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...]

Jay Reatard Signs to Matador, Plans Singles Barrage

When he isn't getting all bruised up or doing his best Carrie impression, Memphis's Jay Reatard is writing, recording, and plowing through live shows at a pretty damn ridiculous clip. He's also turned plenty of heads in so doing, including those of the folks at Matador. Yup, they've signed Jay and will help him hit us over the head with six singles in 2008.

Details on the singles are fairly scant at the moment, but we do know that Matador hopes to have the first one out by March and intends to release them in an absurdly unconventional fashion. With each successive single, the quantities pressed will actually decrease. In a nutshell: as demand goes up, supply will go down. I'm no economics major, but I'd say that means maximum eBayability is practically ensured here.

However, for those who just want the rock without all the record-flipping interruptions, a CD/LP compilation collecting the limited edition singles will eventually surface. There's also a little live activity brewing in the Reatard camp; have a look right after this thing. [MORE...]

Sufjan, MBD, Asthmatic Kitty Roster on New DVD

It was only a matter of time before those folks over at Asthmatic Kitty sprung a DVD on us, and come March 4 the world will embrace the incredible inevitable.

Frankly we couldn't be more psyched about Encyclopedia Asthmatica Vol I (even if the title and packaging are taking us on a trip down memory lane), as it comes packed with footage of pretty much everybody on the AK roster and includes no fewer than four previously unreleased vids featuring label poster boy Sufjan Stevens.

My Brightest Diamond, Castanets, Rafter, Shapes and Sizes, the Curtains, and Bunky pop up on Vol I as well, and frequent perusers of this here website will no doubt recognize illustrator Tom Eaton's video for Sufjan's "Put the Lights on the Tree". Also nestled amid the music videos and live footage is material from CandyStations' Deborah Johnson (who has worked with Sufjan, Wilco, Calexico, Lambchop, and others), and a clip of the Think/Dance Collective "frolicking in shoes made of bread to the music of Half-Handed Cloud." Fresh!

They even thought to dazzle up the menus, with music from Rafter and design by AK website Sidebar contributors Zack and Gala Bent. Keep your cursor glued to this here site for a tracklist, and know that Encyclopedia Asthmatica Vol I will be available for preorder beginning February 4 online and at your local indepedent record store.

Malkmus' Real Emotional Trash Album Cover Revealed
Expect a run on thrift store 70s folk festival t-shirts any minute now

When we rung up Stephen Malkmus last month to talk Real Emotional Trash, he answered the phone just as he was "down in the basement, fucking around" and "trying to secure the cover art for this new album." Consider it secured: that right there before your very eyes will grace the front of every copy of Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks' Real Emotional Trash when it hits March 4 from Matador. Hypnotic!

Apart from our ogling, we've also got word that a couple of those Jicks tour dates we told you about last week were slightly more tentative than originally reported. The folks at Matador jumped the gun on announcing those gigs in D.C. and Philly, and have since apologized for the haste on the Matablog. "When and if they're finalized," they write, "we'll be posting something to that effect." Hey, who wouldn't want ol' Malky boy and the band in their building? Crazy people, that's who.

Also, John Vanderslice has been added as the opening act for the shows. [MORE...]

Men [ft. Le Tigre's Samson, Fateman] Play Shows

With Le Tigre on hold for the time being, JD Samson and Johanna Fateman's previously mentioned partycore project Men is free to rock face from coast to coast.

But hold on a second. The coasts on this here continent are rather far apart, and really, don't you suppose folks would prefer a thorough face-rocking to some half-assed, fly by night face-rocking? I reckon they would, and I gather Men agree. Thus, the duo is going to take it one coast at a time, and restrict its rocking of face to Los Angeles for the moment. The first such instance, a Check Yo' Ponytail event, pops off January 12.

And JD Samson sure hasn't forgotten about the coast she calls home. Catch her DJing at a handful of Brooklyn parties in the weeks to come. [MORE...]

Marty Crandall Domestic Abuse Case Dismissed

Detail from photo by Brian Tamborello

The unfortunate saga of Shins keyboardist Marty Crandall and ex-girlfriend Elyse Sewell came to an abrupt end today as the former couple's respective domestic abuse cases were dismissed, according to a spokesperson at the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office quoted on The Portland Mercury's blog, Blogtown, PDX.

The Mercury spoke to Diane Richardson at the D.A., who said the following: "Both defendants have not been charged. The case was rejected due [to] insufficient evidence."

Following the dismissal of her own case, Sewell claimed via her blog that she has "no intention of pursuing any further legal action." She went on to express surprise at how quickly the story had taken off, and declared, "I will never speak of this again, nor malign Marty in this space."

Jens Lekman Announces Spring Tour

Photo by Sigurd Fandango

We're happy that Jens Lekman is back on the scene, but there's a big problem with Night Falls Over Kortedala. It came out in the wrong season! How are we supposed to enjoy all those sunny hooks in the middle of January?

Fortunately for us, the nature of time is such that it won't always be this cold and/or gross out, and with the announcement of a spring tour of the U.S., Jens is now prepared to strike as soon as things turn nice again.

The sappy Swede's new dates come sandwiched between his appearance at SXSW in March and his sets at two ATP events (one of those being ATP vs. Pitchfork) in May. Of course, he also has plenty of European dates in February, and there's a trio of Australian shows coming up even sooner. [MORE...]

Von Bondies Return With Album, EP, Tour

Michigan's the Von Bondies have returned from their hibernation since 2004's Pawn Shoppe Heart with a new lineup, a tour, and plenty of new music in tow.

The biggest release on the band's plate is their new album, Love, Hate and Then There's You. Songwriter/singer/guitarist Jason Stollsteimer wrote the record, which features production from folks who've worked with Interpol, Hot Hot Heat, and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. It will be the Von Bondies' third album, and they are planning on a summer release date on a currently to-be-announced label.

Before we feel the Love, the band will grace our ears with an EP titled We Are Kamikazes Aiming Straight for Your Heart. It's available now, via the Von Bondies' MySpace and on their upcoming tour, which takes them across North America and Europe and starts this week in Ann Arbor. Better still, even more tour dates are in the works. [MORE...]

Baltimore's Wye Oak Sign to Merge, Issue Debut
Wye Oak? Why the heck not!

Baltimore-dwelling, noise-drenched folk duo Wye Oak have become indie juggernaut Merge Records' latest signees, and the venerable label will release the band's debut, If Children, April 8.

Fellow Marylanders may already know a little bit about the folk from Wye Oak, as they're named after the honorary tree of the Old Line State, and both Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack used to perform under the moniker Monarch. The pair also previously self-released an edition of If Children under that former name.

Wye Oak will cover quite a wide swath of the U.S. on a tour currently underway. [MORE...]

Hold Steady Work on LP4, Line up UK Tour
Keyboardist Franz Nicolay plays solo shows

Front page photo by Michael Alan Goldberg. Above: Photo of John Agnello and Bobby Drake by Tad Kubler

The Hold Steady note in an update on sessions for their fourth LP: "From the band's beginning, this is the longest we've been without being in the studio." And though it seems like all Craig and the boys do is tour, tour, tour, it's true: 2007 was the first year since 2003 without a new Hold Steady record.

The adoptive Brooklynites recently checked in on their webpage as they returned to the booth to lay down their follow up to 2006's glorious Boys and Girls in America. The band plans to keep the record button on for most of January and February, with Boys and Girls producer John Agnello in tow. Agnello got a word in on his own website to gloat: "the songs are great," he writes, "everyone is playing and/or singing their asses off and we are having a blast." Well, yeah, dude... it's the Hold Steady.

There's no title or release dates for the disc as yet, but one can probably expect it to include songs like "Lord, I'm Discouraged", "Magazines", and "Joke About 'D'yer Mak'er'", UPDATE: THE ACTUAL TITLE IS "Joke About Jamaica" all of which recently debuted on the band's joint tour with Art Brut. And no word yet on the live album and/or DVD, part of which was taped at their Halloween show in Chicago. But any and all Pitchfork staffers in attendance that night agree the show was pretty great. What we remember of it, anyhow.

The band will presumably be wrapping things up by the last week of February, as they've got a few UK dates to attend to before the shortest month comes to a close. That's not the gents' only UK plan for '08, what with their appearance among the rest of music's finest at the ATP vs. Pitchfork festival in May.

They'll also take a brief winter break trip to Florida next Sunday, January 19, to play the Skate Park of Tampa 15th Anniversary Party. It takes place at the Czar Bar in, yes, Ybor City.

In other Hold Steady news, dapper keyboardist Franz Nicolay will perform by his lonesome a couple times over the next few days in the general vicinity of New York City. And Craig Finn shows up in the recent All Over But the Shouting book to give props to fellow Minnesotans the Replacements. [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.)