M.I.A., Interpol, Pumpkins Play Osheaga Fest
Also: Arctic Monkeys, PB&J, Stars, Explosions in the Sky

The Osheaga Music and Arts Festival-- that's Festival Musique et Arts to French-Canadians-- will celebrate its second year of existence with sets by M.I.A., Interpol, Smashing Pumpkins, Peter Bjorn and John, Stars, Arctic Monkeys, Explosions in the Sky, Au Revoir Simone, Amy Winehouse, Placebo, Editors, and many more.

In total, over 50 bands will grace the festival's five stages at Parc Jean Drapeau. Most of the lineup is not yet announced, but since it doesn't take place until September 8 and 9, that's understandable. It's not like we've told you yet that My Bloody Valentine and Pavement are playing the 2008 Pitchfork Music Festival. (Kidding!)

Dead Meadow Reissue Howls from the Hills
I bet all that pesticide did it in

Howls from the Hills, the long out-of-print second album from Capital City makers of metallic murk Dead Meadow, will be reissued May 14 in the UK by Xemu Records.

Howls from the Hills is the second entry in the Dead Meadow reissue series; the first, their self-titled debut, was redone last year, while a collection of Peel Sessions recorded in Fugazi's studio is on the horizon. Meadow heads should also be on the lookout for their next album, Old Growth, which will bury its roots later this fall from Matador Records.

Dead Meadow have a few British dates off in the distance, with the promise of more to come on their website. Those, plus the Howls tracklist, after you click. [MORE...]

Qui Actually Sign to Ipecac, Not Touch and Go

Did Mike Patton send his cronies to rough up Corey Rusk and the other peace-loving noise-rock-niks at Touch and Go HQ? Or did Rusk bet his latest acquisition away in a high stakes game of inter-label Uno? Orrrr (most likely scenario) did a drunken, half-nude David Yow pledge himself to two different labels at the same time? Whatever the reason, it appears Touch and Go will not be releasing Qui's first record with Yow, as previously reported. Those duties will instead fall to art-rock powerhouse Ipecac.

"Ok, maybe we got a little ahead of ourselves when we posted a statement about releasing a Qui record," read a follow-up post that appeared on Touch and Go's website earlier this month. "Maybe we rushed it a little...We apologize for getting anyone prematurely worked up. It was an honest mistake, officer. Regardless, we remain friends with all involved, and are sure that Ipecac will do an amazing job with the album."

That album, Love's Miracle, still has the same release date (September 11) and tracklist as previously reported. Qui, meanwhile, terrorize concert-going citizens over a quartet of dates lined up in the coming months, with a U.S. tour shaping up for the fall. And don't forget to introduce to whole family to Mr. Yow via the Jesus Lizard: Live DVD, out June 5. [MORE...]

Kraftwerk's Flur, Faust, Clark Play Futuresonic
Also: Black Devil Disco Club, Apparat

Manchester, England's Futuresonic Festival, feting the electronic and experimental, kicks off tonight and runs through the weekend at various Manchester hotspots. Fest organizers have referred to the festival as "a coming together of pioneers, mavericks and 21st century 'happenings'," which, given the bill, sounds about right: Kraftwerk's Wolfgang Flür, Faust, Apparat, Black Devil Disco Club, Clark, 65daysofstatic, French hip-hoppers TTC, and a whole gaggle of others have plugged into the fest.

A full schedule of performances is available on the fest's website.

Rilo Kiley's Fourth Album Details Revealed

Under the Blacklight, the fourth album from strident pop sensations Rilo Kiley, will be issued August 20 in the UK, according to NME.com and confirmed by Rilo Kiley's label, Warner Bros. (No U.S. release date has been announced yet.)

We don't know too much about Blacklight at this point, but NME.com reports that it will feature tracks "Breaking Up" and "Money Maker," and was produced by Jason Lader (Gwen Stefani, VietNam).

UPDATE: THOSE SONG TITLES ARE APPARENTLY INCORRECT, AS IS THE PRODUCER'S NAME.

Blacklight is the band's first album since L.A. Pioneer Woman Jenny Lewis donned her Rabbit Fur Coat and Blake Sennett's Elected basked in the Sun Sun Sun last year. It's the follow-up to 2004's More Adventurous.

Peter Hook Affirms New Order Breakup on MySpace

For those who got down on their knees to pray that Peter Hook was merely jesting last week-- when he told UK radio station Xfm that "me and Bernard [Sumner] aren't working together" and that New Order had split up-- it's time to let the tears of mourning pour forth. That final moment has arrived.

In response to the breakup furor surrounding Hook's initial comments, the New Order/Joy Division bassist posted another rambling, punctuation-averse MySpace blog entry yesterday, affirming that New Order are indeed no more.

"i suppose it was the interview with clint boon [on Xfm] that started it all off," wrote Hook in the post, titled "life goes on!"

"hed asked me for a few words on perry farrells satellite party single dogstar...so i went on and lo and behold mentioned the N>O> split so i suppose because it was me sayin it it was out at last. im relieved really hated carryin on as normal with an awful secret so lets move on shall we?"

Moving on, then, Hook mentions an incident at a recent DJ gig: "some kid came up and gave me a hug and said 'sorry to hear about new order hooky' i was really touched its like your budgie dyin!" If you understand the meaning of "budgie" in this context, by all means, enlighten us. UPDATE: Apparently Hook is likening the demise of New Order to the passing of a small pet bird of Australian origin, the budgerigar, which we silly Americans might call a parakeet. Many thanks to alert reader Stacie for the heads up!

Moving on for real then, Hook has plenty else astir of late, including his Freebass supergroup, DJ gigs around the world, and other exploits addressed at length here.

Farewell, New Order. Thanks for the memories. [MORE...]

Explosions in the Sky Cancel All Summer Dates

Due to the serious illness of a family member, widescreen post-rockers Explosions in the Sky are canceling all tour dates through September 1.

The band, who have been touring behind February's All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone, have promised to reschedule as many dates as possible after the summer's over. A list of the canceled shows is below. [MORE...]

Roisin Murphy Preps Singles, Sophomore Album

Former Moloko vocalist Roísín Murphy will follow her thumping groove-pop solo debut Ruby Blue with another collection of zero-cool cooing. Unlike Ruby Blue-- which was boosted in equal measure by Murphy's sultry pipes and knob-spinning by maestro of minutiae Matthew Herbert-- her as-yet-untitled sophomore effort, out this fall on EMI, will be co-produced by a variety of helpers.

Off in the distance though it may be, the album does have a first single: co-written by Roísín and Seiji of West London's Bugz in the Attic collective-- and recently showcased in Forkcast-- "Overpowered" will be released July 2, with a video also on the way. The single will pack remixes of the track from Seamus Haji, Kris Menace, Hervé, and Loose Cannons. Another single will follow in October, in close anticipation of the album's release.

Roísín has also been added to the bill of the previously reported Bestival, which goes down September 7-9 at Newport, England's Robin Hill Country Park on the Isle of Wight.

Os Mutantes, Diplo, Four Tet Join Brazil/UK Collab Fest
Also: Bonde do Role, Gruff Rhys, Optimo

Much like supermodel Gisele Bündchen, the TrocaBrahma festival provides a taste of Brazil with quite a bit of Anglo crossover potential. Unlike Gisele, we're pretty sure the performers at this year's festival-- including Os Mutantes, Bonde do Role, Gruff Rhys, Four Tet, and Optimo's JD Twitch, to name a few-- will appear fully clothed, though you never know with those Bonde kids.

The idea behind TrocaBrahma is to fly a handful of UK artists over to Brazil to pair up with a handful of Brazilian artists on collaborative material. Then, they fly the Brits (or Scots or...Welshes?) and the Brazilians back to the UK to perform the fruits of their labor.

This year, the festival will take place at venues in London, Liverpool, and Glasgow from July 26-29, and the artists pairings are as follows: Os Mutantes with JD Twitch; Bonde do Role, Radioclit, and Amanda Blank (hosted by Diplo); Gruff Rhys and Tony da Gatorra; Four Tet and Open Field Church; King Creosote and Romulo Froes; and Ben Westbeech and Tita Lima (hosted by Gilles Peterson).

To make it even sweeter, the Os Mutantes and JD Twitch performances in Glasgow and Liverpool will be Os Mutantes' first shows in those cities.

Brazil will not be totally devoid of live love, however, as a few collaborative gigs are scheduled at Studio SP in São Paulo for the end of May and beginning of June. On May 8, Bonde do Role, Amanda Blank, and Radioclit performed there. (Sorry, we're a little late on this.) On May 29, it will be Four Tet and Open Field Church. Finally, on June 3, both the Gruff Rhys/Tony da Gatorra and the King Creosote/Romulo Froes collaborations will hit the stage.

All of the artists performing at TrocaBrahma will perform full live sets of their own in addition to the collaborative sets. When the dust finally settles on the festivities, festival organizers will release a series of TrocaBrahma-related podcasts.

Exclusive: Sub Pop's Hardly Art Signs Le Loup

You read that right: another lupine act has joined Wolf Parade and Wolf Eyes in the Sub Pop (extended) family.

Le Loup, which-- as Babelfish tells this non-French speaker-- means "The Wolf", have inked a deal with Sub Pop off-shoot Hardly Art, which will release their debut, The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly, this fall.

The album takes its wordy title from a lavish devotional work by Henry Darger-esque reclusive folk artist James Hampton. The DC-based septet, meanwhile, sprung from the solo work of one Sam Simkoff (banjo, keys, loop pedal), and now also includes Michael Ferguson (guitar), Nicole Keenan (keys, french horn), Dan Ryan (bass, double bass), Robert Sahm (drums), May Tabol (guitar, violin), and Jim Thomson (guitar). Pretty much everybody sings.

Swing by Le Loup's MySpace to sample three tunes. With its steady, insistent banjo and hushed harmonizing, the first, bearing an eponymous title, might call to mind the more subdued moments of Sufjan Stevens or Arcade Fire. The other two tunes, meanwhile, have an electro-acoustic bloopiness that wouldn't sound out of place on a Morr Music release-- or a record by the Helio Sequence, who in fact recommended Le Loup to Hardly Art.

Le Loup play Washington, DC's Rock and Roll Hotel, alongside the Rosebuds and Bowerbirds, on May 22.

Hardly Art's inaugural release, as previously reported, will be Arthur & Yu's lovely In Camera, out June 19.

ESG Drummer Arrested for Workers' Comp Fraud

44-year-old ESG drummer Valerie Scroggins was arrested last Thursday (May 3) on charges of grand larceny and insurance fraud, according to a report by The New York Times.

Scroggins faces the charges as a result of collecting $13,348 in workers' compensation this past September from her day job as a bus driver for New York City Transit, before heading out on ESG's European tour. She claimed she had hurt her shoulder on the job and could not report to work, a story that was validated at the time by the diagnoses of at least two doctors to which NYCT sent Scroggins.

The transit agency is making its case based on videotape of the European ESG shows taken by investigators, in which Scroggins is shown "energetically playing the drums." And if you've ever seen ESG live, you know that this woman is one hell of a drummer.

In a recent news conference, James Manning-- director of the agency's special investigations unit-- called the doctors' original diagnoses into question by saying the types of injuries claimed by Scroggins and three other transit workers recently arrested on similar charges "did not lend themselves to definitive diagnoses," according to the NYT article.

Stacey Richman, Scroggins' lawyer, challenged the agency's claims with a statement of her own regarding the video of her client drumming on tour: "I don't believe there's any movement that conflicts with the medical diagnosis."

Scroggins pleaded not guilty at her Thursday arraignment. In addition to the charges she faces at the impending trial, NYCT will ask her to return the money she collected in workers' compensation, according to Brooklyn district attorney Charles J. Hynes.

Bjork, Arcade Fire, Stripes, Wilco Play Austin City Limits
Dylan, Decemberists, Spoon, LCD Soundsystem, Bloc Party, PB&J, QOTSA, MMJ, YLT too!

Though we slaved for literally minutes over last week's crossword-encrypted announcement of this year's Austin City Limits Festival bill of fare, frankly, if it's not a word search, we're not gonna crack it. So we were awfully pleased to find we'd been let off the hook today.

The fest, taking place in Austin, Texas' Zilker Park September 14-16, has officially announced their 2007 lineup, and it packs an even greater wallop than the headache we accrued attempting to solve 9-across. What's a twelve-letter word for "prog-folk book readers"?

ACL Fest's talent pool has a spacious deep end, with Björk, Arcade Fire, the White Stripes, Wilco, Bob Dylan and his Band, the Decemberists, Queens of the Stone Age, Yo La Tengo, Spoon, Bloc Party, the National, LCD Soundsystem, Peter Bjorn and John, My Morning Jacket, Arctic Monkeys, Blonde Redhead, Kaiser Chiefs, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, M.I.A., Andrew Bird, Muse, Midlake, DeVotchKa, Regina Spektor, the Broken West, Stephen Marley, Patterson Hood, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Crowded House, the Little Ones, and Willy Mason. A full lineup is available now through the festival website.

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.)