Add Some Iron and Wine to Your Diet with a Delicious Extended Tour!
By Liz Louche on Nov 29 2007
There are so many things that one can extend! What about a ladder, or say, a foreign visa? Maybe you feel like getting a tax extension, or doing something similar with your hair? The possibilities don’t stop there, though — oh no! You can extend a warranty or condolences to a loved one. Now I’m sure you’ll agree with me that these are all fine things, but definitely not on the same level of fun as when a favorite artist extends their touring schedule.
That’s what the wonderful Iron and Wine have just done, and in a BIG way!
Our man Sam Beam will transform cities from Cali to Copenhagen this winter with a little iron, a little wine, and a whole lot of haunting lo-fi songwriting. And in honor of Mr. Beam’s hard work, I will extend this article no longer and provide you with a dazzling array of opportunities to see Iron and Wine in a city near (or not so near) you.
* Califone
Note to New Zealand/Australia/Japan RE: Gossip
By Valley Girl Magic on Nov 29 2007
Have you seen The Gossip live? If not, you really need to prioritize and go see them when they come through your town... actually, anywhere NEAR your town. Admittedly, I don't own any of their records, like 2006's Standing in The Way of Control (TMT Review), but I can tell you without hesitation that The Gossip are amazing live.
Why, you ask? One reason is that no matter who Beth Ditto is performing in front of, she acts exactly the same. I have seen this band both in basements and at huge festivals (via live footage), and Beth sings and screams with all her heart, takes her shirt off if it's too hot, and then tells you about watching crap reality TV. She's been on the cover of NME, and she's still the same, awesome queer feminist lady that she was in the basements of Olympia playing for five people. Another reason? I saw them once at this weird show in Berlin, where the sparse audience consisted mainly of middle-aged industry dudes -- she ended the set by making a fake dick with a beer bottle under her dress, before flipping off the audience. It was totally hilarious.
Not to mention that Hannah and Brace are totally electric to watch.
So go already!
Black Lips Add Tourdates, Star in Let It Be (VICE Magazine Readers’ Wettest of Wet Dreams)
By Heidi Vanderslice on Nov 29 2007
About a year ago, I saw The Black Lips do the following on stage: vomit, make out (after vomiting), display gold teeth grilles, spit in the air and catch it... I think you get the point here. And now I hear they're some kinda movie stars and shit? Times have changed, my dears.
Let It Be (and we don't mean no Beatles) drops us down in the trendiest of eras to be nostalgic about: the late ‘80s post-punk American underground rock scene.
The following will be true about this movie:
1. The Black Lips will star as The Band (not that one), representing the tumultuous nature and culture of this time period.
2. It will be produced by Andrew Meyer (Fried Green Tomatoes, The Breakfast Club) and Winn Coslick (The Bottom).
3. It will be directed by producer/director Roger Rawlings (Neurotica).
4. It will contain more than one outfit that falls in a certain magazine's category of "Do."
5. It will begin filming in May of 2008 and feature new tunes from The Black Lips.
The following will be false about this movie:
1. James Vanderbeek will play the supporting role of "all-purpose lameass yuppie white kid who doesn't 'get it.'"
2. The Black Lips will all make out while pouring beer on each other and ride off into the sunset.
3. Michael Douglas will reprise his role in Wall Street.
Here are some tourdates. All true:
Upcoming tourdates:
(Some for now!)
Foo Fighters to Keep On Being All “In Our Faces” by Touring in 2008, Dave Grohl to Solidify Reputation as Aging, Hippie Classic-Rockster by Raising Money to Plant Trees
By Nobodaddy on Nov 29 2007
Is it just me, or is Dave Grohl just rapidly turning into Neil Young?
And it’s not just that they’re really kinda starting to look eerily alike, either.
Granted, the longtime Foo Fighters frontman is probably a good 25 or so years younger than the infamous, squeaky-voiced folk-rocker, but that doesn’t seem to be stopping him from smashing willfully through the boundaries of relevancy and into that same weird, lonely, elder-statesman’s world -- a world where cultural and political ballyhooing, nagging responsibilities to a younger generation, and the pandering of fan-appeasing, self-caricaturing music (ahhhem) all become more important than innovating and writing kick-dick rock songs.
It is seemingly with this new attitude of unapologetic insufficiency that old-man Grohl and his cronies have announced that they will be hitting the road this coming January for a string of dates supporting the comfortably lukewarm Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace, released this past fall on Roswell/RCA.
And, in another move befitting of the aging rock icon-turned-caretaker of his own legacy, Grohl and the Foos’ upcoming tour will feature guest stars aplenty in order to bloat the arrangements and make fans feel like they’re getting their money’s worth of that arena-sized ticket price, including Pat Smear on guitar, Rami Jaffee on keyboards, and Jessie Greene on strings. (Hey, SOMEONE’s got to help the Foos out with all of their Arcade Fire covers and shit.)
But what elder-statesman’s tour would be complete without the classic “never mind my music, support this charity” tag attached? And god bless him; Grohl and co. have actually found a darned worthy one. See, for fans who want to ensure themselves good seats and support a good cause at the same time, a limited quantity of premium tickets for a number of shows will be auctioned off through Ticketmaster, the proceeds from which will benefit local urban tree planting through TreeBank, an online donation system dedicated to urban forest tree planting. Each auction will run for approximately two weeks following each show's on-sale date, and TreeBank will distribute auction proceeds to local "branches" (ha, get it?) for tree planting in every community on the Foo Fighters tour. You can find more information about the program here and here, but not here.
My, my, hey, hey. See you in Saskatoon:
Copyright Alliance (Including RIAA) Sends Ridiculous Poll to Presidential Candidates; Stance on Intellectual Property Enforcement Turns Hella Political
By Hanky Panky on Nov 29 2007
For those smart-but-no-genius students who make it to a university, the California State education system created STAT 100 Intro to Statistics for would-be art and journalism majors as a way to fulfill what would otherwise be a challenging GE math requirement. I took this class two years ago, and if there's one thing I learned, it's that statistics can be manipulated to represent and say whatever you want, and since most people are cheating liars, statistics derived from seemingly innocent polling questionnaires are not to be trusted.
But you didn't have to pass STAT 100 with a C or better to see through the outrageous and innate bias in questions such as "How would you promote the progress of science and creativity, as enumerated in the U.S. Constitution, by upholding and strengthening copyright law and preventing its diminishment?"
This question ACTUALLY appeared on a questionnaire sent out by a coalition of publishing companies last Tuesday. The 44-member, Washington, DC-based Copyright Alliance (made up of such stick-in-the-mud hoity toities as RIAA, Viacom, Microsoft, Walt Disney and the Motion Picture Association of America), sent the questionnaire (along with a letter which can be viewed and criticized here and here) to 17 Democratic and Republican ‘08 presidential candidates, requesting their responses by January 7 in order to inform "the creative community and public at large where our presidential candidates stand on copyright and artists' rights."
Can you see me waving the pirates' red "BULLSHIT!" flag right now? I'm waving!
According to RIAA chief Mitch Bainwol, "When Americans vote, they are making decisions about the values important to them. And one of those values must be a commitment to creativity."
As if sharing copyrighted musical content was a malicious act intent on smiting the despised value of creativity.
"Haha! I've just uploaded an album to my blog because I hate music and the artistic community at large," says the malevolent, digital pirate.
As the questionnaire continues with "How would you protect the rights of creators to express themselves freely under the principles established in the First Amendment?" one gets the feeling that generous, music-loving pirates are being vilified as freedom haters. Which they may well be.
You hating haters, you know who you are. Shame on you.
