The fourth annual Adventures in Modern Music Festival is headed to Chicago once again, taking place September 20-24 at the (where, like, every good show in the city happens). Sponsored by magazine, the fest applies the word modern rather loosely (most of the participating acts have been recording for awhile..

.some for decades) but does promise a range of aural adventures. The highlight of this year s lineup is international man of mystery , making his Chicago debut.

Jandek was supposed to perform at last year s fest, but Hurricane Rita spoiled his travel plans. Other performers include art rockers Kayo Dot, earthy rockers Badgerlore, rap scientist Edan, free jazz masters Hamid Drake and William Parker, and pioneering trumpeter/guitarist Rhys Chatham.
The Rapture: "Are You Ready for Some Footbaaaall?

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Also, are you ready for a tracklist and UK tour? Think back, way back. Back past the holiday weekend fog, the Roman candles, the booze, the road trips.

Remember last Friday? That s it-- the day we of the new album (Pieces of the People We Love, out September 12 via Motown/Universal in America and September 4 via Vertigo in the UK) What, you thought those fireworks were in celebration of something else? As mentioned last Friday, the Rapture will release Get Myself Into It , the first single from Pieces, on August 21 in the UK.

For the time being, however, you can hear it on the band s . Another way you ll be able to legally hear new Rapture music before the album s release is by buying EA Sports new Madden NFL 07 video game, which will feature the song W.A.

Y.U.H.

on its soundtrack, alongside tracks from Wolfmother, Spank Rock, Keane (?!), Lupe Fiasco feat.

Jonah Matranga (??!

!), and a bunch of punk and emo bands. Check out this hilarious quote from Steve Schnur, Worldwide Executive of Music and Music Marketing at EA: Year after year, the music selected for inclusion in EA s smash hit football series invariably becomes the soundtrack of the football season, moving beyond the game to turn up in football stadiums and on live TV broadcasts.

The Madden NFL Football franchise is recognized across North America as a driving force behind break-out bands...

this year EA does it again. The Rapture. It s in the game.

up/urinate/defecate on themselves, homeless men turn down food due to high levels of saturated fat, even the occasional couple engaging in some sexual act. I can safely say, however, that I have never witnessed a dozen transitions appear out of thin air. Until now, anyway.

from Rhymefest s upcoming record, Blue Collar (due July 11 via Allido/J Records), there is a lot of hometown love happening: the subway strippers, Harold s Chicken Shack, skylines, and street signs. Viewers are also exposed to hometown hardships--namely the Chicago Police Department. Unfortunately, the (assumable) funding and (definitely) creativity.

From the burning rubble of Dischord mainstays comes...

soft pop? Say hello to , the slightly androgynous, largely pop-tacular project of former Q and Not U drummer John Davis and vocalist/keyboardist Laura Burhenn. It may not be MC Hammer going from parachute pants to gangsta, but what is?

With Davis switching between drums and guitar and Burhenn grabbing the mic, the duo recorded a demo last fall and are currently writing more songs for a forthcoming full-length album. The duo--who, might we add, look awfully adorable together, so watch the eff out, Mates of State--are hitting the road starting tonight and continuing on for the rest of the month. They ll be sharing the stage with some of the best in the business, Camera Obscura.

Cut the mating calls. From this point forward, you hands on s u ber-rare 2002 live release, Hollinndagain. The LP, originally released on the Secretly Canadian-associated St.

Ives Records, has been extremely limited (only 300 copies ever made, all with Malkmus, Silver Jews, Britt Daniel to Play Musicfest NW On September 7-9, practically every live venue in Portland, Oregon will be jam-packed with attendees of Willamette Week s annual festival. This year s fest benefits the Rock and Roll Camp for Girls and the Oregon Music Hall of Fame, and, usual, showcases dozens of artists from the Pacific Northwest and beyond. We re most excited about the Stephen Malkmus/Silver Jews double bill at the Crystal Ballroom on September 8, but other highlights include the Dandy Warhols and Brian Jonestown Massacre together at last at the same venue the night before, as well as performances from Britt Daniel of Spoon, the Black Keys, Eric Bachmann, Centro-Matic, Jeremy Enigk, Richard Buckner, the Blow, Lifesavas, Kristen Hersh, Little Brother, M-1 (of Dead Prez), the Joggers, the Melvins, Dead Moon, the Helio Sequence, Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, Viva Voce, Swords (playing their last show), and Little Steven s Underground Garage Showcase, featuring the Zombies, the Mooney Suzuki, the Woggles, and Phantom Planet.

Plenty of other acts, ranging from singer/songwriters ( lsquo;cause it wouldn t be a Northwestern festival without lsquo;em!) to rock bands to hip hop artists, are also scheduled. Like a lot of indie rock bands, loves birds.

And I can deal with that, because unlike a lot of ornithology-minded artists, the band s musical aesthetic actually seems to accommodate bird metaphors. Flitting unselfconsciously between post-rock and emo with their whirling guitars, soaring melodies, and vocal atmospherics, it seems the Appleseed dudes have pinned down (flocked to?) the appropriate symbolism.

So why not continue with the bird-themed fun? After all, their latest LP, released in March on CD by and in April on vinyl on , is titled Peregrine, and musically calls to mind the Peregrine Falcon s crazy hunting style-soaring, then free-falling, over its prey/the listener. Finding Stateside airplay on college radio, now the LP is testing its wings in Japan, courtesy of Howling Bull Records, and in Europe via Gentleman Records.

The band recently completed a furious flock of European dates and is now poised to swoop down over North America. Let s hope the Appleseed Cast find a new spirit animal sometime soon, because I think I m officially punned-out.
When the guys in aren t putting out awesome new albums (see Return to Cookie Mountain in today s Best New Music), they re playing with Nine Inch Nails and Bauhaus, shooting hoops, getting bossed around by kids in business suits, and spreading the word about the new LP via David Cross and a Brooklyn-wide game of Telephone.

See for yourself in the following clips: TV on the Radio, Trent Reznor, and Bauhaus s Peter Murphy doing TV on the Radio s Dreams : BSS, New Pornos, Wolf Parade Up for Polaris Prize our independence n stuff, Canada was busy celebrating its music scene, as the nominees process. The Polaris Music Prize is basically the Canadian version of Britain s Mercury Music Prize, or America s troubled Shortlist/New Pantheon Awards. for the best albums the True North had to offer between July 1, 2005 and May 31, 2006.

(Sorry folks, the Arcade Fire album came out in are hitting our shores once again, on a cross-country trek before hitting the European festivals. This year, the full-length, Capture/Release, despite touring for the band with just a U.S.

, French and UK tour and then all the festivals (we) can possibly blag ourselves and pikey cousins into for free. Hmmm. Well, if you can t get a break by being the cousin of a Rake, guess you ll have to buy tickets like normal people.

Do you have a news tip for us? Anything crazy happen at a show you attended recently? Do you have inside info on the bands we cover?

Is one of your favorite artists (that's not somebody you know personally) releasing a new record you'd like to see covered? You will remain completely anonymous, unless we are given your express permission to reveal your identity. (Please note that publicists, managers, booking agents, and other artist representatives are generally exempt from this rule, but will also be granted anonymity if requested.