Cornelius Kicks Off Sensuous Tour
Insert corny joke here

Step off the platform and onto the Soul Train! Cornelius, host of the popular dance music program, will get on down alongside several dozen sequined and polyestered body-movers to the pre-recorded strains of disco-funk tunes! He's outtasite!

Oh, wait; that's Don Cornelius. This Cornelius is somethin' else; though he's pretty outtasite, too. Japanese synth-meister Cornelius-- whose amicable, long-awaited Sensuous hits U.S. shops at last tomorrow (April 24) via Everloving Records-- celebrates by kicking off a world tour tonight in Portland. Cornelius' live thing, billed as "The Sensuous Synchronized Show" and chock full of lasers and dancing apes, will wind around the States through mid-May before hopping a plane for Europe. You can bet your last money, it's gonna be a stone gas, honey! [MORE...]

GZA, Slint Join Sonic Youth for Pitchfork Fest Kickoff
In collaboration with ATP's Don't Look Back concert series, 'Liquid Swords', 'Spiderland' will be performed in full

Pitchfork is pleased to announce the complete lineup for the first night of the 2007 Pitchfork Music Festival, going down July 13-15. In collaboration with All Tomorrow's Parties' Don't Look Back, we tear open the gates of Chicago's Union Park early this year to welcome three giants-- each performing, in full, one of the albums that helped make them gigantic.

We already have Pitchfork's favorite album of the 1980s: Sonic Youth delivering 1988's Daydream Nation from start to finish. Now a pair of 1990s milestones have been added, too:

Wu-Tang master lyricist GZA, aka the Genius, will perform his 1995 Shaolin showstopper Liquid Swords-- widely regarded, along with 36 Chambers, as the finest album to emerge from the Wu-Tang's heyday, and one of the greatest rap albums of all time. This also marks the first time ATP/Don't Look Back has presented a hip-hop artist.

And then there's Louisville sluggers Slint, who'll creep through their magnum opus, 1991's Spiderland, the landmark Touch and Go LP that helped chart the course of post-rock. We hope they also attempt to recreate the album's cover in Union Park's swimming pool.

All this, of course, is only the beginning. The Pitchfork Music Festival continues July 14 and 15, including recent additions Deerhunter, Menomena, Klaxons, Fujiya & Miyagi, Oxford Collapse, Beach House, Dan Deacon, and Craig Taborn's Junk Magic, alongside Cat Power, the New Pornographers, Clipse, Stephen Malkmus, De La Soul, Iron and Wine, Of Montreal, Girl Talk, Jamie Lidell, Grizzly Bear, Battles, the Ponys, Professor Murder, and Ken Vandermark's Powerhouse Sound.

And we ain't done yet. Here's where the lineup stands thus far:

Friday, July 13:

Sonic Youth perform Daydream Nation
GZA/Genius performs Liquid Swords
Slint perform Spiderland

Saturday, July 14:

Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues (w/members of Dirty Three, the Delta 72 & JSBX)
Clipse
Iron and Wine
Girl Talk
Grizzly Bear
Battles
Fujiya & Miyagi
Oxford Collapse
Dan Deacon
Beach House
Professor Murder
Ken Vandermark's Powerhouse Sound

Sunday, July 15:

New Pornographers
Stephen Malkmus
De La Soul
Of Montreal
Jamie Lidell
Menomena
Klaxons
The Ponys
Deerhunter
Craig Taborn's Junk Magic

Tickets are on sale now at Ticketweb. Three-day passes cost $50, Friday night costs $15, Saturday and Sunday individual passes cost $25, and a Saturday/Sunday pass costs $35.

Keep up on all the latest festival news and details by bookmarking the Pitchfork Music Festival webpage and by tuning into the Pitchfork Music Festival podcast.

Konono No.1 to Open for Bjork

As confirmed by Björk's publicist, Konono N°1-- the Congolese percussive troupe that contributed to Volta (out May 7 in Europe, May 8 in the U.S.) and appears on first single "Earth Intruders"-- will open for her on two of Björk's non-festival, non-Newsom North American tour dates. First Joanna, now Konono...we're getting this close to a Timbaland cameo.

Konono have quite a few of their own U.S. tour dates as well, however numerous upcoming shows in Canada and Europe have been canceled due to visa issues at the consulate in the Congo. This includes their previously reported date in Montreal (May 2), which conflicts with the Björk show in New York City that night anyhow. Konono's May 5 headlining show at New York's Bowery Ballroom, however, will go on-- they'll just pack up their likembés and hop the subway downtown following the Björk gig. [MORE...]

Pumpkins' Zeitgeist Gets a Tracklist
And you thought "The Everlasting Gaze" was angsty

Though Billy Corgan hasn't yet revealed the lineup of his newly-reformed Smashing Pumpkins (although rumors abound), he has-- according to Billboard.com-- settled on an official tracklist for Zeitgeist, the first album in seven years from Billy, Jimmy Chamberlain, and very possibly anyone in the world who isn't James Iha.

Zeitgeist's got a summery July 7 release date, but titles like "7 Shades of Black", "Doomsday Clock", and "Tarantula" suggest the album's tailor-made for indoor-kids.

The resurrected Pumpkins, as previously reported, hit the (mostly) festival circuit beginning May 22 in Paris. [MORE...]

Exclusive: Menomena Reveal Summer Jaunt

Photo by Alicia J. Rose

We may have called the Decemberists "Portland's finest" earlier today, but we didn't really mean it. Meloy and co. have to share the title with Danny Seim, Justin Harris, and Brent Knopf, the (usually) clean-cut men of Menomena. Well technically, they also have to share the title with the Thermals and Sleater-Kinney (R.I.P.) and the Shins and about a million others. Seriously, is there no bad band in this freaking city?

Good Portland Band #192A-4, aka Menomena, will go on tour once again this summer proclaiming their musical sweetness to all who will listen. They have a one-off date in Walla Walla, Washington on April 28, but their summer tour kicks off in full Friendly force on June 1 in Seattle. After the tour has run its course in June, the band have three dates in July, one of which is at our very own Pitchfork Music Festival on Sunday, July 15. To buy tickets to the festival, click here.

For all the sordid details from Menomena's road trip, check out Danny Seim's tour diary on LocalCut.com. And in case you missed it, scope Menomena rocking "The Pelican" subterranean-style over in Forkcast. [MORE...]

Calvin Johnson Tours With Julie Doiron, Preps LP

Baritone Beat Happener Calvin Johnson's got a few new projects in the windowbox of his musical mind: one in the seedling phase, and one in full blossom. He'll hit the road for a month of dates with Julie Doiron starting in late May (with a one-off at a pizza place in Portland beforehand), and release Calvin Johnson & the Sons of the Soil April 24 on his own K Records.

Sons of the Soil serves as a bit of a Johnson retrospective (or primer, depending on how much K you've taken in your day). It's rife with new versions of old tunes from Johnson projects like Beat Happening and the Halo Benders, splayed out by Johnson and fellow K superstars Jason Anderson (Wolf Colonel), Kyle Field (Little Wings), and Adam Forkner (Yume Bitsu).

Sons presents a mix of studio recordings and live tracks, including some terribly amusing Johnson banter: "So people say to me, they say, 'Calvin Johnson, who are you?' And I say to them, 'why, I am no different than any other man. I put these Wranglers on one foot at a time. If you cut me, do I not bleed?'" Well, it's funny when he says it, anyhow.

Speaking of the Halo Benders, could there be an all-out reunion in the works for Cal and Doug Martsch's long-running side project? The K website links to an April performance of "Freedom Ride" from Martsch's hometown of Boise. Will they reel around the fountain yet again? You'll know when we do. [MORE...]

Manu Chao to Tour North America

This spring and summer, French-Latin- Iberoamerican-salsa-reggae-punk vet Manu Chao will cart around all those hyphens on a lengthy North American tour. The singer-guitarist-activist-Drew Carey Green Screen Show-theme-song-performer adds another credit-- film scorer-- to his name, having recently wrapped up soundtrack work on the Emir Kusturica footballer documentary Maradone.

Chao's roadtrip has him hitting virtually all the major U.S. festivals-- Bonnaroo, Sasquatch!, and the soon-to-come Coachella-- along the way. Chao is presently working on his fourth solo album, to be released later this year. [MORE...]

Mogwai Announce Summer Festival Dates

Like the head-butting subject of one of the films they recently soundtracked, it's been a little while since we've heard from Mogwai. But the Glaswegian post-rockers are quietly (and then loudly and then quietly again) writing new songs for the follow-up to last year's Mr. Beast.

The band will take those songs on the road this summer on their European festival tour, which includes stops in Germany, Switzerland, Spain, and the UK. It's a laid back schedule that runs from May to September, with plenty of downtime in between for going to Nine Inch Nails shows and writing online missives telling Keith Richards to die now. Okay, maybe it's not so laid back.

Mogwai's fest bender begins May 11 in Zurich. [MORE...]

Jesus and Mary Chain Add New York Dates

Let the reverberations ring out 'round Gotham way; the legendary the Jesus and Mary Chain will supplement their previously drooled-over reunion with a pair of New York City dates. The late-May shows come in the middle of a giant hole in the JAMC schedule...could more dates be on the way?

Everyone talks about Psychocandy, but by the way, have you heard Darklands lately? Darklands rules, too.

Don't forget; JAMC might just squeeze an album out of all this reformation stuff, and their spin-off Sister Vanilla are going as strong as their brother band. We'll keep you posted. [MORE...]

Exclusive: Feist to Tour U.S. With Grizzly Bear

Indeed, 'tis truly a pairing made by and for winsome weirdos: Brooklynite booger-drowners Grizzly Bear will open a slew of American dates for Canuck chanteuse Feist, immediately following the lady's previously reported Canadian dates.

In case you need a Reminder reminder (groan), Leslie will release her bewitching new album May 1 in the U.S. via CherryTree/Interscope and in Canada from Arts & Crafts. In case you're too lazy to scroll down one story, Feist will also appear on the Hottest State soundtrack.

In other Grizzly Bear news, they'll host MTV2's "Subterranean" this weekend, but won't play three shows at liberal arts colleges across the eastern seaboard due to a death in the family. They will so totally be playing the Pitchfork Music Festival, however, and they've contributed a new tune called "Black Current Jam" to a forthcoming David Shrigley comp on Tomlab.

In other Feist news, Feist is my girlfriend, and we are in love.

A disclaimer: some of today's Feist/Grizzly Bear news story may be made up.

EDIT: via MySpace, Grizzly Bear have reported that they've cancelled the Solana Beach, CA date they shared with Feist, pushed up their San Fran gig, and will be opening for old girl in Chicago. Score! [MORE...]

Cat Power, Bright Eyes, Feist on Hottest Soundtrack
Plus: M. Ward, Black Keys, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris

Write what you know, the saying goes. Looks like Ethan Hawke took that nugget verbatim when penning his 1997 novel The Hottest State, which details a struggling actor's relationship with a testy singer-songwriter. This summer, Hawke's literary endeavor comes full circle (or, depending on whom you ask, back where it belonged in the first place) as The Hottest State hits the silver screen under the actor's direction-- with an appropriately hot soundtrack to match.

NYC songwriter and Norah Jones/Bright Eyes collaborator Jesse Harris wrote all the tunes to accompany Hawke's cinematic vision, and a fine little corral of performers helps bring them to life. Bright Eyes and Jones turn up, as do Cat Power, Feist, M. Ward, the Black Keys, Willie Nelson, and Emmylou Harris. Of no apparent relation to Emmylou, Jesse Harris himself-- who appears in the film, and whose seventh album, Feel, arrives July 10 via Velour-- even plays a few of his own to round out the star-studded soundtrack. A release date has not yet been determined.

Thanks to THINKFilm, The Hottest State heats up select theaters in New York City and L.A. beginning August 24. Thanks to Amazon.com and the principal of supply and demand, the novel upon which the film is based can be yours right now for $0.01. [MORE...]

Bright Eyes Launch That Massive Tour

The new, extra shaggy Conor Oberst will saddle up the Bright Eyes posse and ride across the North American continent on the band's previously reported tour starting Sunday in Milwaukee.

In addition to Gillian Welch, Oakley Hall, and McCarthy Trenching, My Morning Jacket's Jim James will join the crew for a one-off performance in Berkeley.

After they finish on these shores, the band will head to Europe and Japan for a handful of dates this summer.

And just in case you didn't catch it before, Conor is not in fact selling signed guitars at Costco, and Cassadaga debuted at #4 on the Billboard charts last week. Supercassafragilisticexpialidocious! [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.)