Rapture, PB&J, Beirut, CSS Rock Istanbul's Radar Live
Also: Jamie Lidell, Kelis, the Long Blondes

Though it seems like everyone has a festival these days, not everyone has a festival in Istanbul, Turkey. But the organizers of Radar Live do, and for their festival's second year, they've expanded from a single-day event to a four-day, three-stage behemoth with performances by the Rapture, Peter Bjorn & John (featuring Victoria Bergsman), Beirut, CSS, and Jamie Lidell (featuring Pablo Fiasco).

Radar Live 2007 will also feature Kelis, CocoRosie, the Long Blondes, Booka Shade, Ellen Allien & Apparat, the Magic Numbers, the Horrors, Plan B, Nouvelle Vague, the Rakes, Piano Magic, SCSI-9, Joan as Police Woman, Radio Slave, Juliette & the Licks, and...wait for it...Marilyn Manson. There will also be dozens of Turkish acts and a host of DJs from Istanbul independent radio station Dinamo 103.8.

The festival will take place from June 29 through July 2 on Solar Beach, which is right on the Black Sea, to match the black hearts of the Marilyn Manson fans in attendance.

Marissa Nadler Plays Songs on Tour
That's good advice for any touring musician, really

Marissa Nadler and her reverby reverie will take it to the road tonight (June 13) for over a month of dates, spanning two U.S. coasts and requiring at least one intercontinental excursion. While out there, she'll spin through her gossamer tunes, and probably offer some enchanting selections from Songs III: Bird on the Water.

Indeed, Songs III may prove the premier three-quel of the summer once its U.S. edition is made saleable August 7 from Kemado Records. (Do you think it's weird that Marissa Nadler and Cheeseburger are labelmates? It's at least a little weird.) Marissa will supplement her shows with a few in-store appearances at pillars of West Coast audio commerce. All of those will be recorded for a live album, to be sold exclusively at independent record stores.

Marissa must be in a generous mood; if all those free record shop gigs weren't enough, she's giving away four previously-unreleased tracks (in the massive FLAC format) to anyone who plunks down the dough for the Kemado edition of Songs III in August. Vinyl heads have it even better: when Songs III lands in gatefold LP format October 2, it will come with a second record that contains the bonus tunes. [MORE...]

Gorillaz Artist Turns His Pens to...Vibrator Design?!
Heh heh, they said "pens," Beavis

Jamie Hewlett-- who you may perhaps know for his popular underground comic Tank Girl or his character designs for the popular, wishy-washy hybrid hip-hop act Gorillaz-- seems to have found his true calling at last. Yes, Hewlett's distinct renderings adorn a new series of vibrators from noted purveyors of all things sensual and NSFW, Jimmyjane.

If you're not entirely sure of the nature or function of the sort of vibrator we're talking about here (and there are perhaps a few of you out there), the world wide interweb would be more than happy to enlighten you. Also, it looks like the Velcro on your shoes is coming undone.

So anyhow, these vibrators don't have, um, Murdock and the other Gorillaz members on them. But they do feature Gorillaz-like "characters" that may as well exist in the same cartoon universe. There are six in all-- pick, like, the one that suits your personality!-- in this, the "Ultimate Member" (tee hee) collection. Score one for $275, or all six for $1,650. Also, they look creepily like the diving sticks we used to play with in the pool back in the day (no?).

Prospective buyers and curious collegians can find out more at Jimmyjane's website. Oh, and there's a bit of cartoon noodity involved, so unless you want your roommates/colleagues/boyfriend(s) to think you're kinky like that, click with caution.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs to Release New EP of Old Songs

Yeah Yeah Yeahs will indeed release a new EP this summer, as they hinted at in the secretive announcement of their filmed shows at Glasslands Gallery in Brooklyn on May 7.

According to various British websites and verified by a press release, the new EP is titled Is Is, and it features tracks from 2004, a few of which made it onto their live DVD Tell Me What Rockers to Swallow. Liars' Julian Gross made the EP's artwork, and it was produced by Nick Launay.

Is Is will come out on July 23 on Dress Up/Fiction in the UK on CD, download, USB, and double gatefold 7". It will be bundled with footage from the Glasslands shows. (How will they put that on the 7"?)

Currently, Yeah Yeah Yeahs' only tour dates are back-to-back festival appearances in Chicago on August 4 and in Baltimore the following day. [MORE...]

M.I.A. Adds Summer Dates (Two With Bjork!)

Fresh off the UK release of "Boyz", the first single from her forthcoming Kala LP, M.I.A. (headache-inducing new website in tow) has expanded her summer tour schedule with a hearty helping of UK and European dates.

Two of Maya's new dates are with Björk, which makes sense given the latter performer's current obsession with big beats and bright colors.

As previously reported, Kala hits shelves August 20 in the UK via XL and August 21 in the U.S. via Interscope. Interscope will also release "Boyz" in 12" and enhanced CD formats in the U.S. on July 17. [MORE...]

Blonde Redhead, Beach House Gig Together, Apart

Okay: numerology time, kids! Juxtapose the number of people in Beach House (two-- which is also, by God, the number of words in Beach House!!) and the number of people in Blonde Redhead (three-- also the number of syllables in Blonde Redhead, omg) and you get 23-- the name of Blonde Redhead's new album! Invert that, and what do you get? Thirty-two, or the number of upcoming Blonde Redhead dates! Add the digits in 32, and what do you get? Five, or the number of upcoming Beach House dates! Divide 32 by 5 and what's the remainder? Two, or the number of dates Beach House and Blonde Redhead are playing together!!

Then break two into two ones, and put them side by side, and multiply that number by the number of people (and words) in Beach House and-- you're not going to believe this-- it's 22, the exact number of letters in Pitchfork Music Festival, which Beach House are totally playing in July!!!

It's enough to melt the mind, man. [MORE...]

TV on the Radio Deliver iTunes EP
More like TV on the iPod, amirite?

Not a day goes by at Pitchfork HQ where we don't feverishly click on the iTunes homepage and just get all silly waiting for the next iTunes session EP. And lo and behold, yesterday our feverish clicks were not in vain! TV on the Radio, probably totally one of our favorite bands, have joined the ranks of many esteemed makers of music with their very own five drops in the iTunes live EP bucket.

The digital-only, iTunes exclusive Live Session EP materialized this week and includes reworkings of three Return to Cookie Mountain staples-- "Playhouses", "Province", and "Tonight"-- plus "Satellite" from the Young Liars EP and non-album protest cut "Dry Drunk Emperor".

4AD also serves up the "Province" 7" overseas on July 2; catch Tunde and the boys on the road this summer. [MORE...]

Cave, Doherty, Ferry Sing Disney Songs With Jarvis?!
Plus: Shane MacGowan, Beth Orton, Baaba Maal; score arranged by Van Dyke Parks

Photo by Anoulay Tsai

Those who thought Jarvis Cocker was nutty after seeing the odd assortment of acts he enlisted to play this year's Meltdown Festival, taking place June 16-23 at London's Southbank Centre, would do best to recalibrate their wtf meters, because this thing just got weirder by a factor of 10^yogurt factorial (or something).

Close readers of the Meltdown website may have noticed the "Forest of No Return" event on June 17, described thusly: "Jarvis teams up with the legend of the tribute concert, Hal Willner, to perform reworked versions of classic songs from Disney. Expect to hear tracks which take you back to your childhood from films such as Dumbo, Mary Poppins, and Pinocchio, all sung by very special guests."

Those eagle-eyed readers even may have paused to think about how weird it would to be to have Jarvis Cocker serenade them with Disney tunes. But the real mind fryer comes with the more recent announcement (via The Times) that some of those special guests are Nick Cave, Pete Doherty, Beth Orton, Roxy Music's Bryan Ferry, Pogues croaker Shane MacGowan, and Baaba Maal, with the score arranged by Van Dyke Parks.

Um...cool, we guess??

We seriously don't even know what to say in the face of such an arbitrary combination of personalities collaborating to sing songs from Dumbo. And yes, provided he doesn't land in jail again, Pete Doherty will be performing "Chim Chim Cher-ee" from Mary Poppins.

The rest of the Meltdown Festival, which suddenly makes way more sense than before, includes performances by Motörhead, Sunn O))), the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Stooges, Motorhead, Devo, the Pastels, Optimo DJs, Roky Erickson, Clinic, Scout Niblett, Melanie, and Jarvis himself. Also, a band that performs TV show theme songs. Why not?

Beastie Boys Announce U.S. Tour

Photo by Nilina Mason-Campbell

What's that noise? Chain-smoking hypocrite dads and jealous moms with sensitive ears should know: it's the Beastie Boys (\m/).

The fight for partying rights being a lifelong one, Mike D, Adrock, and MCA will grab their trusty microphones and take to the stage once again across a series of U.S. dates in late summer.

Unlike the recent instrumental set at Sasquatch!-- meant to showcase jams from the Beasties' forthcoming The Mix-Up (due June 26 on Capitol)-- this tour will find our three MCs and (presumably) one DJ throwing down old-skool-stylee (not unlike that other set at Sasquatch!).

Assuming our swift-tongued friends can't, won't, and don't stop anytime soon, a set of more intimate instrumental dates should emerge in the near future. Assuming I actually hear a Beastie Boys song released this century by then, I'll totally make a lame reference to it next time. [MORE...]

Sir Richard Bishop, Lichens, No Neck on Fahey Tribute
Plus: Badgerlore, Jack Rose, Bird Show's Ben Vida, San Agustin's David Daniell

Table of the Elements will soon contribute another compilation to the posthumous pile of John Fahey tribute albums with the release of The Great Koonaklaster Speaks: A John Fahey Celebration.

Unlike the two laboriously titled Fahey tribute comps released last year, Koonaklaster is neither a covers compilation nor does it consist of Fahey's own music (though he does appear on one track). Instead, artists like Sir Richard Bishop (Sun City Girls), Lichens, No Neck Blues Band, Pumice, Jack Rose, Badgerlore, Ben Vida (Bird Show), and David Daniell (San Agustin) contribute songs inspired by Fahey's life and musical style-- hence the celebration of the title.

Table of the Elements will release Koonaklaster on June 19. [MORE...]

New Isolee, My My Cuts on Playhouse Famous Comp

Every so often, the fun and games at Playhouse Records must pause so the esteemed techno/house label's owners can reflect on all the good times they've had. They sit, gathering their recent 12" output, pick and choose the cuts that have most efficiently moved bodies, and call the collective pat-on-the-back Famous When Dead.

The fifth installment of the Playhouse comp series, which collects nine tracks from previously-issued platters and a pair of new cuts, arrived this week in Europe (and here via Forced Exposure). And the new cuts? Why, they belong to none other than Western Store-owners Isolée and Gentle up-and-comers My My. The fresh jams are nice, but these lightweight label comps serve another purpose: back pain relief for weary disc jockeys. [MORE...]

Air Issue "Mer du Japon" Single, Schedule Fall Dates

Come a little closer, kiddo-- featherweight French toasters Air have something for you. Reach your hand into the pockets of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel and, buried among the Perkins wrappers and Visine, you'll find yourself a symphony. A Pocket Symphony. (And here you thought I was gonna say something unfortunate.)

Like the veritable nickel caught in your key ring, Air are rattling out a little more than you bargained for on your hollow-hunting. They've got a new EP centered around "Mer du Japon", the windswept wash from the back end of their latest album. The EP comes with a new vocal mix by the boys themselves, while Kris Menace and Merok Records switch-flippers the Teenagers lend a hand to a pair of remixes. The thing's available via the iTunes music emporium right this instant, though if you care to stuff it in your pocket, you'll need a little patience, some big pants, and a European accent, as it won't emerge in tangible 7"/CD form until June 25.

Of course, you're always welcome to go visit the lads of Air as they unfurl their pocket symphony all over Europe throughout the summer, or on a recently-revealed run in the fall. [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.)