Sonic Youth Sign to Matador for Their 16th Studio Album!

By Mango Starr on

Wow, wow, wow! After a tip from Mr. Thurston himself late August (TMT News), it looks like Sonic Youth have officially signed with Matador Records. According to a post on the label's Matablog:

After rampant speculation, Matador Records can confirm the label will be releasing a new studio album from Sonic Youth sometime in 2009. Having fulfilled their contractual obligations to the Universal Music Group, Sonic Youth recently reached an agreement with Matador to release the band’s 16th album of new material in all worldwide territories, save for Japan.

The band will head to the studio this fall to record the album, the follow-up to 2006's Rather Ripped. Read the rest of the post here, our recent story about the label change here, and how and why major labels and independent labels work together here.

Reunited And It Feels So Good: Teenage Jesus and The Jerks Added to Winter ATP Roster

By Liz Louche on 09-09-2008

Yes! Another reason to regret not being rich, apart from my usual desire to look as eerily ageless and perfectly WASP-y as Cindy McCain. The Melvins/Mike Patton-curated Nightmare Before Christmas ATP event (a.k.a. another festival with an awesome roster that I cannot afford to attend) is adding Mastodon, The Damned, Boss Hog, Rahzel, Double Negative, Tweak Bird, and -- wait for it... wait for it -- the legendary, recently reunited no-wave group Teenage Jesus and The Jerks.

Led by Lydia Lunch, Teenage Jesus never released a full studio album and were known for their aggressive, abrasive live shows. They played their first show in years as part of the book release festivities associated with Thurston Moore and Byron Coley's book No Wave: Post-Punk. Underground. New York. 1976-1980 this past June (which also partly inspired James Chance's recent show in New York). And now you have the chance to see them December 5-7, at the oh-so-cold, oh-so-English Butlins Holiday Camp in Minehead. More acts are set to be announced, but for now, let me entice you with the so-far complete listing:

Melvins / Isis / Mastodon / Butthole Surfers / The Damned / Fantômas perform The Director's Cut / Squarepusher / Soulsavers feat. Mark Lanegan / Teenage Jesus And The Jerks / Boss Hog / Neil Hamburger / Dälek / Big Business / Black Heart Procession / Rahzel / Torche / Kill Me Tomorrow / J.G. Thirlwell's Manorexia / The Dirtbombs / The Locust / Zu / Bohren And Der Club of Gore / Farmers Market / White Noise / Stockhausen's KONTAKTE with Steinberg & Winant / MadLove / Tweak Bird / Double Negative

Still Punk Rockin’ at Age 50, Bill Bragg Set to Go on Lengthy Tour

By J.E. Williams on 09-09-2008

Punk rock folkster Billy Bragg has announced a 32-date tour set to kick off September 25 in Paris that'll eventually venture into the United States mid-October and finally back to Europe in November for another leg. Bragg released his 12th studio album, Mr. Love & Justice, in March of this year and has been on the road ever since, migrating back and forth from Europe to the United States. A friend’s father once told me he saw Bragg in the early ’80s, and it was one of the only concerts he can clearly remember in the past 30 years. Hopefully, Bragg’s live performance is still a memorable one. More importantly, I hope my friend’s father has overcome his drinking problem.

Billy Bragg tourdates:

John Darnielle Reveals Two New Mountain Goats EPs and, Coincidentally, The Path to My Heart

By Tiffani Harcrow on 09-09-2008

John Darnielle, you coy wordsmith, you nimble-tongued tormentor of my soul. You thought that you were simply informing your admiring public of two new slammin’ EPs and an upcoming tour with guitar virtuoso Kaki King, but John, you revealed so much more. For one instant in time, our interwebbed e-souls were one.

The ostensible reason for Darnielle’s recent post on Pitchfork was to announce two new Mountain Goats EPs arriving on Horse & Buggy Press — (1) the limited-edition (666 copies!) double 7-inch Satanic Messiah available only at Mountain Goats shows or digitally through the trendy pay-what-you-want model (TMT News) and (2) the Scott Solter-produced Black Pear Tree split with tourmate Kaki King — but the true motivation for the posting was, of course, the disclosure of Darnielle’s Flickr account and the disclosure of my heart’s fondest desires.

John Darnielle, after perusing your photostream a couple (of dozen) times, I saw through your feeble charade of “selling albums” and “gaining publicity,” and I saw into your delicate, Satan-obsessed soul. John, I too love inscrutable tofu dishes. And as a matter of fact, I also have quite the soft spot for sleepy cats and cheese-covered extruded snacks. And if you would only come through Georgia on your Last Happy Night of Your Life tour, we could indulge our twin passions together, as God intended.

Satanic Messiah tracklist:

* Kaki King

New Monuments – Noise Supergroup – Kick Off U.S. Tour

By Kenny Bloggins on 09-08-2008

Minimalist psych overlord, violin ripper, darling of The Wire magazine,
and owner of Tony Conrad's entire catalog C Spencer Yeh (of Cincinnati's Burning Star Core) is teaming up with Borbetomagus-founder/Wolf Eyes-buddy Don Dietrich and snare-shredder Ben Hall of Graveyards for a scalp-scalding noise supergroup called New Monuments. For the group, Dietrich provides the gnarly sax textures, while Hall brings the rhythm tip -- Yeh, as always, comes correct with his mighty orchestral strings fed through myriad effects processors.

New Monuments kick off their inaugural tour this week in Brooklyn for a brief but nonetheless, um, monumental tour. As with most noise tours, the majority of the venues are untraditional (yet intimate) stops -- book shops, community centers, et al. -- and colleges. Unlike noise's most popular acts right now, New Monuments dabble more in improv and free jazz than straight power electronics, challenging your conception of music more than challenging your tympanic fortitude.

% Oa, Carlos Giffoni-Okkyung Lee, Nancy Garcia-Biba Bell, DJ Steve Loewenthal

@ Howie Stelzer, Heathen Shame, Jason Lescalleet/Bhob Rainey

^ Joe McPhee, Paul Flaherty, Chris Corsano Trio

* Herons

! John Wiese, Kudler/Fraser Duo, Morally Gray

$ Emeralds

( Chris Riggs

& Spykes, Uneven Universe

Lightning Bolt Tour the World, But Inevitably Discover What They Were Searching For Was Right There Sitting Next To Them Jerking Off

By Mango Starr on 09-08-2008

Why is there so much secrecy about masturbation? Everyone does it, but most people keep their techniques a closely guarded secret. Here, for the first time, you have access to hundreds of men and women, candidly sharing their first-hand stories. Learn their styles, techniques, hints, and tips.

But first! Quotes about Lightning Bolt from the press:

- "They’re viciously technical and brilliantly retarded and they’ve made my ears bleed on no less than three occasions." --Stylus

- "What blessed bastardry is this? It's bloody brilliant, that's what it is." --Playlouder

- "So it seems that Lightning Bolt have managed to do what many would have deemed impossible: They've created a hard rock album centered around the bass that doesn't suck." --Pitchfork

- "If what this drums-and-bass duo does with infernal noise is your thing, you're a pretty happy camper." --Entertainment Weekly

- "Stellar noise pollution." --Mojo

- "Underneath all the scuzz and spasm, though, they're a groove band, hustling a hard-edged experimentalism you don't have to work hard to enjoy." --Village Voice

- "When I play this behemoth of a record, all of my relativistic critical bullshit goes bye-bye." --Tiny Mix Tapes

No new album, yet. Sorry:

* USAISAMONSTER

$ Shellac and Pissed Jeans

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