Scott "Spiral Stairs" Kannberg Curates Sled Island Fest
Lineup includes Wire, RZA, Jonathan Richman, Mogwai, Of Montreal, No Age, Gutter Twins

At a press conference yesterday, the organizers of the Sled Island Festival in Calgary, Alberta made the first lineup announcement for their second annual shindig. On name alone, it's hard to beat Sled Island (what's more fun? Free Pizza Island, maybe?), but the SIF braintrust went even further to ensure success by picking Scott Kannberg as this year's guest music curator.

You might know Kannberg better as Pavement member Spiral Stairs and as the driving force behind Preston School of Industry. For Sled Island 2, he has assembled a lineup of artists that shows off his excellent pedigree and good taste.

Among those artists are Kannberg himself, as well as Wire, RZA, Of Montreal, Jonathan Richman, Mogwai, No Age, the Gutter Twins, Portastatic, José González, Deerhunter, the Dodos, Drive-By Truckers, Extra Golden, Miss Murgatroid and Petra Hayden, Beans, the Broken West, the Cave Singers, Headlights, Elliot Brood, Carolyn Mark, and more.

The Sled Island Festival takes place this year from June 25-28 at various venues around Calgary.

Neko Case, Carl Newman, Ryan Adams on ESOPUS CD
Plus: Atlas Sound, Man Man, Busdriver, Marnie Stern, Gowns

Good news for people who like bi-yearly magazines chalk full of enticing creative and critical miscellany! The latest issue of ESOPUS, number 10, is set to descend on a finer literary retailer near you rather soon.

Like past issues, this one comes bundled with a themed compilation CD. Last time around we delved into the dreamstuff of ESOPUS readers as musically interpreted by Califone, Dirty Projectors, High Places, Black Moth Super Rainbow, and others. This time we'll celebrate "Good News" with selections from Ryan Adams, Atlas Sound, Man Man, Busdriver, Marnie Stern, Gowns, and the redheaded New Pornographer one-two punch of Neko Case and Carl Newman.

ESOPUS asked these folks and the rest below to find a news piece with a "positive" vibe to it-- a more daunting task than one might think-- and spin it into song. Case and Newman team for a tune about a ferret species' return from the brink of extinction, two acts turn in tales based on a window washer who survived a 46-story fall, and Man Man give us, yes, "A Song for Liza Minnelli".

These and more comprise the compilation that will accompany ESOPUS 10, which will also come packed with all manner of visual and written goodness. Look for it in early May. [MORE...]

R.E.M. Expand Accelerate Tour

No matter your take on R.E.M.'s forthcoming Accelerate-- hard-charging return to form, a hollow shell of a once-great rock band, or, most likely, somewhere in between-- one thing's for sure: these new songs are gonna be a hell of a lot more fun to hear live than "Leaving New York" ever was.

So whether or not you'll swoon for "Sing for the Submarine", you'll delight in knowing that R.E.M. have thrown several new gigs into their touring itinerary over the coming months, including a four-date run in the UK in late August.

Of course, all that won't come until after the band wraps its big plans to tool around North America with Modest Mouse and the National, to say nothing of the glut of mostly European, frequently festival appearances they'll do in July and August. And, you know, they actually have to release Accelerate, which they'll do-- with a little help from Warner Bros.-- March 31 in the UK and April 1 in the U.S.

Oh, and make sure to check out Pitchfork contributor Stephen M. Deusner's interview/dental wizardry with R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe right here. [MORE...]

Thermals' Hutch and Kathy Revive Duo for Rare Show

Photo by Tom Oliver

As you may have read, the Thermals recently went from a trio to a two-piece after the departure of drummer Lorin Coleman. The band isn't springing into action to hire a replacement for Coleman just yet, which means, for now, the Thermals are made up entirely of core members Hutch Harris and Kathy Foster.

Okay, flashback time. See, way before More Parts Per Million, Hutch and Kathy comprised the entirety of a ragged folk combo called, yes, Hutch and Kathy. Hutch and Kathy, it should be noted, are not the Thermals, even when the Thermals are a two-piece featuring people with those particular first names. The eponymous duo had its own non-Thermals tunes, and even released a self-titled LP, which Jealous Butcher recently reissued.

Anyhow, though you've hopefully seen Hutch and Kathy doing their thing with the Thermals in recent times, it's been six years since Hutch and Kathy performed in public as a duo in their previous incarnation. According to the Willamette Week's Local Cut blog, that will all change soon.

Come April 18, Hutch and Kathy will reconvene under their given first names for a performance at Portland State University venue the Modern Age, along with fellow PDXers Strength, Reporter, the Vonneguts, and Typhoon. The gig is a benefit for Portland State's KPSU radio, and will be preceded on April 14 by an in-studio performance from the duo on the KPSU airwaves.

Hutch himself claims that they'll be performing all new songs, some of which may end up on the next Thermals record. Ooh ooh, which, Hutch? "We're not sure exactly what they are." Ah. Guess we'll find out next month.

Lou Reed, Cat Power, the Roots Play Memphis Fest
With Aretha Franklin, Tegan and Sara, Bettye LaVette, Joan Jett, Project Pat

Like a lot of these big weekends, the Beale Street Music Festival sports plenty of the sorta milquetoast jammy/rootsy stuff that moves tickets and gets the hippie sorts who frequent these things a-noodlin' (especially, it would seem, in Tennessee).

But there's lots to love about the 2008 incarnation of the Memphis festival named for the city's favorite drag, going down May 2-4 at Tom Lee Park.

Take, for instance, an appearance from Mr. Lou Reed. Or Ms. Chan Marshall, perhaps better known to you and me as Cat Power. Or how about the Roots, Tegan and Sara, local legend Project Pat, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Memphis underground sensation Al Kapone, that Ben Folds fella, and, it must be said, My Chemical Romance?

Being Memphis and all, there's plenty of great blues, R&B and soul as well-- I mean, Aretha Franklins's gonna be there, along with Bettye LaVette, Buddy Guy, Muddy/Wolf sidemen Pinetop Perkins and Hubert Sumlin, and a whole lotta others. There will also be appearances from Santana, Fergie, Matisyahu, Disturbed, and both Sheryl Crow AND the Black Crowes.

A little careful planning, and you sure could have a real fine time down there in the Bluff City before it gets too hot.

Boy, Bjork's 3-D "Wanderlust" Video Looks Awesome

Björk's no stranger to groundbreaking music videos-- you'll find heaps of 'em here-- but her latest clip, for Volta brooder "Wanderlust", looks poised to give even the lady's most celebrated visual showstoppers a run for their money.

But don't take our word for it. Just feast your eyes on these:





The stills seen above and below come from the the "Wanderlust" video, which, as previously reported, has been been rendered in thrilling 3-D. It will feature on a DVD accompanying the remix-ridden "Wanderlust" single (3-D glasses included!), due April 14 on One Little Indian. The Encyclopedia Pictura-directed spectacle will also premiere on Yahoo.com March 31, and folks without 3-D glasses can still dazzle over a separate, 2-D version. Check out a teaser clip for the 2-D version below.

And speaking of spectacles, Björk's still touring! Catch her in England and Northern Ireland in May, or at a European festival near you this summer.

Again, WOW:

[MORE...]

Lil Wayne FINALLY Announces Carter III Release Date

Hot damn. After untold numbers of mixtapes alluding to its existence, years and years of promises unkept and so many tentative release dates that came and went, Lil' Wayne's Tha Carter III will be released by Young Money/Cash Money/Universal Motown May 13.

Probably.

Sporting the recently Forkcasted, awfully divisive first single "Lollipop", the sixth LP from Weezy F. Baby is the first full-length studio release from the nevertheless hyperprolific MC since the December 2005 release of Tha Carter II.

What info we've got isn't real long on details-- no proper tracklist, alas-- but Billboard.com recently confirmed that Kanye West, Lil' Mama, Hurricane Chris, Corey Gunz, Jibbs, Shanell, Kidd Kidd and Mack Maine have all recorded guest verses for the album, and producers Swizz Beatz, Alchemist, Cool & Dre, Deezle and Jim Jonsin (who produced "Lollipop") contribute tracks. And if Birdman's not on there even for a second, I will eat my hat.

Wayne, who's not letting his January arrest slow him down one bit, pops up on Bun B's forthcoming II Trill LP, as well as on newcomer Tyga's upcoming album No Introduction, which Wayne will release on his own Young Money Ent. label in conjunction with Pete Wentz's Decaydance label. (Tyga also appears on Tha Carter III.)

He also has a few U.S. tour dates on the way, the next of which goes down over the weekend in Philly. [MORE...]

Help Rivers Cuomo Write a New "Sawng"!
Weezer album due for June 2008 release

Hey have you heard about this YouTube thing? It's just the bee's knees, man! It would seem Rivers Cuomo has heard about this YouTube thing, and he's already putting it to good use.

The Weezer frontman and charity footballer reached out to his fans recently via YouTube for what he's christened "Let's Write a Sawng", an interactive songwriting project of sorts.

"Here's the deal," declares an amusingly mustachioed Cuomo in the introductory "Sawng" dispatch. "I'm in my music studio, trying to write a song. And I need your help. That's right. Me, and all of yous, are gonna write a song together."

For Step 1, Cuomo selected an "attitude" for his song, essentially "fun and poppy, but tough." For Step 2, he tapped his fans for a song title. "80's Radio" emerged as the victor, beating out "Riding in Geos With Katie", "Showdown in Candyland", and even the seemingly indomitable "Big and Bouncy".

For Step 3, still in progress, Cuomo has asked us to "come up with some chords yo." Word.

As of March 21, Rivers was heading over the river and through the woods to his grandparents' house for a week on a dial-up modem, which means you probably have until March 28 or so to pick the perfect chords for "80's Radio" and post them to YouTube. Make haste, yo.

Many thanks to reader Matthew Dunn for the tip!

And as much as we'd delight to find the fruits of the "Sawng" project on the forthcoming Weezer album, that seems unlikely given a recent posting to the Weezer website.

"We have one song left to mix and then it's on to mastering," that one reads. "We should be all done very soon. Then we chill for a minute." The record should be out in June, it's not called Tout Ensemble, and apparently it's "meaty, crunchy, and melodic like a good Weezer album should be." So there you go.

Oh, also, we're promised a new Weezer single on the radio soon. Cheeky Rivers won't disclose the title, but he does tell us it begins with T, ends with R, and is a single, twelve-letter world. So obviously it's called, um, "Treehuggerer".

Fleet Foxes Announce Debut Album
Sun Giant EP hitting stores soon

Photo by Nilina Mason-Campbell

Hot on the heels of their recent, Best New Music'd Sun Giant EP, Seattle's Fleet Foxes have announced the details of their debut LP. The self-titled affair (known for a time as Ragged Wood, though now officially eponymous) sports 11 tracks from the up-and-comers, including the recently Forkcasted (and totally gorgeous) "White Winter Hymnal". The Phil Ek-produced set is due June 3 from Sub Pop.

Oh, and Sun Giant, which has been available exclusively through Sub Pop's website since late February, arrives in stores April 8.

The Foxes recently launched a tour alongside another pack of Pac Northwesterners: Blitzen Trapper. Once the two are done stalking North America in late April, Fleet Foxes hit Sasquatch! and the Pitchfork Music Festival this summer. [MORE...]

Smashing Pumpkins Sue Virgin Over "Artistic Integrity"
LOLz

Photo by Matt Ziegler

Okay so this is just kinda funny. According to a Billboard.com report, Billy Corgan and his Smashing Pumpkins are suing former label Virgin Records-- with which they put out Siamese Dream, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Adore, and Machina/The Machines of God-- for damaging their "artistic integrity" and undoing the "considerable amount of goodwill in the eyes of the public" the band has "worked hard for over two decades to accumulate." All because of a little promotion.

Hmm, was it the promotion where the Pumpkins milked their hardcore fans by issuing four different versions of Zeitgeist to four different big money retailers? No? How about the one where they released a second Best Buy-only edition of Zeitgeist with a bonus DVD? Nope! Wait, that wrestling thing? No sir. Zeitgeist came out on Reprise, which falls under the Warner Music Group umbrella; the label taking the heat here is EMI Group-allied Virgin.

Turns out the Pumpkins are peeved over a promotion with PepsiCo and Amazon.com to push "Pepsi Stuff", which I guess is like Kool-Aid points for people who consume mass quantities of carbonated soft drinks.

Corgan and Co. claim they never granted Virgin permission to use the band in such a manner, and demand that the label hand over all profits from the Pepsi promotion as recompense. They're also seeking an injunction prohibiting use of the band's name for such purposes in the future.

While you ponder all that, know that the Pumpkins have expanded their latest "goodwill" mission some since our last dispatch, adding gigs in Mexico and Costa Rica, plus more in Australia. [MORE...]

Al Green Reveals Details of ?uestlove-Co-Produced LP

In the world of soul singers with froggy tenors, stylish outfits, and killer falsettos, Cee-Lo Green has reigned supreme since at least the summer of 2006, when "Crazy" was inescapable.

No disrespect to Cee-Lo, but the original Green machine, i.e. Reverend Al, has returned with a new album to dispatch with all this Gnarls Barkley malarkey. Aptly titled Lay It Down, the record comes out May 27 via Blue Note.

In an inspired move, Green collaborated with the Roots' Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson and Roots/Lauryn Hill/Common collaborator James Poyser to produce the album. ?uestlove plays drums on Lay It Down, and the record's other musical contributors include Anthony Hamilton, John Legend, and Corinne Bailey Rae, as well as horn group the Dap-Kings.

Green will lay it down on the road in support of the record with several North American shows scattered all the way through September. [MORE...]

Dan Deacon, Wrens, Thermals, Ted Leo on Zine Comp
Plus: Xiu Xiu, Islands, Times New Viking, Handsome Furs, Shearwater, and...YOU!

We're not sure where they found it-- yard sale, grandparent's attic, dark alley behind the corner café-- but somebody at Melbourne, Australia-based multimedia zine The Lifted Brow recently came across a "fake bookshelf."

That is, a construction intended to give the appearance of an actual bookshelf, but, upon closer inspection, merely a collection of stripped spines wrapped around foam. The thing looks like this.

Most would discard such an oddity, or use it to build a beer pong table or something, but not The Lifted Brow! Recognizing the 103 book titles contained on the fake bookshelf's spines as a potent font of inspiration, the zine reached out to a whole bunch of creative friends-- music-minded and otherwise-- to compile the forthcoming "Fake Bookshelf" issue of The Lifted Brow.

Dan Deacon, the Wrens, the Thermals, Xiu Xiu, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Times New Viking, Islands, Shearwater, Handsome Furs, Mount Eerie's Phil Elverum (with No Kids' Nick Krgovich), Sunset Rubdown's Spencer Krug, Frog Eyes' Carey Mercer, Goblin Cock, Le Loup, Frightened Rabbit, Thee More Shallows, Home Blitz, Rock Plaza Central, No Kids, Get Him Eat Him (featuring Pitchfork contributor Matt LeMay), MGMT, and Dan Bejar's Hello, Blue Roses co-conspirator Sydney Vermont are among those asked to select a "fake" book title and get all creative with it.

Most of these folks contributed music to one of the zine's two adjoining CDs-- Elverum and Krgovich linked for a tune called "Marsh Blood", for example, while Rock Plaza Central composed a jolly little number entitled "Honeymoon With Murder". But several embraced other realms of stuff-making. For starters, Mercer took on the title "Saffron's Army" for a tale illustrated by Vermont, Deacon did some drawing, and Krug crafted a short story.

The Lifted Brow's "Fake Bookshelf" issue also abounds with full-time literary types, including Sandman scribe Neil Gaiman and the Jekyll to Lemony Snicket's Hyde, Daniel Handler.

The songs, stories, and scribbles served up by these fine folks and more will eventually comprise issue number four of The Lifted Brow, set to span one book and those two CDs when it finally does find a place next to the Los Campesinos! and Sea Monstre zines on your very real bookshelf.

We don't know exactly when yet (late 2008 is the plan though), because the Brow's editors are still seeking one essential contributor...you! The zine has launched a "Fake Bookshelf" contest, inviting the curious to submit a creative piece based on one of the many silly book titles.

Check out the contest details, the kickin' collection of prize swag (including an original Dan Deacon drawing!), and the complete list of title options right here. You only have until July 1 to come up with something, but just think of the yarns you might spin, the songs you might sing, or the doodles you might, er, doodle to the tune of titles like The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World, The Cheetah Chase, and The World of Professional Golf 1994!

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.)