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Animal Collective Launch North American Tour

Getting a jump on that hallowed season of "urges", frisky critters Animal Collective embark tonight on a 26-date search for the perfect mate. Will they find him/her/it in sleepy Boston? Lively Lansing? Exotic Kyoto? In the California desert to the tune of "Personal Jesus"? Or maybe that special someone has been there all along-could it be tour-buddy BARR??? Ah, the drama:

02-21 Boston, MA - Avalon *#
02-22 Montreal, Quebec - La Tulipe *#
02-23 Toronto, Ontario - The Opera House *#
02-24 Lansing, MI - Temple Club *#
02-25 Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium (two shows) *#
02-26 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue *#
03-01 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom *#
03-02 Seattle, WA - Neumos *#
03-03 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom *#
03-04 Sacramento, CA - The Library *#
03-05 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore *#
03-07 Los Angeles, CA - The Vanguard *#
03-10 Kyoto, Japan - Metro
03-11 Osaka, Japan - Sansui
03-12 Tokyo, Japan - Shibuya O-West
03-14 San Diego, CA - Epicentre #
03-15 Tucson, AZ - Solar Culture ^
03-17 Austin, TX - Fox and Hound *%$
03-19 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse %
03-20 Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel %
03-21 Washington, DC - Black Cat %
03-22 Philadelphia, PA - Starlight Ballroom %
03-23 New York, NY - Webster Hall %
03-24 Towson, MD - Recher Theatre
03-25 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
04-29 Indio, CA - Empire Polo Field (Coachella Festival) &

* with First Nation
# with BARR
^ with Mr. Fishsticks
$ with Ariel Pink, The Mutts, Tom Brosseau, Mùm (DJ set)
% with Storsveit Nix Noltes
& with Depeche Mode, Daft Punk, Franz Ferdinand, Sigur Rós, My Morning Jacket, TV on the Radio, Ladytron, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Cat Power, Devendra Banhart, The Walkmen, Lady Sovereign, Deerhoof, et al

As previously reported, your beloved bringers-of-the-pandemonium have a new single ("Grass") dropping March 21. That puppy’s padded out with hot multimedia accoutrements, thereby allowing Animal Collective to stimulate pretty much every nook and cranny of your anatomy. And oh, how they will.

Animal Collective’s latest signing to their Paw Tracks label, the trio First Nation, will release their debut 7", "Coronation", on March 7. Their first full-length is slated for June.

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Beck, Death Cab, Lips, Sufjan to Play Sasquatch!

"My Super Sweet 16" has nothing on these folks: to celebrate its fifth birthday, Seattle's Sasquatch! Music Festival has booked the Flaming Lips, Death Cab, Beck, the Decemberists, Nine Inch Nails, the Shins, Neko Case, Sufjan, Queens of the Stone Age, and yes, even Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.

All of Sasquatch!'s friends are throwing temper tantrums right now and begging Daddy to reunite My Bloody Valentine for their parties.

The event, as always, will take place over Memorial Day weekend which, this year runs from May 26-28. In addition to soaking in the tunes, you can also camp, enjoy the great outdoors, and lay that "have a nice trip-- see you next fall!" gag on your friends using one of the many canyons surrounding George, Washington's Gorge Amphitheatre.

In the past, Sasquatch! has featured Kanye West, the Pixies, Wilco, Modest Mouse, the Arcade Fire, Built to Spill, the Roots, Sleater-Kinney, and more. The 2006 schedule looks a little something like this, with more bands to be added:

>>May 26
Nine Inch Nails, H.I.M., And You Will Know Us by the Trail Of Dead, Wolfmother

>>May 27
Ben Harper, The Flaming Lips, The Shins, The Tragically Hip, Neko Case, Iron & Wine, Sufjan Stevens, Gomez, Rogue Wave, Architecture in Helsinki, Sam Roberts, Constantines, The Brunettes, Matt Costa, Bedouin Soundclash, Tim Seely, Korby Lenker, Common Market

>>May 28
Beck, Death Cab for Cutie, Queens of the Stone Age, Matisyahu, The Decemberists, Nada Surf, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Blue Scholars, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Arctic Monkeys, We Are Scientists, Chad VanGaalen, The Heavenly States, Rocky Votolato, Laura Viers, The Village Green, Mercir

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Franz, Cat Power Pay Homage to Serge Gainsbourg

Sacre bleu, Francophiles! Holy mixtapes, indie kids! Your two cherished worlds are about to coalesce in a big way. The center of gravity: suave, debonair, and--admit it-- rather creepy French crooner Serge Gainsbourg.

All your quasi-indie heroes (Cat Power, Franz Ferdinand, Portishead, Jarvis Cocker, Feist, Placebo, The Kills), alongside requisite veterans (Michael Stipe, Marianne Faithfull), original Gainsbourgian chanteuses (Jane Birkin, Françoise Hardy), and Jack White's boo (Karen Elson) have teamed up to pay tribute to the perpetually unshaven songsmith on the forthcoming covers comp Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited, due out next month.

Monsieur bears numerous fruits of amour: Cat Power scores with Elson on a rendition of "Je t'aime...Moi Non Plus", while Franz makes love to aging cover-girl Jane Birkin to the tune of "Sorry Angel". Brits Jarvis Cocker, Placebo, and the Rakes all get their Serge on. And there's even a little trip-hop nostalgia, with contributions from 1995's flag-bearers Portishead (yay!) and Tricky.

Tres bien:

01 Franz Ferdinand and Jane Birkin: "A Song for Sorry Angel"
02 Cat Power and Karen Elson: "I Love You (Me Either)"
03 Jarvis Cocker and Kid Loco: "I Just Came to Tell You That I'm Going"
04 Portishead: "Requiem for Anna"
05 Faultline, Brian Molko, and Françoise Hardy: "Requiem For A Jerk"
06 Michael Stipe: "L'Hôtel"
07 Tricky: "Au Revoir Emmanuelle"
08 Marianne Faithfull and Sly and Robbie: "Lola R. For Ever"
09 Gonzales, Feist, and Dani: "Boomerang 2005"
10 Marc Almond and Trash Palace: "Boy Toy"
11 Placebo: "The Ballad of Melody Nelson"
12 The Rakes: "Just a Man With a Job"
13 The Kills: "I Call It Art"
14 Carla Bruni: "Those Little Things"

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Mark Kozelek Tours America

Last time we checked in with Mark Kozelek, he was releasing a whole album's worth of Modest Mouse covers. We're not sure if he's still letting his marbles roll around in traffic or not, but given how much we dig the Red House Painters, we're inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Fortunately for our forgiving selves, Mr. Kozelek is hitting the road. He'll make a couple stops in Tennessee this week; the first show, originally scheduled for tonight at Blue Cats in Knoxville, has been cancelled. It's either that or staying home and watching the Olympics, and we know you'll take indie rock over ice dancing any day of the week.

After a stop at the Crossroads Film Festival in Mississippi in April, he'll tour the East Coast.

Tiny cities made of ashes:

02-23 Nashville, TN - the Belcourt Theatre *
02-26 Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone Cafe *
04-01 Jackson, MS - Hal & Mal's Red Room (Crossroads Film Festival) #
05-13 St. Augustine, FL - Cafe Eleven
05-15 Orlando, FL - The Social
05-16 Gainesville, FL - Common Grounds
05-18 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
05-19 Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle
05-21 Greensboro, NC - The Flying Anvil
05-22 Annapolis, MD - Ram's Head
05-24 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
05-26 Boston, MA - Remis Auditorium at the Museum of Fine Arts
05-27 Northampton, MA - Iron Horse
05-29 Rochester, NY - Milestones
05-30 Buffalo, NY - Mohawk Palace

* with Warren Gently
# with Afrissipi

href="http://pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-10/11.shtml#markkozelek">Mark Kozelek Talks Modest Mouse

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Field Music Coming to America

As previously reported here last November, Sunderland natives Field Music are preparing to release their eponymous debut in America-- on April 4 to be precise. (Our crystal ball wasn't so precise in November.)

Memphis Industries will issue Field Music with three bonus tracks: "You're Not Supposed To" (aka the group's fourth single, coming out in the UK on April 10), "Trying to Sit Out", and "I'm Tired". If that's not enough, Field Music have enlisted fellow Sunderlanders the Futureheads, the Golden Virgins, and This Ain't Vegas to participate in a video for "You're Not Supposed To". The results of this touching show of local solidarity will be included on the US release.

Tracks:

01 If Only the Moon Were Up
02 Tell Me Keep Me
03 Pieces
04 Luck Is a Fine Thing
05 Shorter Shorter
06 It's Not the Only Way to Feel Happy
07 17
08 Like When You Meet Someone Else
09 You Can Decide
10 Got to Get the Nerve
11 Got to Write a Letter
12 You're So Pretty
13 You're Not Supposed To
14 Trying to Sit Out
15 I'm Tired
16 You're Not Supposed To (video)

Field Music will spend the next week touring Europe, but come March, they'll start stretching out Stateside, in what will hopefully be a preview for a longer tour sometime later this year. The band will play their second US show ever in Chicago on March 12, before blazing through a slew of SXSW appearances and a pair of California dates. They'll return to England for a one-off date with Stereolab in May.

Dates:

02-23 Berlin, Germany - Postbahnhoff *
02-24 London, England - Tapestry Club at St. Aloysius Social Club
02-25 Bath, England - Moles Club
02-26 Leicester, England - The Charlotte
02-27 Paris, France - Le Fleche D'Or %
03-12 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle @
03-15 Austin, TX - Fader Lounge (SXSW)
03-15 Austin, TX - Emo's (Kork Agency/Polyvinyl SXSW showcase) #^
03-16 Austin, TX - Emo's (Tag Team/Under the Radar SXSW day party) &^
03-16 Austin, TX - Red 7 (SXSW)
03-18 Los Angeles, CA - Spaceland
03-19 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill
05-11 London, England - Koko $

* with Tilly and the Wall, My Latest Novel
% with El Perro Del Mar
@ with The Its!, Recent Photo
^ with Serena Maneesh, Of Montreal
# with Kiss Me Deadly, Voxtrot, And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
& with Black Heart Procession, Richard Hawley, the Hidden Cameras, Jason Collett, the Most Serene Republic, Dengue Fever, Magneta Lane, the Beautiful New Born Children, The Research
$ with Stereolab

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Catastrophe Keeps Rainer Maria Together

Never fear, hypersensitive young person: emo still cares about you! So do long-standing lit-rockers Rainer Maria, who were kicking it e-style way back when all Joey Screamo could utter was a pubescent caterwaul. The poetically-inclined trio have mellowed a bit since the "Goddammit!" days of "Tinfoil" and "Rain Yr Hand", but ten-plus years on they're still tight as shit and a marvel of onstage energy.

April 4 sees the emergence of studio album number five, Catastrophe Keeps Us Together. Released via new label Grunion Records, Catastrophe features eleven red-hot RM cuts, nine of which were produced by Malcolm Burn, the man who changed your life with Shawn Colvin's "Sunny Came Home".

Kyle Fischer, Caithlin de Marrais, and Bill Kuehn formed Rainer Maria in Madison, Wisconsin and soon hitched their baby to a wagon bound for New York City, their present stomping grounds. They are cool people. Love them. Love their songs, too:

01 Catastrophe
02 Life of Leisure
03 Burn
04 Bottle
05 Terrified
06 Cities Above
07 Already Lost
08 Clear and True
09 Make you Mine
10 Southpaw
11 I'll Keep It With Mine

While the Rainer kids have dabbled in assorted solo- and side-projects, 2006 will prove a year of renewed band focus. Disclosed drummer Kuehn to Pitchfork via e-mail: "We've made Rainer Maria our priority for the foreseeable future. We're all very proud of the new record, and feel very fortunate to be in the position we are in with Grunion." Witness Kuehn and Co. playing out their pride and joy this March.

Rilke who?:

03-11 Charlottesville, VA - Starr Hill Music Hall
03-12 Mt. Pleasant, SC - Village Tavern
03-13 Birmingham, AL - Cool Beans Coffee House
03-18 Austin, TX - Karma Lounge (SXSW) $
03-19 Fort Worth, TX - The Ridglea Theater *#
03-21 Des Moines, IA - Vaudeville Mews #
03-22 Omaha, NE - Sokol Underground #
03-23 Urbana, IL - Canopy Club #
03-24 Madison, WI - Club 770
03-25 Lansing, MI - Mac's Bar #

$ with Moonlight Towers, Aberfeldy, Blue Aeroplanes, Cayto, the Magnolias
* with Black Heart Procession
# with Scout Niblett

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Do you have a news tip for us? Anything crazy happen at a show you attended recently? Do you have inside info on the bands we cover? Is one of your favorite artists (that's not somebody you know personally) releasing a new record you'd like to see covered? You will remain completely anonymous, unless we are given your express permission to reveal your identity. (Please note that publicists, managers, booking agents, and other artist representatives are generally exempt from this rule, but will also be granted anonymity if requested.)

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