U2 has signed a 12-year deal with concert promoter Live Nation, cementing a partnership that began in the late '90s.
The new agreement gives Live Nation global rights to the band’s merchandising, touring, digital and branding areas, the company’s president and CEO Michael Rapino announced this morning. The deal does not include any recording or publishing rights, which fall under the band’s contract with Universal Music Group.
The deal with U2 comes less than six months after Live Nation announced a watershed all-inclusive agreement with Madonna. The artist was rumored to have left Warner Music Group after the label refused to match Live Nation’s offer of $120 million over 10 years. The deal also made the Material Girl the founding artist in the company’s Artist Nation division, which allows artists to manage their rights and provide global distribution and marketing through a partnership with Live Nation.
The deal may give Live Nation an advantage over Ticketmaster in the continuing fight for dominance in concert promotion and ticket sales. The two companies operated as partners until last year, when Ticketmaster CEO Sean Moriarty announced that his company would not extend its contract with Live Nation.
Under Live Nation’s contract with Ticketmaster, which will expire at the end of the year, LiveNation.com can sell a portion of the tickets for the company's concerts. Instead of partnering with another outside ticketing agency when the contract expires, Live Nation seems to be positioning its own website as the primary outlet to buy concert tickets online.
U2 frontman Bono shrugged off the overlying implications of his band’s deal with Live Nation, saying, “We’ve been dating for over 20 years now; it’s about time we tied the knot.”
At the mention of the word “baseball,” you think Big League Chew, sunny summer days and that crack of the bat as one goes flying out of the park. But what about, you know, music? Here at Paste, it's our job to think about all things in the context of music, and the glorious combination of two of our favorite things actually happens more often than you might think.
Case in point: The Baseball Music Project. Back in 2004, a group of music professionals with “a nearly uncontainable love and passion for both baseball and music,” got together with the goal of informing everyone else on how the music of our culture reflects our nation’s favorite pastime.
Their website states that there are, in fact, four major collections of baseball music in libraries across the United States. Also, almost a thousand songs have been written over the years about baseball. But before rushing to iTunes to make a baseball-season playlist, think about root, root, rooting for the home team on a road trip instead.
In 2006, The Baseball Music Project teamed up with The National Baseball Hall of Fame and symphonies around the country to create a sort of orchestral-baseball experience, complete with narration by Hall of Famers and a tribute to all of its 259 members. The concerts cover everything from J.R. Blodgett’s “The Baseball Polka,” to music from Field of Dreams. And, of course, a requisite ”Take Me Out to the Ballgame” sing-along is always included.
Baseball Music Project at bat:
May 3 - Fox Valley Symphony in Appleton, Wis.
July 1 & 2 - Boston Pops in Boston, Mass.
August 8 & 9 - San Diego Symphony in San Diego, Calif.
A partnership between video gamers 2K Sports and Pitchfork has resulted in one of the cooler video game soundtracks in recent years. 2K recruited P4K to select half of the music to be featured in Major League Baseball 2K8, available this Spring. A mix of older artists, new artists and older artists with new stuff make this a pleasing collection of music that will surely enhance the gaming experience.
In addition to a killer soundtrack, the game boasts an enhanced MLB virtual experience with brand new tools in pitching, fielding and baserunning controls. Not to mention touch-ups in “style,” including improved player walk-ups, batting stances, waggles, home run celebrations, step-ins and step-outs.
It's like Christmas in April for Björk fans. No, she didn’t demandindependence for another national liberation movement. Instead, she released a jaw-dropping music video for "Wanderlust." Although we’ll still have to wait a week for the 3-D version, you can feast your eyes on the 2-D premiere over at Yahoo Music. You can also hop on over to Bjork’s website and watch the The Making of "Wanderlust" video or pick up a pair of free 3-D glasses courtesy of your favorite Icelandic pop star.
Elsewhere on the web, our buddies over at Stereogum also recently released Enjoyed: A Tribute to Björk’s Post. The record is the music blog’s latest addition to the "Stereogum Presents…" compilation series, and boy howdy is it a good one. Check out the stellar tracklisting below:
1. Liars - "Army Of Me"
2. Dirty Projectors - "Hyperballad"
3. High Places - "Modern Things"
4. Bell - "It's Oh So Quiet"
5. Pattern Is Movement - "Enjoy"
6. Evangelicals - "You've Been Flirting Again"
7. Xiu Xiu - "Isobel"
8. Final Fantasy & Ed Droste - "Possibly Maybe"
9. White Hinterland - "I Miss You"
10. El Guincho - "Cover Me"
11. Atlas Sound - "Headphones"
Sterogum previously released covers compilations for R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People and Radiohead's Ok Computer. And if anyone is taking requests over there, how about a little "Stereogum Presents Pavement's Slanted and Enchanted," huh? Do it!
Whatever they’re paying Mos Def’s agent, it’s not enough. Fresh off his high-profile performance in Be Kind, Rewind, the mighty Mos has recently been cast as Chuck Berry in Cadillac Records, the upcoming film on the rise and fall of the influential Chicago label Chess Records.
Alongside him, Adrien Brody will play label founder Leonard Chess, Cedric The Entertainer will portray session musician Willie Dixon, Eamonn Walker will play Howlin’ Wolf, and, as previously reported, Beyoncé Knowles will do her best Etta James. Knowles will also contribute four songs to the soundtrack, though there's no word on whether they’ll be remakes of James material.
If you think about it, casting a hip-hop artist to play one of the most important figures in rock ’n’ roll history actually makes a lot of sense. Hip-hop and rockabilly are actually kindred genres. Don’t believe us? Have a look at this handy-dandy genre checklist, naysayer:
Songs about cars: Hip-Hop: Check.
Rockabilly: Check.
Songs about fast women: Hip-Hop: Check.
Rockabilly: Check.
Repetitive, often recycled instrumental tracks: Hip-hop: Check.
Rockabilly: Check.
Songs that scare the pants off parents of teenage suburbanites: Hip-hop: Check.
Rockabilly: Doublecheck.
White Light Entertainment and MediaOne Ventures will be co-producing the upcoming film Playing With The Enemy, which chronicles the life of professional baseball player Gene Moore.
The film’s production promises to be a family affair. The professional baseballer’s son Gary Moore based the screenplay on his 2006 book Playing With The Enemy: A Baseball Prodigy, a World at War, and a Field of Broken Dreams. Moore’s grandson, actor Toby Moore, co-wrote the screenplay with his father, and will be playing his grandfather in the film.
Playing With The Enemy tells the extraordinary story of Gene Moore, a talented young catcher who was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1940 when he was only 15 years old. His career was cut short, however, by the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the United States' entry into World War II. The Dodgers arranged for Moore to join a traveling Navy baseball team that traversed across Europe, playing exhibition games and entertaining U.S. troops.
The team was later assigned to a Louisiana prison to guard a group of German prisoners of war captured when their submarine was forced to surface after experiencing mechanical failures. Because of the code-breaking implications of the sub’s capture, the German prisoners’ existence was kept a secret. Moore and his fellow guards began to pass the days teaching the game of baseball to the German POWs.
David Ranes will direct the film, which is scheduled to begin shooting this summer in Canada.
Before the Heartbreakers, there was Mudcrutch. A less appealing name perhaps, but Mudcrutch, Tom Petty’s original band, recently reunited for a new album. The group has finished recording, and in promotion of the new release (available April 29), has announced a number of intimate California shows this spring.
Petty fronted Mudcrutch in the early '70s after dropping out of high school at age 17 to join the band made up of guitarist Tom Leadon, drummer Randall Marsh, future Heartbreakers’ keyboardist Bemmont Tench and guitarist Mike Campbell. The group gained a following and fan base out of its native Florida, but broke up shortly after moving to California to pursue a record contract, never releasing a full-length album.
In a statement on the band’s fansite, Petty says “I just finished recording a record with Mudcrutch, my old band before the Heartbreakers. I am over the moon about it. I couldn’t have hoped for it to be as good as it came out.”
Mudcrutch will play several dates along the California coast in April, concluding with a four-night stay at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. Presale tickets will be available to Highway Companion Club members.
April 12 - Malibu, Calif. @ PAC Midnight Mission Benefit
14 - Santa Cruz, Calif. @ Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
16-17 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Fillmore
19 - Santa Barbara, Calif. @ Arlington Theatre
20 - Ventura, Calif. @ Ventura Theatre
22 - Alpine, Calf. @ Concerts in the Park
25-29 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Troubadour
Although arguably no different than any of the other festivals Radiohead will play this year, this time, the band is getting a fest in its honor. Proving perhaps the most Radiohead-centric tourstop of all for the guys, June 12 at the Parc Del Forum in Barcelona, Spain, will see performances from Bat for Lashes, ENEMC (Ensemble Nacional de Música Contemporánea de España presenting "Off Computer," music based on Johnny Greenwood songs) Low, Clinic, Modeselektor and Liars (who have recently had to reschedule their European tour), as well as the band itself.
Radiohead fansite At Ease explains that the one-day festival is a tribute to Radiohead, and that all the bands performing have either influenced or been influenced by the famous Brits. Also, the honorees are rumored to have handpicked several of the acts, especially believable because they'd already handpicked Liars for something else.
The allocation of tickets for sale through W.A.S.T.E. (the official Radiohead store) has already sold out, but tickets are being sold through TickTackTicket.com as well, and there's no prohibitive all-caps warning next to the event on their page so far. The band encourages travel by public transportation and offers other festival info here.
Good news for all of the folky folk out there: The Weepies (yes, that was them singing in that Old Navy commercial. Knew it!) will be releasing their third album, Hideaway, on April 22.
Hideaway will have 14 new tracks of the sweet harmonies and melodies for which the Boston-born, California-based duo are loved. The name of the album was inspired by their need for some rest and relaxation at home after The Weepies’ exhausting 2006-2007 tour schedule.
And you, dear reader, are 123% likely to know much more about The Weepies and the aforementioned album if you pick up a copy of Paste’s April issue (please see upper left corner of page.) There may or may not be an article by our very own Kate Kiefer, providing an illuminating look at Deb and Steve at home, new baby boy and all. It’ll make you feel as warm and fuzzy as the sounds of their voices in unison do, and includes their charming meet, make music, fall in love story.
No promises, but you might get a sneak preview listen to a new song while you’re at it. Ahem, just pop in that CD sampler…
As the suspense builds for the sure-to-be-epic Grand Theft Auto IV, Rockstar Games has made the wait a little more difficult with the release of the fourth and final trailer for the game. If you think that game trailers are now more cinematic than their actual screened-in-movie-theater-because-they-advertise-movies counterparts, you’re right. This one even has a name two names: “Good Lord, What Are You Doing?” AKA “Everyone’s a Rat.”
Somehow, this trailer manages to impress despite (because of?) the blistering car chases, decontextualized gunplay, a moody soundtrack, omnipresent rain, flashy camera angles, misplaced humor, gangster-looking gangsters and strippers that seem mandatory in anything offered by the Michael Bays of the world. And on April 29, you’ll be able to compare the game to all other action movies ever.
Speaking of moody soundtracks, Digital Music News reports that users can actually purchase the music that plays through their in-game vehicle. Amazon.com will fuel the multimedia project, allowing gamers to instantly buy the songs playing through their stolen vehicle's radio.
In honor of the new baseball season, which began last night but kicks off in earnest today, PasteMagazine.com is dedicating itself all day to America's Favorite Pastime. Not only are we giving you an early glimpse of our baseball and music feature from issue 42 (complete with the best songs about baseball, Ricky Henderson haikus and much more!), but we have a baseball movie poll up (see left margin or here) and will be highlighting baseball news in the world of entertainment all day.
Check back frequently for more updates, and be sure to get out there and root for your team. We won't tell your boss the real reason you took a sick day.
When you think about it (maybe a little too much), British soulster James Hunter joining Starbucks' Hear Music label "the hard way" sounds like it would entail eating various animal organs while balancing on a jet a la Fear Factor. Hunter's trek to releasing his new album, incidentally called The Hard Way, on the coffee imprint was probably much simpler. We journalists just happen to like working terrible puns into our headlines.
Hunter will join Sir Paul McCartney and Joni Mitchell, amongst others, on the label with his upcoming release, due in June. The new album, produced by Liam Watson (The White Stripes), also features New Orleans' soul and R&B artist Allen Toussaint on a few tracks.
Hunter's last, People Gonna Talk, earned him a Grammy nomination. Here's the Hard Way track listing:
1. The Hard Way
2. Tell Her
3. Don't Do Me No Favors
4. Carina
5. She's Got A Way
6. Til The End
7. Hand It Over
8. Jacqueline
9. Class Act
10. Ain't Going Nowhere
11. Believe Me Baby
12. Strange But True
Radio and television host Ira Glass will be bringing his show This American Life to the silver screen for a one-night only event of exclusive material, special guests and Q&A.
On the evening of May 1, This American Life Live! will be broadcast via satellite to theaters across the country from New York University’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. Glass will be debuting never-before-seen stories and outtakes from his show, and answering questions from the audience. Several special, currently unnamed guests will also make appearances.
This American Life debuted on Chicago airwaves in 1995. Glass eschewed interviews with celebrities and other newsmakers to tell the stories of ordinary men and women. The show grew steadily in popularity and went national only a year later. Glass can now be heard on more than 500 radio stations across the country, and 1.7 million listeners tune into his show every week. The radio show was so successful that Showtime approached him to create a television spinoff that debuted on the network last year.
Tickets for This American Life Live! go on sale April 4 via ThisLife.org. Users can buy tickets to the live event in New York, or browse the site’s ticket page to find the theater location nearest them.
You can argue all day about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's credibility (or lack thereof). The Sex Pistols called the hall a piss stain in 2004, and its latest class of inductees certainly includes some not-so-rockin' rockers. But we think future naysayers will point to the moment those Cleveland rock appreciators decided to allow "Who Let The Dogs Out?" through their hallowed doors.
As a part of its upcoming "Take Me Out: Baseball Rocks!" exhibit, the Hall will include the Baha Men hit alongside music celebrating America's favorite pastime. Why? Well, according to the press release, because the Seattle Mariners and New York Mets played the hell out of the tune at home games. But by that metric, wouldn't the Hall have to make room for "Cotton-Eyed Joe" as well?
We kid because we love, of course.
The exhibit, which opens April 26, also includes some interesting gems for baseball nuts. There will be musical tributes to the game's greats (Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson), features on major leaguers-turned musicians (Denny McLain, Jack McDowell), and plenty of other paraphernalia on display. The local Cleveland Indians will play a vital role in the exhibit, contributing artifacts from their annual "TribeJam" concerts and explanations from current players about their respective at-bat song selections.
At press time, however, there is still no word as to whether baseball's greatest musical accomplishment will be included in the festivities:
Francis Scott Key probably never knew he'd become the most covered American artist in history when he set a patriotic hymn based on his prisoner-of-war experiences to a pub song. As it turns out, thousands of Americans will hear different versions of the “Star Spangled Banner” before the umpire shouts “Play ball!” in opening games across the country today. So to satisfy the sports fans in all of us, here is a mostly comprehensive list of the artists performing the national anthem this week:
Atlanta Braves (vs. Pittsburgh — 7:10 p.m.) Performing the anthem: Former American Idol contestant Diana DeGarmo Other musical performances: Country band Whiskey Falls will perform their song "Load up the Bases"—written for the Braves 2008 season—before the game at Fan Plaza then “God Bless America” during the 7th inning stretch. Following that performance, country music star Eric Church will lead fans in “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”
Baltimore Orioles (vs. Tampa Bay — 3.05 p.m.) Performing the anthem: Opera Tenor Richard Troxell
Cincinnati Reds (vs. Arizona — 2:10 p.m.) Performing the anthem: Jazz vocalist and area resident Kathy Wade
Cleveland Indians (vs. Chicago White Sox — 3:05 p.m.) Performing the anthem: Young contemporary Christian singer-songwriter Ashley Nemeh
Detroit Tigers (vs. Kansas City — 1:05 p.m.) Performing the anthem: Reigning Miss America and Detroit-area native Kirsten Haglund, who will also sing “God Bless America”
Minnesota Twins (vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim — 6:05 p.m.) Performing the anthem: The traveling production cast of Jersey Boys
New York Yankees (vs. Toronto — 1:05 p.m.) Performing the anthem: The United States Military Academy at West Point Cadet Glee Club
Seattle Mariners (vs. Texas — 3:40 p.m.) Performing the anthem: Marcus Shelton, a tenor with the Seattle Opera
St. Louis Cardinals (vs. Colorado — 3:15 p.m.) Performing the anthem: University of Missouri's Mini Mizzou Marching Band
Other anthemic performances taking place in later opening games include pop-rock foursome REO Speedwagon for the Kansas City Royals (vs Boston — April 2, 3:10 p.m.) Grammy Award-winning trumpeter Chris Botti for the San Francisco Giants (vs Atlanta – April 6, 1:35 p.m.) and—in a unique twist—professional whistler Steve Herbst will likely perform the national anthem for the New York Mets' opening game (vs. Philadelphia — April 8, 1:10 p.m.).
The 2008 Major League Baseball season begins this week. In honor of this occasion, what is your favorite baseball movie of all time? [1652 votes total]
The Bad News Bears (1976) (138): 8%
Bingo Long and the Traveling All-Stars (1976) (8): 0%
[Above: The 1859 model of Scott's phonautograph. Source: Franz Josef Pisko, Die neuere Apparate der Akustik (Vienna, 1865).]
The words aren't clearly discernible. Even if they were, they're in French, so us uni-lingual, on-French types are out of luck. But the simple folk song excerpt, "Au clair de la lune, Pierrot répondit," sung by a woman in her quiet, warbly voice, packs worlds of meaning. It's the oldest voice anyone living now has ever heard. This particular recording predates what was previously considered the oldest by 17 years, MSNBC reports.
Discovered recently by audio historians David Giovannoni and Patrick Feaster, the 10-second clip is from 1860, and was recorded by inventor Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville using a device called a phonautograph, which used a needle to etch soot tracings of sound waves into paper. Apparently the inventor never intended them as recordings, just as visual representations of sound he could study. Now they've become the earliest ancestor of what many of us, especially in this industry, wonder if we could ever live without—recordings.
Previous to this discovery, Thomas Edison's recording of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" at the time of his invention of the phonograph was thought to be the oldest recorded human voice.
You can listen to the phonautograph reconstruction via FirstSounds.org here. Also available on FirstSounds.org is a recording of the oldest "recognizable" sound, a tuning fork vibrating in 1859.
No foolin': this April began with great news as The Black Keys released their second album on Nonesuch Records, Attack & Release (produced by none other than one half of this month’s cover story, Danger Mouse). But before you get all, "Yeah, yeah, Paste, I know. I read your review too, so don't even try to point me toward it," have you seen the first video from the album? Have you?!? It's for "Strange Times," and frankly, we think it's pretty neat.
The clip features the duo going special-ops on what should have been a kid friendly game of laser tag (a G.I. Joe-loving male’s fantasy if ever we saw one). Check it out the below as well as Paste’s coverage of the band's already in progress North American tour.
Fans of Bret Easton Ellis’ novel The Informers may be surprised to see a few of their favorite characters missing when the film adaptation hits the big screen later this year.
The Informers tells the interlocking stories of several wealthy, morally bankrupt families living in Los Angeles during the early 1980s. Gregor Jordan is directing the film, starring Mickey Rourke, Kim Basinger, Winona Ryder, Billy Bob Thornton, Amber Heard and the late Brad Renfro, in his last theatrical role.
The most unconventional storyline in Ellis’ original novel involved the character Jamie, a sadistic vampire who liked to lure club-hopping teenagers to their untimely, grisly deaths. While the novel’s supernatural underpinnings were largely panned by book critics, others argued that the vampire subplot added a fresh twist to an otherwise predictable story. Superman Returns star Brandon Routh plays the role of Jamie in the film.
But the blogosphere is alight with rumors this week that the entire vampire subplot has been edited out of the final film. /Film reports that all of the scenes featuring Routh landed on the cutting room floor at the last minute, and that the film’s director has offered no explanation.
Another of the film’s stars, John Graham, expressed his bewilderment at the last-minute cuts during an interview with IGN. “God knows why they took the vampire characters out,” he said. “I can’t say if I was pleased or displeased, that is just the way it is.”
It’s difficult to even speculate how Ellis, who co-wrote The Informers screenplay, will react to the cuts, as the film adaptations of his novels American Psycho, Less Than Zero and The Rules of Attraction never strayed far from his source material.
If Ellis is unhappy with the final cut of The Informers, at least he’ll have several other projects to keep him busy. Film adaptations of his novels Lunar Park and The Frog King are in the works, and he is said to be shopping Glamorama around the studio circuit, as well.
The American Pianists Association announced neo-soul star and pianist John Legend has replaced Aretha Franklin as headliner for the Kroger Indy Jazz Fest in Indianapolis planned for Father’s Day weekend, June 13-15.
Legend has come a long way since 2004 when he was known mainly as coveted studio session man turned Kanye West protégé. He spent years playing and writing for artists such as Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z and, most importantly, West, who snatched him up and signed him to his new label. The association with West surely helped spread the appeal of Legend’s debut studio album Get Lifted. By his 2006 release, Once Again, even with quality production help from will.i.am, West and others, Legend proved he has true talent.
The festival, presented by Coca-Cola, features three days of live music and food at Military Park in downtown Indianapolis. Tickets went on sale last week at all central Indianapolis Kroger locations, online, and via phone at 317-940-8198. Tickets can also be purchased at Military Park the day of the event (cash only). Children under 14 are admitted free when accompanied by a ticketed adult.
For ticket information, complete artist line-up and performance schedule, visit the festival’s website IndyJazzFest.net.
Perhaps the finest part of listening to Andrew Bird is pondering exactly how he got those words to fit together in that way and on top of such whistling. But buckle up, dear reader, because the confounding melodies and mysteries of Andrew Bird have finally been explained!
Or at least an attempt has been made, and by Bird himself. Turns out, he really is on a whole different level than everyone else.
We have The New York Times’ new blog, Measure for Measure, to thank for this insight. The blog, Bird’s entry marking its beginning, will give four master songwriters a chance to explain the finer points of their craft to non-musicians and fellow peers alike. Bird, of course, is one, along with Nashville-based songwriter Darrell Brown, Rosanne Cash and Suzanne Vega.
The blog aims to remind music listeners and lovers that, even in an era where many songs are consumed instantaneously and digitally, music itself is “not born whole, polished and ready to play.” Songwriting, it argues, is a work in constant progress, one that requires skill and innate talent.
Goal achieved: As Bird describes how the word salsify catches his eye on a café menu, shapeshifts in his imagination and eventually becomes a lyric about sociopaths, you can’t help but develop even more respect for Bird than you had before.
One of the perks of working for an entertainment publication is the privilege to hear forthcoming albums. This enables us to tell you, our loyal and most esteemed audience, when to (and when not to) download one of the plethora of tracks that are floating around the interweb.
That's how we're able to tell you to download the below MP3 if you're a fan of electronic, hip-hop, electroclash, alternative or pop music. Or drums. Or dancing. Or shady S & M clubs. Or seedy strip joints. Or if you're actually a stripper. Or if you are dating a stripper. Or if you're dating someone that you pretend is a stripper. Or if you have nothing to do with strippers at all.
You get the picture. Take a listen. Download the song and put it on your favorite mobile-music device. You won't be sorry. And after you do, look forward to our June issue, where we review the album in its entirety.
Ever since November of last year, everyone's favorite bamboo banga M.I.A. has been, well, M.I.A. There was a brouhaha over MTV censoring her “Paper Planes” video, and she's also selling Converse with a zombie Ian Curtis, but as far as live performances go, we’ve been going through some serious M.I.A. withdrawal.
Well, the wait is over. Via a news post from her seizure-inducing website, M.I.A. is heading back on the road. Joining her for part of the tour will be Holy Fuck.
The two groups will meet up in late April for a few North American shows, and then part ways in early May, only to reunite like old friends later in June for a few shows up north.
M.I.A. and Holy Fuck:
April 25-27 - Indio, Calif. @ Coachella
28 - San Diego, Calif. @ 4th and B
May 1 - Austin, Texas @ La Zona Rosa
2 - Dallas, Texas @ Palladium Ballroom
5 - Nashville, Tenn. @ City Hall
6 - Atlanta, Ga. @ The Tabernacle
8 - Detroit, Mich. @ Fillmore
9 - Chicago, Ill. @ Aragon Ballroom
June 2 - Toronto, Ontario @ Sound Academy
2 - Montreal, Quebec @ Metropolis
6 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ McCarren Park Pool
M.I.A.:
April 11 - Poughkeepsie, N.Y. @ Vassar College
12 - Providence R.I. @ Brown University *
26 - Indio, Calif. @ Coachella
May 12 - Milwaukee, Wisc. @ Turner Hall Ballroom
13 - Maplewood, Minn. @ Myth
14 - Lawrence, Kan. @ Liberty Hall
17 - Denver, Col. @ Fillmore Auditorium
18 - Salt Lake City, Utah @ The Depot
23 - Portland, Ore. @ Roseland Theater
24-26 - George, Wash. @ The Gorge (Sasquatch!)
27 - Edmonton, Alberta @ Edmonton Event Centre
28 - Calgary, Alberta @ MacEwan Hall
30 - Winnipeg, Manitoba @ Burton Cummings Theatre
June 14 - Manchester, Tenn. – Bonnaroo
July 1 - London, England – Roundhouse
Holy Fuck:
April 1 - Bristol, England - Thekla
2 - Manchester, England @ Night & Day
3 - Birmingham, England @ Barfly
4 - Liverpool, England @ Korova
5 - Glasgow, Scotland @ Stereo
6 - Norwich, England @ Arts Centre
7 - Brighton, England @Digital
9 - Belfast, Northern Ireland @ Speakeasy
10 - Dublin, Ireland @ Whelans
11 - Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Motel Mosaic Festival
12 - Nuremburg, Germany @ K4
13 - Weinheim, Germany @ Café Central
14 - Hamburg, Germany @ Molotow
15 - Berlin, Germany @ Magnet
16 - Cologne, Germany @ Gebaude
17 - Paris, France @ La Maroquinerie
18 - Bourges, France @ Bourges Festival
19 - Hasselt, Belgium @ Polsslag
By
Palmer Houchins
on March 28, 2008 10:08 AM|Permalink
| Comments (0)
photo by Lisa Johnson
Longtime twangy-meets-jangly Texas rockers, Old 97's, have announced plans to release their first new album in four years, Blame it On Gravity, on May 13 via New West Records.
In the meantime, through April 9 fans can go to Old97s.NewWestRecords.com and sign up to receive an exclusive digital download of a performance of the new song "My Two Feet." The footage was filmed live at the end of the band's recording session party in Dallas earlier this year.
In late May, frontman Rhett Miller and the rest of the poppy-meets-alt-country Old 97's crew will kick off a nationwide tour at the Meridian in Houston.
Blame this on gravity:
May 30 - Houston, Texas @ The Meridian 31 - Dallas, Texas @ House of Blues
June 1 - Tulsa, Okla. @ Cain’s 3 - Omaha, Neb.@ Slowdown 4 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ 1st Ave 5 - Chicago, Ill. @ Metro 6 - St. Louis, Mo. @ Pageant 7 - Lawrence, Kanas @ Wakarusa Festival 10 - Denver, Colo. @ Gothic Theater 11 - Salt Lake City, Utah @ The Palladium 13 - Vancouver B.C. @ Richard’s on Richards 14 - Seattle, Wash. @ Showbox 15 - Portland, Ore. @ Wonder Ballroom 17 - San Francisco, Calif. @ The Fillmore 19 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Crash Mansion 20 - San Diego, Calif. @ House of Blues
Sometimes love for a particular kind of art transcends all societal boundaries and expectations. Case in point: It seems even employees at soft drink conglomerates are becoming frustrated over the wait for the next Guns N' Roses album. Speculations for the cost of the still-forthcoming followup to the GNR 1993 covers collection The Spaghetti Incident run in the $13 million range. Entitled Chinese Democracy, it's had several rumored and announced release dates, the most recent of which was March of last year, but no album has actually followed. After more than a decade, Axl Rose, the man responsible for Paste's #8 greatest scream in rock, and the only still-standing original member of GNR, hasn't set another release date for the album.
In what they themselves call "an unprecedented show of solidarity with Axl," the executives at Dr Pepper announced earlier this week that they would give a free can of the soda to every man, woman and child in America if Chinese Democracy releases before the end of the year. "It took a little patience to perfect Dr Pepper’s special mix of 23 ingredients, which our fans have come to know and love,” said Jaxie Alt, director of marketing for Dr Pepper. “So we completely understand and empathize with Axl's quest for perfection – for something more than the average album. We know once it's released, people will refer to it as 'Dr Pepper for the ears' because it will be such a refreshing blend of rich, bold sounds - an instant classic.”
Whether or not the phrase will be coined as Alt predicts, Dr Pepper has created a blog to follow the (probably not-very-high-risk) promotion, to be found at ChineseDemocracyWhen.blogspot.com. It follows "one beverage's journey to convince Axl Rose that this year is the year to deliver the greatest album known to all things."
Still, it's not all positivity and inclusion from the Dr Pepper camp. The press release stipulates that estranged GNR members Slash and Buckethead will not be eligible for free soda. Bummer. Undeterred apparently, Rose had this to say today at GunsNRoses.com: "We are surprised and very happy to have the support of Dr Pepper with our album Chinese Democracy, as for us, this came totally out of the blue. If there is any involvement with this promotion by our record company or others, we are unaware of such at this time. And as some of Buckethead's performances are on our album, I'll share my Dr Pepper with him." We're sure Buckethead will be tickled pink (or perhaps some prune-ish color) if and when that time comes.
One thing's for sure. After this kind of publicity stunt, Dr Pepper and Guns N' Roses have the potential to become as intertwined in our collective consciousness as flowers and firearms.
Remember The X-Files? It was that show about aliens with the creepy-awesome theme music, where the two main characters had a crazy will-they-or-won't-they vibe that far surpassed the one that Teri Hatcher and Dean Cain had over on ABC.
X-Philes will remember the last X-Files movie that came out in 1998, four years before the television version of the show actually ended. Now, a decade later, those crazy kids known as Mulder and Scully will reunite once again in a nursing home! Aliens with walkers! Fogies from outerspace! Only kidding. It hasn't been that long.
The new movie has, of course, managed to spur rampant rumors across the Internet, the most popular involving a snapshot someone managed to smuggle from the set showing Mulder and Scully making out like teenagers. Oh yeah. It appears that creator Chris Carter might finally give fans what they've been jonesing for for 15 years.
Take a glimpse at the bootleg trailer below to get ready for the upcoming movie:
Update: The trailer (in fact, all trailers of the movie) seems to be no longer functional. Could it be the work of aliens? We'll keep you posted.
Another update:/Film just posted this potentially fake movie poster.
FX will pay more than $100 million to complement its line-up of successful drama shows—which includes Rescue Me, The Riches and Nip/Tuck—with 15 Universal theatrical releases. With this deal, FX will pay Universal an average of 11% of the movies' gross U.S. revenue for a four-year license term. The deal includes unreleased titles Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Revenge of the Mummy and Leatherheads, as well as already-premiered titles such as In Bruges, Jarhead and Eastern Promises.
FX's purchase follows a growing trend between television stations and film-production companies. Earlier this year, the Turner networks (TBS and TNT) pre-bought a whole slate of Warner Bros. movies, including 10,000 B.C., The Dark Knight and Speed Racer, while USA Network acquired rights for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Tired of the bored, snobby, passionless mindset of the hipster generation? Well, so were filmmakers Adam Browne and Brendan Choisnet, so much so that they were inspired to create The Cult of Sincerity. Don’t worry, there are no Kool-Aid drinkers or matching uniforms in this movie. Instead, The Cult of Sincerity is a film that chronicles a twentysomething named Joseph in his quest to stop being cynical and start giving back to the world around him.
Still, what makes this movie different from any other is the nature of its release. Set to come out April 8, you’ll be able to enjoy The Cult of Sincerity over and over again via YouTube. This will be the first time ever that the video sharing site has teamed up with filmmakers to premier a film.
Considering the film's release, it will naturally be available for free, but this doesn’t mean that its makers won't get paid. Teaming up with Amie St. Music, when viewers sign up through the music site, the filmmakers get compensated.
The Cult of Sincerity will also be available for portable download for a nominal fee of $3. Over half of the funds raised will be given to Fount of Mercy, a charity that raises money for children in Africa.
For time being, check out the film’s trailer, courtesy of YouTube, of course:
Chicago’s Numero Group is releasing a series of No-Hitter trading cards featuring various artists from label’s catalog.
This is great news for those of us who never had any interest in baseball cards (or sports in general), but always longed to join in the school yard swap meets every day during recess. We can finally join in the collecting fervor by searching for that elusive Man Child Singers card, or trading a friend a duplicate Helene Smith card for his Jack & the Mods. Hey, no backsies!
The Numero Group has a long-standing tradition of spotlighting little-known artists from all corners of the music world, including soul, funk, gospel and rock. Tom Lunt, Rob Sevier and Ken Shipley, three self-proclaimed “record obsessives,” started the label in 2003 to reissue their favorite records that had undeservedly been banished to storage rooms and obscurity.
The No-Hitter cards were originally conceived as both a catalogue checklist and a trading commodity. One of the randomly chosen cards is included in the packaging of every new Numero Group CD or LP.But after label execs viewed the cards’ vintage color photos in all of their glossy glory, they decided to also offer a limited number of complete sets for sale on the label’s website for the bargain price of $7.
All 90 artists featured in the No-Hitter series are listed below. Let the collecting begin!
1 - Bill Moss 2 - Arrow Brown 3 - Willie Clarke 4 - Mike Lenaburg 5 - Frank Penn 6 - Jeremiah Yisrael 7 - Altyrone Deno Brown 8 - Promise 9 - Eight Minutes 10 - Jack & the Mods 11 - Man Child Singers 12 - Jr. & His Soulettes 13 - Step By Step 14 - Linda Balentine 15 - Fern Jones 16 - Nadia Cattouse 17 - Helene Smith 18 - Becky Severson 19 - Judy Kelly 20 - Shira Small 21 - Jennie Pearl 22 - Caroline Peyton 23 - Mary Perrin 24 - Mae Young 25 - Ms. Tyree "Sugar" Jones 26 - Catherine Howe 27 - Velma Perkins 28 - Jackie Stoudemire 29 - Missy Dee 30 - Eula Cooper 31 - Marion Black 32 - Randy Winburn 33 - Tommy Rock 34 - Lord Rhaburn 35 - Edd Henry 36 - Trevor Dandy 37 - Small Paul 38 - Stormy 39 - Nate Evans 40 - Renaldo Domino 41 - Elvin Spencer 42 - Ozzie Hall 43 - Jesus Acosta 44 - Eddie Ray 45 - Clarence Reid 46 - Dwayne Cannan 47 - Them Two 48 - Bob & Fred 49 - Chuck & Mac 50 - Frank Williams & the Rocketeers 51 - Michael Liggins & the Super Souls 52 - Jay Mitchell & the Mitchellites 53 - Arnie Love & the Lovettes 54 - Four Mints 55 - Speedies 56 - Kids 57 - Trend 58 - Colors 59 - The Web 60 - Harmonettes 61 - Professionals 62 - Moovers 63 - Manhattens 64 - Performers 65 - Sleepwalkers 66 - Triumphs 67 - Shackleford Singers 68 - Universal Jubileers 69 - Soulsations 70 - Dynamic Tints 71 - Mystiques 72 - Notations 73 - Pieces of Peace 74 - Radiants 75 - Kaldirons 76 - Mustangs 77 - Willpower 78 - Esquires LTD 79 - Royal Esquires 80 - Soul Partners 81 - OFS Unlimited 82 - The Rising Sun 83 - Young Divines 84 - Four Tracks 85 - Johnny Lunchbreak 86 - Boscoe 87 - Wee 88 - Antena 89 - Majestic Arrows 90 - Essence
Director Oliver Stone, the Oscar-nominated jack-of-all-trades with a penchant for presidents, is setting in stone (pun so intended) the cast members for his forthcoming W, a biopic on George W. Bush.
Most recently, James Cromwell was set as W’s father, President George Herbert Walker Bush, and Ellen Burstyn as the former first lady, Barbara Bush. This is not Cromwell’s first role in a historical biography; he played Prince Philip alongside Helen Mirin in 2006’s The Queen.
The screenplay was written by Stanley Weiser, Stone’s old NYU classmate, and will be produced by Moritz Borman, who teamed up with Stone for World Trade Center and Alexander. It is scheduled to begin shooting in Shreveport, La. at the end of April. The team is hoping to have it ready for distribution by the November election, or by the time Bush leaves the White House at the latest.
Despite a past of negative comments about Bush and his various policies, Stone told Reuters that he plans to make “a fair, true portrait,” of Bush, and that he has empathy for him as a human being. To that end, the film will not focus on Bush's time in the White House, but on his developmental years, including the father-son relationship between the two presidents, Bush’s wild youth and his following conversion to Christianity.
Even with his claims of playing nice, though, Stone developed W under the title “Misunderestimated,” and said that though Brolin shares the “old-time movie-star swagger” Americans associate with the current president, Brolin is also better looking. Sick burn, Stone...
Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward will be making a few appearances at both coasts, with dates in New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Although the dates are few, the duo of She & Him prefer to keep their fans in suspense, announcing tour dates two and three at a time. No matter, though—for those two we would wait at least as long as it takes to savor a Whole Foods chicken salad, if not longer.
Not up for the road trip? She & Him will also be appearing on NPR’s Fresh Air this afternoon at 3 p.m. and will perform on Late Night with Conan O’Brien on April 22.
It is not every day that a romantic comedy, much less an American one not starring John Cusack, gets the thought tongues a-wagging. That being said, the recent castings in David O. Russell's (number 13 in Paste’s 2005 Art House Powerhouse) Nailed have caused hordes to look in the direction of this film. According to Reuters, James Marsden, Catherine Keener and Tracy Morgan are finalizing negotiations for supporting roles.
While those three alone put the movie in the must-watch column for 2009, even without the aforementioned talent, the film seems to be shaping up nicely. It stars Jessica Biel as a victim of a bizarre brain injury involving a nail that turns her into a nymphomaniac. This leads to her becoming a crusader which leads to her alliance with a congressman played by Jake Gyllenhaal.
If that doesn’t sell you on the movie, it was also co-written by Kristen Gore, former writer for Futurama and daughter of former Vice-President Al Gore. After all, we must support our alternate-universe President and his family in this time of crisis. Filming for Nailed begins on April 14.
Someday, an incisive cultural critic will write an epic book about the extraordinary transformation of music production, distribution and promotion over the last few years. Actually, that “epic book” will likely be a blog post, and that “incisive cultural critic” will likely be a 16-year-old kid.
But regardless of who documents the changes, they are definitely taking place. In the most recent iteration, Nada Surf (whom Pasteprofiled earlier this year) has teamed up with MySpace on the social networking site’s Transmissions project. The band recorded seven songs live, and the videos are available on the Transmissions site, as well as exclusive interviews with the members.
MySpace users will be able to share and add the videos to their hearts’ content, and the recording session is available as an iTunes download. The revolution continues.
Nada Surf's The MySpace Transmissions tracklist:
1. Always Love
2. Whose Authority
3. I Like What You Say
4. Blizzard of ‘77
5. See These Bones
6. Happy Kid
7. Here Goes Something
Elvis Costello, longtime utilizer of easily-deluxified compact discs for his expanded re-issues and re-issued expanded re-issues thereof, announced this week that his forthcoming album, Momofuku, will only play via the grooves of a vinyl platter and the miniature orchestras inside every computer. The vinyl/digital-format-only release will be available April 22 on Lost Highway, with the tried-and-true trick of including a download code with the vinyl to sway people toward having physical evidence of their love for the bespectacled icon.
As for that alternating consonant-vowel title, Rolling Stonereported that it may be named after David Chang’s restaurants in New York: Momofuku Noodle Bar, Momofuki Ssam Bar and Momofuku Ko. "We've heard he's a fan of the restaurant,” Chang told RS, “but I doubt he'd name his album after us … There’s just no way! He's Elvis Costello, for Christ's sake!" Doesn’t sound too hard to believe, really. Ruby Tuesday restaurants are named after a Rolling Stones song, and it’s about time the reverse happened. Product placement in top 40 songs can’t be far behind, and personally, we're ready to get down to the “Del Taco Shuffle.”
Beginning in April, Costello and his Imposters will embark on a lengthy U.S. tour, largely with The Police, that breaks in June for a a special performance with the Scottish National Orchestra, and conclude in August. His official website also has some dubious, April 1-marked news about a record that will be released on a state-by-state basis, one copy per state, in alphabetical order. Riiiiight.
Here are some dates you can count on:
April 22 - Memphis, Tenn. @ New Daisy Theatre
23 - Nashville, Tenn. @ Ryman Auditorium
25 - Bossier City, La. @ Riverdome at Harrah's Horseshoe
27 - New Orleans, La. @ New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
28 - Atlanta, Ga. @ Tabernacle
May 1 - Ottawa, Ontario @ Scotiabank Place *
0 3 - Buffalo, N.Y. @ HSBC Arena *
4 - Columbus, Ohio @ Nationwide Arena *
6 - Knoxville, Tenn. @ The Tennessee Theater
7 - Louisville, Ky. @ Palace Theater
10 - Chicago, Ill. @ Allstate Arena *
13 - Kansas City, Mo. @ Sprint Center *
14 - Omaha, Neb. @ Qwest Center *
16 - Orlando, Fla. @ Amway Center *
17 - West Palm Beach, Fla. @ Cruzan Amphitheatre *
20 - Houston, Texas @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion *
21 - Dallas, Texas @ Superpages.com Center *
23 - Las Vegas, Nev. @ MGM Grand *
24 - Phoenix, Ariz. @ Cricket Wireless Pavilion *
26 - San Diego, Calif. @ Coors Amphitheatre *
27 - Hollywood, Calif. @ The Hollywood Bowl *
July 11 - Ridgefield, Wash. @ Amphitheater at Clark County *
12 - George, Wash. @ The Gorge *
14 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Shoreline Amphitheatre *
16 - Concord, Calif. @ Sleep Train Pavilion *
17 - Sacramento, Calif. @ Sleep Train Amphitheatre *
19 - Salt Lake City, Utah @ USANA Amphitheatre *
21 - Denver, Colo. @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre *
25 - Milwaukee, Wis. @ Marcus Amphitheater *
26 - Detroit, Mich. @ DTE Energy Music Theater *
28 - Pittsburgh, Pa. @ Post Gazette Pavilion *
29 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ Wachovia Center *
31 - Boston, Mass. @ Tweeter Center *
Augusts 1 - Saratoga, N.Y. @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center *
3 - Holmdel, N.J. @ PNC Bank Arts Center *
4 - Wantagh, N.Y. @ Nikon at Jones Beach Theater *
Idolator recently reported that alt-rock pioneers The Feelies will play a few shows in the New Jersey and New York area over July 4th weekend (including one opening for Sonic Youth in Central Park). If the rumors are true, the shows will be the group’s first appearance since 1991, when frontman Bill Million abruptly moved to Florida, thus dissolving the band.
The Feelies crafted an unpretentious and layer-oriented sound that influenced R.E.M., Robert Christgau and Garden State writer Rick Moody. The band’s live shows are reportedly not-to-be-missed, so if you’re in the tri-state area, keep your head up and keep checking back with Paste for confirmed dates and locations.
By
Nikki King
on March 26, 2008 4:57 PM|Permalink
| Comments (0)
photo by Mike Ritter
Josh Ritter is going on tour; ah, the stuff that dreams are made of. Last time he went on a little jaunt, Ritter let us read his diary. We didn’t even have to go sneaking into his hotel room, digging under mattresses to find it.
Dawn Landes is currently supporting his dates in the Netherlands and United Kingdom. Ritter will then return to the U.S. and join forces with Hilary Hahn. A Grammy-winning violinist, Hahn was the soloist in the score for The Village, among many other ventures. Langhorne Slim and Ingrid Michaelson will also be stopping in for a few dates.
More supporting acts should be posted in the near future on Ritter’s site. Anyone who caught his set at Langerado can attest to Ritter’s supreme mastery of songcraft, further proof that spuds aren’t the only fantastic thing coming out of Idaho these days.
March 26 - Portsmouth, UK @ The Wedgewood Rooms # 27 - Exeter, UK @ Exeter Phoenix # 28 - Liverpool, UK @ Carling Academy 2 # 30 - Norwich, UK @ Waterfront # 31 - London, UK @ Bloomsbury Ballroom #
April 3 - Edinburgh, UK @ The Liquid Room # 4 - Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club # 5 - St. Albans, UK @ The Alban Arena # 9 - Athens, Ohio @ Ohio University + 10 - Oberlin, Ohio @ Oberlin College + 11 - Cleveland, Ohio @ Cleveland Museum of Art + 12 - New York, N.Y. @ Metropolitan Museum of Art + 24 - Asbury Park, N.J. @ Stone Pony * 25 - Peekskill, N.Y. @ Paramount Center for the Arts * 26 - Washington, D.C. @ George Washington University 27 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 28 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 29 - Towson, Md. @ Recher Theatre * 30 - Carrboro, N.C. @ Cat’s Cradle $
May 1 - Charlotte, N.C. @ Visulite Theatre $ 2 - Asheville, N.C. @ Orange Peel $ 3 - Athens, Ga. @ The Melting Point $ 4 - Birmingham, Ala. @ Bottletree $ 6 - Nashville, Tenn. @ The Belcourt Theatre $ 7 - Nashville, Tenn. @ The Belcourt Theatre $ 9 - Little Rock, Ark. @ Revolution 10 - Omaha, Neb. @ Slowdown 11 - Lawrence, Kansas @ Granada Theatre 13 - Des Moines, Iowa @ Vaudeville Mews 14 - Madison, Wisc. @ High Noon Saloon 15 - Indianapolis, Ind. @ The Music Mill 16 - Bellbrook, Ohio @ Bellbrook Jamboree 18 - New Holland, Penn. @ Spring Gulch Folk Festival 19 - Commerce City, Colo. @ Mile High Music Festival
July 25 - Calgary, Alberta @ Prince’s Island Park (Calgary Folk Festival) 26 - Calgary, Alberta @ Prince’s Island Park
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists will be sharing the stage with Pearl Jam for a handful of summer concerts. Leo's crew will open for Eddie Vedder and Co. for six shows in June, two of them at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Such behemoth venues are unusual for Leo and his bandmates, but not unheard of. While the band may be better known for its intimate club performances, the Pharmacists also did a two-month tour stint with Death Cab for Cutie in 2006.
In the meantime, Leo will be heading to Europe in April for a string of solo performances. He gave us a friendly e-mail earlier this month to let us know that he was working on new material. His tentative plan is to begin recording this spring, and release the new album sometime in the fall.
Pearl Jam’s Vedder has also had a banner year as a solo artist. After garnering a Golden Globe win and Grammy nomination for scoring the Into the Wild soundtrack, he announced seven upcoming solo performances in Vancouver and California.
Dates:
June 19 - Camden, N.J. @ Susquehanna Bank Center 22 - Washington, D.C. @ Verizon Center 24 - New York, N.Y. @ Madison Square Garden 25 - New York, N.Y. @ Madison Square Garden 27 - Hartford, Conn. @ Dodge Amphitheater 30 - Mansfield, Mass. @ Tweeter Center
Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's got a new nickname. Previously labeled "Harvey Scissorhands" because of his notorious tactics with film editing, he's gone on to be compared to another famous movie character who's ambiguously amoral, but probably tends a little further toward outright evil than Edward Scissorhands.
"Stop Darth Weinstein form ruining the movie Fanboys!" reads a header on one of the many grassroots sites now dedicated to preserving the original version of the Weinstein Co. movie Fanboys. Vader or not, Weinstein and his company are now entangled in turmoil (perhaps of the intergalactic variety?) surrounding the film they signed onto in 2005, a comedy detailing a troupe of Star Wars fanatics' quest to break into George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch and steal Episode I: The Phantom Menace before its release, watching it first and thus securing their place in Star Wars fandom history.
A rough cut of the original version of Fanboys, centering around one character's struggle with cancer as impetus for the journey, was screened at Star Wars Celebration Europe (a London Star Wars fanfest) in July of last year and received very well. Featuring sound effects from the original movies authorized by Lucas, an appearance by William Shatner, and using the costuming talents of many real fanboys (as well as featuring their appearances as extras), the film seems equipped to hit home for even casual Star Wars watchers, but has taken on a different life with the addition of several recently-shot scenes and the removal of the cancer-centric storyline in re-editing. The reaction to the transformation of the movie's subplot has incited an immediate reaction from the Star Wars fan community. As so many were involved in the project from its inception, they feel that not only is the movie less compelling in its altered form, but that it becomes, according to StopDarthWeinstein.Chris-Marquette.com, a "mindless yuk-fest that portrays Star Wars fans as loser criminals."
In a partial victory for the protestors, the Weinstein Co. has now promised the release of both versions of the movie, if only to DVD. Theater release for one or both films is currently in discussion. Neither has a date yet. "While the later version tested very well with audiences, the grass-roots support we have received for the first version simply cannot be ignored," a Weinstein spokesperson told HollywoodReporter.com. The company received over 300,000 angry emails, according to a press release, prompting some acquiescence to the push for the film's first incarnation. Unsatisfied, however, many of the angered groups have demanded that the original version (and only the original version) be released in theaters, threatening a picket at this Friday's opening of Superhero Movie and boycotting of every subsequent Weinstein Co. film.
For protest plans and a detailed (if impassioned) list of demands addressed to Weinstein, visit Committed.to/StopDarthWeinstein, where "Jek Porkins" warns him, "If you release your mutilated anti-fan version of Fanboys in ANY FORM, you can look forward to a lifetime boycott of your studio by every Star Wars fan on the planet."
For a journal from one of the leaders in the...ahem...resistance, visit Bladeseller.com, where Ken VanLyssel, head of one of the large fan groups in New Mexico that assisted in the making of the movie chronicles his experience with the whole controversy.
Fanboys was directed by Kyle Newman, executive produced by Kevin Mann, and produced Even Astrowsky, Dana Brunetti, Matthew Perniciaro and Kevin Spacey, whose production company, Trigger Street, began the project in 2003 with Newman, Perniciaro and writer Ernest Kline before the Weinstein Co. entered the picture.
And while we're waiting for either version, or both versions, to be released in theaters or on DVD, here is a trailer:
Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan recently discussed the band's lawsuit against Virgin Records for allowing the use of their songs in Pepsi and Amazon.com commercials. "I'm sure they indicated to Pepsi that they had a right to do this, full well knowing they do not have the right," Corgan said told Billboard.
The band filed a lawsuit last week against Virgin stating that the company's commercial appropriation “irreparably harmed” Smashing Pumpkins' “reputation and goodwill” with their fans. Although several ads featuring Pumpkins songs surfaced during the band's five-year hiatus, the band's main quarrel lies with unauthorized uses of its music.
This suit comes on the coattails of a long and hard-fought feud between the Pumpkins and Virgin, a company Corgan says has shown a consistent lack of respect for the band's body of work. “They've atrophied the [Pumpkins] catalog down so low that they probably hope we'll crawl back and ask for cash.”
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Lou Reed, Buddy Guy and Fergie walk into a Memphis bar… Actually, there’s no joke here. This is an actual possibility at the Beale Street Music Festival taking place in Memphis this May.
The festival has lined up an impressive collection of music’s elder statesmen/women like Aretha Franklin, Lou Reed, Buddy Guy, Santana and Bettye LaVette. Indie mainstays like Ben Folds, Cat Power and Tegan and Sara will also share the stage with Pinetop Perkins, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts and The Black Crows. But what about your angry-at-the-world 15-year-old son? Won’t he be bored to tears if he gets dragged along to the festival? Not if Disturbed, Seether and My Chemical Romance have anything to say about it.
The what-ifs associated with this line-up are endless. Imagine the lead singer of Disturbed explaining the meaning behind his “oo-wah-ah-ah-ah” lyric to a bemused Franklin. Or what about Jerry Lee Lewis waiting in line for the porta-potties behind Ben Folds, Joan Jett and My Chemical Romance? Or even ?uestlove and Bettye LaVette exchanging awkward glances while they watch Project Pat’s set...their hands lightly touch...a love that dare not speak its name develops...hush, sweet child of passion...go gently into the humid night...
Um, yeah, here’s the complete lineup:
Friday, May 2 My Chemical Romance
Sheryl Crow
The Roots,
Keb’ Mo’
Richard Johnston
Hellogoodbye
Jonny Lang
Ben Folds
Charlie Musselwhite
Robert “Wolfman” Belfour
Flyleaf
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
Project Pat
Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials
Lord T & Elosie
Amy LaVere
JJ Grey and Mofro
Lurrie Bell
Saturday, May 3 Santana
Disturbed
Matisyahu
Bettye LaVette
Richard Johnston
Lou Reed
Seether
The John Butler Trio
Pinetop Perkins & Hubert Sumlin W Billy Gibson
Blind Mississippi Morris
Buddy Guy
Simple Plan
Arrested Development
Watermelon Slim
Cat Power
The Whigs
Colbie Caillat
Back Door Slam
Duman
Saving Abel
Tegan and Sara
Kenny Neal
Muck Sticky
Oracle and the Mountain
Al Kapone
Preston Shannon
Eli “Paperboy” Reed
Sunday, May 4 Fergie
Michael McDonald
The Black Crowes
Doyle Bramhall
Richard Johnston
Finger Eleven
Aretha Franklin
O.A.R.
Magic Slim & the Teardrops
Robert “Wolfman” Belfour
Gavin DeGraw
Jerry Lee Lewis
Michael Franti & Spearhead
Nick Moss & The Flip Tops
Rue Melo
Duman (from Turkey)
Umphrey’s McGee
Samuel James
Carney
Billy Lee Riley
Pete Francis
Calvin Cooke
Musical collaborations happen all the time. From Alicia Keys and Maroon 5 to The Killers and Lou Reed to Jamie Foxx and Rascal Flatts, many fans cease to so much as bat an eye when told news of a new pairing between musicians.
However, that's because most musical match-ups aren't nearly as cool as this one. Soul legend Al Green has new album (due May 27), which he worked on with The Roots' ?uestlove. Other artists featured on the album include John Legend, Corinne Bailey Rae, and neo-soul singer Anthony Hamilton.
Luckily, ?uestlove seems to recognize the need for Green to make good with younger, hipper artists, all without crossing the line and transforming his persona and sound completely. In a recent Billboard.com article, ?uestlove is quoted as saying, "I'm not saying Al Green wants to do his version of [Chamillionaire's] 'Ridin'..."
Phew. Good thinking, ?uest.
Watch a sneak peak of some of the album's studio time below:
By
Nikki King
on March 26, 2008 11:49 AM|Permalink
| Comments (0)
photo by Alex Gibbs
Dinosaur Jr, Brand New, Black Lips, Okkervil River, Menomena, Explosions in the Sky—the list of bands that Mississippians Colour Revolt have toured with reads like an all-star roster of indie rock. This spring, the band will add the Breeders to the list.
The guys brought their incandescent grunge rock to the Dell Lounge at SXSW and have already played a smattering of dates in anticipation of their debut full-length Plunder, Beg and Curse, which hit stores April 1. Clay Jones returned to produce the project, who also worked with Colour Revolt on its self-titled 2006 EP
Check out the first track from Plunder, Beg and Curse below. And just below that, watch the hilarious teaser video for the album created by Aaron Keuter.
Crowded House, that band you probably know more songs by than you think you do, has announced its 2008 North American tour. The trek will support the newly reunited band’s first album since 1993, Time On Earth, released last year. Rather than hitting many cities with single date appearances, the band has planned a tour which visits fewer cites for a couple of days each, in smaller, more intimate venues.
Originally formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1985, Crowded House attained major global success with it’s shimmering pop hit of 1987, “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” followed by further hits over the next decade including “Something So Strong,” and “Weather With You.” Following the release of a greatest hits album, Recurring Dream, the band broke up in 1996 just as it gained greater recognition.
Ten years, some solo albums, and one suicide later, the band reformed last year, featuring a new line-up with recently recruited drummer Matt Sherrod alongside original members Neil Finn, Nick Seymour and Mark Hart. The tragic 2005 death of original drummer Paul Hester was a further catalyst for the remaining members' reunion. Together, they released Time On Earth to critical acclaim.
2008 tour dates:
April 28-30 - New York, N.Y. @ NY Fillmore at Irving Plaza
May 2 - Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club
5-6 - Boston, Mass. @ Somerville Theatre
7-8 - Toronto, Ontario @ Danforth Music Hall
10-11 - Chicago, Ill. @ Vic Theatre
14-15 - San Francisco, Calf. @ Fillmore
16-17 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Orpheum Theatre
Seattle-based five-man tongue twister, Fleet Foxes, have been pretty busy lately. On top of playing at SXSW mere weeks ago, they are also in the middle of touring LIKE CRAZY with fellow Northwesterners, Blitzen Trapper.
It must be something in the water up there. The two Sub Pop bands are going all over the place, but don't take our word for it; see below. Summertime highlights include Sasquatch! in their home state and Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago.
And just to make sure they wouldn’t get bored, Robin Pecknold and the rest of the gang released the date of their debut full-length album. The 11-track record, produced by Phil Ek (withModest Mouse and The Shins under his belt) will be self-titled and in record stores on June 3.
Fleet Foxes will be released through Sub Pop. The band is signed to Bella Union Records in the UK.
The band’s EP, entitled Sun Giant, has been for sale exclusively on the Sub Pop label, but will also be coming to you in hard copy this spring on April 8. Boy, those Fleet Foxes sure are fast…(go ahead, try to say it three times.)
Dates:
March 26 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ Johnny Brenda’s 27 - Cambridge, Mass. @ Middle East Upstairs 29 - New York, N.Y. @ Bowery Ballroom 30 - Worcester, Mass. @ The Grind at Clark University
April 1 - Montreal, Quebec @ La Sala Rossa 2 - Toronto, Ontario @ El Mocambo 3 - Buffalo, N.Y. @ Mohawk Place 4 - Cleveland Heights, Ohio @ The Grog Shop 5 - Detroit, Mich. @ The Magic Stick 6 - Chicago, Ill. @ Schubas 8 - Madison, Wis. @ High Noon Saloon 9 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ 7th St Entry 10 - Grinnell, Iowa @ Grinnell College 11 - Omaha, Neb. @ Slowdown 12 - Lawrence, Kan. @ Jackpot 14 - Denver, Colo. @ Hi-Dive 15 - Salt Lake City, Utah @ Urban Lounge 17 - Vancouver, British Columbia @ Media Club 18 - Seattle, Wash. @ Neumos 19 - Portland, Ore. @ Holocene 25 - Bellinghamd, Wash. @ WWU Underground
May 24 - George, Wash. @ The Gorge for Sasquatch! LINK
July 19 - Chicago, Ill. @ Union Park for Pitchfork Music Festival
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss have released a video for “Please Read the Letter,” the second single off of their joint album Raising Sand, released late last year on Rounder Records.
“Please Read the Letter” was written by Plant and Led Zeppelin bandmate Jimmy Page. Director Rocky Schneck shot the video in Los Angeles at a sparsely decorated gothic mansion, meant to portray the haunting sadness of the song’s lyrics. The video debuted recently on the Country Music Television network, and is available at Rounder.com.
As previously reported, Plant, Krauss and their band (led by celebrated producer T-Bone Burnett) will kick off their Raising Sand international tour late next month with four shows in the Southeast. After wrapping up the tour’s European leg in May, Plant and Krauss will return to the U.S. to play an additional 21 dates throughout June and July.
When the throes of life have a soul seeking relief, doesn’t everyone want a bartender like balladeer Lyle Lovett? We thought so, and apparently so did writer-director Michael Meredith. Lovett has been cast alongside Jeff Bridges, Harry Dean Stanton and Justin Timberlake in The Open Road.
The film follows the son of a baseball legend on a road trip home to see his ailing mother. Timberlake plays the son, Bridges his father and Stanton his grandfather.
This is not the first time that Timberlake and Stanton have appeared on screen together; they were both in the gang flick Alpha Dog in 2006. Nor is it Lovett’s first time around the cinematic block. He appeared in Meredith’s 2003 take on Chekhov, Three Days of Rain, and had a wholly entertaining bit part in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
The project will be filmed in the Louisiana mostly. Kate Mara (We Are Marshall) and Mary Steenburgen (Step Brothers) will also star.
No word yet on when filming will begin or any projected release date, but we can only hope we'll get to see Lovett and JT battle it out on semantics.
It's been a couple months full of Death Cab for Cutie news, with the news that their new album had a name and the subsequent release of said album's first single via the magic of the interweb. Now, the band has revealed the album art (see above) and announced a few new dates.
Death Cab will brings its new jams to a city that's possibly near you, if you happen to live in the Northeast, or in Oregon, Colorado, the Mid-Atlantic, Ohio or Texas. Hmmm... After looking at that schedule, it seems Ben Gibbard and Co. should petition for a change in tour venues. That schedule doesn't make much sense. However, don't feel too sorry for the Death Cab boys. After all, Gibbard is probably happy to see civilization again after what he went through for his upcoming Paste cover story.
Curious? Look forward to our May issue.
May 9 - Providence, R.I. @ Providence Piers 10 - Boston, Mass. @ Bank of America Pavilion 24 - Bend, Ore. @ Les Schwab Amphitheater 28 - Morrison, Colo. @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
June 9 - Columbia, Md. @ Merriweather Post Pavilion 13 - Cleveland, Ohio @ Plain Dealer Pavilion 17 - Grand Prairie, Texas @ Nokia Theatre
Hypothetical musicians, it may be time to get out your (fake) drum set and (real) drumsticks! It’s official: Rock Band, the video game that has already won awards for its PlayStation and XBox versions, will be released on June 22 for the Wii.
Although at first it seemed that Nintendo was not quite interested in pairing up with Harmonix Music Systems, the geniuses also responsible for Guitar Hero, they gradually warmed up to the idea. Lots of speculation was involved, including a cross-platform mic coming out mistakenly labeled as Wii-compatible.
The game will be released as a special edition package, including the drums, the guitar and the mic, for $169.99. But don’t go find a line to wait in just yet. The Wii version will not yet include the online or downloadable material included with the other formats, but will include five undisclosed additional songs.
A lot of bloggers are saying they won’t spend any money on the Wii version to play the same songs over and over again when they could have endless fun on the Xbox or PlayStation. It seems only time will tell if the dog days of summer find gamers virtually rocking out with a white box or a black box.
We've been excited about the prospect of the next Langhorne Slim release for a while. What can we say? It's been too long since we had new meat in our optimistic Appalachia diet. What we now know is that all this roots rock build-up will come to fruition in the form of a self-titled release in the middle of a lengthy tour. The city resident with a rural aesthetic will release his debut for New York indie Kemado Records April 29, his first full-length since 2005's When the Sun's Gone Down and the follow-up to 2006's Engine EP.
"I’m not sure that there’s any other kind, but the songs I write are love songs," Langhorne says of the new record. "Some are literal, about specific events, people and relationships in my life; a form of therapy, self-help for the flowers and the shit along the road of life. Others come from a place far more mysterious. Either way, I’m in it to capture the feeling, the truth of an emotion, changing only names and events to protect the innocent."
Kemado Records is offering a preview of this emotion with a download of the track "Rebel Side of Heaven" from the forthcoming album. You can get it here.
Sam Kassirer (otherwise known as the keyboard player in Josh Ritter's band) hosted Langhorne at his studio, Great North Sound Society, in Maine to record the album. Longtime cohorts Malachi DeLorenzo and Paul Defiglia lent their talents to the project as well.
Catch him if you can:
April 10- Boston, Mass. @ Middle East 11 - Newmarket, N.H. @ Stone Church 12 - New Haven, Conn. @ Café Nine 24 - Asbury Park, N.J. @ Stone Pony (w/ Josh Ritter) 25 - Peekskill, N.Y. @ Paramount Theater (w/ Josh Ritter) 28 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (w/ Josh Ritter) 29 - Baltimore, Md. @ Recher Theater (w/ Josh Ritter) 30 - New York, N.Y. @ Mercury Lounge (CD Release Show) +
May 1- Arlington, Va. @ IOTA Club & Café + 2 - Chapel Hill, N.C. @ Local 506 + 3 - Mt. Pleasant, S.C. @ Village Tavern + 4 - Orlando, Fla. @ The Social + 6 - Atlanta, Ga. @ The Earl + 7 - Nashville, Tenn. @ Mercy Lounge + 8 - Birmingham, Ala. @ Bottletree Café + 9 - New Orleans, La. @ One-Eyed Jacks + 10 - Austin, Texas @ The Mohawk + 13 - San Diego, Calif. @ The Casbah + 14 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Troubadour + 15 - San Francisco, Calif. @ The Independent + 17 - Portland, Ore. @ Doug Fir Lounge + 19 - Seattle, Wash. @ Tractor Tavern + 22 - Salt Lake City, Utah @ Urban Lounge+ 23 - Denver, Colo. @ Hi-Dive + 24 - Lawrence, Kan. @ Replay Lounge + 26 - Madison, Wisc. @ High Noon Saloon + 28 - Chicago, Ill. @ Schuba’s + 29 - Chicago, Ill. @ The Hideout +
August 1 - Happy Valley, Ore. @ Pickathon at Pendarvis Farm 2 - Happy Valley, Ore. @ Pickathon at Pendarvis Farm
September 19 - Bristol, Tenn. @ Bristol Rhythm and Roots Fest 20 - Bristol, Tenn. @ Bristol Rhythm and Roots Fest
After serving up the backing track for AT&T commercials, Amos Lee is ready to be front and center again. On June 24. the soulful folk singer will release his third studio album Last Days at the Lodge.
Produced by Don Was (Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, Carly Simon), this will be Lee’s first release since his 2006 gem, Supply and Demand. Tour dates will be announced in the near future, but until then you can enjoy this little snippet of the singer/songwriter’s live show:
The town of Athens, Ga., has never been shy about celebrating its local musicians. From Drive-By Truckers to the B-52's to Neutral Milk Hotel to The Whigs, the enormity of the Athens music scene is outstanding by most any standard, and musician Jim White has long been a formidable part of it.
White (a recentPaste Artist of the Week) recently released the awesome Transnormal Skiperoo, and now he's begun to do what musicians do and tour in support of the record. He's visiting the West coast right now, so if you're reading this and live out there, grab some tickets soon.
And for the uninitiated:
The West Coast is the best coast:
March: 26 - Santa Cruz, Calif. @ The Crepe Place 27 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Great American Music Hall 29 - Portland Ore. @ Lola's Room 30 - Seattle, Wash. @ Tractor Tavern
It was only a month ago that Diablo Cody won the Best Screenplay Oscar for her teen-pregnancy comedy Juno, but she has hardly been sitting around and basking in the golden-statue glory. The indie phenomenon has two, possibly three, new projects in the pipeline for 2008.
First up for Cody (aka Brook Busey) is a Showtime television pilot called The United States of Tara, starring Aussie actress Toni Collette as a mother suffering from multiple personalities. Steven Spielberg is producing the show, scheduled to begin shooting April 14.
Cody’s next project will be her big-screen follow-up to the $125 million grossing Juno. Her comedy/horror film Jennifer’s Body will star Transformers' Megan Fox as Jennifer, a possessed small-town Minnesota cheerleader who starts feeding on local boys. Juno director Jason Reitman is producing the flick with his Fox Atomic partner Dan Dubiecki.
Finally, the Chicago Sun Times reported last month that Cody is considering penning a screen adaptation of her best-selling memoir, Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper. Much has been made of the Illinois-born, Minnesota-bred author’s colorful past, but Cody seemingly rose above the haters when she tearfully addressed her family during her Academy Awards acceptance speech. “And most of all, I want to thank my family for loving me exactly the way I am,” she said.
Oprah Winfrey and Howard Stern will be getting a little closer to each other on the radio if a major satellite radio merger gets a nod from the Federal Communications Commission. The Department of Justice approved the Sirius buyout of XM yesterday on the grounds that not many companies can compete with their satellite service even if they remain separate. The $5 billion merger will now go before the FCC, where many expect the commission to approve the deal without much difficulty.
Many critics of the deal say the monopoly will lead to higher prices, less innovation and redundancy as the networks fuse channel services. However, both services sit at brink of bankruptcy and
promise they will provide cheaper a la carte channels if the deal goes through.
The world seems to be abuzz about movie plots that revolve around making movies. One such film, Son of Rambow, is finally going to be released to American audiences after a year-long wait. But first, the movie's creators, Hammer and Tongs, are giving intrepid filmmakers a chance to be internationally recognized in a short-film contest.
Keeping in the spirit of the film and the producers’ music-video background, the Filmmaking Frenzy contest encourages participants to submit a five-minute film about absolutely anything. Seeing as Paste is full of writers and not directors we have some ideas that could inspire future participants:
1. The creation of the Tootsie Roll Pop, we know it takes three licks to get to the center, but how does the center get in the pop? Tootsie Roll Tumors? The world must know!
2. A short documentary on mockumentary filmmakers. Alternatively, participants could make a mockumentary about the documentary on mockumentary filmmakers.
3. A famous director creating a low-budget alternative to his own recently released movie... Wait, that’s already happened.
The contest ends on May 12, and is open to all residents of the United States and Canada. (Sorry, Michel Gondry, you cannot apply.) Entrants under the age of 13 should have a parental consent form as well. The winner gets their film featured in the DVD release of Son of Rambow. Seeing as the film was a favorite at Sundance in 2007, the prize is certainly worth competing for.
Oh, what a difference a week makes. This time last week, the only reason you’d see the word “raconteur” in a Paste news article was if some musician at SXSW was particularly skilled in relating stories or anecdotes. (Editor's note: This isn't exactly true.) Fast forward to today and we now have shiny new Raconteurs records in stores available to everyone, everywhere.
And just in time for their surprise, leak-proof album (well… sorta), Consolers of the Lonely, Jack White and Co. have announced the first leg of their North American tour, which includes stops at Coachella, Bonaroo and The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. East Coasters will be sad to see that they’re conspicuously left out of the tour, but, hey, that’s what adding dates is for. And isn’t it about time Kansas City got some rock ’n’ roll lovin’?
So what can you expect from the Consolers tour? Will the new music be any good? Can White still shred like a bizzaro, white-boy Sun House? Can Brandon Benson still channel the classic rock gods like a rock ’n’ roll Rosemary Altea? If only there was something. Some kind of article. One where a professional appreciator of music (we could call him "a critic") would weigh in with his thoughts about the album.
But wait! Paste to the rescue with a review! You're welcome.
Dates:
April 20 - Vancouver, British Columbia @ Commodore Ballroom
21 - Seattle, Wash. @ Neumo's
22 - Portland, Ore. @ Wonder Ballroom
23 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Bimbo's 365 Club
25 - Indio, Calif. @ Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
26 - Las Vegas, Nev. @ The Joint
28 - Denver, Colo. @ The Fillmore Auditorium
29 - Uptown Theatre Kansas City, Mo.
May 1 - Dallas, Texas @ House of Blues
2 - Austin, Texas @ Stubb's BBQ
3 - Austin, Texas @ Stubb's BBQ
4 - New Orleans, La. @ New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
June 13 - Manchester, Tenn. @ Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
Girl Talk (AKA: Gregg Gillis) has announced plans for his fourth album, and it has one mouthful of a name. Wild Peace IV: Feed the Animals, Raise the Dead, is scheduled to come out on Illegal Art Records late this spring or early this summer.
After two years of testing out new material on his audiences all over the world, Gillis said this album is still sample-heavy, but also gives his own groove a bit more room to move. No doubt you’ll be doing the same when you hear it.
However, if you just can’t wait for new material, you can catch one of the upcoming Girl Talk performances. They’re all on Fridays, so no “It’s a school night” excuses allowed.
Dates:
March 28 - Athens, Ga. @ Georgia Theatre
April 4 - Morgantown, W.Va. @ 123 Pleasant Street 25 - New Haven, Conn. @ Toads Place
May 2 - Richmond, Va. @ Toads Place / Richmond 9 - Millvale, Pa. @ Mr. Smalls Theatre 23 - Chillicothe, Ill. @ Summer Camp
August 8 - Jersey City, N.J. @ All Points West Festival
By
Nikki King
on March 24, 2008 4:37 PM|Permalink
| Comments (0)
photo by Harry Benson
Remaining members of the Beatles are suing Fuego Entertainment over the Star Club recordings that were acquired through the company’s British promoter Jeffrey Collins, as previously reported.
Several years ago, Collins was put under three years of probation for violation of New Jersey’s anti-piracy laws with other recordings, according to Billboard.com. The agency that manages the Beatles’ legacy, Apple, considers the release to be nothing more than a crude bootleg. The company’s representatives fear that these recordings would water down memories of the band.
“Whatever it is they claim to have, it’s a bootleg tape and there was no permission from The Beatles to record it, and Fuego doesn't have permission from The Beatles to exploit it,” said New York attorney Paul LiCalsi to the Miami Herald.
This is not the first time that a dispute has been rooted in these recordings. In 1991, Sony Music Entertainment tried to distribute The Beatles Live at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962—Vol. I and Vol. II before a cease and desist order caused execs to back away from the project.
Fuego Entertainment was issued a similar order after the company announced on Jan. 10 that it would be releasing the songs, and made a few available for streaming when fans registered with the Fuego Plus website. The company charged forward with promotion, with a press release that carried an air that these recordings were a new discovery. Jeffrey Collins appeared on The Today Show in early February and continued to pursue publicity for the album, Jammin’ With the Beatles and Friends, Star Club, Hamburg, 1962, before a court order forced Fuego to stop promotion and remove the clips.
“Don’t claim that these were just bootlegged,” Hugo Cancio, president of Fuego, said to the New York Times. “It’s not like today, that you just go in with a phone or BlackBerry and you record.”
“The world deserves to hear these tracks,” Cancio added. “The fact is that we have it, they don’t, and that is what’s bothering them.”
Although that may be the case, the premise for Apple’s battle against Fuego is that at the time of the concert the Star Club recorded, the Beatles had already signed with EMI, legally prohibiting any third-party recordings.
Apple Corps also stated that the company has violated copyright in more blatant ways as well, including using a lengthened “T,” much like in the Beatles logo.
In related Beatles news, longtime friend and marketing manager of the band, Neil Aspinall, passed away Sunday night in Manhattan. He was 66. He left no memoir, taking many of the Beatles’ secrets to the grave. Aspinall had just stepped down from leading Apple Corps last April after 40-plus years of managing the band. Recent projects that he spearheaded include Love for Cirque du Soleil, two volumes of the Capitol Albums and a remixed version of Let it Be.
Action movie aficionado Tony Scott (Top Gun, Man on Fire) will direct the film, which is a remake of the 1978 thriller starring Walter Matthau. Washington will play a transit cop forced to go head-to-head with a group of hijackers who hold a packed subway car ransom. Travolta will play the gang’s leader, and Gandolfini's casting as the mayor of New York City was announced only yesterday.
Fresh off of his Golden Globe win for his work on the final season of HBO’s The Sopranos, Gandolfini has signed on to a number of new projects. He recently finished shooting his role in Spike Jonze’s upcoming adaptation of children’s favorite Where the Wild Things Are, and inked a deal with HBO to play grassroots basketball camp founder Sonny Vaccaro in the film ABCD Camp.
Gandolfini’s Attaboy Films also has several projects in development, including an untitled drama in which the actor will portray famed author Ernest Hemingway. Gandolfini and his Attaboy partner Alexandra Ryan will also be producing ABCD Camp.
After Lenny Bruce’s daring experimentation and free-speech advocacy changed the very notion of what a comedian could be—standup wizards like Richard Pryor and George Carlin picked up the comedic baton and carried it to astounding heights in the 1970s with their brazen, witty, insightful and, of course, hilarious social commentary.
Pryor’s fearless confessional style and heartfelt monologues shattered walls and fostered important discussion of race and racism, using comedy as a tool to engage taboo subjects in American culture. And Carlin’s bitingly sarcastic, anti-authoritarian diatribes tore gaping holes in the façades of polite society and its nonsensical rules, eventually finding an audience at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Exploring the profound (yet often overlooked) cultural impact of these pioneers and countless others from the comedic ranks, Time senior editor Richard Zoglin recently published Comedy at the Edge: How Stand-Up in the 1970s Changed America (Bloomsbury). Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker R.J. Cutler (The War Room) has wasted no time in acquiring the rights to this new book.
“[Zoglin’s] combination of anecdotal storytelling and reporting and interviews with all of the subjects... just brings the whole era to life,” Cutler told Variety.
Currently, the film is still in early planning stages. Like the book, it will likely cover comedians from Bruce to Jerry Seinfeld.
Country legend Dolly Parton outdid her last major-label album Those Were the Days (2005) with her new self-released Backwoods Barbie, which hit # 2 on the U.S. album chart last week.
After being dropped by Sugar Hill Records because of her decline in mainstream success, the enterprising Dollywood theme park owner culled her resources to put out an album “tailor-made” for her fan-base. As a result, digital sales made up 16 percent of the album's sales in the first week, high for a country album but not for a straight-to-fans release.
"Now the majors are what they used to think I was," Parton told the Associated Press. "History."
On June 7, The Roots will host a picnic/music festival extravaganza in their hometown of Philadelphia. Boasting acts like Gnarls Barkley, Deerhoof, Philly native Diplo and Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, and set on the shores of Delaware River, the picnic is certain to be a huge draw this summer for the City of Brotherly Love.
Be sure to check out the Liberty Bell (which should take a few minutes), run up the Rocky stairs (which may take more than a few minutes), and hit up the National Constitution Center (which, appropriately, houses the U.S. Constitution) while you're there.
Following last year’s Let’s Stay Friends, the Brooklyn-based indie rockers of Les Savy Fav (pronounced lay-SAH-vee-FAHV) are set to release their first live album on April 29. Entitled After the Balls Drop, the 15-track recording documents the band’s notable performance this past New Year’s Eve at Bowery Ballroom in New York City. Known for impressive, if random, live antics (frontman Tim Harrington kisses audience members, changes costume onstage and sometimes busts out a bubble machine to name a few), the live album aims to capture this exuberance.
The digital-only release features songs from the art-rock group’s older albums as well as recent hits from Let’s Stay Friends, including “What Would Wolves Do” and “Patty Lee.” Also of note are cover songs including Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Hey Tonight,” Pixies’ “Debaser,” Nirvana’s “Sliver,” Misfits “Astro Zombies” and Love’s “Everybody’s Gotta Live.”
The band has a handful of upcoming U.S. tour dates in April, with a couple east-coast shows accompanied by labelmates The Dodos and The Big Sleep and a west-coast stop in Indio, Calif. for the Coachella music festival.
April 4 - Washington, D.C. @ The Black Cat (w/ The Dodos and The Big Sleep)
5 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ TLA (w/ The Dodos and The Big Sleep)
25 - Indio, Calif. @ Coachella
27 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Great American Music Hall (w/ The Dodos)
[Above: an artist's rendering of the new storefront]
313 Bowery in New York City's East Village, once home to the famous CBGB's Gallery, will once again make way for music. Or pictures of it, rather. Fine art music photography powerhouse, Morrison Hotel, will be taking over the cavernous (3000 sq. ft.) area once occupied by CBGB's. The Morrison Hotel Gallery currently has spaces located in Soho, Los Angeles and La Jolla, but this will be by far their largest gallery space. They'll present shows in conjunction with the Max's Kansas City Project, which dedicates itself to providing emergency funding to creative individuals.
The inside of the area will change for each exhibition, the first of which is to come from British photographer and mixed media artist Steve Joester, famous for his work with British punk's first wave and with the London riots of 1976. That exhibition begins March 27.
After the opening, work from New York photographer Bob Gruen will move in, featuring his photographs of John Lennon, The Clash and many others, as well as an architectural centerpiece of a 1970s punk-obsessed teenager's bedroom designed by Tito Ficarelli.
CBGB's Gallery and CBGB's itself closed in 2006, but the Morrison says it plans to preserve much of the iconography associated with the old performance spaces. Still present will be "the bathroom graffiti, an original wall logo stencil and a panel of show posters and hand-bills from CBGB's 10th anniversary that were buried in an inner wall."
Over the weekend, prolific Latin bassist Israel “Cachao” López passed away in Miami at the age of 89. The Cuban-born musician was widely credited as the inventor of the mambo and has been one of the most influential Cuban musicians of the last century.
Born into a musical family in Cuba, López began playing music at a young age, performing with the Havana Philharmonic at age 12 (he had to stand on a crate to play his double bass). In his teens, López began experimenting with a faster style of play with his cellist brother Orestes, creating what would eventually be dubbed mambo. Cachao always refused to take credit for the genre, frequently crediting his bandleader Damaso Perez Prado as its progenitor.
Aside from his mambo legacy, López was one of the first Cuban musicians to popularize the descarga, or jam session. (Buena Vista Social Club was later spawned from a descarga and included Cachao’s nephew, Orlando "Cachaito" López.) Throughout his career, López played with a veritable who’s-who of Latin music, including Tito Puente, Gloria Estefan and Eddie Palmieri.
After a brief absence from the spotlight, Cachao got a boost from Cuban-American actor Andy Garcia, who directed the 1993 documentary, Cachao... Como Su Ritmo No Hay Dos, about the bassist. In response to López’s death, Garcia wrote: “Maestro, your music has accompanied me all my life and will continue to do so until we meet again. You have been my teacher, and you took me in like a son. So I will continue to rejoice with your music and carry our traditions wherever I go, in your honor.”
The Lemonheads re-release It's a Shame About Ray in Deluxe Edition format this week. Which 1992 album would you like to see given the ultimate reissue treatment? [1485 votes total]
R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People (398): 27%
Dr. Dre's The Chronic (159): 11%
Tori Amos' Little Earthquakes (107): 7%
Rage Against the Machine's Rage Against the Machine (179): 12%
Red House Painters' Down Colorful Hill (67): 5%
The Jesus Lizard's Liar (19): 1%
Uncle Tupelo's March 16-20, 1992 (177): 12%
Tom Waits' Bone Machine (179): 12%
The Black Crowes' Southern Harmony and Musical Companion (141): 9%
By
Austin L. Ray
on March 24, 2008 8:25 AM|Permalink
| Comments (0)
photo by Tim Soter
Paste had a dandy time at SXSW this year. Aside from all the usual, fun nonsense involving new bands, beer, blogging and BBQ, we hosted three day parties with our friends at Stereogum. Closing out our final day was DJ List Christee, better known as Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes.
"I intended to do something really cool and come to SXSW and establish myself as this fantastic modern DJ," Barnes told us in an interview immediately following his set. "But then I didn't have time, so I established myself as a completely uninspired loser DJ. But I made up a DJ name, which I think is essential. I always think of these characters and give them names, and I like the name List. It's such a bizarre first name. They say you can't trust a man with two first names, like Peter George or something. But List Christee, you can trust her. She doesn't even have a first name."
Barnes set under the List Christee moniker was less traditional DJ (there were no turntables or microphones) and more traditional-guy-at-a-party-with-a-laptop. But the music selection was excellent, and the Of Montreal frontman doesn't have any high-falutin' DJ ambitions to speak of, anyway.
"I don't even feel like it's a performance," Barnes says. "I'm not a DJ. I'm a real-time playlist arranger. A DJ pumps up the crowd and scratches and does creative stuff on the fly. I was basically just chilling and playing music. During my first set ever, I was an iPod DJ in Oslo at this little bar and they actually pulled the plug on me. 'We don't play that kind of music.' I was playing The Cure, Beck and things that were considered more mainstream by them. It is really humiliating to have the plug pulled on you, and then to have to do the cold walk of shame home with your iPod between your legs."
But Barnes hasn't spent all his downtime since 2007's excellent Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? arranging playlists. He's also been working on the follow-up to that critically acclaimed album. Set for a tentative October release, Barnes says the new album is called Skeletal Lamping.
"This sounds pretty pompous, but I was reading Dylan Thomas poems," he says. "He has such an interesting way of phrasing things. His language is so beautiful. I had this silly project where I would read one of his poems and then use that spirit and write my own poem. 'Skeletal Lamping' was a term that came out of that. I actually used it in one of the songs on our last record, 'Faberge Falls for Shuggie.' I was kind of thinking that would be a cool name for the record. And it would be so bizarre if I named this record Skeletal Lamping and the next record Controller's Sphere and the next record False Priest, because those are the three phrases I say at the end of that one song. So who knows if I'll do that with the next record? I probably won't. But maybe I will."
Barnes says he currently has about 50 minutes of music, which is the length he'd like the album to be, but has plans to record more and trim the fat over the coming months. His mastering appointment in May will keep him to that task, especially since he seems to have a little trouble holding back his songwriting.
"I could've easily made a double album, but I feel like people's attention spans don't go there anymore," Barnes says. "Mine doesn't go there either. It's really exciting and fun to release everything you've been writing, but at the same time, I want to be concise and really effective. I want people to get to the end of the record. I don't want them to be like, 'It's really great, but I always turn it off around the sixth song.'"
Meanwhile, Barnes insists that Skeletal Lamping will pave new stylistic ground for Of Montreal. Citing Health (who played directly before Barnes at the Paste/Stereogum party) as an example, he explains that the new record will likely be a heavier affair than past Of Montreal albums.
"I'm trying to create tension with the music instead of it always just being sun-kissed and happy and disco-y or whatever," he says. "I'm trying to create more sound collages, having them fade into more melodic parts and basically genre hop like I always have. But the new genre I'm including in it is this noisy tension music. Hopefully it works. It's not angry, really. When music is like that, playing with tension, creating discord and using dissonance, it's exciting for me. I don't think of it as angry. I think of it as emotive. When you hear stuff like that, it's not grotesque sounding; it's really cool. You're not only like, 'I wanna dance,' you're like, 'This hits me really deeply and I don't know why.'"
Barnes also promises "really crazy, functional packaging" for the new album that will serve as more than "a little cardboard box that is a conveyor of the CD," but did not divulge any specifics just yet. In the meantime, if you're a resident of Belgium, England, or, um, Michigan, you can catch his band (possibly working on its noise, tension) at one of the following dates:
May 9 - Brussels, Belgium @ Botanique 11 - Camber Sussex, England @ All Tomorrow's Parties
July 4 - Rothbury, Mich. @ Rothbury Festival
August 10 - Leicester, England @ Summer Sundae Weekender
The London-based Morcheeba is blipping its way into the U.S. in support of Dive Deep, its latest album. The trip-hoppers' release features guest vocalists like Cool Calm Pete, Judie Tzuke and even Manda, a girl whose dream of singing with the Godfrey brothers came true after contacting them via MySpace. If only Jeff Tweedy would respond to our wishes (We promise it would just be back-up for "Heavy Metal Drummer.")
Morcheeba will also make a free appearance at the shiny Apple store. Catch the group on both coasts and Canada:
March 27 - Somerville, Mass. @ Somerville Theatre
29 - Montreal, Quebec @ Club Soda
30 - Toronto, Ontario @ Opera House
April 1 - Chicago, Ill. @ Park West
2 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ First Avenue
4 - Denver, Colo. @ Gothic Theater
5 - Aspen, Colo. @ Belly Up Aspen
8 - Vancouver, B.C. @ Commodore Ballroom
9 - Seattle, Wash. @ Showbox at the Market
11 - San Francisco, Calif. @ The Fillmore
12 - San Diego, Calif. @ 4th & B
13 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Henry Fonda Theatre
Stars have finally made their way back to the States after a global stint, kicking off their U.S. tour in support of In Our Bedroom After the War last week. Capping off its current set of dates, the band will join the Coachella ranks in sunny Indio, Calif. next month alongside Death Cab for Cutie, M.I.A., Kate Nash and dozens more.
Meanwhile, Stars have released the video for their new single, "Take Me to the Riot," which you can feast on below (dates after the video):
March 24 - Birmingham, Ala. @ Workplay
25 - Nashville, Tenn. @ The Belcourt
26 - Louisville, Ky. @ Bomhard Theatre
27 - Indianapolis, Ind. @ The Vogue
28 - Madison, Wisc. @ Barrymore Theatre
29 - Detroit, Mich. @ Crofoot Ballroom
30 - Pittsburgh, Pa. @ Mr. Small's
April 1 - Buffalo, N.Y. @ Tralf Music Hall
18 - Milwaukee, Wisc. @ Pabst Theater
21 - Columbia, Mo. @ Blue Note
23 - Boulder, Colo. @ Boulder Theater
27 - Indio, Calif. @ Coachella
For some, Radiohead’s (totally awesome) appearance at the 2006 Bonnaroo festival was a turning point in the hipsterization of music festivals. Indeed, most festivals these days try to keep it indie (an expression that no one has ever used before), even as jam bands get high billing.
But the BamaJam Music & Arts Festival has no time for hipster scum. The festival, which will take place in Enterprise, Alabama, June 5-7, is dedicated to the holy trinity: bluegrass, country, and “alternative,” which, in this case, mostly refers to those of a jammy inclination.
There are some big names scattered across the three days and three stages, including Gov’t Mule, Marc Broussard, ZZ Top, Miranda Lambert, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Hank Williams, Jr., just to name a few. There are also plenty of up-and-comers, as well as arts, crafts and deep-fried food. (Seriously, we’re not making fun. It’s in the press release. Delicious!)
Ever since Idlewild (sort of) brought them back together, these have been the wandering days of Outkast. Each half of the duo had gone off on his separate path, enduring the trials of celebrity on the lengthy journey toward spiritual self-discovery. Big Boi found his calling in the ballet, while Andre 3000 rekindled his lifelong passion for fashion. The idea of these two collaborating again seemed to grow increasingly distant. Unfortunately, even the sun goes down, heroes eventually die, horoscopes often lie...
But don’t close the curtain just yet.
After promising a new single for New Years Day, Big Boi has finally delivered a new jam in “Royal Flush.” And what’s three-odd months of extra waiting time when you’ve got Andre 3K and Wu-Tang Clan’s Raekwon guesting on the cut? XXLmag.com has the stream for your listening pleasure.
This is what we critics call “a clinic.” Big Boi slurs off a slippery opening salvo over the spare rhythm track, Raekwon hops in to contribute a touch of ghetto mafioso menace, and then Andre 3000 puts an outrageous cherry on top with an extended verse that references everything from the Martin Luther King assassination to the hokey pokey. Like an unbeatable poker hand, it's a perfect reunion from the three MCs who brought you "Skew It on the Bar-B" 10 years ago.
Expect "Royal Flush" to see an official release on Big Boi's Sir Luscious Left Foot album, which is still in the works. And Dre? He's got solo plans of his own. So savor this MP3 manna while it lasts. We may not hear Outkast back together for a while yet.
A new deal between Apple and the music industry may make entire music libraries of record labels accessible for a flat-rate fee. In the “all you can eat” models proposed to the music industry, users would pay either a one-time or a monthly fee to access every song by a major-label artist through the iTunes Store.
According to music industry executives, this deal hinges on the price Apple will charge for access to the labels’ libraries. While Nokia offers a one-time fee program with their cellphones at about $80 per handset for unlimited access, two industry executives said Apple has so far only offered $20 per unit. “It’s who blinks first, and whether or not anyone does blink,” one executive said.
Even if the price were settled, distribution of the music may become another issue. The store will find it difficult to limit the music library to paying users unless Apple either develops a device that directly streams the music—such as in Nokia's “comes with music” plan—or institutes a file format similar to DRM.
What do you do after your last video becomes a ubiquitous hit following its inclusion in a certain MP3 player's television ads? Let puppets do your work for you, of course. According to several reports, Canadian songstress Feist has enlisted the help of the Calgary-based The Old Trout Puppet Workshop for the video of her latest single, "Honey, Honey," off the Grammy-nominated album The Reminder.
The Old Trout Puppet Workshop produced puppetry for the early 1990s blockbuster Honey, I Shrunk The Kids. (What? No Rick Moranis this time around?) Their work has also been featured on stage, in productions of Ronald Dahl's Little Red Riding Hood and Jack And The Beanstalk. This is the first Feist video in which the singer-songwriter does not perform.
"I am a mere spectator. I love this! I'm not even in it, I just get to hang out!", Feist told CityTv.com. Perhaps if we're lucky, and Feist really gets behind this do-nothing work ethic, we'll see the animatronic characters from Disney World's Hall of Presidents starring in the next Feist joint.
In related news, this isn't the first time Feist has worked with puppets. The Grammy-nominated artist once toured with Peaches as "Bitch Lap Lap," a leotard-wearing rapper with a sock puppet.
By
Nikki King
on March 20, 2008 4:47 PM|Permalink
| Comments (0)
photo by Jnas Valtsson
Likely the most unduly understated news from last week, Mugison walked away with three honors from the Icelandic Music Awards. When considering music from Iceland, one might be prone to think of the ethereal sounds of Sigur Rós or the bizarro pop of Björk. But we suggest you dig a bit deeper and get acquainted with Mugison, perhaps for a second time.
Ol' Mugi won the award for 2007’s record of the year and best album cover for his third album, Mugiboogie. Rightly so, considering the first 10-20 thousand copies of the release featured handmade packaging. Also, Gísli Darri and Bjarki Rafn won best video for the piece they created to accompany Mugison’s “The Great Unrest.”
He has also created the original soundtrack for two Icelandic films: Niceland, which is an Anytown look at the quest for the meaning of life, and Little Trip to Heaven, a thriller that stars a little Icelandic actress that looks just like Julia Stiles. Oh wait, that is Julia Stiles.
The album has already sold 10,000 copies in Iceland, which may seem small, but considering the population of Iceland is only about 300,000, this is no average feat. Platinum by their standards, the album is deeply soulful, orchestrated rock (if we must attach a genre) with lyrics that tackle the human condition in its rawest form. Mugison handles falsetto delicately and precisely, and yet the moments where his crooning escalates to a scream don’t seem out of place.
Look for a tentative stateside release date of June for Mugiboogie. While waiting, there is always the video for "The Great Unrest":
On Slash Film recently, a writer claimed that he knows a girl who actually left her boyfriend to pursue Michael Cera. Whether fact or legend, one thing is certain: Geek is chic, and Cera is the leader of the pack.
It was announced recently that the Young Man Formerly Known As George Michael has entered final talks to star in the upcoming Scott Pilgrim's Little Life, a movie adaptation of the popular Canadian comic book series. We're so excited here at Paste that we've compiled a list. Entitled "The Top Four Reasons Michael Cera is The Man," this list is available exclusively on PasteMagazine.com for a limited* time.
The Top Four Reasons Michael Cera is The Man:
4. He might star in Scott Pilgrim as a dude who loves a girl so much that he goes to the trouble of defeating her seven super-evil ex-boyfriends just to get a kiss. In the role of an ass-kicking musician, Cera will be afforded the opportunity to break out of his typecast role of the awkward-yet-loveable-geek-in-love.
3. Unlike some young stars, Cera actually seems stable, and able to enjoy his fame and fortune without it impinging on his talent. That takes character in present-day Hollywood. We're knocking on wood with one hand as we type this with the other.
2. No matter how hilarious Superbad was because of its vulgarity, it would have been just another Meatballs 2 without Cera's dorky, principled Evan, whose character instilled heart into the teenage sex-romp comedy.
1. His original role as George Michael on the awesomely hilarious Arrested Development, when he first stole our hearts as a skinny kid in love with his cousin Maeby.
Below, watch Zach Galifianakis interview Michael Cera on Between Two Ferns, a video that originally appeared on FunnyOrDie.com.
* Limited time offer void where prohibited and actually not limited at all.
By
Nikki King
on March 20, 2008 12:32 PM|Permalink
| Comments (0)
photo by Autumn de Wilde
As previously reported, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks are confirmed for a touring stint this month. But that’s old news. What is new news is that John Vanderslice will be joining him and performing some of his own headlining dates to boot.
Brooklyn outfit the Spanish Prisoners will be joining for a few dates as will the curiously named, one-man-band The Show is the Rainbow, among others. Also, check out the Vanderslice's web home for MP3s and visually stimulating slideshows from his previous tours and travels.
Remaining dates with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks:
March 25 - Nashville, Tenn. @ Mercy Lounge 26 - Atlanta, Ga. @ Variety Playhouse 28 - Washington, D.C. @ The 9:30 Club 29 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ The Fillmore 30 - New York, N.Y. @ Mercy Lounge (without Malkmus, tear)* 31 - New York, N.Y. @ Bowery Ballroom
April 1 - New York, N.Y. @ Bowery Ballroom 2 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 3 - Boston, Mass. @ Paradise 4 - North Adams, Mass. @ Mass. Museum of Contemporary Art
Headlining dates:
April 5 - Hanover, N.H. @ Dartmouth – Rocket Fuel Club 9 - Lancaster, Pa. @ Chameleon Club 10 - State College, Pa. @ Chronic Town $ 11 - Pittsburg, Pa. @ The Andy Warhol Museum $ 12 - Athens, Ohio @ Ohio University – the Union Bar 13 - Columbus, Ohio @ Skully’s Music Diner $ 15 - Springfield, Mo. @ The Randy Bacon Gallery # 16 - St. Louis, Mo. @ Biliken Club # 17 - Champaign-Urbana, Ill. @ The Canopy Club % 18 - Madison, Wisc. @ University of Wisconsin – Club 770 # 19 - Grinnell, Iowa @ Grinnell College – Gardner Lounge #
* w/ Cotton Jones Basket Ride, Deer Tick
$ w/Spanish Prisoners
% w/ Jared Bartman
# w/The Show is the Rainbow
What once seemed like a sure project for City of God director Fernando Meirelles—possibly starring Half-Nelson's Ryan Gosling—was recently turned on its head. Variety reports that Paramount has appointed Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead, Spiderman trilogy) to script and direct the next Tom Clancy adaptation. The details are still fuzzy as to which specific novel he will adapt the screenplay from, but Raimi says he plans to set the story in modern times while still depicting the Cold War-era main character Jack Ryan in his “younger more formidable years.”
Whomever Raimi picks for the role of Ryan will follow in a long, James Bond-like succession of actors. Alec Baldwin first filled the role in The Hunt for Red October (1990), followed by Harrison Ford in Patriot Games (1992) and Clear and Present Danger (1994), and, finally, Ben Affleck in The Sum of All Fears (2002).
But don't get too excited about the match-up just yet: With the movie Drag Me to Hell still on his plate, Raimi plans to release the upcoming Clancy project no earlier than 2010
Ryan Adams has launched a new blog, in which he has casually mentioned writing new material for an upcoming album.
At first glance, Adams’ blog dradamsfilms.com appears to be page after page of stream of consciousness posts. He muses on a wide range of subjects, including Morrissey, typewriters and a shopping trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond. But dig deeper and you'll find several references to a new album in progress and a little bit of insight into Adams' (in)famous creative process.
The prolific songwriter (nine albums and five EPs in seven years) describes working on a new album in a March 19 post, suggesting that his two steps forward, three steps back approach to songwriting has not changed. "So I won't be Fickle-Blogging here this week,” he wrote. “I have to write this record. I mean, this is the second draft. By second draft I mean, this is a whole new batch of tunes. The last batch was fine and maybe even some of it was rad. But my head did not catch on fire. At least not totally. I am sure I burnt more than a few by accident but all that house dust acted as a wonderful repellent."
There is no indication of when the album will be released on Adams’ blog or from his label Lost Highway. In lieu of a release date, we'll leave you with Adams’ thoughts on Knut – the baby polar bear from Berlin:
"KNUT. the ice bear. Rejected by his mother, loved and lifted up by germans, hairy, likes salmon……. I love him. There just is nothing not to love.
Cheryl Hines, perhaps best known for her role as Cheryl David on Curb Your Enthusiasm, has signed on to the cast of The Ugly Truth, which will also star Katherine Heigl (most famously of Grey's Anatomy and Knocked Up) and Gerard Butler (most famously of P.S. I Love You, 300 and The Phantom of the Opera). Robert Luketic will direct and Karen McCullah and Kristen Smith will write, all three having worked together previously on Legally Blonde.
The film is being made by Lakeshore Entertainment, distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures and will be produced by Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi for release next year. It seems to be getting a good bit of attention even though filming doesn't begin until next month, so much so that it already has a MySpace page.
In The Ugly Truth, Heigl will play a morning-show producer who has trouble in love (though, as this is a rom-com, that'll likely be remedied by film's end). Butler portrays the show's correspondent, and attempts to prove his theories on love to Heigl through a series of experiments. Hines will play Butler's manicured co-anchor.
Hines' directorial debut, Serious Moonlight, is currently in post-production, slated for release in 2009.
Since summer can never have too many music festivals, AEG Live recently announced the artists playing at the inaugural Mile High Music Festival in Denver, a new music fest taking place July 19 and 20. Tom Petty and Dave Matthews Band will each headline a day of the sonorous affair. The line-up also includes Josh Ritter, Andrew Bird, Spoon, John Mayer, The Black Crowes and The Roots.
Visit The Mile High Music Festival's website for the complete line-up, which will also contain tons of Denver's favorite local acts scattered throughout both days. Tickets went on sale Saturday (March 22) through TicketHorse.com and the festival site.
Early this morning, the world lost one of its greatest thinkers.
Arthur C. Clarke died at the age of 90 from complications in his breathing, after suffering for many years from post-polio syndrome, which eventually had left him confined to a wheelchair.
A renown inventor and sci-fi writer (who also, incidentally was known for his work as an underwater explorer), Clarke had the unique ability to think both scientifically and creatively, and he merged the two together in his writing, particularly in his classic work 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was eventually made into a Stanley Kubrick film. Clarke made science accessible to the common man, and much of what he wrote about was years ahead of its time. He came up with idea for the communications satellite, as well as a detection program for asteroids decades before the rest of scientific community caught on.
Reportedly, a film version of Clarke's 1972 novel Rendezvous with Rama is currently in the works, with director David Fincher (Fight Club, Panic Room) at the helm.
Below, watch the opening of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and then take a moment of silence for Arthur C. Clarke and all that he gave the world.
Less than two weeks after being named Magazine of the Year at the 2008 Plug Independent Music Awards, Paste is proud to announce another award nomination.
The American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) has named Paste as a finalist in the 2008 National Magazine Awards competition. The awards have been presented annually for the past 42 years, honoring “magazines, whether in print or online, that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative editorial techniques, noteworthy journalistic enterprise and imaginative design.”
Paste was nominated in the General Excellence Category for publication with a circulation of 100,000 – 250,000, alongside Foreign Policy, Mother Jones, Philadelphia Magazine and Radar.
According to an ASME press release, this year’s competition received a record-setting 1,964 entries from 333 print and online magazines. The finalists were chosen by 240 industry experts from the full spectrum of magazine journalism. Paste is only the fourth music magazine to be nominated for General Excellence in the history of the National Magazine Awards.
The winners of this year’s awards will be announced during a gala to be held May 1 at New York City’s Jazz at Lincoln Center Frederick P. Rose Hall. For a complete list of the 2008 National Magazine Award finalists, visit Magazine.org.
Needless to say, we’re all pretty excited about this tremendous honor, but Paste Publisher Nick Purdy said it best. “One of the most fulfilling aspects of Paste has been exposing so many great independent artists, but also, celebrating the deserving artists in our mainstream culture,” he said. “There’s just so much terrific, worthy art out there waiting to be discovered – in all corners – and when we help our readers find something they love? That’s the ultimate payoff.”
A special thank-you goes out to all of the readers who have supported Paste from day one, and continue to make it a success today.
In a match made in a version of heaven where everyone is depressed (hell?), Spirtualized frontman Jason “Spaceman” Pierce and director Harmony Korine—the latter known for the feel-good indie hits Kids and Gummo—have teamed up for the director’s latest, Mr. Lonely. Joined by the Sun City Girls, J. Spaceman and Co. provide the soundtrack to Korine's first foray back into feature films since penned the script for 2002's Ken Park, which never received U.S. distribution and was banned in Australia for all kinds of graphic sex. Mr. Lonely centers around a Michael Jackson impersonator in Paris who stumbles upon a commune of other celebrity impersonators including Charlie Chaplin and Marilyn Monroe. We can't make this stuff up, folks.
According to the film's press release, the music created by the Sun City Girls and Pierce "conspires in an exquisite corpse-like fashion—without knowing what the other was doing, they've each brought half a body to the film, supplying the apparitional and austere sounds of a world in which everyone is something they're not—i.e., the people they dream of being."
The soundtrack drops on April 22 and the film is currently only playing in selectarthousecinemas in London.
Tracklisting:
1. “Michael’s Opening” (dialogue)
2. Jason Spaceman - “Blues 1″
3. Jason Spaceman - “Blues 2 (Intro)”
4. Sun City Girls - “3D Girls”
5. Jason Spaceman - “Panama 1″
6. Sun City Girls - “Spook”
7. Jason Spaceman - “Garden Walk”
8. Sun City Girls - “Steppe Spiritual”
9. Jason Spaceman - “Pope in the Bath”
10. “Nun’s Prayer” (dialogue)
11. Sun City Girls - “Mr. Lonely Viola”
12. Sun City Girls - “Beryl Scepter”
13. “Red Riding Hood’s Hangman” (dialogue)
14. Jason Spaceman - “Stooges Harmonica”
15. “Father Umbrillo’s Broken Nation” (dialogue)
16. Jason Spaceman - “Musicbox Underwater”
17. Sun City Girls - “Circus Theme”
18. Sun City Girls - “Vine Street Piano”
19. Jason Spaceman - “Paris Beach”
20. Sun City Girls - “Farewell”
Prepare yourselves. Guitar Hero may be getting even more, well, heroic.
To which particular heroes do we refer? The Beatles, of course. They're heroic in the world of music if anyone ever was. To that end, rumors have been circulating that a Beatles-themed version of Guitar Hero may be in the works. Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which has the rights to a good chunk of the Beatles' musical output, seems to be interested in striking up a deal with Activision, GH's creator, DigitalMusicNews.com reports. This comes in the wake of last month's announcement that an Aerosmith-branded version of the game would soon hit stores.
After releasing their latest album three weeks early, current Paste cover stars Cee-Lo Green and Danger Mouse have decided to treat their Denver fans again by playing a free show there this summer. The odd couple will headline the SoCo Music Experience in Denver with Bassnectar. Meanwhile, Queens of the Stone Age—who will have just finished their Canadian tour—headlines the Atlanta SoCo Music Experience, joined by Ghostland Observatory and Ryan Shaw. Black Keys will headline the San Diego show.
More bands will join in this free-show giveaway, but for now, here are the dates:
May 17 - Atlanta, Ga. @ Centennial Park
June 28 - Denver, Colo. @ Central Parking Lot, Coors Field
August 23 - San Diego, Calif. @ Ace Parking Lot, Petco Park
September 6 - Madison, Wis. @ Willow Island at Alliant Energy Center
13 - Saratoga Springs, N.Y. @ Location TBD
Clocking in at an epic eight minutes and 35 seconds, Death Cab for Cutie's new single, “I Will Possess Your Heart,” has been released, and you can stream it here. Somewhat like an extended trailer for a film, the song gives an in-depth preview of Death Cab’s highly anticipated sixth full-length album.
The first half of the single is a lengthy jam, leading to where presumably the radio edited version will begin with Ben Gibbard's vocals. The band is presently in Los Angeles filming the video for the song.
“I hope this album is a bit of a surprise for those out there that think they have us all figured out,” bassist Nick Harmer told NME. “We can’t wait to share these songs with the world.”
Given that the new album's release date is in May, fans might want to keep their eyes peeled for additional press coverage that might be of particular interest to said listeners. Say, in a certain music, film and culture magazine. You know, in May.
Dates:
April 18 - Bremerton, Wash. @ Admiral Theatre* 19 - Eugene, Ore. @ McDonald Theatre* 21 - Arcata, Calif. @ Van Dozer Theatre/Humboldt State University* 22 - Davis, Calif. @ UC Davis-Freeborn Hall* 23 - San Francisco, Calif. @ The Fillmore* 24 - Las Vegas, Nev. @ The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel 26 - Indio, Calif. @ Coachella
May 9 - Providence, R.I. @ Providence Piers 10 - Boston, Mass. @ Bank of America Pavilion 24 - Portland, Ore. @ Les Schwab Theatre 25 - George, Wash. @ Sasquatch! 28 - Morrison, Colo. @ Red Rocks Ampitheatre
June 15 - Manchester, Tenn. @ Bonnaroo
July 27 - Pemberton, British Columbia @ Pemberton Festival
A documentary on rock pioneer Wanda Jackson that was screened at SXSW last week will air this May on the Smithsonian Channel.
The Sweet Lady With the Nasty Voice follows the 70-year-old Jackson over a two-year period as she performs across the U.S. and Europe. The documentary explores her musical legacy, and features interviews with various musical personalities, including Elvis Costello, Patti Scialfa and Bruce Springsteen.
Jackson broke down many barriers for female artists when she burst onto the music scene in the 1950s – a time when the rock and roll scene was dominated by male artists. Nicknamed the Queen of Rockabilly, she performed with legends including Johnny Cash, Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis, and toured with then-boyfriend Elvis Presley from 1955-1956.
The Sweet Lady With the Nasty Voice will be screened at film festivals around the country throughout March and April before premiering on the Smithsonian/Showtime-helmed cable network the Smithsonian Channel on May 18.
A listing of film festival screenings is included below. For additional television airdates and times, visit SmithsonianChannel.com.
Festival Dates:
March 24-28 - Buffalo, N.Y. @ Buffalo Niagara Film Festival 27-30 - Memphis, Tenn. @ Memphis International Film Festival
April 17-24 - Nashville, Tenn. @ Nashville Film Festival
Free of the label that decided to "dump" them two years ago, The Futureheads have released their new single in the UK and are politely asking fans to stick it to The Man by purchasing said single.
Their plea seems to be working. The new song, "The Beginning of a Twist," clings to the bottom rung of the UK Top 20 Chart. The band's forthcoming album, This Is Not the World, is scheduled to parachute into the States in May. We're glad to hear that that "sometime in 2008" release date is resolved.
Watch the video below. Tour dates after the video:
March 20 - London @ Brixton Academy (XFM Big Night Out)
21 - Leicester @ Athena
26 - Liverpool @ Wireless (DJ set)
29 - Cologne @ Palladium Rockpalast
April 2 - Cologne @ Cologne Live Music Hall
3 - Berlin @ Postbahnhof
4 - Munich @ Backstage
5 - Wiesbaden @ Schlachthof
6 - Hamburg @ Markthalle
May 5 - Cardiff @ Great Hall*
6 - Glasgow @ ABC*
7 - Dublin @ The Academy*
June 6 - Nurburgring @ Rock Am Ring
7 - Nurnberg @ Rock Im Ring
August 16 - Chelmsford @ V Festival (Hylands Park)
17 - Staffordshire @ V Festival (Weston Park)
As far as unintended consequences of the WGA strike go, this one has got to be one of the more surprising. While telling AICN about the possibilities of his own Harold and Kumar spin-off (Incidentally, is it Doogie Week on PasteMagazine.com, or what?), Neil Patrick Harris mentioned that he was working on, "a web short film that Joss Whedon is directing and wrote called Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog." That's a musical about super villains and crossing my fingers for the next round of Dancing With The Stars. (long pause) No..." This sounds like a joke, and was taken as such by everyone in the room. But was it?
The comment prompted the rabid fans at Whedonesque to go through a round of speculation until Whedon himself offered up more concrete information about the project. "The bag is catless," the Buffy television series creator said. "During the strike I started writing a musical intended as a limited internet series, 3 episodes of approximately 10 minutes each. Writing with me was my brother Jed, his fiancee Maurissa, and my other brother Zack. To my shock and surprise, we finished it. To my greater shock and surprise, we managed (with the help of many people I'll be praising at length soon) to drag it into preproduction (yes, just as Dollhouse was given a start date two months away and all my comics were due.) And today, after a grueling week of writing everything ever while trying to be a producer, I got to start shooting. A musical.
"This much I will say: It's the story of a low-rent super-villain, the hero who keeps beating him up, and the cute girl from the laundromat he's too shy to talk to. And I'm having the time of my life."
Whedon also offered a bit more casting info for the film, listing:
"'DOCTOR HORRIBLE'S SING-ALONG BLOG'
Neil Patrick Harris.....as Dr. Horrible
Nathan Fillion..........as Captain Hammer
Felicia Day.............as Penny
And a cast of Dozens!"
So not only will the series of musical shorts feature Harris, but also Whedon's old pal Nathan Fillion. No information is yet known about when or where this will be available, but the series' name alone is already one of the most creative things announced this year.
Up until a couple of days ago, Very Bad Things and Friday Night Lights had very little in common with Frank Herbert’s legendary novel Dune. But now, they will have a strong bond, as the director of the dark comedy and dark sports drama, respectively, takes his first stab at science fiction (or his second stab, if you consider Jeremy Piven playing a diplomat in The Kingdom to be a truly otherworldly occurrence).
That’s right, Peter Berg will direct a feature adaptation of Dune. Although no script or actors are yet in place, Berg already has quite a lot to (not) work with, because Dune has appeared on both the big and small screens before. In 1984, the enigmatic David Lynch gave it is his best shot, and in 2000, the Sci Fi Channel produced an epic Dune miniseries.
After the success of The Kingdom and with big expectations for this summer’s Will Smith film Hancock, Berg is a big name, and when Dune 3.0 sees the light of day, the word “epic” will likely be thrown around quite a bit.
“Like he’s in your living room,” is perhaps the biggest musical cliché for describing an intimate, stripped-down performance. And ever since Jennifer Gilson and husband Steve Rosenthal founded New York City’s Living Room venue on the Lower East Side in 1997, the two envisioned a nightclub offering the same comfort, social ease and artist-audience connection that a dude plucking his acoustic in a home full of close friends might provide.
Beginning last night at 8 p.m. with an Elvis Costello tribute night, The Living Room is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary with two weeks of special performances from the likes of Norah Jones, Ari Hest, Joseph Arthur, Chris Thile, Ollabelle and many others. Stop by, find a decent seat up front with your roommate, close your eyes and imagine you’re on your own futon.
Designated one of Paste's America’s 40 Best Venues, The Living Room has partnered with Decca Records to develop its label and with XM radio’s Loft channel for the bi-weekly series, “From the Living Room to the Loft.”
Wilco recently announced more (and more) tour dates into May, and even as far down the road as August. The band has also been rumored as a headliner for this year's Lollapalooza, speculation lighting up the Internet just last week.
The next part of Wilco's tour follows a five-night stint in the Windy City, during which the band played every single song from all six of its studio albums. Cross your fingers that the poor men don't die from exhaustion before they leave the Midwest and head down under to the Land of Oz.
Fans of Jeff Tweedy may also be interested to hear that he's now writing for the new New York Times migraine blog, which can be found here.
Watch Wilco perform at Bonnaroo:
Dates:
March 18 - Newtown, A.U. @ Enmore Theatre 19 - Brisbane, A.U. @ Tivoli Theater 20 - Byron Bay, A.U. @ East Coast Blues & Roots Music Fest 23 - Wellington, N.Z. @ Front Room 26 - Melbourne, A.U. @ The Palace 27 - Melbourne, A.U. @ The Palace
April 30 - Rochester, Minn. @ Mayo Civic Center
May 1 - Fargo, N.D. @ Fargodome 2 - Winnipeg, M.B. @ Burton Cummings Theater 4 - Bozeman, Mont. @ Emerson Theater 5 - Missoula, Mont. @ Adams Center 7 - Grand Junction, Colo. @ Avalon Theatre 8 - Colorado Springs, Colo. @ Pike's Peak Center 9 - Albuquerque, N.M. @ Popejoy Hall UNM 11 - Austin, Texas @ Stubb's BBQ 12 - Austin, Texas @ Stubb's BBQ 15 - St. Louis, Mo. @ The Pageant 16 - St. Louis, Mo. @ The Pageant
August 7 - Charleston, S.C. @ North Charleston Performing Arts Center
Norway will put Jay-Z's skills to the test this summer. The veteran rapper will headline the Hove Festival, which happens June 23-27, shortly after finishing up his Heart of the City Tour with Mary J. Blige. A wide array of talents will join him at the festival, including Animal Collective, Band of Horses, Deerhunter, Black Lips and more.
It's the end of the world as we know it. No, really, it's the end of the world—literally, Antarctica—and Fall Out Boy will be there on March 25, fiddling (metaphorically) for the elephant seals and whoever has the time and money ($2,500!) to secure a seat on the 100-passenger Whisper Jet that will carry the band to and from the icy floes for its performance at an unspecified "research facility."
Last week, the members of FOB unleashed a cryptic website (SevenContinents.tv) listing historic rock 'n' roll moments ("Elvis on Ed Sullivan, the Beatles at Shea, the Stones on a flat bed truck thru [sic] NYC, Guns N Roses/Metallica tour...") next to a group of penguins whose quizzical looks seem to indicate that they're just as confused as the rest of us.
"Well, I was just sitting around and wrote [FOB's manager] Bob [McLynn] an e-mail saying, 'Let's be the first band to go to all five continents' — only he wrote wrote me back, 'There are seven,' " Wentz told MTV News.
Wentz also assuaged the wails of the (many, many) FOB fans who won't be able to make the trip, adding that in addition to representatives from Greenpeace, the band will have a photographer and videographer (not to mention MTV News; oh please, let them give this assignment to Kurt Loder) present to capture every last drop of frozen eyeliner that squeezes from Wentz's eyes on the record-breaking trip. Thanks to The Daily Swarm for this hot (cold?) tip!
In honor of Saint Patrick's day, Troy Duffy announced Monday that a sequel to his cult classic Boondock Saints is on the way. In typical Duffy style, he released this information through a video on YouTube. Check it out here:
If Duffy is to believed here, he'll be filming the sequel this summer with the same cast as the original minus Willem Defoe.
Of course, one question that comes to mind is whether Duffy should be believed. The answer? Well, maybe. Duffy last released a video of this same kind back in 2006, promising that the sequel All Saint's Day was quickly moving forward. Of course, this never came to light...and was all too similar to what happened in 2002. Duffy is well-known for getting ahead of himself and also for wrecking his relationships with various studios.
Moral of the story: Take this all with a grain of salt. That being said, the announcement does sound like the most hopeful news on the project in years.
Tonight, The Hold Steady will play a free show at the Hard Rock Café in New York City. Alas, by all accounts, the quota for this show seems to be filled, but that doesn’t mean that it is impossible to catch some new material from the band and others.
Serve2 is a compilation from Hard Rock that is available exclusively on iTunes and will raise funds for Artists Against Hunger and Poverty via WHY (no, not the band, silly—the non-profit World Hunger Year). It’s nice that they are doing this strictly digitally to avoid costly overhead. The album is a 25-track smorgasbord, featuring live cuts, old tracks and a few new ones. Brandi Carlile suitably covers Bob Dylan’s “The Times They are A-Changin’” and Dylan himself is on there, too, with a song from a 1963 performance at Carnegie Hall. Also on the sampler are Bruce Springsteen, Joseph Arthur, KT Tunstall and Joss Stone.
All of the net proceeds will go toward WHY's initiatives to end hunger. According to the press release, Hard Rock has raised over $1 million for the organization over the years.
Tracks to listen to while finishing those veggies:
1. “The Ghost of Tom Joad” (Live In Dublin) Bruce Springsteen
2. “Heal Over” (Live At Gaia Music, London) KT Tunstall
3. “The Ballad of Hollis Brown” (Live At Carnegie Hall, 1963) Bob Dylan
4. “Big Ol' Game” Joss Stone
5. “Casino Nation” (Live From Melbourne, Australia) Jackson Browne
6. “107°” Citizen Cope, Alice Smith
7. “The Times They Are A-Changin’” (Live From Boston) Brandi Carlile
8. “Bring It On Home To Me” Marc Broussard
9. “Arms and Hearts” The Hold Steady
10. “Dareh Meyod” (Live At Madison Square Garden) O.A.R.
11. “Lay Down” Natasha Bedingfield
12. “Nothing Left To Lose” (Acoustic Version) Mat Kearney
13. “Stay the Night” Ghosts
14. “This Is My World” Andrew W.K.
15. “Better” (Live From Joe's Pub) Toby Lightman
16. “Bell Bottom Blues” Sons Of William
17. “Baby It’s Fact” (Live From New York, NY) Hellogoodbye
18. “Start Again” Josh Rouse
19. “You Haven’t Done Nothin’” Jen Chapin
20. “Man-Child” Eli Cook & Electric Holy Fire Water
21. “Love to Begin” Griffin House
22. “God’s Last Days” Favourite Sons
23. “Everybody’s Jesus” AM
24. “Sonny” (Live) New Found Glory
25. “A River Blue” Joseph Arthur
By
Cristina Martin
on March 18, 2008 3:03 PM|Permalink
| Comments (0)
photo by Mark C. Austin
After kicking some serious SXSW booty last week at one of the Paste/Stereogum day parties, Destroyer is showing no signs of ceasing momentum. Tuesday (March 18) marked the release of the Dan Bejar-fronted project’s 8th studio album, Trouble in Dreams.
Bejar has been working round the clock over the past year, touring with The New Pornographers throughout 2007 and releasing his latest side project, Hello, Blue Roses, this past January. Destroyer will embark on a spring tour in mid-April in support of the newborn release. Shows will continue into the early days of summer.
Dates:
April 16 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ 400 Bar
17 - Chicago, Ill. @ Logan Square Auditorium
18 - Detroit, Mich. @ Pike Room
19 - Toronto, Ontario @ Lee's Palace
20 - Montreal, Quebec @ Club Lambi
21 - Cambridge, Mass. @ Middle East Downstairs
22 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
23 - New York, N.Y. @ Bowery Ballroom
24 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ North Star Bar
25 - Washington, D.C. @ Black Cat
26 - Asheville, N.C. @ Grey Eagle
27 - Carrboro, N.C. @ Cat's Cradle
28 - Atlanta, Ga. @ The Earl
29 - Nashville, Tenn. @ Mercy Lounge
30 - St. Louis, Mo. @ Blueberry Hill
May 1 - Kansas City, Mo. @ Record Bar
2 - Omaha, Neb. @ Waiting Room
3 - Denver, Colo. @ Walnut Room
13 - Edmonton, Alberta @ Starlite Room
14 - Calgary, Alberta @ # 1 Royal Canadian Legion Hall
18 - Phoenix, Ariz. @ Rhythm Room
19 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Troubadour
20 - San Diego, Calif. @ Casbah
21 - San Francisco, Calif. @ The Independent
23 - Portland, Ore. @ Aladdin Theater
24 - George, Wash. @ The Gorge, Sasquatch! Music Festival
31 - Vancouver, British Columbia @ Commodore Ballroom
Break out your pink stockings and Aqua Net, because the B-52s are soon heading to a town near you. This year brings the “World’s Greatest Party Band” out to promote Funplex, its first full album of new material
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