A Mean Trick to Play on a Chicken
(00:02) Wait for it ... (00:05) Wa-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-it for it ... (00:08) Al-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-lmost time ... (00:10) WAKE UP!! IT'S COLONEL SANDERS!! (00:11) "Wha-huh?!"
Going postal on Bunday
The BunMaster 3000® can open junk mail at lightening speeds. Set on Super-Fast Nomming, you can throw out that donation request from your alma mater faster than ever before. Say 'Return to Sendah' in an Elvis voice, Donna B.!
At The Jedi Assisted-Living Community
"A sitz bath, HAH! Adult diapers, FEH! A Jedi craves not these things. And why was there no tapioca with dinner? Promised it, I was." (incoherent mumbling) Try to remember him when, Barbara H.
Linux H4x0rs in thuh hizzle
Check this out, Linux Source magazine is getting its cute on with the July 2008 cover. Whoa! [Say in Keanu Reeves voice] C.O.X.L.M.C.U.: Whooooaa! [say in Mike Myers voice] Obligatory triumphant h4x0r: Scott N., thanks for the scr33n c4pp4g3! [Here's...
Did somebody order Caturday paw clenching action?
[Looking around the table for who ordered this fine dish] Who ordered the Rule #29 (clenching paws in the air repeatedly)? Be careful, the plate is very hot. This song is almost tolerable now, Ragnhild K.!
FADER TV: Albert Hammond Jr. Exclusive Broadcast
Resembling a very Blonde On Blonde era Bob Dylan, Albert Hammond Jr. and his equally fro'd out bandmates kicked off the month of July with an exclusive show at Mercury Lounge, presented by Black Seal/RCA Records. He played some old stuff, some new stuff, and some acoustic classic rock throwbacks in the dressing room—all the while wearing a sweet leather jacket. Undaunted by the summer heat, he wore the jacket for the entire set and even wiped his sweaty brow with the sleeve. If that’s not totally rockstar, we don’t know what is. Like a hometown hero done good, he was cheered on by a million of his closest friends and family members and we caught the whole thing on camera, and are bringing some of it to you almost live and direct on FADER TV.
Video: Trae f. Slim Thug, "Nuthin 2 A Boss" + "Million Bucks" f. Jayton & Boss
We were actually getting a little worried that we weren't going to fulfill our character from the Wire appearing in a rap video quota this week—but then this Trae two video epic came out, and there's Slim Charles in the second half sitting on the steps! That was close. We're not sure what the thinking is in releasing this directly on the heels of the Trae as a biker video, but we're also not going to question it too much because any new Trae is welcome, especially when it contains a song-stealing verse from Jayton and the return of Slim Thug, who's Already Platinum is still in rotation.
NYC: High Places Play Near Lots Of Children
When we walked into Stuyvesant Town to see a free High Places show we felt like we had entered some sort of hidden family nature utopia. The scene was like the ideal summer afternoon you only get in the city maybe once or twice a year when the weather is beautiful and no one is pissing each other off because you’re all in a park and there are trees and a big fountain. Also, nothing can suck when the sun is shining and you’re listening to John Lennon and Paul Simon disco remixes. Pocketknife, who spun before High Places, had dads running up to him asking about his Iron and Wine remix before running back to their family picnics.
When High Places came on a whole bunch of little kids ran up to the stage with balloons, organizing themselves in perfect straight lines and then looping around in circles and running away. We lazed around in the grass and relaxed, thinking the whole time about how cool it would have been if they played in our neighborhood when we were five.
Video: Reks, "Say Goodnight" (Prod. DJ Premier)
Wouldn't you love to hear any one of NYC's big dogs on this beat? Imagine if it was the Lox's triumphant comeback single? The Rae and Ghost collab to end all Rae and Ghost collabs? The song everyone in their heart of hearts really wants to leak off that Nas LP? Faces would melt! Radios would explode! The internet would eat itself! But daydreams are for suckers—and Massachusetts MC Reks doesn't sound half bad on this. Still, it seems like every new Premier track we've come accross over the past year has been attached to an underground rapper with about as much starpower as we have. Is it too much to ask for, like, Fabolous? Think about the children!
Freeload: BLK JKS, "Summertime" (Carlos Ramos Remix)
It seems like a million months ago that we were seeing BLK JKS on like every corner of every city in the United States, but really it was just a couple and it felt like a lot more time because we got so used to seeing them perform everywhere we turned. Since we still break out their 10" on the regular, we were amped to see that they had a new EP for download, and even more amped to stream "Summertime," and then download this Carlos Ramos remix, which reduces the song to a single rubbery stand up bass line and minimal drum tick. We talk a lot about how New York summers on this site, but this song is the essence of them—the good and the impossibly humid bad—captured in about four minutes. Also, check out a live rendition of "Summertime" from one of BLK JKS' last US shows at Harriet's Alter Ego up above.
Download: BLK JKS, "Summertime" (Carlos Ramos Remix) (via RCRD LBL)
Download: BLK JKS Carlos Ramos Megamix
Pitchfork.tv: Liz Phair: Guyville Redux (One Week Only)
We're taking the holiday off (be safe with the fireworks, kids), but we'll leave you with another feature film on Pitchfork.tv. If you've been paying any attention lately, you may have noticed that Chicago singer-songwriter Liz Phair just reissued her classic 1993 album, Exile in Guyville. To coincide with the release, Phair has created the documentary Guyville Redux, in which she revisits some of the people and places that brought her record to life. The film features interviews with Matador Records' Gerard Cosloy and Chris Lombardi, Steve Albini, NPR's Ira Glass, and even Chicago's favorite son John Cusack-- with an introduction by ATO Records' founder Dave Matthews. Catch it while you can, over the holiday weekend and through next week, on Pitchfork.tv's "One Week Only."
Pitchfork.tv:> Guyville Redux (One Week Only)
The Pitchfork Guide to Upcoming Releases: Summer '08
Welcome once again to the Pitchfork Guide to Upcoming Releases, our seasonal guide to upcoming releases! This installment covers a wide swath of the crucial cuts you'll be jamming on through the summer and into the fall, from LPs and EPs to singles and music-related DVDs of note.
Compiling such a list isn't easy in this day and age, with different release dates for digital and physical versions of albums, as well as different release dates for different countries. So we tried to stick with North American physical release dates as much as possible, with exceptions as noted. When an album's North American release date differs from its overseas one, we also made a note of that. Keep in mind that release dates are as shifty as manual transmission, and any one of these is subject to change at any moment.
07-04:
Various Artists: Independents Day ‘08 Compilation07-07:
Beck: Modern Guilt [XL] [UK release]
Black Kids: Partie Traumatic [Almost Gold] [UK release]
Hercules and Love Affair: "You Belong" single [DFA/EMI] [UK release]
Tricky: Knowle West Boy [Domino] [UK release]
UNKLE: End Titles... Stories for Film [Surrender All] [UK/European release]07-08:
Alison Moyet: The Turn [Decca]
Architecture in Helsinki: Like It or Not EP [Polyvinyl] [physical release]
A Storm of Light: And We Wept the Black Ocean Within [Neurot]
Abe Vigoda: Skeleton [PPM]
The Baseball Project: Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails [Yep Roc]
Basic Channel: Basic Channel 2 [Basic Channel]
Beck: Modern Guilt [DGC] [North American release]
Black Ghosts: Black Ghosts [IAMSOUND]
Cam'Ron: Harlem’s Greatest [reissue] [Amalgam Entertainment/Sony BMG]
Chicks on Speed: Art Rules [Chicks on Speed]
CocoRosie: "God Has a Voice, She Speaks Through Me" 7" [Touch and Go]
Daedelus: Love to Make Music To [Ninja Tune]
Damon and Naomi: More Sad Hits [reissue] [20/20/20]
Dark Captain Light Captain: Circles [Loaf]
David Bowie: Live in Santa Monica '72 [Virgin/EMI]
The Dutchess and the Duke: She's the Dutchess, He's the Duke [Hardly Art]
Ellen Allien: Sprung/Its 12" [Bpitch Control]
Free Blood: "Royal Family" 12" [DFA]
Goldmund: The Malady of Elegance [Type]
Gun Outfit: On the Beach 7" [PPM]
Albert Hammond, Jr.: ¿Como te Llama? [RCA/RED] [North American release]
Heartthrob: Dear Painter, Paint Me [Minus]
Hero Destroyed: Hero Destroyed [Relapse]
Icy Demons: Miami Ice [Obey Your Brain]
Jean Grae: Jeanius [Blacksmith Music]
Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten DVD [Sony Legacy]
Jucifer: L'autichienne [Alternative Tentacles] [vinyl release]
Leila: Blood, Looms & Blooms [Warp]
Liars: Freak Out EP [Mute] [U.S.digital release]
Lustmord: [Other] [Hydra Head]
Melvins: Nude With Boots [Ipecac]
Noisia: FABRICLIVE40 [Fabric]
Paramount Styles: Failure American Style [Konkurrent]
Party Fowl: Four-song 7" [PPM]
Ratatat: LP3 [XL]
Ron Sexsmith: Exit Strategy of the Soul [Yep Roc]
Saturday Looks Good to Me: Cold Colors EP [Polyvinyl]
Saul Williams: The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust [FADERLABEL] [physical release]
Son, Ambulance: Someone Else's Deja Vu [Saddle Creek]
Sunny Day Sets Fire: Summer Palace [IAMSOUND]
Totimoshi: Milagrosa [Volcom Entertainment]
Tu Fawning: Succession EP [Polyvinyl]
U.S. Christmas: Eat the Low Dogs [Neurot]
Various Artists: Notwave 12" [Rong]
Various Artists: Life Beyond Mars – Bowie Covered [Rapster]
Venetian Snares: Detrimentalist [Planet Mu]
Wynton Marsalis and Willie Nelson: Two Men With the Blues [Blue Note]
Xiu Xiu: Fabulous Muscles [Absolutely Kosher] [vinyl reissue]
Xiu Xiu: La Forêt [Absolutely Kosher] [vinyl reissue]
Z'Ev vs. Pita: Colchester [Editions Mego]07-11:
Patti Smith and Kevin Shields: The Coral Sea [PASK]
07-14:
Annie: "I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me” single [Island] [UK release]
CSS - Donkey [Warner] [UK release]
The Hold Steady: Stay Positive [Rough Trade] [UK release]
Neon Neon: "I Told Her on Alderaan" / "Trick for Treat" single [Lex] [UK release]07-15:
Black Devil Disco Club: Eight Oh Eight [Lo Recordings]
David Banner: The Greatest Story Ever Told [Universal Motown]
Free Blood: "Royal Family” single [Rong/DFA]
Hans Joachim Roedellus & Tim Story: Inlandish [North American release] [Gronland]
The Hold Steady: Stay Positive [Vagrant] [North American release]
Lloyd: Lesson in Love [The Inc./Universal Motown]
Nas: Untitled [Jones/Def Jam]
Sic Alps: US EZ [Siltbreeze]
UNKLE: End Titles... Stories for Film [Surrender All] [North American digital release]|
U.S. Girls: Introducing [Siltbreeze]07-21:
Crystal Castles: "Vanished" 7" [Different Recordings] [UK release]
07-22:
Alva Noto: Unitxt [Raster Noton]
Azeda Booth: In Flesh Tones [Absolutely Kosher]
Bodies of Water: A Certain Feeling [Secretly Canadian]
Black Kids: Partie Traumatic [Columbia] [North American release]
Brendan Canning: Broken Social Scene Presents... Brendan Canning: Something for All of Us [Arts & Crafts, out now digitally]
Cryptacize / Why?: Unusual Animals Vol. 4 7" [Asthmatic Kitty]
CSS: Donkey [Sub Pop / Warner]
Daft Punk: Electroma DVD [Vice]
Dr. Dog: Fate [Park the Van]
¡Forward, Russia!: Life Processes [Cooking Vinyl]
Fuck the Facts: Disgorge Mexico [Relapse]
Fucked Up: Year of the Pig [reissue] [Matador]
Helena Espvall (of Espers) and Masaki Batoh (of Ghost): Helena Espvall and Masaki Batoh [Drag City]
High Places: 03/07-09/07 [Thrill Jockey; out now digitally]
Individuals: Fields/Aquamarine [Bar/None]
Jay Reatard/Deerhunter: "Fluorescent Grey"/"Oh It's Such a Shame" 7" [Matador]
Josephine Foster: This Coming Gladness [Bo'Weavil]
Julie Doiron: Loneliest in the Morning [reissue] [Jagjaguwar]
Lackthereof: Your Anchor [Barsuk]
Loved: Everything, Anything, Nothing [Temporary Residence Limited]
M83: "Kim and Jessie" single [Mute]
Menahan: Street Band [Daptone]
Nico Muhly: Mothertongue [Brassland]
Nine Inch Nails: The Slip [Null Corporation] [CD/DVD release]
One Day as a Lion: One Day as a Lion EP [Anti-]
Paavoharju: Laulu Laakson Kukista [Fonal]
Paul Weller: 22 Dreams [Yep Roc]
PAS/CAL: I Was Raised on Matthew, Mark, Luke & Laura [Le Grand Magistery]
Poni Hoax: Images of Sigrid [Tigersushi]
Prurient: Arrowhead [Editions Mego]
Radio Slave: "Grindhouse" Remixes 12" [Rekids]
The Red Krayola: Fingerpointing [Drag City]
Sonic's Rendezvous Band: Live [Bomp/Alive]
Sunfold: Toy Tugboats [Terpsikhore]
White Savage: TBA 7" [Flameshovel]
Zozobra: Bird of Prey [Hydra Head]07-28:
Atlas Sound: Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel [vinyl release on Kranky, out now on CD]
Ellen Allien: "Out" Remixes 12" [Bpitch Control] [European release]
Simian Mobile Disco: Sample and Hold [Wichita] [UK release]
Sonic Youth: SYR8: Andre Sider Af Sonic Youth [SYR]07-29:
Alice Cooper: Along Came a Spider [Steamhammer/SPV]
Arbouretum/Pontiak: Kale [Thrill Jockey] [split LP, vinyl only]
James Jackson Toth: Waiting in Vain [Rykodisc]
JEFF the Brotherhood: The Boys R Back in Torn EP [Infinity Cat; vinyl only]
The Rolling Stones: Shine a Light DVD [Paramount]
Takka Takka: Migration [Ernest Jenning Recording Co.]
Young Jeezy: The Recession [Def Jam/Corporate Thugz Entertainment]July:
Bubblegum Lemonade: Susan's in the Sky EP [Matinée]
08-05:
Adam Franklin/Handsome Furs: "Shine a Light" 7" [White Whale]
Apollo Sunshine: Shall Noise Upon [Headless Heroes]
Atlas Sound: "Atlas Shrugged" 7" [K]
Brazilian Girls: New York City [Verve Forecast]
Clinic: Funf reissue [Domino]
Conor Oberst: Conor Oberst [Merge / Wichita]
Correcto: Correcto [Domino]
Darker My Love: 2 [Dangerbird]
David Vandervelde: Waiting for the Sunrise [Secretly Canadian]
The Faint: Fasciination [Blank.wav]
Gun Outfit: TBA 7" [PPM]
Helms Alee: Night Terror [Hydra Head]
Inara George: An Invitation [Everloving]
Ida: My Fair, My Dark EP [Polyvinyl]
Joseph Arthur: All You Need Is Nothing [Lonely Astronaut]
LL Cool J: Exit 13 [Def Jam]
The Lord Dog Bird: The Lord Dog Bird [Jagjaguwar]
Luciano: FABRIC41 [Fabric]
Mars Black: Stay Black [Team Love]
Music Go Music: Reach Out [Secretly Canadian]
Nine Inch Nails: The Slip [Null Corporation] [vinyl release]
Ne-Yo: Year of the Gentleman [Def Jam]
Oneida: Preteen Weaponry [Jagjaguwar]
Oxford Collapse: Bits [Sub Pop]
Prints: Just Thoughts [Temporary Residence Limited]
Racebannon: Acid or Blood [Southern]
Randy Newman: Harps and Angels [Nonesuch]
Re-Up Gang: Clipse Presents: Re-Up Gang [Koch]
Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians: Luminous Groove box set [Yep Roc]
The Rumble Strips: Girls and Weather [Gigantic] [North American release]
Shannon McArdle: Summer of the Whore [Bar/None]
Suicide Note: Empty Rooms [Hawthorne Street]
Talkdemonic: Eyes at Half Mast [Arena Rock]
Ulrich Schnauss: Stars EP [Domino]
Various Artists: No Band Is an Island [Knw-Yr-Own]
Weight: Are Men [Tee Pee/ Colonol Records]08-12:
Dark Romantics: The Good Kind of Sad [Lujo]
The Gutter Twins: "God's Children"/"Spanish Doors" 7" [Sub Pop]
Original Silence: The Second Original Silence [Smalltown Superjazzz]
Pierre de Reeder: The Way That It Was [Little Record Company]
Willoughby: I Know What You're Up To [Sargeant]08-18:
Stereolab: Chemical Chords [Duophonic UHF Disks/4AD] [worldwide release]
08-19:
31Knots: Worried Well [Polyvinyl]
The Dandy Warhols: Earth to the Dandy Warhols [Beat the World] [out now digitally]
Death Vessel: Nothing Is Precious Enough for Us [Sub Pop]
Don Caballero: Punkgasm [Relapse]
The Fiery Furnaces: Remember [Thrill Jockey]
Hotel Lights: Firecracker People [Bar/None]
Human Highway: Moody Motorcycle [Suicide Squeeze / Secret City]
Jaguar Love: Take Me to the Sea [Matador]
Jeff Hanson: Madam Owl [Kill Rock Stars]
Jennifer O'Connor: Here With Me [Matador]
Jesu: Why Are We Not Perfect? [Hydra Head]
Juliana Hatfield: How to Walk Away [Ye Olde Records]
Lee "Scratch" Perry: Repentance [Narnack]
Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez: Why Is Bear Billowing? [Carpark]
Lindstrøm: Where You Go I Go Too [Smalltown Supersound/Feedelity]
Lykke Li: Youth Novels [LL Records] [North American release]
The Moondoggies: Don't Be a Stranger [Hardly Art]
The Music Tapes: Music Tapes for Clouds & Tornadoes [Merge]
Nelly: Brass Knuckles [Derrty/Universal]
Perhapst: Perhaps [In Music We Trust]
Pram: The Moving Frontier [Domino]
Ra Ra Riot: The Rhumb Line [Barsuk]
The Royal We: The Royal We [Domino]
sBach: sBach [Suicide Squeeze]
Starling Electric: Clouded Staircase [Bar/None]
The Stills: Oceans Will Rise [Arts & Crafts]
Saurasama: Fajar Di Atas Awan [Drag City]
T.I.: Paper Trail [Grand Hustle/Atlantic]
The Uglysuit: The Uglysuit [Quarterstick]
Various Artists: Como Now: The Voices of Panola County, MS [Daptone]
The Verve: Forth [Parlophone] [North American release]
Vordul Mega: Megagraphitti [Backwoodz Studioz]
The Walkmen: You & Me [Gigantic Records]
Xavier Rudd: Dark Shades of Blue [Anti-]08-26:
Alias: Resurgam [Anticon]
Dragonforce: Ultra Beatdown [Roadrunner]
The 88: Not Only…But Also [Island]
The Game: L.A.X. [Black Wall Street/DGC]
Matthew Sweet: Sunshine Lies [Shout! Factory]
The Silent Years: The Globe [self-released]
Solange Knowles: Sol-Angel and the Hadley Street Dreams [Geffen]
Tussle: Cream Cuts [Smalltown Supersound]
Zach Hill: Astrological Straights [Ipecac]
August:Fabolous: TBA (tent. titled Working Hard, Playing Harder) [Desert Storm/Def Jam]
09-02:
Brian Wilson: That Lucky Old Sun [Capitol]
Duchess Says: Anthologie des 3 Perchoirs [Alien8]
Giant Sand: Provisions [Yep Roc]
Jazzanova & Mr. Scruff: Southport Weekender, Vol. 7 [suSU]
Shugo Tokumaru: Exit [Almost Gold] [North American release]
Syleena Johnson: Chapter 4: Labor Pains [Aneelys]
UNKLE: End Titles... Stories for Film [Surrender All] [North American physical release]09-08:
Hauschka: Ferndorf [FatCat]
Mogwai: Batcat EP [PIAS/Wall of Sound] [UK release]
Yo Majesty: Futuristically Speaking...Never Be Afraid [Domino] [UK release]09-09:
Angela Desveaux: The Mighty Ship [Thrill Jockey]
Boston Spaceships: Brown Submarine [Guided by Voices, Inc.]
Bound Stems: The Family Afloat [Flameshovel]
The Broken West: Now or Heaven [Merge]
Calexico: Carried to Dust [Quarterstick]
Chad VanGaalen: Soft Airplane [Sub Pop]
Don Chambers: Zebulon [Warm]
The Donkeys: Living on the Other Side [Dead Oceans]
Emiliana Torrini: Me and Armini [Rough Trade]
Horse Feathers: House With No Home [Kill Rock Stars]
Kimya Dawson: Alphabutt [K]
La Rocca: OK Okay [Dangerbird]
Missy Elliott: Block Party [Goldmind/Atlantic]
Mogwai: Batcat EP [Matador] [North American release]
The New Year: The New Year [Touch and Go]
Okkervil River: The Stand Ins [Jagjaguwar]
Parenthetical Girls: Entanglements [Tomlab]
Pontiak: Sun on Sun [Thrill Jockey] [reissue]
Rafter: Sweaty Magic EP [Asthmatic Kitty]
Rahim: Laughter [Pretty Activity]
The Shaky Hands: Lunglight [Kill Rock Stars]
Tricky: Knowle West Boy [Domino] [North American release]
Various Artists: Of Great and Mortal Men: 43 Songs About 43 U.S. Presidencies [Standard]09-10
The Radio Dept.: Clinging to a Scheme [Labrador] [Swedish release]
09-13:
The Cure: TBA [I AM/DGC]
09-16:
Adventure: Adventure [Carpark]
Alexander Tucker: Portal [ATP]
Amanda Palmer: Who Killed Amanda Palmer? [Roadrunner]
Fujiya & Miyagi: Lightbulbs [Deaf Dumb & Blind] [North American release]
James: Hey Ma [Mercury; out now in the UK]
Radioactive Man: Growl [Control Tower]
Simian Mobile Disco: FABRICLIVE 41 [Fabric] [U.S. release]
Tindersticks: The Hungry Saw [Constellation] [North American release; out now in the UK]09-22:
Serena-Maneesh: "Impregnated" 12" [Smalltown Supersound] [European release]
Serena-Maneesh: SM Backwards [Smalltown Supersound] [European release]09-23:
All Girl Summer Fun Band: Looking Into It [AGSFB]
Brightblack Morning Light: Motion to Rejoin [Matador] [North American release]
Faun Fables: A Table Forgotten EP [Drag City]
Girl Talk: Feed the Animals [Illegal Art] [physical release, out now digitally]
High Places: High Places [Thrill Jockey]
The Howling Hex: Earth Junk [Drag City]
Jay Reatard: Singles Collection [Matador]
Karl Blau: Nature's Got Away [K]
Max Richter: 24 Postcards in Full Color [FatCat]
Mogwai: The Hawk Is Howling [Matador/ PIAS/Wall of Sound]
Nagisa Ni Te: Yosuga [Jagjaguwar]
Ten Kens: Ten Kens [FatCat]
The Week That Was: The Week That Was [Memphis Industries]09-30:
Dressy Bessy: Holler and Stomp [Transdreamer]
Mercury Rev: Snowflake Midnight / Strange Attractor [Yep Roc]
The Nightwatchman (Tom Morello): The Fabled City [Epic]
T-Pain: Thr33 Ringz [Nappy Boy/Konvict/Jive/Zomba]
Trivium: Shogun [Roadrunner Records]September:
Morrissey: Years of Refusal [Polydor]
10-06:
Annie: Don’t Stop [Island] [UK release]10-07:
Deerhoof: Offend Maggie [Kill Rock Stars]
Lambchop: OH (ohio) [Merge]
Margot & the Nuclear So and So's: Animal/Not Animal [Epic]
Marnie Stern: TBA [Kill Rock Stars]
Of Montreal: Skeletal Lamping [Polyvinyl]10-14:
The Organ: Thieves EP [Mint/604]
10-21:
The Sea and Cake: Car Alarm [Thrill Jockey]
October:
Deerhunter: Microcastle [Kranky]Summer:
Metallica: Death Magnetic [Warner Bros.]
R. Kelly: 12 Play: Fourth Quarter [Jive]
Pitchfork.tv: July 3: Stephen Malkmus / Xiu Xiu / Asobi Seksu / Free Blood
In one fortnight, we here at Pitchfork (and hopefully you, too, dear reader) will congregate in Chicago's Union Park for the annual Pitchfork Music Festival. To get your appetite whetted for what promises to be the most mind-blowingly awesome festival of the summer, we're taking a peek back at last year's event, when Pavement mastermind Stephen Malkmus wowed the crowd with the opening track from their classic album, Wowee Zowee.
We've also added a few more videos to our ever-expanding archive, and today Pitchfork.tv premiered the newest video from Portland art-rockers Xiu Xiu. This black and white clip for "Master of the Bump (Kurt Stumbaugh, I Can Feel the Soil Falling Over My Head)" features some gender-skewing roles, a little S&M, and a couple of uncomfortable scenes of violent lovemaking. A perfect way to start your holiday weekend.
Next up is the colorful video for Asobi Seksu's "Goodbye", which melds the irresistable strains of the Brooklyn trio's shoegaze with kaleidoscopic images of origami papers, and sends singer Yuki Chikudate on a bizarre voyage through a world built of paper flowers.
Finally we have the melodramatic clip for "Royal Family" from ex-!!! member John Pugh's Free Blood project. Some apocalyptic percussion-- heavy drums, clanging metal, sparse piano, and handclaps-- form the basis of this track, while the video marries surrealist images of a woman in a Victorian armory-cum-recording studio with shots of Pugh in the middle of a desert. But keep watching and you realize that maybe these two locations aren't so far apart after all.
The Zombies Invade North America Tonight
You know, for a bunch of dead guys...well, anyway. Legendary psych-pop troupe the Zombies, having recently wrapped a good sized UK tour, will hit the road tonight (July 3) in North America.
Anchored by founding members Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent, the lineup for these tours varies slightly from the more reunion-y shows the boys did to fete the 40th anniversary of their still-striking Odessey and Oracle LP last year. The current touring roster is rounded out by Rod's former Argent bandmate Jim Rodford on bass, Jim's son Steve Rodford on drums, and guitarist Keith Airey. Also note that Argent and Blunstone have been "collaborating on new studio material" under the Zombies umbrella. Fingers crossed for another Odessey, or, at least, something a fair sight better than 2004's As Far I Can See...
Mastodon and Slayer Tour Together Again
Photo by Sung Kim
The more things change, eh? Mastodon may be kicking it with the Boss and recording their Blood Mountain follow-up with nü-metal production king Brendan O'Brien, but they'll reach into the past to rekindle their touring partnership with Slayer this fall.
Slayer and Mastodon previously joined forces on the first two installments of the "Unholy Alliance Tour", so it's only appropriate that their new dates together are being billed as the "Unholy Alliance Tour, Chapter III". Trivium will also play all dates on the tour.
For now, the "Unholy Alliance Tour, Chapter III" is a European affair, but more dates are still to be announced.
Both Mastodon and Slayer have shows apart this summer.
sugar skull