Devendra, Tamborello, Saul Williams Play Dublab Event

How about taking a break from those routine Saturday night visits to the local 24-hour hipster diner to hit up a top secret Los Angeles destination with Devendra Banhart, Jimmy Tamborello, Daedelus, Saul Williams, Mia Doi Todd, and a variety of other celebs? Internet radio station Dublab and ArtDontSleep can make it happen.

In celebration of Dublab's seven-year anniversary and John Coltrane's birthday, the former will put on a concert event featuring the artists listed above (some on DJ duty), as well as "motion graphics", a poster exhibition, "live screen-printing" from, a "magic photo booth", and more.

The festivities run from 7pm-2am this Saturday evening/Sunday morning, with all proceeds benefiting, quoth a press release, "Dublab's positive music mission."

To uncover the party's location, confirm your attendance here.

Full roster of performers after the jump. [MORE...]

Chan Marshall Tells All to New York Times
"Saturday Night Live" audition?!

First, we were skeptical, then pleasantly surprised. But now it's evident that Chan Marshall is doing victory laps. In an interview published today in The New York Times, Marshall (aka Cat Power) talked about her battle with alcoholism and her past struggles with performing live, as well as her future plans.

"I never noticed they really liked me before. Man, these people stuck with me," Marshall said of her audiences, explaining that her erratic behavior at past shows had more to do with being uncomfortable with herself rather than the audience or the instruments onstage.

She also talked about the events leading up to her stay at the Mount Sinai Medical Center earlier this year, where she was hospitalized right before the release of her latest album, The Greatest. "I was looking at death. I wanted to die," she said, adding, "I lost my mind... I asked God, I said, 'I'm tired, I can't do this.' I was asking him to just take me."

For the full article and a video of Marshall answering some of the interview questions, click here. [MORE...]

Blow Make Paper Television, Invent Paper Tivo
Shows include "Grey's Papyrology", "Project Papercut", and "Tommy Lee Goes to College-Ruled"

"Awesome bullshit" is a pretty good way of describing the Blow's aesthetic. It's also the way Blow half Jona Bechtolt describes his band's forthcoming remix album, Paper Tivo. But everyone knows that before the remixes you have to have the original release (M.I.A. didn't get that memo), and thus, new record Paper Television must precede Paper Tivo.

The only album of the two with a release date at the moment, Paper Television comes out October 26 on K Records, and the duo (also consisting of founding member Khaela Maricich) are in the throes of a fall U.S. tour with Architecture in Helsinki (and, later, Jenny Lewis With the Watson Twins) to support it. They plan to take on Japan and Australia in January.

As for Paper Tivo, the Blow hope to release the remix project sometime in December. The CD/DVD will include remixes of songs from Paper Television, and Bechtolt tells us remixers might include "some famous people like Mu, Max Tundra, Hot Chip, Soft Pink Truth [and] DFA" in addition to Bobby Birdman, Anna Oxygen, and Andrew Kaffer, among others. The DVD portion of the release will feature "a tour video by Matthew Chambers, music videos that we're making, real and fake commentary, Google image searches” and, of course, the above referenced "more awesome bullshit." [MORE...]

Joanna Newsom Adds More Tour Dates

Holding on to that wolf-pelt headgear in the back of the closet has finally paid off, because Joanna Newsom recently added a handful of tour dates to her fall itinerary. All the better to accessorize you with, my dear.

Newsom, whose (terrific) Ys is due via Drag City on November 14, will take to the road later this month with a stint at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts (students with a college ID get free admission). After that, she'll perform a series of shows scattered from October-December. [MORE...]

Mission of Burma Tour Diary, Part Five
Caution: NSFW!

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 five, in which we see more of Burma than we ever expected.

Read part four here.
Read part three here.
Read part two here.
Read part one here.

---

Monday, September 18: "Eugene to the South"

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

Sunny, we all wandered our own way. Some got grilled salmon sandwiches at the University of Oregon, others happy with coffee and some composite carbohydrates. WOW Hall had WiFi, so I sent off yesterday's blog blurb.

Van ride down the rainforested coast towards Sacramento. All in good humor. Hey, look! The rain stopped and it's sunny again!

We drove into the mountains east of Eugene to the Terwilliger Hot Springs. A cascade of eight pools, hottest at the top, and cooling further down. The half-mile path in from the road was a glorious rain/moss forest green, absolutely beautiful. Clothing was optional in the hot springs. Luscious, gorgeous women; studly, muscular men. Things got kind of out of control...

The Men of Burma [MORE...]

Photos: Lupe Fiasco [Metro; Chicago, IL; 09/19/06]

"For those who don't already know," a sweat-soaked, de-spectacled Lupe Fiasco announced three-quarters through this secret, MySpace-sponsored record release gig at Chicago's Metro, "this is, like, the happiest day of my life."

And with good reason. Just yesterday, Lupe dropped one hell of a debut album, Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor. Last night, he celebrated by treating several hundred of his closest friends to this free hometown show. They chanted his name, sang along with every word, and called out requests-- and Lupe more or less delivered.

For his part, Fiasco brought verve and spunk, hopping about the stage, temple veins popping out as he spit rhyme after rhyme, all of them pretty much flawless. When he wasn't rapping, he was half dancing, or pantomiming all the Jay-Z lines on "Pressure", or taking a breather while his recorded voice carried on behind him-- yes, he was essentially rapping over the album (apparently he had lost his voice recently), but this didn't hamper his skills or the energy a bit. [MORE...]

Ariel Pink, KFW Sign on for Singles Club

Reasons to read no further: you don't much care for left-field ambient and psychedelia, you hate limited editions and exclusive clubs, your favorite band is Train, you're allergic to vinyl. Still with us? Awesome, because the Melted Mailbox subscription-based singles club has arrived. The club promises to showcase old and new experimental musicians doing what they do best.

This first series will treat paying subscribers to seven one-sided 12" vinyl singles of unreleased material by Ariel Pink, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Sunroof!, Old Bombs members Carlos Giffoni and Dino Felipe, Old Time Relijun frontman Arrington De Dionyso, and OOO. The records arrive in bi-monthly groupings, and while the first pair has already shipped, it's not too late to join and get the whole set. For the collector in everyone, the 12"s will be limited to 700 subscription-exclusive copies, and include etchings on the music-less side.

Quoted on the Mailbox website, Ariel Pink described his contribution as an "epic 17-minute prog-pop suite, literally recorded [on] September 11th, 2001, inspired and addressing the hot-off-the-press adrenaline rush of our nation in shock, caught in real time." Um, Haunted Graffiti as the voice of a nation?

While you chew on that one, club contributor KFW said of his piece: "It's about 15 minutes long-- mostly guitar/computer music with a bit of analog. Pretty damn nice sounding right now. An epic, even..." It would probably be safe to assume the rest of the singles will generally follow Melted Mailbox's credo: "homemade experimental aesthetic with a warm psychedelic feel." We can definitely dig that.

As if all this weren't tantalizing enough, the first series also promises swag galore, including a "special surprise," CD-Rs from unannounced contributors, bonus mp3s, a poster, postcards, stickers, pins, and buttons, all lovingly packaged in a home-made box.

And now the interactive kicker: subscribers to the club are encouraged to send in their own work to be included in a special "meltedmailbox mix." Gentlemen (and gentlewomen), start your four-tracks and boot up your Pro Tools!

Fiery Furnaces Announce Fall Tour
Dates with Deerhoof

The Fiery Furnaces have been touring their asses off this year in support of Bitter Tea, and they aren't about to stop. The Friedbergers will continue their run with a string of dates in late October and early November. Several of the shows will feature Deerhoof as the opening act.

West Coasters are out of luck, though, as all of these dates are on the East Coast and in Canada. Also, Ohio. [MORE...]

Twilight Singers Tour With Mark Lanegan

A couple weeks ago, Greg Dulli dropped the big Afghan Whigs reunion bomb, but it doesn't look like he plans on quitting his day job in the Twilight Singers any time soon. In late October, the band will hit the road for their second American tour of the year, with Screaming Trees/Queens of the Stone Age/Isobel Campbell dude Mark Lanegan on board as an official band member. Much gravelly-voiced singing about drinking and screwing shall ensue.

Stars of Track and Field and Jeff Klein will support all dates except Brooklyn, at which Twilight Singers collaborator Steve Myers' band Mighty Fine will take Klein's place. [MORE...]

Video: Bonnie "Prince" Billy Commercial 4
Another one?!?

Holy mother of bongs, kids! If you thought three installments of Will Oldham stalking Neil Hamburger were tripped-out, wait until you see this. Guest director Neil Michael Hagerty (the Howling Hex, etc.) trash-compacts cartoons, claymation, crayon drawings, butterflies, televisions, raspy narration, and Oldham dancing in slow-motion into a impenetrable mindfuck of a 29-second commercial. Play it loud and be sure to watch the whole thing...

Tim Buckley Best Of Due

On October 3, Rhino Records will pay tribute to the short but legendary career of singer/songwriter/producer/Jeff-dad Tim Buckley with the release of The Best of Tim Buckley, a single-disc collection of 18 remastered tracks.

Although he passed away in 1975 at age 28, Buckley produced an impressive range of work, including nine genre-traversing studio albums. The Best of Tim Buckley reflects his evolution from early folk and psych songwriter to later jazz and soul improviser. The collection contains a rare track, "Sing a Song For You", from Rhino's limited-edition release Works in Progress, as well as "Goodbye and Hello", the eight-minute title track from his sophomore album, and covers of Tom Waits' "Martha" and Fred Neil's "Dolphins." [MORE...]

Beach House Release Debut, Tour

Baltimore's Beach House will release their self-titled debut via Carpark Records on October 3, and if you couldn't tell from our recent track review and Infinite Mixtape entry, we like them a lot. We don't know of any actual beach houses in Baltimore, though. Or at least not any beach houses we'd necessarily want to visit.

The duo will hit the road in October on a tour with a fellow ocean-obsessed duo, New Zealand's Over the Atlantic, whose debut, Junica, comes out today, also on Carpark. Unfortunately, the dates are all bound to the North American continent, so international fans will have to wait to see them until one of the bands actually crosses over the Atlantic. Ba dum dum.
[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.)