Phoenix to Release Remix Collection of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, Conquer Playlists of Men with Waist Sizes Under 30

Life is good for the members of Phoenix. Whether sidling their way into the Coppola family, rocking the stages of Saturday Night Live, or sounding cool in a reggae mash-up, Phoenix have been living well as of late. Their latest album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, has garnered rave reviews and is a lock for best-of lists at the end of 2009. So how do they close out the year? By releasing Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Remix Collection), a 15-track digital release that’s pretty self-explanatory.

The album will be released October 20 via Loyaute/Glassnote Records. You can listen to Animal Collective’s remix of “Love Like A Sunset” in the meantime. Tracklist below, which also doubles as a list of their cool friends:

1. Lisztomania (Alex Metric remix)
2. Fences (The Soft Pack remix)
3. 1901 Bo Flex’d (Passion Pit remix)
4. Lasso (2 Door Cinema Club remix)
5. Fences (25 Hrs A Day remix)
6. 1901 (L’aiglon remix)
7. Love Like A Sunset (Turzi remix)
8. Fences (Boombass remix)
9. Lisztomania (A Fight For Love – 25 Hrs A Day remix)
10. Fences (Friendly Fires remix)
11. Armistice (Yacht remix)
12. Girlfriend (Young Fathers remix)
13. Fences (Chairlift remix)
14. Rome (Neighbours with Devendra Banhart)
15. Love Like A Sunset (Animal Collective remix)

It’s Official: China Hates Indie but Loves Beyoncé; Buzzcocks, British Sea Power Banned from Modern Sky Festival

Foreign affairs enthusiasts will know that on October 1 China celebrated its 60th anniversary as the People’s Republic of China. The Chinese authorities also used this opportunity to extol their country’s cultural “purity” by cancelling all foreign acts at an upcoming indie music festival.

Bands including Buzzcocks, British Sea Power, and International Noise Conspiracy (sorry guys the word ‘conspiracy’ really just doesn’t go down well in perennially-insecure China) were scheduled to play at the Modern Sky Festival in Beijing from October 4-7. Foreign acts were due to comprise “over a quarter of the festival's performers.”

China’s Ministry of Culture made it clear that “the city's cultural administration authorities and the cultural and entertainment businesses will redouble their efforts to ‘focus on enforcement, to ensure safety’ in order to eliminate all kinds of security risks... in order to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding [of the People's Republic] in a safe, cultural atmosphere."

China clearly feels that Beyoncé is conducive to a “safe, cultural atmosphere” when it was confirmed that she will be able to bring her “‘I Am...Sasha Fierce’ tour to the Chinese capital for a single show on October 23.”

So it’s official then: indie constitutes a “security risk,” while pop ensures a “safe, cultural atmosphere.” The staff at Tiny Mix Tapes are incensed and begin their boycott of China today with a freeze on all purchases of Chinese food (TMT writers’ staple diet). We hope our fellow indie-lovin’ Americans will follow suit.

Efterklang Sign To 4AD, A Subsidiary of Cap'n Crunch

The good news: jubilant Danish indie-rockers Efterklang have signed to legendary label 4AD. The group plans to release their follow up to 2007’s Parades on the label in early 2010, in all areas except Scandinavia, where they will put it out on their own Rumraket imprint.

Fans waiting for the band’s new record can sate themselves with Performing Parades, a CD+DVD set capturing the band’s September 2008 performance of Parades with the Danish National Chamber Orchestra at Copenhagen's Koncerthuset. Performing Parades will be out October 19 on The Leaf Label.

The bad news: signing to 4AD made Efterklang remember how much they loved This Mortal Coil. They’ve been locked in their room listening to It Will End In Tears for days now. Somebody make sure those boys are okay!

Jawbox to Reissue For Your Own Special Sweetheart; Album Title Still Misleading

Listening to Jawbox’s “FF=66” -- with its spastic guitar and J. Robbins’ shouted lyrics -- you have a hard time imagining that they ever recorded for a major label. But in the early-to-mid 90s, when label heads were sniffing for any Nirvana-like potential, the outliers of years past got fat advances and a little airplay on MTV (when such a thing existed). Of course, the whole experiment of Jawbox recording for Atlantic Records didn’t work out as planned for the label. (Somewhere, a former A&R guy is crushed about signing a band with rampant male pattern baldness and thinking you could market that successfully.)

But Jawbox did release For Your Own Special Sweetheart on Atlantic, probably their most critically acclaimed and revered album. And like all great albums of yesteryear, the album will be getting the reissue treatment from Dischord/DeSoto Records and is slated to come out November 23, 2009. You can purchase it on CD or vinyl, plus the reissue includes three tracks from the Savory + 3 EP.

DeSoto writes that the reissue “is a pretty meaty version of the record, with Zach's drums and Kim's bass getting a thorough re-write, while the guitars enjoy a sprinkling of what ended up being somewhat shallow mid-range in the original.”

RIP: Mercedes Sosa, Argentine folk singer

From The New York Times:

Argentine folk singer Mercedes Sosa, the ''voice of Latin America'' whose music inspired opponents of South America's brutal military regimes and led to her forced exile in Europe, died Sunday, her family said. She was 74.

Her remains lay in state at the National Congress, where thousands of people -- many with flowers or Argentine flags -- lined up to pay respects to one of the region's most iconic voices.

''She was the best ambassador the country ever had,'' said Clara Suarez, 63, holding a bouquet of white flowers outside the Congress.

Sosa was best known for signature tunes such as ''Gracias a la Vida'' (''Thanks to Life'') and ''Si se Calla el Cantor'' (''If the Singer is Silenced''). She had been in the hospital for more than two weeks with liver problems and had since been suffering from progressive kidney failure and cardiac arrest.
Her latest album, ''Cantora 1,'' is nominated for three prizes in next month's Latin Grammy awards in Las Vegas, including album of the year and best folkloric album.

- Mercedes Sosa official website
- Mercedes Sosa Wikipedia entry

Do I Need to Make A Joke About Pot? Snoop Dogg to Tour With Method Man, Redman, Devin the Dude

What’s a guy like Snoop Doggy Dogg to do after being named the new Creative Chairman of EMI Music’s Priority Records? Yeah, I know -- the obvious answers are to smoke a fat blunt or maybe record a new single with cohort/best buddy Dr. Dre, but in a move that will change the industry as we know it, Snoop has decided to simply travel the country and remind you why he’s a righteous dude.

The West Coast legend, global superstar, and scavenger smoker has announced that he will once again be heading out on tour, this time with supporting acts Method Man (oops!), Redman, and Devin the Dude, under the “Wonderland High School Tour” banner. Exactly what they mean by “Wonderland High School” is beyond my understanding, but who gives a shit? It’s Snoop Dogg!

Snoopy will also be using the tour as a way of promoting his upcoming album, Malice N Wonderland, which is slated to be released December 8. Snoop will also be using the tour as a way of smoking a bunch of pot. Yeah, it’s an obvious joke, but hey, I can’t write about Snoop Dogg and not mention pot at least three times.

Hey! Here are the dates:
10.27.09 - Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live
10.28.09 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom
10.29.09 - New York, NY - Nokia Theatre Times Square
10.30.09 - Providence, RI - Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel
10.31.09 - Atlantic City, NJ - House of Blues
11.01.09 - Boston, MA - House of Blues
11.03.09 - Indianapolis, IN - The Vogue Theatre
11.04.09 - Chicago, IL - Congress Theatre
11.05.09 - Minneapolis, MN - Epic
11.06.09 - Kansas City, MO - Harrah's Voodoo Lounge
11.07.09 - Robinson, MS - Events Center @ Harrah's Casino
11.08.09 - Dallas, TX - House of Blues

White Rabbits Kick Off Fall Tour in Support of Their Second Full-length

After touring throughout the South this summer with indie rock buddies The Walkmen and The Fiery Furnaces, Brooklyn's White Rabbits kick off their fall tour in support of their smashing second full-length album It's Frightening (TMT Review). After starting off in our nation’s capital October 17 at the Rock N Roll Hotel, they’ll continue to hop northward through Philly, Western Mass, and all the way up to chilly Canada before heading to the Midwest. Glass Ghost, Local Natives, and fellow Brooklynites The Suckers will be along for the ride on various dates

10.17.09 - Washington DC - Rock N Roll Hotel
10.18.09 - Philadephia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
10.20.09 - Northampton, MA - Pearl St. Cafe
10.21.09 - Providence, RI - Club Hell
10.22.09 - Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
10.23.09 - Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rosa
10.24.09 - Toronto, Ontario - Drake Hotel
10.25.09 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
10.27.09 - Louis, MO - Firebird St

10.29.09 - Columbia, MO - The Blue Note
10.30.09 - Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge
11.01.09 - Phoenix, AZ - The Clubhouse
11.02.09 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey
11.04.09 - San Francisco, CA - Slims
11.05.09 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
11.06.09 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Media Club
11.09.09 - Minneapolis, MN - Cedar Cultural Center
11.10.09 - Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall

Sing It from the Treetops! Half-handed Cloud to Release Rarities Collection

I don't need to tell you that consideration is a thing of the past. If someone isn't driving like a displaced Berserk gang member from Mad Max to get ahead of you at a stoplight then they are cutting their own mother's throats to ensure acquisition of the last bag of Sun Chips at the local 7-11. You don't even have to leave the house to see people's unwillingness to going that extra inch. You are no doubt familiar with the newsletters and press releases that bands and record labels e-mail out and have secretly wished, "Gee whiz, it would be super swell if these good company people did something a little more spiffy to get my attention for their retail product! Hopskipideedoo!" Well, not content to whisk off an e-release to our already over-crowded inboxes with the speed and brevity of a teenager's morning wood discharge into a bedside sweatsock, the Michigan-born, everywhere-based label Asthmatic Kitty did something unique for one of their latest records -- it sent an ancient seer to select online publications to spread the word.

Top analysts Tiger Beat refused to let the prophet in (no gel, no cheekbones, no service) so he shuffled to our door in order to fill his quota. After an awkward introduction, we were face-blasted with a shitstorm of prophetic ranting from the old sage. Then, just as quickly as he had began, he ended his diatribe, tented his fingers, squinted his eyes, and proclaimed, "Half-handed Cloud will release a rarities compilation called Cut Me Down & Count My Rings on November 3 on Asthmatic Kitty. For some reason, he then produced eight "silver gewgaws" (Hershey's Kisses rewrapped in cigarette foil) and stormed off in a fury of tongue-spoken rage. We weren't entirely convinced of this character's character and suspicion was rightfully aroused when he was spotted goose-stepping into an '82 Chevy Caprice with Foghat cranked to a Pitchfork-approved 7.8 on the Pioneer deck. Thankfully, authenticity was re-established when he stopped, reached his bony hand out the window, and stated again, "November 3!"

Cut Me Down & Count My Rings is a 46-song collection by John Ringhofer's Half-handed Cloud and it contains unreleased and previously released songs originally found on harder-to-find vinyl, cassettes, limited CDEPs and CDRs, with zines or on compilations, Christmas-themed releases, a cassingle, and wax cylinders issued during the decade hilariously known as "the noughties." With 46 songs on one disc, Ringhofer takes a minimal approach, with no extended lead-ins, noisy tangents, or solos. For all of this, J Mascis HATES him. Guests include former Wookieback bandmate Brandon Buckner, Cryptacize's Nedelle and Chris Cohen, WHY?'s Yoni Wolf, and an unknown, up-and-coming indiefolk musician named Sufjan Stevens. Ringhofer knows it's good to give a leg up to amateurs. He also knows that extensive song details and immaculate design are destined to make this a magical, mysterious package.

When overwhelmed with dread, drink up these spirituals:

1. You Call Yourself Our Shepherd
2. It’s Better to Follow the Shepherd
3. The Shepherd’s Reach
4. Always Running Away
5. All We Like Sheep Have Gone Astray
6. Good-Good Path
7. What Great Things…!
8. Leaving the Ninety-Nine
9. Clothe Yourself Within Us
10. You Call Yourself Our Shepherd (Reprise)
11. Cot-Roof
12. He’s Not the Swindler We Are
13. Dear John (original version)
14. Was He Really Doubting?
15. Couple Kings Close the Road on a Giant (parts 2-4)
16. Once, Twice, Seven Times a Werewolf
17. Bees Are Trying to Build Their Nest in You
18. Bees Baked a Loaf for Me (or Flour from Flowers?)
19. Who Brought These Up?
20. Isaiah 49
21. Never in Labor!
22. We're Not Getting Well
23. Took Your Tablets
24. I Got a Letter
25. Ten Commandment Tombstone
26. Here's a List
27. Sewing Wind to Fabric
28. Chins
29. Finding
30. Oily
31. Ploughmen
32. Buffet
33. Pause
34. When Overwhelmed with Dread
35. Missing
36. Winding
37. Cut-down
38. Got-it
39. To Fill
40. Loathed
41. Couple Kings Close the Road on a Giant (part 1)
42. Pre-teen Apocalyptic Film Acting (WHY? Medley)
43. Ode to Team Pinecone
44. The * That Moved-Around the Night
45. Plant a Little Fir Tree
46. Home for Christmas

Apple and Eminem’s Publisher Settle Their Legal Dispute

Last week, we reported that the court case between Apple Inc. and Eight Mile, Eminem’s publisher, had begun. The dispute centered around Eight Mile’s claim that Aftermath Records, who controlled the recordings of the little-known white-boy rapper’s music, did not have the authority to strike a deal with Apple to upload his music onto iTunes.

However, on October 2 Eight Mile’s attorney, Richard Busch, revealed the two parties had settled but did not disclose any details.

Anyone know who this Eminem guy is (no-one at TMT has a clue!)?

RIP: DJ Mr. Magic, hip-hop pioneer

From AllHipHop:

Legendary DJ Mr. Magic has died from a heart attack, AllHipHop.com has confirmed with various sources.

Mr. Magic was a legendary DJ who debuted in 1979 on a pay-to-play broadcast on WHBI 105.9's "The Mr. Magic Disco Showcase."

In 1983, he launched "Mr. Magic's Rap Attack," in New York City which featured a young DJ Marley Marl in addition to future Co-Chillin Record label owner Tyrone “Fly Ty” Williams.

- DJ Mr. Magic Wikipedia entry
- DJ Mr. Magic MySpace

Google Removes Pirate Bay from Search Results

Google appears to be suffering from a great deal of "don't kill the messenger" syndrome these days. As much as they'd probably like to sneer at their accusers and say "we're just doing our job," they have little choice but to comply to certain demands, such as weeding out search results the Chinese government deems unsuitable and more recently, taking down Pirate Bay's front page.

Of course, this isn't the first time Google has been asked to take down torrent sites, what with the current war on file sharing and all. Google takes down its content primarily because copyright holders get wind of their material being downloaded for free -- and it would be a lot easier for them if the world's most popular search engine got behind them in stemming the flow of free stuff. The copyright owner (a porn company, in this particular case) then files a DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) complaint, and bam, problem solved... somewhat. The leaked material is still on Pirate Bay, but at least the front page has been removed from Google's search results.

Google's only comments regarding the request go something like this: “In response to a complaint we received under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, we have removed X result(s) from this page. If you wish, you may read the DMCA complaint that caused the removal(s) at ChillingEffects.org.”

What is also notable however, is that the entire Pirate Bay domain hasn't been removed -- just the front page. Oh, loopholes.