From his Jens Lekman’s blog:

I picked home one last souvenir from South America, it’s called the H1N1 virus. Wrongfully known as the Swineflue.

I was crossing the Atlantic when things started getting really bad, the fever was hallucinogenic and shaking me like a leaf and I grabbed the sleeve of the Air France steward. "I’m not feeling well, I should see a doctor" I said and the reply came as a brilliant mix of death anxiety and french rudeness: "Uh, yes... Terminal D... go there maybe... when we land". After that the stewards and stewardesses took long detours. A ring of empty seats formed around me. Peoples eyes were kind but determined, they read "Poor you, I really wish you all the best but if you come near me or my kid I will have to stab you with this plastic fork". I got up and went to the bathroom where I fainted.

Now I’m in quarantine for ten days. I can see the summer through my window and it’s just perfect. Summer is always best through a window.

Aw. That’s sweet. Get well soon, Jens. We’re with you with in interweb spirit.

Just don’t cough on me.

Sir Paul has announced that he is scoring a new children’s film based on a book written by himself, Geoff Dunbar, and Philip Ardagh. The book and future animated feature, High in the Clouds, follows a group of lovably misfit and furry woodland creatures as they save the animal world through song. The original concept was born out of a song, "Tropical Island Hum," penned by the ex-Beatle and Linda, his charming, beautiful, dead wife who was born the voice of a flat-pitched child. Geoff Dunbar and McCartney have worked together in the past, with Dunbar directing and McCartney scoring the 1984 animated short Rupurt and The Frog Song, most famous for The Frog Song itself, "We All Stand Together," which made it to #3 in the U.K. charts.

One quick disclaimer: if you are thinking that this is going to be a psychedelic trip into the second dimension, like that movie about a bright, underwater boat, think again. Despite the name of the film, the animals are not high (stoned) in the clouds, but rather high (up) in the clouds. In a hot air balloon. Children will look at you funny and parents will give you a death stare if you come into the theatre reeking of Northern Lights, Strawberry Cough, or whatever else your dealer sold you on, eyes all ablaze, laughing every time the little frog asks the little squirrel if he wants to get any higher.

The movie’s set to be released on ex-New Line Cinema mogul Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne’s new production company, Unique Features, and will be directed by The Lion King’s Rob Minkoff, with script penned by Caroline Thompson of Edward Scissorhands fame.

From Rolling Stone (via Reuters):

Songwriter/guitarist Tim Krekel passed away June 24 at his home in Louisville, Kentucky after his health deteriorated following surgery for abdominal cancer, Reuters reports. He was 58. During his career, Krekel performed with Jimmy Buffett, Bo Diddley and Kris Kristofferson, serving as Buffett’s lead guitarist during the late ’70s and early ’80s and appearing on the album Son of a Son of a Sailor. Krekel released his first solo album Crazy Me in 1979, his official site writes. Artists like Canned Heat and Rick Nelson also covered Krekel’s songs. Krekel was diagnosed with cancer in March 2009, and his condition worsened over the past few months.

 Tim Krekel official page
 Tim Krekel Myspace
 Tim Krekel Wikipedia entry

 Frenchie duo Air announced plans to release their fifth record Love 2 October 6 via Astralwerks. The band will also embark on a European tour sometime in the beginning of next year and a U.S. tour in the spring.

 The Walkmen are doing a mini tour with Cass McCombs. The Walkmen will first perform at both Benicassim Festival (Barcelona, Spain) and Super Bock Super Rock (Lisbon, Portugal) before heading off on a small five-date tour with McCombs. They’ll be hitting up Milwaukee, Cincinnati, the Cleve, Toronto and Pittsburgh. The Walkmen also have some Chicago and New York City dates. Check out the dates on the band’s MySpace page.

 Arctic Monkeys are releasing their third album Humbug on August 25, 2009 and playing a few U.S. dates in support. This August, you can catch the band at various festivals and clubs in the Jerz, Montreal, New York, Boston, and Chicago. If you’re in the UK, they’ll be playing both Leeds and Reading Festivals. Additional details can be found at the bands official website.

 Michael Gira (Young God Records, Swans, Angels of Light) is selling prints of a set of 20 drawings he completed over the last six months. The collection is called “I Am Not Insane” and is pressed on 100% recycled paper via Stumptown Printers (the same people who helped bring you the CD version of our TMT comp). More details and thumbnails of the prints can be found on the Young God website. I want #7. It reminds me of my megabeast ex-roommate.

RIP Michael Jackson, yo.

Going to shows at San Francisco’s all-ages venues was pretty much the only thing that got me through high school. Woe to someone else with a similar disposition starting high school this year... they might not make it out with their sanity intact. Nearly every all-ages San Francisco venue — including The Fillmore, Great American Music Hall, and several other establishments — are on the brink of being forced to close at the hands of California’s Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC). The situation is complicated, and the ABC refuses to clarify their position, but there are a couple of things we know so far (if you don’t like reading, the contents of the next two paragraphs are summarized in this video from NBC Bay Area News).

The ABC has hounded these venues for several years about a variety of issues surrounding the requirements of maintaining an all-ages operating license. The venues say the ABC has sent in undercover agents to rack up citations and has invented regulations on the spot as evidence that the venues are creating an environment inappropriate for minors. Both the venues and their lawyers say these citations are outside the scope of law and unrelated to both safety and alcohol. The only thing keeping the venues open is the tens of thousands of dollars they have collectively poured into a legal battle against the ABC’s efforts. But with the economic downturn, these costs have become too great for the fight to continue much longer.

“Well,” you ask, “it would suck for underage fans, but can’t these places become 21+ only?” The problem is that changing the license type costs money that many of the venues simply don’t have anymore because of the legal fees. So, unless they can negotiate new license terms, many of these venues will shut their doors. Not only will there be very few places for under-21 patrons to see live music, but bands who play at venues with a capacity between 75 and 400 will have limited options in the city. San Francisco would lose revenue and potentially its relevance on the tour circuit, not to mention historical landmarks that have contributed to the city’s history for decades.

Luckily this demise is not guaranteed. The venues have dedicated legal representation, and California state senator Mark Leno has sworn to fight to keep them open. And thankfully, the venues are still putting on shows. So if you’re a Bay Area resident who loves live music, swing by an all-ages venue and see a show, buy a drink, or donate to the legal fund. Write to the city’s Board of Supervisors about why you want these venues kept open. For the sake of everyone’s 16-year-old self: help keep live music alive in San Francisco.

From the LA Times:

Pop star Michael Jackson was pronounced dead today after paramedics found him in a coma at his Bel-Air mansion, city and law enforcement sources told The Times.

Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Steve Ruda told The Times that paramedics responded to a 911 call from the home. When they arrived, Jackson was not breathing.

The paramedics performed CPR and took Jackson to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda said. Hundreds of reporters gathered at the hospital awaiting word on his condition. The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said family members rushed to Jackson’s bedside, where he was in a deep coma.

 Michael Jackson official website
 Michael Jackson Wikipedia entry

From Austin360:

Sky Saxon, founder of the brilliant ’60s garage band the Seeds, died Thursday morning at St. David’s Hospital.

The newly minted Austinite, born Richard Marsh, was hospitalized Monday with what doctors suspected was an infection of the internal organs, but cause of death has not yet been released.

Saxon fell ill last Thursday, but performed at Saturday at Antone’s with recent Austin collaborators Shapes Have Fangs.

 Official Sky Sunlight Saxon The Seeds website
 The Seeds Wikipedia entry
 The Seeds fansite

And just like that, another hardworking indie rock band slowly goes the way of the buffalo. This is nothing new: touring is hard and often-unrewarding work, relationships get strained, you get older, the house beer (PBR cans) start tasting increasingly less delicious, making some actual money becomes sort of important, and poof, you’re issuing a statement via your independent record label Sub Pop’s website in no time. This time around, the victims happen to be Brooklyn trio Oxford Collapse.

After releasing two albums on Kanine (Some Wilderness in 2004 and A Good Ground in 2005), the boys from Brooklyn released their first album on Sub Pop, Remember The Night Parties, in 2006 and followed it up in 2008 with Bits. The erstwhile band has announced that it will meet up to kick shit old-school at two farewell shows on July 17 and 18 in Hoboken and New York City, respectively. The details of those final shows and band’s official statement follow below. And as break-up letters go, this one’s pretty good. If you see any of these guys at the shows, you might want to give them a heads up that TMT is always looking for interns. We probably pay just about as well as the road does.

Official band statement:

After eight years, 450 shows, and four albums, we’ve decided that we’ve reached the end of the line. To paraphrase the Grateful Dead, “what a long, strange, eye-opening, stomach-bursting, heart-breaking, bittersweet, educational, enlightening, mind-numbing, ‘why-are-we-doing-this-shit?’ / ‘who-gets-to-do-this-shit?,’ absurd, amazing trip it’s been.” To paraphrase another sage poet, “you gotta know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em.”

Thanks go out to a million friends—all the awesome, talented people who helped us make records and put them out, everyone who put together tours for us, our families (who are still wondering when we will get real jobs), all the other wonderful and terrible bands we’ve loved touring, playing, hanging and eating with over the years. And of course a heartfelt thanks to everyone who ever came to see us play, bought something we were selling, said something nice, or let us sleep on their diarrhea-encrusted floors. (Except you, Branson, Missouri!)

To have one final go of it, the three of us are meeting up for a pair of shows in and around the city we called home in our time. Come out and party with us! Seriously, do not miss!!! Friday July 17th we are very psyched to be playing with old and dear friends Frightened Rabbit at Maxwell’s, and Saturday July 18th, for our last show ever, we’ll share the stage with best buds CaUSE Co-MOTION!, under-age phenoms The Beets, and our beloved Rape Excape, freshly reformed from the rubble of Princeton ‘04; plus a bunch of special guests! If you missed the original Last Waltz in ‘76, now’s your chance!

07.17.09 – Hoboken, NJ – Maxwell’s (SOLD OUT)
07.18.09 – New York, NY – Under the Tracks

According to Dirty Projectors’ promoter, the band was involved in a van accident and has consequenltly cancelled this week’s shows in Toronto and Montreal. Contrary to early reports, no member is "in serious condition." According to their publicist:

Dirty Projectors’ van flipped outside of Detroit, MI on their way up to Toronto. Although the crash was serious, we’re happy to report that all members of the band have been safely discharged from the hospital. The band will be flying home to New York in the morning to regroup and rest. Unfortunately, the band will have to cancel Toronto and Montreal.

Phew. We’ll keep you updated if any more information comes in.

06.24.09 - Toronto, Ontario - Lee’s Palace
06.25.09 - Montreal, Quebec - Theatre Plaza
07.02.09 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard’s on Richards
07.03.09 - Seattle, WA - Chop Suey
07.04.09 - Portland, OR - Holocene
07.07.09 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
07.08.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
07.09.09 - San Diego, CA - Casbah
07.19.09 - Brooklyn, NY - Williamsburg Waterfront
08.15.09 - Oslo, Norway - Oya Festival
09.09.09 - Paris, France - Maroquinerie
09.11.09 - Dorset, England - End Of The Road Festival
09.12.09 - Isle Of Wight, England - Bestival
09.13.09 - London, England - Scala
09.16.09 - Dublin, Ireland - Whelans
09.19.09 - Brussels, Belgium - Botanique
09.20.09 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg
09.21.09 - Berlin, Germany - Kreuzberg Festival
09.25.09 - Toulouse, France - Le Printemps de Septembre Festival

According to a press release:

Andy Hughes, electronic music producer/DJ who was born 11th November 1965 and, and who lived and grew up in Harrow, Middlesex, tragically passed away on Friday 12th June 2009 after a short illness.

Andy was a genius who gave so much inspiration and passion to all with his incredible work. He was loved by many aficionados of the trance/ambient genre, but will be especially remembered for his work with Alex Paterson and The Orb, most notably the album Orblivion and single Toxygene, which reached number 4 in the UK charts in 1997. Together with his musical partners Alex Patterson and former members Kris Weston, Simon Phillips and Thomas Fehlmann together with Nick Burton of Westworld fame. Andy created electronic and ambient/techno/house/dub masterpieces. These took him across the globe where he played to masses of fans in countries including the USA, Japan and Canada as well as a sell out concert at the Royal Albert Hall in 1998.

 Andy Hughes Wikipedia entry
 Andy Hughes MySpace