No Fun Fest Moves to Sweden This Fall (A News Article in One Movement, With Swedish Stereotypes In Tow)

By Kenny Bloggins on

Majestic fjords, well-designed minimalist furniture on the cheap, blonde hair and blue-eyed mensch, and... armies of hooded sweaty dudes fist-pumping to C. Spencer Yeh's face-melting violin thrash. That's right, the infamous New York-based No Fun Fest (TMT Review), the nation's largest festival celebrating grating noise, is packing its IKEA bags and taking the freak wagon to Stockholm September 18-20 for No Fun Fest... SWEDEN EDITION!

The lineup reads like a who's who in all that is horrifying -- Wolf Eyes, Religious Knives, Hair Police, Emeralds, Burning Star Core, Prurient, Hivemind, Astral Social Club, and plenty more. For only 75 Euros (more expensive for us Yanks, of course), you get all three days at Fylkingen. These tickets go on sale July 1; single-day passes will be available July 20.

So, throw them horns up, raise a Ölglas, and tipsa en vän (got these translations from the Internet -- might totally be wrong).

Here are the confirmed acts so far:

Wolf Eyes / Emeralds / Carlos Giffoni / Noveller / Dead Machines / Burning Star Core / Oneohtrix Point Never / Hair Police / Regression / Religious Knives / Putrefier / Sons of God / Prurient / Testicle Hazard / Astral Social Club / Sten Ove Toft / Dylan Nyoukis / CM von Hausswolff / Enema Syringe / Studio SS / Sewer Election / Family Battle Snake / Dror Feiler / Family Underground / Hivemind

There Were Plants and Birds and Rocks and Things… And a New Arctic Monkeys Album in August

By David Nadelle on 06-02-2009

Write this down, because it’s pretty rare that you’ll read a Richard Jeni bit in a TMT news story. Talking about America's classic rock track “Horse with No Name,” the comedian mocks, “You’re in the desert. You got nothing else to do. Name the freakin’ horse!” Too true! Throw me in the desert with the same horse for a couple of minutes and I would have had multiple made-up monikers, a plausible back-story, and 16 dishes prepared from his carcass.

Like or very unlike the non-threatening 1970s folk-tinged rock troupe, cheeky Sheffield quartet Arctic Monkeys have announced details of their much-anticipated third album but have yet to name it. No matter, really, because all else is known. The 10-track album, which was recorded by Josh Homme in Los Angeles and James Ford in Brooklyn, will be released August 24 by the band’s label Domino. Besides, there’s plenty of time to christen the record. Let’s hope they don’t decide on something terrible like Favourite Worst Nightmare... oh shit, sorry!

1. My Propeller
2. Crying Lightning
3. Dangerous Animals
4. Secret Door
5. Potion Approaching
6. Fire and the Thud
7. Cornerstone
8. Dance Little Liar
9. Pretty Visitors
10. The Jeweller’s Hands

What would summer be without girls screaming at boys on festival stages? Summer with boys screaming at girls on festival stages? Girls screaming at girls? Boys screaming at boys? Probably a combination of all of the above. Regardless, when the Arctic Monkeys take any stage, there will be screaming and plenty of smiling, for they are one of the best live times around. Strangely, the boys are only scheduled for two British festival dates so far: the back-to-back Leeds and Reading festival gigs at the end of August. I’m guessing there will be more announced soon, but in the meantime, check out the many other shows confirmed, beginning with a bloc of concerts in Eastern Europe in July.
07.02.09 - Gdynia, Poland - Open’er Festival
07.04.09 - Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic - Rock for People
07.05.09 - Vienna, Austria - Vienna Arena
07.07.09 - Split, Croatia - Prokurative
07.09.09 - Novi Sad, Serbia - Exit Festival
08.01.09 - Jersey City, NJ - All Points West Festival
08.02.09 - Montréal, QC - Osheaga Festival
08.13.09 - Oslo, Norway - Oya Festival
08.14.09 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Way Out West
08.15.09 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Beat Day Festival
08.21.09 - Erfurt, Germany - Highfield Festival
08.22.09 - Hasselt, Belgium - Pukkelpop Festival
08.23.09 - Biddinghuizen, Holland - Lowlands Festival
08.28.09 - Leeds, England - Leeds Festival
08.29.09 - Reading, England - Reading Festival
11.06.09 - Paris, France - Zenith

No Age, Deerhunter, and Dan Deacon Reveal Collaborative Tourdates; Collective Cry of “HOLY FUCKING SHIT THEY SKIPPED MY CITY” Is Heard in Places That Don’t Matter

By Annapocalypse on 06-02-2009

By now, most of you know that No Age, Deerhunter, and Dan Deacon announced a month ago that they were all planning to tour together this summer. By now, the drool puddle under your dropped jaw has been cleaned up, you’ve put on some clean underwear, and your enormous boner has gone flaccid/vagina has gone dry -- but prepare to go through it all again. Yes, the full tour itinerary for this round robin-y three-way band extravaganza has finally been revealed! However, unless you live in (or near) the East coast or the Midwest, it looks like you’re out of luck this time. All complaint emails can be sent to playmycity@heywhyarentyoufuckersplayingmycity.com.

No Deerhunter Age Deacon:
08.01.09 - Medford, NJ - Flying W Airport & Pool
08.02.09 - Brooklyn, NY - Jelly Space 2009
08.03.09 - Millvale, PA - Mr. Smalls Theatre
08.04.09 - Newport, KY - Southgate House
08.05.09 - Bloomington, IN - Rhinos
08.06.09 - Madison, WI - UW Madison Memorial Terrace
08.07.09 - Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall Ballroom

No Age:
06.04.09 - Santiago, Chile - Industria Cultural
06.05.09 - Port Alegre, Brazil - Parc Fest at Manara
06.06.09 - Sao Paulo, Brazil - Clash Club
06.07.09 - Buenos Aires, Argentina - La Trastienda
06.12.09 - Seattle, WA - Triple Door
06.13.09 - Los Angeles, CA - The Standard Hotel
06.18.09 - Toronto, Ontario - Whippersnapper Space
06.19.09 - Toronto, Ontario - Lee’s Palace
06.20.09 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Biltmore Cabaret
06.27.09 - Hollywood, CA - Hollywood Palladium

Deerhunter:
06.02.09 - Helsinki, Finland - Travasita
06.04.09 - Tokyo, Japan - O-Nest
06.05.09 - Kyoto, Japan - Club Metro
06.07.09 - Nagoya, Japan - KD Japon
06.08.09 - Tokyo, Japan - O-West
06.09.09 - Osaka, Japan - Fandango
06.11.09 - Sydney, Australia - Manning Bar
06.12.09 - Melbourne, Australia - Corner Hotel
06.13.09 - Brisbane, Australia - The Zoo
06.15.09 - Auckland, New Zealand - Kings Arms
06.16.09 - Wellington, New Zealand - San Francisco Bathhouse
06.18.09 - Melbourne, Australia - Corner Hotel
06.20.09 - Sydney, Australia - The Annandale Hotel
07.23.09 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom
07.24.09 - Seattle, WA - Capitol Hill Block Party
08.07.09 - Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza
08.28.09 - San Francisco, CA - Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival
09.12.09 - Monticello, NY - All Tomorrows Parties NY

Dan Deacon:
06.02.09 - Manchester, England - Manchester Club Academy
06.03.09 - Dublin, Ireland - Andrews Place
06.04.09 - Dublin, Ireland - Andrews Place
06.05.09 - London, England - ULU
06.06.09 - Cherbourg, France - Terra Trema
06.07.09 - Brussels, Belgium - Botanique-Orangerie
06.08.09 - Amsterdam, Netherlands Paradiso (solo)
06.12.09 - Boston, MA - ICA (Ultimate Reality)
06.13.09 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar (solo)
06.20.09 - Cleveland, OH - Cleveland Museum of Art (solo)
08.08.09 - Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza

Neutral Milk Hotel-Sponsored Paragon Carousel Wins Popular Vote, Given $100k Grant

By Ze Pequeno on 06-01-2009

It's hard being a hipster these days. With your favorite scene being crushed and co-opted by capitalism, it's hard not to feel vain and vapid. It's even harder to deny that you've become increasingly shallow towards others in an attempt to maintain individuality by postmodernizing your existence to oblivion. But does that necessarily make you a bad person? No! You can still do good, especially when your favorite band of old asks for help.

Case in point: The Paragon Carousel, based in Hull in northern Massachusetts. A beautiful early 20th-century carousel, the Paragon Carousel is likely reminiscent of the old carousels you rode when you were a kid, with its screechy tunes and wooden horses. But it's gotten old, and it needed help. In the running for a $100,000 grant from Partners In Preservation that would help in restoring and preserving the antiquated amusement machine, we reported in April that Julian Koster, speaking on behalf of Jeff Mangum and Neutral Milk Hotel, had sent a public letter, beseeching fans to vote daily for the Paragon. A few days before the May 16 deadline, the Carousel was leading with 14% of the vote, 2% above the old Salem City Hall.

Now, two weeks ago -- which means it's still current news in the indie music blogosphere -- it was announced by Partners in Preservation (and reported by local newspapers) that the Paragon won the popular vote, guaranteeing a $100,000 grant from the initiative. The Carousel thanked everyone for their involvement and is celebrating with several events this summer.

Who's to say hipsters aren't kind?

Beach House Head to Europe with Vetiver, Continue to Have Best Promo Shots Ever

By Liz Louche on 06-01-2009

Once again, Beach House are heading overseas for a brief European tour, and once again they are keeping any new information which might give this story depth or, say, interest, under wraps. If you’re a fan of the Baltimore-based dream-pop band, you already know the basics: the duo consists of guitarist/keyboardist Alex Scally and vocalist/organist Victoria LeGrand, who is the niece of French film composer Michel LeGrand and Christiane LeGrand, a vocalist in the Jacques Demy films The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Young Girls of Rochefort. But back to the band. They have two full-length albums on Carpark Records, the self-titled Beach House and Devotion (TMT Review), under their belts, as well as a Queen cover on the Red Hot Organization’s benefit album, Dark Was the Night (TMT Review). (They also have some of the best promo stills I’ve ever seen, which is good because, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, blah blah etc., and as I have previously complained, the duo is keeping it enigmatic about any further biographical info than what we already know.)

They’ve been touring pretty regularly, and are fresh off an appearance at Washington’s Sasquatch festival. This summer you can catch them bringing their lo-fi ethereal sounds to select European cities, accompanied by freak-folk stalwarts Vetiver.
08.14.09 - Oslo, Norway - Oya Festival
08.15.09 - Malmo, Sweden - Malmo Festival
08.16.09 - Berlin, Germany - Dot Club *
08.17.09 - Hamburg, Germany - Knust *
08.18.09 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso *
08.19.09 - Paris, France - Nouveau Casino *
08.21.09 - London, UK - Union Chapel *
08.22.09 - Brecon Beacons, UK - Green Man Festival

* Vetiver

Wavves Cancel European Tour So Fast Your Head Is Probably Spinning

By Mango Starr on 06-01-2009

Wavves' infamous breakdown last week at Spain's Primavera Sound Festival has now ostensibly led to the cancellation of the group's entire European tour. Apparently the blog hype has gotten to him, according to an apology posted (and then de-posted) over the weekend on Nathan Williams' Ghost Ramp blog. Oh, that and the drinking and the drugs.

Read the apology in full (via P4k):

I think in the back of my head I knew I wasn't exactly mentally healthy enough to continue to tour the way I have been since February. Honest truth is this has all happened so fast and I feel like the weight of it has been building for months now with what seems like a never ending touring and press schedule which includes absolutely zero time to myself. I'm sorry to everyone who has put effort into this and to everyone who supported me. Mixing ecstasy valium and xanax before having to play in front of thousands of people was one of the more poor decisions I've made(duh) and I realize my drinking has been a problem now for a good period of time. Nothing else I can do but apologize to everyone that has been affected by my poor decision making. I made a mistake. Not the first mistake I've made and it for sure wont be the last. I'm human. Don't know why I chose the biggest platform I could imagine to loose my shit, but that's life. You live and you learn.

Expect Wavves' next album to be a double-disc concept album about a rehabilitated Williams facing and ultimately defeating the demons in his head. Track titles may or may not include: "The Fight (It Goes On)," "Living Is Easy With Your Fly Down," "Seriously, Times Are So Tough Pt. 1 and 2," and "When The Shit Goes Down..."

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