Panther Tour 14 Kt God Across Northeast States, Atlantic Ocean
By Andy H3ss on 07-09-2008
Live in Portland, the Northeast, or Europe and want to catch Panther? Good news: They're supporting 14 Kt God (TMT Review), released back in February via Kill Rock Stars, on a mini-tour of the East Coast before heading across the pond for some European dates.
Dates with Girl Talk and a pool party with Aesop Rock highlight the schedule, but you might as well check them out if they're in your area. I know I would.
Portland, Portland, Portland:
Capitol/EMI Taps into Vinyl Hype Cautiously and Half-Heartedly
By Mr P on 07-09-2008
In August, Capitol/EMI will be releasing eight "classic titles" on high-quality vinyl in the U.S. Titled "From The Capitol Vaults," the albums set for release include four titles from Radiohead, two from Coldplay, and one each from A Perfect Circle and Steve Miller Band, all out-of-print in the U.S. The albums will be released on 180-gram audiophile vinyl (aside from Amnesiac and Kid A, which will be released on 140-gram 10-inches), with original artwork and packaging.
Now, I'm no marketing expert, but I do know a good campaign involves a solid foundation. Capitol/EMI's strategy seems painfully transparent to me. First of all, by only releasing eight "classic titles," Capitol is sending a cautious signal to the consumers. Sure, Capitol releases new titles on vinyl in the U.S. (the new Coldplay, for example), but they're always very limited. Similarly, this limited-edition campaign doesn't speak to any long-term investment in the format. Chances are that fans have already bought these "classic" albums on CD, which means these vinyl releases are aimed primarily at commodity fetishists, further underscoring EMI's increasing emphasis on its back catalog, not its current artists. The campaign seems more like Best Buy's sales experiment (TMT Review), but at least Best Buy is being explicit about its aims.
"U.S. vinyl sales have increased by more than 80% in the past year alone, and the format is still on the rise," says the press release. Right. Meanwhile, indie labels have been fairly adequately catering to vinyl fans all along.
"From The Capitol Vaults":
- A Perfect Circle - Mer de Noms (2 LPs, gatefold jacket, satin stock, diecut white sleeves)
- Coldplay - Parachutes (1 LP, printed sleeve)
- Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head (1 LP, printed sleeve)
- Radiohead - OK Computer (2 LPs, gatefold jacket, color labels, printed sleeves)
- Radiohead - Kid A (2 10” 140-gram LPs, gatefold jacket, printed sleeves, color labels)
- Radiohead - Hail To The Thief (2 LPs, gatefold jacket, printed sleeves)
- Radiohead - Amnesiac (2 10” 140-gram LPs, gatefold jacket, printed sleeves, color labels)
- Steve Miller Band - Greatest Hits 1974-78 (1 LP, printed sleeve, color label)
Ping-Pong Tournament, BBQ Announced At the Same Time As Something Called Gonerfest 5
By Joe B. on 07-09-2008
Big old garage-punk label Goner Records puts on a fest every year. 2008 is a year. With that in mind, the masterminds behind Goner have gone ahead and announced that, at their request, a bunch of bands are playing Memphis within a very concentrated amount of time.
From September 25-28, bands such as Sic Alps, Psychedelic Horseshit, Eat Skull, The Box Elders, Tyvek (now called TVK because of what I assume was a lawsuit), and Thee Oh Sees will perform amidst such other attractions as DJs, a barbecue (not to be confused with BBQ, who I don’t think is playing) and, yes, a ping-pong tournament. More details, hopefully ping-pong-related, will be revealed as the summer goes on.
For those of you who don’t feel like clicking through, here’s the lineup as it looks now:
Sic Alps, Tearjerkers, Crusaders of Love (France), Dan Melchior, Touch-Me-Nots, Duke & Duchess, Cheap Time, Ooga Boogas (Australia), Psychedelic Horseshit, Box Elders, Earthmen & Strangers, Mouserocket, The Intelligence, TVK, AV Murder, Eat Skull, Barbaras, Wizzard Sleeve, Turpentine Brothers, Static Static, Thee Oh Sees, Black Time (UK), Cola Freaks (Denmark).
Hats off, Goner.
Bowerbirds Tour North America, Europe, Inexplicably Ignore Minneapolis
By Petey V on 07-09-2008
Bowerbirds, the inventive and folksy Raleigh, NC trio much beloved of Mountain Goats fans and environmentalists, will be hitting the road on both sides of the Atlantic this summer.
The ’birds will kick off with headlining shows in Madison and Chicago late next week before opening up the East Coast (and partially Canadian) leg of Bon Iver's summer tour. After a couple of headlining dates in their home state in early August, the band will embark on a seven-week European tour, which sees them headlining in seven countries, hitting up several festivals, and sharing stages with Bon Iver, Neva Dinova, Damien Jurado, and War on Drugs.
The lengthy trek is Bowerbirds' fourth tour and their first overseas, following their debut LP Hymns for a Dark Horse (TMT Review), released in 2007 on Burly Time Records and reissued (with two bonus tracks!) on Dead Oceans last month. Previously, the band has toured with Phosphorescent and fellow Raleigh-ites The Rosebuds. The group also opened for The Mountain Goats and John Vanderslice last fall after a couple of ringing endorsements from head goat John Darnielle.
According to their publicist, Bowerbirds is in the early planning stages of a sophomore album, as yet untitled, to be released sometime in 2009.
U.S. tourdates:
There Is a Non-Denominational Faith-Based Figure: Indie Labels Beat Out EMI in Market Share
By Heidi Vanderslice on 07-09-2008
Finally, some justice for the "little guys" -- though that classification gets less accurate as EMI's behavior increasingly mirrors Britney Spears in a 7-11. Independent record labels officially snagged 14% of the music industry's market share, leaving EMI behind with 10%. Apparently, corporate ain't everything... who knew? The death grip of the Universal Music Group is also slipping, ever so slightly, from 31.5% to 31.2%.
Back to EMI. You know, the big loser. How, one asks, just how do you fuck up a once-powerful industry conglomerate with infinite resources so badly that THIS happens? Oh, you mean by doing things like threatening to eat all of those indie labels for breakfast (TMT News)? Selling itself to someone who couldn't afford to fix it, despite having the best name ever (TMT News)? Keeping on a bunch of corporate suits and laying off the young, in-touch entry-level employees (TMT News)? Releasing an artist's single without asking (TMT News)!?
Yes, that's a froth I've worked myself into. It's kind of gross, but, then, so is the state of the music industry. I'm gonna take the positive slant, however, and invite you to give the indie labels a big round of applause for this winning lap. Turns out that the real secret to success in the record industry is a straight shot: respecting your artists, releasing creative new music in various mediums, and charging a fair price for your albums. What. A. Concept.
