Exclusive: Mountain Goats Added to "Daily Show" Party

John Darnielle is a funny guy. Seriously! Read this if you don't believe me. Or go see the Mountain Goats play at "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart"'s "TEN F#@KING YEARS (THE CONCERT)", to which they were recently added.

As previously reported, Superchunk, Clem Snide, the Upper Crust, several "Daily Show" staffers, and Stewart himself (via video) will all celebrate the fake news show's 10th anniversary with an evening of songs and hijinks at NYC's Irving Plaza on November 16.

It's a benefit for 826NYC, and all concertgoers will receive a limited edition program featuring work by all of "The Daily Show"'s writers, as well as a cover by Tony Millionaire.

If you can't make it to that shindig, the Mountain Goats are on tour now. [MORE...]

MP3: Damien Jurado Covers Nick Drake
He's also got an album coming out and a tour

He's a moody storyteller with a jones for the acoustic guitar. His music sounds great when it's raining outside.

Are we talking about Damien Jurado or Nick Drake? Or BOTH? Hear the men intertwine into one, as Jurado covers several Drake tunes: "Which Will", "Rider on the Wheel", "Place to Be" and "Parasite", all available below for your downloading pleasure.

And get ready for an onslaught of Jurado in the near future. A long, long time ago (last February), Jurado posted a message on his website announcing that he was working on not one, but two albums which he claimed to be the "best ones yet." One was slated for a fall 2006 release, with the other following in early 2007. Well, things are looking good; the dude kept at least 50% of his promise!

The first, And Now That I'm in Your Shadow will land on Secretly Canadian come October 10. The other release is expected this spring, according to a recent story on Billboard.com

Billboard reported that the two are divided stylistically, with Shadow the "sadder" of the pair. Both feature Jurado's first-ever full-time band, which is comprised of cellist/vocalist Jenna Conrad and, as previously reported, multi-instrumentalist Eric Fisher.

"They write their parts and I can't say a thing about it," Jurado told Billboard. "I trust them, and whatever they come up with is so great. We all split the money three ways and each have our own responsibilities. 'We' are Damien Jurado."

The And Now That I'm in Your Shadow track "What Were the Chances" can be heard as an MP3 by clicking here; the track "There Goes Your Man" is available on his MySpace page.

Jurado kicks off a U.S. tour tonight in Utah. After a few dates with Amy Millan, he'll join up with Rosie Thomas. Then it's off to Europe to round out the year.

Follow the adventures of Damien Jurado (both the band and the man) on his audio blog. He tells you that he loves you a lot. [MORE...]

Video: Lupe Fiasco: "I Gotcha"

If you found yourself asking, "Lupe Fiasco, what the hell is up with your album cover?!"-- or if you love the thing-- take a gander at this video for the young man's latest single from Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor (Atlantic), the piano roll romp "I Gotcha".

Taking a cue from the song, and invoking that kooky cover, director Kevin Hunter keeps things here light, snappy, and colorful. Basically just folks dancing around in front of bluescreens and such, but it's fun. Too bad that Gigantor robot doesn't get more screentime.

Ex-Studio Folks Fire Up KGD Distribution

Earlier this year we reported on the sad saga of Studio Distribution, long-running distributor for dozens of respected electronic and dance labels. The distro went kaput for unspecified, financially-related reasons, leaving the labels and artists it distributed out thousands of dollars-- and leaving numerous imprints abroad without a means of getting their releases on U.S. shelves.

Enter brothers Mark and Andrew Knight, two former Studio employees who have started KGD Media to pick up some of the pieces after Studio's dissolution. Fiercely independent, KGD exclusively distributes and markets titles for about 35 labels, including Citizen, Tresor, Mantis, Mental Groove, and Ministry of Sound Germany. For a complete list of clients, click here. Long Island City-based dance vinyl distributor Syntax Music is presently in charge of physical distribution for KGD Media, and the two now share offices.

"There's a lot of great music out there, especially from Europe, that needs a decent home in the States," Mark Knight stated in a press release. Additionally, with music enthusiasts continually diversifying their tastes, "we acknowledge this as a vital component to our success."

As for the fates of other labels formerly distributed by Studio, several have been picked up by parent company Navarre, while others have taken distribution matters into their own hands.

Clap Your Hands Kick Off Tour
Architecture in Helsinki, Takka Takka Along for the Ride

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are taking a break from recording the follow-up to their self-titled debut (with Dave Fridmann) to tour the U.S. and Japan. They're joined by Architecture in Helsinki and Takka Takka on the U.S. trek, which kicks off tonight in Boston.

As previously reported, all three bands are featured on a tour-only EP together that will be for sale at the shows. [MORE...]

Video: Nouvelle Vague: "Dance With Me"

Give us an excuse to put Anna Karina on the Pitchfork news page, and we'll gladly take it!

A fairly obvious approach here, but it works: French covers act Nouvelle Vague pay homage to their namesake by borrowing a famous scene from French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard's Band of Outsiders (aka Bande à Part, which also happens to be the name of the troupe's second album) for their video for "Dance With Me" (a cover of the 1983 Lords of the New Church single). Got all that?

The clip features Karina and co-stars Sami Frey and Claude Brasseur busting a lil' move at a café-- however director Jarryd Lowder has only retained the handclaps from the original's jazz soundtrack. Three decades of disparate dots with the same name somehow connect-- New Wave filmmaking, new wave songwriting, and bossa nova music-- and the result is strangely captivating to behold.

Plus lord almighty does it beat the original tune's creeptastic video.

Video: Serena Maneesh: "Sapphire Eyes"

Thanks, Serena Maneesh, for using the condensed version of album track "Sapphire Eyes" for your video release. Nothing against v1.0 of the song (it's great), but a six minute "short" isn't really what I'm looking for...especially when the film for the remixed rendition, which clocks in at about half the time of the original, certainly isn't anything to write home about.

Utilizing high contrast, desolate settings, and a spacey, blurred atmosphere, the Hilma Nikolaisen-centric video, directed by Nick Small, is a good match for the tune. The problem? It simply isn't that interesting. Highlights include a creepy little kid (see: the last ten seconds of the vid) and a moose head.

The movie comes just ahead of Serena Maneesh's "Sapphire Eyes" single release, due via Playlouderecordings on October 2. The project, which will be released in both CD and 7" formats, was produced by Primal Scream's Brendan Lynch and comes backed by remixes from Riton (Kosmishe remix) and Mogwai producer Tony Doogan, as well as a "Lynch Mob" edit. Shorty, J-Dee, and T Bone in da house!

In addition to all that, the band is nominated in the "Best Norwegian Band" category for the MTV Europe Awards, scheduled to go down on November 4 at Copenhagen's Bella Centre. And Justin Timberlake's hosting! His publicist tells us that he's started growing a Emil Nikolaisen mustache in tribute. Or we're lying.

As previously reported, the group is smack in the middle of a U.S. tour. Remaining performances will run through early October.

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Wrens Reveal Double LP Meadowlands, Publishing Deal

Last we heard from The Meadowlands, claymation was the cat's meow. Now, just in time for its third birthday, the seminal Wrens record has been given a full-blown resurrection (and then some), courtesy of Absolutely Kosher/LO-MAX/BB*Island.

A double-vinyl, bonus-tracked version of the album is now available in the Wrens' online store. Added songs include "Splitter #7: Fireworks / James, I Wanna" (a two-songs-in-one project-- "James, I Wanna" on the right speaker, "Fireworks" on the left-- previously released via Saddle Creek as part of a Wrens/Park Ave. 7" split), "Our Brightest New Year" (a cut from a 7" put out on Boston label Sonic Bubblegum in 1995), and two previously unreleased (in the U.S.) numbers, "Nervous and Not Me", and "Such a Pretty Lie", which were originally developed for The Meadowlands.

The latter two were cut from the album due to time constraints caused by a string of family deaths and were put on hold...UNTIL NOW. "Nervous" was completed last winter in preparation for The Meadowlands' European release. "Pretty Lie" is, quoth the band's website, "the best existing mix of this 2nd or 3rd version of the song".

In addition to the Wrens' online store, the 2xLP will be available on the band's ongoing fall tour, the next date of which is slated for mid-October.

And finally, good news for all you film students looking to get the rights to Meadowlands tracks for your tight-ass indie flick. The Wrens have worked out a deal with Rough Trade Publishing for the disc, meaning anyone looking to get info about licensing songs can talk to RTP. And that the Wrens have done more in the past few weeks than in the last three years.

Now, maybe, it's finally time to move on? As the band says, "Dear Meadowlands, please end." [MORE...]

Nellie McKay's Head Finally Gets Release Date

While it's far from reaching Clipse-like proportions, the delay on Nellie McKay's sophomore album Pretty Little Head has been substantial, to say the least. Originally slated for release late last year, the album was bumped to January 3 after a shake-up at Nellie's then label, Columbia Records, then shelved indefinitely when McKay split from Columbia over the winter holiday.

McKay essentially shrugged, and went on to star as Polly Peachum in a Broadway production of "The Threepenny Opera" (nabbing a Theatre World Award in the process). Now she's back, ready to put the full force of her own new label, Hungry Mouse, and SpinART's distribution muscle behind the October 31 release of Pretty Little Head-- now in double-disc format. Another two-disc release?? Must be some kind of record, man.

Pretty Little Head features 23 tracks in all, the same 23 tracks McKay fought with Columbia over keeping. It includes duets with Cyndi Lauper and k.d. lang and a 40-page booklet depicting McKay having a ball and raising a brouhaha recording the album. [MORE...]

Joy Division Under Review in Documentary DVD

Even 26 years after Ian Curtis' death, the eulogizing continues for Joy Division, who are the subjects of their very own MVD Visual Under Review DVD. Sexy Intellectual will release Joy Division: Under Review on the appropriately gloomy October 31.

This straight-to-DVD release, which bears no relation to the previously reported, Anton Corbijn-directed Control, covers the band's short career in seventy minutes. According to a press release, it includes "rare musical performances, obscure footage of rare interviews, and rarely seen photographs." Rare!

The documentary also includes interviews with Ian Curtis biographer Mick Middles, former NME and Melody Maker writer Barney Hoskyns, former Mojo editor Pat Gilbert, Manchester musician John Robb, and author David Stubbs, among others. Bonus features include a "transcribed Ian Curtis audio interview, 'The Hardest Joy Division Quiz in the World Ever', contributor biographies, and [a] 'Beyond DVD' section," which we can only hope means cookies. Now that would be a bonus feature!

Les Georges Leningrad Prep New Album, Tour
Also prep surrealistic tour wardrobe

Ta-Dada! Montreal-based art- (anti-art?) punk trio Les Georges Leningrad is poised to release another "petrochemical" album. Titled Sangue Puro (Italian for "pure-blooded"), the new full-length will appear in the U.S. on October 3 on Tomlab/Dare to Care Records.

On their MySpace page, the band describes this, their third full-length, as "a mix between Baltimore hip-hop, ludicrous musique concrète and Bakou's industrial hardcore."

Following the release of Sangue Puro, Poney P, Mingo, and BoBo will bring their infamous live show to North America, touring this November with fellow Quebecois Duchess Says. [MORE...]

Johnny Cash's San Quentin Reissued, Expanded

Columbia/Legacy will reissue Johnny Cash's first chart-topping album-- the live Johnny Cash at San Quentin-- on November 14 as a three-disc (two CDs and one DVD) set, along with plenty of previously unreleased extras.

The 2000 remastered version of the 1969 LP expanded the original's tracklist from 10 to 18 tracks, but this release will transcend both by including 13 previously unreleased performances from Cash and his entire ensemble, which included his wife June Carter Cash, the Carter Family, Carl Perkins, and the Statler Brothers.

In addition to live performances, the DVD portion of the set will include the 1969 British television documentary Johnny Cash in San Quentin and interviews with the San Quentin inmates themselves. The Billboard.com- reported tracklist is after the jump.
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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.)