Mika Miko Decide to Break Up
After playing together for six years, Los Angeles’ Mika Miko have decided to call it quits, due to new projects, jobs, relationships, and school. In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, guitarist Michelle Suarez spoke at length about the breakup: “There's no bad blood at all, we're all still really good friends,” said Suarez. “We've just been a band since high school and all of us are ready to move onto different things. We started the band for fun and wanted to end on a positive note.” Mika Miko’s 2009 album, We Be Xuxa (TMT Review), will be their final release.
If you’re still hoping to catch Mika Miko live before they say goodbye forever, they are playing Austin’s Fun Fun Fun Fest November 8, and a final farewell show at The Smell is being planned as well. Suarez also revealed that the group plans on releasing one more 7-inch before they call it a day.
RIP: Vic Mizzy, TV and film composer
From the NY Daily News:
Brooklyn-born songwriter Vic Mizzy, who had a string of No. 1 pop hits and penned the memorable theme songs for the 1960s sitcoms "Green Acres" and "The Addams Family," died Saturday. He was 93.Mizzy's popular hits included "Pretty Kitty Blue Eyes" and "The Whole World Is Singing My Song," as well as novelty hits like "With a Hey and a Hi and a Ho-Ho-Ho."
Mizzy said he didn't mind if people remember him only for the finger snaps at the start of the "The Addams Family" theme song, according to a statement from his publicist. After all, he said, "Two snaps got me a mansion in Bel Air."
MPAA Fires Three Anti-Piracy Bosses Because they Failed to Protect the Family
Gangland warfare between copyright holders and file-sharers took a twisted bloody turn for the worse on October 16 when the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) turned in on itself and fired three of its anti-piracy bosses. The MPAA’s general counsel, director of worldwide anti-piracy operations, and the deputy director of internet anti-piracy were all lined up in the company’s garage and disposed of with immediate effect (the general counsel, Greg Goeckner, is being thrown out of his 25-story office at the end of the year).
Film industry sources say that the “three were thrown out because the anti-piracy operations of the MPAA were unsatisfactory, and ‘lacked aggressiveness’” or, in other words, for failing to protect the family. In a delightful euphemism, the MPAA’s anti-piracy division will be renamed as ‘content protection’ – just like the way it wants to “silence” isoHunt’s founder Gary Fung.
These latest developments are likely to result in more belligerent moves against file-sharers, with the copyright holders' favored method of “persuading” lawmakers to take more rapacious action.
Brilliant Colors Debut LP To Come Out On Slumberland; Twee Pop One Step Closer To Killing Lady Gaga and Taking Over the Charts
Legendary post-C86 twee pop label Slumberland has been dishin' out some cool jams lately -- most notably The Pains of Being Pure At Heart and Crystal Stilts -- and it shows no slowing down: next up on its list of must-hear up-and-comers is San Francisco's Brilliant Colors, led by Jess Scott and the now-finalized lineup of Diane Anastasio and Michelle Hill (The Slits). After quickly selling out an EP on Make A Mess Records and a 7-inch on Captured Tracks, Scott and crew are ready to introduce themselves to the LP-buying, EP-hatin' crowd with their first full length, Introducing. Recorded in Portland, OR by Mississippi Records' Alex Yusimov, Introducing will fill your ears with a whole mess of fuzzed-out, crunchy pop songs chock full of Rough Trade, early Flying Nun, DIY twee pop love.
Introducing will hit stores on November 3, just in time to finish off your top records of 2009 list.
Introducing tracklist:
1. I Searched
2. Absolutely Anything
3. English Cities
4. Yell In The Air
5. You Say You Want
6. Over There
7. Mythic
8. Short Sleeves At Night
9. Motherland
10. Should I Tell You
Bonnaroo To Release Live DVD; What's Not Included: That Time You Ate A Lot Of Mushrooms And Accidently Watched The String Cheese Incident For Five Hours
Want to remember all those Bonnaroo performances that you were too, uh, far gone to remember? Well, lucky for you and your stoned companions, Bonnaroo is releasing a live DVD on December 15 via Superfly and A.C. Entertainment, entitled Live From Bonnaroo 2009. The cost for the DVD will be $16.95, and a limited number will be available for pre-order for $15 through the Bonnaroo website. You can check out a trailer for the DVD here.
The complete tracklisting of performances is as follows:
1. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - Outlaw Pete
2. Phish - Down With Disease
3. Beastie Boys - Intergalactic
4. Snoop Dogg - I Want To Love You
5. Elvis Costello with Jenny Lewis and Her Sound - Go Away
6. Ben Harper and Relentless7 - Fly One Time
7. Andrew Bird - Fitz and the Dizzspells
8. The Decemberists - The Wanting Comes In Waves/Repaid
9. Del McCoury Band - Moneyland
10. Coheed and Cambria -Welcome Home
11. Amadou & Miriam - Masiteladi
12. Santigold - LES Artistes
13. Zac Brown Band - Who Knows
14. Passion Pit - Little Secrets
15. Raphael Saadiq - Keep Marching
16. Cage the Elephant - Ain't No Rest
Evangelicals Announce Fall Tour, Refrain from Appearing on EWTN
One of my favorite things to do around 3 AM is watch televangelists on EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network, for those not hip to the lingo). Overly excited folks are always entertaining, but the fervor those guys get from the good lord is especially ace. To awkwardly transition into the point of this story, “Midnight Vignette” from Evangelicals’ second record, The Evening Descends (TMT Review), was one of my favorite songs of last year. No matter how you look at it, evangelicals get a thumbs up in my book.
Only one kind of Evangelicals is going on tour, though, and it’s the band. Good news for psych-rock fans, bad news for Jesus fans, I suppose. Anyway, Oklahoma’s other favorite sons are hitting the road, starting with a hometown Halloween show and charging through November. Word has it they’ll be premiering some new material from their forthcoming new album on these dates, most of which will be opened by Tallahassee’s Holiday Shores
10.31.09 - Norman, OK - Opolis
11.02.09 - Phoenix, AZ - Modified Arts *
11.03.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Echo ^
11.04.09 - San Francisco, CA - Hemlock Tavern *
11.05.09 - Portland, OR - Holocene *
11.06.09 - Seattle, WA - The Vera Project *
11.07.09 - Missoula, MT - The Palace *
11.08.09 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court *
11.09.09 - Denver, CO - Hi Dive *
11.11.09 - Kansas City, MO - The Record Bar *$
11.12.09 - St. Louis, MO - Firebird *
11.16.09 - Washington, DC - The Red and the Black *
11.17.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Kung Fu Necktie *
11.18.09 - Brooklyn, NY - Union Hall *
11.19.09 - Allston, MA - Great Scott *
11.20.09 - Buffalo, NY - Mohawk Place *
11.21.09 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Tavern *
11.22.09 - Chicago, IL - Schubas *
11.23.09 - Bloomington, IN - The Bishop *
* Holiday Shores
^ Port O’Brien
$ Eli August
Judge Declares Ringtones Not Considered Performances, Cell Phone Companies Need Not Pay Royalties
This federal court ruling goes out to all those idiots who think anyone would actually want to hear their cell phone blast the new Kid Cudi song through their shitty one-inch speaker: this week, a federal court ruled that ringtones that are played aloud in public are not an actual performance of an artist’s song, so therefore cell phone providers do not have to pay royalties on them. In the ruling, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote acknowledged the fact that the cell phone provider both has no control over when a ringtone is played and earns no money when it is played.
Oddly enough, what would seem like an obvious case was actually an argument brought to light by the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) earlier this year when it decided to sue several U.S. cell phone providers in order to force them to pay royalties whenever a “performance,” or ringtone, was played. Its argument was that the download rights that providers were already paying weren’t enough. But the court shot down ASCAP because it failed to show infringement of providers or its customers, ruling that a ringtone is not a public performance, like how a radio on the beach blasting the new Kid Cudi song is not considered one either.
Cursive Announce Fall Tourdates, Your Turn-of-the-Millennium Inner-Child is Getting PUUUMPED
Oh, Cursive, Cursive, Cursive... What are we supposed do with you? On the up side, literally almost everyone I know used to listen to you religiously eight or nine years ago. On the down side, that was, you know, eight or nine years ago...
But hey, you’re still here! Rockin’ out, then, are you? How is post-rock these days? “Good?” That’s super. And you released a new record this year after a few years’ absence called Mama, I’m Swolen (TMT Review) on Saddle Creek? What does that sound like, man? Oh right... Cursive... Oh well, hopefully I’ll have a chance to get it from Napster a little later or something. Shouldn’t take too long with my T1 line. I’m not sure what else I have going on today, though.
But for real though, good luck with your headlining dates next month, beginning November 24 at the good old Bottleneck in good old Lawrence, KS. I wonder if that one sticker is still there? You know the one I mean. Ah, and I see that you’re wrapping up on the 13th at the Waiting Room in your home town of Omaha, Nebraska, that magical manila-colored City that my friends and I used to want to visit. How’s the scene there, anyway? Post-rocky, I bet.
Oh, but I hear that the Omaha show is for this Lash's 6th Annual Toy Drive thing and that it’s an annual benefit show organized by Omaha musician Larry Dunn for the children of the Porcupine District of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, a.k.a. one of the most impoverished communities in the U.S. Apparently, donations (a.k.a. toys) will be accepted at the show and 100% of those proceeds will go toward buying additional gifts and holiday stockings. Okay, now that’s pretty unassailably cool.
Anyway, I’ll catch you later, Cursive. Right now I’ve got to set up my VCR to record Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? tonight, and programming that thing just always takes for EVER.
Cursive tour:
10.26.09 - Tokyo, Japan - Shibuya O-Nest
10.27.09 - Tokyo Japan - Shindaita Fever
11.24.09 - Lawrence, KS - Bottleneck
11.25.09 - Springfield, MO - Outland Ballroom
11.27.09 - Denton, TX - Hailey’s
11.28.09 - Austin, TX - Mohawk
11.29.09 - McAllen, TX - Cine El Rey
12.03.09 - Mobile, AL - Alabama Music Box
12.04.09 - Pensacola, FL - Sluggo’s
12.05.09 - Orlando, FL - The Social
12.06.09 - Gainesville, FL - Common Grounds
12.07.09 - Atlanta, GA - Lenny’s
12.08.09 - Oxford, MS - Proud Larry’s
12.09.09 - Little Rock, AR - The Rev Room
12.10.09 - Fayetteville, AR - George’s Majestic Lounge
12.11.09 - Columbia, MO - Mojo’s
12.13.09 - Omaha, NE - Waiting Room (Lash's 6TH Annual Toy Drive)
Starfucker Randomly Decide to Drop Name, and Go with PYRAMID Instead
Starfucker, Portland's electro-pop project, have decided to change their band name to PYRAMID, after launching a "name change contest," in which fans suggested new ideas for what Starfucker's name should be. (Other suggestions that didn't make the cut: Rad Stewert, Emergency Landing, $.89 for a Taco, and LVLS.)
Starfucker-- oops, I mean, PYRAMID will be playing one last show as Starfucker at Portland’s Wonder Ballroom this coming Halloween (oh wait, so I did mean Starfucker). PYRAMID's first action as their new persona will then be to self-release their first UK single, titled "Medicine," which currently appears on the Jupiter EP.
If you ask me, Starfucker are in a strange place to be changing their name so suddenly. They've gained moderate attention via their original name and have nowhere to go but up by using it. I suppose they aren't quite well-known enough to gain LOTS of attention, which I'm guessing is their reason for making the switcharoo in the first place. I'm also guessing that the most this name change will do is baffle people. So, here is Starfucker: caught between a famous-but-not-famous-enough rock and a hard place and wanting to change their name. But it just feels like the awkward turtle attempt to look more accessible. Whatevs!
PYRAMID's leftover tourdates are below.
10.31.09 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
11.19.09 - Bristol, UK - Start the Bus
11.20.09 - London, UK - The Garage
11.21.09 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso
11.22.09 - Paris, FR - Point Ephemere*
11.24.09 - London, UK - Flowerpot
11.25.09 - London, UK - Dingwalls^
11.26.09 - London, UK - Notting Hill Arts Club
* Golden Silvers
^ The Filthy Dukes
Performance Rights Act Approved by Senate Committee
The big congressional news last week was that the Senate Finance Committee voted through a health care plan. Much less publicized (but far more important considering all the historical conflicts and tensions) was the approval of the Performance Rights Act by the Senate Judiciary Committee. A similar bill has already been approved by the House Judiciary Committee.
The legislation aims to compensate artists whose music is played on AM and FM radio stations, one that, according to the Executive Director of the musicFIRST Coalition, Jennifer Bendall, rights a wrong that has existed “over the last 80 years.” She described the Committee’s approval as bringing us “one step closer to winning the fight for fundamental justice that has been waged by countless artists and musicians.” Somebody’s been borrowing Obama’s speechwriters!
According to The Wall Street Journal, the legislation “would force radio companies to pay royalties [fees] of as much as $500 million a year to record labels and artists whose music they play.” A survey conducted by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) found that, when the Act was described in this way, 75% of Americans opposed the legislation. Of course, if it was described as “Paying hardworking Americans for their vital labor that entertains millions of radio listeners every week,” then maybe we’d have a different set of results. This correspondent is not biased (bias doesn’t exist on TMT!); I'm just suggesting that NAB could've benefited from a semester in survey design.
Choir of Young Believers Unleash Their Depressing Brand of Nordic Chamber Pop on North America in Person Starting TOMORROW
Believe it. Starting tomorrow, 26-year-old Danish front man Jannis Noya Makrigiannis will take his Choir of Young Believers from Copenhagen to Canada, where the Nordic chamber indie rockers begin their 10-day North American tour, going from Vancouver down the West Coast to LA, then returning Atlantic-side to play multiple shows in New York City (for the CMJ festival), and finally finishing in Chicago. This past spring, Makrigiannis performed in the U.S. as a duo with cellist Ceciele Trier, but has doubled up this time around to perform as a quartet on the following dates:
10.17.09 – Vancouver, BC – Media Club
10.18.09 – Seattle, WA – The Tractor Tavern
10.19.09 – Portland, OR – Holocene
10.20.09 – San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Shop
10.21.09 – Santa Monica, CA – KCRW’s “Morning Becomes Eclectic” Session
10.21.09 – Los Angeles, CA – Spaceland
10.22.09 – New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge
10.22.09 – New York, NY – Piano's
10.23.09 – New York, NY – Cutting Room Studios (KEXP Session)
10.24.09 – New York, NY – Living Room
10.25.09 – Toronto, ON – Horseshoe Tavern
10.26.09 – Chicago, IL – Schuba's
If you’re only acquainted with the anthemic “Action/Reaction,” a peppy track steeped in sunny chord progressions, you might want to familiarize yourself with the rest of This Is for the White in Your Eyes, the band’s blue-tinged 2009 debut, so you can mentally and emotionally prepare for the melancholy makings of Makrigiannis’ brain. The album unfolds like a cathedral: precisely designed, achingly beautiful, echoing in the cavernous recesses of the soul — with the reverb to prove it. But, like my metaphorical structure, it’s also dark and full of shadows, save for where windows let the light in. This choir is singing less hymnal hallelujahs and more you-done-me-wrongs. “Wintertime Love,” for example, features both the most mournful cello I can remember and the saddest collective string section of all time. Based on the steady solemnity of this song, this “wintertime love” who is “hiding the tears above” must have really wreaked some havoc on his heart. I wonder if Makrigiannis will cry on stage during this one. Guess there’s only one way to find out.
