The Dutchess & The Duke Make Hardly Art A Little More Noble
By C. Schell on 06-27-2008
Will 2008 go down as the year that Sub Pop went rural? Sure, it has released a number of quieter folk-y/country-ish releases in the past, but this year alone we have been treated to Fleet Foxes, Grand Archives, and Sera Cahoone, not to mention the upcoming Blitzen Trapper LP. These bands sound like you might find them playing alone in a forest somewhere. Quite a change from the label's beginnings, with Green River, Nirvana, and The Fastbacks, don't you think? Yes, Sub Pop has also released Wolf Parade, Mudhoney, Kelly Stoltz, Foals, and Ruby Suns records this year, but just play along, okay?
Well, Hardly Art -- Sub Pop's sister label/subsidiary, started by SP founder Jonathan Poneman -- is not immune to this folk-ish outbreak, as it has just announced the upcoming release of a new LP by the duo of Jesse Lortz & Kimberly Morrison, a.k.a., The Dutchess & the Duke. Expect the presence of acoustic guitars, tambourines, the sound a beard makes touching a microphone, and vocal harmonies-galore on their debut LP, She's The Dutchess, He's the Duke , which you can purchase July 8. Continuing the familial feelings found at Sub Pop, the band is touring as the opener for the aforementioned Fleet Foxes. FF&D&D, fuckin' dynamite!
Tourdates
* Fleet Foxes
# Pink Reason
MTV to Start Accepting Political Ads… But More Importantly, There Are People Out There Who Refer to Diddy as “Poof Daddy”
By Heidi Vanderslice on 06-27-2008
I'm sorry, I don't know if I can write this story yet, because I'm still giggling like a moron. LOOK. Check out the first reader comment. Poof Daddy. Genius.
ANYWAY, political ads on MTV....
Here's an official statement from MTV Networks:
MTV Networks will accept political advertising that is national in scope, sponsored by a legally qualified candidate, a candidate's official campaign committee, a nationally recognized political party, or the official congressional campaign committee(s) of a nationally recognized party.
The change has been touted by various MTV execs as a great way for political candidates to reach youth voters, but since it will only be accepting ads from the two major political parties, I'll give you three guesses as to which presidential candidate will make better use of these new resources. Yes, even Democratic strategist Tad Devine agrees, saying, "I'm sure Obama's campaign will look seriously at advertising there, given his advantage with young people."
Let's do the math here. MTV Networks will only run political ads for the Democratic and Republican campaigns, and it's pretty much a given that Obama has the youth vote. However, the FCC states that political candidates must be given the opportunity to have equal airtime, which means McCain will probably have to come up with something for the Real World set. This is gonna be good. Republican Bikini Beach Party Jams! I see Mr P getting all hot and bothered already.
Fucked Up Sign to Matador, Prep Album for October Release, Tour Canada and Beyond
By The Friz on 06-27-2008
When they're not getting kicked out of rural liberal arts colleges, Toronto punkers Fucked Up have been working (no doubt ‘around the clock’) with Matador Records to prepare for the October 7 release of their forthcoming album, The Chemistry Of Common Life.
According to Matador's blog, FU guitarist "10,000 Marbles" describes the album's subject matter as “basically about rebirth and the Sun. And lightning.” Further, the album will showcase "10-15 guitar tracks on many songs, along with flutes, organs, and French horn." FURTHER, guests include Katie Stelmanis and the Vivian Girls on vocals and Max McCabe-Locos (from The Deadly Snakes) on organ.
Keep updated with Fucked Up in all its random glory at band blog, Looking for Gold. Interested parties can even download a full copy of the band's new disc (the very one repped above) here.... PSYCH! It'll be at least a month before you can download the leak of that.
* Sled Island Festival
Hip-Hop Website SOHH Hacked with Racist Headlines and Images
By Mr P on 06-27-2008
SOHH, a site Rolling Stone labeled "the best overall hip-hip site," was invaded this morning by a "notorious hacking group." The site was plastered with Nazi images and racist, misogynist headlines. Street Knowledge has posted screenshots of the hacked website, and has also included an e-mail about the hackers from an anonymous reader. Here are some notable excerpts:
- "The details surrounding the cause of this attack is
sketchy at the moment, but it has also been reported that other rival
Hip-Hop sites such as World Star Hip-Hop, Dat Piff, and All Hip-Hop
were under siege by the hackers as well."
- "The attack was coordinated by the hackers in retaliation due to the taunting from several members in SOHH’s JBO (Just Buggin’ Out) forum, which is designed for general discussion. The attack begain with simple spamming and defacing of the website with grotesque pictures and derogatory terms, assuming this was enough for SOHH’s forums until members continued to provoke them."
I personally noticed something was fishy when my RSS reader was feeding titles like "Urgent News!!!!," "50 Cent marries a watermelon," and "OH LAWDY I BE USIN DEM INSTANETS BOSS!" After checking out what the deal was, my browser went crazy, popping up multiple windows and flashing pornographic images.
SOHH seems to be down at the moment, and I don't recommend you checking it out for yourself. I still can't get the elderly-couple-having-anal-sex images out of my head. What a way to start a Friday!
No, Devo Do Not Want To Supersize Their Happy Meal, McDonalds! They Want to Sue You
By Annapocalypse on 06-27-2008
If you have a young child or are just some freak who still enjoys McDonald's Happy Meals, you may remember back in April when the fast food chain decided to promote American Idol by coming out with a series of toys that were each based on a different music genre. Collect ’em all: Disco Dave, Country Clay, Rockin’ Riley, Soulful Selma, and New Wave Nigel.
Wait... scratch that last one, as Devo are claiming that New Wave Nigel is a complete ripoff of their image. Nigel comes outfitted with an orange jumpsuit, pink sunglasses, and a hat that looks suspiciously like Devo’s famous “energy dome” hat. Hmm, sounds questionable, indeed!
Apparently, the toy also plays a “Devo-esque” song too. Devo bass player, Gerald Casale, had the following to say about the band’s position on the matter:
We are in the midst of suing them. This New Wave Nigel doll that they've created is just a complete Devo rip-off and the red hat is exactly the red hat that I designed, and it's copyrighted and trademarked. They didn't ask us anything. Plus, we don't like McDonald's, and we don't like American Idol, so we're doubly offended.
