Photos: Dean & Britta [Atlanta, GA; 03/23/07]

Photos by Stephen Lindley; text by Andy DeLoach

Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips, aka Dean & Britta, brought their vintage melodic sound to Atlanta's Variety Playhouse on Friday. The crowd wasn't a sell out, but a bunch of Luna and Galaxie 500 fans showed up with their unacquainted children to make the atmosphere lively and familial. Every Luna song was met with a generous round of applause, and the two tweenagers next to me were apparently so moved by the music that they found it necessary to mouth their love to Britta, who returned their sentiments with a smile.

The duo remained relatively close-lipped throughout the night and progressed from song to song without explanation; Dean piped up only to point out that the Variety was the first place he ever took ecstasy. Perhaps that memory helped Dean add a little flair to his stylish songs? Something did. As the crowd left, they looked happy, and even more importantly, fulfilled.

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Bjork Talks "Earth Intruders", Volta's First Single
"[It's a] fantasy that maybe a tsunami of people would just come and hit the White House and scrape it off the ground and do some justice…"

When Björk was creating her new album Volta (due out May 7 in Europe and May 8 in America on One Little Indian/Atlantic), the state of the world was on her mind. As she told Pitchfork's Brandon Stosuy, a trip to tsunami-ravaged Indonesia in January 2005 inspired her to think about the human race as "a tribe," and to make "some universal tribal beat" for this album.

Nowhere is Björk's concern for the planet more apparent than on Volta's first single, "Earth Intruders". Based on a loopy, frenetic Timbaland marching beat, with added percussion by African collective Konono N°1, it's the album's catchiest song, with Björk chanting "We are the Earth's intruders / We are the sharp shooters."

In the third part of Stosuy's interview with Björk, she talks about the genesis of this song. Click HERE for part one of the interview, and HERE for part two. [MORE...]

Bloc Party Extend Never-Ending Tour With U.S. Shows
Prep new single

And the Bloc Party just don't stop. Approaching the final stretch on their present North American jaunt-- and bound for the old countries next month with Mahogany (reminder: arrive early!)-- touring juggernauts Bloc Party have just revealed a three-week U.S. coda to their already enormous trek in support of this year's A Weekend in the City.

Oft-neglected minor American metropolises like Myrtle Beach and Asbury Park: Bloc Party cares about you! Even you, Pompano Beach, Florida. And to ensure Kele and band will have plenty of woe-is-rockstardom material for their next LP, they've even lined up some summer festival dates and Australian gigs. Or catch them from the comfort of your own arse on "The Late Show with David Letterman" on March 29 and "Last Call with Carson Daly" on April 6.

What's more, Bloc Party release the next Weekend single-- "I Still Remember"-- on April 9. Conveniently/annoyingly, it comes in three formats, each boasting different B-side goodies. Children of the digital age can also score exclusive remixes by SebastiAn and the Chap at their favorite online retailer. [MORE...]

Daft Punk Is Playing at More Festivals

We did a little homework and made a discovery; Daft Punk are all over the European festival circuit this summer. You'll forgive us for not noticing sooner; turns out, we're human after all. Oof.

Seriously, though, Daft Punk-- the stalwart, spacey French duo to whom gettin' down is practically mandatory-- will swap a few Euros for space-helmets through the steamy season before their previously announced Stateside stint with the Rapture, SebastiAn, and KavinSky.

Those who prefer to enjoy their Daft Punk in a climate-controlled setting may be in luck, with the band's Electroma film project currently making the rounds of a whole different sort of festival, with-- according to iMDb-- a proper theatrical release slated for April 28 in Japan. [MORE...]

Bonde do Role Add Dates, Share Bills With Klaxons, CSS

Expect broken beats strewn about the floors of clubs every which way but up in the wake of bottom-heavy Brazilian electro nuts Bonde do Role's recently-expanded tour, now sporting dates with next-big-thing Klaxons and Bonde's Cansei de Ser Sexy countryfolk.

As previously reported, Bonde do Role's "Solta a Frango" single trickled into stores earlier this week, with the spectacularly-dubbed Bonde do Role With Lasers to follow on Domino June 5. If it's not the best album of the year (and, shucks, it's possible), it's at least got the best title category on lock. [MORE...]

Deerhoof, Air, Spree Added to Bowie-Curated Fest
Also Daniel Johnston, Secret Machines, Laurie Anderson, Ricky Gervais, Legendary Stardust Cowboy (!)

David Bowie's reign as Coolest Dude in the Universe continues with the announcement of the lineup for the High Line Festival, which he curated.

According to Bowie's website, the fest, taking place May 9-19 at various venues in New York City, includes performances by such indie faves as the Arcade Fire, Air, Deerhoof, the Polyphonic Spree, and the Secret Machines, avant garde types Laurie Anderson and Ken Nordine, comedian Ricky Gervais, and "outsider" artists Daniel Johnston and the Legendary Stardust Cowboy (whose song "I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spaceship" Bowie covered on Heathen). There will also be art exhibitions and film screenings, all curated by Bowie.

According to BowieNet, Bowie had the following to say about curating the festival:

"I thought it a very cool deal to be asked to curate the High Line Festival. The request was for me to choose artists and acts that I myself would go out of my way to see. Although this inaugural year will be modest in scale we've been pretty lucky in that many whom I asked have accepted.

"I'm also pleased that many emerging artists are participating alongside more established talents that represent a fairly wide cross section of disciplines within the arts community. I would really hope that the exposure this festival affords will help these folk get the attention they deserve." [MORE...]

Arcade Fire Cancel Rest of Euro Tour
Win Butler is "sicker than a brick"

The Arcade Fire pour every ounce of their hearts and souls into their live performances, but doing so comes with a price. Screaming and yelling and banging on instruments night after night for months on end is pretty physically grueling, and eventually, it's going to catch up to you (bodies being cages that keep you from dancing with the one you love and all).

Alas, yesterday (Saturday, March 24) in Oslo, Norway, Win Butler finally succumbed to the illness that has been dogging him for months, and the Arcade Fire decided to cancel the rest of their European tour. In an entry titled "heavy heart" posted in his diary on the band's website, Butler explains that he "ha[s] been suffering from a sinus and bronchial infection for the last 3 months, and last night in Stockholm I finally pushed my voice and body farther than they are able to go." (Read the full text of the diary post below)

Win's brother and bandmate Will Butler also weighed in on the situation in his web diary, saying "Win is sicker than a brick", and listing a "specific regret" for each city the band will be missing on the rest of the canceled tour, from Oslo to Lille, France. He also gives opening act Electrelane their own apology.

Hopefully, Win will be nice and healthy in time for the North American leg of the tour, which is set to kick off April 26.

Get well soon!

Thanks to reader Martin Øiaas for the tip. [MORE...]

Spoon Reveal New Album Details

The men of Spoon will return to the world of releasing killer studio albums on July 10 with their sixth full-length. Merge will release the currently untitled album, and judging by the names of the record's ten songs, Britt Daniel was feeling a little feisty and very spelling-impaired: "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb", "Don't You Evah", "Rhthm and Soul", "Black Like Me" (?!).

We're also curious to see if "Eddie's Ragga" is indeed a ragga. If so, craziest Spoon record ever!

Spoon have a few U.S. shows this spring and summer to tide over the anxious masses, and they are planning a full tour for the fall. [MORE...]

Sleater-Kinney's Corin Tucker Debuts New Songs, Covers
Um, solo record?

With Janet Weiss off hanging with the Jicks, and Carrie Brownstein making a Believer out of us all, what's the third pillar of indefinitely hiatus'd indie rock legends Sleater-Kinney-- guitarist/vocalist Corin Tucker-- to do? Scratch that new-material-writing itch, it seems.

Tucker, who popped up solo-style at a Future of Music Coalition event this past November, returned to the stage at Portland's Buckman Arts Magnet Elementary School on March 17. She appeared solo and performed as part of a benefit for local artists. According to S-K fansite Sleater-Kinney.net, Tucker showcased three brand new songs: "Mary Gets Paid By the Hour", "Summer in Oly", and "It Was in the Summer When She Left Her House". We're not entirely sure if those are official titles or presumed ones, but we're tres excited either way.

Corin also busted out some ace covers, including Prince's "When U Were Mine", Dusty Springfield's "Son of a Preacher Man", and the Replacements' "Can't Hardly Wait". All of this-- new songs, covers, live shows-- of course has speculative types crying solo record. Our fingers are crossed, certainly.

When she's not preparing new material or rocking elementary schoolers, it seems Tucker's cultivated a certain fondness for documentary filmmaking. She appears in the recent riot grrrl flick Don't Need You, and she also recorded an interview for the forthcoming documentary Rock'n Roll Mamas, which, as you may have inferred from its title, explores the fascinating topic of lady rockers with children.

Arcade Fire to Play Bowie's Highline Fest

The friendship between David Bowie and Arcade Fire continues, as the almost-chart-topping Canadians have been selected to headline Radio City Music Hall in New York City during the Thin White Duke-curated Highline Festival on May 9.

The other two NYC TBAs on Arcade Fire's schedule have also been filled in, by shows at the United Palace Theatre, waaaay uptown.

In other Arcade Fire news, Neon Bible is currently number 18 on the Billboard 200. Not too shabby. They beat John Mayer! [MORE...]

The Wedding Present Release Six-Disc Peel Sessions

The Wedding Present will release their complete sessions for the late John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show on March 26 via Sanctuary Records in the UK and on April 24 in the U.S.

Complete Peel Sessions: 1986-2004 spreads in-studio sessions, live sets, and band interviews across six discs, and it includes the band's cover of Orange Juice's "Felicity" as well as a venture into Ukrainian folk music.

Wedding Present founder/songwriter/vocalist David Gedge oversaw the compiling, remastering, and artwork for the set, which features liner notes by In Session Tonight author Ken Garner.

As for the contents of the box set (deep breath), the first disc consists of studio sessions in February and October of 1986, March and October of 1987, and March of 1988. The studio sessions on the second disc are from May 1988, May 1989, October 1990, March 1992, and March 1994. The third disc adds a live set from Peel's 50th birthday celebration in London in August of 1989 to studio sessions from December 1995 and July 2004. The remaining three discs feature live sets at the 1995 Phoenix Festival in Stratford-upon-Avon (disc four), the 1996 Sound City Festival at Leeds Metropolitan University (disc five), and the 1996 Reading Festival (disc six).

The Wedding Present have two live dates scheduled for March 31 and April 1 in England. [MORE...]

White Stripes Reveal Icky Thump Tracklist

Mmm...icky! According to CMJ.com, the tracklist for the White Stripes' forthcoming album Icky Thump has been revealed. Although we have yet to receive official confirmation that what CMJ reports is correct, it looks pretty Stripey.

UPDATE: IT'S CONFIRMED!

Several song titles mentioned in the Stripes' previous announcement of the album appear, including ""Catch Hell Blues", "Little Cream Soda", "Rag and Bone", "You Don't Know What Love Is (Just Do As You're Told)", "I'm Slowly Turning Into You", and "Icky Thump".

According to CMJ, the disc is 48 minutes long and even features bagpipes!

Apparently, there's no piano on the album, but there is a synthesizer on the song "Icky Thump", which happens to be the same synthesizer used on the Tornados' legendary "Telstar". "Rag and Bone" contains spoken dialogue, while "I'm Slowly Turning Into You" is based on a music video treatment by Michel Gondry.

The Stripes will hit the road this summer in support of Icky Thump, but, as you know, NOT the places we first told you about. Other than a few June festival dates, no dates have been announced yet.

But the Stripes promise that the trek will visit "all 10 provinces and 3 territories of Canada, as well as the remaining 16 states of the United States the band have yet to play." Also, "a few major markets that have been journeyed to in the past will also be included."

Thanks to reader Alex Hinds for the tip! [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.)