Thurston, Mogwai, Tortoise on "American Life" Comp

Indie rock and NPR aren't such strange bedfellows anymore, and this latest pairing of the two seems downright cozy. On November 7, Shout! Factory Records will release This American Life: Stories of Hope & Fear, a two disc set compiling segments from the nationally syndicated, Ira Glass-hosted, weekly radio program "This American Life", produced by Chicago's WBEZ.

Sounds fine and dandy for schoolteachers and sweater-knitters, but here's where it gets hep-to-the-max: most segments feature a story or an interview set against the music of underground and not-so-underground sensations like Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, Mogwai, Tom Zé (remixed by Tortoise), the RZA, Blonde Redhead, Calexico, Ida, Philip Glass, Carly Simon, Morcheeba, and more.

Divided into two discs along Hope/Fear lines, the collection even features storytelling by the ever-popular David Sedaris and "The Daily Show" correspondent John Hodgman. As if that weren't groovy enough, Divya Srinivasan (of Sufjan-Illinois and Waking Life fame) designed that purty cover up there. Complex tracklist after the jump. [MORE...]

Strokes' Hammond, Jr. Streams Solo Songs

Surprise, surprise! Albert Hammond, Jr. solo sounds a lot like he does with the Strokes. Hammond-- whose previously reported upon solo debut Yours to Keep comes out in the UK on October 9 via Rough Trade-- has posted three songs on his MySpace page, and they sound like Pete Yorn-ier versions of Strokes songs.

"Everyone Gets a Star" has a particularly noodly guitar part, and "101" comes complete with one of those "Okay everybody, now here's the key change" moments at the end of it. "Scared" is slower and starts with a staticky electronic drumbeat that supports Hammond's best Elvis Costello impersonation, which finally gives way to cooing harmonies.

The jury's still out on whether or not Albert is actually a better singer than Julian, but it's a distinct possibility. Mr. Casablancas guests on the album, so we can all do a side-by-side comparison on October 9.

Thom Yorke Promises Live Radiohead DVD
"It will come out eventually," says Yorke in BBC interview

Those who haven't quite recovered from June's Bonnaroo Festival, those who want to relive it again and again, and those who missed it altogether, take heart: Thom Yorke sayeth a Radiohead DVD documenting that festival's practically legendary two-and-a-half-hour live performance is nigh.

Well, not exactly nigh. Here's what Yorke had to say in a recent BBC 6 Music interview with Tom Robinson, quoted at Radiohead mega-fansite ateaseweb.com:

"We did this festival called Bonnaroo. We did 2.5 hours. And there's 80,000 people, admittedly they've been smoking the sticky green all day-- probably wouldn't go anywhere anyway. It was just amazing. We played loads of new stuff. We did whole sections of quiet piano songs and it sounds like the most grotesque, self-indulgent nonsense, but it probably is my favourite gig for years and years and years. It was a really mellow evening. Actually it's all being filmed, but we're sitting on it because there's loads of new stuff on it. Because we're mean like that. It will come out eventually."

Unless Thom himself has been smoking the sticky green stuff, it seems we'll have a Radiohead live DVD on our hands in the months (or years?) to come. And if it's a faithful document of the marathon Bonnaroo set, the tracklist will look something like this. [MORE...]

Exclusive: DFA Announces Fall DJ Tour

DFA Records will release its second volume of remixes on October 3, and to celebrate, the DJs at the label are going on tour. The fun begins September 20 in San Francisco with DJ sets from label co-head James Murphy (aka LCD Soundsystem) and Juan Maclean (aka the Juan Maclean). Tim Sweeney (aka Beats in Space) and Marcus Lambkin (aka Shit Robot) will be mixing and matching with Murphy and Maclean after that. The four's disc-jockeying powers combine for one ridiculous night in New York.

Beats in Space and Juan Maclean also have some of their own dates in addition to the DFA tour. The Juan Maclean dates are all DJ sets except where otherwise noted.
[MORE...]

Akron/Family Reveal Meek Tracklist, Release Date
Also a few tour dates

Akron/Family will fight the timid fight on September 25 when they release Meek Warrior on Young God Records. The seven-track affair follows up last year's self-titled debut full-length and a split EP with Young God label head Michael Gira's Angels of Light.

As previously reported, the quartet recorded the majority of Meek Warrior in Chicago with legendary free jazz drummer Hamid Drake, but members of Do Make Say Think and Broken Social Scene also appear. Griffin Rodriguez engineered the record and played upright bass on "No Space in This Realm". All seven noisy-ass songs are listed in the tracklist after the jump.

Akron/Family also have a handful of shows scheduled for right around the release of the album, and will appear tonight backing finger-picker extraordinaire and sea-chantier Baby Gramps on "Late Show With David Letterman". [MORE...]

The Tyde's Three's Co. Hits U.S. Shores

Contrary to what the deflated 1971 version of Brain Wilson claimed, surf's definitely not up. At least not for longboard-loving, wave-watching band the Tyde and leader Darren Rademaker, who has once again plumbed the wells of inspiration to come up with tunes that can evoke joyful innocence or bitter disenchantment at every (point) break.

Three's Co., the third Tyde album (natch), arrives August 29 through the sun-kissed U.S. limb of Rough Trade UK's bloodless body. This time around a handful of past collaborators and new faces join the core duo of Darren and Ann Do Rademaker, including Darren's brother and Beachwood Sparks' Brent Rademaker, the ageless pop wonder Ric Menck, Conor Deasy of Irish west-coast sympathizers the Thrills, and Mickey Madden of the megaselling Maroon 5. The album has been out in the UK for a few months, but the U.S. copy will include two remixes: "Glassbottom Lights" by Jimmy Tamborello as James Figurine (Dntel, the Postal Service) and "Don't Need a Leash" by Nobody. Full tracklist after the break. [MORE...]

Tapes 'n Tapes Release Single, Tour With Annuals

People are tasting the Tapes 'n Tapes, and XL knows it. The label will put even more on our plate on September 4 when it releases the "Cowbell" 7" single in the UK. And for those not satisfied by audio alone, XL's also serving up a "Cowbell" video on the label's website. In it, a snarling Josh Grier wakes up in a field with keys in his hand, and instead of helping him find the door they open, his bandmates just stand there and play their instruments. You'd think after so much touring together, they'd be closer than that.

Speaking of tours, the Tapes are still on one. They'll hit England, Ireland, Scotland, and plenty of the U.S.-- where they'll be joined by infinite-mixtapers Annuals-- by the end of October. Godspeed, young Tapes!

Annuals, whose Ace Fu debut Be He Me arrives October 17, have their own tour coming up as well. Before meeting up with Tapes 'n Tapes, they'll play with the likes of Art Brut, Man Man, and the Spinto Band. Ooh, hangin' with the popular kids. [MORE...]

Touch and Go 25 Fest Set Times Announced

Bust out them Palm Pilots and start planning those port-o-potty breaks now, kids. Touch and Go Records has just announced the complete set times for their 25th anniversary bonanza, going down September 8-10 as part of the Hideout's tenth annual block party in Chicago. As previously reported, T&G more than delivered on their promise of a band for every year of the venerable label's existence-- at last count we had 33, including "a few songs" by the legendary Big Black. Schedule after the jump. [MORE...]

T.V. Eye: August 28-September 3, 2006

Pitchfork's T.V. Picks for This Week:

Monday, August 28:

CBS: "Late Show With David Letterman": Baby Gramps with Akron/Family
CBS: "Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson": Jurassic 5
NBC: "Late Night With Conan O'Brien": Wolfmother (rerun)
NBC: "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno": Zero 7 with José González

Tuesday, August 29:

CBS: "Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson": Editors
CBS: "Late Show With David Letterman": the Roots

Wednesday, August 30:

CBS: "Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson": Michael Franti and Spearhead
CBS: "Late Show With David Letterman": Snoop Dogg
NBC: "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno": Neko Case

Thursday, August 31:

Comedy Central: "The Colbert Report": Neil Young (rerun)
MTV: "Video Music Awards": T.I., Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, Ludacris, the Raconteurs, Christina Aguilera, Pharrell, the Killers
IFC: "The Henry Rollins Show": Death Cab for Cutie (rerun)

Friday, September 1:

NBC: "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno": Foo Fighters

Jeff Tweedy Announces Wilcoless Solo DVD, Wilco Tour
JT's bringing scruffy back

Fresh off news of Golden Smog's "Tweedyless" forthcoming tour comes this joyous bit of Tweedyful news: on October 24, Nonesuch will release Sunken Treasure, a DVD documenting Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy's 2006 solo tour. This live DVD sees Tweedy acoustifying seventeen tunes from the Wilco, Uncle Tupelo, and Loose Fur catalogs. "Burn to Shine" aces Christoph Green and Brendan Canty (Fugazi) directed the film, which culls footage from Seattle, Portland, Eugene, Arcata, and San Francisco gigs.

Along with the live musik, Sunken Treasure also addresses such compelling subject matter as the "isolated bleakness" of touring and the "sense of community" that arises at Tweedy shows, according to Wilco's official website. In true Wilco-loves-the-internet fashion, all who purchase the DVD will be able to download its seventeen tracks for free. Tracklist and Wilco tour dates after the jump. [MORE...]

Ben Gibbard Covers "World's Worst Song" at Benefit

The traveling Revenge of the Book Eaters benefit came to Chicago's Park West venue yesterday evening, bringing Ben Gibbard, John Roderick of the Long Winters, and author Dave Eggers in tow.

The night's all-acoustic sets got off to an awkward start with the third-rate Belle and Sebastian stylings of locals the Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, whose near-complete lack of energy made the arrival of short story writer ZZ Packer more than welcome.

Following Packer was John Roderick. One of the most engaging performers of the night, Roderick's four-song set proved too short. The man kept his banter between songs sharp and endearing, which was even more impressive considering that he had just arrived at the venue moments before he appeared on stage.

After a short intermission came the real highlights of the night. Host Ira Glass delivered a piece fit for his "This American Life" radio show about a former truck driver who learned to read at the age of 45. Then came Eggers, who read excerpts from his forthcoming fictionalized autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng, a Sudanese "lost boy" who sat next to Eggers and answered sporadic questions from him as part of a live reading/interview format the pair had never attempted before. Glass later praised their natural, genuinely funny, and even heartwarming interplay, though he also admitted some of his rapture may have been alcohol-induced.

Ben Gibbard closed out the night, but not before comedian/musician Fred Armisen made a surprise appearance as the Death Cab for Cutie frontman himself. Armisen's intentional false starts included lines like, "This song is about how much I hate the Death Cab fans. They're so overweight and...shitty," and, "Chicago's a really great town for pussy for me." Gibbard then appeared to applause and quickly sucked out the feeling with a mix of Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie songs. While on piano, he accurately remarked that with his long hair and sideburns he was starting to resemble Stephen Stills, before playing covers of Teenage Fanclub's "Slow Fade" (a "newer song" by "my favorite band ever") and the Band's "It Makes No Difference", which his thin, breathy tenor made particularly painful.

At the end of the evening, Glass announced that the money the audience had donated during the show had just surpassed the $5,000 goal. The audience's reward? Gibbard and Roderick returned to the stage with Scotland Yard's Elia Einhorn to play "the worst song in the world and a Neil Diamond song" (à la the David Byrne/Sufjan collaboration in New York the night before). Gibbard informed us that both titles belonged to the same song, and then the trio launched into a cover of Neil Diamond's "Porcupine Pie". It was a fittingly absurd end to a benefit for a children's creative writing center.

Jose Gonzalez Tours With Zero 7 and Beyond

Argentine-Swede "Heartbeats" hijacker José González, who hit paydirt when his Knife cover landed in a Sony Bravia commercial, will melt hearts on North American shores as he kicks off his tour tomorrow with chilled out British duo Zero 7. The Gonz will open all dates, as well as perform with the headliner. Expect to hear any or all of the four songs González lends his vocals to on Zero 7's recent third LP, The Garden, including single "Futures". Also onboard to perform with Z7: frequent collaborator Sia, whose Colour the Small One finally arrived stateside early this year.

González, who is also-- by some accent mark-related computer glitch-- presently blowing up the Pitchfork "Most Read" charts, has a slew of post-Zero 7 solo dates, starting with a slot at the massive Austin City Limits festival, and including a gig at an "Enchanted Broccoli Forest". Yeaaah. He'll also appear alongside Z7 on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" on Monday, August 28, performing "Futures". [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.)