Vampire Weekend Cancel Shows to Play "SNL"

Vampire Weekend drummer Christopher Tomson has returned from the hospital to deliver some VW news via MySpace blog. It's not purely positive news, but it's certainly good for the band: They accepted an invitation to play live on the March 8 episode of "Saturday Night Live". To do so, however, they were forced to cancel a quartet of sets in Florida, including a couple of shows opening for the Walkmen, and their appearance at Langerado on March 7.

(Hey, this sounds familiar...)

On the plus side, VW have already rescheduled their Orlando and St. Augustine shows for early June, and the Walkmen will still play the original dates this week. So really, it's just a single festival appearance and an in-store that are lost to the sands of time. And since we'll all get to see the band on "SNL" this weekend, we can handle that, right?

After they play "SNL", Vampire Weekend will scurry to meet up with the Walkmen and kick off their tour in Atlanta on March 9. [MORE...]

Photos: Atlas Sound [Chicago, IL; 03/01/08]

Photos by Matthew Taplinger

Deerhunter season opens again the weekend of May 9-11, when the Atlanta-based sonic psych-out artistes tear up ATP vs. Pitchfork. But until then, Mr. Bradford Cox has a no less stellar project of his own, Atlas Sound, a Best New Music-stamped debut album, Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel, and a tour of these lands with Kranky labelmates White Rainbow and Valet.

That Kranky caravan rolled into Chicago's Empty Bottle Saturday night, with White Rainbow's Adam Forkner, Valet's Honey Owens, Nudge's Brian Foote, and pal Stephanie Macksey filling out the Atlas Sound live band. Look for these sharply-dressed animal lovers at a venue near you during the days leading up to SXSW.

ATLAS SOUND








WHITE RAINBOW

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Bjork Show Cut Over Kosovo Talk? "Untrue," Says Fest
"EXIT Festival has never cancelled any artist's performance because of their political point-of-view or statements."

Photo by Bernhard Kristin/ILC

Following the shake-up last week surrounding Björk's politically-charged Kosovo song dedication and the subsequent (and, apparently, consequent) cancellation of a purported appearance at the EXIT Festival in Serbia, festival organizers have stepped forward with a statement.

To recap: Björk dedicated her song "Declare Independence" to Kosovo-- which recently declared its own independence from Serbia-- at a pair of Tokyo concerts in February. The singer rather plainly suggested the EXIT cancellation was the result of her remarks when she told Icelandic newspaper Morgunbla∂i∂, "Maybe a Serb attended my concert [in Tokyo] and called home, and therefore the concert in Novi Sad was cancelled." The story spread and was picked up by numerous news outlets, including Pitchfork.

Morgunbla∂i∂ reported that the cancellation was due to the festival's inability to provide enough security for performers and audience members.

According to EXIT's general manager Bojan Boskovic, "These stories are quite bizarre and untrue. EXIT Festival has never cancelled any artist's performance because of their political point-of-view or statements. We'd like to clarify that the festival is right on track and festival preparations are our best ever, we're really looking forward to announcing our program and, moreover, seeing everybody again at the event in July."

Boskovic continues, "EXIT was the first forum in the Balkans to gather people from all the former Yugoslavian countries after the civil wars. Started nine years ago as a student-initiated protest against the Milosevic regime, EXIT has become a symbol of togetherness and cultural diversity and is a social force that every year brings together more and more people, from every background and culture of the region."

The 2008 EXIT Festival descends on Novi Sad's Petrovaradin fortress July 10-13. Four performers have been announced thus far-- the Sex Pistols, the Hives, Paul Weller, and Nightwish-- but organizers would not disclose whether Björk would be playing or if she was indeed at any point a booked or considered performer. They also did not specify if Björk's performance had been canceled due to non-political reasons (namely, the security issue as previously reported).

Björk's publicist did not respond to emails about the matter.

Much more certain: Björk tours England and Northern Ireland in April and May, and has a couple non-EXIT festival dates lined up beyond. [MORE...]

T.V. Eye: March 3-9, 2008

Live music on TV this week:

Monday, March 3:

NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Kate Nash (rerun)

Tuesday, March 4:

FUEL TV: The Daily Habit: Brother Reade
NBC: The Tonight Show With Jay Leno: John Fogerty (rerun)
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Bettye Lavette (rerun)

Wednesday, March 5:

NBC: The Tonight Show With Jay Leno: Willie Nelson (rerun)
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Louis XIV (rerun)

Thursday, March 6:

FUEL TV: The Daily Habit: We Are Wolves
NBC: The Tonight Show With Jay Leno: The Hives (rerun)
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Grizzly Bear
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daley: Louis XIV

Friday, March 7:

FUEL TV: The Daily Habit: Buzzcocks
OVATION: From the Basement: Beck, Jarvis Cocker, Jamie Lidell
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Les Savy Fav (rerun)

Saturday, March 8:

NBC: Saturday Night Live: Vampire Weekend
PBS: Austin City Limits: Spoon, the Killers (rerun)

Photos: The Mountain Goats [San Francisco, CA; 03/01/08]
Plus: Mountain Goats line up April dates Down Under

Photos by Natalie Kardos

She & Him weren't the only ones putting the pop in Noise Pop this past weekend. John Darnielle and his Mountain Goats also swept through the San Francisco fest, playing no fewer than three sold out shows at three different venues, the second of which went down Saturday night at the Independent.

Wearing his Heretic Pride on his sleeve, Darnielle of course entertained the captive crowd in winning fashion. And really, would we expect anything less?

The Goats head to Hollywood tomorrow night, shoot back East later this month, and heed the call of the Land Down Under in April. And don't forget: Darnielle's book about Black Sabbath's Master of Reality is out April 15.

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS





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I'm From Barcelona Line Up American Tour

Photo by Kirstie Shanley

It's not a tour so much as a few clusters of dates, but whatever you wanna call it, when I'm From Barcelona hit the road, it's a rare thing indeed. (You try rounding up 20-odd people, booking them all flights, and shoving them all in a tour bus.)

IFB have big plans for 2008. They'll huddle their masses for a trip to the States in late April for a few dates surrounding their stop at Coachella, with more shows scheduled for the summer in Belgium, Norway and France.

What's with the sudden burst of activity? You probably could've guessed: the band are hard at work on their next LP, the follow-up to 2006's Let Me Introduce My Friends. A single can be expected soon, and the band promises new songs will pepper their forthcoming sets. Give it to us, IFB. [MORE...]

Photos: Black Lips at Camelot for Kids Benefit [Chicago, IL; 03/01/08]

Photos by Kirstie Shanley

Those Black Lips may seem all rough-and-tumble on the outside, but inside lie four genuine hearts of gold. This past Saturday, prior to the Lips' sold out gig at Chicago's Logan Square Auditorium, the Atlanta quartet put on a previously mentioned show for some youngsters from the Camelot for Kids organization, which helps children with special needs. (The folks at the Empty Bottle helped organize the show.)

Black Lips and kids alike also took in a puppet show from Miss Pussycat (Quintron & Miss Pussycat have been supporting Black Lips on this tour). And as they did last time with Fujiya & Miyagi, the Camelot kids once again presented their guest entertainers with a unique gift: a framed, photo-bedecked, giant thank you note. Too cute!

Having changed a few more lives for the better, Black Lips continue on their North American trek through late March. Then in May, they head to the UK, with a stop at ATP Vs. Pitchfork. To coincide with that British tour, the band will release a new double A-side single on May 12 on Vice. The songs on the single will be "Bad Kids" (from Good Bad Not Evil) and a new song, "Leroy Faster".

For more information on Camelot for Kids and its programs, click here.

BLACK LIPS




MISS PUSSYCAT

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Black Kids Cover Sophie B. Hawkins on Single

By naming their band Black Kids and calling their debut EP Wizard of Ahhhs, those buzzed-about Floridians have done a pretty decent job so far of carving out a mischievous niche for themselves. The Kids will continue the mischief making with the UK single release of "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You" on April 7.

In a previous report, we confirmed that the single would be the band's inaugural release for Almost Gold (their label everywhere outside of North America), but what we didn't know is that one of the B-sides will be a cover of "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover". Yes, the "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" that was a 1992 hit single for Sophie B. Hawkins. The "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" with bedroom overtones like, "I give you something sweet each time you come inside my jungle book." The "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" that's actually a pretty great Sinead O'Connor knock-off. Is there any other?

The other B-side on the Bernard Butler-produced single is an original called "You Turn Me On", but what if it was really another cover?

Speaking of the former Suede guitarist, Black Kids are preparing to enter the studio with Butler to record their first full-length for a July release, which they will precede with another single. Before and after that, the Kids have a ton of tour dates in the UK and North America. [MORE...]

Photos: She & Him [San Francisco, CA; 03/02/08]

Photos by Natalie Kardos

Their pronouns may not quite align, but their musical stars sure do. She & Him, the new vehicle for closet singer-songwriter Zooey Deschanel and veteran sound-maker M. Ward, graced the stage at San Francisco's Great American Music Hall this past weekend as part of the Noise Pop festival.

Ward and Deschanel play one more gig-- a March 14 SXSW happening at the Parish in Austin-- before unleashing their debut, Volume One, upon the world via Merge on March 18. Catch more photos of She & Him doing her & he's thing below.

SHE & HIM





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Pitchfork Drafts Music for Major League Baseball 2K8
First round picks: LCD Soundsystem, Hold Steady, Battles, Blitzen Trapper, Dinosaur Jr., Jay Reatard, Cool Kids

The approaching Major League Baseball season wouldn't be complete without a cutting-edge video game companion piece, and thus we have Major League Baseball 2K8, the latest such offering from those gaming wizards at 2K Sports.

In addition to graphics that make reality seem second-rate, as well as limitless playability, past 2K Sports offerings have featured bangin' in-game soundtracks, compiled in collaboration with folks like Sub Pop and Matador. This time around, Pitchfork was given the opportunity to select some of the music for Major League Baseball 2K8.

We put our thinking New Era caps on and came up with a pretty tight squad of Pitchfork all-stars, if we do say so ourselves: league leaders LCD Soundsystem, the Hold Steady, and Dinosaur Jr. rock right alongside rated rookies Battles, Jay Reatard, the Cool Kids, and Blitzen Trapper.

2K Sports rounded up a pretty formidable crew of tunes as well, from the likes of Modest Mouse, the Strokes, Peter Bjorn and John, the Cure, and the Flaming Lips, among others.

Check out the complete song list below, read more about "Pitchfork's Picks" here, and take home Major League Baseball 2K8 for your XBox 360, Playstation 2, Playstation 3, PSP, and/or Wii home entertainment system on March 4. [MORE...]

Yes, Radiohead Are Headlining That San Francisco Fest

The rumors were true. Radiohead will indeed be one of the three headliners for San Francisco's Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival. It will take place August 22-24 at Golden Gate Park.

The other headliners? Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Radiohead BFFs Jack Johnson.

Thanks to Michael Greenwald for the tip.

New Nine Inch Nails Album Available NOW

"Nine Inch Nails presents Ghosts I - IV, a brand new 36 track instrumental collection available right now. Almost two hours of new music composed and recorded over an intense ten week period last fall, Ghosts I - IV sprawls Nine Inch Nails across a variety of new terrain.

"Trent Reznor explains, "I've been considering and wanting to make this kind of record for years, but by its very nature it wouldn't have made sense until this point. This collection of music is the result of working from a very visual perspective - dressing imagined locations and scenarios with sound and texture; a soundtrack for daydreams. I'm very pleased with the result and the ability to present it directly to you without interference. I hope you enjoy the first four volumes of Ghosts." [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.)