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New Trail of Dead: "Bells of Creation"

Trail of Dead's new vinyl EP, Festival Thyme, will be released tomorrow. I think anyone who has been a fan of this band previously should take note because this song absolutely kills. If this song is any indication, I think I'm really going to enjoy the post-Interscope period.

Listen to "Bells of Creation" on their MySpace page.

Video: Jeff Mangum & Julian Koster - "Engine"

...and then Jeff Mangum and Julian Koster played the Neutral Milk Hotel song "Engine" in the middle of the room to close out the set. Flashbulbs and cellphones lit the way and in the age of the internet and instant gratification we can all revel in the moment it must have been for everyone in Pittsburgh and hope for the comeback to end all comebacks. [Vegan | Fork]

Video: My Morning Jacket - "Touch Me I'm Going to Scream Part 2"

• My Morning Jacket
• New Music

Video: Okkervil River - "Lost Coastlines"

From the new album, The Stand Ins.

A.V. Club Interview with Tunde Adebimpe

AVC: Adam Drucker [mastermind of Oakland band Subtle] recently mentioned that something may be brewing between the two of you and Mike Patton. What can you say about that?

TA: What I can say is that the three of us are indeed working on a project that I'm thinking will congeal toward the end of the year. It came from an idea that Adam had, to have the three of us basically mess around vocally and see what comes of it. That's as much as I can say, but I'm psyched about it. It's going to be so fun.

Read the full interview

Beck & MGMT @ United Palace Theatre, 10/9/08

The kids like MGMT. United Palace was practically full when I stepped in a few minutes into MGMT's set. I found their debut album to be hit or miss (first half vs. second half) but I thought they were pretty damn good last night. They perform as a 5 piece band and it definitely brings out more depth in the songs than the recorded material. As for Beck, if I wasn't such a big fan of his I would probably lay into this show a bit more. The set list was good but man did he plow through the songs. It just seemed like he was going through the motions and really only acknowledged the crowd twice to say thanks for coming. I expect a bit more from eight albums and a $50 face value than a 70 minute show. That said, aside from a solid set list, the backing band was great and I really liked the bit with the headphones. Modern Guilt was a nice surprise for me this year, I think right now it's my fourth favorite Beck album (after Sea Change, Odelay, and Mutations), and those songs fit in very nicely last night. Overall, I can't really see myself buying a ticket to one his shows again and I'm ok with that as long I'm still digging his studio output.

Set list (via):
Loser
Nausea
Girl
Timebomb
Minus
Soul of a Man
Mixed Bizness
Nicotine & Gravy
Que Onda Guero
Ghettochip Malfunction/Shake Shake Tambourine/Clap Hands
Devils Haircut
Think I'm in Love
Modern Guilt
Orphans
Walls
Missing
Chemtrails
Golden Age
Lost Cause
Where It's At

Encore:
Gamma Ray
Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
new song
E-Pro

Iran

A few weeks ago, while taking in all of the greatness that is TV On The Radio's latest masterpiece, Dear Science, I managed to come across Kyp Malone's other band/project, Iran. I don't really know how I missed this previously because from what I've heard thus far, it's excellent. Their first album came out in 2001 and the 'Fork gave it a 9.6. Now they have a 3rd album coming out and BV has posted the first track. Sitek is, of course, producing.

From MySpace:
Fans of experimental noise-popsters Iran know that seeing them is even rarer than catching a glimpse of the reclusive Jeff Mangum, but those fans will soon have cause to celebrate. Sort of. The quartet of singer/multi-instrumentalist Aaron Aites, guitarist Kyp Malone (also of TV on the Radio), guitarist/bassist Peter Hoffman (The Mendoza Line), and guitarist Aaron Romanello (Grand Mal), are planning to release an as-yet untitled album sometime this year. Produced by David Andrew Sitek (another member of TV on the Radio), the album is being recorded at Gigantic Studios in Tribeca and will be released through Narnack Records. Speaking with Pitchfork by phone last Friday, Aites described the new album as "very hi-fi", and "more structured" and "fully fleshed out" than their previous two outings, Iran and The Moon Boys. He also said it's more lyric-based (in the vein of The Moon Boys), with material sounding "louder and grimmer." They're also planning a single release for "Buddy", but have no firm release date for that either. They do, however, have some track titles:

I Can See the Future
Buddy
I Already Know You're Wrong
Airport '79
Baby Let's Get High One Last Time
Digital Clock and Phone
Where I'm Going
Cape Canaveral / Buddy Reprise
Can I Feel What?
Evil Summer

My Morning Jacket @ The Greek Theatre, 09.21.08

Now that it is settling in and the initial ecstasy of it all is waning, I can say that in all honesty it was one of the best shows I've ever witnessed. Up there with Ben Harper's 3.5 hour performance at 9:30 Club a few years back. Likewise Radiohead at Tower Theatre, DFA 1979/QOTSA/NIN at the Verizon Center, The National/Arcade Fire at DAR, TMV, TVotR, Boris, Eddie at The Wiltern, the list goes on....It was epic. And I will forever wax nostalgiac about how this band literally exceeded every impossible expectation I had for them. Studio recordings ain't got shit on what it sounds like - what it feels like - to hear those vocals live in the midst of a balls out rock and roll assault.

I really don't know how to, in some way, capture what it was like to be within maximum effective range of Jim James & company a couple of nights back. Without getting lost in Sabine's reverberation equation we need to somehow make sense of it all; figuring critical distances will only lead to a maddening plunge down a dark rabbit-hole. And you probably won't hear the vocals down there. Things are good and firm up here on planet earth. Down there, you probably won't feel the goosebumps on the back of your neck emerge when that madcap lunatic with the beard (who has spent the better part of two and a half hours doing things with his vocal chords you couldn't possibly imagine) hits the pedal on "Run Thru" and deepens your plunge into eclecticmusicalecstasy with a Reznor-worthy riff thats been building for five minutes or so. The muted jab on the strings sounds like a pistol grip pump - the not-so-calm before the storm type of foreshadowing that draws your breath away and makes your jaw drop right before Mr. James and Mr. Broemel unleash some of the nastiest guitarwork you've ever witnessed (and you've seen Jack, John, Omar, Ben, Nels, Adam and the like).

But don't go down that rabbit hole either. Don't go comparing or associating. Don't get lost in the categories. Prince, Floyd, Zeppelin, Petty, Elvis, The Boss, they're all there somewhere. So where are we, right now? If time is reflected on the x-axis and we're strictly speaking of the evolution of rock and roll - y'know...where. we're. headed. - where is this band taking us? It's all meeting and merging, exploding and imploding, destroying and creating by the time you get to the chorus, if there even is one. There's too many branches, but it's all so focused and contained. And two and a half hours never went by so fast. And how is it, that the mastermind behind all of this, that guy with the beard and the towel draped across his brow, the one that just did three knee slides the length of the stage, while he was playing during the outro, how is it that he seems to be having more fun than I am? Because I'm having a pretty good fucking time, right now.

Looking back on it you realize how American it all is. But not that nationalistic spew they're shoving down your throat when we club other malnourished, tiny nations to death on the Olympics. No. Not that faux-patriotism that you slap magnetic on the back of your SUV. This is that truly American promise of anything's possible, the America that I like to believe in. Potential. A million ways to the same place. Creating an interpretation of life through every influence that has ever crossed a synapse in your brain. A melting pot. And everyone gets to choose which way to go. Like walking into a country music bar and pumping some Boris on the jukebox and everybody being cool with it. (Give us a few decades and a few more bands like this and we'll get there.) But, they'd been thinking about all of this long before the rest of us, sponging it all up - motown, metal, disco, reggae, country, folk, intro, outro, solo, bridge, keys, brass, and most importantly guitars (their own little musical melting pot). What they found and what they bring to an audience is a wholly different and unique approach to that good ol' American end-state of rocking the fuck out. No limits. No boundaries. No genre of music is safe.

There was this girl five rows in front of us with blonde stringy hair, she was shaking and rocking so hard I thought her head was going to spin off. I've only seen cathode-ray black and white permutations of things as drastic and spastic as this: it was '64 and they were the Beatles. But who am I kidding. We were all under the same spell, the place was going shithouse-rat crazy and well, it ain't evil, baby if ya,...

It's been more than a day now, I need to hatch a plan. I need to somehow figure out how this bad man from California is going to get to Madison Square Garden on New Year's Eve. Talk about potential.

Setlist:
1. "Evil Urges"
2. "Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Pt.1"
3. "Off The Record"
4. "Anytime"
5. "I'm Amazed"
6. "The Way That He Sings"
7. "Two Halves"
8. "Thank You Too!"
9. "Sec Walkin"
10. "I Will Sing You Songs"
11. "What A Wonderful Man"
12. "Mahgeetah"
13. "Lay Low"
14. "Phone Went West"
15. "Gideon"
16. "Dondante"
17. "Librarian"
18. "Smokin From Shootin"
19. "Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Pt.2"
----------
20. "Golden"
21. "Wordless Chorus"
22. "Highly Suspicious"
23. "Run Thru"
24. "One Big Holiday"

Insane.

Easily one of the best shows I've ever witnessed. Setlist and photos will follow.

Beck, Spoon, MGMT Tonight

[Photo Credit: Amazon]

Beck will be ripping up the Hollywood Bowl tonight. I've never had the opportunity to see him live and the fact that MGMT and Spoon are opening gives this show a lot of promise. It is also my first time catching a show at the Hollywood Bowl. His latest album has been spinning regularly out here in California and while I don't know if it tops Sea Change (my favorite and one of several albums that literally CARRIED me through my experience in Iraq), it's very, very good. It won't hurt that Beck's dad (a legendary producer in his own right) will be manning the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra strings.

As for MGMT and Spoon, this will be my first time with them as well and I'm quite interested to see how MGMT does live. Oracular Spectacular is a fantastic album, but I'm nervous about these guys pulling off that heavily produced sound live (see: Bloc Party's "Flux"). At any rate...all of it is the perfect primer for my maiden voyage with My Morning Jacket tomorrow night at The Greek Theater. Let the games begin...

MP3: Beck - "Chemtrails"
MP3: Beck - "The Golden Age"

New Bond Theme: Another Way to Die

It sounds like a song by The White Stripes with a little bit of Alicia Keys. I'll take it.

Radiohead Talk Mercury, Return to Studio

About 1 minute in to their Santa Barbara finale (webcast for all of the high-speed connected world to see), and thus, North America closer, Frat and I had no idea what they were playing...and where it was headed. And then "Idioteque" bounced and bubbled and ripped through us. The dawn of a new age: there we were in my living room, gathered with friends, having conversation, but more often then not riveted to the screen and immersed in a global show. Throw away your television.

It turns out these guys have more for us. They will return to the studio once their Japan leg wraps and somehow try to top a year of music I will not soon forget (an 18 track album of epic proportions, an ongoing series of webcast shows, a wholly original and breathtaking score to one of the greatest films in recent memory, and a tour that pulled out all of the stops). Or maybe, in perfect Radiohead fashion, they won't try to top anything, they'll just do something unique and different...and keep on keeping on.

From the BBC:

Radiohead have announced exclusively to 6 Music that they’re in the process of writing a new album.

After losing out to Elbow for the Mercury Music Prize on Tuesday night (9 September) they told us they’d taken time out of playing live to put new tracks down and would be heading to the studio in the near future.

Colin Greenwood said they'd be heading back into the studio when they'd completed their current world tour: “We’ve finished the main bulk of it and we’re off to Japan in a couple of weeks to finish it off.”

And fully enthused about writing new stuff, Ed O'Brien chimed in: “We’re still talking about doing some stuff and we’re really excited about it. First we came off tour to do some writing and we wanted to just carry on doing it because it was so brilliant.”

"We’ve finished the main bulk of it and we’re off to Japan in a couple of weeks to finish it off." Colin Greenwood

The band didn’t join the other acts in performing at the Mercury Music Awards ceremony earlier in the week

However, they agreed that the Mercury was one of the most important accolades in the music business: “We’ve been on tour in America so we’re culturally a bit out of it but you come here and you realise that actually it’s a bit deal. When you hear Guy Garvey go this means everything to us you go, er, yeah, you’re right. It beats the hell out of the Brits and the other ones.”

Colin and Ed were also really happy that Elbow had won it: “We've been on tour with Elbow we've played festivals with them and they're lovely people. They've made a brilliant record with The Seldom Seen Kid. It really couldn't have happened to more deserving people, but most of the shortlist was great this year.”

MP3: Thom Yorke - "After the Gold Rush" (Bridge School, 2002)

Radiohead Live Webcast Tonight

As of 6:45 PDT: nothing yet at Dead Air Space.

Trackmarks: Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Don't Forget Me" Live @ Canvas Club (14 APR 06)

[Flickr]

This track's greatness lies in it's the simple construction. The foundation of a 4-note bass riff and the endless possibilities of John Frusciante's talent. It is also marks one of those all-to-rare moments where Kiedis' lyrics aren't in conflict with Frusciante's guitarwork, rather the two are in perfect harmony. On the album it is overshadowed by the catchy flash of "Zephyr Song", the grower "Tear", the album's pinnacle "Venice Queen" and the singles "By The Way" and "Can't Stop", the latter which has evolved into the staple opener of the Chili Peppers' live experience. Yet live, "Don't Forget Me" continues to grow in leaps and bounds 6 years after the physical release of By The Way (which marked the complete return to form of Frusciante); it is different every night. And because of it's minimalist structure and the man behind the wheel it holds the rarest of possibilities: infinity.

MP3: Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Don't Forget Me" (Live @ Canvas Club)

The Insound 20

The limit of my arithmetic:
T-shirts with the name of your favorite band > T-shirts with no logo > Fake, vintage T-shirts > T-shirts with a corporate identity. The National, The Decemberists, The Thermals & more.

Introducing the Insound 20!
Pre-Order today!
Orders ship mid-August.
Limited edition t-shirts, shirts and hoodies designed exclusively for Insound by Jason Munn of the Small Stakes. (Posters will sell out fast!) *Posters are signed and hand-numbered. Shirts and hoodies are printed on American Apparel products.

New P B & J September 23rd

Seaside Rock's tracklisting:

1. "Inland Empire"
2. "Say Something (Mukiya)"
3. "Favour of the Season"
4. "Next Stop Bjursele"
5. "School of Kraut"
6. "Erik’s Fishing Trip"
7. "Needles and Pills"
8. "Norrlands Riviera"
9. "Barcelona"
10. "At the Seaside"

Stream New TV on the Radio

An epic first track from the album, Dear Science (dropping on September 23rd), titled "Golden Age". The love affair continues: [www.TVontheRadio.com].

TV On The Radio's fall tour dates:

Sep 5 - Roseland | Portland, Oregon
Sep 6 - Showbox | Seattle, Washington
Sep 7 - Commodore | Vancouver, British Columbia
Sep 9 - MacEwan | Ballroom Calgary, Alberta
Sep 10 - Starlite | Room Edmonton, Alberta
Sep 12 - Big Easy | Boise, Idaho
Sep 13 - In the Venue | Salt Lake City, Utah
Sep 14 - Red Rocks Amphitheater | Morrison, Colorado
Sep 19 - Street Scene | San Diego, California
Sep 20 - Treasure Island | San Francisco, California
Oct 10 - Electric Factory | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Oct 11 - Lupo's | Providence, Rhode Island
Oct 13 - Wilbur Theatre | Boston, Massachusetts
Oct 14 - Masonic Temple | Brooklyn, New York
Oct 15 - Masonic Temple | Brooklyn, New York
Oct 18 - Bogarts | Cincinnati, Ohio
Oct 19 - Vogue Theatre | Indianapolis, Indiana
Oct 20 - First Ave | Minneapolis, Minnesota
Oct 21 - First Ave | Minneapolis, Minnesota
Oct 22 - Riviera | Chicago, Illinois
Oct 24 - Voodoo Festival | New Orleans, Louisiana
Oct 25 - Tabernacle | Atlanta, Georgia
Oct 26 - Bijou Theatre | Knoxville, Tennessee
Oct 28 - Lakewood Theatre | Dallas, Texas
Oct 30 - Stubb's | Austin, Texas
Oct 31 - Diamond Ballroom | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Nov 6 - Wiltern | Los Angeles, California
Nov 8 - 4th and B | San Diego, California

New Bloc Party Album Out This Thursday

It's bold, for sure, but I wish I could be more excited about this. "Mercury" is not a very good song and, unfortunately, it's on the tracklist. I hope to be pleasantly surprised. The album is called Intimacy and the physical release is out on October 28th.

01. Ares
02. Mercury
03. Halo
04. Biko
05. Trojan Horse
06. Signs
07. One Month Off
08. Zephyrus
09. Better Than Heaven
10. Ion Square

[Pre-order]

Cloud Cult Fall Tour

Cloud Cult has scheduled a few fall dates. I missed them the last couple times there were in NYC so I'm really looking forward to this one.

Nov. 11 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom (tickets)
Nov. 13 - Boston, MA - Middle East (tickets)
Nov. 14 - Bethlehem, PA - Lehigh University

All Points Brutal

Another letter from the front, in our on-going concert series/war correspondence with Dr. Thomas Beckett, Esq. As usual, political correctness is checked at the door. Enjoy:

Dear Metro Distortion and Friends,

I need to vent about the brutality that occurred at the 1st Annual All Points West Festival this past weekend at Liberty State Park in New Jersey. From the constant stream of emails I received about the festival from the APW Crew, this was shaping up to be a promising event. Two nights of Radiohead back to back! That was enough for me to lay down 566 bones for two tickets to the festival. It started out swimmingly. A romantic $30 a ticket ferry ride with my girlfriend around Manhattan, through the new fugazi waterfalls on the East River (mechanical waterfalls? what the fuck is going on?), cruising by Lady Liberty and Ellis Island.

We enter the festival, present our tickets, they barely check us for any narcotics or foreign objects and we do what any good concert-goer does...we head for the alcohol retailer. There is a long line in order for them to SCAN your IDs...but I say to myself that this will be okay. As we get closer, I realize that this is a beer tent...I hate fuckin beer tents. But being a veteran of Coachella, I calm down and realize that any fairly resourceful individual can get through a festival with beer tents. We get to the front of the line and some fat bastard (who probably smashes 16 Mickeys in order to get a buzz slashes my entire hand with a dark purple sharpee. Then some dude scans my ID and states with a firm voice, "There is a five beer maximum, I say again, a five beer maximum and you can only drink in the 3 designated beer tents!" He then proceeds to snap a neon yellow wristband on my right wrist that has five tabs on it marked 1 through 5. I was stunned.

They shuffled us into the heavily guarded beer tent. I felt like they were Germans guiding me into the showers of....I digress. Not only were the beer tents fenced in, but they had a second fence with a green tarp around it so you could not see out into the festival and god forbid some poor innocent child should look in to see people drinking beer...at a festival! As one could imagine, the tents were packed with circular lines to receive your ration of alcohol. To top it all, they charge $9 a drink. They also positioned the 3 tents between the 3 stages, therefore we can all enjoy the entwined noise of CSS and Andrew Bird in the distant distance.

Gentlemen, what the fuck is going on here? What country did we come back to? What country are we living in? Now, do I need a good amount of alcohol to enjoy a show? Not necessarily. But does a baseball player need a glove to play the game? Does a business executive need a cup of coffee to get through his morning? Does a porn star need a fluffer to get through a scene? Not necessarily. BUT IT SURE AS SHIT HELPS!

Whatever happened to sex, drugs and rock 'n roll? At a minimum sex, drugs and rock 'n roll for the average Joe was missionary style with his wife, 10 beers, and Rod Stewart...at a minimum. You take beer away from us...then what's next? YOU ARE FORCING ME TO DO DRUGS!

The following day at the festival, I turned my girlfriend into a mule. Let's call her Nancy Botwin. Nancy went through security with tiny bottles of rum in every place non-abusive, but on this day they search everywhere and take 8 aeroplane style bottles of rum off her. We were forced to go back to the beer tent. I get my 5 tab wristband and head inside, but I am stopped by a security guard that tells me..."Sorry, the tent is full." Seriously! So with my neon-tabbed arm I give him the middle finger and tell him that this whole thing is fascist and left the line in protest.

So, there you have it. Two nights of Radiohead...dead sober. Radiohead was flawless though. The only band in the world that can play every song off their latest album, two nights in a row and people were still in a frenzy. They did a good job of mixing up the oldies on back to back nights. The second night they played "The Bends," which I thought was a treat for people who suffered through both nights of a brutal festival. "Jigsaw" and "Arpeggi" will be staples for years to come...great songs live. I cannot think of another headlining band that could possibly drag me back to this communist festival. Ben Harper played the following night. I didn't go. Honestly, what would have been the point.

Last night I was relaying this story to a friend of mine, Tennessee Dust, over a couple of late night cocktails. When I cracked open a new freshie, I spilled some beer on my left hand that still had remnants of the purple sharpee marks. I went to the sink to wash my hand off and after five nights, the purple mark finely came completely off. It wasn't the soap and water. It was the alcohol.

Yours,

Thomas Beckett

"GHT...There's no T without the GH"

Eddie Vedder @ NJPAC, 8/7/08

[my phone pics]

I had to remind myself on several occasions to blink. I didn't want to miss anything and I didn't want the night to end. After striking out twice for the NY shows, Newark and the 10c came through for me. 7th row orchestra. I read somewhere that these shows feel like a conversation in Eddie's living room and it's true, from the Q&A to the stories behind some of the songs. There are too many things to recap but one of the more memorable moments was listening to Eddie explain the origin of "Yellow Ledbetter" and then, curiously, he actually cut himself off after he seemed to get a little choked up. He also debuted a new song that he claimed to have written at 5 a.m. that morning, after a long night of boozing. During "Hard Sun," I turned around to see Tim Robbins with a big Andy Dufresne smile on his face rocking out with the rest of us . Last night, he was the second coolest guy in the building...

Set 1:
"Walking the Cow" (Daniel Johnson)
"Trouble" (Cat Stevens)
"Don't Be Shy" (Cat Stevens)
"Around the Bend"
"I Am Mine"
"Dead Man Walking"
"Sometimes"
"I'm Open"
"Man of the Hour"
"Unthought Known" (new)
"Driftin'"
"Masters of War" (Bob Dylan)
"Setting Forth"
"No Ceiling"
"Guaranteed"
"Far Behind"
"Rise"
"Small Town"
"Goodbye (You're True)"
"Soon Forget"
"Forever Young" (Bob Dylan)
"Porch"

Encore 1:
"Society" (w/ Liam Finn)
"Throw Your Arms Around Me" (w/ Liam Finn) (Hunters and Collectors)
(Q/A)
"Growin' Up"
"Lukin"
"Let My Love Open the Door"
"Arc"

Encore 2:
"Hard Sun" (w/ Liam Finn)

Image of last night's setlist (although it changed during the show)

[skyeriverwinter]

The End of Wolfmother

This is unfortunate. Perhaps it's another classic case of a band growing up too fast in a music biz craving $$ but we'll look back fondly on the good times with Wolfmother, in the early days of Metro D in '06.

[NF's interview]
[Wolfmother @ Northsix - where it all started for Metro D]

UPDATE: Apparently the Wolfmother name lives on.
[More]

The National @ Central Park Summerstage, 8/4/08

[Random phone pic taken during Yeasayer]

I was there at 6:30 on the dot to catch Plants and Animals. Given their recorded output, I really expected more than 3 people on stage. I'm addicted to Parc Avenue right now and their live performance was further confirmation that this band has a solid future ahead of them. Yeasayer looked very comfortable in a large capacity setting although I still want to catch them in a smaller venue to get the true vibe from their set. I love how the songs from their album take on an entirely new life on stage. They also played two new songs, the first of which sounded incredible. The second one, unfortunately, didn't quite work. As for The National, the horns are always a nice addition to their live shows but I missed the violin presence from Padma (Doveman filled in admirably on keys) . "Virginia" was a nice surprise and I'm hoping they start pulling out a few more b-sides. For as many times as I've seen The National (I think I've lost count), I don't think they'll ever top this year's show at BAM but I've yet to be leave a show disappointed and last night was no exception. One additional note, the amazing artwork behind the stage (in the photo above) was done specifically for The National, for this show.

Setlist:
Brainy
Secret Meeting
Baby We'll Be Fine
Slow Show
Squalor Victoria
You've Done It Again, Virginia
Abel
The Geese Of Beverly Road
Ada
All The Wine
Daughters Of The SoHo Riots
Apartment Story
Green Gloves
Mistaken For Strangers
Fake Empire
---------------
Start A War
Karen
Mr. November
About Today

The Mars Volta to Headline Detour

[L.A. Weekly's Detour]

Adios

[Jim Rogash/Getty Images]

The mercurial Yankee-slayer. The perennial .300/30+/100+ guy. The mp3 sunglasses, piss breaks in the Monstah, baserunning for dummies, walking out groundballs, slide-tripping over the sprinkler to tie Game 1 of the World Series guy. I've defended the madness for 8 years now. I'm going to miss him. I'm really going to miss that first note: Yankee-slayer (.321 BA, 1.029 OPS, 55 HRs, 163 RBIs in 200 games against the Spanks). We're going to find out soon how good Papi really is now that Predator isn't coming to bat after him. You don't replace a bat like his. You can't. 2004 and 2007 don't happen without him. And we might have just kissed a shot at '08 goodbye. Manny's the only Red Sox player (current/former) to be featured in one of my Christmas cards, and, at that, the only Red Sox player I've ever met on the street. He is one of the greatest hitters ever. You simply don't replace guys like him. You just move on.

Boris @ Echoplex This Sunday

[Tickets]

Bloc Party @ Mayan Theatre, 7.29.08

[More @ Flickr]

Great show. But, probably the last time I grab a ticket for just this band. We've said it before numerous times on this blog: why doesn't this band explore their catalogue more? "Version 2.0", "Staying Fat", "The Once and Future King", "Two More Years" all come to mind. They are an extremely talented band that puts on a very solid-worth the price of admission show, but there is nothing above or beyond the main set, break, encore, and out. Give me a cover. Give me a B-side. Give me something. Anything. I left fulfilled but thinking about the likes of The National, Arcade Fire, and TV On The Radio. Bands who - every time I have caught them - come out with guns blazing and never let up.

"Flux" is flat live (disappointingly so), but "Mercury" (which I didn't like on first listen) had a great energy to it (but I'm pretty sure I was the only person in the audience singing/dancing to it - ahhh, L.A.). "Positive Tension" perhaps, the greatest song this band has ever crafted was nowhere to be found.

UPDATE: Apparently their San Fran show was ill. Three encores.

Setlist:

"Hunting for Witches"
"Like Eating Glass"
"Waiting for the 7.18"
"Price of Gasoline"
"Song for Clay (Disappear Here)"
"So Here We Are"
"The Prayer"
"Uniform"
"Mercury"
"This Modern Love"
"Banquet"

"Sunday"
Intro > "Flux"
"She's Hearing Voices"
"Helicopter"

Video: Boris - "Statement"

August 3. Echoplex. With Torche and Lair of the Minotaur.

New Broken Social Scene?

BSS, along with new TVOTR, would make two very nice additions to 2008. I hope this news in true.

"Bloggerati, commence your Twittering, the new joint drops in August."

Chris Cornell and Timbaland (What!?!?!)

Seriously, what happened to Chris Cornell? Chris, please see prior post of Pearl Jam video for inspiration. This is trash. My jaw is still on the floor. The song "Long Gone" is below.

boomp3.com

VH1 Rock Honors: The Who

The show airs tonight, July 17th at 9pm on VH1. Pearl Jam performed "The Real Me" (love the horns) but I guess my question is, are they performing anything else? Video below.

• VH1 TV Shows
• Music Videos
• Celebrity Photos
• News & Gossip

One Day As A Lion - "Wild International"

The first song from the Zach de la Rocha/Jon Theodore collaboration is up on their MySpace page. Good tune. I like where this is headed.

3 Doors Down @ Yankee Stadium, 7/14/08

You can't make this stuff up. Who knows, maybe ESPN thought this would be a good encore to Bon Jovi's 60,000+ show at Central Park on Saturday. I was at the Home Run Derby last night and thankfully Josh Hamilton was too because it's quite possible that he saved the event. Without any Yankees (or superstars, for that matter) in the competition, the place was practically asleep before Hamilton stepped up as the last of 8 participants in the first round. As it turns out, Hamilton's jaw-dropping performance provided a pretty nice little ending to what was a very memorable wedding weekend of Metro D's own, NF. Congratulations again buds.

Fleet Foxes @ Bowery Ballroom, 7/9/08

photo taken by Elizabeth Weinberg

Occasionally, there are moments in this internet age where a band can actually live up to the hype and praise garnered upon them. It's rare but it happens. From the moment Fleet Foxes collectively started singing last night, I was left speechless. Apparently lead singer Robin Pecknold is pretty sick but I can't remember the last time I was ever this blown away by someone's voice (maybe the first time I heard MJK). I love the Sun Giant EP, "Mykonos" along with Portishead's "The Rip" are the two best songs I've heard this year, but I've been on the fence about their self-titled debut. But after hearing the new(er) songs live last night, they take on a completely different meaning. Consider them added to the handful of bands that I'll be following very closely moving forward.

Sun Giant ->
Sun It Rises ->
Drops In The River
English House
White Winter Hymnal
Ragged Wood
Your Protector
Crayon Angels [Judee Sill Cover] (Robin solo)
Oliver James (Robin solo)
He Doesn't Know Why
Mykonos
Blue Ridge Mountains
(encore)
Tiger Mountain Peasant Song (Robin solo)

As an aside, I got a kick out of Robin's comment today on BV (he is also a frequent poster on Ateastweb, the Radiohead site that I frequent quite a bit):

Hey hey, came on here to see if the midnight show tmrw was announced. I'm really sorry for sounding sick tonight, it's been a long long haul the last few weeks and I feel really really super bad about not singing 100%. I even went to an emergency doctor today just to get some stuff that might help for this night's show and I waited around in a Duane Reade for an hour to get the prescription but I guess I took the pill too late. I will never smoke another cigarette as long as I live as well

I'm really sorry if you were let down :(

Also my hat looks stupid, I have a dumb haircut, and I need to lose some weight

Luff
Robin

Too funny.

Mr. November? Let's Hope

I love it. Shirts are available for $18 via The National's web site. All proceeds go to the campaign. via

Yorke + O'Brien = Yes, Please (The Interview)

Is there a better entertainment website out there?

AVC: Hail To The Thief was piled up with sound, but it felt like that was where the album was coming from. The music, the artwork, even the title "In Rainbows" suggests this album is coming from somewhere else.

TY: The title Hail To The Thief was pretty much stamped on the top of what was going on, just an anger thing. There was a lot of anger in that record—a lot. There's very little anger in In Rainbows. It's in no way political, or, at least, doesn't feel that way to me. It very much explores the ideas of transience. It starts in one place and ends somewhere completely different. That was the only way we could fit it together, but it turned out to be a real upside in the end. The first half of it is pretty raw, pretty hectic. Even though you have "Nude," what the lyrics are actually saying is pretty messed-up, nasty. After a while, everything calms down and you get it out of your system. You feel better; there's this feeling of elation. As far as the artwork goes, that was heavily influenced by the pictures NASA puts on their website. They have this great library of stuff online that we were looking at, and it coincided with [Radiohead album-cover artist] Stanley Donwood's experiments, throwing wax around. It was just experimentation, but it gave a sense of release, letting go. [Dig]

Is there a better band in the world right now?

Sweetness

I'm sure our Chi-Town contigent will dig that headband. A little more 'fro on top and he'd be rocking that headband Walter Payton style.

"During his acoustic set at today's O2 Wireless Festival in London's Hyde Park, Ben JUMPED THE BARRICADE INTO THE CROWD after the plug was pulled and finished his performance!" [Photo/Story Credit]

Pearl Jam @ Beacon Theatre, 7/01/08

Pics courtesy of Jonathan Bayer on flickr

It's a pretty great feeling to just mosey on down the street to see my favorite band at the Beacon. It's also a good feeling knowing that PJ raised 3 million dollars for the Robin Hood foundation during this event. Not a cent went to the band. The energy couldn't quite compare to either of the two Garden shows (how could it?) but the first five songs (all seated) were incredibly rewarding. "Undone" was also a nice surprise. "Baba O'Riley" absolutely kills. I'm a little bummed that this show won't be available on the bootleg series so I'm hoping there is a fan copy out there somewhere. The Beacon is a great venue, my first time there, and after seeing Pearl Jam 3 times in the last week, I'm definitely saddened that this is all over. For now.

Set List: Low Light, Small Town, Sleight Of Hand, Harvest Moon [with guest vocalists Fonzi Thorton, Arif St. Michael, Vaneese Thomas], Masters Of War, Down, All Night [with guest vocalists Fonzi Thorton, Arif St. Michael, Vaneese Thomas], Corduroy, Even Flow, Light Years, Army Reserve [with guest vocalists Fonzi Thorton, Arif St. Michael, Vaneese Thomas], W.M.A [with guest vocalists Fonzi Thorton, Arif St. Michael, Vaneese Thomas], Marker In The Sand [with guest vocalists Fonzi Thorton, Arif St. Michael, Vaneese Thomas], Wasted Reprise, Wish List, Why Go, Do The Evolution

Encore 1: Undone, Who You Are [with guest vocalists Fonzi Thorton, Arif St. Michael, Vaneese Thomas], Given To Fly, Black, Crazy Mary

Encore 2: Ed has the front of house engineer play a CD by a group composed young siblings called 3MJ. Their father is serving in the military. The title of the song is "Make A Difference," No More, Last Kiss, Alive, Baba O'Riley

One Day As A Lion: Get Some

Bring together one of my all-time favorite vocalists, Zach De La Rocha, and one of the best drummers period, Jon Theodore (ex-The Mars Volta), and I think you've got a nice little band brewing. One Day As A Lion will be releasing their debut EP on July 21. [Read More]

Pearl Jam @ MSG II, 6/25/08

Pearl Jam have the best fans in the world, no questions asked. What an amazing experience, I don't think I can say which night was better. There were 11 song repeats from the previous night so there is certainly something to be said for hearing them the first time but then again, I had better seats last night. Highlights, aside from the obvious, included leading off with "Release," "Garden" and of course, the lady appreciated the "Wishlist" and "Last Kiss" inclusions. And come to think of it, Ace Frehley (KISS) owned "Black Diamond."

Set 1
Release, World Wide Suicide, Severed Hand, Corduroy, All Night, Cropduster, Garden, Marker In The Sand, I'm Open, Wishlist, State Of Love And Trust, Even Flow, Who You Are, Rats, Given To Fly, Do The Evolution, Go
Encore 1
Inside Job, W.M.A., Lukin, I Believe In Miracles (w/ CJ Ramone on bass), Better Man(Save it for Later), Rearviewmirror
Encore 2
No More, Last Kiss, Why Go, Black Diamond (w/ Ace Frehley on lead guitar), Alive, Yellow Ledbetter/Star Spangled Banner

Pearl Jam @ MSG I, 6/24/08

Really, how many bands exist today where you can truly say after each show that it might be your favorite? For as long as I've been a die hard PJ fan, I've been looking forward to the chance of seeing them in the Garden. This one didn't disappoint. You always expect a little more with a show at the Garden and Pearl Jam delivered. "Present Tense" alone makes this show's download worth buying. See you guys again at MSG II (fingers crossed that my meeting happens on the early side tonight).

Set 1
Hard To Imagine, Save You, Why Go, All Night, Corduroy, Faithfull, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Down, Unemployable, Given To Fly, Who You Are, Whipping, 1/2 Full, Even Flow, Present Tense, Daughter, Do The Evolution

Encore 1
Love Reign O'er Me, W.M.A., Leash, Spin The Black Circle, Wasted Reprise, Porch

Encore 2
No More, Crazy Mary, Comatose, I Believe In Miracles w/ CJ Ramone, Alive

Encore 3
All Along The Watchtower, Indifference

Cloud Cult on Last Call Tonight

Cloud Cult will be performing on Last Call with Carson Daly tonight (Thursday). This will likely be the only reason I'll ever watch this show but hey, they booked one of my favorite bands so that says something right?

The performance will feature live painting (let's hope it's a long song) and rather than auction it off after the show, it will be available on eBay starting this Saturday. No word on weather Craig's stuff will also be available. Cue "Journey for the Featherless."

New Franz Ferdinand (sort of)

Head over to the Franz site for a streaming loop of what I'm guessing is a song called "Trigger 8." No vocal layers yet but I like what I'm hearing thus far.

Miscellaneous

~ Coldplay has sold over 30 million records which is a pretty staggering number in this day and age. EMI/Capitol would have you believe that they carry the weight of the world on the shoulders with this upcoming release. Of course it's going to be a let down in some way. That said, I think they've done a solid job with the new album. It seems to lack those big sing-a-long choruses which may turn off their casual fans and the lyrics are still terrible but there's quite a bit of quality in the music to be found here. The new album will be streaming on their MySpace page later today.

~ Despite the critical acclaim, I've really had very little interest in any of Deerhunter's recorded material. However, the two songs now playing on their MySpace page show a very different direction and both are damn good. It seems their new album Microcastle has leaked without, I believe, a release date.

~ I really dislike the NBA (Kobe especially) but how can you not watch the Finals? I'm in.

~ Not surprisingly, Pitchfork has given the Fleet Foxes s/t debut a Best New Music tag and a 9.0. I know I've mentioned this before but for all of the terrible things that Pitchfork is known for (e.g., never read one of their reviews of a band you like - you'll only be disappointed, Amy Phillips, etc.), I still count on them to find new bands. Fleet Foxes was one of them. The Sun Giant EP is awesome. I don't think the s/t is better but I've got tickets to see them next month and am really looking forward to it.

~ If this iPhone 2.0 is anything like the rumors suggest, Verizon and I will be parting ways after 9 good years.

WuChess

This cracked me up. You, too, can play for an annual fee of $48.

WuChess.com is the worlds first online chess and Hip-Hop community. You can create and share profiles with your friends and triumph over enemies on the 64 squares. Not just against people in your neighborhood but from all over the world.

Play live chess with people from all over the world and get your learn on.

WuChess.com lets you get knowledge from REAL chess masters online, or train in chambers against the computer to refine your skills.

Create your own chess clans to see who can build the highest ranking. Play in tournaments for prizes, or just for the joy of flexin' ya mentals.

At Wuchess.com you can log-on to watch chess clans do battle on and check out exhibition matches with Rza, other Wu-Tang members and stars from across the planet.

via

Pearl Jam Charity Show @ the Beacon Theatre

Crap. Crap. Crap. I really can't be too mad since I'm going to both MSG shows but it's the Beacon, it's one block from my apt., it's for charity, and I have a pretty good feeling it's going to be amazing. Not sure how I missed this.

UPDATE: Apparently, tickets weren't sold out because I got through just now and purchased one.

The National @ Summerstage Tickets

Tickets for The National at Central Park Summerstage go on sale tomorrow. I'm going out on a limb here by saying that this may be the best line-up I attend all year. Plants and Animals debut album Parc Avenue caught me by surprise and really is quite good (review here). I've been waiting to see Yeasayer for awhile now and although I'm not sure Summerstage is necessarily the best venue for them, I'll take it. The National, of course, need no introduction.

MP3: Plants and Animals - "Bye Bye Bye"
MP3: Yeasayer - "Wait for the Wintertime"
MP3: The National - "Rest of Years" (demo)

DCFC Takes No. 1 on Billboard

Even in an age when SoundScan numbers mean very little, this is still a very impressive feat for Death Cab. I've always admired Death Cab's work, never a huge fan nor a hater. The truth of the matter is that this band is still making high quality music on LP7 and lots of people have obviously taken notice over the years (as evidenced by platinum selling albums with The Postal Service and Plans). Narrow Stairs is another solid album with some exceptional tracks. I say, good for them.
____

As a side note, this new Beck track is insanely good. Can't wait for that album. Between The Black Keys and Beck, this Danger Mouse guy may have a future in this business.........

I Don't Miss Nissan Pavillion

What a mess. I think fans are right to question Radiohead management's selection to play at Nissan - a venue that really is in the middle of nowhere (no offense to the good folks of Gainesville, VA). That makes zero sense from a transportation standpoint. Man, I really hated going to Nissan for shows. Sorry but I think both NF and I can be thankful that we've since moved away from this mess.

The setlist, however, looks pretty amazing.

1.All I Need
2.Jigsaw
3.Lucky
4.15 Step
5.Nude
6.Pyramid Song
7.Arpeggi
8.Myxomatosis
9.Idioteque
10.Faust Arp
11.Videotape
12.Paranoid Android
13. Just
14.Reckoner
15.Everything in it's Right Place
16.Bangers n' Mash
17.Bodysnatchers

----Encore 1----
18.Like Spinning Plates
19.Optimistic
20.Karma Police
21.Go Slowly
22.Planet Telex

---Encore 2---
23.Fake Plastic Trees
24. The National Anthem
25. House of Cards

Cloud Cult Tonight

Doors at 8. [Knitting Factory]

Rosebuds, British Sea Power @ Bowery Ballroom, 5/10/08

This was my first time seeing Rosebuds or BSP, the latter of which I consider to be one of the finer rock bands in the UK at the moment. Rosebuds impressed. I listened to their second album quite a bit when it came out and I think that I need to look into their latest. BSP played loud and tight, sticking mostly to the studio version of their songs (until the end). "No Lucifer" and "Carrion" were the stand-outs. I admit though, I was a little bit disappointed by the lack of theatrics that I had read so much about. No foliage on stage or military regalia. This time they claimed to be old tennis stars, or something to that effect. Overall, it was good rock n roll but I'd give the live edge to last month's Constantines show at Mercury (which, unfortunately, I failed to write-up).

Setlist:
"Lights Out For Darker Skies"
"Atom"
"Remember Me"
"Down on the Ground"
"Leaving Here"
"A Trip Out"
"Canvey Island"
"Waving Flags"
"The Great Skua"
"Oh Larsen B"
"No Lucifer
"True Adventures"
"The Spirit of St. Louis"
"Carrion"
"Rock in A"

For those interested, nyctaper recorded the show in typical fine fashion.

MMJ on SNL

I've become fully immersed in all things My Morning Jacket at the moment. Their new album is ambitious, ballsy, and nothing short of excellent. They performed "I'm Amazed" and "Evil Urges" on Saturday Night Live. Not surprisingly, it was also phenomenal.
"I'm Amazed"

"Evil Urges"

Welcome Back Brendan

Chalk this one up in the good news department:

Pearl Jam has started recording its ninth studio album with producer Brendan O'Brien...The new effort, a follow-up to its self-titled 2006 album, finds Pearl Jam reteaming with longtime producer Brendan O'Brien (Bruce Springsteen, Rage Against the Machine) for the first time since 1998's "Yield." O'Brien has also produced Pearl Jam's "Vs." (1993), "Vitalogy" (1994) and "No Code."
More

June cannot come soon enough.

Virgin Festival Line-up Announced

This looks pretty damn good to me. And how about that Bob Dylan sighting? Sunday kind of owns it. August 9-10.

Coachella Rumors: Eddie Vedder

This weekend's Coachella line-up may be a bit lacking when compared to the other big festivals this summer but the two "Sean Penn" time slots on Sunday are leading some to believe that could include Eddie Vedder (one time slot precedes My Morning Jacket). I have no idea where this started but here are some call outs.

Product Shop NYC
Merry Swankster
Red Mosquito

Buzznet Scooping up Music Blogs

Buzznet, a social community and media site, has been in the tech press quite a bit lately with their recent purchase of Stereogum and Idolator. Traditionalists will most likely have issues with this. Personally, I think it's a great success story for Stereogum (even if I'm not a fan of the blog). However, the latest news is sure to raise even more red flags. A $25 million investment from Universal Music Group? How can that not create issues with their reader base? Time will tell, I guess. Wired chimed in as well.

Eddie Vedder @ The Wiltern, 4.13.08

JQ's back from Iraq, healthy and out of his fucking mind. These are all good things. He was out in LA for a few days and while we were driving home from the madness of the most attended baseball game in history at the Coliseum (Sox-Dodgers) we passed by the Wiltern and Eddie's name was in black beaming down Wilshire. I told him about the Ten Club feeding frenzy, the same thing at Ticketmaster and then let him know that as a student I'm not in a spot to start dropping StubHub prices for a gig. Even if it is a rare solo gig from the frontman of my favorite band. Fast forward past some empty bottles of wine, crushed cases of beer and obscene storytelling that went each night into the next morning and JQ was off to LAX and back into the abyss of out-processing the Army. The next day a package arrives in the mail addressed to my fiancee and underneath are the three magic words: "Get Hot Time". Inside? Two tickets to Eddie's second night at the Wiltern. These are my friends. What more can I say? I call JQ and get this response: "You didn't think I was gonna get you a fucking toaster for your wedding, did you?"

***

He was still in his lab coat then. His guests retired off stage. The lights dimmed and Eddie leaned down into a suitcase and began howling into one of the mics. He set a loop, then grabbed another mic and began belting an accompanying vocal track. I was frozen there, in the back row of the Wiltern completely fucking mesmerized. I haven't heard "Arc" in several years. He took his time, and it might be the memory of the whole thing fucking with me...but I think we witnessed him twisting his vocal chords for a good four or five minutes. The voice of a generation. The voice of my youth. The memories of a dozen shows from Camden, NJ to Mountain View, CA.

And I would have been good right there.

But, I had the feeling, as he walked to the front of the stage, the curtains closing behind him, and shook hands with members of the crowd ("Arc" still careening about the room on a loop) that something was going on behind him.

When they opened the curtain up Jack Irons was sitting on the drums, Eddie introduced him and noted the next one would be a "big sing-a-long". They kicked off "Last Kiss", with the crowd chanting every word and then I thought...if it ends here, I am very, very good with all of it. Guests have made the rounds on the tour, Jerry Hannan helped out in Berkeley on the first night, while Mike McCready and Sean Penn jammed out on "All Along the Watchtower" on night two at Berkeley. So, we score some Jack Irons on drums and to be honest, I'm fucking overwhelmed.

But no one moves. Eddie remains seated, Irons exits stage right. Eddie starts talking about how lucky he feels to know some of the people he knows and he's not sure if these people are "smart because they are talented, or talented because they are smart". And all of the sneaking suspicions I had leading up to the show start to unravel. He has to be talking about Ben. He hasn't played "No More" yet, and Ben helps him out with the same track on the Body of War soundtrack, courtesy of PJ's Lolla performance last year. And. And. And. "I'd like to welcome to the stage Mr. Ben Harper".

Out of my fucking mind.

I'm in the last row at the Wiltern going completely fucking apeshit as my lady is jumping up and down in the same frenetic fashion. Ben dealt some crushing blows last year at Bonnaroo: SuperJam with John Paul Jones & ?uestlove, bringing out Ziggy for "Get Up, Stand Up" and then tearing through "Dazed and Confused" with Jones again during his own set. And here he is. Sauntering out with a lab coat of his own. Taking a seat and giving Eddie an unbelievable vocal accompaniment during "No More". I can barely take it.

And if you thought they were done there. You're wrong. A backdrop is revealed with a beautiful sunset and the entire gang comes back for "Hard Sun" as Eddie fired up a recording of the studio version and added violent riffs on his guitar while bouncing around the stage in an epic little sing-a-long that included two pipes on both sides of the stage gushing dry ice.

Eddie thanks the crowd and still the set isn't going anywhere. It's just getting adjusted by more people in lab coats. Two seats. A drumset. Eddie is bouncing around in his famous half-buzzed-possibly-cocked-bebop, towards the corner, then back to the mic. "I'd like to re-introduce Mr. Ben Harper and Mr. Jack Irons. One more." Hell yes.

Ben walks out with the Weissenborn and I am all kinds of ballistic because whatever is coming he's got the fucking Weissenborn...Eddie rips into the opening bars of "All Along the Watchtower" acoustic and as I'm tearing up, Ben hovers in gently with the lead and I swear...I swear...I'm lost...they repeat "two riders were approaching..." a number of times just to get enough opportunity to let Ben crush us...and then all together "the wind began to howl..."

Main Set
"Walking the Cow" (Daniel Johnson)
"Around the Bend"
"I Am Mine"
"Dead Man"
"Thumbing My Way"
"Man of the Hour"
"Setting Forth"
"Guaranteed"
"No Ceiling"
"Far Behind"
"Rise Up"
"Millworker" (James Taylor)
"Goodbye"
"Soon Forget"
"Drifting"
"You´ve Got to Hide Your Love Away" (Beatles)
"Picture in a Frame" (Tom Waits)
"Trouble" (Cat Stevens)
"Happy Birthday" for his Grandmother Margaret
"Porch"

Encore 1
"Society" (Jerry Hannan; w. Liam Finn)
"Throw Your Arms Around Me" (Marc Seymour; w. Liam Finn)
"Lukin"
"Arc"

Encore 2
"Last Kiss" (Wayne Cochran; w. Jack Irons)
"No More" (w. Ben Harper)
"Hard Sun" (Gordon Peterson; w. Ben Harper, Jack Irons, Eliza-Jane Barnes & Liam Finn)
"All Along The Watchtower" (Bob Dylan; w. Ben Harper & Jack Irons)

Lollapalooza Lineup

Radiohead Summer Tour Dates

When they get back from Europe, it will go something like this. (I still haven't stopped listening to In Rainbows...)

8-01 Chicago, IL - Grant Park (Lollapalooza)
8-03 Indianapolis, IN - Verizon Wireless Music Center #
8-04 Cleveland, OH - Blossom Music Center #
8-06 Montreal, Quebec - Parc Jean-Drapeau #
8-08 Jersey City, NJ - Liberty State Park (All Points West)
8-09 Jersey City, NJ - Liberty State Park (All Points West)
8-12 Camden, NJ - Susquehanna Bank Center #
8-13 Mansfield, MA - Tweeter Center #
8-15 Toronto, Ontario - Molson Amphitheatre #
8-19 Vancouver, British Columbia - Thunderbird Stadium *
8-20 Auburn, WA - White River Amphitheatre *
8-22 San Francisco, CA - Golden Gate Park (Outside Lands)
8-24 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl *
8-25 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl *
8-27 Chula Vista, CA - Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre *
8-28 Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl *

* with Liars
# with Grizzly Bear

Lollapalooza Headliners Announced

Courtesy of Jim DeRogatis of the Chicago Sun Times:

Lollapalooza’s Austin, Texas-based promoters C3 Presents are not scheduled to make their official announcement of the acts performing at this year’s weekend-long music festival in Grant Park until Monday, but the Sun-Times has confirmed through industry sources all of the major artists.

Art-rock giants Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails, the reunited Rage Against the Machine, Jack White’s side project the Raconteurs and hometown heroes Wilco and Kanye West will headline the main stages on Aug. 1-3.

The Raconteurs, Wilco and West will each be making their second appearance at the reinvented destination festival. Other repeaters among the more than 100 acts on this year’s bill are Gnarls Barkley, the Black Keys, Broken Social Scene, G. Love & Special Sauce, Blues Traveler and Mates of State.

Quite a few of the other acts — including many of the most promising — have earlier performed at Chicago’s two independently produced music festivals, Pitchfork and Intonation. These include Bloc Party, Cat Power, Stephen Malkmus, Girl Talk, Kid Sister, Office, the Cool Kids, Battles, the Go! Team, Jamie Lidell and Grizzly Bear.

Advance three-day passes are now on sale for a limited time for $190 (after which the price increases to $205) at www.lollapalooza.com.

For the full list of Lollapalooza acts, stay tuned to this blog!

I don't know what it is about Lollapalooza, but they have some fucking clout in pulling in the big names. Radiohead and Rage? Fuck. This puts Coachella to shame.

Re-Post: The National from Liberation cd

Seeing as how I just made reference to some of the potentially "new" songs that will be featured on The National's Virginia EP and then completely forgot that I already posted two of them back in November, I'll put them back up now:

MP3: The National - "Tall Saint" (demo)
MP3: The National - "Rest of Years" (demo)

The National: A Skin, A Night + The Virginia EP

I had just heard a rumor about this today and now I see that it's confirmed on Insound. It's out on 5/20. Very unexpected and definitely very exciting. From Insound:

This (A Skin, A Night) is a documentary about The National by French filmmaker Vincent Moon, who followed the group during the creation of their acclaimed 2007 release, "Boxer" (scanned over 116K). It's an insightful and beautiful glimpse into the band's creative process. The DVD is packaged with a separate disc, "The Virginia EP", which contains twelve tracks of demos, a cover, live versions, a radio session, and b-sides.

The Virginia EP tracklisting:

1. You Done it Again, Virginia
2. Santa Clara
3. Blank Slate
4. Tall Saint
5. Without Permission
6. Forever After Days
7. Rest Of Years
8. Slow Show
9. Lucky You
10. Mansion On The Hill
11. Fake Empire
12. About Today

I've never heard tracks 4-7. They may be new?


[Pre-order]

Nude Remix

This should be fun for you creative types out there (unfortunately, I am not one of them); assuming you are also a Radiohead fan. "To make remixing easy, the separate 'stems' from the song are available to purchase from iTunes. The 'stems' available are bass, voice, guitar, strings/fx and drums. You can mix them in any way you like, either by adding your own beats and instrumentation, or just remixing the original parts." So maybe it's easy, I don't know.

$5.94 at iTunes.
www.radioheadremix.com