Scissor Sisters, Gossip on A Touch of Class Remix LP

New York DJ duo and production team A Touch of Class-- aka Oliver Stumm and Domie Clausen-- will release A Touch of Class Still Sucks! via their own A Touch of Class Recordings on February 27.

The remix album is a follow-up to their 2003 debut full-length, A Touch of Class Sucks! (self-loathe much guys?), and it features remixes of Scissor Sisters, Erasure, the Gossip, and Le Tigre in their non-beatmatched, extended 12" versions.

Stumm and Clausen have a U.S. tour in the works. [MORE...]

Nico Heads to The Frozen Borderline

Rhino UK has compiled two albums by legendary chanteuse and Velvet Underground collaborator Nico into one two-disc release, expanded with previously unreleased demos, outtakes, and alternate versions.

The Frozen Borderline: 1968-1970 combines 1969's The Marble Index and 1970's Desertshore, both of which feature the Velvet Underground's John Cale assisting in production, performing, and writing.

The Frozen Borderline: 1968-1970 is out now. [MORE...]

Cadence Weapon Signs to Epitaph, Sends Debut to U.S.

Cadence Weapon, aka ex-Pitchfork scribe Rollie Pemberton, has joined the stable of rising underground rappers at Epitaph. He is moving to the once punk-centric imprint from Canada's Upper Class Recordings, though the labels will release Breaking Kayfabe together in the U.S. on March 13. UC originally released Breaking in Pemberton's native Canada back in 2005, and it garnered a respectable 8.0 from this here website.

Epitaph/Upper Class have also teamed up for the video for new single "Sharks". Spy Films produced the old-school video game homage, and Chris Grismer and Duane Crichton co-directed it.

Cadence Weapon will release his sophomore album on Epitaph this fall. A full tour is in the works for the summer, though he currently has a few dates scheduled in Canada and one at South by Southwest.

"Sharks":


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Idlewild Make Another World, Tour

Now that the (mediocre) dust surrounding Outkast's Idlewild soundtrack has settled, the original musical bearers of the name, Scottish five-piece Idlewild, have stepped forward to do their thing.

Sanctuary will release Idlewild's sixth record, titled Outka...ha, no, Make Another World, on March 5 overseas, and March 6 as a digital release in America, with an April 3 release date for the physical disc.

The album was recorded in Edinburgh last year with longtime Idlewild producer Dave Eringa.

A single from the LP, "No Emotion", will land February 26 overseas, courtesy of Sanctuary Records. Fans who pre-order it as a download will receive a link to watch a new Idlewild documentary online; the same footage hits Channel 4's 4Play program on February 26. [MORE...]

Split Lip Rayfield's Kirk Rundstrom, R.I.P.

Split Lip Rayfield and Scroat Belly singer/songwriter/guitarist Kirk Rundstrom passed away yesterday as a result of cancer. Rundstrom was diagnosed last spring but continued performing into this month. According to his website, he even has a new solo album titled Imperfect Spirals due out this year.

Wichita's Orpheum Theatre will host a memorial service for Rundstrom on February 26, and the folks at his label, Bloodshot Records, have a very nice eulogy for him at their website.

Donations to Rundstrom's family can be made through the Split Lip Rayfield website.

The Besnard Lakes Kick Off Tour

The Besnard Lakes' to-do list:

1) Release totally awesome album on Jagjaguwar.

2) Make Pitchfork's Recommended section.

3) Own the Forkcast with the total music-to-burn-barns-to jam "Devastation".

4) Strong-arm North America and Europe into submission with a lengthy tour.

Having already accomplished the first three, the Lakes will start on the fourth tonight in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Hide your women, children, and flammable black stallions. [MORE...]

Actor Michael Pitt's Pagoda Issues Ecstatic Peace Debut

Actors turned musicians! It's the new cool thing. Hot on the heels of Jena Malone's indie rock foray, we have screen thespian Michael Pitt, whose outfit Pagoda releases its self-titled, debut full-length via Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace imprint on February 27.

Pitt's got rock credentials, sort of. Dude was in John Cameron Mitchell's offbeat musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch as the titular queen's love interest Tommy Gnosis. He also played Kurt Cobain-esque doomed rocker Blake in Gus Van Sant's 2005 film Last Days, and he's even got one-up on exhibitionist Kevin Barnes-- if you've seen Bertolucci's incestuous cinephile flick The Dreamers, you've already seen the young man's naughty bits.

Pitt and his band-- which originally included fellow actor and "O.C." guest star Ryan Donowho-- celebrate the release of Pagoda with a February 27 gig at New York City's Tonic. The crew also heads to Austin next month for something called SXSW. Oh, and that Nirvana thing must have rubbed off-- just check out undeniably grunge-y album opener "Lesson Learned" below. [MORE...]

Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes Explains Nudity
He was just trying to bring about world peace, see

So, Kevin Barnes of Of Montreal. Why'd ya do it? Why'd ya go and strip naked (except for fishnet stockings and a red cummerbund, of course) on stage in Las Vegas last week?

Well, according to an interview with Dan Moore that aired on WITR, the Rochester Institute of Technology's college radio station, on February 20, he was just trying to get us all to free our minds. (Our asses would, presumably, follow).

Barnes said, "I always wanted to perform naked...it's kind of my concept, to bring world peace to the Earth if everyone had to stand naked in front of their peers once a month. I think it's good because it forces you to sort of come to terms with any sort of body issues that you might have and it sort of like cleanses your emotional palette.

"A lot of people get this anxiety that's like 'I was naked in front of an audience!' and stuff, but I think it's kind of cool for people to be able to face that without going to jail. That's the thing, too, I had to pick Vegas because that's the only 21+ venue we're playing on this whole tour, and I didn't want to become a sex offender, because that would be pretty dreadful."

Arcade Fire, JAMC, Air, Harvey Line Up for Summercase
Plus LCD Soundsystem, Flaming Lips, Jarvis Cocker, !!!, Kaiser Chiefs, DJ Shadow...and OMD

Just like those dudes who pimp their rides and show them off in the Burger King parking lot, cities around the Western World have taken to decking out their parks, forums, pavilions, polo fields, centres, arenas, and amphitheaters with some sweet festival lineups. A near-flawless initial lineup, however, should put Spain's Summercase firmly in the running for number one summer stunna.

The two-day bash goes down at Madrid's Boadilla del Monte and Barcelona's Parc del Fòrum on July 13 and 14 (the same day some other festival kicks off) and boasts the ubiquitous Arcade Fire, the reunited Jesus and Mary Chain, and secret weapon PJ Harvey, playing her only 2007 appearances announced thus far. Also onboard: Air, LCD Soundsystem, the Flaming Lips, Jarvis Cocker, !!!, DJ Shadow, the Chemical Brothers, My Brightest Diamond, Electrelane, Kaiser Chiefs, the Pigeon Detectives, and-- the festival equivalent of chrome all over the place-- OMD.

Tickets are on sale now, and expect more top-notch acts to put 20" dubs on the bill soon. Be careful not to get this confused with the previously reported Primavera Sound festival, also going down at Barcelona's Parc del Fòrum, but in late May and early June. And don't forget yr stunna shades!

Dalek Speak Abandoned Language, Tour

Avant-rap group Dälek will release Abandoned Language via Ipecac on February 27, this coming Tuesday. MC Dälek and Oktopus recruited DJ Rob Swift (X-ecutioners) and Motiv to provide scratches on the album, which is their fourth. The Ernest Jenning label will release the vinyl, which is a double gatefold and features separate artwork from the CD. Mastodon cover artist Paul Romano designed the artwork for both releases.

The duo will kick off a tour in New York on the day of Abandoned Language's release, and after a few shows in the U.S., they will head over to Europe.

We featured "Paragraphs Relentless" over in the Forkcast section last week, and you can download it below. [MORE...]

Mountain Goats Launch Tour Tomorrow, Add Dates

This weekend, the Mountain Goats will scale the Alaskan terrain for two shows in Fairbanks, that hotbed of indie rock, before setting out on a West Coast tour leading up to SXSW.

Beginning in late March, John Darnielle and Peter Hughes will kick off a newly revealed eight-show run through Scandinavia.

Alaska, Scandinavia...brrr. [MORE...]

Mars Volta Announce Short Tour

The Mars Volta are back to doing what they do best. No, not making hilarious album covers and song titles-- bringing their trademark nerdcore on the road.

The pair will trek through New Zealand, Australia, and California this March and April in support of last fall's Amputechture (GSL/Universal) LP.

Just please try and refrain from pissing the dudes off or Cedric Bixler-Zavala will have your head on a platter. No, seriously. [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.)