We know, we know. It s January. It s horrible outside.
There s snow everywhere. We re all wrapped up in bulky sweaters, bathrobes, and blankets. Even thinking about summer is torturous right now.
But the days are already getting longer, and as we slowly forge ahead through each remaining winter day, it becomes clearer that those long dusks and leafed-out trees are closer than we think. So get ready to roll out the beach towels and tennis shorts, because this year-- on Saturday, July 14 and Sunday, July 15 -- the annual two-day rockathon known as the returns to Chicago s Union Park.
We re still holding the lineup close to the vest, but rest assured, it s going to be our best and most ambitious yet.
And ticket prices? Still unbeatable. One-day passes run a measly $25, or you can rock both days for $35.
Tickets go To all those who attended in 2006, thanks again. We ll see you in July! And for those who didn t, check this fan-shot YouTube footage to see Kanye West, RZA, DJ Premier on Beat Kings DVD It s no , but with everyone from Kanye West to Marley Marl revealing the secrets behind making hit records (according to a press release), forthcoming Beat Kings: The History of Hip Hop DVD is more than okay by us.
Beat Kings is a 66-minute documentary hosted by Wu-Tang , who interviews prominent hip hop producers about the equipment they use, how they learned how to use it, and how they developed their style. Interview subjects include the aforementioned West and Marl as well as RZA, Just Blaze, DJ Premier, Prince Paul, Pete Rock, David Banner, Havoc (Mobb Deep), Alchemist, Swizz Beatz, Easy Moe Bee, and Trackmasters.
Nature Sounds will release Beat Kings on January 23.
With Jeff Mangum contributing to the new album , Elijah Wood putting it out on his record label, and , the Apples could easily be spending their time hanging out with their famous friends, drinking champagne and cavorting in hot tubs. But instead of letting it go to their heads, they ve buddied up with fellow Athens, Georgia folk for a national tour. The trek in support of Wonder (due February 6 via / / ), starts in early February and ends at SXSW.
A couple of shows at the Sundance Film Festival this weekend precede the tour, and the band heads to All Tomorrow s Parties afterwards. For the tour, the band s standard lineup will be beefed up by the addition of the Olivia Tremor Control s Bill Doss, Ulysses John Ferguson, and Deathray Davies John come, head over to and check out the latest Apples in Stereo video, Energy .
In a bid to ward off Seasonal Affective Disorder, the men of take to the road this winter, playing shows across the United States in support of their latest long-player, last year s release .
The tour kicks off in sexy Lexington, Kentucky and swoops up north before settling at last in august Augusta, Georgia.
While the all-too-pleasant vibe of Backwards Masks , the open road affords Summer Hymns ample opportunities to inject some spark and spontaneity into their music. Some ideas: wear papier-m ch e masks modeled after the dudes/dudette from Lordi; throw candy canes and/or razorblades at the audience; only perform a cappella Prince covers.
Get to these gigs early to catch , a new project from Elf Power guitarist Jimmy Hughes with quite an intriguing premise. On its concept LP The Ghost of H.W.
Beaverman-- which features guest appearances from pretty much half the population of Athens, Georgia-- the combo takes ghost stories based in the mountains of upstate New York and dissects them into the myths and rumors from which they are based, according to the of Folklore s publicist.
Sample tune H.W.
Beaverman ain t too shabby, packing enough melody into its layers and vocal cataracts to make it worth a download-- which, conveniently enough, you can do by clicking below.
This record is going to be so good, I'm afraid that we won't get our shit together and be able to record it. Despite near-non-stop touring in recent months, principal Nick Diamonds-- now going by his given name, Nick Thorburn-- somehow managed to write up enough new material for two whole records, one of which will follow up 2006 s selection .
I feel a lot of unease and anxiety when I don t have a guitar near me, Thorburn revealed to Pitchfork during a recent chat. I think that s where [the creative spark] comes from: an urge, a real desire to expunge music from my inner-being.
Thorburn also had mouthfuls to say about his band s latest exploits, his present songwriting ambitions, numerous periphery pursuits, the appeal of his government name, disowning Rough Gem , cryptomnesia, the Killers, and .
While Thorburn s reluctant to reveal titles, the first of Islands two new discs should reach the mainland in September-- that is, if it gets made at all. This record is going to be so good, enthused Thorburn, I m afraid that we won t get our shit together and be able to record it.
Thorburn seems invigorated of late by a new songwriting sensibility, one that might throw fans of the previous record for a loop.
I wanted to make the perfect pop song and pop record, the ex-Unicorn recalled. And I realized I misquoted myself, because I have no desire to write popular songs for the populace. I want to make interesting, good music, and I think that s what I meant.
..I feel a need to write songs that are 15 minutes long right now.
Maybe I ll get over that phase.
So what are we in for? It s a physical record.
It s someone plunging your face into a river and rescuing you. If Return to the Sea was the water record, this is the bodies. Dosh Drops EP, Dashes Off on Tour Why form a band anymore.
..when you can be your own band?
Think about it. No tangling of egos, no half-assed attempts at democratic decision-making, no dividing up your earnings at the end of the night. Martin thought about it, then he did it, and now the solo Dosh makes as much scintillating racket as three mid-sized indie rock bands.
The -signed drum n pedal wizard serves up more of his magic on the self-released Triple Rock EP, out January 30. Half of the new disc spotlights live performances from Minneapolis hotspot -- featuring special guests , Mike Lewis, JT Bates, Adam Linz, and Jeremy Ylvisaker (Dosh doesn t always go it alone, see)-- while the other half is a four-part suite entitled Henderson . We were kinda hoping each part would celebrate a different member of the family from Harry and the Hendersons, but it turns out the piece is in fact a tribute to Dosh s deceased cat.
May he rest in peace.
Check out the new EP s live version of The Lost Take in mp3 form below.
Of late Dosh has been flexing his percussive muscle as live drummer for the aforementioned Bird-- who guested on Dosh s latest LP, .
With Bird s brief U.S. jaunt all wrapped up, Dosh hits the road on his own January 24, headlining clubs across the country and joining up with fellow Anticon-ite for a string of dates.
Different things comfort different people. For the members of , it s looking through transparent things. For the rest of us, it s listening to Fujiya Miyagi.
The band will give American fans the opportunity to do so in a live setting this March, as they have recently announced a U.S. trek.
The short tour, which surrounds SXSW, will be in support of the U.S. release of January 23 via .
, the Pitchfork exclusive track posted in Forkcast earlier this week.
tour? Well, now we have the dates.
5-18, with stops in L.A., San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, and Boston.
Lily has dates scheduled across Australia and Europe as well, and will be to the States for SXSW in March. Before the tour, however, Lily will be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on February 3. She will perform her hit singles Smile and LDN .
That show s host is Drew Barrymore. Cute overload! Capitol Records will release Allen s debut, , in the U.
S. on January 30. the video for her next single, Alfie , in Tokyo.
Alfie was played by and Roger Rabbit, she wrote in her . You ll understand when you see it.
take their time when it comes to releasing albums, hence the three year wait for , the follow-up to 2004 s .
It seems those three years were well spent, though. According to the website, the band took that time to suffuse [the album] with a bright and burning spirit of protest, and the CD and LP versions of the release are suffused with different tracklists.
That s right, almost choose-your-own-adventure style, the double LP release has the album s tracks in an entirely different order than the one on the CD and includes extra track Caledonia (Sing Together mix) .
Drag City will release In Stormy Nights on January 23.
and will jump back in the saddle to perform on their tour of Japan, which begins tonight in Fukuoka. Sam and Sarah Beam of Iron Wine will open the shows as a duo before Calexico gradually joins them.
On the Calexico website, frontman Joey Burns writes, As on tours before in North America and Europe, I am sure there will be a lot of improvising together and coming up with interesting new original and cover songs.
Though the Beams are more tight-lipped about their future plans, Burns hints at them: Last year, Paul Niehaus and myself recorded with Sam at his home studio to contribute to the new Iron Wine album, due to come out later this year.
Iron Wine and Calexico have separate dates as well, including a sizable tour of Australia for the latter in late February/early March.
Girl group to play NYC, Toronto, SXSW No longer will their kisses be wasted on Europe, as the fabulous ladies of have revealed their first-ever North American tour dates.
On March 10, Becki, Rose, Gwenno, and their backing boys will hit Toronto s Rivoli as part of , and on March 13 they ll play New York City s Bowery Ballroom. (Unfortunately, Amy Winehouse is also on the latter bill.
) Then it s off to Texas for the polka-dotted crew, where they ll charm the ironic t-shirts right off of the music industry bigwigs gathered at SXSW. The exact shows they ll be playing at SXSW haven t been announced yet, but we re sure they ll be very, very special. Right now, the Pipettes only have one other performance scheduled, and that s on February 24 at the MX Beat 2007 festival in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Still no word on a North American release for the group s fabulous debut album . But to tide you over, head to the Memphis Industries to hear a remix of the Pipettes Judy by labelmates Blue States. Do you have a news tip for us?
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