Golden Bloom frontman to perform In the Aeroplane Over the Sea on a ukulele; fans of both the 90s and Tropicália rejoice!

By Max Sebela on

Golden Bloom frontman to perform In the Aeroplane Over the Sea on a ukulele; fans of both the 90s and Tropicália rejoice!

Over the last decade, the music world has had to scramble to fill the void that Neutral Milk Hotel’s absence has left in our collective hearts. Some of us lost ourselves in fan communities. Others began posing as Jeff Mangum on the internet. Some let large rodents out of cages, with the belief that if a gopher saw its shadow, Mangum would be missing for another six weeks. Still others began growing carrot flowers, trying desperately to be their righteous and just kings. None of this has worked to bring back Neutral Milk Hotel in any substantial way.

Shawn Fogel, frontman of the relatively unknown power-pop band Golden Bloom, has his own way of coping with the 10-year lapse in Neutral Milk Hotel activity. And like Roger Greenawalt and Dave Barratt with The Beatles, and Israel Kamakawiwo’ole with Louis Armstrong and Judy Garland, he’s found his comfort in a tiny under-appreciated tropical instrument: the ukulele.

Fogel has committed to the project of rearranging the entirety of In the Aeroplane over the Sea for the ukulele. Remember that part in “King of Carrot Flowers pts. Two & Three” when the music explodes into a mess of distortion? That’s going to be on there… only it’ll be plucked delicately on the ukulele. And that haunting singing saw section in the title track? Well, that’s there too! …only now, it’s going to sound a lot more like a 14-inch, high-pitched guitar. Oh, and “Two Headed-Boy Pt. Two,” which relies on shifts in the guitar melody to create the cathartic conclusion to debatably the most beloved release of the 1990s? That, of course, will be there… only instead of dissonant and timeless, it’s going to remind you of that Caribbean cruise your parents forced you to go on when you were 13.

But in a time when new Mangum material consists mostly of shouting “I think I hear him!” while listening to the The Apples in Stereo’s New Magnetic Wonder and sobbing while watching videos from 2008’s Elephant Six Holiday tour, maybe this is a good thing. Maybe you can hire Fogel to do the set at your 4th of July luau in Brooklyn. And at least he’s not playing the songs under some pun name, trivializing the source material even furth – wait, he’s calling himself Neutral “Uke” Hotel? You’re on your own, Fogel.

Fogel got the idea while working with Barratt and Greenawalt’s aforementioned “The Beatles Complete on Ukulele.” He currently only has one performance scheduled as Neutral Uke Hotel: Friday, May 7 at the Arts at the Armory in Somerville, Massachusetts. Though if this whole thing goes viral, he may be strumming his tiny uke in a city near you, or at least re-recording Loveless on a kazoo.

Oh, and Jeff Mangum will be playing a very short set at the (sold out) Chris Knox benefit in New York on May 6.

• Golden Bloom: http://goldenbloom.net

[Photo: Alicia J. Rose]

Erykah Badu brings New Amerykah to Old America

By Kid Midnight on Apr 22 2010

Erykah Badu wasn’t looking forward to a summer spent looking at the world through a “Window Seat,” so she’s decided to step out from behind the shut-off world of paned glass and head out on a summer tour to see the world from the top of a stage.

The super-sexy soul singer, who recently released her fourth studio album, New Amerykah Part 2 (Return of the Ankh) (TMT Review) on Universal Motown, has announced that she will be spending the end of May and most of June on the road supporting her newest album on the “Out My Mind, Just in Time” tour. The show will feature a revolving door of guests such as N.E.R.D., Bilal, Janelle Monáe, and Roots drummer ?uestlove, depending on the night.

In addition to her solo tour, Ms. Baduizm will also be playing two shows on fellow soul-singer Maxwell’s summer tour, joining recently restarted festival Lilith Fair for a handful of dates, as well as performing at this year’s Lollapalooza.

05.22.10 - Baltimore, MD Pier Six Pavilion ^
05.23.10 - Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre @
05.25.10 - New York, NY - Roseland Ballroom %
05.26.10 - Philadelphia, PA - Tower Theater ^
05.28.10 - Washington, DC - Constitution Hall #@
05.30.10 - Detroit, MI - Chene Park #@
06.02.10 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theater #@
06.03.10 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theater #@
06.05.10 - Memphis, TN - Orpheum Theatre @
06.06.10 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium @
06.08.10 - Kansas City, KS - Midland Theatre @
06.09.10 - St. Louis, MO - Fox Theatre @
06.11.10 - Atlanta, GA - Phillips Arena *
06.13.10 - Houston, TX - Verizon Wireless Theater @
06.14.10 - Dallas, TX - Nokia Theatre
06.16.10 - Denver, CO - The Fillmore Auditorium @
06.18.10 - Oakland, CA - Paramount Theatre @
06.19.10 - Saratoga, CA - The Mountain Winery
06.20.10 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theater @
06.22.10 - San Diego, CA - TBA
06.23.10 - Phoenix, AZ - TBA
06.24.10 - Las Vegas, NV - The Pearl Concert Theater
06.26.10 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden *
06.27.10 - Calgary, AB - Mamahon Stadium (Lilith Fair)
06.28.10 - Edmonton, AB - Northlands Spectrum (Lilith Fair)
06.30.10 - Vancouver, BC - Pitt Meadows Airport (Lilith Fair)
07.02.10 - Ridgefield, WA - Sleep Country Amphitheater (Lilith Fair)
07.03.10 - George, WA - The George Amphitheater (Lilith Fair)
08.04.10 - Raleigh, NC - Time Warner Pavilion (Lilith Fair)
08.08.10 - Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza
08.11.10 - Tampa, FL - Ford Amphitheater (Lilith Fair)

* Maxwell
# N.E.R.D.
^ Bilal
% ?uestlove
@ Janelle Monáe

• Erykah Badu: http://www.erykahbadu.com
• Universal Motown: http://universalmotown.com

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti announce North American summer tour in a spooky “lo-fi” voice

By Nobodaddy on Apr 22 2010

Now that Ariel Pink is “popular” and “awesome” instead of “annoying” and “a confusing Animal Collective joke,” you better believe he’s taking advantage of it. His band’s 4AD debut record, Before Today, will be released worldwide June 8 on CD, LP, digital download, sheet music for castrate, and hand-cranked music box. Meanwhile, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti will be haunting New York’s Mercury Lounge on May 4 for a (sold out) show before heading to Europe to “chill out for a month or two.” Or tour there. I don’t know. Either way, the band, which now consists of Pink (vocals), Tim Koh (bass/vocals), Kenny Gilmore (guitar/vocals), and Aaron Sperske (drums/vocals), will then return to North America on July 9 for a triumphant run of North American dates to support that new record.

In case you were wondering, Before Today was recorded in Encino at the House of Blues (once Tito Jackson’s home studio) with Sunny Levine (grandson of Quincy Jones!) and Rik Pekkonen (Bill Withers, Seals & Crofts, Bread), as well as at the band’s home studios. Prior to its release, the band will release “Round and Round” (backed with “Mistaken Wedding”) as a limited edition 7-inch and digital download single on April 26. As a bonus, REAL FANS can hear “Round and Round” at the Chocolate Grinder right now and new subscribers to the band’s mailing list can also download the track as a free MP3 here. Poseurs will be kicked in their digital asses out the digital door.

Ariel Pink’s Haunted North America:

05.04.10 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
07.09.10 - Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex
07.10.10 - San Francisco, CA - Bimbo’s
07.12.10 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir
07.13.10 - Seattle, WA - Neumos
07.14.10 - Vancouver, BC - Biltmore
07.16.10 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
07.17.10 - Denver, CO - Bluebird
07.19.10 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th St. Entry
07.20.10 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
07.21.10 - Detroit, MI - Pike Room
07.22.10 - Toronto, ON - Mod Club
07.23.10 - Montreal, QC - La Sala Rossa
07.24.10 - New York, NY - The Fillmore / Irving Plaza
07.25.10 - Boston, MA - Middle East
07.27.10 - Philadelphia, PA - JB’s
07.28.10 - Washington, DC - Rock N Roll Hotel
07.29.10 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
07.30.10 - Atlanta, GA - Earl
07.31.10 - Birmingham, AL - Bottletree
08.02.10 - Denton, TX - Hailey’s
08.03.10 - Austin, TX - Mohawk
08.05.10 - Tucson, AZ - Plush
08.06.10 - San Diego, CA - Casbah
08.07.10 - Costa Mesa, CA - Detroit Bar

• Ariel Pink: http://www.arielpinkshauntedgraffiti.com
• 4AD: http://www.4ad.com

M.I.A., you’ve done it again: announces LP release date on an advertising blimp

By Erika H on Apr 22 2010

Blimps can be the harbinger of many things. They are also big, conspicuous parties in the sky — and M.I.A. knows this. Rap-Up reported that a blimp passed over Jay-Z’s set at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival last Friday, with a digital billboard announcing a few M.I.A. festival appearances (HARD Summer Music Festival in Los Angeles and New York [TMT report]) — standard fare for blimp music advertisement, maybe. But then came the release date for her third LP on the ticker: “New Album 6.29.10.” What a way to break the news. (Now imagine if Explosions in the Sky were somehow connected with the Hindenburg.)

• M.I.A.: http://www.miauk.com

Vampire Weekend plans more releases for 2010; are you mad yet?

By E. Nagurney on Apr 22 2010

New York sunshine pop juggernauts/hate-magnets Vampire Weekend released their insanely popular Contra (sequel to 2008’s insanely popular self-titled debut) a mere three months ago, yet they’re already planning more releases for the rest of 2010. In an interview with BBC6 (via TwentyFourBit), frontman Ezra Koenig made reference to “a few little things we’ve worked on that’ll come out this year.” The singer didn’t lay out any specifics on what exactly those releases would be, but he did mention that the group started preliminary talks about their third record almost immediately after finishing Contra. Basically, if you hate these guys, you have a new LP and some extra material to get furious about in the relatively near future.

It’s also worth noting that the BBC6 interview as a whole is ripe with juicy hater bait. Here’s a prime quote for you: “I’m amazed that we even chart anyway frankly a bunch of knuckleheads like us.” You guys have fun with that one.

• Vampire Weekend: http://www.vampireweekend.com

Voxtrot split up, book farewell tour

By Rachel B on Apr 22 2010

You remember Voxtrot… right? Oh, they’re still around, but not for long. The creators of such alt-pop tunes as “Kid Gloves” and “Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, & Wives” had their heyday in 2006-2007, back when blog buzz was still the hot new thing. But alas, all good things… you know.

After just one full-length album and a handful of EPs, Austin-based Voxtrot are calling it quits after embarking on a short farewell tour bitterly titled “Goodbye Cruel World.” Voxtrot’s frontman Ramesh Srivastava wrote on the band’s website: “The career path of Voxtrot was truly one of long, simmering build, explosion, and almost instantaneous decay. Slowly, I am learning to replace any feelings of regret with positive memories of how amazing the whole thing was, and how it has, in an unexpected way, fortified my character.” Awww… goodbye cruel (coughmusicindustrycough) world, indeed!

Check out Voxtrot’s goodbye tourdates below:

05.21.10 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
05.22.10 - Appleton, WI - Lawrence University
05.27.10 - Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex *
05.29.10 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall *
06.03.10 - Austin, TX - Emo’s
06.23.10 - Washington, DC - Black Cat
06.25.10 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom

* International Waters

• Voxtrot: http://www.voxtrot.net

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