There Will Be Blood
There Will Be Blood, Paul Thomas Anderson’s first new film in five years... read more
Drew Barrymore snags Ellen Page for Whip It!
Juno star Ellen Page is slated to appear in Whip It!, Drew Barrymore’s upcoming directorial debut, Variety reported recently. Likely to begin filming this summer, it will feature Page as a small-town Texan "alterna-teen" named Bliss who finds herself (and actual bliss, natch!) when she trades one brutal world for another and ditches beauty pageants for roller derby. Admittedly, this writer was initially flummoxed by this announcement. When she thinks of Drew Barrymore, she thinks of Charlie’s Angels, mascara and Jimmy Fallon’s wedding (because this writer was flipping through People magazine last night and read that Barrymore attended said nuptials,... read more
Radiohead to play free show tonight in London
It seems that the members of Radiohead just can’t stop giving away their music. First came the unconventional choose-what-you-pay release of the band’s latest album In Rainbows. Then Thom Yorke and company announced today that they would play a surprise free show tonight at London’s Rough Trade East store. The band will play a short set of songs from the new album, guitarist Jonny Greenwood wrote on the band’s blog Dead Air Space. Tickets for the show will be distributed on a first-come first-served basis, as standing room in the store is very limited. The band also hopes to set... read more
Brad Renfro: 1982-2008
Actor Brad Renfro was found dead yesterday morning in his Los Angeles home. After earning acclaim for the title role in The Client, Renfro continued acting in the years that followed, notably in Sleepers, Apt Pupil, Ghost World and a particularly stirring performance in Bully. Although his career was short, Renfro played a wide variety of roles and was repeatedly praised for the power of his naturalistic acting. Renfro's last role will be in an adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' Informers, which he just completed prior to his passing. No cause of death has been announced. Our best wishes go... read more
Bruce Springsteen releases video, adds Magic dates
Never one to waste time waiting, Bruce Springsteen launched into 2008 recently with a release of a music video and a massive extension of his tour with E Street Band. The video for “Girls In Their Summer Clothes” premiered in an iTunes bundle Wednesday alongside a “Winter Mix” and a live version of the song from Springsteen's latest, Magic. Together once again, Springsteen and E Street released Magic, which landed in the number three slot of Paste's 100 Albums of 2007 list. The crew will continue its Magic tour through venues across the country, with dates that extend to the... read more
Colour Revolt offers MP3, preps Fat Possum debut
Colour Revolt is staging a coup. The much-anticipated first full-length album from the Oxford, Miss. wailers of Colour Revolt is set to officially overthrow your musical government on April 1. Keeping it local so as to stay under the radar and take authority-types by surprise, the band recorded Plunder, Beg, and Curse at Sweet Tea Recording Studio with producer Clay Jones (Modest Mouse, Elvis Costello), and will release it on Fat Possum Records. According to the band's bio, Oxford, the site of all this underground action, is "a city famous for its many dignified dead." Where better to start a... read more
Karen O says "Yeah Yeah Yeah" to Wild Things
Although the release of the highly anticipated film version of Where the Wild Things Are may have been pushed back to 2009, work on the film’s soundtrack seems to be moving full speed ahead. Director Spike Jonze has teamed up once more with famed film composer Carter Burwell (Adaptation, Being John Malkovich). But Burwell won’t be the only one setting the whimsical score for the famed children’s book. As previously reported, Karen O, lead singer of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, has been rumored to be linked to the project as well. Although the extent of her involvement has remained fuzzy, Burwell... read more
Scarlett Johansson's Waits album gets title, release date
Let us all clap hands; it wasn't too good to be true! Word emerged recently that starlet Scarlett Johansson will indeed release her debut album this spring. And the nearly two-year-old rumors were spot-on: her publicist confirmed that it's a Tom Waits covers record. Titled Anywhere I Lay My Head (nabbed from the closing track on Waits' seminal 1985 album, Rain Dogs), the album will be released May 6 on Atco, a division of Warner/Rhino. The 23-year-old actress (guess it's time to start adding "/singer") was on Paste's Arthouse Powerhouse 100 list in 2005 (check out the just-released 2008 Arthouse... read more
EMI streamlines workforce, cutting 2,000 jobs
EMI recently announced its plans to cut about 2,000 jobs from its Recorded Music division, reducing its staff by one-third. Terra Firma, a private equity firm, acquired EMI last August for $5 billion. Their proposed cuts are projected to save them about $400 million per year. "We believe we have devised a new revolutionary structure for the group that will improve every area of the business," said Guy Hands, EMI chairman. Not all agree with Hands. Artists such as Coldplay, The Verve and Robbie Williams have said they plan to withhold their material for upcoming albums. Paul McCartney has walked... read more
Penn Jillette's ranting goes digital
Straight from Yiddishkeit, the online Yiddish glossary: k'vetsh - whine, complain; whiner, a complainer Undoubtedly, Penn Jillette has developed into a k'vetsher par excellence in his decades of service as the larger half of comedic illusionists Penn & Teller. The guy just doesn't shut up, whether it be on stage in Vegas, hosting Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, co-authoring books, guesting on late-night TV or appearing as a VH-1 snarking head. When will the deluge of Jillette's opinions end? Not any time soon, apparently: the guy just got another venue in which to mouth off. Entitled Penn Says, the raconteur's new... read more
Cat Power extends tour to Australia
Chan Marshall (AKA: Cat Power) has been one busy woman as of late. She returned earlier this month from a charitable trip to India and Africa, her new cover album Jukebox hits stores this Tuesday (Jan. 22) and she will kick off a tour of North America and Europe with a show in Paris on the eve of her album’s release. Whew! But it seems that Marshall isn’t ready to holler “uncle” just yet. Despite a reputation for delivering meandering concert performances that bewilder even her most loyal fans, Marshall has extended her upcoming tour. Pitchfork reports that Cat Power... read more
New details emerge in Linda Stein case
The more we learn about the death of star New York City real estate broker and former Ramones manager Linda Stein, the seedier things seem to get. A couple of months ago Paste reported on the arrest of Stein's personal assistant Natavia Lowery in connection of murder. Since then, things have gotten downright nasty. A New York Times article from last month paints an ugly courtroom scene: Lowery's defense team arguing that her confession to New York police was coerced, a prosecuting attorney labeling Lowery a "devious, manipulative" criminal, and a host of Lowery's supporters vocally accusing Stein's daughter Mandy... read more
Magnetic Fields: Searching for Meaning in the Murk
Stephin Merritt, cup of hot tea in hand, stands on the grounds of the Huntington Library and Gardens in San Marino, Calif., a short drive east from his Los Feliz residence. Despite the perennial hangdog expression Merritt wears like a warning, he looks—God forbid—content... read more
Update: Guy Pearce joins Theron and Mortensen in The Road
UPDATE: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Guy Pearce has also joined the cast. The Road is tentatively schedule to begin shooting in Southwestern Pennsylvania in late February. -- According to Variety, Charlize Theron is joining Viggo Mortenson for the film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's contemporary classic The Road. Theron will be playing Mortenson's wife (the characters in the novel don't have names, they're just referred to as "father" and "son"), a relatively minor part mostly played in flashback due to the work's intense focus on the father/son dynamic. The Road is being directed by John Hillcoat, the Australian director behind... read more
Phosphorescent announces pre-SXSW tour with Bowerbirds
Phosphorescent, the mysterious Brooklyn, N.Y. (by way of Athens, Ga.) folk/Americana/gothic songster Matthew Houck, is bringing his natural glow to a slew of U.S. tour stops. Houck and a collection of rotating band members will be joined by North Carolina's hypnotic Bowerbirds, winding through the country until March, their final destination this year's SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. Houck and Co. released Phosphorescent's latest, Pride, on Oct. 23, and it earned the group a Band of the Week honor from Paste. Pride was Houck's third full-length, his first for Dead Oceans, and his best-received record so far. Dates: February 2... read more
Philip Glass doc features Martin Scorsese, Errol Morris
He’s one of the world’s greatest living composers. He’s been nominated for three Academy Awards. He has even been parodied in an episode of South Park, which is truly the culmination of any successful artist’s career. Now, the (non-satirical) spotlight will shine on Philip Glass himself, and not his music. Koch Lorber films will release Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts. Directed by Scott Hicks (the man who brought you Shine and No Reservations), the documentary was shot in the year and a half before Glass’s 70th birthday. Hicks interviewed Martin Scorsese, Errol Morris and many others for... read more
Green Owl Comp features Deerhoof, Feist, Of Montreal, more
Green Owl Records wants you to help clean up the environment. And really, how can you resist? Just look at that cute, green face above! But perhaps you need a little more urging, because a crudely drawn image of a green figure with claw-like hands may not be convincing enough. What if Green Owl Records threw in a two-CD/one-DVD collection that includes rare and unreleased tracks from your favorite artists? Then would you help clean up our polluted world? You probably would, given that the compilation, informatively titled Green Owl Comp: A Benefit for the Energy Action Coalition features contributions... read more
The Breeders hit Europe, SXSW and Coachella
The last time the Breeders went on tour, it was a different world. Things sure have changed, but some consistency is about to be restored to this chaotic world. That’s right, the Breeders are going on tour for the first time in six years. On April 7, the Sisters Deal will release Mountain Battles on 4AD, and their European tour will launch on that very same day. But fear not, non-European resident, because you will also have a shot at catching Kim and Kelley in action. The Breeders will play Toronto’s Canadian Music Week, Austin’s South by Southwest, and Indio,... read more
Deadline for PLUG voting looms, Patton Oswalt to host
Three days after the Feb. 5 Super Tuesday primaries comes the final date (2/8) to vote in an only slightly less consequential contest – the annual PLUG Independent Music Awards. Sounds tricky to remember, and you certainly don’t want to get the dates mixed up, so why not go ahead and take care of the one you can do from your bed/futon/economics class right now. The ballot is right here at PlugAwards.com, and its categories span albums, festivals, record stores and the publications that exist to yammer on about it all (including yours truly, Paste). The awards ceremony itself will... read more
Widespread Panic sponsors New Orleans home, offers MP3
Widespread Panic, the king of Athens, Ga.'s jam band scene, has taken its groove to New Orleans. The group is sponsoring a house in the Lower 9th Ward through The Pink Project, part of the Brad Pitt-spearheaded Make It Right Foundation. The Lower 9th Ward was one of the hardest-hit areas of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina, and it was one of the areas in which the largest number of homes previous to the disaster were owned by the people who resided in them. The Pink Project has entered the Lower 9th Ward and created bright, recognizable placeholders to be... read more
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Punch Brothers - Punch Brothers at CMJ
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