A Court on the Side of Consumers for Once: Internet Radio Services Don't Need to License from Labels
On August 21, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an original ruling in 2007 “that found [Yahoo’s] Launchcast need only pay the standard Webcaster royalty rates to SoundExchange.” This means Launchcast is still not required to seek permission from the labels to air their music, which is a big relief for internet radio services. If the Court had overturned the original ruling, then services like Pandora, Slacker, and Last.fm would have been seriously affected.
Sony Music Entertainment originally sued Launchcast in 2001, arguing that additional licensing deals were needed since users could “build custom stations around music preferences and skip songs,” which constituted “interactivity.” The Court, however, ruled that since the songs were played in a random order, they were not considered “interactive” like imeem and MySpace.
It’s always good to see the labels getting a good kicking now and again from the justice system. It happens so rarely!
AMA Declares That Carnage from Le Loup’s Upcoming Tour CANNOT BE STOPPED, Requires Nurses to Join for Damage Control
So you thought that Le Loup was a large band composed of nice musicians from DC who play otherworldly music that’s good for driving at night? Think again! According to a recent Associated Press report, the band’s true intentions have been revealed, despite the group’s French-translated trickery. Apparently they are all actually wolves and, in a Gwar-like fashion, will be using their upcoming tour to wreak havoc across the North American continent in hopes of raising the Great Wolf Spirit who will then take over the world. Sounds like an episode of Doctor Who to me.
Anyway, the American Medical Association has declared a state of emergency for music fans everywhere. They have decided that the only solution to this impending disaster is to send medical professionals along with the “band” to save audience members from bleeding out. These nurses have been highly trained to detect the early signs of rabies and, for some reason, lupus. Probably an administrative mix-up in there somewhere.
I guess it’s also possible this means that the band Nurses will be touring with Le Loup on a trip through the U.S. and Canada to promote their respective new albums. Le Loup, after all, is releasing Family on September 22 via Hardly Art, and Nurses already put out Apple's Acre on the Dead Oceans label a couple weeks ago. But no, that would be waaaaaaaay less crazy.
Take some self-defense classes first:
10.09.09 - Baltimore, MD - The Ottobar
10.10.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Kungfu Necktie
10.11.09 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
10.13.09 - Cambridge, MA - TT the Bear's
10.14.09 - Montreal, QC - Il Motore
10.15.09 - Toronto, ON - The Drake Hotel
10.16.09 - Chicago, IL - Schubas
10.17.09 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry
10.18.09 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown Jr
10.19.09 - Denver, CO - Hi Dive
10.20.09 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court
10.22.09 - Vancouver, BC - The Biltmore Cabaret
10.23.09 - Seattle, WA - Chop Suey
10.25.09 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
10.27.09 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill
10.28.09 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo
10.29.09 - Costa Mesa, CA - Detroit Bar
10.30.09 - San Diego, CA - Casbah
10.31.09 - Tucson, AZ - Plush
11.02.09 - Austin, TX - The Mohawk
11.03.09 - Dallas, TX - Cavern Ale House
11.05.09 - Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn
11.06.09 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
11.07.09 - Washington, DC - Black Cat
What This Country Needs Right Now Is a Robert Pollard DVD! Good News, There’s One Coming Out
The moments between new releases by Robert Pollard are few and far between, so we must use them wisely. Fill them with wonderful times with your friends and family. Enrich yourself with fine literature and film. Spend time outside appreciating the great outdoors. Discover your true self and how you view the world. Then once your time is occupied by the next Robert Pollard release, you’ll know you didn’t spend the downtime in vain.
Or you could forgo that and fill your life with even more Robert Pollard. Thanks to the good folks at Rockathon and MVD Visual, your precious eyeballs can feast on the glorious Pollard goodness contained on the new DVD, The Devil Went Home and Puked, out October 20. One need not even settle for one era of Pollard, as the film is a video collage consisting of footage from every era of Guided By Voices and solo Pollard since 1994, along with early GBV studio footage. Sounds like a lot of Uncle Bob, but to ensure that you will never find yourself Pollard-less, the DVD also contains nine hard-to-find music videos. If you’ve been spending all your Pollard downtime scouring GBV message boards looking for the video for “Circle Saw Boys Club” or “I-Razor,” then you may now rest, for your search is over.
As for news concerning what Pollard’s been working on lately, I don’t think he’s planning on putting anything out soon. I think he’s probably going to take it easy for a while. Just playing!
St. Vincent Plots 24-Date Fall Tour, Picks Out 24 Outfits Ahead of Time
Okay, okay. White flag. I’ll be the first male admit it: Annie Clark (a.k.a. St. Vincent is proof-positive of ye olde time-honored axiom that “Girls Rule, Boys Drool.” She’s cool, confident, and funny; she bros down and hangs out with dudes all day for months at a time, she covers The Beatles without fear (or even too much reverence), she releases top-notch records like this year’s Actor (TMT Review); she hangs out with Grizzly Bear; she’s a hell of a lot more lucid than that Marnie Stern; she presumably sweats up a storm at all of her shows while shredding the nickel-wound fuck out of that souped-up Harmony guitar like Thurston Greenwood... And yet, through all of that, her lipstick stays just perfect. If that’s not the model of a 21st-century career woman, I don’t know what is.
Don’t believe me? Well, hear the woman roar yourself this fall when Clark and her band of merry men criss-cross the U.S. on yet another victory lap for rock chicks everywhere. Though... actually, now that I think about it, I’m not so sure that the Annie-Clark-ruling-while-boys-drool thing is really all the Women’s Lib victory thing that it’s cracked up to be, since, in this case, the boys are actually just drooling at her. And hell, from the shows I’ve seen, most of the girls are just drooling at her too.
St. Vincent tour:
09.29.09 - Indianapolis, IN - The Murat Theater
09.30.09 - Columbia, MO - The Blue Note
10.01.09 - St. Louis, MO - Firebird
10.03.09 - New Orleans, LA - Tipitina's
10.05.09 - Birmingham, AL - WorkPlay Soundstage
10.07.09 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
10.08.09 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
10.09.09 - Asheville, NC - Orange Peel
10.10.09 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
10.12.09 - Charleston, SC - Mic Farm
10.13.09 - Knoxville, TN - Bijou Theatre
10.14.09 - Cincinnati, OH - Bogart's - Front Room
10.16.09 - Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon
10.17.09 - Madison, WI - Pabst Theater
10.18.09 - Birmingham, AL - The State Theatre
10.19.09 - Minneapolis, MN - Southern Theatre
10.20.09 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
10.21.09 - Buffalo, NY - Asbury Hall @ Babeville
10.22.09 - Ithaca, NY - Castaways
10.24.09 - South Portland, ME - South Portland High School
10.25.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
10.26.09 - South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground Ballroom
10.27.09 - Providence, RI - Lupo's
10.28.09 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
More More More: Kurt Vile Announces Big U.S. Fall Tour in Support of Matador Debut
Kurt Vile (not to be confused with Kurt Weill, who is totally dead and who my boss keeps thinking I am talking about when I talk about Kurt Vile) will be heading out on a monster tour this fall in support of his forthcoming Matador debut, Childish Prodigy (TMT News).
Last week, Vile played shows in Jersey City, NJ (for WFMU) and Philadelphia, PA, but starting this week, he will be touring the West Coast non-stop until early September. He'll take a roughly month-long break before embarking on yet another extensive U.S. leg. that'll take him ALL OVER THE PLACE.
For more information, check out his MySpace.
Kurt Vile tourdates:
08.25.09 - Santa Ana, CA - Galaxy Theature #%
08.26.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Troubador % !
08.27.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex
08.28.09 - Santa Barbara, CA - Muddy Waters %
08.29.09 - Big Sur, CA - Big Sur (Mexican Summer/Folk Yeah fest)
08.30.09 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill % !
09.01.09 - Portland, OR - Berbati’s Pan %!
09.02.09 - Eugene, OR - Basement 1287 ^
09.03.09 - San Francisco, CA - House Party ^
09.04.09 - Sacramento, CA - TBA ^
09.05.09 - Los Angeles, CA - FYF Fest ^
10.02.09 - Philadelphia, PA - AKA Music
10.03.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Kungfu Necktie
10.07.09 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
10.08.09 - Poughkeepsie, NY - Vassar College
10.11.09 - Lexington, KY - Al’s Bar (WFRL’s Boomslang After Show)
10.12.09 - Bloomington, IN - Video Saloon
10.13.09 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
10.14.09 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry
10.17.09 - Seattle, WA - High Dive &
10.18.09 - Portland, OR - Holocene ^ &
10.21.09 - San Francisco, CA - Hemlock Tavern
10.22.09 - Santa Cruz, CA - Crepe Place
10.23.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Spaceland
10.25.09 - San Diego, CA - Casbah
10.27.09 - Tempe, AZ - Modified Arts
10.29.09 - Lubbock, TX - Bash Riprocks
10.30.09 - Austin, TX - Mohawk
10.31.09 - Dallas, TX -Lounge on Elm Street
11.02.09 - Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone *
11.03.09 - Atlanta, GA - 529 *
11.05.09 - Washington DC - Black Cat
# Built to Spill
% Woods
^ Eat Skull
& Crystal Stilts
* Lovvers
! Dungen
[Photo: Justin Clowes]
Senator Al Franken to Attend the Future of Music Coalition’s Policy Summit
From October 4-6 in Washington D.C., various music industry nerds will come together to discuss riveting topics like "Ten Years after Napster," "Future of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act," and "Intellectual Property, Privacy & Network Rights." Making an appearance at this year's Future of Music Coalition’s Policy Summit will be everyone’s favorite liberal comedian/Senator: Al Franken. Whilst America rages in battles over health care reform, climate change, and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Senator Franken has shown admirable courage in getting the country’s priorities straight. Sure, there may be 46 million Americans without health insurance and the country accounts for a quarter of the world’s carbon emissions, but are we really going to be concerned about that when online pirates are out of control, musicians aren’t fairly compensated for their labor, and copyright becomes a laughing stock?
The question on everyone’s lips should be: Does one of America’s most famous senators support the war on illegal file-sharing? The political debate in this country drastically needs to turn to these important issues, now.
(I'm just joking around, kids. Find more info about the Future of Music Coalition's Policy Summit here.)
RIP: Dean Turner of Magic Dirt
From The Australian:
Hundreds of fan tributes have appeared on Australian band Magic Dirt's website following the news of bass player Dean Turner's death from cancer.The 37-year-old founding member of the Geelong had been suffering from the disease for more than a year and died on Friday.
Magic Dirt began their career in the early 1990s and went on to become a staple of the Australian touring and festival circuit with their guitar-driven punk pop.
The band, fronted by Adalita Srsen, had success with albums such as Friends in Danger and What Are Rockstars Doing Today. They had just begun an Australian tour at the time of Turner's death.
- Magic Dirt official website
- Magic Dirt MySpace
- Magic Dirt Wikipedia entry
David Sylvian Discovers Manafon; It Turns Out to Be a Welsh Village
If you're well into your 20s and it's only today when you realized the overtone of sarcasm in the uber-expensive Ten reissue that you got as a birthday present from your elder brother (36, landscape designer), well here's your chance to get even by purchasing him David Sylvian's highly conceptual deluxe-edition of Manafon, which should fit perfectly in his bookcase, right next to the never-opened Baudelaire bilinguas. If you feel like spending more and want me to tell you what to buy, you can either get a standard edition for yourself (that will look equally cool next to Crying Light) or, say, Fuck Yeah Fest Fest tickets. Choose wisely.
Despite the pretentious title, website, and wordy release notes full of abstract nouns used by grown-ups to write about minimalist art objects, the album sampler for David Sylvian's new album on SamadhiSound sounds promising. It's also said to be a “sister album” to Blemish (TMT Review), with Fennesz adding his two glitchy cents.
But it's a pity Mr. Sylvian doesn't seem to care about state parks.
Manafon tracklist:
1. Small Metal Gods
2. The Rabbit Skinner
3. Random Acts of Senseless Violence
4. The Greatest Living Englishman
5. 125 Spheres
6. Snow White in Appalachia
7. Emily Dickinson
8. The Department of Dead Letters
9. Manafon
Mario Speedwagon’s Under The Radar News Round Up: Daniel Johnston Goes On Tour in Support of New LP; Vic Chesnutt To Release New LP and Tour; J. Tillman Has A New LP Too
- Daniel Johnston (pictured) will be heading out on tour this fall in the US and in Europe. His tour kicks off on September 3 in Portland, Oregon and ends November 11 in The Netherlands. According to his publicist, Is and Always Was, Johnston's first studio album in 7 years, is set for release in October this year. More details on the tour can be found at his official website.
- Vic Chesnutt will release his latest record, At The Cut on September 22 via Constellation Records. The new album features Guy Picciotto of Fugazi and members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Thee Silver Mt. Zion. This will be his 16th record, since releasing his first record 19 years ago. He'll hit the road with Guy and Godspeed members in support of the record. The tour kicks off October 23 in Ottowa, Ontario and ends December 5 in Austin, TX at the Central Presbyterian Church. Details on the tour can be found at the Constellation site. And check out this “Chain” MP3 from the new LP.
- J. Tillman will unleash a new LP on September 22 called Year In The Kingdom. This is J. Tillman’s sixth album. As you know, he is also in Fleet Foxes and will be on tour with them for all of August and most of September. He will embark on his own tour in support of his new record in the fall.
BTW, I’ve been laughing at this all day: The Number To Heaven.
Pyramids and Nadja Collaborate on New LP, Because Sometimes the World Just Makes Sense
Pyramids are a metal band whose sound is based on droning guitars and shoegaze textures. They are from Denton, Texas. Last year, they put out an acclaimed self-titled record (TMT Review) on Hydra Head. That particular album also possessed last year’s best album art, according to us.
Nadja are a metal duo (Aiden Baker and Leah Buckareff) whose sound is based on droning guitars and shoegaze textures. They are from Toronto, Canada. They have put out a number of albums on respected labels like Alien8 and Robotic Empire. None of their album covers are quite as good as that Pyramids one, but this one is pretty neat.
And so, in a move that makes an incredible amount of sense, Pyramids and Nadja have collaborated on a new LP, which is coming out October 27 on Hydra Head. The collective six members of the two groups play on all four of the record’s tracks, though with help from a pretty extensive guest list. Like most things involved with this project, all these guests make a certain amount of sense: Simon Raymonde of '80s legends Cocteau Twins and This Mortal Coil, Albin Julius of Austrian psych-rock project Der Blutharsch, Chris Simpson of '90s emo group Mineral, Colin Marston of tech-metal giants Dysrhythmia, and James Plotkin of black metal band Khanate, who produced the record. Assuming the world continues making sense at this rate, the album will likely contain lots of pretty drones, ambient textures, and long, dirge-like songs. Then again, maybe it’ll wind up sounding like a synth-pop record.
Pyramids With Nadja tracklisting:
1. Into the Silent Waves
2. Another War
3. The Sound of Ice and Grass
4. An Angel Was Heard to Cry Over the City of Rome
Elvira Called... She Wants Her House Band Back: The Horrors Hit the Long, Winding, Spoooo-key Road
Some say it was the constant presence of Wheaties next to the cases of Tru Blood on their backstage rider. Others claim bringing in author Craig Silvey, Portishead's Geoff Barrow, and video maverick Chris Cunningham to help produce their second album, Primary Colours, in turn produced an inspired, unexpectedly brilliant recording. Still more state that it is all just a natural part of the group puberty process, creating the perfect storm of nut fuzz and songwriting chops. Whatever the impetus, The Horrors have transformed themselves from an interesting but novel, neo-goth, Cramps-influenced act to something altogether different and better. True, the caretaker chic is still donned with all-too-knowing nonchalance and they still use nicknames stolen from "Munsters" stagehands (Spider Webb? Coffin Joe? Relatively Dour Pete?) but the quality of Primary Colours cannot be refuted.
The dark-hearted quintet get a big chance to convince the great unwashed and made-up of North America of their new-found powers starting September 15 in Boston during a live stretch which will see them travel from coast to coast to coast. Also included below are three NYC dates supporting Nine Inch Nails (at the behest of super-fan Trent Reznor) and a mausolean U.K. and European tour that Maiden would have trouble pulling off. You will notice that The Horrors are playing a gig on Halloween night but there are no shows on Elm Street or at a House on Haunted Hill or on a Friday the 13th or at The Last House on the Left or with Rosemary's Baby as support or Bride of Chucky as caterer? Bah, they have changed!
I wear black on the outside because black is how I feel on the inside of these cities and venues:
08.22.09 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom #
08.23.09 - New York, NY - Webster Hall #
08.25.09 - New York, NY - Terminal 5 #
08.28.09 - Reading, England - Reading Festival
08.29.09 - Paris, France - Rock en Seine Festival
08.30.09 - Leeds, England - Leeds Festival
09.05.09 - London, England - Offset Festival
09.11.09 - Isle of Wight, England - Bestival
09.12.09 - Dorset, England - End of the Road Festival
09.15.09 - Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
09.06.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s
09.07.09 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
09.18.09 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar, Club Stage
09.19.09 - Washington, DC - Black Cat
09.21.09 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl
09.22.09 - New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jacks
09.24.09 - Houston, TX - Walter’s on Washington
09.25.09 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
09.26.09 - Austin, TX - Emo’s (outside)
09.28.09 - Tempe, AZ - The Clubhouse
09.29.09 - San Diego, CA - The Casbah
09.30.09 - Costa Mesa, CA - The Detroit Bar
10.01.09 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theater
10.02.09 - Pomona, CA - The Glass House
10.03.09 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
10.05.09 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
10.06.09 - Seattle, WA - Neumo’s
10.07.09 - Vancouver, BC - Venue
10.10.09 - St. Paul, MN - Turf Club
10.11.09 - Chicago, IL - Double Door
10.12.09 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
10.14.09 - Toronto, ON - Lee’s Place
10.15.09 - Montreal, QC - Petit Campus
10.16.09 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
10.17.09 - Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell’s
10.31.09 - Brussels, Belgium - Botanique
11.01.09 - Ghent, Belgium - Minnemeers
11.02.09 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg, old room
11.03.09 - Nijmegen, Netherlands - Doornroosje
11.04.09 - Utrecht, Netherlands - Tivoli
11.06.09 - Cologne, Germany - Underground
11.07.09 - Hamburg, Germany - Uevel & Gefaehrlich
11.08.09 - Aarhus, Denmark - Voxhall
11.09.09 - Copehagen, Denmark - Vega
11.10.09 - Berlin, Germany - Lido
11.12.09 - Munich, Germany - 59 to 1
11.13.09 - Vienna, Austria - Szene
11.15.09 - Lausanne, Switzerland - Le Romandie
11.16.09 - Zurich, Switzerland - Abart
11.18.09 - Rome, Italy - Circolo Degli Artisti
11.19.09 - Florence, Italy - Flog
11.20.09 - Ravenna, Italy - Bronson
11.21.09 - Turin, Italy - Spazio 211
11.23.09 - Toulouse, France - Le Phare
11.24.09 - Barcelona, Spain - Razzmatazz
11.25.09 - Madrid, Spain - Joy Eslava
11.27.09 - Bordeaux, France - Theatre Barbey
11.28.09 - Nantes, France - Olympic
11.30.09 - Paris, France - Trabendo
12.05.09 - Minehead, England - All Tomorrow's Parties, Butlin's Holiday Camp
12.08.09 - Birmingham, England - LG Arena
12.09.09 - London, England - O2 Arena
12.11.09 - Bridlington, England - Bridlington Spa
12.12.09 - Manchester, England - Manchester Central
12.14.09 - Glasgow, Scotland - SECC
# Nine Inch Nails
