Chris Blackwell, Dennis Bovell Remix Manu Chao on EP

Manu Chao brings people together. Usually, this gap-bridging takes a musical form, as evidenced by the man's pan-global sound and the crowds at his concerts. More recently, though, Manu Chao has been bringing the digital and physical worlds together, a partnership that continues with the Nacional release of his Politik Kills EP.

The EP hits digital retailers on April 22, with the CD and vinyl versions coming June 3. Featured on the disc are remixes of the La Radiolina track by reggae legend Dennis Bovell (featuring another reggae legend, Linton Kwesi Johnson), Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, Bostich and Fussible of Nortec Collective, Prince Fatty, Rude Barriobeat, David B., and others.

Furthering the digital interaction is politikills.com, where fans can go to watch the new "Politik Kills" video and download the song's individual parts to create their own remixes. The site also features musings on the song's theme-- the abuses perpetrated by people in power-- from a variety of voices.

We've got the Prince Fatty remix of "Politik Kills" available for download at the link below. Grab it quick, 'cause it's only available for a week!

Update: It's gone!

Manu Chao is planning some big U.S. shows for August, and in May and June, the native Frenchman will embark on his first tour of his home country in seven years. [MORE...]

Blonde Redhead, Jesu, Black Francis Cover the Cure
As do CocoRosie, Tanya Donelly, Raveonettes, Bat for Lashes, Rosebuds, Brunettes, Ariel Pink

The sheer number of Cure cover/tribute albums already in existence is pretty goddamned absurd, so does the world really need two more of these things? Well, if you're willing to wager on a bunch of bands who have done us good in the past, the answer is yes.

Both Just Like Heaven: A Tribute to the Cure and Perfect as Cats: A Tribute to the Cure (henceforth known in this news piece as Heaven and Cats, respectively) boast fairly formidable rosters of indie rockers trying their hands at Robert Smith and company's best mope-alongs.

Heaven comes at us courtesy of American Laundromat Records and will feature the Raveonettes, the Rosebuds, the Brunettes, Tanya Donelly with Dylan in the Movies (not to be confused with Stars of Track and Field), Elk City, Joy Zipper, and Grand Duchy (aka Black Francis and Violet Clark), among others, tackling pretty much all the hits: "Close to Me", "Just Like Heaven", "Lovesong", "In Between Days", "Pictures of You", and so on. If American Laundromat sounds familiar, they also did that (almost) all-lady Neil Young tribute.

Cats, meanwhile, has a fairly enormous pool of contributors, including Blonde Redhead, Jesu, CocoRosie, Bat for Lashes, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, the Dandy Warhols, Indian Jewelry, Kaki King, Rio en Medio, Lewis & Clarke, Bat for Lashes collaborator Christine Weeks, and even Lou Doillon, daughter of Jane Birkin and half-sister to Charlotte Gainsbourg. Manimal Vinyl, the folks responsible for that left-field Madonna tribute, will deliver this one unto our eager ears. They will also donate proceeds to the Invisible Children organization.

Each of these odes to the Cure is a work in progress, so don't be surprised to encounter insertions, deletions, and switcheroos as they shape up. American Laundromat doesn't expect to have Heaven out until February or March of next year, while Manimal Vinyl is eyeing a "late 2008/early 2009" release for Cats. For the curious, the current makings of the two tracklists lie below.

And hey, the real Cure are touring right now! Their European adventures wrap up in London tomorrow night (March 20), and a rescheduled North American jaunt awaits in May and June. [MORE...]

Of Montreal's Barnes, MGMT Guy Team as Blikk Fang

They say familiarity breeds contempt, but for tourmates Of Montreal and MGMT, it would appear to have spawned collaboration. So say hello to Blikk Fang, the apparent new thang from Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes and MGMT's Andrew VanWyngarden, according to a Chocolate Bobka report (not yet confirmed by either band's camp).

"Experimental" thrice over if we can believe their Pure Volume page, Blikk Fang allegedly have an EP entitled Aveh Tiger Roma (that's the cover art pictured) due via Polyvinyl on August 13. Sink your teeth into two Blikk Fang jams, "(Just a Little) Judas Tonic" (a hooky slice of 80s electro/synth-pop) and "Nupital Eagles Sharpened" (actually a cover of the Misfits' "Where Eagles Dare" with a Barnes vocal), on that Pure Volume page right now. And yes, that's the way they've chosen to spell "Nupital". They're experimental, remember?

The Chocolate Bobka report suggests we can look forward to a full-length Blikk Fang album next year, and provides some quotes from Of Montreal member the Late B.P. Helium. "[Barnes and VanWyngarden have] been half-jokingly writing songs for each other for a while," B.P. explains. "Kevin will think of an absurd title and tell Andrew to write a song...and then he does! And vice versa. But now, it will be more collaborative."

UPDATE: According to Barnes (via his publicist), he and VanWyngarden are indeed collaborating in a project called Blikk Fang. However, the title Aveh Tiger Roma is "completely bogus" and the songs on the PureVolume page "will definitely not be on it." The pair does have a few songs recorded, with such working titles as "Hypnotic Agents", "Dead Dogs", and "Pleasure Cunt" already cut to tape. But we shouldn't hold our breath, as Barnes says "it's unlikely that anything will get released before the winter of [20]08."

The songs on Pure Volume were an early MGMT song titled "Just Becuz" and Of Montreal covering "Where Eagles Dare".

Both of Blikk Fang's parent acts have live engagements lined up, with Of Montreal also planning a U.S. tour for the fall. Scope everyone's confirmed dates below. [MORE...]

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks Kick Off Tour

Photo by Nilina Mason-Campbell

Stephen Malkmus and his jammin' Jicks are all set to take out their Trash. The band kicks off the U.S. leg of its tour tonight (March 19) in Minneapolis. (That MySpace secret show in Portland a couple weeks ago doesn't count.) The first half of the North American tour features support from John Vanderslice, with the Joggers picking up the slack on the back end.

In May and June, the band heads to Europe. And smack dab in the middle of all of it, Matador will release the "Cold Son" 10" single in independent record stores on April 19, aka Record Store Day.

Normally, we'd be ecstatic that Malkatraz & co. are hitting the road again, but the timing of this tour raises some serious issues for a committed fantasy baseball owner^* such as SM. For instance, how will he update his lineup? Will the distractions of travel keep him from properly attending to the waiver wire? Will the fact that the band is playing Milwaukee before the Brewers' season starts throw him into a deep depression that causes him to stop making music forever? Inquiring minds want to know.

* Don't miss Matador owner/founder Gerard Cosloy's hilariously technical clarifying statements in the comments. [MORE...]

Photos: Speak Up! Benefit Concert [Brooklyn, NY; 03/18/08]

Photos by Kathryn Yu; Above: Lou Reed with Moby and Laurie Anderson

The stars turned out in spades for Speak Up!: A Benefit Concert for Peace in Iraq & Justice at Home, held last night at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn, as previously reported.

An opening number that brought together Lou Reed, Antony, Moby, and Laurie Anderson set the collaborative tone for the evening, which would also feature David Byrne rocking with Norah Jones, Damien Rice, and members of Scissor Sisters, plus a culminating, bill-spanning jam on Reed's "Voices of Freedom".

Blonde Redhead, Antony, Jones, Anderson, Rice (completely unplugged), and Scissor Sisters all performed individually as well, and quite a few non-musicians put in appearances too. Among them: American Civil Liberties Union executive director Anthony Romero and New York Civil Liberties Union rep Donna Lieberman, journalists Naomi Klein and Laura Flanders, Iraq Veterans Against the War spokesperson Jose Vasquez, dancer/choreographer Bill T. Jones, and Richard Belzer of "Homicide" and "Law & Order" fame, who threatened to kill a dog if the audience didn't take political action. He was joking, of course, and probably just looking for an excuse to carry a ridiculously cute little dog around with him. Aren't we all?

DAVID BYRNE with SCISSOR SISTERS members, NORAH JONES, and DAMIEN RICE


LOU REED and MOBY


LOU REED with ANTONY, MOBY, and LAURIE ANDERSON


ANTONY


BLONDE REDHEAD


RICHARD BELZER, LOU REED, and DOG

[MORE...]

Mates of State Announce New Album

Mates of State will get another album's worth of mileage out of the age-old tension between boys and girls with the Barsuk release of Re-Arrange Us. The follow-up to 2006's Bring It Back is Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel's fifth full-length, and it comes out on May 20 with "reversible and multi-layered" cover art that re-arranges (get it?) into a total of eight different combinations.

The Mates will announce a full-blown tour soon, but for now, we've got three shows to look forward to: two in May, and one in August. [MORE...]

Joy Division Classics Bundled on Best Of
Control biopic, Joy Division doc due on DVD in June

Hey, here's an idea for a Joy Division greatest hits collection. Two discs: first disc Unknown Pleasures front-to-back plus "Transmission", second disc Closer front-to-back plus "Love Will Tear Us Apart", "Atmosphere", and maybe "Dead Souls". Ba-da-bing!

Okay fine, so a two-disc best-of for a band with only two proper discs to its name might be a little unnecessary. Thus Rhino has compiled the best of the best on The Best of Joy Division, a 14-track, single-disc affair glooming up a North American dorm room near you on April 29.

"Love", "Atmosphere", and classic album tracks "She's Lost Control", "Shadowplay", and "New Dawn Fades" all make the cut, but dudes, where the eff is "Decades"?! Eh, we do get a John Peel session version of "Twenty Four Hours" as consolation.

UK residents, meanwhile, can look forward to a two-disc Best of after all. That one lands March 24 via Rhino, and the second disc collects a whole heap of John Peel session jams, a couple live numbers, and an interview with the band's Ian Curtis and Stephen Morris. Folks can scoop up the first disc (but not the second) digitally if they so choose.

Joy Division will soon be blowing up a digital video disc apparatus near you as well, as DVDs for Ian Curtis biopic Control and the documentary feature Joy Division arrive via The Miriam Collection/The Weinstein Company this spring. Look for the former June 3 and the latter June 17. [MORE...]

Les Savy Fav Drop First Live Album

Front page photo by Ryan Muir

Nothing will ever replace the gloriously perverse spectacle of a watching a live Les Savy Fav gig unfold in front of you, with frontman Tim Harrington threatening to show you parts of him you'd rather not see and/or spit chewed-up gumballs into your mouth just cuz, to say nothing of the free haircuts. But After the Balls Drop, the first-ever full-length document of the Les Savy Fav live experience, oughta remind you of that other thing LSF does on stage: kick some serious rock'n'roll ass.

On April 29, French Kiss will release the digital-only live disc, recorded at a 3:00 AM performance at New York's Bowery Ballroom on January 1, 2008. So, not only is it gonna be your standard LSF crazy, it's gonna be that kind of sleep-deprived, hallucinatory/drunken crazy. In other words, uh, Live at Leeds, watch your shit.

For After the Balls Drop, the guys jam out ten stone-cold LSF classics (including several from last year's excellent "comeback" album Let's Stay Friends) and one surely hilarious "Tim Speech". And once the hour went from awfully late to just stupidly late, they switched into cover band mode, tackling the Pixies, Nirvana, Love, the Misfits, and-- man oh man-- Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Les Savy Fav will be doing their thing live and in person a handful of times next month, from a few club dates with labelmates the Dodos and the Big Sleep to the big stage at Coachella. Check 'em out, then cop that play-at-home version.

They'll head across the water for a few festivals later in the late spring and early summer, including the ATP vs. Pitchfork Festival in Rye, England. [MORE...]

The Roots Reveal New Album Details

Front page photo by Natalie Kardos

The upcoming presidential election has everyone feeling political, and the Roots are no different. In a press release, group backbone/mouthpiece ?uestlove calls Rising Down, the Roots' forthcoming 10th (!) album, "probably our most political album to date, dealing with addiction, nihilism, hypocritical double standards in the prison system, and overall life in Philadelphia." But don't worry, rap fans, ?uest also says the record is "not a 'downer,' as most people expect us to do."

Nonetheless, the Game Theory follow-up's title comes from a William T. Vollmann treatise on violence, and its release date-- April 29 (via Def Jam)-- is also the 16th anniversary of the riots that consumed Los Angeles after the police officers accused of beating Rodney King were acquitted. That is to say, "downer" or not, Rising Down offers plenty of chances to get worked up.

As for the music, Rising Down features guest appearances from Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Peedi Crakk, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Saigon, Styles P, Wale, and someone unfortunately named P.O.R.N. Perhaps most notable though is Fall Out Boy singer Patrick Stump's appearance on first single "Birthday Girl".

The Roots have North American tour dates to keep them busy until the album comes out. [MORE...]

Members of Tunng + Memory Band = The Accidental
Hot Chip's Goddard remixes band on forthcoming single

Extend a warm welcome to a newly christened group of out-there musicians, the Accidental. Comprised of members of Tunng, the Memory Band, and the Bicycle Thieves, along with solo songwriter Liam Bailey, the British collective will share its debut full-length offering, There Were Wolves, this spring. North Americans can look for it June 3 on Thrill Jockey, while folks across the Atlantic get the record on April 14 via Full Time Hobby.

Full Time Hobby will first release a UK single for album cut "Wolves" on March 31. The 7" comes backed with a remix of There Were Wolves opener "Knock Knock" by Hot Chip's Joe Goddard.

Before Wolves arrives anywhere, the Accidental have a handful of UK shows to occupy them, including a London gig tonight (March 18). Tunng have some touring plans too. [MORE...]

Feist, Constantines Do "Islands in the Stream"
Makin' songs with each other, uh-huh

You knew Feist and Constantines were, like, serious musical forces to be reckoned with, sure. But did you know that when their forces combine, they transform from fine, dedicated Canadian music-makers into the biggest cheeseballs on the planet?

It's true! Really! And here's your proof: On a new limited-edition 7", the somewhat steely Constantines and the lighthearted but not exactly musically goofy Leslie Feist will perform a collaborative cover of the Bee Gees' "Islands in the Stream", as made famous in duet form by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers.

Though we are having a really hard time picturing Constantines lead singer Bryan Webb hamming it up Kenny style, Leslie Feist actually seems like a perfect Dolly (she loves the glitzy outfits, after all). However they pulled it off, we simply cannot wait until Arts & Crafts throws this thing out there on April 1.

The single will be backed by "Trans Canada", a tune from the Cons' Kensington Heights LP, which Arts & Crafts will issue April 15 in Canada and April 29 in the States. (You know, if you guys had really gone for it, you could've covered Gene Pitney's "Trans Canada Highway" while you were at it.)

Both Feist and the Cons have a few tour dates starting next month, though as of right now, the likelihood of an onstage take on "Islands" from these two is but a nice faraway dream. [MORE...]

Imaad Wasif Issues Strange Hexes With Two Part Beast

Imaad Wasif is one of these dudes who's just about as well known for the company he keeps as the records he makes on his own. A onetime member of both alaska! and Lou Barlow's (New) Folk Implosion, Wassif also lent his raggedy axework to Yeah Yeah Yeahs as their touring guitarist on the Show Your Bones jaunt.

But forget all them other folks for a minute and let Imaad-- and his new band, Two Part Beast-- beguile you with Strange Hexes, which Wasif self-released today. Get yourself a copy via Imaad's website or your usual sources, or on his upcoming West Coast tour, which kicks off later this month. More U.S. dates can be expected in the summer. The moral here is clear: Imaad Wasif, down to jam. [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.)