Raymond Raposa s will spend the next month or so on a European tour, but they ve left a new video for us to puzzle over while they re away. The video for The Smallest Bones , directed by Ben Piekut and Marie Rossettie, is a small oddity: Raposa sings on the left side of a split screen, the shaky camera allowing his face to go in and out of the frame while a woman does sign language interpretations of the lyrics on the right side. The split screen also gives the song a clinical feel, like something you d get on inter-library loan for a research paper.
Nevermind that it s a music video ostensibly created for deaf viewers. The Smallest Bones is from Raposa s 2004 album , which means s missed the release date on this one by a dozen or so months. But according to the label, that s not the point.
AK assistant director Michael Kaufmann (who came up with the Castanets video concept) says The Smallest Bones is the latest in a series of videos the label will compile for eventual release as a DVD collection. The collection will include videos for all AK artists and will have a range of concepts, from fan-created homemade videos to dances and animation. No release date has been set yet.
One of these videos sucks. Guess which one! clips from the Streets latest album, , for the tracks Never The Never Went to Church clip, directed by Adam Smith is a reflective train ride through the snow-covered countryside.
Though the track isn t exactly a party, its visual counterpart makes it out to be corny and dull, two adjectives that should never pop up in reference to religion (haha). Pranging Out is much better, and does a brilliant job of representing a state of drug-induced paranoia. Some segments of the Dawn Shadforth-directed clip are straight out of a horror film-- wind coming out of nowhere, girls being spied on in the shower, and And speaking of sweating, we d like to let you know that Skinner s training is well underway.
He wrote on his official blog late last week, I am shitting myself. I ran about 15 miles this morning and that fuckin hurts. I m moaning now and I always swore I would never moan.
You don t end up with an AWARD WINNING BLOG by moaning. For info about sandwiches, dreams, and more, hustle on over to the Streets .
I think there's enough going on in the world for us to start pontificating again.
Having come a damn long way-- from being a gang of lads in Leeds in the late 1970s to becoming one of the most exciting and influential bands of the post-punk era to proving their lasting vitality with a recent reunion tour-- won t be slowing down anytime soon.
Now comes news that the Four-piece have a brand new record in the works, their first set of new material since 1995 s Shrinkwrapped and first with the original lineup since 1981 s Solid Gold, barring last year s re-recordings disc Return the Gift.
Pitchfork recently phoned up the man behind Gang of Four s groove, bassist , for a chat about GoF s musical offering to the twenty-first century.
We re in the very early stages, Allen told Pitchfork. [Guitarist] and I have been talking-- that s how Gang of Four starts with stuff like this: there s a lot of talking about what do we want to do, how can we do it, is there a need for it? That was a big question for me.
After Entertainment! and Solid Gold, we ve got to be careful, we ve got to deliver something rather special.
I wanted to be sure that me Andy and [vocalist] Jon [King] especially were fired up about things, and I think we are.
I think there s enough going on in the world for us to start pontificating again. Remember that kick-ass a capella rendition of God Only Knows that we posted as part of the of our Infinite Mixtape series? Well, -- former , Jack Black s , violinist extraordinaire, buddy to , and daughter of one of the most bad-ass/ - looking bass players of all time-- is the woman behind it, and now she s taking her a capella show on the road for five East Coast dates.
According to a press release, Haden and the Sell-Outs-- her 10-piece (nine backing vocalists + Petra), all-female choir that the former That Dog vocalist/violinist assembled to recreate her a capella tour de forces -- begin the de force-ing tonight in Pittsburgh and end before Halloween at Buffalo s Soundlab. Expect live versions of tunes from 2005 s Petra Haden Sings: The Who Sell Out, which is, yes, Haden giving the entire classic Who album the a capella treatment.
Meanwhile, Haden should think about formally releasing God Only Knows .
It s, like, totally the best song she s ever written, and I think it s got .
U.S.
Immigration to Brits: You're not a real band are in a rush. The British electro-rockers are at the airport in Iceland when Pitchfork catches up with them, heading from a triumphant set at the festival back to a gig in their home country. That s pretty much the story of our lives, lead Klaxon Jamie Reynolds says.
We go to the most beautiful places in the world but don t actually get to see them. We just sit in the back of a taxi and then go home. But the band s hurry isn t just a struggle not to be late.
Their music races frantic grooves through candy-colored riffs and comet-chasing synthesizers, and it has propelled the trio to near-instant fame. Despite having only released a few singles in England and an EP ( on ) in America, Klaxons have already rocketed to the top of the buzz bin, appearing on the cover of the NME, signing to Polydor, and selling out shows everywhere. Ah, the magic of the internet!
However, Klaxons rapid rise has been both a blessing and a bit of a curse, when internet hype meets real-world logistics. The band was scheduled to go on its first U.S.
mini-tour in early November, but were forced to cancel the shows when the members were denied visas due to the band s youth and its small recorded output. I guess it s something about not being able to have a visa unless you ve been together for a certain period of time, Reynolds says. We haven t even had our [one year] anniversary yet.
It s on the fourth of November or something. It does sound a bit crazy doesn t it? Certainly they can t mark your popularity on the amount of time that you have been in existence.
The band is using their newfound extra time to finish up work on their debut album, set to be released January 29 on Polydor in the UK. (They re still negotiating with labels in the U.S.
) We have recorded the majority of it; we have just not finished mixing it yet, Reynolds says. It has just been a case of the buying the time to make sure that we make the best record possible.
Jens Lekman, AIH on Ladybug Transistor Covers EP Those indie pop kids, they love to share, and today we find them sharing songs, sharing personnel, and poised to share a brand new EP, that perfect-sized morsel of indie pop goodness.
More specifically, Brooklyn-based popsters will hit us with-- no, make that politely pass us-- a four-song covers disc next week, featuring some very special guests.
Here Comes the Rain rings your doorbell on October 31 in all your favorite digital formats. Buy it direct from Merge or any of those other guys on that date, or, if you re lucky/cool enough to live in Europe, scoop it up in tangible CD format on November 1 via Seville, Spain s imprint.
All covers, the four Rain tunes include takes on John Cale ( Empty Bottles ), Trader Horne (title track), Grin ( Everybody s Missing the Sun ), and Kevin Ayers ( Girl on a Swing ).
The Gary Olsen-fronted Ladybug Transitor get by with a little help from their friends on this EP, including s Alicia Vanden Heuvel (who lends vocals to the Trader Horne track), s Kevin Barker (guitar), ans Kellie Sutherland, Gus Franklin, and Isobel Knowles (vocals/horns), / gent Paul Niehaus (pedal steel), and Swede pop posterboy ( additional singing on title track).
Yeah, we done got you all excited about some additional singing , but it s Jens, so deal with it.
The Ladybug Transistor are putting together their latest LP, to see release in early 2007 via Merge. Catch them live as they rock an afternoon show, or as they infest Europe next month with their tasty pop confections.
Every other band breaks up, having no reason to exist anymore We all pretty much saw it coming, but today at last arrives word from himself.
According to , the reunited hope to one-up 2004 s lackluster single and begin work on a brand new album in the coming year.
Since we got back together we ve played almost everywhere we can, explained Black to the NME website. I know we like playing and everyone likes touring together, so to keep doing that and not record anything is kind of like being a county fair band.
We don t want to do that, so the only thing we can do is become a vital band again.
So it s just a matter of doing it, I guess.
Black also revealed that a new Pixies disc is no deal without bassist Kim Deal: We re rehearsing in January, if we can persuade Kim to come out of her house.
We offered to go to her but we figured if we book the rehearsals she ll show up.
So there you have it. If all goes according to plan, Pixies will record their first album in over 15 years and one of rock/indie/whatever s most beloved bands will have a stake in next year s new musical landscape.
We s stoked. Stream: Karen O feat. Peaches (and Johnny Knoxville): "Backass" pubic hair beards, and getting mulled by a bull on more than one occasion-- has moved above and beyond these childish stunts.
He recently jumped on board something ballsier On this track (which is now available on iTunes), Knoxville croons a bit after O and Peaches take charge with some seriously punchy vocals. The song is ripe with tempo and style changes; it kicks off slow and militant, forty seconds, and picks up once more for a big finish. star s vocals?
They re a little off-key, but it s no having a toy car It s only been a few months since the up-and-coming Brighton-based electro/krautrock trio released their latest full-length, the -worthy Transparent Things, in Europe-- and it won t even be available in North America until its (via the label). But that hasn t stopped the Can- and Kraftwerk-indebted Brits from getting to work on the follow-up album. Talking to Pitchfork recently from across the Atlantic, Fujiya Miyagi vocalist David Best seemed inspired to make fast progress.
We ve been making up songs since we finished [Transparent Things], really, said Best. We re recording again in November, just demoing stuff. We ve got about ten songs now, and I want to get like 15.
It s not a million miles away from Transparent Things so far, but I think the stuff we ve come up with on the whole is better.
As with Transparent Things, recording of the new material is being split between the band s home and Church Road Studios near Brighton, with band member Stephen Lewis producing and Alan Boorman (of prankster rockers Wevie Stonder) mixing. Also onboard will be newfound collaborator Lee Adams, best known for his drum work in Stereolab bassist Simon Johns side project Imitation Electric Piano, who ll be adding percussion.
Last time we played Brighton he played with us, so on the next album, we re going to introduce live drums with electronic beats as well, and Lee s going to do that for us, Best told Pitchfork in an last week.
Fujiya Miyagi haven t finalized any potential song titles as yet, but Best is toying with a title for the album proper: Lightbulbs. My ex-girlfriend always had a thing about changing lightbulbs immediately, Best stated, and I always ended up doing the washing up, so it s like a gender reversal.
It ll look nice with a lightbulb on the cover.
Yet, for all this progress, the finished product is still a ways off, giving new fans and listeners plenty of time to absorb the excellent Transparent Things. I reckon we ll be finished by about March maybe, revealed Best.
The songwriting process is well on its way. Then we ve got to record it with Lee, and we ve never recorded with [live] drums before, so that s going to take a lot longer. But I think we can pretty much sort it out by March, and then hopefully get it released pretty soon after.
So we should expect it by summer then? Hopefully. It might get held up in the cogs of the industry.
Or, we ve got to find some cogs for it to get held up in. Most people spend their vacation time somewhere bucolic and peaceful. Not .
Next year, they plan to spend A Weekend in the City with their second album, which will be released February 6 on . It s the London quartet s follow-up to last year s and . (Yeah, we guess that kinda makes it their third album.
Or second-and-a-half.) album was produced by Jacknife Lee (U2, Snow Patrol) and recorded at Westmeath, release, A Weekend in the City was inspired by what frontman Kele Okereke calls the living noise of a metropolis, as well as the music of Philip Glass, Timbaland, Aaliyah, and Bartok. Photographer Rut Blees Luxemburg will provide the record s cover art.
Oh, and (see below)!
Also, we d like to readers that Bloc Party will kick off a North American tour next month with and . Because you might have forgotten.
Tom Green-- former host of The Tom Green Show and The New Tom Green Show , former husband of Drew Barrymore, and former gross-out sensation in such classic films as Freddy Got Fingered and Road Trip-- is pushing the mediums of both television and the goatee forward into the twenty-first century with his internet television channel at .
Sadistic comic has his own show on the channel, Poolside Chats With Neil Hamburger , and tomorrow, October 24, will be his guest. Starting at midnight Eastern (technically the 25th) and 9 p.
m. Pacific, the episode will broadcast live for viewers to watch and call in with questions for Bonnie and/or Neil. Maybe you can ask them for tips on making .
And with Tom Green s involvement, how could this not succeed?
Children, jobs, significant others, vegetarians, and members who are overly enthusiastic engineers: these are all things that will keep an indie band from reaching its maximum life expectancy, according to -- aka James Toth, aka JJT -- in his recently penned Indie Band Life-O-Meter , a Seventeen-style quiz for indie bands to determine how long they will last.
Yes, boredom is a powerful thing, as Toth can attest after being compelled to write this on the long stretch of highway between the flatlands of the Midwest and the dramatic landscape of the Rocky Mountains, according to a press release.
That s right, there is a press release for this questionably accurate quiz, not that accuracy is really the point. Those of you who don t score well, just remember: this is coming from Wooden Wand.
As , Wooden Wand is currently on a tour of the U.
S. behind his recent release, Second Attention. The tour will wrap up in November before he and his band play Thurston Moore s edition of All Tomorrow s Parties.
Click for the chuckle-worthy full text of the quiz.
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