1,2,3 sign to Frenchkiss Records; what, was every other band name taken?
By Annapocalypse on Oct 20 2010
Apparently it’s getting easier and easier to sign to a record label these days. Not only have 1,2,3 only been together for less than a year, but they also have the worst band name in recent memory, if not all of history. Still, the Pittsburgh duo must be doing something right, because Frenchkiss Records have snapped them up and will be releasing their debut album sometime next year.
For now, 1,2,3 are set to start recording the album in New York City this fall, and they have a 7-inch single for “Little Cure” coming out October 25 via Chess Club Records. They’ll also be getting bloggers excited at CMJ tomorrow, October 21, at the Neon Gold/Chess Club showcase at the Public Assembly in Brooklyn.
• 1,2,3: http://www.myspace.com/1comma2comma3
• Frenchkiss: http://www.frenchkissrecords.com
• Chess Club: http://www.chessclubrecords.co.uk
T-shirts! Get your t-shirts here! John Wiese-designed t-shirts for sale!
By Erika H on Oct 20 2010
Wouldn’t it be great if you could buy a band t-shirt that isn’t immediately recognizable? Most shirts (unless they’re metal bands, since nobody can read that shit) become unwearable once your ex-favorite band puts out a lousy album or you discover that their new biggest demographic is teens, ages 14 to 18. Soundscreen Design have a perfect solution: their “Musician as Designer” series, which features non-band-related t-shirt designs by musicians. That way, you can rock a t-shirt by Nick Zinner long after you’ve gotten over Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
The latest installment in the series is a design by John Wiese, whom you may remember as having destroyed your hearing solo or with Sissy Spacek, LHD, or even in his collaborations with Wolf Eyes, Merzbow, sunn 0))), Metalux, and a long list of other noise greats. Wiese’s print — edition 7 — is an eerie design of metallic gold ink on black, even if we can’t tell what the hell those skeletal sketches are. There are only 60 t-shirts of this edition, so you know what to do. John Wiese will never go out of fashion.
• John Wiese: http://www.john-wiese.com
• Soundscreen Design “Musician as Designer” Series: http://www.soundscreendesign.com/apparel/musician-as-designer
Joanna Newsom to NOT appear on The Simpsons; in related news, your mother wants to know when YOU are going to appear on The Simpsons
By Nobodaddy on Oct 20 2010
Self-Titled is reporting that Newsom has shot down the rumor that she’ll be appearing on The Simpsons. Read more here.
I’m guessing that the folks over at TwentyFourBit usually just read Malibu Magazine for fun, but today they just so happened to also stumble across a tantalizing crumb of music news in the process. As the music blog reports, Joanna Newsom and Matt Groening are getting a little chummier than their collaboration on an All Tomorrow’s Parties stage had suggested (sorry, Mrs. Groening).
In a profile with the singer/songwriter/harp-slinger published this week, Malibu lets it slip that Newsom’s indie-polymath hot streak will keep on rolling with a “future scheduled stop with her harp on The Simpsons.” The air date of the cameo seems kinda up in the air at the moment, but if the drawing shown above is any indication, the Simpsons team is better at drawing cartoon harps than they are at, you know, writing scripts that aren’t terrible. But for her part, Newsom just seems psyched to join the yellow ranks of the likes of Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, The White Stripes, and every not-already-dead Beatle. “Holy shit! I’m a Simpson! I made it!” she reacted to the drawing alone. “I don’t need a damn Grammy or anything. That’s the sort of magic all this madness is for.” Amen.
• Joanna Newsom: http://www.dragcity.com/artists/joanna-newsom
• The Simpsons: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN4MFyqmC9A
Pass the popcorn: Metric have a (short) movie and a (short) tour
By Liz Louche on Oct 19 2010
Imagine: Toronto, a peaceful night beneath the heavens. You’re taking in the sights at the Bravo!FACT “Shorts Under the Stars” event, a little bit peeved that this isn’t the convention for shorts enthusiasts you thought it was (as evidenced by the fact that no one else is wearing Tobias-from-Arrested-Development-style “never nude” jean cut-offs), but still pleasantly surprised by the wealth of short Canadian films on display. Then you see it: the debut showing of a film featuring the Metric song “Collect Call.” It’s like a music video, but it’s not! It’s a brief animated film by director Christopher Mills (Interpol, Modest Mouse, The Secret Machines) about a young woman living in “a dark dream in an alternate reality.” Check out the Bravo!FACT site for more info. You can also catch Metric on tour with Glenn Beck’s favorite band Muse this fall.
10.21.10 - Quebec, QC - Colisee Pepsi *
10.23.10 - Uniondale, NY - Nassau Coliseum *
10.24.10 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center *
10.25.10 - Richmond, VA - The National *
10.26.10 - Raleigh, NC - RBC Center *
10.27.10 - Charlottesville, VA - John Paul Jones Arena *
10.28.10 - Atlanta, GA - The Tabernacle
11.14.10 - Victoria, BC - Save on Foods Memorial Centre
* Muse
• Metric: http://www.ilovemetric.com
Hey, Barb! These munchies for the party are great! Do you think I could see them on a fall tour? Munch Munch announce UK tour
By Kid Midnight on Oct 19 2010
Bristol four-piece Munch Munch have been working on a new record (which they call Double Visions, on Upset The Rhythm), and it’s being described like this: “this LP presents a more focused and ambitious side of the band, without losing any of the visceral energy.” But wait: is there ever a point where a band “loses their visceral energy?” If a band did lose their visceral energy, would they tell anyone? And how come bands are always getting “more focused” and “more ambitious” with each new album but the albums always still sound the same?
Anyway, the guys in Munch Munch have scheduled a series of dates throughout the EU in support of the new album, which has been described as made with “a concerted effort to engage with the structures of traditional ‘pop’ song craft, while always being ready to tear up the rule book at any opportunity.”
Most importantly, though, their name is fun to say: Munch Munch.
Munch Munch tourdates:
10.21.10 - Cardiff, UK - SWN Festival
10.30.10 - Bristol, UK - Mountain of 9 @ Arnolfini *
11.09.10 - Glasgow, UK - Captain’s Rest ^
11.10.10 - York, UK - The Duchess ^
11.11.10 - Sheffield, UK - The Harley ^
11.12.10 - Manchester, UK - Islington Mill ^
11.13.10 - Coventry, UK - Taylor John’s House #
11.14.10 - Cambridge, UK - Haymakers #
11.15.10 - London, UK - Cargo #
11.28.10 - Utrecht, Netherlands - Le Guess Who Festival
11.29.10 - Hamburg, Germany - Astrastube
12.07.10 - Nuernberg, Germany - K4
12.08.10 - Zuerich, Austria - Komplex
12.09.10 - Paris, France - La Fleche D’or +
* Xiu Xiu, Mount Kimbie
^ Abe Vigoda
# Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
+ Marnie Stern
• Munch Munch: http://www.myspace.com/munchmunchband
• Upset The Rhythm: http://www.upsettherhythm.co.uk
