Robert Plant and Alison Krauss release new video
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... read more
Lyle Lovett and Justin Timberlake walk The Open Road
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... read more
Death Cab for Cutie reveals Stairs art, adds dates
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... read more
Langhorne Slim offers free track, tours
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... read more
Amos Lee confirms his Last Days at the Lodge
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: Related links: AmosLee.com Amos Lee on MySpace Paste: 4 to Watch: Amos Lee Got news tips for... read more
Gnarls Barkley: The Odd Couple
In considering the follow-up album from... read more
Jim White tours in support of Transnormal Skiperoo
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 recent Paste 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... read more
Diablo Cody stays busy post-Juno
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... read more
Justice Department gives OK to Sirius buyout of XM
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... read more
The Raconteurs: Consolers of the Lonely
Jack White is not the same boy... read more
The Raconteurs drop album today, start tour in April
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... read more
Girl Talk announces plans to Raise the Dead, tour
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... read more
Beatles sue over Star Club recordings again
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... read more
Everything After August: The Counting Crows Story
For many, August and Everything After is nothing less than a classic, a record teeming with quality songwriting translated into hit singles. For a then-relatively-unknown San Francisco band called Counting Crows, and, in particular, its... read more
Gandolfini, Washington, Travolta to star in Pelham 123
James Gandolfini, Denzel Washington and John Travolta have signed on to star in the upcoming Columbia Pictures film The Taking of Pelham 123, Variety reports. 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... read more
Dolly Parton to major labels: "You're history."
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... read more
The Roots, Gnarls, Deerhoof to picnic in Philly this summer
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. Related... read more
Les Savy Fav's Balls drop in late April
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... read more
Morrison Hotel to set up shop in former CBGB's gallery
[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... read more
Israel “Cachao” López: 1918-2008
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... read more
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