Video: The White Stripes on “The Simpsons”

The White Stripes' previously reported appearance on "The Simpsons" yesterday did indeed include an homage to the Michel Gondry-directed video for their Elephant hit "The Hardest Button to Button"-- but instead of sticking to the original's low key, feel-good vibe of watching drums and amps multiply, the "Simpsons" writers turned it into a showdown between the band and Bart. We won't spoil it by telling you how, but we will tell you that Bart has the last laugh. You can't trick a trickster, Jack and Meg!

T.V. Eye: September 18-23, 2006

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

Tuesday, September 19:

CBS: "Late Show With David Letterman": Kasabian
NBC: "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno": Justin Timberlake
NBC: "Late Night With Conan O'Brien": Bonnie "Prince" Billy

Wednesday, September 20:

ABC: "Jimmy Kimmel Live": Lupe Fiasco
NBC: "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno": Joan Jett

Thursday, September 21:

NBC: "Last Call With Carson Daly": Fiona Apple

Friday, September 22:

CBS: "Late Show With David Letterman": Ludacris

Saturday, September 23:

IFC: "The Henry Rollins Show": Peaches

U.S. Takes on John Lennon in Documentary

The man may have been a walking, talking, songwriting peace sign-- and a huggable one at that-- but for some folks John Lennon was, in his day, a threat to national security. Sounds crazy and, hmmmm, seems to parallel certain recent events, which is probably why the Lionsgate flick The U.S. vs. John Lennon hits the big screen later this month.

Written, directed, and produced by the team of David Leaf and John Scheinfeld (responsible, in various configurations, for countless musician-oriented TV specials), the film explores the U.S. government's attempts to suppress the voice of peace-happy John Lennon during the Vietnam War-happy era of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Unlike recent docs detailing the lives of Leonard Cohen and Daniel Johnston, this one focuses more on the socio-political climate of the times, so expect more hard-hitting truths and fewer baby photos.

The U.S. vs. John Lennon features seldom-seen footage from the Lennon vaults, courtesy of the man's widow, artist Yoko Ono. But that's not all. "Lennon's own music provid[es] subtly incisive narration," according to the press release. And while he's no Morgan Freeman, we can still dig it.

Plenty of special guests pop in to say a piece or two, including linguistics superstar and political activist Noam Chomsky, journalist and news icon Walter Cronkite, Watergate watchdog Carl Bernstein, Watergate mastermind G. Gordon Liddy, civil rights activist Angela Davis, writer Gore Vidal, former Senator and presidential candidate George McGovern, former NY governor Mario Cuomo, and...Geraldo Rivera!

The curious may check out the trailer below, as well as an exclusive teaser clip from the film itself-- featuring Geraldo, who seeks the buried treasure of John Lenno-- er, who talks about stuff.

While you're at it, check out the film's website, a too-cute Drudge Report knockoff.

Pelican Plan Assorted Releases, Launch Tour

The latest scoop: Pelican's status as a "fucking triumphant band" (as guitarist Laurent Lebec eloquently boasts on their website) will be put to the test this November when they attempt to simultaneously release a 2xLP, a 12", a 3" CD, and a live DVD. Go for the gold, dudes!

The DVD, which was mixed by Justin Broadrick (Jesu, Final, ex-Godflesh) and Michael Ward (not that M. Ward), features video from a Pelican headlining gig at London's Scala, photos, and footage of the band filmed over the past five years. The 2xLP, on Electric Human Project, will contain the full audio from that London gig. The 3" CD, meanwhile, holds a remix by Prefuse 73, as well as a "different" (quoth a press release) take on a demo track. Finally, the 12" will collect both of these 3" cuts on vinyl.

Wipe that sweat from your brow, sissies-- there's more. Pelican will once again step out on the road for a trek beginning tonight in support of last year's The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw. They plan to preview material from their new, as-of-yet untitled album live-- and record the thing shortly after the tour concludes. Oh, and just so you know, the Canadian portion of the jaunt is titled the "Exclaim! Aggressive Tendencies Tour", since it's sponsored by the Canadian music magazine Exclaim!. Show that you care and punch a fellow audience member in the face. Kidding, kidding. [MORE...]

Jay-Z Returns! (Definitely)
No more "probably"

Late last week, when Jay-Z decided to finally confirm the rampant rumors of the end of his "retirement", he went straight to the streets...by granting an exclusive interview to Entertainment Weekly. E-to-the-Dub got H-to-the-Izzo to admit that yes, a new album will be released this fall, yes, it's called Kingdom Come, and yes, Coldplay's Chris Martin produced one of its tracks.

Said Hova of the Martin collaboration, "We met at a charity dinner and just really kept in touch. He sent me these beautiful chords for this song called 'Beach Chair'. I had [Dr.] Dre put some drums on it. It's really, really incredible."

In the time it took to read that quote, Cam'ron wrote five new diss tracks, including one about how he used to pimp Gwyneth Paltrow.

Jigga also revealed to EW that Timbaland, Kanye West, and Dre have done production work for the album, and that he hopes to also work with Rick Rubin and Eminem. Lyrical inspirations include Superman ("Take off the blazer/ Loosen up the tie/ Step inside the booth/Superman is alive!"), a Basquiat painting (a track called "Most Kings"), and the death of his nephew. The album, he said, is "more in the vein of The Black Album than The Blueprint. I've been experimenting with things, different types of music."

He also continued his long-running denial of a relationship with Beyonce. C'mon, dude, it's getting really, really annoying.

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

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 three, in which Burma plays Portland, Oregon.

Read part two here.
Read part one here.

---

Saturday, September 16:

Another well-rested day. Is this really a rock tour?

Sunny, we all wandered our own way. Some got grilled salmon sandwiches at Pike's Market, others happy with coffee and some composite carbohydrates. Croc. Café had WiFi, so I sent off yesterday's blog blurb.

Van ride down the rain-forsted coast to Portland. All in good humor. Hey, look! The rain stopped and it's sunny again!

The glamorous life of a touring band. [MORE...]

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

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 two, in which Miller recounts the tour's first show.

Read part one here.

---

Friday, September 15: "Seattle"

Got plenty of sleep-- who cares about three hour time differences anyways? Sometimes I go to sleep at 11 pm, sometimes 2 am. Wake up where you are, etc.

Babbled w/Jimmy and Sharon in front of the hotel. Surprise surprise-- Clint's flight was cancelled. Looks like I'll be checking the bass and his monitors for soundcheck. As long as I don't have to play bass and guitar at the same time during the show... Jimmy will pick Bob up at the airport at noon and they'll get the shipped amps and drums to the club, the Crocodile Café.

On to Starbucks: I prefer indie coffee shops with blackhaired gals w/tattoos, but this is Seattle after all, home of SB.

Went to the Experience Music Project by the Space Needle. Don't really like the place much-- it's designed for people who need to be "educated". Everyone walks around with headphones on, being told via a tour guide what the meaning of everything is. There was an art show, though, that sounded fairly interesting, pairing various artists. Felt a bit sick to my stomach, but like anything, if you look deep enough, there's something of interest. Pieces by Max Ernst, Rothko, and Paul Signac (static pointillistic stuff) were really quite interesting. But it was a Jan Brueghel the Younger, 1625, that took the cake. Over-flow of ideas. Made me queasy just looking at it. This guy deserves some research on my part.

Wandered through some gardens and landed back at the Virginia Inn. Some pints and lunch. Started my "scrawl/frottage" of Bob-- part of a series of the band members of this group I'm in. They were playing the new David Byrne CD. It sounds like he is "a mature adult trying to make mature adult music." Something Mission of Burma clearly is not guilty of.


Scrawl/Frottage of Pete. Moral: NEVER drink and draw... [MORE...]

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.

---

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...]

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.)