Circle the Wagons! The Meat Puppets Are in Town!

The Meat Puppets have always done things their own way. Their shift from a more hardcore sound to the now-legendary underground rock/country hybrid known as “cowpunk,” their well-known battles with drugs, and all that touring with Stone Temple Pilots; it’s all well-documented, and it’s all part of the legend, for better or for worse. Original members/brothers Cris and Kurt Kirkwood have been performing under the Meat Puppets name since the band formed in the early 1980s and started releasing output for SST Records. The Meat Puppets reunited a couple years ago and are touring in support of their most recent album, Sewn Together, out now on Megaforce. When I saw them this summer, it was sweltering, packed, and totally awesome. And now you yourself can relive the magic of that night, but hopefully with less of a chance of heatstroke and your shorts getting all sweat-drenched and clingy. Gross.

Back in 1993, the band hit it big after appearing with Kurt Cobain on MTV’s Unplugged in 1993. The Kirkwoods and co. then embarked on their first tour with STP, and their album Too High to Die went gold. The band began working together again in 2006. Today, Sewn Together has got the critics all in a tizzy, and after a weekend stint with old tour buds Stone Temple Pilots, The Meat Puppets are ready to rock a venue near you. Taking over opening duties on much of the tour will be Athens, GA country/grunge practitioners Dead Confederate

09.05.09 - Tuscon, AZ - Club Congress
09.16.09 - Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theater *
09.17.09 - Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern *
09.18.09 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theater *
09.19.09 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's *
09.20.09 - Sebastopol, CA - Hopmonk Tavern *
09.22.09 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom *
09.23.09 - Chop Suey - Seattle, WA *
09.24.09 - Boise, ID - Grizzly Rose *
09.25.09 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge *
09.26.09 - Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre *
10.24.09 - Atlanta, GA - 40 Watt Club *
10.31.09 - Houston, TX - Rudyard’s
11.01.09 - New Orleans, LA - Voo Doo Music Experience
11.03.09 - Oxford, MS - Proud Larry’s
11.04.09 - Little Rock, AR - Revolution Room
11.05.09 - Tulsa, OK - Cain’s Ball Room
11.06.09 - Kansas City, MO - Record Bar
11.07.09 - Omaha, NE - Waiting Room
11.08.09 - Des Moines, IA - Vaudeville Mews
11.10.09 - Columbia, MO - Mojo’s
11.11.09 - DeKalb, IL - Otto’s
11.12.09 - Chicago, IL - Schubas
11.13.09 - Chicago, IL - Schubas
11.14.09 - Chicago, IL - Schubas
11.15.09 - Indianapolis, IN - Radio Radio
11.17.09 - Louisville, KY - Headliner’s
11.18.09 - Cleveland, OH - The Grog
11.19.09 - Ithaca, NY - Castaways
11.20.09 - Albany, NY - Valentines
11.21.09 - Teaneck, NJ - Mexacali Live
11.25.09 - New York City, NY - Bowery Ballroom
11.27.09 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar
11.28.09 - Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Live

* Dead Confederate

Pope Benedict to Release First Album; Yes, the Real Pope

Hot on the heels of the rapidly developing Christian music scene and the recent resurgence of Christian Doctrine, Pope Benedict of Rome has recorded his first album, Alma Mater, due November 30 on Geffen Records (home to Snoop Dogg, M.I.A., and the Kung Fu Panda soundtrack). The album will show off the multilingual abilities of the Popester through a selection of litanies, chants, recitations of prayers, and Bible passages, backed by The Choir of the Philharmonic Academy of Rome and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Said Colin Barlow, president of Geffen Records: “I think in this day and age, as the public are, as I am, people are fascinated by all kinds of music. We're not fed on one type of music.”

Can't get enough Pope? Check out the Vatican's official YouTube channel, and maybe you can find the video of the Pope in studio with Jesus Christ laying down some overdubs on online-only single "Pope B Blessing."

Mario Speedwagon’s Under The Radar News Round Up: !!! Tour North America, Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele Tour Europe, Basement Jaxx Release Scars This Fall, Shonen Knife Announce North American Dates (And Haven’t Aged Since 1981)

- !!! are heading out on a bunch of mini weekend tours in September and October. In the beginning of September, they’ll hit up New York, Boston, and Washington DC. At the end of September, they’ll go to Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Tucson. Finally, in October, they will play Emo’s in Austin and Austin City Limits. To my knowledge, they don’t have any album plans, but you should check them out anyway because they’re fun live. You can check out the dates on the Touch and Go website.

- Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele is going on tour in August and September in Europe. They head to Paris on August 18 and end their tour September 13 in Bristol, UK. Dent May released his record The Good Feeling Music of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele (TMT Review) in February 2009 via Paw Tracks, which is also where you can find a list of tourdates.

- Basement Jaxx will release their fifth studio album, Scars, on October 6, 2009 via XL Recordings. The album features appearances by Lightspeed Champion, Yo! Majesty, Sam Sparro, Santigold, Kelis “and some other chick” (according to their Wikipedia page, however the press release says its Maleka & Chipmunk), Eli “Paperboy” Reed, and Yoko Ono. Their last album was 2006’s Crazy Itch Radio.

- Shonen Knife has announced North American tourdates, shortly after exciting news of a new album, Super Group, dropping in the United States on August 25 via Good Charamel Records. To celebrate, the band will embark on a North American tour that starts October 16 in New York and ends November 18 in Buffalo. Tours in Europe and Australia to follow. All the tourdates are listed on the Good Charamel website.

Satan Forces Spencer Krug to Go On Tour with Sunset Rubdown Again

Not so long ago, the Devil was feeling a little bored down in the underworld and decided to check out what was up with Spencer Krug. The man had been a particular nuisance to the Devil for a long time. Many who might have sworn their allegiance to evil instead bought Sunset Rubdown’s latest LP, Dragonslayer (TMT Review), thinking it was a metal epic. This bothered the Devil, so he summoned Spencer Krug into the depths of Hell and demanded that Spencer Krug cease making epic rock music.

Spencer Krug, in his gracious and zen-like way, politely refused. This angered the Devil but also gained him some respect; instead of damning Krug to an eternity in Hell, the Devil challenged him to a game of skee-ball. Being the withdrawn composer that he is, Krug lost and is now damned to tour with his various bands for eternity.

And so it is that just after their exhaustive North American tour, Sunset Rubdown will be traversing Europe and some of America in the coming months. Give Spencer a high-five if you can – most people don’t even try to beat the Devil at skee-ball.

Europe:
09.02.09 - Groningen, Netherlands - Vera
09.03.09 - Malmo, Sweden - Debaser
09.04.09 - Goteborg, Sweden - Parken
09.05.09 - Stockholm, Sweden - Strand
09.06.09 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Loppen
09.07.09 - Hamburg, Germany - Knust
09.08.09 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
09.10.09 - Glasgow, UK - Stereo
09.11.09 - Belfast, UK - Spring and Airbrake
09.12.09 - Dublin, Ireland - Crawdaddy
09.13.09 - Leeds, UK - Brudenell Social Club
09.14.09 - Manchester, UK - The Deaf Institute
09.15.09 - London, UK - Garage
09.16.09 - Cardiff, UK - The Glode
09.18.09 - Leffinge, Belgium - Leffingeleuren
09.19.09 - Brussels, Belgium - Botanique
09.20.09 - Berlin, Germany - Magnet Club
09.21.09 - Leipzig, Germany - Ut Connewitz
09.22.09 - Munchen, Germany - 59:1
09.23.09 - Vienna, Austria - B72
09.24.09 - Zagreb, Croatia - KSET
09.25.09 - Ljublijana, Slovenia - Menza Pri Koritu
09.26.09 - Pisa, Italy - Caracol
09.27.09 - Carpi, Italy – Mattatoio
09.30.09 - Lille, France - L'Aeronef
10.01.09 - Paris, France - Point FMR

U.S.A.:
10.16.09 - New York, NY - Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom
10.17.09 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar
10.18.09 - Columbus, OH - The Summit
10.19.09 - Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium
10.20.09 - Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon
10.21.09 - St. Louis, MO - Off Broadway Nightclub
10.22.09 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
10.24.09 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
10.26.09 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's
10.27.09 - West Hollywood, CA - The Troubadour

Devandra Banhart Wakes Up, Shaves Beard, Gets Serious, Signs to Warner, Gets Unserious Again, Releases New Record With Suspiciously Penis-related Cover Art

When a band as big as Radiohead signed to XL in late 2007, you just knew that someone had to get kicked out of the club house to make room. “You know who I’ve never really liked on your label?” Johnny Greenwood was heard to casually remark from the back of the XL board room as he toothpicked the caviar out of his perfect teeth with one capable hand and calligraphically penned an untouchable new avant-garde musical score for “stringless-viola trio, ambient South Pole field recordings, manipulated whale song, and coke machine” with the other. “Devandra Banhart.” Sure enough, the very next day, Banhart arrived to work in his avocado-green Pinto only to find that his parking space in the XL lot had been painted over...

Okay, so maybe that’s not exactly how it went down. But like, EVEN STILLZ, the fact remains that Banhart’s follow-up record to 2007’s hot-and-cold running Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon (TMT Review) is due this October on a brand spanking new major label: Warner Bros. But if you’re thinking that Banhart’s days of just jamming in his house with his friends and recording whatever goofy nonsense came out are over now that he’s moved on to a bigger label, think again: the vaguely shroom-y, vaguely phallic cover art appears above, and the vaguely Hippie Dippie Weatherman-esque oddly spaced title of the new record is:

What    We

Will       Be

And there’s no shortage of old cronies this time around either. The album was recorded with A Band of Bees' Paul Butler, and his backing band once again consists of a boat load of buddies, such as Megapuss partner-in-crime Greg Rogove, Little Joy's Rodrigo Amarante, and pals Luckey Remington, Noah Georgeson, and Andy Cabic. Hot dog! Stay tuned for supporting dates, as well as the potential for hilarious major label drama! In the mean time, lets all brace ourselves for having this record thrust in our ears and faces this fall at just about every coffee shop and/or book store that we happen to venture into.

What    We

Will       Be tracklisting:

1. Can't Help but Smiling
2. Angelika
3. Baby
4. Goin' Back
5. First Song for B
6. Last Song for B
7. Chin Chin & Muck Muck
8. 16th & Valencia Roxy Music
9. Rats
10. Maria Leonza
11. Brindo
12. Meet Me at the Lookout
13. Walilamzi
14. Foolin'

RIP: Willy DeVille

From The Wall Street Journal:

Willy DeVille, who brought street elegance and soul to New York’s punk scene in the late ‘70s, died yesterday of complications from pancreatic cancer. He was 58.

Tall, thin and debonair with almond-shaped eyes, DeVille was an anomaly on the punk scene centered at CBGBs on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. He could sing in a smooth style reminiscent of the great Atlantic Records balladeers and craft a mean pop tune; in time, he co-wrote several songs with Doc Pomus, an influence. During his three-decade long career, he covered a vast musical terrain –- soul, R&B and blues — and scored an international hit with a Cajun-flavored rendition of “Hey Joe.” His song “Storybook Love,” which appeared in the film “The Princess Bride,” was nominated for an Oscar.

DeVille is survived by his wife Nina and son Sean.

- Willy DeVille official website
- Willy DeVille MySpace
- Willy DeVille Wikipedia entry

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