Barack Obama Unites Extra Golden for Tour

Grammy award winner or not, who would have guessed that U.S. Senate superstar Barack Obama was a Thrill Jockey fan? That's even cooler than a "Vote Obama" cupcake!

The U.S. Senator from Illinois (along with Windy City Department of Cultural Affairs man Michael Orlove) has pulled a few strings to unite benga band Extra Golden (Ian Eagleson and Alex Minoff from D.C.'s Golden + Kenyan members Opiyo Bilongo and Onyango Wuod Omari). Obama, whose family is from Kenya, voiced his support for the quartet's music and then went on to help bring its African half into the U.S. for an upcoming tour.

The stint, which kicks off Saturday with a slot at Chicago's World Music Festival, supports Extra Golden's June release, Ok-Oyot System ("It's Not Easy"). [MORE...]

Exclusive: RJD2 Signs to XL, Ditches Hip-Hop
"I'm a folk musician at the end of the day."

"I've gone rap free in 2006," claimed RJD2. The Columbus-by-way-of-Philadelphia producer spoke to Pitchfork earlier this week about his currently-untitled third album, which will be released on the indie- and electronic-centric label XL, rather than RJ's longtime home of Def Jux. And instead of the sampledelic hip-hop/electronica of previous albums Deadringer and Since We Last Spoke, the new album was recorded with live instrumentation played entirely by RJ himself.

"Rhythmically, I feel like there's a continuous thread that would run throughout everying that I've done, and I'd like to think the new stuff still has that kind of emphasis on the rhythm section and groove," RJ said. "[But] there are a lot more songs in major keys. There are a lot more vocal harmonizations. I think it's a lot prettier than anything I've ever done. And it's all live. There's, like, one or two samples on there.

He said that, since he began, he wanted "to make pop music. The same shit everybody listens to: the Beatles, your Led Zeppelins, your Tears for Fears. And there are new groups: Elliott Smith or Dungen or Queens of the Stone Age. These are all groups that I feel make-- at the end of the day-- pop music. They do it with their own flavor and their own thing." [MORE...]

Unreleased Elliott Smith Demos Surface

We all miss Elliott Smith; turns out he's still taking care of us from the great beyond. Recently, four much-discussed but previously unreleased Smith demos-- believed to be among as many as 50 from the From a Basement on the Hill recording sessions-- surfaced on various message boards. Check out these four tunes (and many, many other rarities) on the fabulous, fan-run Elliott Smith: B-Sides & Other Songs website here.

Typical of the man's oeuvre, "Let's Turn the Record Over" features Smith lamenting over steady acoustic strum and little else. "Talking to Mary" is similar, but features more elaborate guitarwork and songcraft, with a poignant outro: "One day she'll go/ I told you so." Meanwhile, "From a Poisoned Well", the relative rocker of the bunch, utilizes a full band sound-- drums, guitar interplay, backing vocal harmonies, and all.

The highlight here, however, is "True Love", a gorgeously arranged (allegedly by Jon Brion) and deeply melancholy musing over strings and warbling organ, full of touching melodic twists. I'm by no means a Smith superfan, but this is easily one of the best things I've ever heard from him.

Sadly, "True Love" features Smith delivering more morose lines that come across viscerally ominous in hindsight: "All I need is a safe place to bleed/ Is this where it's at?" and "I feel cold, useless, and old/ I wish I was no one" hit particularly hard.

Just the same, Smith had a knack for capturing simple joys in a manner as straightforward-- yet no less profound-- as his miseries: here, we get "True love, man it just can't be beat." That pretty much says it all.

The ghosts of certain deceased musicians (and more importantly, those profiting from their legacies) need to give it a rest already, but something tells me we'll always welcome posthumous material from Elliott Smith.

Tour Diary: Mission of Burma's Roger Miller
Part One

As the legendary Mission of Burma make their way down the West Coast on a week-long trek, guitarist Roger Miller shares his tour diary with Pitchfork. Stay tuned for daily entries ("Of course, it depends a bit on free WiFi," Miller says.)

Here's part one, in which Miller takes us on his cross-country trip to start the tour.

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Thursday, September 14: "From Boston to Seattle"

There's a window in my head...

OK, so we get to Logan Airport at a reasonable time. Did we all take the dangerous toothpaste out of our bags? Are the water bottles destroyed at the appropriate facilities? (The Good Christian Lord knows for certain that water is a True Source of Evil). It's just me 'n' Pete and Jimmy (Clint's brother who is our road manager and basically keeps this whole mess together) this round. Tomorrow Clint and Bob fly to Seattle. The usual 21st Century tedium of airports (the Heroic Age of America-- somewhere between the 40s and the early 80s is long gone and will most likely never return again).

Midflight to Chicago Pete was reading the Sky Mall magazine and found the unusual "Pet Head Decapitator" device for sale. A vacuum cleaning device also promised to "suck up unwanted cat heads" and "just throw the bag away when it's full." Not bad. Glad to be part of the Culture. Other than Pete's discovery, and Jimmy's gaggle of Dutch gals (whom he entertained with much aplomb), the flight was quite uneventful, if cramped. Book I purchased at Logan: Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World by Nicholas Ostler. Very interesting (starting with Sumerian)... [MORE...]

120 Days Ready Debut Full-Length

120 days? You won't even have to wait that long, folks. The Kraut-rocking Norwegian four-piece 120 Days, formerly known as the Beautiful People, and those responsible for the excellent single "Come Out (Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone)" (4.5 stars) have set a release date for their eponymous debut. The album, written while the band lived together in a RV in Oslo, will land in the U.S. on October 10, courtesy of Vice Records in collaboration with Smalltown Supersound. (Weird partnership, huh?) Smalltown Supersound will release it in Norway on October 2.

To get the fans all amped up, Vice and SS will drop a limited edition 12" single featuring "Come Out (Come Down Fade Out Be Gone)" and a 10-minute remix by Mental Overdrive. It's slated for an October 2 release in Norway (TBA 2007 worldwide), but can be purchased from Smalltown Supersound's Superstore right... about... NOW.

120 Days have one U.S. show scheduled, taking place this Tuesday, September 19 at Club Midway in New York City as part of the Modular Monthly. [MORE...]

Raconteurs to Drop New Single
Or: Why I don't rap for a living

One two, one two, check it: The Raconteurs are out to regale ya, in full storytelling regalia, they won't fail ya, on tour this very day. 'Bout to drop a single in the UK, hittin' you wit three formats to play, October 23 is the due day-- but me, I'd rather listen to Lupe. Uuh. One two, one two. Mic check.

Ahem, sorry. Food & Liquor, that's where it's at. But you're here for the Raconteurs, and that's cool too. The new Raconteurs single for Broken Boy Soldiers' not-quite-title track "Broken Boy Soldier" arrives October 23 in the UK via XL, in three lovely formats. B-side goodies include KCRW sessions, live tunes, and a Flamin' Groovies cover. Tracklist and tour dates (including some with Bob Dylan) ahead. Peace out. [MORE...]

Infinite Mixtape #42: Working for a Nuclear Free City: "Troubled Son"

Hey, remember when MTV actually played music videos? Remember "Amp", which escorted us into the wee hours of darkness, playing anything loosely classified as club, dub, dance, disco, house, techno, all that good shit? Fresh as it sounds in 2006, something tells me Manchester-based Working for a Nuclear Free City would have fit right in back then too.

They'd probably have a video with sleek cars speeding through tunnels at night, plenty of tracking shots of club corridors, femme fatales, mixed drinks, fog machines, flashing lights, faceless revelers, and everything in constant motion. Maybe Chris Cunningham would have directed it, or Mark Romanek, or Dom & Nic. And guess what? It would've politely kicked the club-worn arses of everything else on the program that night.

With "Troubled Son", off their self-titled Melodic Records debut, the band delivers a propulsive, hallucinogenic foray into the urban night hours. The melodic seesawing over that chugging rhythm will surely incite gyrations, while the sung-spoken vocal lead keeps things cosmopolitan and blissed-out and backing vocals beckon from somewhere beyond the pale. The only shortcoming: It's over way too soon, so you might just want to include it on yr mixtape twice.

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#0042 > Working for a Nuclear Free City: "Troubled Son"
[from Working for a Nuclear Free City; Melodic Records]
Info: [Working for a Nuclear Free City] | [MySpace] | [Melodic]

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// Previously on The Infinite Mixtape:
#0041: Fujiya & Miyagi: "Collarbone"
#0040: Malajube: "La Monogamie"
#0039: The Polyphonic Spree: "Sonic Bloom"
#0038: Oxford Collapse: "Please Visit Your National Parks"
#0037: Peter Bjorn & John: "Young Folks [ft. Victoria Bergsman]"
#0036: Flying Canyon: "In the Reflection"
#0035: Califone: "The Orchids"
#0000: All Previous Infinite Mixtape Entries

Video: Bonnie "Prince" Billy Commercial 3

Just how much Bonnie "Prince" Billy can a man take...before he cracks? Find out in this, the third and final act in Drag City's advert series promoting Bonnie's The Letting Go, which hits stores this Tuesday, September 19. Brush up by revisiting the cute, quirky first two installments here and here. Then, get ready for something seriously twisted.

Under Byen Invade North America

Danish eight-piece Under Byen are ready to take on our continent. Their album Samme Stof Som Stof ("Same Fabric as Fabric") will be released September 26 in Canada and October 10 in the U.S., courtesy of Paper Bag Records. It's Paper Bag's first release from a non-Canadian band, so it must be special, right?

Recorded in an 18th century house in Brussels and a Swedish forest, the new material was produced by fellow Dane Carsten Heller and New Yorker Kevin Salem (Yo La Tengo, Giant Sand), with assistance from British electronic artist Leafcutter John.

The octet will play a handful of North American shows this October, including dates with Joanna Newsom and Giant Sand, as well as a single solitary U.S. appearance at a private party. (For details on attending this show, visit the Paper Bag site.) [MORE...]

Regina Spektor Begins to Tour

Regina Spektor will peddle her Soviet kitsch to the citizens of North America on her upcoming tour, kicking off this weekend at Atlanta's Park Tavern. After that show, Spektor will hold an outdoor signing in order to make up for the cancellation of the one that was supposed to be held September 18 at Criminal Records. She cares about you. Spektor hits the road in support of her most recent full-length, the June-released Begin to Hope.

And if premium cable channels and the ganja are your things, catch Regina's rendition of Malvina Reynolds' "Little Boxes" on the Showtime series "Weeds", airing October 16. [MORE...]

Spiral Stairs Talks Pavement Reissue, Reunion Rumors

Scott "Spiral Stairs" Kannberg must be sick of talking about the possibility of a Pavement reunion. But when Pitchfork got him on the phone to chat about the forthcoming deluxe reissue of Pavement's third album, Wowee Zowee (due November 7 on Matador), we had to ask.

So, Spiral, is there going to be a Pavement reunion?

"I guess, yeah, we'll see."

Um, what?

"[Laughs] I mean, I can't tell you. I don't know. I mean, yeah there's been some talk over the last year about kind of getting together eventually. But I think it makes more sense to let more time go past, you know? It would probably work well for a 20 year anniversary or something like that. But I don't know. I'm going to Steve [Malkmus]'s wedding, I think, so we'll see, maybe we'll have a reunion there."

And there you have it. Unless you've got an invite to the Malkmus nuptials, the chances of witnessing a Pavement reunion anytime before 2009 (the band formed in 1989) are slim. [MORE...]

Beck Announces Tour Dates...With Puppets!
Pitchfork Announces 946th Beck News Story

In order to inform fans of his upcoming album-- the song-and-video extravaganza known as The Information, due out October 3-- Beck will make a few extravagant concert appearances around the U.S. this fall. And he'll be bringing puppets!

The mini-tour includes stops at the dorkily named Download Festival in Mountain View, California and the Detour Music Fest in L.A. For many of the dates, Beck will be bringing along some special puppet friends (created by L.A.-based Puppet Productions) which already accompanied him at Bonnaroo and on previous tours of the West Coast, UK, and Europe. [MORE...]

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.)