Photos: Siren Music Festival [Brooklyn, NY; 07/21/07]

Photos by Kathryn Yu

From the looks of it, a good portion of the population of New York City turned out to bid farewell to the Village Voice-sponsored Siren Music Festival this past weekend. After seven years of summer concerts on Coney Island, the Voice turns off the Siren, due to the massive renovations planned for the classic Brooklyn amusement park.

Celebrating the momentous occasion, fans were treated to sets by the New York Dolls, M.I.A., Cursive, Matt and Kim, Voxtrot, the Twilight Sad, Lavender Diamond, and the Black Lips, who trotted a chicken named 'Popcorn' out on stage, before firing feathers from a makeshift cannon into the audience. Good times.

Photographic evidence of all these hijinks and more below.

M.I.A.


CURSIVE


BLACK LIPS




[MORE...]

Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem Extend Tour

From the natural splendor of Red Rocks to the landfill-adjacent banks of the East River, the Arcade Fire/LCD Soundsystem joint tour continues to trickle out tour dates, with a recently-added meetup at New York City's Randalls Island in early October.

Yes, Randalls Island-- that wasteland in the middle of nowhere to which you might have had the displeasure of escorting a sibling during the Warped Tour or Ozzfest.

More AF/LCD dates are in the works, to add to the six currently scheduled. Maybe they'll play a junkyard in Newark?

The Polaris Prize-nominated Arcade Fire, as you'll recall, just got set up with Clinic, whereas James Murphy should be setting up any unattached bandmates with Jessica Alba. Both acts will also play the Austin City Limits festival in mid-September. While they're there, Arcade Fire will tape an episode of the "Austin City Limits" TV show, to be aired in December. [MORE...]

Boris, Deerhunter, Qui Play Wire Adventures Fest
Also Pere Ubu, Ulrich Schnauss, Excepter, No Age

For the fifth time, British music rag The Wire has gathered some of the biggest names in avant-garde music for their Adventures in Modern Music festival, going down yet again at beloved Chicago club the Empty Bottle the last week in September.

This year's event, celebrating The Wire's 25th anniversary, promises "five days of outsider sounds," a pledge its lineup makes good on. Boris, Michio Kurihara, Deerhunter, Pere Ubu, Damon & Naomi, Qui, Ulrich Schnuass, Excepter, No Age, Burning Star Core, Holy Fuck and more will bring the in sounds from way out to the mighty Bottle.

The musical program will be accompanied by a film series at Chicago's Gene Siskel Film Center. The full musical lineup is available after the jump. [MORE...]

Sympathy for the Record Industry Label for Sale

Wanna own your own record label? Sure, we all do! Well, all of us but Long Gone John, who's selling off all his rights and responsibilities towards Sympathy for the Record Industry, the Long Beach-based imprint that at one point or another housed the White Stripes, Hole, the Von Bondies, the Muffs, and Rocket From the Crypt (among many others) and has issued archival material from Roky Erickson, Suicide, and the New York Dolls.

The reason given? A truly colossal U-Haul bill. It seems Long Gone John would like to be long gone from Long Beach ASAP, and will relocating to Olympia, Washington as soon as the $625,000 check clears. In doing so, he'll leave behind all this to whoever ponys up the half-million-plus (according to a MySpace blog):

questionable/nebulous rights to nearly 750 releases by over 550 bands
current distribution deal with foremost U.S. independent distributor with strong international distribution as well
existing stock modestly estimated at a wholesale value of 1.8 millondollars
all master tapes, acetates, stampers and mothers to continue production of titles
massive personal archive of sympathy rarities (lots of amazing surprises)
preliminary cover layouts/some original artwork/interesting and valuable artifacts galore
established web site and vastly lucrative mail order business

Interested parties can contact John at sympathy13@aol.com. Thanks to the Daily Swarm for the heads-up.

Alas, No Christmas Gift From the Postal Service
We're just full of Sub Pop news today, aren't we?

After much talk and a lot of time for Ben Gibbard to do things with his other, totally unheard-of band, it's about time for new music from the Postal Service, right? Hell yes.

So when we got an email from reader Dustin Hall pointing to an article in the latest issue of Spin that hinted at a new offering from Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello, we got really excited. The article, "Days of the Leak", by Douglas Wolk (who also contributes to Pitchfork, and is an all-around awesome dude) refers to "the new Postal Service record, due Christmas Day." Woo! What a perfect present!

Unfortunately, there will be no such thing. According to Sub Pop, "we are nowhere near a new Postal Service record," and the Spin reference was the result of a misunderstanding. Damn.

However, we highly recommend reading the article anyway, Postal Service or no Postal Service. It's an excellent examination of the whole leaking phenomenon.

Joe Pernice at Work on Book, Smiths Screenplay

All that stuff they told Joe Pernice about the importance of having a proper education to fall back on should this music thing not work out is turning out about half-right.

The country-tinged pop classicist and UMass creative writing MFA hasn't given up on music, but he does have a few unsung projects in the works. He's a third of the way through a novel-- about what, we're not sure-- expected for an early-2009 release on Penguin imprint Riverhead Books.

Not only that, but he's currently getting a screenplay together-- along with actor Neal Huff-- based on his entry in the 33 1/3 "books about albums" series. Pernice picked the Smiths' sophomore LP Meat Is Murder for his 2003 treatise, and though some part of us hopes the film consists of Joe sitting in a room listening to "Rusholme Ruffians", we're guessing it'll have more to do with the strong semi-autobiographical thread running through his 33 1/3 volume's narrative.

The Pernice Brothers' website suggests he's also doing some recording in his native Massachusetts, presumably for the follow up to 2006's Pernice Brothers disc Live a Little.

New Young Pony Club's Debut Headed Stateside

It's barely been two weeks since Fantastic Playroom, the debut full-length from the cool kids of the New Young Pony Club, hit shelves in the UK, and it's already wrangled itself a Mercury Prize nomination. So when the record arrives on U.S. shores August 28 from Modular Records, who's to say what accolades it'll be met with? Pulitzer? Nobel? A SAG award? Or just a buncha dance fans lapping up the Pony Club's lightheaded funk? Hey, that last one will do.

The Club will be holding open meetings throughout the next few months in Western Europe and Australia. [MORE...]

Gutter Twins (Dulli and Lanegan) Sign to Sub Pop
Fluid, Tad, Love Battery members waiting expectantly by the phone

Over a decade has passed since the "alternative rock" bubble burst, so it's high time to get back to its roots, right? Sub Pop has done just that, having signed the Gutter Twins, aka two of the alt-rock era's greatest frontmen, Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan.

Or, you could say, re-signed: Back in the early 90s, Sub Pop released two albums by Dulli's band the Afghan Whigs and a few singles by Lanegan's band Screaming Trees; Lanegan also released several solo albums on the label. Fly the flannel!

Lanegan and Dulli have been working together for years, as Lanegan has guested on several recordings and tours with Dulli's current band the Twilight Singers. Separately, Dulli has been busy with the briefly reignited Afghan Whigs, and lending vocals to such disparate groups as, uh, Lo Fidelity Allstars and Sean Na Na, while Lanegan has been growling with Queens of the Stone Age, Soulsavers, and Isobel Campbell. Lanegan and Campbell have a European tour coming up this week; see dates below. [MORE...]

Tokyo Police Club Sign to Saddle Creek

The loveable Tokyo Police Club will now bring their monkeyshines to the masses via Nebraska powerhouse Saddle Creek, who have signed them to a worldwide deal, excluding Europe and Japan. The band plans to hit the studio in September, with eyes on a winter 2008 release for their debut album.

Check out these photos from the signing, which literally just happened a few hours ago. Don't you wish all music industry wheelings-and-dealings were this happy, and involved cake?

TPC join a strong crop of new Saddle Creek bands, including Georgie James and Art in Manila.

In other Tokyo Police Club news, the crew recently dropped that "Your English Is Good" single. They're on the road now with Dappled Cities and will soon join up with Ra Ra Riot. Not coincidentally, TPC play the Saddle Creek-owned Slowdown venue in Omaha tonight-- the very place where they sealed the deal. [MORE...]

Cure Plan Documentary, Smith Addresses Ashlee Rumor
"I don't deny anything. I don't see the point. I've worked with lots of different people down the years."

Simmer down Guy, you'll get the Cure soon enough. The mope poster boys have revealed to Billboard.com plans to release a Cure DVD documentary in 2009. The occasion? Why, that's the year Three Imaginary Boys, the Cure's debut, turns 30! Here guys, have one of these!

As Cure frontmope Robert Smith told Billboard.com, "[The documentary] will include interviews with everybody who has ever been in the band, and everybody who has been an important part of the Cure." Smith hopes to work with director Tim Pope, the creative force behind many a Cure video over the years, and intends to release additional footage via the band's website.

What's more, the onslaught of deluxe Cure reissues continues in 2008 with tricked-out editions of Wish and Disintegration. But this is 2007, and indeed, the goth-ish rockers will deliver their previously reported lucky 13th album-- a double disc affair if Smith has his way-- in October. And they have that tour lined up, on which they'll prove that they do indeed play Charlotte sometimes (roflcopter!). Dates below.

But the news you really clicked this headline for: Robert Smith also shed some light on this Ashlee Simpson collaboration business.

As he told Billboard.com, "I would be hugely surprised if I end up working with Ashlee this year, but I haven't ruled it out. I went to see her in Chicago. We have people we both know, and I have some nephews and nieces who think she's really good. I was impressed. The fact is, when she got on stage and sang, she was really good." Huh, sure beats that Ashlee show I caught in New York.

Continued Smith: "I was encouraged to issue a denial, but I thought, why? I don't deny anything. I don't see the point. I've worked with lots of different people down the years." [MORE...]

New Marmoset, Spokane Albums Due From SC/Jagjag
L-R: Marmoset, Spokane

Sometimes bands break up for good. Sometimes, they just chill. Marmoset and Spokane, of Secretly Canadian and Jagjaguwar respectively, have had their share of chill for a while, and they're both returning from prolonged absences for an album apiece.

Little Hours represents the first album from the droning Virginian duo Spokane in four years. The disc mirrors a laborious construction project the Spokanians undertook while making the record, and in the spirit of making stuff, 50 Little Hours LPs will feature sleeves hand-designed by the band. The ten-track LP will be released August 7 on Jagjaguwar.

Marmoset bested Spokane by a year with their half-decade absence from recording. But never mind all that; the Indianapolis psych-rock outfit are back with Florist Fired, sixteen hazy tracks from the Naptown trio. Florist Fired-- the title of which we'd love to hear the story behind-- is out July 24 on Secretly Canadian. [MORE...]

Feist Squeezes North American Dates Into Fall Tour

Photo by Kathryn Yu

Leslie Feist: Polaris Prize nominee, sure. VH1 "You Oughta Know" artist, got it. Road warrior? You betcha. The Canadian singer-songwriter furthers her stronghold over 2007 (and her apparent fondness for cramped quarters and diner food) by tacking on a North American wing to her ever-lengthening tour.

After wrapping up July with a few Eurasian dates, Feist will do a little reading, boost her boy KD, and cold-rock a week's worth of shows in the U.S., pausing only for a quick stop at Montreal's Osheaga Music Festival. She gets around, this one. [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.)