Pitchfork

The history of politics and music as bedfellows is a long one, from "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" to, uh, "Vote or Die!", to the current spate of politically motivated benefit shows. But getting swept up in all of this, it's easy to forget that musicians are people too, and they have thoughts and ideas and concerns about the upcoming U.S. election just like the rest of us.

With that in mind, filmmaker Brendan Toller-- whom you may recall as the director of record store documentary I Need That Record!-- and Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace imprint have inaugurated "Election 2008: Artists Speak Out". The ongoing series of videos, as its title suggests, features musicians, comedians, artists, and the like waxing thoughtful on the upcoming election and what it means to them.

As one might expect, the opinions expressed in the first batch of "Artists Speak Out" videos run the gamut from pro-Obama enthusiasm to bemused apathy to down-and-out pessimism.

Thurston Moore bandmate (and former Come and Codeine member) Chris Brokaw, comedian Eugene Mirman, and Tall Firs member Aaron Mullan, all interviewed during the recent ATP New York, each express generally positive, hopeful, Obama-friendly sentiments, though none exactly sounds gung-ho.

Flying the flag for apathy and evasiveness are MV & EE, who aren't convinced the current situation really has an effect on them, and Burning Star Core's C. Spencer Yeh, who makes some comments on real estate which may in fact be a subversive critique of the status quo. We're not quite sure.

For a more grim and strikingly negative view of the matters in question, try Built to Spill's Brett Netson, who expresses his disappointment with Obama (alluding to his ties with corporate lobbyist Moses Mercado) and notes that, as usual, nobody's listening to Ralph Nader. Or try Polvo's Ash Bowie, who predicts "the Republicans will steal the election." Well, at least he thinks Sarah Palin "sucks."

And then...there's Meat Puppets man Curt Kirkwood (pictured). Joined by filmmaker Dave Markey, he begins by showing off his "one-of-a-kind Sarah Palin towel," which he apparently uses "to wipe the blood off after I sharpen my fingers." Things just get weirder from there, with the chat eventually devolving into a discussion of "elephant vagina[s]" and "dildo-headed unicorns." The man can certainly entertain, even if his disinterest ("You couldn't pay me to [vote].") is disheartening.

"This is really the heart of America," Kirkwood at one point deadpans in reference to his surroundings at ATP New York. "George Washington threw a submarine across the Potomac here in 1952." As a summary of political confusion in the Information Age, it would seem Kirkwood has, however inadvertently, hit the mark.

Photo by Kathryn Yu

I guess they both, um, do things in a really grandiose fashion?

A whole lot of very lucky British Kings of Leon fans attending the Tennessee band's December tour stops will get themselves an earful of at least one fine band for the price of two, as Anthony Gonzalez's sublime M83 will open each and every date on KoL's December UK tour.

M83 are currently in Europe, with sights set on a North American trek with School of Seven Bells next month. Kings of Leon, meanwhile, are days away from kicking off their own North American jaunt in support of the crappy Only By the Night.

Pitchfork seeks an inspired individual with excellent management, sales, and marketing skills to manage and develop the sales operations of Pitchfork Media and Pitchfork.tv out of our Chicago office. In this role, you will be responsible for overseeing the site's day-to-day sales activities, establishing and maintaining agency and client relationships, and collaborating with Pitchfork's sales and business team to create strategies designed to grow existing business. Also included would be developing the means to support those strategies with research, market analysis, and other collateral. The ideal candidate should be a confident and polished manager, presenter, and writer-- willing to take any task put in front of him or her.

You should be comfortable with work ranging from conducting cold calls to working with Pitchfork's sales staff and business partners to developing the direction of Pitchfork's sales operation. A commitment to developing a productive, effective sales environment while providing Pitchfork's clients with the best possible online advertising experience is required. This position will report to Pitchfork's Publisher/COO.

You might think that after titling their new album (k)no(w)here that Wilderness would just stay put instead of touring in support of the thing. Instead, the band is following the album's November 4 release on Jagjaguwar with a little U.S. tour.

The shows begin November 19 in NYC and continue into December.

Photo by Alex Wagner

Hop on over to the iTunes store starting, oh, now, and you can nab a six-song Live Session from Nick Thorburn and his Islands.

Consisting mostly of tunes outta Arm's Way, the band's 2008 effort, the set is further bolstered by covers of Spiritualized's "Broken Heart" and Sinead O'Connor's "Red Football".

What's more, Reefer, that "Hawaii-inspired indie superduo" featuring Thorburn and producer Daddy Kev, will issue their debut mini-album digitally on October 14 via Alpha Pup. The album, previously known as The Life Narcotic but now self-titled, was truly Hawaii-inspired, as it was composed by Nick and Kev on the coastline of Maui. It sports six tunes, three interludes, and remixes by Dntel and Flying Lotus.

Here's the artwork, by L.A. based illustrators Kozyndan. It looks like it should be airbrushed onto the mudflaps of a pickup truck:



Islands are off in Europe at the moment making with the live sessions on a nearly nightly basis for the next week and a half or so. They'll head back Canada way later this month for an appearance at the Halifax Pop Explosion, followed by a set at the Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, Texas in early November.

Convivial is the fourth album from Finnish house producer Sasu Ripatti under his Luomo alias. The set, which finds Luomo in some awfully good company over the course of its nine tracks, is due November 11 in the States and October 24 elsewhere from Ripatti's own Huume imprint.

Luomo gets good and Convivial on the album with the likes of Sascha "Apparat" Ring, Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters, Berlin's Cassy, Chicago house legend Robert Owens, California's Sue-C, longtime collaborator Johanna Iivanainen, and a mystery guest singer going by the codename "Chubbs".

Convivial arrives just as Ripatti embarks on a new spate of tour dates coming together and featuring his many, many monikers and collaborations. Names aplenty abound after the jump; we wish you all the best in keeping 'em straight.

Snow Patrol's latest album A Hundred Million Suns was partially recorded at Berlin's Hansa Studios, where David Bowie and Brian Eno laid to tape some of their famed late-1970s trilogy. I would expect that will be just about the last time this new disc is compared with Low. And hey, speaking of trilogies, Suns ends with one-- just like Daydream Nation, another album with which it's likely to share little else in common.

Anyhow, the Jacknife Lee-produced A Hundred Million Suns will arrive October 27 in the UK and October 28 in the States on Polydor/Fiction/Geffen. Fans can opt for a regular CD version, a deluxe CD/DVD combo, a slab of vinyl, or a digital download. First single "Take Back the City", meanwhile, is due in UK shops in CD and 7" formats on October 13, and due in a climactic scene in a television drama shortly thereafter.

Snow Patrol, finally, plan to hit four metropolises in just two days on their "Take Back the Cities" tour, which kicks off later this month.

When she's all done with an early fall tour of France and Spain-- coinciding with the recent release of the very French From the Top of the World EP-- Shara Worden and My Brightest Diamond will hit the States. Bearing all of those Thousand Shark's Teeth along the way, My Brightest Diamond's trek criss-crosses our fair nation through December. These dates find Worden and company joined at every turn by Clare and the Reasons.

As summer festival season gives way to political benefit season, we've got the scoop on three more musical fundraisers for Barack Obama and the Democratic Party. They're going down in Kentucky, Ohio, and New York on October 16 and 17.

The first sees My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James repeat his role as acoustic troubadour for the Obama Victory Fund at a benefit on October 16. James will perform at the Water Tower in Louisville, Kentucky, just eight days after playing a similar benefit in Chicago.

The other two benefits take place the very next day, October 17.

One is a show Devo are playing at the Civic Theatre in their hometown of Akron, Ohio to benefit the Summit County Democratic Party. The event's funny logo is above.

The other October 17 benefit features Anti-Pop Consortium, Takka Takka, and Dragons of Zynth, plus DJ sets by French Kicks and Cassettes Won't Listen. Create Change NYC organized the event, called "Obamarama", which will go down at Brooklyn's Bell House. In addition to music, there will also be a silent auction featuring items from various artists, including Radiohead collaborator Stanley Donwood. All proceeds from the night will benefit the Obama campaign.

Thanks to BackseatSandbar.com for the Jim James tip and to reader Chris Henry for the Devo tip.

Photo by Kathryn Yu

Weezer sure do love their gimmicks. They love 'em so darn much, they've employed just about every trick in the book-- the Guinness Book, that is-- for their new, just-Forkcasted clip for Red Album highlight "Troublemaker".

Weezer and a cast of many set out to break just about every world record they could come up with over the course of the video's day-long shoot, and they knocked out quite a few of ‘em. Weezer and company can now claim Guinness Book-verified participation in the world's largest game of dodgeball, most people in a custard pie fight, most people riding on a skateboard (22!), largest air guitar ensemble, and longest Guitar Hero World Tour marathon. I dunno, last weekend, me and my bros...

What's more, Weezer stickman Pat Wilson can be seen in the clip jamming on the world's smallest drum kit (in a video), something the band is apparently petitioning the Guinness people to validate as an official record. If only they put this much effort into writing halfway decent songs!

A separate press release announcing the video's Yahoo! premiere claims Weezer and co. also now hold the records for world's biggest rock band and biggest Weezer logo made of nachos. Really? That last one is a thing?

If the guys keep this gimmickry up, they'll have one more record: most tour date reprintings in the pages of Pitchfork News. Find those dates (once again) below, along with some details on the Weezer-set Guinness records you could like so totally break, dude.