead sample repeats and the song becomes downright singable! But hey, why are you still reading this? You should be listening to the song now and feel the warmth for yourself. At this time of year, you could use it.

It’s unlikely that Animal Collective will be touring any time soon. They hit the major festivals during the past couple of years, so maybe ‘10 will see them take a break. However, Josh Dibb (aka Deacon), the wayward member who took a bit of time off from touring and recording with the band, just posted on the AC MySpace page that he has been invited to perform in Mali, followed by some shows in Europe with Noah (aka Panda Bear) — his first solo performances! — but that he’d like to also take the opportunity to benefit the people Mali by collecting money to support TEMEDT, an organization working to create a law that abolishes slavery of the black Tuareg people and provide them with basic services to move forward. Contributors giving $50 or more will receive a handpackaged CD produced from Josh’s concert and trip. You can find out more here. For now, though, please enjoy this relatively new video for “In the Flowers” from Merriweather Post Pavilion:

Not a lot coming out this week, as you’d expect so close to the end of the year. After all, the chances of any new release at this point ending up in a critic’s top ten list is slim to none. (By the way, have you voted for your top albums of 2009?) However, there are still a few nice odds and ends available this week at your local record store. Animal Collective, who have already submitted their contender for album of the year, Merriweather Post Pavilion, have a new EP out, and these are hardly MPP castoffs. In fact, “What Would I Want? Sky,” the first song ever to feature a licensed Grateful Dead sample, garnered a perfect 10 from Pitchfork, only the second song to do so. Bonny Billy (formerly Bonnie “Prince” Billy) has released a vinyl-only live album with fellow Louisvillians The Picket Line, and Seattle band Little Pieces (featured last Friday for our Song of the Day podcast) throw in a charming EP of garage-pop.

Also available this week is Julian Lennon’s tribute to Lucy Vodden, his childhood friend, whose portrait, drawn by a young Julian Lennon, inspired John Lennon to write “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” Vodden recently passed away from complications due to Lupus, and so proceeds of the single, co-written by James Scott Cook, a new artist on the roster of Lennon’s new label, theRevolution, will go toward the St. Thomas’ Lupus Trust in the UK and the Lupus Foundation of America.

Beyond that, there are more vinyl reissues, collectible remastered sets, and holiday albums. Check Largehearted Boy’s list for more.

• Yeasayer signed to Secretly Canadian for the North American release of their highly anticipated 2nd album. It’s called Odd Blood, and it will be released on February 9, 2010. They join the ranks of artists like Jens Lekman, Damien Jurado, Magnolia Electric Company, and Antony and the Johnsons on Secretly Canadian.

• The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s October 29th/30th concerts at Madison Square Garden have gotten more incredible: Ozzy Osbourne will perform with Metallica, Buddy Guy will join Eric Clapton, B.B. King is pairing with Stevie Wonder and Annie Lennox and Lenny Kravitz are teaming with Aretha Franklin.

• Below you’ll find a new People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) advertisement featuring the members of Animal Collective. They’re teaming up to show support for ending seal slaughter in Canada. Huh.

• Uh, really? Some guys from his label say Lil Wayne is going to be releasing not one but TWO new albums before the end of the year! According to Cash Money CEO Birdman, The Rebirth, “the dubious Lil Wayne rock album that’s been pushed back a few times, will come out this year. And so will Tha Carter 4, the next entry in Wayne’s… Carter series. Birdman even has a projected released date for Tha Carter 4: December 15.”

• MGMT’s new album now has a name. Their label confirmed it will be titled “Congratulations” and will be released “sometime next year.” They’re playing some of the new stuff live these days, including the title track:

• Yep, it’s Death Cab news of the week! As you probably know, Ben Gibbard is making his big screen debut in the movie “Brief Interviews With Hideous Men.” Stereogum just posted clips from his performance. Now Zooey isn’t the closest he’s come to acting.

• Trent Reznor is, I guess, married now? Congratulations to him and his lucky(?) new bride. Check out the extremely awkward photographic evidence here.

• Courtney Love has reunited her band Hole for the first time since 2002, after they formed in ‘ninety four after Love was widowed. I guess we’ll see.

Hello, Michele Myers here. Your friendly neighborhood DJ and Documentary Producer.

My job at KEXP (when I’m not DJing) is to make a KEXP Documentary every week. Each story is about 5 minutes long and is on a musical subject. We do these in series of 10. Over the years I’ve done series like Punk Evolution, Masters of Turntablism, Death Drugs and Rock n Roll, Music Revolutionaries, The Heart of Soul, Portraits of Post-Punk, American Sabor, The New World and Pop Goes Electronic.

I often feel like I’m practicing journalism without any training. Maybe because I am. But the beauty of KEXP is that they let me do these stories in my own personal way. To me it’s more about the experience than about lists of dates and places. In every doc you’ll learn something about human nature. And I’ll bring you as close to the artist and music as possible, without being aggressive in interviews trying to get information. I’m the shy interviewer. And you can listen to my (very public) learning experience in the On Demand tab at kexp.org under “Documentaries.”

Last week we finished off another series. This always is a huge relief. We do ten episodes in ten weeks. This time on “Psychedelics” where we traced the origins of psychedelic music from its roots (with Jefferson Airplane, The Byrds, The Velvet Underground ) to the UK Scene (The Beatles, Pink Floyd) to Woodstock (Sly and The Family Stone, Janis, Jimi) to today (Spiritualized, The Flaming Lips).

And our final episode was on Animal Collective.

This is a band who people react to. Some people herald them as the most brilliant group in today’s alternative scene. Others just don’t seem to get it. I have to admit I was among those who didn’t get it.

When I first heard Animal Collective I thought they sounded a lot like a group of kindergartners sitting in a cardboard box humming and pounding on the sides. In this doc I actually find a clip that sounds EXACTLY like that. But I also talk to academics who say that Animal Collective embrace the spirit of punk. And the band themselves get to speak up as well. And some of the music is actually very sophisticated. What do you think?

Thoughts? Suggestions? Feel free to e-me michele@kexp.org.

• And speaking of “forthcoming,” both Thom Yorke and his band Radiohead should have new albums out within the next year. Yorke has been playing recently in LA with a new band, hitting a couple of small venues with his new band to perform songs from his first solo album, The Eraser, and to preview seven new songs. Meanwhile, Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien has told NME that the earlier rumors of a hiatus were just that… rumors, and the band would return to the studio this winter. And if that wasn’t clear enough, he adds, “We were misquoted. WE WILL BE MAKING AN ALBUM!” Check AtEase for the full story

• A tuft of hair from the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, will be going to auction later this month, along with a set of pictures from Elvis and Priscilla’s wedding day in 1967, a suede shirt worn by the star in 1963, original artworks and a string of signed record sleeves. Maybe I should be saving my hair after haircuts. You know, for the sake of my descendants financial well-being.

Elvis Presley's hair? Soon it can be yours!

• So I guess Jay Reatard’s band quit mid-tour. This kind of adds new meaning to the title of his newest album, Watch Me Fall. Yikes.

• Hardcore band Small Brown Bike is writing new material after breaking up in 2004 and reuniting last month. They’re quoted as saying, “Over the last few months we’ve been writing a ton of new stuff and currently have about ten new songs finished plus a bunch more in various stages.”

• A couple new Seattle indie rock music videos. Check out Modest Mouse’s new video for ‘The Whale Song’ at Pitchfork. Below is Death Cab for Cutie’s video for “Meet Me On the Equinox” featuring basically the entirety of the new Twilight sequel, New Moon. Now I REALLY don’t have to see that movie.

• Ever wonder what David Bowie would look like as a LEGO character? No? Well, anyway, now you can see He’s signed up to be on the new LEGO Rock Band game. Check it out:

Bowie? The band?

• Jimmy Fallon’s late night talk show is among the worst in my opinion, but somebody on his team has been making some pretty good/interesting musical guest choices. December 8th that trend will continue when Fallon will host a reunited Jawbox on his show.

Below, check out Vampire Weekend’s new song, Horchata, from their forthcoming record, Contra. You can also download it from their website.

• Updating a previous news item, it appears that Pavement are doing a lot more than those four NYC shows. Looks like they’re now going to be headlining and curating a weekend of All Tomorrow’s Parties in 2010. BAM!

Kyle Johnson

• Bumbershoot has completed the 2009 lineup by adding Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Cold War Kids, Old 97’s, The Helio Sequence, and Portland Cello Project. Unfortunately, Kasabian and The Ting Tings had to cancel, but there’s still plenty more to hear and see. Go check out the schedule and look for KEXP to broadcast there once again!

• Eight years! Eight long, tiring, Wilco and Sonic Youth-filled years for Jim O’Rourke without an album to call to his own. Thankfully, O’Rourke and Drag City are going to remedy the silence September 8th with the release of The Visitor which promises more Eureka and Insignificance pop goodness.

• You’re read about them here before: Monsters of Folk, the collective name for Jim James, M. Ward, and Conor Oberst are about to release their debut and are offering the first single, “Say Please,” for free download at their website. Just enter the word “please.”

• Fans are very familiar with the foibles of Thom Yorke: living with ghosts, straining his face, and cutting his hair with vacuums. Now rumors are surfacing that Yorke is ready to mix it up with teenage vampires living in Forks. Yorke is apparently eager to work on the soundtrack of upcoming Twilight sequel, New Moon. Oh! the panic, the vomit!

• What do you get when you marry Animal Collective with The Grateful Dead? “What Would I Want Sky,” the first song to officially have the blessing of The Dead to use a sample of their work. The Animal Collective invention doesn’t have an official release vehicle or any outstanding plans but it’s floating about the internets with psychedelic glee for easy listening.

• After all the talk of Grizzly Bear being bumped from David Letterman’s Late Show, it only seems right to post the video of the band’s triumphant return. Please to enjoy, “Ready, Able.”

• Everything seems better with Brian Wilson back in the limelight. The pop icon is returning to American highways this fall, with a Northeastern-centric tour. If we eat our vegetables, maybe he’ll make a detour to Seattle?

• Folks already excited for Judd Apatow’s third directorial stint, Funny People, have a bit more to be excited about: the soundtrack. Reportedly, the accompanying music to the Adam Sandler vehicle will feature a rare John Lennon demo, a live version of Wilco’s “Jesus, Etc.” featuring Andre Bird, and the talents of Robert Plant, James Taylor, and Warren Zevon among other hefty legends of rock and roll. The album hits stores July 28th, three days prior to the release of the film.

• Very slow week on the late night circuit, but you can at least preview two of the bands performing the Capitol Hill Block Party this weekend: Spinnerette and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Here are the other highlights:
  Monday, July 20

  David Letterman: Spinnerette
  Jimmy Fallon: Tom Jones

  Tuesday, July 21

  David Letterman: The Flatlanders

  Wednesday, July 22

  Last Call: Cold War Kids (R 4/1/09)

  Thursday, July 23

  Jimmy Kimmel: La Roux

  Friday, July 24

  Conan O’Brien: De La Soul
  Last Call: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (R 4/3/09)

Jonathon D. Colman

Happy 4th of July, everybody! Here’s a quick roundup of Independence Day related songs (and some not so much) to watch before you fire up the BBQ, head out to view the fireworks, or whatever else you may be doing on this day (just please don’t lose a finger!):

Jimi Hendrix playing the National Anthem:

Elliott Smith performing “Independence Day” live at the 2000 Fuji Rock Festival:

Galaxie 500’s official video for “Fourth of July”:

Animal Collective’s official video for “Fireworks”:

Siouxsie & The Banshees “Fireworks” from “Twice Upon a Time”:

David Bowie playing “Young Americans” on the Dick Cavett Show in 1974:

Wilco performing “Ashes of American Flags” on Austin City Limits:

Aimee Mann sings “4th of July” on Jools Holland:

John Doe and His Rockin’ Band play “Fourth of July” at Dante’s in Portland, OR, in 2007:

Shooter Jennings’ official video for “4th Of July”:

Elvis Costello & Lucinda Williams play “Indoor Fireworks” for CMT Crossroads:

The Muppets salute America with “Stars & Stripes Forever”:

^{King Khan & the Shrines}

The first day of the 2009 Sasquatch Music Festival was an amazing success, beautiful weather and great bands like Kings of Leon, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bon Iver, DeVotchKa, M. Ward, Doves, King Khan & The Shrines, Passion Pit, Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, Vince Mira, James Pants, Mos Def, Champagne Champagne and a whole lot more! Check out the first round of photos from Kyle Johnson:

Yeah Yeah Yeahs:

Bon Iver:

Mos Def:

King Khan & the Shrines:

M. Ward:

Passion Pit:

Champagne Champagne:

Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band:

Others:

^{Vince Mira}

^{Ra Ra Riot}

^{Sun Kill Moon}

^{Blind Pilot}

^{Arthur & Yu}

^{Animal Collective}