photo by Hernan Castiglioni

• Whenever the melodies of Brian Wilson drift in our direction, the same question always comes to mind: I wonder what would happen if Wilson played George Gershwin? An answer to that question, as odd as it might be, is on the horizon as the endless one has been granted permission by the Gershwin Estate to completely unfinished works from the renowned composer who passed away in 1937.

• It only seems fair that if Sub Pop can release a sneaker, so should the bands that are a part of the Seattle label’s fabric. Today’s Song of the Day artist, No Age, will have their very own sneaker through Emerica made completely from animal-friendly material. Does that mean it’s made from catnip and doggie treats?

• When Noel Gallagher ran out on Oasis, everyone just assumed that his loud and arrogant brother would keep the group moving even without the services of the band’s principle songwriter — that isn’t to be the case. In an interview with the London Time, Liam admits Oasis is finished. Some might say don’t look back in anger, d’you known what I mean?

• Beck recently convened the second session of his Record Club project, and along with his friends Devendra Banhart and MGMT he’s moved on from Velvet Underground to Leonard Cohen covers. Here they are putting a funky faux-rap twist on Cohen’s “Master Song”:

• After your altruistic efforts to keep KEXP listener powered, perhaps you can find a bit of pence in your linty coffers to help out JOIN, a Portland-based charity that works with homeless families and individuals to find housing. Spectrum Culture will be celebrating their first birthday by helping the cause with a benefit show in Portland on November 21st with the talents of K founder Calvin Johnson, Brent Knopf (of Menomena), and Jason Webley.

• Time for another obscure rock doc, this time exploring the post-punk act The Raincoats. Member Gina Birch has been hard at work finishing a documentary about her band’s history that promises plenty of early live footage. You can view the trailer here.

• CASH Music may be a nonprofit you are unfamiliar with but the organization’s goal is to provide open source tools and services to musicians in an effort to minimize the need for technology and maximize music promotion and distribution. The organization has held itself together thanks to tireless volunteer efforts but to reach their lofty goals, they need a bit of money. They aren’t asking for something for nothing, as the CASH is holding a raffle to raise the money they need, with items up for bid by such favorites as Deerhoof, The Secret Machines, and Mission of Burma among others.

• Fans of the defunct television show Wonder Showzen should keep their demented eyes out for the upcoming film release from PFFR brother-in-arms, Vernon Chatman. Final Flesh promises to push many a buttons and provide a unique look at adult entertainment and odd fetishes in the most non-documentary, unprofessional manner. The DVD will be released through Drag City November 17th.

• Beastie Boy Adam Yauch recently sent out an e-mail detailing his recovery from cancer and a recent trip to Dharamsala, India, to receive some help from Tibetan doctors and a visit to a nunnery, which led up to an unscheduled three-day teaching from the Dalai Lama. In other words, no news on Hot Sauce Committee’s new release date but does that really matter? Okay, a little bit but it’s wonderful to hear from Yauch that he’s feeling good. We hope everyone struggling with cancer makes a strong and healthy recovery.

• A fairly slow week on the evening talkshows, but don’t miss Built to Spill on Letterman this Thursday and The Flaming Lips on Conan this Tuesday. Here are the highlights:
  Monday, October 12

  Conan O’Brien: Grizzly Bear
  Jimmy Kimmel: Kid Cudi (R)
  Ellen DeGeneres: Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson

  Tuesday, October 13

  Conan O’Brien: The Flaming Lips
  Jimmy Fallon: Baaba Maal & the Brazilian Girls
  Last Call: Lily Allen

  Wednesday, October 14

  Jimmy Fallon: Monty Python
  Last Call: Phoenix
  Colbert Report: The RZA

  Thursday, October 15

  David Letterman: Built to Spill
  Jimmy Fallon: Hockey
  Last Call: Keane

  Friday, October 16

  go out and have a great weekend!

Kyle Johnson

• LA outfit No Age have an upcoming EP out on October 6 on Sub Pop, but you can stream all of it now on Sub Pop’s website now. You’ll need an email address to stream, but you most likely have one if you’re reading this.

• The recent passing of British World War I veteran Harry Patch has inspired a new song by Radiohead; the group has made a new song available for purchase entitled “Harry Patch (In Memory Of)”. Patch’s story is pretty impressive [he passed away at the age of 111] and the entire song consists of quotes from the man himself. All proceeds from the download will go to the UK vets charity the Royal British Legion.

• Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch aka MCA has released his health status after his surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his parotid gland. There’s nothing but good news and you can read the entire email here.

• Ex-Pedro the Lion frontman David Bazan has been performing solo for a few years now, but September sees the release of his first full-length (Curse Your Branches) under his own name. Before heading out on tour with members of Say Hi, Aqueduct and others, Bazan will perform the Doe Bay Fest next weekend. Thanks to local label Barsuk, you can preview one of his new songs now:

• Before his untimely death, Heath Ledger was directing a music video for Modest Mouse for “King Rat,” new song from an upcoming EP. Now, the video has surfaced, and the details of the online only EP No One’s First and You’re Next have been released. The video starts off innocently enough but gets bloody before you know it.

• Dave Grohl, Josh Homme, and John Paul Jones have formed a group with the moniker Them Crooked Vultures. There isn’t much information beyond an August 9 show in Chicago, a website that redirects to social networking sites and vice versa, and a graphic displaying the logos of The Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, and Led Zeppelin.

• Yoni Wolf has some serious 90’s indie rock sensibilities: the Why? frontman has released a cover of Pavement’s “Shoot the Singer (1 Sick Verse)” off their 1992 EP Watery, Domestic. Props to Yoni for digging deep beyond the “Gold Soundz”. Let’s hope no one ever tells him to “Cut Your Hair”. Unless it’s for a really special girl, like a “Summer Babe.” Okay, now this is getting out of hand.

Adam, there’s no need for you to apologize to us. Just get better!

Greg Rice

• 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…

• Snuggie, the totally unnecessary blanket with sleeves, has teamed up with Weezer to produce the Wuggie, basically a Snuggie that says Weezer on it.

• Iggy Pop has begun talks with former Stooges member James Williamson about a reunion. Williamson co-wrote the bands ‘73 album Raw Power, the album that’s likely to form the basis of any reunion.

• On Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, the Beastie Boys revealed the title of their forthcoming album, Hot Sauce Committee. In addition to spilling the beans on the title of the September release, the trio performed their classic So What’cha Want backed by the shows stellar house band, The Roots. Check it out:

• Speaking of new release revelations, Matador just announced Jay Reatard’s upcoming full-length, his first in three years, called Watch Me Fall, due August 18, and made this MP3 freely available:

• It seems MIA is in the news more these days for her political views than for her music. She sat down with Bill Maher on Friday to discuss the Sri Lankan civil war and the media’s handling of it. See for yourself:

• Lastly, Kanye West, who has been quoted as saying I am not a fan of books and I am a proud non-reader of books, has unsurprisingly written a book. Can 52 pages of ‘Kanye-isms’ be considered a book?

• In very sad news, Jay Bennet has passed away. The former member of Wilco reportedly died in his sleep yesterday of unknown causes. Bennet, 45, was a founding member of Wilco, whose not-so-amicable split from the band was documented in Sam Jones’ I Am Trying to Break Your Heart. (He later sued Wilco for failure to pay royalties for his appearance in the film.) Bennett was a sought-after session musician, solo artist, and mentor to artists like rising artists David Vandervelde. His contributions to music will sorely be missed.

• Did you backlash against or embrace the pop career of Scarlett Johansson? No matter your reaction, Johansson’s tribute to Tom Waits, Anywhere I Lay My Head, has turned out to be just the beginning of her interesting musical ventures. Break Up, due September 8th, will find the Scarlett one being joined by Pete Yorn, as the duo run through 8 originals and 1 cover, all inspired by the duets of Serge Gainsbourg and Bridgette Bardot. The album’s first single, “Relator,” can be heard via the Break Up website.

• In case you aren’t hip to the No Fun Fest happenings of last weekend, let us summarize: a lot of awesome avant, experimental, and noise bands barnstormed Brooklyn for the weekend — and unfortunately a greedy thief barnstormed the touring van of [Joe] Raglani and Emeralds member Steve Hauschildt. The theft put Raglani under a rock buried beneath a hard place, causing him to head home to St. Louis and cut short what was to be the beginning of his new career of being a constant touring act. If you want to help and or buy some great music from an up and coming artist, visit Raglani’s MySpace page and message the man.

• Boston plays host to the new Split/Signal festival this Saturday (May 30th). Featuring The Books, Cul De Sac, and Roger Miller among the 8 performers, the fest will blend the music of these artists with original silent films and videos.

• Print media continues to go the way of the dinosaur, with music-related publications reaching extinction quickly. The next to suffer a painful demise: Plan B. The magazine confirmed rumors of their ending via message board. The last issue will hit newsstands June 1st.

• Despite being bumped by Letterman earlier in the week, Grizzly Bear remain undeterred, as evident by the recent premiere of the video for “Two Weeks.”

• An Anacortes tradition will return once more, as What The Heck Fest invades the sleepy port town. Known for promoting camping and diversity, the festival will once again feature a cornucopia of musical acts — many no strangers to life in the Pacific Northwest. Some of the acts confirmed for the July 17th-19th weekend: Earth, Kimya Dawson, D+, Grouper, and No Kids. Yep — eclectic.

• It’s a bit of a slow week on the late night talkshows, but you should definitely tune for Doves on Last Call this Wednesday and Beastie Boys on Fallon tonight.
  Monday, May 25

  Tonight Show: Lyle Lovett
  Jimmy Fallon: Beastie Boys
  Last Call: Keane (R 5/19/09)
  Jimmy Kimmel: Scott Weiland (R 5/8/09)

  Tuesday, May 26

  Jimmy Fallon: Keane
  Last Call: The Virgins
  Colbert Report: Green Day (R 5/21/09)

  Wednesday, May 27

  Last Call: Doves

  Thursday, May 28

  David Letterman: The Killers (R 5/11/09)
  Tonight Show: Prince
  Jimmy Kimmel: Depeche Mode (R 4/23/09)
  

• The rumors of a Leslie Feist appearance on the upcoming Wilco album are true! The Chicago ruffians confirmed the Canadian belle duets with Tweedy on the track “You and I” from the as-yet-titled Wilco release slated for later this year. Now if only the album steers clear of the sleepiness of Sky Blue Sky, we’ll be truly ecstatic.

• It’s no secret New York City has all the musical luck and it’s no different come May 8th when Bjork and Dirty Projectors combine talents for Housing Works, an organization that deals with homelessness and the AIDS epidemic.

• Pioneer of off-the-cuff live music video sessions, La Blogoteque, continues to outdo itself, this time with an amazing performance from Sigur Ros:

• Use up your iTunes giftcards as quickly as you can. Come April 7th, prices for hit singles and in-demand tracks (A.K.A. the most downloaded) will raise from the standard 99 cents to new price point $1.29, reports The King of A&R. Enjoy buying 3 tracks for the price of 4!

• Though the RIAA had promised to back off of suing individuals who illegally download their most coveted (i.e. money making) releases, it seems old habits die hard. According to Ars Technica, the oh-so out of touch institution is still brings about lawsuits in the hopes of reaping settlements from the damned. The catch is these new cases are, in actuality, old lawsuits just being brought up thanks to a backlog of ISP addresses just now being matched to owners — in other words, the RIAA have abandoned new suits but still can’t wait to decipher all those old ISPs to collect your money just because you dig a little Poison.

• A slight name change and a lengthy North American tour have yet to slow down Santigold (née Santogold). The new lady on the block is a hot commodity, working on vocal tracks on upcoming releases from the Beastie Boys and David Byrne.

• Animated supergroup Gorillaz’s long-awaited Bananaz is set for a theatrical and DVD release in June. Babelgum (has anyone ever heard of this site?), however, scores the glory of premiering the 2007 documentary beginning April 20th. The website will stream the film for four weeks. Here’s the trailer:

• Here are the highlights of the talk shows this week. Be extra sure to set your DVR for Phoenix’s upcoming appearance on SNL — the new album is going to be hot!
  Monday, March 30

  Jimmy Fallon: Glasvegas

  Tuesday, March 31

  David Letterman: Marianne Faithfull
  Jimmy Fallon: Gomez

  Wednesday, April 1

  David Letterman: Ray LaMontagne
  Jimmy Fallon: Stevie Nicks

  Thursday, April 2

  Jimmy Fallon: Dr. Dog

  Friday, April 3

  Jimmy Fallon: Cold War Kids
  Jimmy Kimmel: Lily Allen

  Saturday, April 4

  Saturday Night Live: Phoenix

• The world is a vampire and so is Billy Corgan. The Deacon of Doom-and-Gloom has run off Iha and D’Arcy and now he’s rid himself of drummer Jimmy Chamberlain. Corgan announced the split with a post on the Smashing Pumpkins‘ website. Now if only the world could split from Corgan…

• Brian Eno will be curating an upcoming Sydney festival as part of the Australian city’s Vivd Sydney event. UK outfit Ladytron is the first confirmed act. The fest will take place at the storied Sydney Opera House but dates and times have yet to be announced.

• Late night house band The Roots will be backing Public Enemy at June 6th The Roots Picnic. PE will be performing It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back in its entirety with The Roots serving as the beat and melody. Curious as to how the two groups will merge? Check out their joint performance of “Bring the Noise” from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon:

• Little do you know about something that I talk about, so I’m going to fill you in: The Beastie Boys will be reissuing Check Your Head April 7th. You can preorder, beginning March 30th, at the band’s website and catch the band performing “So Whatcha Want” on The Arsenio Hall Show — awesome. The reissue will come in a variety of formats, from as simple as the album and b-sides as digital file, to a limited 4xLP collector’s set.

• The beautiful and amazing PJ Harvey with her collaborator John Parish, who wowed our audience during KEXP’s broadcast from Austin during SXSW, are a must-see on Leno Tuesday night. Other highlights include Bloc Party, Ra Ra Riot, White Lies, and Prince, who holds a three-day residence on Leno starting Wednesday.
  Monday, March 23

  David Letterman: Bloc Party

  Tuesday, March 24

  David Letterman: White Lies
  Jay Leno: PJ Harvey & John Parish
  Daily Show: Bruce Springsteen (R 3/19/09)

  Wednesday, March 25

  David Letterman: Jesse Harris with Norah Jones
  Jay Leno: Prince
  Late Late Show: Ra Ra Riot
  The View: The Blind Boys of Alabama

  Thursday, March 26

  Jay Leno: Prince

  Friday, March 27

  David Letterman: Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt (R 2/4/09)
  Jay Leno: Prince
  Late Late Show: The Damned (R 10/31/08)
  Jimmy Fallon: N.E.R.D.
  Last Call: Ben Harper & Relentless 7
  

Things change. In 1987, the Beastie Boys were the first group ever to make a #1 charting rap album. The hit “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)” had a punk feel to it, but the beats were pure hip-hop. Their frat boy attitudes and fanny-pack/medallion outfits were unprecedented in both hip-hop and rock-n-roll.

The Beastie Boys were teenagers when they started out. Mike Diamond and Adam Yauch created the band with money from their parents. Working with Kate Shellenbach (who’d later be in Luscious Jackson) and Adam Horovitz. And despite their Neanderthal beginnings, the Beasties started to show real promise on the album Paul’s Boutique in 1989. This record had a funkier feel. And the guys kept putting out records. But it was 1998’s Hello Nasty that really broke the mold, with styles ranging from electronica to salsa, soul to bossa nova. Hello Nasty also had a guest appearance from reggae great Lee Scratch Perry!

But the Beastie Boys would further evolve. Darwin would be proud. In 2004 they released To The Five Burroughs — a politically-conscious collection of hip-hop that was written in reaction to the attacks on the Boys’ beloved Manhattan on 9/11.

Even more impressive, the lyrics were a heartfelt call-to-action.

If you don’t like the news then press eject
Baby Davis getting older can’t take a rain check
It’s time to let’em know what we expect
Stop building SUV’s strung out on OPEC
Hold up wait up you know we come correct
You wanna change things up, well hey just get set
It’s easier to sit back than stick out your neck
It’s easier to break things than build it correct
We’ve got a president we didn’t elect
The Kyoto treaty he decided to neglect
And still the US just wants to flex
Keep doin’ that wop we gonna break our necks

It takes a second to wreck it
It takes time to build
You gots to chill

But it was 2007’s The Mix-Up that changed the Beastie Boys forever. Following the lead of organ-player Money Mark, the original Beasties dropped the mics and walked over to the bass, guitar and drums. And even though they were not pros at those instruments, after years of musical performance they were able to create a soul-funk album of instrumentals that is completely different from any of their other work, and top-notch. The Mix-Up earned them a Grammy for best pop instrumental album in 2008.

This sends home the lesson that a friend taught me so many years ago. “Do work that you love.” She said. ” Cause whatever you choose you’re going to get really good at it.”

Here’s the Beastie Boys (now men) with the album “The Mix-Up”.

Join DJ Michele Myers Fridays at 9pm for Nite Life on KEXP. Every Friday at midnight she does this album spotlight, telling a story and playing 3 songs from the record. Michele also produces KEXP Documentaries and hosts Wake Up Thursdays from 6-9am for KEXP in NYC on Radio New York 91.5FM.

• Chicago-based music journalist and Wilco-head Greg Kot, broke the story Friday afternoon that Jane’s Addiction, Depeche Mode, and The Beastie Boys would be headlining the 2009 edition of Lollapalooza, set for August 7-9 in Chicago’s Grant Park. The bands and event representatives have yet to confirm or deny the story, so likely they’re just upset that Kot broke the news before April 21.

• You can cross another ‘What If’ off your odd musical pairing list: Former bespectacled Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker is teaming up with Shellac brainiac and producer-of-all-styles Steve Albini for Further Complications. Due May 19th via Rough Trade, the new Cocker material receives the cheap but effective touch behind the boards that only Albini can provide.

• His name may not be John Lee Pettimore, but Steve Earle ain’t a stranger to deliverin’ a mess of tribute material to Knoxville and the rest of the world. Townes, due May 12, is a self-explanatory — unless papa Steve is impressed with his son’s (Justin Townes Earle) first two albums.

• Dig out your yellow jump suits and red flower pot hats, Devo returns! The futuristic ones will be performing Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! in its entirety during the Fan’s Strike Back portion of All Tomorrow’s Parties: Don’t Look Back. The show takes place in London May 6, so schedule your rainy vacation now!

• Trent Reznor just posted this video of Nine Inch Nails joined by The Dillinger Escape Plan — a “poor man’s Coldplay” — for their performance of “Wish,” live at the Soundwave Festival in Perth, Australia, on March 2nd, 2008:
  

• Due to excessive leaking, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have pushed up the release date of new album, It’s Blitz, from April 14 to this Tuesday (March 10) in digital and March 31 in all CD and LP. Is no one capable of waiting and being surprised? Spoil sports.

• Filmmaker Jim Jarmusch is getting the soundtrack for his latest film, The Limits of Control, from the world’s best doom and drone acts the world has to offer: Boris, Sunn O))), and Seattle born and bred Earth (what a show recently). The film is due in limited release May 22 but no date has been announced for a soundtrack release.

• It’s hard to fill the void left by U2’s 5-night stint on Letterman last week. In fact, there’s a bit of a lull all around the talk show circuit this week, but you’ll find a few KEXP favorites or other interesting musical acts if you look hard enough:
  Monday, March 9

  Last Call: Razorlight
  Tavis Smiley: Neko Case

  Tuesday, March 10

  Jimmy Fallon: Michael Stipe
  Jimmy Kimmel: Chris Cornell

  Wednesday, March 11

  David Letterman: Razorlight
  Jimmy Fallon: The Virgins
  Last Call: Patton Oswalt, M83
  Jimmy Kimmel: The Pretenders

  Thursday, March 12

  Jimmy Fallon: Glen Hansard
  Last Call: Delta Spirit

  Friday, March 13

  David Letterman: Cursive
  Jimmy Kimmel: The Dream