Gary Louris: Vagabonds
Former Jayhawks frontman releases first-ever solo album read more
The Mars Volta: Bedlam in Goliath
Haunted Ouija boards, Byzantine chord changes... read more
Vampire Weekend tours behind long-awaited album
Slip on those boat shoes, duck under that chandelier, and dash to your record store! (Careful, don't get your shirt all wrinkly.) Vampire Weekend, that collection of smartly-dressed, Afro-pop-playing Columbia University kids, finally released its debut album Tuesday via XL Recordings. To celebrate this momentous and long-awaited occasion (we've christened it Vampire Week), Paste offers you a video tribute to Vampire Weekend: First, see our Video of the Day from Dec. 10, "Mansard Roof." Second, watch decidedly the most charming video from the new album, "A-Punk." (Hats, scarves, fish gloves, flashing lights...what more could you want in a video?) And... read more
Death Cab announces title for eighth studio album
Last night, Death Cab for a Cutie announced via its MySpace blog that the band's new album, slated for delivery onto the shelves of your favorite local record store (and the Internet, of course) this May, has been christened Narrow Stairs. Last December, when the then-untitled album's existence was announced to a multitude of obsessive Death Cab fans via the band's official website, not much more was released other than the release date. Paste recently had the opportunity to further discuss the record with Chris Walla, who called it "kind of…damaged." Damaged or not, Death Cab fans have been champing... read more
Born Ruffians release MP3, tour North America
Last we heard from Born Ruffians, they were getting chummy with Caribou on his latest tour and covering Band of the Week Grizzly Bear's "The Knife." Now with the fluttery upbeat Hummingbird EP to their name, the Toronto threesome is co-headlining a North American tour in support of their upcoming release, Red, Yellow and Blue (Mar. 4). The primary-color aficionados will join Cadence Weapon for an East coast jaunt and later head up to their native Canada. Feel bad about divorce rates with this MP3 for "Foxes Mate for Life," fresh off the new LP. And lest your eyeballs feel... read more
Steve Aoki’s Dim Mak teams up with Downtown Records
If you’re the son of the founder of Benihana, even the onion volcano stops being impressive after awhile. So what do you do? Well, you step away from the hibachi and become a world-famous DJ and club promoter. Perhaps you even start a record label. It turns out that that’s exactly what happened to one Steve Aoki, who occasionally DJs as Kid Millionaire. But even a childhood exposure to dangerous, flying knives could not help Aoki run his own record label as successfully as he wanted. Aoki told the Los Angeles Times that Dim Mak, the label, wasn’t where he... read more
Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly are Step Brothers
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Here at Paste, we're not in the business of validating clichés, but we are more than happy to let the above picture speak for itself. All right, fine; we’ll give you a little more. The picture illustrates the camaraderie between Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, who are starring in Step Brothers as Brennan Huff and Dale Doback. It’s the pairs’ first outing together since an obscure, independent film that you probably didn't see called Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Talladega’s director, Adam McKay, is back for Step Brothers,... read more
Beach Boy Dennis Wilson's solo album finds re-release
Late Beach Boys middle child Dennis Wilson’s 1977 solo album Pacific Ocean Blue is getting the expanded re-release by Caribou/Epic/Legacy (two-CD set) and Sundazed (double LP vinyl) on May 13. This is convenient, because it's just in time to carry it down to the pre-summer seashore and relax to the sound of crashing waves mixing with the music of the only Beach Boy who actually surfed. Wilson has always been a source of unusual trivia like this. He dated Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac. He befriended Charles Manson one year before the Tate/LaBianca murders. And he met a tragic end... read more
Missy Elliott introduces first-ever 3-D music video
Once upon a time, the music video was an innovation. “What do you mean by 'music video,'” asked incredulous old-timers. “Do you mean footage of bands performing their songs live?” When told that music videos could actually have plots and other creative, cinematic elements, those same old-timers lost touch with the modern world, daunted by the infinite speed of progress. And then they died*. Now, it’s time for a whole new generation of old-timers to experience shock and awe, because Missy Elliott is about to screen the world’s first-ever 3-D music video. Missy worked on the “Ching-A-Ling” video with longtime... read more
Starz to feature stars in TV's Crash
Starz Entertainment announced Monday that the film Crash will be made into a 13-episode, one-hour series come August. No, not 1996's Crash, the high drama starring James Spader as a car-crash victim who discovers an underground culture of individuals who have a fetish for car crashes. (Although, come to think of it, television series idea!) The Crash we speak of here is the film that shocked millions when it beat out Brokeback Mountain for Best Picture at the Academy Awards back in 2005, the film that touted a superstar cast of actors and actresses (Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon,... read more
Download site Qtrax pushes on despite setbacks
At the beginning of this week the long-awaited Qtrax was supposed to finally launch. The peer-to-peer downloading site has boasted legal means for music lovers to access their favorite artists. With an advertised catalogue of over 25,000,000 songs and a partnership with four major record labels (EMI, Warner, Sony/BGM and Universal Music Group), Qtrax seemingly had the potential seriously rival iTunes in 2008. Unfortunately, the too-good-to-be-true MP3 source is proving to be just that. First off, these alleged cooperatives with the recording companies are turning out to be a marketing farce, seeing as that all four of them have denied... read more
WGA reaches compromise with Grammy Awards
The 50th Grammy Awards will air Feb. 10, despite the tension as the writers’ strike continues to keep artists and execs at arms. On Jan. 15, Grammy producers made a formal request to the Writers Guild of America Board of Directors for an interim agreement that would contract writers for the awards. Just last week, the WGA announced that it would, in the least, not picket the event. The Recording Company has hence begun to coordinate acts for the show. The lineup includes a gospel segment featuring Aretha Franklin, Mary J. Blige and the Clark Sisters. The Time will reunite,... read more
Catching Up With... Glen Hansard
Glen Hansard had already established himself as a man of musical integrity before 2007. As the singer and guitarist of The Frames, he forged his way into many independent music loving hearts. But following the release of a little film called Once... read more
Nick Cave tours Europe, conquers world?
It sure seems like the mysterious, mustachioed Australian known as Nick Cave is trying to take over the planet via an endless onslaught of new (and awesome) material. After a year in which he released the well-received, self-titled Grinderman debut and scored an acclaimed film, the prolific quinquagenarian is strutting into 2008 armed with a new album and his first European tour in over three years. As we reported earlier this month, the 11-track album—the group's fourteenth studio release—emerges in the U.K. on March 3 and, on a Mayflower-esque schedule, lands on U.S. shores about five weeks later, on April... read more
Julianne Moore to star in supernatural horror flick, Shelter
Julianne Moore starts work this spring on her starring role in a supernatural horror film. Nala Films will produce the movie, called Shelter, which is based on a script by Michael Cooney. Swedish directors Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein will be at the helm when filming begins in Pittsburgh late March. The producers on the project are Darlene Caamano Loquet, president of Nala Films, and Emilio Diez Barroso, chairman and CEO of Nala Investments, which is funding the $22 million budget. Also producing will be Mike Macari and Neal Edelstein (Amusement, The Invisible). Shelter should play to Moore’s sensible chic,... read more
Lionsgate reaches deal with striking writers
Good news for people who love television. According to a TV Guide report, Lionsgate Entertainment has announced that it has signed an interim agreement with the Writer's Guild of America allowing popular shows Weeds and Mad Men to go back into production. Lionsgate is the latest independent film company to sign a deal with the WGA following The Weinstein Company, RKO and Marvel Entertainment. However, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers is neither happy nor hopeful about the group of independent production companies, as they recently stated: “These one-off agreements are meaningless because the companies signing them know... read more
Mark Ronson releases cover video for Radiohead's "Just"
Remember The Bends? At the time of the album's release (1995), back before Kid A or "pay what you want," Radiohead was a great rock 'n' roll band with serious guitar chops and a knack for hooks. Nothing super fancy, though still quite good. Now, remember "Just" from said album? It was that gloriously anthemic track that begin unassumedly enough with acoustic strumming before exploding into a wall of noise—the kind that just begged for air guitar theatrics. Basically, it's one of the most badass songs ever written. If your memory is still not appropriately jogged, try this video refresher:... read more
Widespread Panic to tour Free Somehow
Along with the free single Widespread Panic released in October, the band has also made the track “Boom Boom Boom” available for streaming and another single, “Walk on the Floor,” available with a $10 donation to the Make it Right foundation. Now, the Panic is hitting the road in support of Free Somehow, which hits record store shelves on Feb. 12. Dates: April 1-2 - D.C. @ Warner Theatre 4-5 - New York, N.Y. @ United Palace 6 - Albany, N.Y. @ Palace Theatre 9 - Cincinnati, Ohio @ US Bank Arena 11-13 - Chicago, Ill. @ Auditorium Theatre 16... read more
Documentary chronicles a day in the life of Ladyhawk
Upcoming documentary Let Me Be Fictional follows the members of Canadian rock band Ladyhawk as they record their latest album, reflect on society’s definition of adulthood and return to the town where they grew up together – all while consuming large quantities of alcohol. You weren’t really expecting Ken Burns, were you? Ladyhawk is the latest in a recent surge of indie rock bands to announce its foray into film. The band's entry comes hot on the heels of White Rabbits and The National, both the subject of documentaries in the works. The film begins with the members of Ladyhawk... read more
Bon Iver schedules winter tour
Bon Iver, otherwise known as Justin Vernon, recorded his debut, For Emma, Forever Ago, in his father's north Wisconsin cabin where he lived alone for three months in the dead of winter, and it reeks of the cold Midwest: low temperatures, foliage blanketed with snow, and solitude. Already shortlisted as a contender for Best Album of 2008 (although technically it was released by Vernon in 2007 before he signed with indie label Jagjaguwar, a midwestern resident itself), For Emma, Forever Ago will be supported by an appropriately seasoned tour, which begins mid-February in Vernon's hometown of Eau Claire, Wis., and... read more
The 20 Best Gadgets of the Decade…
The 17 Best Romantic Comedies This Decade
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Kim Taylor - Days Like this
Blind Pilot - The Story I Heard
Gregory Alan Isakov - The Moon Song
B.O.B. - Put Me On
Punch Brothers - Punch Brothers at CMJ
David Bazan - Hard To Be
Anya Marina - Whatever You Like
