Fogarino/Franklin's Setting Suns Forced to Nix Name
Band to be henceforth referred to as Magnetic Morning

Photo by Christy Bush

Band nomenclature: it ain't what it used to be. Pretty much every second nowadays a perfectly serviceable bandname gets snapped up, forcing musical types to resort to atrocities like Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Does It Offend You, Yeah? (A: It does), and P4k HQ's current LOL of choice, Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong.

For Interpol's Sam Fogarino and Swerverdriver's Adam Franklin, a blah name like the Setting Suns was just blah enough to have been used before (well, almost) for a musical undertaking. And now, under pressure from a fellow NYC act called Setting Sun, Sam and Adam have obligingly retired their blah moniker and opted instead to be forever known as-- wait for it-- Magnetic Morning. Expect a cease-and-desist any day now from my seven-year-old sister, who once used that name for a tweegazer outfit she started with a Rainbow Brite doll and two My Little Ponies.

Under their former name, Magnetic Morning played a gig and dropped their debut EP digitally late last year. The Setting Suns EP-- no word yet whether it will retain that title-- has been bumped from its original February 5 physical release date and will emerge in CD form this March via DH Records.

Between the Swervedriver reunion, Interpol's next round of live dates, and plans to record the Magnetic Morning full-length debut this year, these guys are in for a busy 2008. Ooh, and Adam Franklin has a few solo dates in queue too. Check those and the Interpol dates below. [MORE...]

Kim Gordon, Lavender Diamond's Stark Appear in Film

Photo by Kathryn Yu

Lights, camera, teenage riot! The inimitable Kim Gordon-- who's shown silver screen promise since back in the days of "Death Valley '69" and has since lent her thespian talents to Kurt Cobain semi-biopic Last Days, "Gilmore Girls", and more-- is set to appear in a forthcoming short film from Los Angeles-based producer/director Alia Raza.

Precious little is known about the short-form moving picture at this time, as apparently it's still in the planning stages. According to a post on Variety's Stylephile, other musical types partaking in the as-yet-untitled project include Lavender Diamond's Becky Stark (all over the movies these days) and OK Go's Damian Kulash, and the film is based on a short story by Miranda July.

Shooting is expected to begin later this month, and the film will also feature costumes designed by Magda Berliner and Jasmine Shokrian.

Thanks to Jeb Allured for the tip.

Rare Disco, Electro Gems on Disco Not Disco Comp

Is it disco? Is it something else? Disco Not Disco, the forthcoming Strut collection, ought to come with a disclaimer. Oh, wait, here we are: Post Punk, Electro & Leftfield Disco Classics 1974-1986. So it is disco, then?

Sort of. Disco Not Disco collects fourteen rarely-heard but totally slammin', bottom-heavy bodymovers with strong appeal for fans of, say, the collected works of James Murphy. It's disco-like in its steady rhythms and pulsing bass, but it's not exactly the Hues Corporation.

Compiled by Last Night a DJ Saved My Life author Bill Brewster, the disc runs the gamut from New York's underground club scene to Detroit's then-burgeoning techno pioneers, and even hops the pond for a handful of tracks that lit up the British Isles. The collection, a follow-up of sorts to Strut's 2000 Disco Not Disco comp, emerges January 14 on the recently rejuvenated imprint. [MORE...]

Polly Jean Harvey, John Parish Meet Again for New LP
PJ Harvey Adds Dates in New Zealand, Australia, Italy

Photo by Kathryn Yu

Make way for a new addition to that list of most anticipated records of 2008. Polly Jean Harvey's next musical endeavor will be a proper follow-up to 1996's Dance Hall at Louse Point, her unduly underappreciated meet-up with songwriter and multi-instrumentalist John Parish.

According to a MySpace post, Harvey and Parish are set to enter the studio this month, joined by Harvey's frequent collaborator Eric Drew Feldman (also a member of Captain Beefheart's Magic Band), Autolux's Carla Azar, and Giovanni Ferrario. If it works anything like Louse Point, Parish will handle the music, while Harvey will tackle the words.

The disc can be expected before the end of 2008, and sessions should wrap just in time for PJ Harvey's mid-February tour of Australia and New Zealand. Harvey has also scheduled a lone date in Rome on March 9. [MORE...]

Arbouretum, Lungfish Dudes Ready Human Bell Album

When most of us hang with our friends, we... do what? Crack open a few beers? Play some video games? Talk philosophy, if we're feeling ambitious/high?

But when Baltimore bros Dave Heumann and Nathan Bell pal around, they make sweet instrumental guitar duets together and record them. This might have something to do with the fact that Heumann is the leader of Arbouretum and Bell was a member of Lungfish from 1996 to 2003. Call it creative restlessness or something.

Going under the name Human Bell (get it?), Heumann and Bell will release their self-titled debut LP via Thrill Jockey on January 29. The album features contributions from Matt Riley (The Moss Collector), Michael Turner (Warmer Milks, Speed to Roam), Peter Townshend (Speed to Roam, Bonnie "Prince" Billy), and Ryan Rapsys (Euphone, Ambulette), on various instruments including "quartz singing bowl" and guitar, vibraphone and kalimba, and "orbital spirit guitar," according to a press release. Production on Human Bell comes from Paul Oldham and Antony West, with Tortoise's John McEntire handling the mixing.

Human Bell also have a pair of dates coming up this month to celebrate the album's release. [MORE...]

Broken Social Scene Head Out on World Tour
BSS Presents Brendan Canning LP due May 27

None of that "Presents..." business here! Broken Social Scene-- or as many as they can stuff in a suitcase, anyhow-- are headed Down Under for a proper band tour next month. From New Zealand they'll head to Australia, where they'll make all stops at the traveling Laneway Festival. Then it's off to Japan for a pair of dates and, eventually, a stopover in Singapore before the scene is (temporarily) Broken anew.

Attendees at these gigs can expect a heady mix of BSS classics, material from spiritual leader Kevin Drew's recent solo joint, and quite possibly at least one tune from the forthcoming Broken Social Scene Presents Brendan Canning LP.

But not for long, as May will bring a flurry of new BSS goings-on. Broken Social Scene proper will perform at the Explosions in the Sky-curated ATP festival. The Brendan Canning album will arrive May 27 on Arts & Crafts, as reported by Billboard and confirmed by the band's publicist.

In other news from the Scenesters, Jason Collett's new disc, Here's to Being Here, is out February 5 from Arts & Crafts. And for those of you who prefer your rock'n'roll silent and readable, there's a book in the works as well. [MORE...]

Hukkelberg's Rykestrasse Leads to North America

March 4, noted Norwegian singer-songwriter Hanne Hukkelberg's Rykestrasse 68 heads to North American thanks to the Nettwerk label, following a 2006 release (to much international aplomb) in her native Norway.

The disc, "a tribute to the six months she spent living in Berlin," is a darker, more somber affair than its well-regarded predecessor, Little Things. 68 features members of Jaga Jazzist and Shining, and sports a rather bizarre (but extremely effective) cover of the Pixies' "Break My Body". A video for "A Cheater's Armoury" drawn up by MTV animator Andreas Palegolas is included with the disc.

Hukkelberg will make her way to this year's South by Southwest festival, and a brief U.S. tour is being plotted around the trip. Those dates have yet to emerge, but Hukkelberg's got a pair of Scandanavian dates set in stone over the next couple months. [MORE...]

No Age Come up With a Few Good Nouns for Sub Pop
This is the noisiest game of Mad Libs ever!

Photo by Daniel Cantó

Verb may be what's happening, but for the very-happening Los Angeles noise punks of No Age, this spring is all about Nouns. That's what Dean Spunt and Randy Randall have dubbed their first proper full length (and follow up to Weirdo Rippers, last year's stellar singles collection and-then-some/Pitchfork's #12 album of 2007).

It's due May 6 on their new label Sub Pop. We're without a tracklist for Nouns at the moment, but there's a good chance the recently-Forkcasted "Sleeper Hold" will make an appearance. Get familiar!

The lads of No Age always seem to find themselves in good company, be it the folks who kick around their L.A. homebase the Smell, their soon-to-be tourmates in Liars, or the plethora of bands they'll join at this May's ATP vs Pitchfork festival. And you, too, could be among good company, if you show up at one of the places right after this thing here. [MORE...]

Nada Surf Get Lucky With Ben Gibbard on New Album

Nada Surf, aka the sappiest indie poppers in the Barsuk catalog not named Death Cab for Cutie, will follow up 2005's The Weight Is a Gift with their fifth full-length on February 5. It's called Lucky, and speaking of Death Cab, Ben Gibbard is among the album's guests, alongside Ed Harcourt, the Long Winters' John Roderick, and Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter guitarist Phil Wandscher. It's a regular Barsuk party.

Lucky will make its way to European shores February 4 (February 18 in the UK), and early pressings of the record will come with a four-song bonus CD.

The band has plenty of tour dates to keep them and us occupied before and after those staggered releases, including engagements in Europe, the U.S., and Canada. [MORE...]

Radiohead (Sorta) Announce North American Tour!
In Rainbows tops U.S., UK charts

There are three essential components to any respectable Pitchfork News tour story-- dates, cities, and venues-- but when your band is called Radiohead, you can get away with announcing them one at a time.

Today Radiohead confirmed that they are indeed coming to North America in the near future, and provided folks with a handy list of just which cities they'll visit. No dates, no venues, just cities. Did yours make the cut? Have a look (arranged alphabetically):

Atlanta
Boston
Charlotte
Chicago
Cleveland
Dallas
Houston
Indianapolis
Los Angeles
Miami
Montreal
New York
Philadelphia
San Diego
San Francisco
Santa Barbara
Seattle
St. Louis
Tampa
Toronto
Vancouver
Washington, DC

The cities listed above will be graced by the men of Radiohead in two waves, the first popping off before that oft-reported European jaunt (which begins June 6), and the second taking place sometime after said jaunt ends (on July 8).

As the guys explained on Dead Air Space late last month, they've been working with environmental group Best Foot Forward to reduce their carbon emissions on this forthcoming tour, which may go some to explain why it's taking them a minute to put it all together. They also provided some pointers on how YOU can help. Observe:

* If average car occupancy increased from 2.2 to 3, the whole tour's overall CO2 output would be reduced by 22%.
* Halving fans flying would reduce overall CO2 consumption by 5%
* And if 10% of car users travelled by bus it would reduce CO2 emissions by 7%

And if I may add my own suggestion: Bikes!

Radiohead's In Rainbows, meanwhile, presently sits atop the Billboard 200 album charts. After a street date violation resulted in a paltry first "week" showing, Thom and the boys moved 122,000 units in their second week, good enough for a #1. In Rainbows also reigned over the UK charts in its first week of release.

Still hot on the Radiohead newswire: Amplive, under pressure from Radiohead's publishers, has agreed to abandon his In Rainbows remix project for the time being; the "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" single blows up UK shelves January 14; Thom Yorke's rolling out some remixes; and the band so did not demand a bunch of advance money from former label EMI. So there.

Finally, according to Uncut.com (via ateaseweb), Radiohead will perform on the 200th episode of "Later... With Jools Holland", which hits BBC Two February 1. Also performing: Cat Power, Feist, and Dionne Warwick. [MORE...]

Spoon Head Down Under
Join Big Day Out bill, celebrate Spunk! Records' 10th anniversary

Spoon didn't exactly shy away from the road in 2007, and the sharp sonic space-savers have already begun spooning out the dates in 2008. They've joined the bill of the previously reported Big Day Out Festival, which will find them rubbing elbows with the likes of Björk, Battles, and something called an Arcade Fire. Your guess is as good as mine.

Not only that, but Spoon and the Arcade Fire have scheduled a duo of joint dates free from the rest of their traveling companions, which, of course, gives us hope for plenty of headline fodder to come in this new year. Or, if they so please, they could pick up Jens Lekman and Andrew Bird, who will both join them in fêting the 10th birthday of their Australian label, Spunk! Records, at a party on January 21. Or we could just let them make up their own damn minds about whom they choose to cavort and caper with, I suppose.

After doing their Down Under duty, the lads head to Japan, Portugal, and the UK for one-off gigs.

In other positive Spoon news, that Diplo character just mixed them up for a good cause. In other negative spoon news, this. [MORE...]

Black Kids Tour With Sons & Daughters, Kate Nash

Photo by Mike White

Though they've still only got a handful of songs to their name (four of which are still free, by the way, and still bearing our Best New Music distinction), the Black Kids have certainly stretched those few songs as far as anyone could imagine over the last few months.

On a wing and a prayer and some catchy tunes, the band have lined up quite a sizable UK tour this winter, with dates alongside Glasgow's Sons & Daughters and British songstress Kate Nash. Nash has reportedly taken to covering the Kids' "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You" from time to time recently, which can only serve as the foundation of some kind of collaborative onstage hijinx.

To note: the gigs from January 29 through February 1 are free, as part of the Vice Live tour. Though if you go, someone might take your picture and then make fun of it later on the internet or in a magazine. [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.)