Spank Rock, Kid Sister, Faint's Todd Guest on Aoki Mix
Mix packs tracks from Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, Justice, Klaxons, Peaches

Coked-out Vice-toting trust fund party mobster children of the world, meet your new Ulysses. DJ/Dim Mak label chief/ultimate scenester Steve Aoki has spun decadent hipster gold with his forthcoming mix Pillowface and His Airplane Chronicles. Not content merely to collect the choicest anthems of post-postmodern revelry-- nor even to settle for the choicest remixes of these choicest anthems-- Aoki has taken it to another level by enlisting the choicest party-starting personalities to sing exclusive guest verses over the choicest remixes of the choicest party anthems. Still with us? Boss.

You want Pase Rock dropping a guest verse over the Erol Alkan remix of Justice mega-hit "Waters of Nazareth"? You got it. How about Amanda Blank spitting fire at Mr. Alkan's "Glam Racket" reworking of Franz Ferdinand's "Do You Want To"? It's yours. Soulwax remixing Klaxons? MSTRKRFT matching acronym wits with "D.A.N.C.E."? Aoki's own Weird Science experimenting with Bloc Party? Ding ding ding!

Spank Rock, Todd Fink of the Faint, and Kid Sister contribute new guest verses to non-remixed tunes, while a few jams-- including Refused's classic "New Noise"-- sneak onto the mix in unadulterated form. The dark underbelly of all this fuck-all merrymaking is well represented as well, with guest turns from Mickey Avalon, Har Mar Superstar, and Uffie.

Pillowface lands October 16 through Dim Mak/Thrive Records. And if this all sounds like Greek to you, jeez man, like, get with it already. [MORE...]

Photos: Okkervil River [Los Angeles, CA; 09/04/07]

Photos by Akmal Naim

Okkervil River found themselves out in the land of movie stars last night, as they played L.A.'s Troubador on the opening leg of their massive tour in support of their Best New Music-tagged new album The Stage Names. Fellow Secretly Canadian/Jagjaguwar family member Damien Jurado opened.

Will Sheff and co. will cross our shores from one sea to another 'til November, when they'll cross the sea, too. A European tour takes them through December.

More photos and tour dates below.

OKKERVIL RIVER






DAMIEN JURADO

[MORE...]

Kevin Drew Schedules North American Tour

When you've got a crew like Kevin Drew does, there's just no telling who's bound to show up to support you at any given show. We've got word that Kevin's band on his upcoming tour will feature fellow Broken Social Scene-makers Brendan Canning and Justin Peroff, American Analog Set's Andrew Kenny, Treble Charger's Bill Priddle, and Uncut/Hawaii member Sam Goldberg. Still, you never know who's gonna turn up when you get the Scene together: See this for evidence, and, uh, further testament to the power of friendship. Or something.

Kevin's just thrown some new North American shows onto his previously announced schedule of appearances in support of the forthcoming Spirit If... disc (out September 18 on Arts & Crafts, with a "Tbtf" single disappearing fast presently).

Dates have yet to be firmed up during that little gap in early November, Drew plans to head back up to Canada after these dates are all crossed off. Still, that's a whole lotta Drew, and a whole lotta crew, too. Woo! [MORE...]

Ted Leo Finds Replacement Bassist for Upcoming Tour

Photo by Kirstie Shanley

No, no one can ever truly replace the healthy hunk of a dude that is former Ted Leo compatriot (and, therefore, ex-Pharmacist) Dave Lerner. But Marty Violence of Richmond, VA punks Young Pioneers is sure going to give it a go, for a while, at least. Violence-- whose mama prefers that you call him by his birth name, Marty Key, kthx-- will temporarily step into Lerner's sizeable bass-strap for the upcoming Ted Leo tour, which just got a bit bigger. Teddo's snuck a few more dates in here and there, and busied up his November and December in particular, including a few West Coast shows with Touch and Go labelmates Quasi.

Will Marty pass muster? We'll know come October, though he'd better start growing out that beard now.

In other Ted Leo news, that handsome mug of his pops up in Pat Graham's new Silent Pictures photo book. [MORE...]

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, NIN, Public Enemy Play Beijing Fests

Photo by Kathryn Yu

For Western rock'n'rollers who dig heaps of paperwork, China's becoming yet another hot spot to bring the noise. Just this year, they've hosted (for better or worse) Sonic Youth, Jennifer Gentle, and the Go! Team. And this fall, the most populous country in the world is beckoning a handful of big-name American and European acts at a pair of forthcoming festivals. Looking to infiltrate communism? Grab an amp and load in.

First, there's the Beijing Pop Festival, which-- in addition to a ton of Chinese acts, including "godfather of Chinese rock" Cui Jian-- will host Nine Inch Nails, Public Enemy, Mando Diao, former Suede frontguy Brett Anderson, the New York Dolls, and Marky Ramone. The festival takes place at Beijing's Chaoyang Park September 8-9. Hey, that's this weekend!

Then there's the smaller-scale Modern Sky Festival, which has beckoned the ever-agreeable Yeah Yeah Yeahs to its headlining slot October 4. The rest of the lineup-- containing a not-exactly-modest 100+ bands-- is highlighted by friends-of-Thurston Carsick Cars and a bunch of their fellow locals. The three-day Modern Sky will open October 2 at Haidian Park in Beijing.

Thanks to Berwin Song of That's Beijing for the tips.

Klaxons Win 2007 Nationwide Mercury Prize

And the winner of this year's Nationwide Mercury Prize is... Klaxons' Myths of the Near Future!

Well, okay! Besting the likes of Arctic Monkeys' Favourite Worst Nightmare, Bat for Lashes' Fur and Gold, New Young Pony Club's Fantastic Playroom, Amy Winehouse's Back to Black, Dizzee Rascal's Maths + English, and a bunch of stuff only British people like, Klaxons have taken the coveted honor for this year. Last year's winner was Arctic Monkeys' Whatever People Say I Am, That's Why I'm Not-- alas, they did not go two-for-two.

The accolade-- along with the 20,000 pound prize-- were doled out in a ceremony this evening.

T.V. Eye: September 4-9, 2007

Live music on TV this week:
Tuesday, September 4:

ABC: "Jimmy Kimmel Live": Gogol Bordello

Wednesday, September 5:

ABC: "Jimmy Kimmel Live": Rilo Kiley
NBC: "Late Night With Conan O'Brien": Dinosaur Jr.

NBC: "Last Call With Carson Daly": Patton Oswalt, Deerhoof (rerun)

Thursday, September 6:

ABC: "Jimmy Kimmel Live": Galactic with Lyrics Born
NBC: "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno": Kings of Leon

Friday, September 7:

CBS: "Late Show With David Letterman": Arctic Monkeys

A Place to Bury Strangers Land Record Deal, Book Tour

Brooklyn-based pedal-mongers A Place to Bury Strangers recently leapt into the ranks of the Pitchfork elite, thanks to their ear canal-melting self-titled debut LP, the most recent release to receive our distinguished Best New Music tag.

That disc came out on tiny New England imprint Killer Pimp Records, but for the next two, A Place to Bury Strangers have inked with Chicago-based upstart Highwheel Records. They already have plans to pack their custom-made pedals and travel to the Windy City to record in December, with eyes on having another release stuffed with all-new material out in early 2008.

For the moment, however, they'll take those one-of-a-kind pedals on the subway (can you say "suspicious package"?) for a few gigs around New York City. The trio also plays the appropriately-named Walls of Sound Festival later this month in Virginia.

A place to experience Strangers:

09-09 New York, NY - Ludfest
09-20 New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
09-22 Fredericksburg, VA - Walls of Sound Festival
10-18 New York, NY - 200 Orchard (CMJ)
10-20 New York, NY - Glasslands (CMJ)

Photos: Ekko Festival [Bergen, Norway; 08/31-09/01/07]

Photos by Eirik Lande

Norway was out in force this past weekend for Bergen's annual Ekko Festival, a gathering of Europe's hottest electronic and experimental acts. Pelle Carlberg rocked a pre-fest warm-up gig the weekend before, while this weekend everyone headed over to Bergen's Landmark hall, where young jazz talents Puma started the night with noise veteran Lasse Marhaug.

King of Convenience Eirik Glambæk Bøe played with his side-project Kommode, and also joined the Rubies for a Saturday show. Röyksopp's Torbjørn Brundtland and Svein Berge joined their touring guitarist Kristian Stockhaus, performing with his band Ungdomskulen, for an improvised electronic set.

On Saturday, Skatebård and Kleerup got the crowds dancing before Slagsmålsklubben delivered one of the highlight sets of the fest. Finally, in the absence of Annie, who had to cancel her appearance at the last minute, Erlend Øye (aka Kings of Convenience's other half) put his DJ skills to work.

ERLEND ØYE


UNGDOMSKULEN [ft. RÖYKSOPP]


SVARTE GREINER


PELLE CARLBERG

[MORE...]

Photos: Bumbershoot [Seattle, WA; 09/01-09/03/07]

Photos by Nilina Mason-Campbell (and Michael Alan Goldberg, where indicated)

The Shins, Art Brut, Devendra Banhart, Wu-Tang Clan, Menomena, and Andrew Bird were among those who lit up various venues throughout the Seattle Center this past Labor Day weekend as part of the latest annual Bumbershoot festival.

Not all the action took place onstage, however. In addition to live shots of the aforementioned and more, scroll down to catch the guys from Art Brut trolling the fairgrounds, the sisters of Smoosh cavorting with a local statue, Shins sharing snacks, and My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden splashing around in a freaking fountain. Nice!

THE SHINS





Shins photos by Michael Alan Goldberg

ART BRUT (secret show)








ART BRUT (main gig)




DEVENDRA BANHART

WU-TANG CLAN

[MORE...]

Beatles' Help! Heads to Deluxe DVD

A Lord of the Rings for the moptop set, the Beatles' lovably corny 1965 film Help! will soon blow up DVD players across the nation in expanded digital video disc format.

The Richard Lester-directed film, digitally restored and boasting a new 5.1 surround sound soundtrack, occupies the first of the two DVDs in this deluxe set, which Apple Corps Ltd drops on the masses October 30.

Disc two, meanwhile, includes the usual bonus goodies, including a documentary featurette on the making of the film, a missing scene, trailers, radio spots, a bit on the restoration process, and memories from the cast and crew.

Those who wish to go all out can score a doubly deluxe version of Help! in a boxed set that also includes Lester's annotated script, eight lobby cards, a poster, and an 60-page booked packed with rare photos and production notes. Or settle for the regular version, which still gets you a pair of DVDs and a booklet with words from Lester and Mr. Martin Scorsese.

The Beatles hit the road next month with TV on the Radio and Deerhunter. Haha, if only.

Silver Apples Rejuvenated for First Tour in Eight Years

Simeon Coxe has revived his legendary psych/proto-electronic outfit Silver Apples for its first tour since 1999.

The tour comes on the heels of the release of a split seven-inch with One Cut Kill on Gifted Children Records, featuring an ace new Apples track titled "I Don't Know". The Apples also promise plenty of material from their landmark first two albums-- 1968's Silver Apples and 1969's Contact-- on this tour, which includes dates with One Cut Kill and Gifted Children labelmates the Moon Upstairs. [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.)