Andrew Bird and Dianogah to Play Obama Benefit

That Barack Obama's on a bit of a roll lately, huh? With primary wins left and right over the last week and support from all around the indie rock world, the senator from Illinois has picked up a little more hometown support on his quest to become the Democratic nominee for the presidency from fellow Chicagoan Andrew Bird.

Bird and his pals in Dianogah, who joined him on last year's Daytrotter session, will rock an Obama benefit at Chicago's Hideout on February 28. Both acts will perform separately and together.

The suggested minimum contribution for tickets may be $100, but you can't put a price on picking a president, can you? Besides, all ticket buyers will receive a limited edition handscreen poster by Chicago artist Kathleen Judge available this night and this night only.

As for Andrew, he's got a couple other tour dates scheduled right now, including that stop at the MusicNOW festival in Cleveland Cincinnati! DOH!  [MORE...]

What Made Milwaukee Famous Prep New LP, Tour

Austin's What Made Milwaukee Famous are wasting no time releasing the follow-up to their debut album. Barely a year and a half after the arrival of the Barsuk edition of Trying to Never Catch Up (the original version of which, okay, came out in 2004), they will unleash What Doesn't Kill Us via Barsuk on March 4.

The band will head out on a North American tour in March and April, on which they're stuck opening for Louis XIV. What Doesn't Kill Us, indeed. But before that begins, they'll play a handful of other shows, including a five-show L.A. residency across various venues. The first pops off tonight (February 18) at Spaceland. [MORE...]

Photos: St. Vincent [Los Angeles, CA; 02/15/08]

Photos by Akmal Naim

Patron saint of gaga-eyed indie boys across the land, St. Vincent swept through Los Angeles' Echoplex this past weekend on a pilgrimage to discover the true meaning behind her 2007 bid for matrimony. Said meaning will apparently only reveal itself after St. Vincent plays many a song for the kids, so that's just what she and band did.

Unlike past jaunts that had St. Vincent's Annie Clark supporting folks like Sufjan, Midlake, and Jolie Holland, this current one-- bound for Portland tonight-- finds St. Vincent topping the bill. And, at the Echoplex anyway, projected larger-than-life behind the stage as well. Maybe those big faces will translate to big wins at the PLUG Awards in March?

ST. VINCENT







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Human Giant Embark on Pre-Season Two Tour
We were just idly surfing the net when we came across this DVD...

The funnymen of Human Giant-- who look suspiciously like those Manhammer fellows up there-- will hit the road this week in preparation for the March 11 premiere of their self-titled show's second season on MTV.

Following an appearance this past weekend at the Telluride Comedy Festival, Rob Huebel, Aziz Ansari, and Paul Scheer will explode minds and give Columbian neckties at venues across the U.S. beginning February 21 in Los Angeles.

The tour also serves as a reminder that Human Giant's Human Giant: Season One DVD comes out March 4. As for Manhammer, well, we suggest you inquire at your local adult video store about that one. [MORE...]

Pollard Leaves Merge, Starts Label for New Album
MP3 of new song available

Only two months into 2008, Robert Pollard is already off to business, and his next order of business is releasing a solo album called Robert Pollard Is Off to Business.

Consisting of a mere 10 songs in 35 minutes, the record finds Pollard amicably peacing out of his partnership with Merge Records for a June 3 release on his own newly formed label, Guided by Voices, Inc. The label is run by Pollard along with manager David Newgarden, tour manager Rich Turiel, and business manager Eric Weiss.

Off to Business was produced by frequent Pollard associate Todd Tobias. Check out the track "Gratification to Concrete", available for downloading below.

The album is scheduled to coincide with Fantagraphics' publishing of the previously mentioned coffee-table book Town of Mirrors: The Reassembled Imagery of Robert Pollard.

Prior to the release of Off to Business, GBV Inc. will inaugurate itself with the single for album track "Weatherman and Skin Goddess". Out April 8 but only available through Pollard's website, it's a three-song EP featuring two exclusive non-album tracks, "Kiss the Quiet Man" and Coat Factory Zero". It will be available on CD and 12".

And because this is a Robert Pollard news story, we can't only mention just one new album from the guy. As previously reported, the Psycho and the Birds (aka Pollard and Tobias) album We've Moved is out February 26 on Happy Jack Rock Records.

Also, for all you super fans out there, an acetate of the GBV album Half Smiles of the Decomposed is up for auction on eBay right now. It features an original Pollard collage on the cover created specifically for the auction, and is autographed by the man himself. [MORE...]

Photos: Mos Def [Edmonton, Alberta; 02/16/08]

Photos by Aaron Vanimere

With Be Kind Rewind set to hit theaters this Friday (February 22), film star Mos Def is out there doing that other thing he does: rapping. Mos touched down at the Edmonton Event Centre in Alberta this past Saturday to reassure us that he shouldn't quit his day job anytime soon. Or is rapping his night job?

Either way, catch Mos Def in Vancouver tonight and on the silver screen this coming weekend alongside Jack Black, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow, and the latest visual marvels to spring from the one-of-a-kind mind of Michel Gondry.

MOS DEF







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Klaxons, Rihanna to Duet "Umbrella" at BRIT Awards

Rihanna did say we're always welcome under her "Umbrella", but what a big umbrella that's turned out to be. A weekend ago it took in defunct Minneapolis funksters the Time at the Grammys, and this Wednesday it will apparently extend across the Atlantic to cover the wily wags of Klaxons.

Wait, strike that, reverse it. Klaxons will in fact cover "Umbrella"-- not the other way around-- at the February 20, 2008 BRIT Awards ceremony, according to a Guardian report. That's cool enough in itself, but here's where it gets fun: Rihanna, up for a International Female Solo Artist award that night, will join them.

"We've made our own slant on a contemporary version of ['Umbrella']," Klaxons revealed in a BBC Radio 1 interview quoted in the Guardian report. "It's an electronic version with guitars on it."

Klaxons and Rihanna's camp have been ironing out the details leading up to Wednesday night's duet performance. According to Klaxons, "They've got this funny idea of what our band sounds like and we've done three or four different versions. Her people kept sending versions back, going, 'No, this sounds more like you.'"

Even if Klaxons don't take home the Breakthrough Act and Best Live Act awards for which they're nominated, freaking Rihanna, dudes! Congratulations! In fairness, this isn't so far-fetched, as both Klaxons and Rihanna technically fall under the same major label, er, umbrella: Universal Music Group.

Catch the BRIT awards-- also featuring performances by Kaiser Chiefs, Kylie Minogue, and Sir Paul McCartney-- February 20 at 8 p.m. UK time. Then catch Klaxons live at London's O2 Arena February 28, and Rihanna on tour with Kanye West this spring.

Ted Leo, Matthew Dear Remix Spoon on New Single
We never thought this phrase would exist: "Ted Leo's I Want It Hotter Remix"

Britt Daniel must be in a song-swapping mood. Following the release of Daniel's remix of Feist's "I Feel It All", his band Spoon will issue their cover of the Natural History's "Don't You Ever" (called "Don't You Evah" on Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga) as a single backed by remixes from the likes of Ted Leo, Diplo, and Matthew Dear, according to a Billboard.com report confirmed by Merge Records.

To clarify: Spoon are releasing a single for a song they covered featuring the original and five remixes of Spoon's version. Well now that you say it like that!

The single also features "Don't You Evah" remixes by DJ Amaze with Alan Astor and newcomer Doc Delay Fixerupper.

Merge will release the "Don't You Evah" EP on April 8.

According to Billboard.com, Spoon have U.S. tour plans for April as well, and they are looking to September to schedule a West Coast tour.

Despite all this activity, Daniel also revealed to Billboard.com that he plans to take some time away from touring to start the process of writing new material. [MORE...]

The Mars Volta Announce Spring Dates

As my father once told me, "Son, the Mars Volta have added tour dates again." And damn it if Dad wasn't right. The Bedlam bringers have extended their forays across the globe to include another run of U.S. shows in April.

What's more, these are only the first shows in what the band will parlay into a full-on headlining tour this spring. As my dad would say, "That is all the Mars Volta news there is to report for now." [MORE...]

Nick Cave, Spiritualized, Jose Gonzalez Play iTunes Gigs

iTunes will continue its music-world domination with a series of shows taking place in London from this Thursday, February 21 through March 2. And guess what? Every concert that's part of iTunes Live: London Sessions will be recorded and subsequently available for purchase via-- guess where?-- iTunes. (Seems to be UK only, sorry.)

AIR Studios will host "solo and collaborative sets" from the likes of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Spiritualized, Roisin Murphy, José González, Billy Bragg, Estelle, Mystery Jets, and (whoa, haven't heard this name in a little while) Jason Mraz, among many others.

Unfortunately, tickets to the shows are only available to contest winners. But you know where to go to hear the music after the fact.

(Via NME.)

Jay Reatard Unveils First Matador Single, Adds Dates

If all goes according to plan, there will be more of Jay Reatard's forthcoming "See/Saw" 7" floating around than any of the rest of his six upcoming Matador singles, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't get excited about snagging a copy of your very own.

Jay's inaugural release for the label-- and the first in a plotted string of fewer and fewer copies of more and more singles-- arrives April 8, and will be backed with "Screaming Hand". More to come...or, wait, is it less?

One thing there is assuredly more of: Jay tour dates. After he parts ways with the Black Keys, he'll blow through the rest of April up and down the East Coast with fun-sounding folks like Cheap Time and CPC Gangbangs. [MORE...]

El-P and Dizzee Rascal Announce Tour
El-P plans next studio record

It looks like Def Jux's partnership with Dizzee Rascal to release Maths + English in the U.S. was the beginning of a beautiful relationship. And the next result of that relationship is a juicy tour featuring Dizzee and label honcho El-P. After they play the Def Jux SXSW showcase in March (alongside Del the Funky Homosapien and Devin the Dude, among others), the two will take North America by storm in May.

El offered the following words on the Maths release and upcoming tour: "Me and my partner at Jux have been huge fans of Dizzee, and thought the new record was so good that it needed to be released in North America. His music is raw and honest and fits right in with the type of artists we want to support. As big as he is overseas, he's never really had as much of a chance to get out there in the U.S., so the idea of touring with him is really exciting for me. Between the two of us it should be a pretty insane experience."

Another El-P/Dizzee collaboration is the former's remix of "Where's Da G's [ft. UGK]", which will appear on the aforementioned U.S. release of Maths + English on April 29. According to El-P's MySpace blog, that remix isn't the only studio work he's done recently. He also remixed the Mars Volta's "Goliath"-- from new album The Bedlam in Goliath-- and he's preparing some sort of studio follow-up to I'll Sleep When You're Dead.

The latter release has led El-P to regrow his studio mustache in the process. On his MySpace blog, El writes that the release "will most likely be a little more than an EP, a bit less than an album, and a whole lot of fuckery." He also says that, amidst other material, it will feature Darryl Palumbo's remix of "The Overlydramatic Truth". [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.)