Arab Strap's first albums to be reissued, as if we weren't all depressed enough already

Arab Strap's first albums to be reissued, as if we weren't all depressed enough already

When Scotland’s Arab Strap named their career-capping 2006 compilation Ten Years of Tears, they weren’t trying for irony. Those guys really did have a decade-long career of sad, defeated-sounding indie rock. Their niche has since been covered by countrymen in mope like Frightened Rabbit and The Twilight Sad, but Arab Strap’s particular brand of downtrodden music won’t be forgotten. Chemikal Underground is taking measures to ensure that Arab Strap’s glorious sadness isn’t lost to the new generation of depressives, namely by reissuing the band’s first two albums: 1996’s The Week Never Starts Around Here and 1998’s Philophobia. The pair of reissues will be available on August 17, complete with bonus discs featuring Peel Sessions and live tracks. These reissues also mark the first time these records will be available in digital format, bringing the unshakable feeling of despair and desperation and whiskey into the future!

The Week Never Starts Round Here reissue tracklist:

Disc 1:

01. Coming Down
02. The Clearing
03. Driving
04. Gourmet
05. I Work in a Saloon
06. Wasting
07. General Plea to a Girlfriend
08. The First Big Weekend
09. Kate Moss
10. Little Girls
11. Phone Me Tonight
12. Blood
13. Deeper

Disc 2:

01. The Smell of Outdoor Cooking (Peel Session 1 - March 1997)
02. Soaps (Peel Session 1 - March 1997)
03. I Saw You (Peel Session 1 - March 1997)
04. The First Big Peel Thing (Peel Session 1 - March 1997)
05. Intro (live at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut - October 1996)
06. General Plea to a Girlfriend (live at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut - October 1996)
07. The Clearing (live at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut - October 1996)
08. Kate Moss (live at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut - October 1996)
09. Gilded (live at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut - October 1996)
10. Driving (live at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut - October 1996)
11. I Work in a Saloon (live at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut - October 1996)
12. Phone Me Tonight (live at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut - October 1996)
13. Blood (live at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut - October 1996)
14. The First Big Weekend (live at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut - October 1996)

Philophobia reissue tracklist:

Disc 1:

01. Packs of Three
02. Soaps
03. Here We Go
04. New Birds
05. One Day, After School
06. Islands
07. The Night Before the Funeral
08. Not Quite a Yes
09. Piglet
10. Afterwards
11. My Favourite Muse
12. I Would’ve Liked Me a Lot Last Night
13. The First Time You’re Unfaithful

Disc 2:

01. Packs of Three (Peel Session 2 - March 1998)
02. Piglet (Peel Session 2 - March 1998)
03. The Night Before the Funeral (Peel Session 2 - March 1998)
04. Blood (Peel Session 2 - March 1998)
05. Girls of Summer (live at T in the Park - 1998)
06. New Birds (live at T in the Park - 1998)
07. Here We Go (live at T in the Park - 1998)
08. Soaps (live at T in the Park - 1998)
09. Afterwards (live at T in the Park - 1998)
10. I Would’ve Like Me a Lot Last Night (live at T in the Park - 1998)

• Arab Strap: http://www.myspace.com/arabstrapmusic
• Chemikal Underground: http://www.chemikal.co.uk

Vampire Weekend’s Contra cover model is suing for $2 million; Ezra Koenig sells vintage boat shoe collection to pay her off

The doe-eyed prepster on the cover of Vampire Weekend’s latest album, Contra (TMT Review), is about to knock the boat shoes right off the band’s feet. The model, whose real name is Kristen Kennis and who claims she took the photo in 1983, is suing the band over the use of her image, claiming that someone forged her signature on the photo release consent form.

In a lawsuit filed on Wednesday with the L.A. County Superior Court, Kennis alleges that the band obtained a “photographic release” from a photographer named Tod Brody, however her signature on the release is forged. Kennis blames Vampire Weekend for not verifying the authenticity of the release and is suing them for over $2 million.

In related news, Ezra Koenig was recently seen in Brooklyn, selling off his collection of Afro pop LPs. Bummer, dude.

• Vampire Weekend: http://www.vampireweekend.com

Guided By Voices announce full reunion tour

Guided by Voices have just announced reunion dates featuring their classic lineup, and you’re planning to get tickets. But don’t know how to act at the show? Don’t fret, dear reader, for I have just the tutorial for you:

How to Behave at a Guided by Voices show

1. Arrive early, if possible. In some stadiums or civic centers, you may have a half-mile hike to arrive at your seat, and threading your way through a line of people can cause a lot of stress and could thus make you enjoy the GBV show less.

2. Listen to ushers, security people, and others whose job it is to ensure your safety, as well as the safety of the rest of the people who are attending, despite how lame they are.

3. Obey the rules for the venue where you are attending, including drinking and recreational drug use. These may be a very real part of the rock scene, especially since Pollard is quite the beer dude, but you should be concerned enough to behave responsibly.

4. Be polite to people around you. Again, this may not be the ordinary attitude for concert goers, but it will tend to make it easier to enjoy the show. Here are some things to note:

• Do not push and shove to get to a merchandise table, food and beverage vendor, or restroom. Rock music fans are like any group, they can be laid back and mellow, or volatile and edgy. Ever been to a Strokes concert? Sheeeit.
• Do not throw things, insult people, or complain to people sitting near you. If GBV ends up sucking, walk out, or if there is another group coming up, chill out and wait for them.
• Don’t block the view for other concert goers. If the crowd gets up and start screaming or waving their arms, join them, but don’t try to do a one-person show in the stands for your own entertainment. I can’t stand those fucks.

5. Keep your hands, elbows, and generally all of your body parts to yourself. And yes, that means your penis and/or vagina too. You may be stoked and overjoyed with the show, but you should still allow others to enjoy it in their own way.

6. Go with the flow. Some GBV shows, usually the best ones, do get a little out of control, and if you are into it, it is fine to get involved with the crowd.

7. Don’t be disrespectful about other bands there that you may not like, especially when conversing with your friends. People can get very touchy on the subject of bands they like, even if they got a low rating on Pitchfork.

8. Dress appropriately. Generally the best clothing to wear is that of similar bands to the headline act but as long as it’s in the style of the music it’s okay (e.g. a Bee Thousand shirt is always a good idea).

9. Always make an effort to get there in time for the support band, as they can often put on a better show than the headline act and you never know where they are going to go in the future. Times New Viking are fucking awesome live, too.

10. Enjoy yourself. Your main aim in the gig is to have fun. This depends on what your idea of fun is; if you want to be a barrier boy, then you need to get onto that front barrier right at the start and never let go no matter how squashed and deafened you get. If you want to sit and not be squashed, then go upstairs. If you want to be a demon of the pit, then you need to rip your shirt off and start acting like a gorilla in heat.

Follow these tutorial and you’ll have a great time at one of these upcoming GBV shows:

09.30.10 - Austin, TX - East Side Drive %
10.03.10 - Las Vegas, NV - Matador 21
10.04.10 - Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern %
10.05.10 - San Francisco, CA - Warfield %
10.07.10 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom %
10.09.10 - Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo %
10.12.10 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue %
10.13.10 - Chicago, IL - The Vic %
10.15.10 - Newport, KY - Southgate House
10.16.10 - Columbus, OH - Outlands Live
10.21.10 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
10.22.10 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle
10.23.10 - Atlanta, GA - Buckhead Theater
11.05.10 - Boston, MA - Paradise #
11.06.10 - Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero #
11.07.10 - New York, NY - Terminal 5 #

% Times New Viking
# Blitzen Trapper

• Guided by Voices: http://www.gbv.com

Danny Goffey, drummer once of Supergrass, becomes Danny Goffey, drummer now of Babyshambles

Danny Goffey: Uggggggh, I have been SO bored since Supergrass, the band that I played drums in because I was the drummer in Supergrass, broke up. If only I had another hyped Brit-pop band in which I could play drums. Oh, if only.

Pete Doherty: Hello, I am Pete Doherty, Babyshambles leader/former Libertines member/past-present-and-almost-certainly-future walking cautionary tale. I have heard your anguished/bored cries, Danny Goffey, drummer for Supergrass, and I have a proposition. Babyshambles has no drummer, because Babyshambles’s old drummer quit, so Babyshambles needs a drummer. You, Danny Goffey, could play drums for Babyshambles, much as you once played drums for Supergrass.

Danny Goffey: Okay. I will. But just remember, Pete Doherty of Babyshambles, that I’m still… IN IT FOR THE MONEY.

Pete Doherty: HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA! Danny Goffey, once of Supergrass, you are a card.

And that’s how it happened.

• Babyshambles: http://www.babyshambles.net

Neko Case, a true American, embarks on small tour

Neko Case, America’s favorite faux-Canadian (seriously, doesn’t like… everyone think she’s Canadian? I did till like a year ago) just announced a brief fall tour, presumably in support of last year’s Middle Cyclone (TMT Review) on ANTI-. Case is sticking to the Southern states before venturing back to her REAL home state of Washington for Seattle’s Bumbershoot Festival, where she’ll be fulfilling the dreams of many by appearing on the same bill as Bob Dylan… and LMFAO.

Neko Case dates:

08.16.10 - Charleston, SC - Music Farm
08.17.10 - Nashville, TN - James K. Polk Theater
08.18.10 - Atlanta, GA - Chastain Park Amphitheater
08.19.10 - Raleigh, NC - North Carolina Museum of Art
08.20.10 - Charlotte, NC - Knight Theater
08.21.10 - Charlottesville, VA - Jefferson Theater
09.04.10 - Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot Festival

• Neko Case: http://www.nekocase.com
• ANTI-: http://www.anti.com

Happy Birthday go on tour, but not to my birthday party; booooo!

What was the worst birthday you ever had? Was it that time you invited your whole class to your party and only one kid came? Or when you came down with the flu and not even your family wanted to be around you? Or how about when you were severely injured in a Frank Grimes-esque silo explosion? As for me, my worst birthday was when Sub Pop garage rockers Happy Birthday went on a summer tour and didn’t come to my town on my birthday. Wait, never mind, my birthday is in March. Still, Happy Birthday are going on tour this summer. Maybe they’ll even come to your town and make your birthday one to remember. Or maybe the dog will eat your cake.

Happy Birthday tourdates:

07.16.10 - Los Angeles, CA - Spaceland *
07.18.10 - San Luis Obispo, CA - San Luis Obispo Art Center *
07.19.10 - Santa Cruz, CA - Crepe Place *
07.20.10 - San Francisco, CA - Rickshaw Stop *
07.21.10 - Santa Barbara, CA - The Hub *
07.24.10 - Seattle, WA - Capitol Hill Block Party
07.25.10 - Portland, OR - Slabtown *
07.27.10 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge *
07.28.10 - Denver, CO - Hi-Dive *
07.29.10 - Omaha, NE - Waiting Room *
07.30.10 - Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Social Club *
08.01.10 - Chicago, IL - Wicker Park Fest *
08.02.10 - St. Louis, MO - Off Broadway *
08.04.10 - Oklahoma City, OK - Conservatory *
08.05.10 - Dallas, TX - Nightmare *
08.06.10 - Austin, TX - United States Art Authority *
08.07.10 - El Paso, TX - Percolator *
08.08.10 - Phoenix, AZ - Trunk Space *
08.10.10 - San Diego, CA - Tin Can Ale House *
09.14.10 - Montreal, QC - Le National &
09.15.10 - Toronto, ON - Opera House &
09.19.10 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue &

* Residual Echoes
& Dirty Projectors

• Happy Birthday: http://myspace.com/brattleborohousecartoon
• Sub Pop: http://www.subpop.com

[Photo: Abby Banks]

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