Talib Kweli, Two Gallants, more to play Noise benefit shows
Noise for the Needy, a Seattle-based non-profit organization that raises money for charities through its summer music festival, has announced some initial artists for this year’s shows. Held throughout Seattle in June, the festival brings together over 30 bands from a variety of genres. This year, proceeds from all concerts will go to Urban Rest Stop, an organization offering individuals and families clean and safe restrooms, showers and laundry facilities in Seattle for free. A calendar of complete shows scheduled is forthcoming. A kick-off movie event is scheduled for May 14 at The Triple Door featuring David Schmader’s Showgirls, at... read more
Robert Pollard to release new EP, album, book
Prolific singer/songwriter and former Guided By Voices leader Robert Pollard will release a new album and a book showcasing his art this summer, according to his website. Robert Pollard Is Off To Business will be released on Pollard’s own label, Guided By Voices Inc., which he launched this year with managers David Newgarden, Rich Turiel and Eric Weiss. Frequent Pollard collaborator Todd Tobias produced the work. The release of Pollard’s new album will coincide with another release, that of the book Town of Mirrors: The Reassembled Imagery of Robert Pollard, published by Fantagraphics. The colorful coffee table book will... read more
Chloë Sevigny and Zooey Deschanel to star in Divorce Ranch
What do high-waisted houndstooth shorts, an oversized elf and the prolific M. Ward all have in common? Not a whole lot, except for being vaguely related things to highlight Chloë Sevigny and Zooey Deschanel’s new comedy, Divorce Ranch. The film is set in post-World War II Nevada at a ranch where quick work is made of processing divorces. Sevigny’s character brings her six-year-old son and her assistant (Deschanel) on a trip to the ranch. Although the details are a bit hazy on how all this works, Sevigny’s character has an end goal of wrangling herself a wealthy man. Rock-doc extraordinaire... read more
Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People to hit WiiWare
Do you has what it takes? Test your mettle (and trade in that skirt you're wearin' for a nice pair of camos) this June, when the folks behind HomestarRunner.com team up with Telltale Games to bring you the 3-D point-and-click-em-up adventure, Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People. (Or "SBCG4AP," which, astonishingly, actually may be less pronounceable than "fhqwhgads.") The more-than-a-little-awkwardly-named game debuts in June on WiiWare (and PC). Strong Bad informs us that there will be "five awesome episodes" (or "action-sodes") and that "you download them over your internet-style connection!" Careful, though. Whatever Homestar might think, that Wii controller's... read more
Eddie Murphy and MST3K alum want you to Meet Dave
Have you ever meet someone and been like, oh my God, that person is so incredibly awkward, they can’t actually be a person, they must be a spaceship disguised as a person? And then you think for a second and you’re like, whoa, that would make a lot of sense except, like, who’s ever heard of a spaceship disguised as a person? If you’re like us and this happens to you at least three or four times a week—or, more realistically, if you just happen to be an 8- to 12-year-old or a parent of one—Eddie Murphy’s upcoming film Meet... read more
Ladyhawk preps for U.S. tour, documentary release
Not to get all Jerry Seinfeld here, but what’s the deal with Canadian rock bands? I mean, what’s the deal? It's like, they rock, and they're not from the U.S. or the UK! They must be putting something in the Labatt Blue up there because over the past few years, bands like Black Mountain, Tokyo Police Club and The Besnard Lakes have been putting out album after album of pure rock goodness that would make Neil Young proud. Incidentally, these bands all seem to sport some serious lumberjack-style beards, which probably serve as a survival mechanism for those cold winter... read more
Mugison tours with QOTSA, Mugiboogie gets U.S. date
This summer, Canadians will see faces melt almost as swiftly as the last vestiges of winter ice when award-winning, genre-defying Icelandic musician Mugison crisscrosses the country on a tour with American gut-rumbling rockers/burgeoning foodies Queens of the Stone Age. In between curating Aldrei fór ég su∂ur, an annual festival held on Iceland's remote West Fjords, and starting a family, the self-taught multi-instrumentalist known as Mugison somehow found the time to record his third LP, the wildly eclectic Mugiboogie. “There was to be no time reference, no time frame,” Mugison says in a statement about the album. “The lyrics had... read more
Princess Bride video game offers remix challenge
Remix here, remix there. It's been raining remixes lately. Radiohead announced its "Nude" challenge and Foals recently rocked some remixes on last.fm. But not to be outdone, Sony upgraded its bystander status to offer a Princess Bride remix challenge. Fans of the 1987 flick (yes, it's been a solid 21 years, friends) can download the stems from ACIDplanet.com and make their own title track from The Princess Bride video game. Westley, Buttercup and Inigo return in the downloadable amusement, which will debut this summer. The contest's already started and ends May 22. Winners can vie to have their remix debut... read more
Charlie Daniels “disgusted” with Guitar Hero III
The NME reports Charlie Daniels recently checked out Guitar Hero III in order to see what the game had done to his song “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” Suffice it to say Daniels was not pleased with what he saw. “I did not grant these people my permission to pervert my song and am disgusted with the result,” Daniels wrote in a recent blog post. “I would never grant permission for some company to create a video game version of a song I wrote in which the devil wins a contest and I'm sorely disappointed with the company who... read more
Black Francis announces new date for Svn Fngrs
Black Francis, who, like Prince, is hardly ever mentioned without a history of past nomenclatures, has announced that the Cooking Vinyl release of his “mini-LP” Svn Fngrs has been fittingly pushed back to the day most associated with American procrastination, April 15. The 20-minute albumette was originally planned for March, and has been available online since April 1, but it’s okay, because a statement on behalf of Mr. Black, er, Francis, has apologized for “any confusion this may have caused,” and stepped back to let the man himself do the bulk of the hype. “I won't bother you here with... read more
Rob Corddry joins the cast of Oliver Stone's W
Although it's no longer called Misunderestimated, Oliver Stone's forthcoming George W. Bush biopic, W, is set to make some political waves soon. And who better to make them than someone accustomed to operating at the fringes of American politics? Stone's enlisted the help of ex-Daily Show correspondent Rob Corddry, the MTV Movies Blog reports. He'll join a previously reported cast that includes Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, Thandie Newton, James Cromwell and more. Although he's usually on the side asking the questions, Corddry will be portraying former White House press secretary Ari Fliescher. The film is tentatively scheduled to release next... read more
Quentin Tarantino to instruct Cannes Masterclass
Martin Scorsese, Stephen Frears and Sydney Pollack are obviously different filmmakers with very different styles, but they all have one thing in common: each has lectured in the Cinema Masterclass session at the Cannes Film Festival. This year, Quentin Tarantino will join their ranks and take the lectern. Hopefully no cameramen of a sleazier breed get in his way during his walk to the stage. The festival is scheduled to take place May 14-25. This will not be the first time that Tarantino’s name will make the playbill. Death Proof played last year. Prior to that, in 1994 Pulp Fiction... read more
Jaymay finally tours the U.S.
Fresh off some time at South by Southwest, acclaimed singer-songwriter Jaymay is returning to the land of her birth to give U.S. fans a chance to enjoy her without scowling at our cousins across the pond for monopolizing so much of her time. The Blue Note recording artist released her first LP, Autumn Fallin’, in November, and has toured Europe almost exclusively. She will support Jens Lekman in the UK and will trek with Fink in the U.S. Until she hits these shores, here’s a video of her in London. Dates: May 12 - Nottingham, UK @ Rescue Rooms* 13... read more
Keller Williams tours, releases live album
What would it be like to share your name with a well known realty company? Especially one that was formed 13 years after you were born? Maybe you'd just thank your lucky stars that you don't share a name with a musician who's a favorite on adult-contemporary radio across the country. Or with a pop singer who's nearly as well known for his arrests as he is for any of his hit singles. ANYWAY... This summer, fans will have the opportunity to ask Keller Williams this question in person, as he tours cross country (occasionally with the Yonder Mountain String... read more
New York, I Love You to feature Johansson, Braff, many more
Following in the heart-shaped footsteps of producer Emmanuel Benbihy’s quietly successful Paris, je t’aime, New York, I Love You is midway through its 10-week production time. The 100-minute film will be comprised of 12 five minute shorts, “illustrating the universal theme of encountering love within the five boroughs of New York City,” according to Benbihy. Here's hoping those extra 40 minutes will be all about mimes in love. Not to be (at all) confused with the VH1 reality series, I Love New York, the film is shaping up to be quite the star-studded ensemble. Both Scarlett Johansson (hint hint, look... read more
GNR delivers Democracy to Geffen amidst conspiracy
After more than a decade of false promises and speculation, Axl Rose and his Guns N’ Roses bandmates have finally delivered their long-fabled album Chinese Democracy to Geffen Records. The record’s final price tag is estimated to be a cool $13 million. Many music industry observers thought today’s announcement would never come. The band began working on Chinese Democracy 14 years ago as the follow-up to 1993’s The Spaghetti Incident, but money, copyright issues and turmoil between the band members plagued the project from the very beginning. GNR announced the album’s completion and release dates several times, most recently in... read more
Universal obtains Gervais’ This Side of the Truth
This Side of the Truth, Ricky Gervais’ feature film debut, has been acquired by Universal Pictures International, Variety reports. Warner Brothers already has the rights to stateside distribution. The comedy will be co-directed by Matthew Robinson, and is slated to begin filming in Boston on April 14. Both Robinson and Gervais wrote the script. Gervais, who created The Office (new episode of the U.S. version tonight!), has written children’s books and is hilarious in general, will star in the movie. Cinematical reports that the plot (which has apparently changed substantially since the film was first announced), follows Gervais as a... read more
Jay Sweet talks fests, R.E.M. and more with Boston's Fox 25
This morning, Paste editor-at-large Jay Sweet spoke with Fox 25 in Boston. Sweet, who visits the station monthly to keep viewers up to date on the latest in Paste's world, took the opportunity to mention our National Magazine Award nomination. He also briefly touched on some high profile recent releases (namely over April cover artist, Gnarls Barkley, and a little band from Athens, Ga., called R.E.M.), and talked up the forthcoming festival season. Watch Sweet here, as he shares a wealth of information, including the news that Chris Rock will appear on the main stage of Bonnaroo this summer. Related... read more
Jens Lekman to tour the UK, stick it to ATP
Night may be falling over Kortedala, but Jens Lekman's not going to be around to see it. In the wake of his stop at SXSW (and a longer stint in the U.S.), Lekman's riding the acclaim accumulated after the October release of Night Falls Over Kortedala throughout the UK. But first, the silver-tongued songsmith will take his sweet Swedish indie pop along as he makes his inaugural appearance at Coachella, performing the first day of the festival. He'll also stop at the ATP vs. Pitchfork throw-down in Camber Sands May 11. Jens graces the Pitchfork team, if anyone was wondering.... read more
Joshua Radin forecasts Unclear Sky this summer
Singer-songwriter Joshua Radin headed back to the studio this week to finish recording his sophomore album Unclear Sky. Four tracks from the upcoming album are already available on iTunes. The exclusive Unclear Sky preview includes “Sky,” an acoustic duet with Staten Island songbird Ingrid Michaelson, and “Lovely Tonight,” which features alt-country rocker Ryan Adams on guitar. Producer Rob Schnapf (Elliot Smith, Beck) joined Radin in the studio to produce the new album, which is slated for release this summer. Radin’s debut album We Were Here was released in 2006. His song “Closer” was featured in the 2006 film The Last... read more
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