Xiu Xiu Now Taking Women as Lovers, Tour
By Hanky Panky on Feb 20 2008
As you well know, in 1975 Mao Tse-Tung's Cultural Revolution was well under way in the People's Republic of China. Intellectuals were sent to labor camps, and the nation's youth were taken out of school and sent into the rural interior to learn the ways of the proletariat and rebuild the fundamental economy. The 1998 film, Xiu Xiu is a fictional account of one such girl's experience of relocation from Chengdu to remote Tibet for re-education and the disenchantment she discovers in the world outside her home.
Thrust into the vast loneliness of the Tibetan plains, Xiu Xiu despairs in a life of alienation and self-destruction, as she is cheated and abused. Her youthful naivety is torn away as she degrades to that of an exhausted victim of liars, trading sex for empty promise after empty promise.
Relentlessly depressing, Xiu Xiu is wholly appropriate as the namesake for Jamie Stewart's San Francisco band of the same name -- while they both make me sob late at night, they're still really really good.
If you like to dance while you're bumming out:
Islands Sign to ANTI- Records, Wonder What Kind of Initiation Tests Tom Waits Has in Mind
By Heidi Vanderslice on Feb 19 2008
Imagine stopping by your record label and realizing you may bump into Tom Waits. He's like the Chuck Norris of the music world, except, you know, talented and relevant and not in possession of any Confederate flags. I could still see Waits somersaulting from behind a desk with some kind of deadly weapon... to make sure you're not Fall Out Boy, of course.
These and other perks are what Islands will be dealing with as they get used to their new home at ANTI-, just in time for their upcoming album, Arm's Way, to hit in May. Sez Island Nick Thorburn, "After more than a year in the frozen pipes, we are beside ourselves (three times) to be presenting what we believe to be our finest work yet, on the finest label we could think of. It's been a long time coming, and it'll be a long time before it's gone." While 2006's Return to the Sea (TMT Review) was certainly nothing to sneeze at, it sounds like we can expect something more from this new record, and who doesn't like a good surprise? Well, maybe their old record label, but hey...
What better way to celebrate the changing of arms than a beef-up of the tour? In cities least likely to be the subject of a teen drama, no less.
No Dawson, No Joey, Many Islands:
Wolf Eyes to Embark on PR Tour
By Mango Starr on Feb 19 2008
About Wolf Eyes
We are the world's largest publicly traded noise group, providing music that helps underpin growing economies and improve living standards around the world of noise.
Who We Are
Our organizational structure is built on a concept of global businesses and is designed to allow Wolf Eyes to compete most effectively in the ever-changing and challenging worldwide noise industry.
What We Do
Wolf Eyes use innovation and technology to deliver music to a growing world. We explore for, produce, and sell noise music and other experimental products.
Integrity In Our Operations
We are committed to meeting the world's growing demand for noise in an economically, environmentally, and socially responsible manner.
PR Tour:
