Radiohead's Kid A at #100 on Billboard Charts
Kid A is back on the Billboard 200, at #100. Of course, placing high on all those decade lists (posted before the decade was over) surely helped, but if we're talking aesthetic posterity, it's hard to think of a better example than Kid A. Check out this interesting Kid A-era Thom Yorke interview:
By the way, Kid A is also #24 on the digital albums charts, so the significance of the re-entry ain't so easily attributed to the digital/physical dichotomy. Sorry!
Xiu Xiu Announce Biggest Xiu Xiu Tour So Far This Year
Xiu Xiu are awesome, blah blah blah. Stuff is awesome and, like, there are about, like, um, 70 elephants outside my window because -- well, you know my friend Jeannie? Well she has like 15 geese in her back yard, and they all stink like that guy who used to work at the mall, who had that really bad hair and stuff.
Oh yeah, and Xiu Xiu are touring the UK soon. You know, the smelly place with the bad-teethed people and ugly old lady on all the money. Then they're going to other places, like the United States of America. Go see them, because, like, they have a new album called Dear God, I Hate Myself, due February 23 on Kill Rock Stars. Not-so-fun fact: this is, like, Xiu Xiu's first album since the departure of Caralee McElroy.
02.20.10 - Dublin, IE - Whelans
02.21.10 - Glasgow, UK - NiceNSleazy
02.22.10 - Edinburgh, UK - Electric Circus
02.23.10 - Manchester, UK - Islington Mill
02.24.10 - Sheffield, UK - The Harley
02.25.10 - Cardiff, UK - Cardiff Arts Institute
02.26.10 - London, UK - The Luminaire
02.27.10 - Brighton, UK - Freebutt
02.28.10 - Coventry, UK - Taylor John's House
03.05.10 - Greensboro, NC - Guilford College
03.06.10 - Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn (w/ Noveller, Girl in a Coma)
03.07.10 - Birmingham, AL - The Bottletree (w/ Noveller, Girl in a Coma)
03.09.10 - Little Rock, AR - Sticky Fingerz Chicken Shack (w/ Noveller, Girl in a Coma)
03.10.10 - Norman, OK - Opolis Productions (w/ Noveller, Girl in a Coma)
03.11.10 - Dallas, TX - The Cavern (w/ Noveller, Girl in a Coma)
03.12.10 - Houston, TX - The Studio at Warehouse Live (w/ Noveller)
03.13.10 - Austin, TX - Red 7 (w/ Noveller, Jonathan Mieberg of Shearwater)
03.16.10 - Tucson, AZ - Solar Culture (w/ Extra Life, Noveller)
03.17.10 - San Diego, CA - The Casbah (w/ Tune-Yards, Noveller)
03.18.10 - Los Angeles, CA - Echo (w/ Tune-Yards, Noveller)
03.19.10 - Santa Cruz, CA - The Crepe Place (w/ Tune-Yards, Noveller)
03.20.10 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill (w/ Tune-Yards, Noveller)
03.23.10 - Olympia, WA - Northern (w/ Tune-Yards)
03.24.10 - Portland, OR - Holocene (w/ Tune-Yards)
03.25.10 - Boise, ID - Neurolux (w/ Tune-Yards, Scout Niblett)
03.26.10 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge (w/ Tune-Yards, Talk Normal)
03.27.10 - Denver, CO - Hi-Dive (w/ Tune-Yards, Talk Normal)
03.29.10 - Lawrence, KS - Jackpot Saloon (w/ Tune-Yards, Talk Normal)
03.30.10 - St. Louis, MO - Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center (w/ Tune-Yards, Talk Norma, Br'erl)
03.31.10 - Iowa City, IA - The Picador (w/ Tune-Yards, Talk Normal)
04.01.10 - Northfield, MN - The Cave at Carleton College (w/ Tune-Yards, Talk Normal)
04.02.10 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry (w/ Tune-Yards, Talk Normal)
04.03.10 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall (w/ Tune-Yards, Talk Normal, Zola Jesus)
04.05.10 - Oberlin, OH - The Dionysus Discotheque (w/ Tune-Yards, Talk Normal)
04.07.10 - Cleveland, OH - The Spot (w/ Tune-Yards, Talk Normal)
04.08.10 - Buffalo, NY - Mohawk Place (w/ Tune-Yards)
04.09.10 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom (w/ Tune-Yards, Zola Jesus)
04.10.10 - Cambridge, MA - Middle East Downstairs (w/ Tune-Yards)
04.13.10 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church (w/ Tune-Yards)
04.14.10 - Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel (w/ Tune-Yards)
04.15.10 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 (w/ Tune-Yards)
04.17.10 - Detroit, MI - Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (w/ TBD)
jj Signs with Secretly Canadian for New Record, Goes on First U.S. Tour, Reveals the Secrets of the Mystics
In 2009, jj, creators of luxurious pop and confusion for Lil Wayne fans, kept things pretty well under wraps. No bio, no press release, not even a picture of what these people (this person?) look like. Just a couple enigmatic releases on Sincerely Yours.
But in this new decade, jj seem ready to reveal some of their secrets. Or, at least, become a little more visible in North America. For one, the group has signed with Secretly Canadian for their follow-up to 2009’s jj nº 2, the appropriately-titled jj nº 3. The new collection will see release on March 9. One can only hope that this time around there's a song sampling "Mrs. Officer."
jj will also show their faces in the U.S. for the first time by going on tour with The xx (capital letters are for losers) this coming Spring. Finally, we will know what these kids actually look like! Sure, a quick YouTube search could accomplish the same thing, but, c'mon. You’re no fun.
Now that the secrets of jj are to be revealed, help me with this puzzle cube. Quick, before the Druid King awakens!
jj tourdates:
03.22.10 - Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon
03.23.10 - Birmingham, AL - Bottletree
03.24.10 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl
03.25.10 - Carrboro, NC - Cats Cradle
03.28.10 - Washington, DC - Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
03.29.10 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church Sanctuary
03.30.10 - Brooklyn, NY - Knitting Factory
03.31.10 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
04.02.10 - Boston, MA - Paradise
04.03.10 - Montreal, QC - Le National
04.04.10 - Toronto, ON - Lees Palace
04.05.10 - Columbus, OH - Wexner Center
04.06.10 - Bloomington, IN - Buskirk-Chumley Theater
04.08.10 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
04.09.10 - Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater
04.12.10 - Bellingham, WA - The Nightlight Lounge
04.13.10 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom
04.14.10 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
04.16.10 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill
all dates with The xx
OiNK Owner Found Not Guilty of Conspiracy
Alan Ellis, who ran the insanely popular BitTorrent tracker OiNK, was unanimously found not guilty of conspiracy to defraud at Teesside Crown Court. According to a post on OiNK's website:
On 15 January 2010, Alan Ellis was unanimously declared not guilty.
If you would like to get in touch with Alan, you can do so here: contact@alanellis.co.uk.
The solicitors representing Alan Ellis in the case were Morgan Rose with Alex Stein as the barrister.
OiNK was originally shut down October 2007 in a high-profile police raid. Five of the six members were arrested for copyright infringement, with Ellis eventually charged with conspiracy to defraud in September 2008. In December of that year, four of the OiNK members plead guilty at Teesside to copyright infringement -- a few of them were sentenced to 330 hours of community service and £378 in court costs, another was required to pay a £500 fine.
Interestingly, it was revealed during the seven-day trial that Ellis received $18,000 a month in donations. Not too shabby for a THIEF (wink).
Suede Reform for One-Off Benefit Show (without Bernard Butler)
According to The Quietus, Suede are reforming for a one-off gig at London's Royal Albert Hall sometime later this year. The show will serve as a benefit to the Teenage Cancer Trust (whose patron is The Who's Roger Daltrey). It seems fitting too: both Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler lost their parents to cancer, according to The Quietus.
Butler, however, will not be part of the reunion. The gig will instead feature Anderson with Matt Osman, Richard Oakes, Simon Gilbert, and Neil 'Yum' Codling, who all played on the first Butler-less LP, Coming Up (1996). Besides, Butler's too busy chilling with The Veils, Kate Jackson, Duffy, Jonathan Jeremiah, Kate Nash, Lissy Trullie, Scott McFarnon, and Tommy Reilly anyway.
Oh, almost forgot: Oasis, Blur, Pulp.
U.S. Court Reinstates Antitrust Lawsuit against Major Labels
A U.S. judge has reinstated an antitrust suit against the major labels based on violations of The Sherman Act. The case was originally dismissed by a lower court judge in October 2008.
The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York named the defendants as "Bertelsmann AG, EMI Group, Sony Corp, Time Warner Inc, Vivendi SA, and Warner Music Group Corp or various affiliates." In the original case, the plaintiffs said that these labels had contrived to set "artificial price floors" by entering into "joint ventures and licenses." They also maintain that the companies agreed a minimum price of 70 cents per song, and this was to be enforced through "restrictive license agreements."
Judge Robert Katzmann wrote that the case put forward by the plaintiffs was valid enough to point to a possible plot to fix prices. The labels control around 80% of all digital music sales in the U.S. and Judge Katzmann reckoned "some form of agreement among defendants would have been needed to render the enterprises profitable."
Remind me: why does the RIAA get so angry about illegal downloading again?
Pavement and Broken Social Scene to Co-Headline Toronto Island Concert; Indie Minds Blown Around the World
If the Toronto Island Concert were a person, they'd probably be clad in tight pants, a snug flannel, thick-rimmed glasses, a beard, Nietzsche in their back pocket, and plenty of advice for the best ways to get around NYC's pesky no-smoking-in-bars ban. But seriously, all rotten stereotypes aside, this is some exciting news. Press releases have been a-flowin', chock full o' news about the Toronto Island Concert's latest lineup. This year, you can expect to see Toronto's very own alt-popsters, Broken Social Scene (the atom from which all Toronto indie bands divide), PAVEMENT (girlish squeal!!), and the ever-dependable indie rockers Band of Horses.
Pavement, who are newly reunited and coming out with a greatest hits album Quarantine the Past, are including this Toronto date as part of their overarching 2010 tour. Toronto Island Concert is an all-day music event taking place on (you guessed it) Toronto Island. The music-making will commence on June 19, 2010 -- and stay tuned for further lineup updates!
The Knife return with new album, new free download, and new ways to be kinda creepy
Ladies and gentlemen, dust off your freaky lookin' bird masks: The Knife are releasing a new album! The brother and sister duo are putting out a studio recording of their Darwin-themed opera, Tomorrow, in a Year, set for a March 1 release. For a sample of what tunes inspired by "Richard Dawkin's gene trees" sound like, you can visit the band's official website for a free download of "Colouring of Pigeons." Mt. Sims and Planningtorock are also collaborating with the plague doctor imagery/bird mask lovin' siblings on this album.
CD 1:
1. Intro
2. Epochs
3. Geology
4. Upheaved
5. Minerals
6. Ebb Tide Explorer
7. Variation of Birds
8. Letter to Henslow
9. Schoal Swarm Orchestra
CD 2:
1. Annie’s Box
2. Tumult
3. Colouring of Pigeons
4. Seeds
5. Tomorrow in a Year
6. The Height of Summer
Jeff Mangum, Bill Callahan, Yo La Tengo, Jay Reatard, and Flying Nun Crew Pay Tribute to and Help Chris Knox Recover from Stroke with Covers Record
This past June Chris Knox (Tall Dwarfs, Toy Love, etc) suffered a life-changing stroke at his home in New Zealand. Thankfully since then he has been on the road to recovery. To give him a little boost of energy (and a little cash to help out) some big names of today and yesterday's indie rock scene are paying tribute to the man responsible for influencing and creating the punk/indie New Zealand scene by covering one of their favorite Chris Knox songs. One of the most interesting contibutions to this compilation is a track from Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel) who has come out of a long hibernation period to pay tribute to Knox by covering Tall Dwarfs' "Sign the Dotted Line." Among the other contributors are Yo La Tengo, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Lambchop, Mountain Goats, Lou Barlow, Bill Callahan, and Jay Reatard, as well as a bunch of Knox's old New Zealand associates: The Bats, David Kilgour (The Clean), The Chills, and The Verlaines.
The double-disc Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox is available for download from the Merge store] and will be available in real-world stores on February 23. If you pre-order the album now, you'll get a free digital download anyway so you don't have to wait for it. All proceeds will go to help Knox with his recovery. For more information and updates on Chris Knox, check out the Stroke website where you can also preview many of the tracks off the record.
Check out the Mangum cover here, via Stereogum.
Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox tracklisting:
Disc 1:
1. Jay Reatard – Pull Down the Shades
2. The Checks – Rebel
3. The Bleeding Allstars – Ain’t It Nice
4. Peter Gutteridge – Don’t Catch Fire
5. The Chills – Luck or Loveliness
6. David Kilgour – Nothing’s Going to Happen
7. The Crying Wolfs – All My Hollowness to You
8. Stephin Merritt – Beauty
9. Portastatic – Nostalgia’s No Excuse
10. The Mint Chicks – Crush
11. Jay & Sam Clarkson – I’ve Left Memories Behind
12. The Skygreen Leopards – Burning Blue
13. Shayne Carter – The Slide
14. Pumice – Grand Mal
15. Hamish Kilgour – Knoxed Out
Disc 2:
1. Boh Runga – Not Given Lightly
2. Red & Zeke (Feat. Bill Doss and Neil Cleary) – Bodies
3. Jeff Mangum – Sign the Dotted Line
4. Bill Callahan – Lapse
5. Genghis Smith – Growth Spurt
6. Yo La Tengo – Coloured
7. A.C. Newman – Dunno Much About Life But I Know How to Breathe
8. Alec Bathgate – Glide
9. Don McGlashan – Inside Story
10. Sean Donnelly – The Outer Skin
11. Lambchop – What Goes Up
12. The Mountain Goats – Brave
13. The Tokey Tones (and friends) – Round These Walls
14. The Bats – Just Do It
15. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – My Only Friend
16. The Finn Family – It’s Love
17. Jordan Luck – Becoming Something Other
18. The Verlaines – Driftwood
19. Lou Barlow – Song of the Tall Poppy
20. The Nothing – Napping in Lapland
21. Tall Dwarfs – Sunday Son
RIP: Dannie Flesher, Wax Trax! co-founder
From Wax Trax!:
Former co-founder of Wax Trax! Records, Dannie Flesher passed away from complications with pneumonia Sunday evening. Flesher, 57, stepped away from the music industry in 1999 and retired in his home town of Hope, AR in 2005.
Flesher and long time partner Jim Nash, opened the Wax Trax Record store in Denver in 1974. Later relocating to Chicago in 1978, the store quickly became the headquarters for Chicago's budding underground music scene. After years of releasing bootlegs and rarities, Flesher and Nash took their operation to a new level and the Wax Trax! Record label was born. The label pioneered the industrial music movement and was home to such acts as Front 242, Ministry, My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult, Underworld, Sister Machine Gun, KFMDM, Revolting Cocks and many more influential artists.
In 1992, the label would file bankruptcy and be sold to New York based TVT Records. The two would retain creative control of the label until Nash's passing in October of 1995. Flesher then continued to [oversee] label operations until the label folded in the late 90's. Even though the label was no longer in existence, their impact on the music industry will be forever remembered.
• Wax Trax: http://www.waxtraxrecords.com
RIP: Yabby You, reggae artist
From the AV Club:
I own maybe five reggae CDs, having never really explored the genre for whatever reason, but one of those is Yabby You's Jesus Dread 1972-1977. I have a pretty clear memory of hearing it for the first time, when it was issued in 1997 by the respected Blood And Fire label. I still can't put my finger on what struck me about it--maybe its utter starkness or its lack of super-positive vibes, or maybe even its Christian leanings, which was/is strange for reggae. It's raw and gorgeous, and maybe owning it, along with a couple by Augustus Pablo and the mandatory Bob Marley collections, is all the reggage I require. Vivian Jackson, a.k.a. Yabby You, died January 12 in Jamaica. He was 63.
• Yabby You: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yabby_You
