Ratatat shows love for West Coast and Brooklyn

Brooklyn-based electronirock (rocktronica?) duo Ratatat has scheduled a scant five tour dates this summer in anticipation of its new album, LP3, out July 8 on XL. The record follows the duo's 2007 self-released Ratatat Remixes Vol. 2. ...  read more

Listen to The Avett Brothers' new song, "Murder in the City"

Just to whet your EP anticipation, North Carolina grasspunks The Avett Brothers have released "Murder In The City," the first single from their upcoming The Second Gleam. Listen to it here:...  read more

Band of the Week: Neon Neon

Back in 1985, a certain futuristic-looking car, when properly revved up to 88 miles per hour, had the ability to blast Marty McFly and Doc Brown on a time-traveling expedition back to, well, the future. Fast-forward to the year 2008, and that same winged-door car, or...  read more

Sony nips at Mike Tyson documentary

James Toback’s documentary on the career of infamous boxing legend Mike Tyson takes a sympathetic spin on the story. The film premiered at Cannes this month and has Sony Pictures Classics in talks of picking up the piece....  read more

Roots and Costello signed on for inaugural Whistler fest

Just when you thought this year's summer festival lineup couldn't possibly have anything left up it's jam-packed sleeve, British Canadian resort town Whistler jumped in the game with a handful of festival veterans ready to prove you wrong...  read more

Savage Grace

In a decade when the dysfunctional family has become its own film genre...  read more

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin still touring, loving

Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin, the late first president of the Russian Federation and namesake of a certain Missouri-based indie pop band, was a pretty funny guy. Not many people know this, but those who do can likely attribute their awareness to the following video: ...  read more

Blockbuster to offer in-store downloads

Two years ago, Blockbuster, once king of the movie-rental business, verged on bankruptcy. It seemed that the giant may have fallen. ...  read more

Built to Spill can't stop, won't stop touring

You've got to admire Built to Spill's work ethic. Fresh off of a tour last winter and spring, the Boise-based alt-rock legends recently announced their forthcoming LP and the Perfect From Now On tour, a sprawling jaunt across America and Europe that starts in September. Doug Martsch and his scrappy troop of power-pop impresarios just unveiled more shows on the European leg of this already-titanic excursion, which now stretches well into November. ...  read more

Watch the trailer for Chuck Palahniuk's Choke

Victor is a historical re-enactor at a Colonial Williamsburg theme park where fellow employees greet him, “Victor, how art thou?”  He has meaningless sex with a string of random women, and then attends a weekly group therapy session for sex addiction. He has also developed a unique means of earning money to pay for his mother’s Alzheimer’s care: he purposefully chokes in nice restaurants and after allowing patrons to “save” him, milks them for money when they feel responsible for his well-being. No, this isn't the story about your sleazy cousin. Rather, it's a filmadaptation of Fight Club author and...  read more

Bonnaroo 2008 schedule released

Oh, dear. Along with summer festival season comes summer festival season scheduling dilemmas, and this year's Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn., is no exception...  read more

T.I. to star in MTV reality series

Hot on the trail of the news that the members Velvet Revolver won't become reality TV stars in their search for a new lead singer, comes the news that rapper/house arrestee T.I. will....  read more

Still Bustin' Loose: Rebirth Brass Band Turns 25

On break from their standing gig at the Maple Leaf Bar in New Orleans, Rebirth Brass Band hits the sidewalk, mingling with fans over Styrofoam bowls of red beans and fried chicken. “We don’t think of ourselves as stars..."  read more

Cartier teams with Reed, Cotillard, more for charity

The Age of Disco gave us a lot of cultural touchstones, not the strangest of which was the Cartier Love bracelet. Fashioned after chastity belts of yore, the bracelet came with a tiny screwdriver and actually had to be bolted around the wearer's wrist in a permanent fashion, presumably by the giver. Add to the weird factor that it was way on the pricey side, as well as the fact that you were strictly forbidden (by Cartier) from buying one for yourself (it had to be from your lover, being the Love bracelet), and you've got yourself the Decadent Years'...  read more

The Futureheads: This is Not the World

This decade seems inundated with one-hit wonders...  read more

The Weepies leave new music video up to the fans

Calling all film folk (and folk-loving folk)! The Weepies have lent their delicate melodies and thoughtful lyrics to enhance your listening experience during television shows, commercials and beyond. Now it’s on you, devoted-listener-and-filmmaker-extraordinaire, to pay them back by creating the music video for their single “Hideaway.”   ...  read more

She & Him schedule summer dates

Our favorite pair of pronouns, apparently unsatisfied with just their own couple of sold-out April dates in New York and L.A., have announced they will take their one volume of songs on a full-fledged North American tour this summer...  read more

The Black Keys set U.K. dates, conquer fans at Xbox

The Black Keys are headed your way, and that collective “you” now includes listeners in the U.K. as well. The band has set six dates that span from Nottingham to Bristol. ...  read more

Signing is Fine: Ra Ra Riot joins Barsuk, preps LP

Ra Ra Riot is one of the coolest exports from a city known for lake-effect snow, salt mines and an overdose on the color orange. And as of last week, the Syracuse, N.Y.-based band solidified its place on the map by signing with Barsuk Records, which has released music from Rilo Kiley, Nada Surf, Mates of State and many more in its history. ...  read more

New Spider-Man movie slated for 2010-ish

The fourth movie in a series is usually not much of a cinematic sweet spot, but Marvel Vice President Peter Cuneo has reportedly confirmed Sony Pictures’ web-brained scheme to make yet another Spider-Man movie. (Pun made to honor the last Spidey film, which maintained a level of wit on par with a cereal advertisement.) ...  read more