While We Were Out
Stuff that happened during the break

For the past two weeks, the Pitchfork news team has been on our annual Mexican vacation, swimming in the ocean, sipping margaritas, and building beach bonfires out of stacks of bad promo CDs. (Sorry, Bull Cock.)

However, just because we're busy rubbing suntan lotion on one another's backs doesn't mean the music world stops generating news, though we would prefer if it did.

So here's a brief wrap-up of some of the more notable happenings that took place since December 15, 2006 and today. Happenings that weren't as notable as James Brown's death or Stephen Colbert enlisting Henry fucking Kissinger to beat Chris Funk at guitar-soloing, that is.

Happy new year!

ARCADE FIRE ONSLAUGHT BEGINS

The week before the break, a mysterious advertisement appeared on our website, bearing only the phone number 1-866-NEONBIBLE and a link to www.neonbible.com. Assuming it was some cheesy viral marketing campaign for a Christian youth movement or a car (Dodge Neon, maybe?) or something, we ignored it.

Whoops!

Turns out it was an ad for the new Arcade Fire album, titled, yes, Neon Bible. Calling the phone number got you a static-y, almost unlistenable version of the song "Intervention". Thankfully, on December 28, the real "Intervention" in all of its orchestral, over-the-top glory became available as an iTunes download benefiting the nonprofit health care group Partners in Health.

The Neon Bible track "Black Wave/Bad Vibrations" also became available as an iTunes download benefiting Partners in Health, albeit accidentally. According to a post from Win Butler on the band's website, someone from Merge Records mistakenly put the track on iTunes on December 26. Thanks, dude.

The band also added five shows at Judson Memorial Church in New York City to their previously reported residencies in London and Montreal. Tickets go on sale January 5, but they probably somehow sold out already.

BRIGHT EYES RETURNS

According to Google, Cassadaga is some sort of spiritual cult thing involving communicating with the dead. How emo! Cassadaga is also the name of the forthcoming Bright Eyes album, due out on April 10 on Saddle Creek. It will be preceded by the Four Winds EP on March 6, which includes the title track and five non-album B-sides: "Reinvent the Wheel", "Smoke Without Fire", "Stray Dog Freedom", "Cartoon Blues", and "Tourist Trap".

Conor Oberst is joined by producer Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott on Cassadaga. As previously reported, the album also includes cameos from M.Ward, Gillian Welch, and Janet Weiss of Sleater-Kinney and the Jicks.

A Bright Eyes tour is in the works for February.

TAPES 'N TAPES ROBBED IN AUSTRALIA

What a shitty way to start the holidays: Right before Tapes 'n Tapes were set to fly home to Minneapolis from an Australian tour, the band's van was robbed. For some reason, the thief or thieves didn't take a lot of equipment, but they did take "one of our passports...two Mac laptops...one digital camera, all of Josh's clothes, one Blackberry, two cell phones, and all sorts of various inconvenient personal effects (glasses, keys, wallets, shoes, etc.)," according to a post on the band's website.

Why would you want someone else's glasses?

PAUL WESTERBERG STABS HIMSELF IN THE HAND WITH A SCREWDRIVER

Um, yeah. This made the front page of CNN.com.

VELVET UNDERGROUND ACETATE GOES FOR $25,200.00

That insanely rare Velvet Underground record was sold on eBay for a second time, and was presumably bought by a reputable person. We hope.

PETER BJORN AND JOHN INVADE AMERICA

Pitchfork's 24th favorite album of 2006, Swedish indie pop trio Peter Bjorn and John's Writer's Block, will be released in America on February 6. It's coming out on the brand new label Almost Gold, which is a partnership between Scott Rodger, manager of Arcade Fire and Bjork, and Isaac Green of StarTime International.

The U.S. version of the album includes the "single version" of "Let's Call It Off", as well as a bonus disc featuring the original take on that song as well as "Ancient Curse", "All Those Expectations (Weak Remix)", "Self-Pity", "Sitar Folks", and the "Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve Re-Animation" version of Pitchfork's fifth favorite song of 2006, "Young Folks".

PB&J also scheduled two New York City shows, one at the Mercury Lounge on January 29 and one at the Bowery Ballroom on January 30.

TED LEO REVEALS TERRIBLE ALBUM COVER

Come on, man.

MALKMUS, DEERHOOF, EL-P TO PLAY PLUG AWARDS; DAVID CROSS HOSTS

The 2007 PLUG Awards got even cooler with the announcement of the awards ceremony's entertainment lineup. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Deerhoof, El-P, Tokyo Police Club, and, ugh, Silversun Pickups, will all perform at the big event, taking place February 10 at NYC's Irving Plaza.

Malkmus will receive the PLUG Impact Award (basically the indie version of the Lifetime Achievement Grammy), while the other performers are up for PLUGs in various categories. Comedian David Cross will host the show and make fun of everybody.

LADY SOVEREIGN RESCHEDULES SHOWS

As promised, Lady Sovereign rescheduled her Las Vegas, San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles shows that were either cut short or canceled due to illness last month. The new dates are:

01-04 Las Vegas, NV - Empire Ballroom
01-08 San Francisco - Club Mezzanine
01-09 San Diego - House of Blues
01-10 Los Angeles - El Rey Theatre