R.I.P. Dr. Donda West

Confirmed by Rhymefest on Chicago's WGCI this morning, Dr. Donda West has passed away.

via HipHop DX

Radiohead LP7 Gets Release Date (Oct. 10), Title (In Rainbows), Tracklist, Expensive(!)

via radiohead.com...



To be released on October 10th, Radiohead have announced the details of the elusive "LP7". Though the whole magilla as seen above will set you back a pretty penny, a digital download of the album costs just... well, whatever you think it should cost. That's right, folks, name your own price, which essentially amounts to an official release from one of the biggest bands on the globe in the form of a free download. Welcome to the future.

Tracklist

1. 15 STEP
2. BODYSNATCHERS
3. NUDE
4. WEIRD FISHES/ARPEGGI
5. ALL I NEED
6. FAUST ARP
7. RECKONER
8. HOUSE OF CARDS
9. JIGSAW FALLING INTO PLACE
10. VIDEOTAPE

"THIS CONSISTS OF THE NEW ALBUM, IN RAINBOWS, ON CD
AND ON 2 X 12 INCH HEAVYWEIGHT VINYL RECORDS.
A SECOND, ENHANCED CD CONTAINS MORE NEW SONGS, ALONG WITH DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHS AND ARTWORK.
THE DISCBOX ALSO INCLUDES ARTWORK AND LYRIC BOOKLETS.
ALL ARE ENCASED IN A HARDBACK BOOK AND SLIPCASE.

THE ALBUM DOWNLOAD AUTOMATICALLY COMES WITH THIS PACK.
YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE FILE DIGITALLY FROM THE 10TH OCTOBER 2007.

DISCBOXES ARE BEING MADE TO ORDER AND ARE PRICED AT £40.00 INCLUDING POSTAGE.
SHIPPING WILL BEGIN ON OR BEFORE 3RD DECEMBER 2007."

Whoa Hey Quick Wilco Stream New Album, Sky Blue Sky, In Its Entirety!

Go here

Chat about it in AIMchat: skybluesky

Right now, until the wee hours of morn, as Wilco is having a worldwide listening surprise party for Sky Blue Sky Blue Sky Blue Boy Ski Blew or whatever the heck. Started at 10, plays through once, get there kiddos! Rejoice and be glad, for this is a tiding of great joy!

Following Background Check And Five Day Waiting Period, Epitaph Signs Cadence Weapon

Canada's Cadence Weapon, featuring former PitchforkMedia writer Rollie Pemberton, has signed on with Epitaph "for releasing my records in the states. First album comes out march 13 and the next one later this year" Get excited, this dude is, as they say in the biz, super-dope. Those of you lucky enough to be attending SXSW in Austin should be sure to attend his show on Thursday, March 15. According to Rollie, he also may be playing "other cooler ones that ain't confirmed yet." In other words, keep those peepers peeped.

Cadence Weapon has also released a video for the track "Sharks" from his latest, Cadence Weapon Is The Black Hand, "produced by Spy Films and co-directed by stars Chris Grismer (Arcade Fire, Death From Above, Metric) and Duane Crichton (Jelleestone, In Essence, Pocket Dwellers), which was added this week into “UNCHARTED: BUZZIEST VIDEO” at Muchmusic, “BUZZCLIP” at Musiqueplus and heavy rotation at MuchVibe, with the single heading to radio airwaves following shortly hereafter." All that being said, it's also one of the best videos we've seen in a dawg's age. Bet you'd like to see it. You know MonsterBlood's got you covered!



Oh, by the way, here are some tracks for ya:

Cadence Weapon - Sharks

Cadence Weapon - Falco Met Starfoxt

Wilco Reveals Sky Blue Sky Track List, Still Disappointed They Didn't Win Crayola Name-A-Color Scholarship

'Macaroni 'n' Cheese' is a better color anyway. Sky Blue Sky, Wilco's latest, will be released May 15th on NoneSuch, and the track list is no longer a mystery. Feel free to click on any of the song titles with lines underneath them to download a live version.

I. Am Trying. To List Your Tracks:

01 Either Way
02 You Are My Face
03 Impossible Germany
04 Sky Blue Sky
05 Side With the Seeds
06 Shake It Off
07 Please Be Patient With Me
08 Hate It Here
09 Leave Me (Like You Found Me)
10 Walken
11 What Light
12 On and On and On

Oh, Wilco Wilgo on tour, and here's the proof!

04-16 Brisbane, Australia - Tivoli
04-18 Melbourne, Australia - Palais Theatre
04-21 Sydney, Australia - Enmore Theatre
06-14-17 Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo

Arcade Fire Send Covert Messages Through Setlists, Overt Messages Through Bodily Fluids

Well, at least the front row won’t be going "without water”! More to the point, apparently those kooky Arcade Fire kiddos have been sprinkling bits and pieces of a tale re: Joseph Simpson, his daughter, and what or may not be aliens into the set lists of their current tour. "But how do they do that?", you might ask. Well, rather than calling “Antichrist Television Blues” by it’s given name, (“Antichrist Television Blues”) it has been announced incognito under the following monikers:

“Joseph Simpson knelt down in a grove and a dream came to him”

“He saw his daughter standing on a stage in a black room”

“When suddenly the brightest spotlight he had ever seen was turned on her”


*SPOILER ALERT*


"The room was faded with the light reflected from her white dress"

OooOOOooo000, creepy! Please do inform MonsterBlood of any developments in this yarn-a-spinnin', because we're all caught up. Also, Joseph's daughter is totally gonna hook up with the aliens, you heard it here first!

500 tickets for the Chinese finger trap:

03-05 Dublin, Ireland - Olympia
03-06 Dublin, Ireland - Olympia
03-08 Manchester, England - Apollo
03-09 Manchester, England - Apollo
03-11 Glasgow, Scotland - Barrowlands
03-12 Glasgow, Scotland - Barrowlands
03-14 London, England - Brixton Academy
03-15 London, England - Brixton Academy
03-16 London, England - Brixton Academy
03-17 London, England - Brixton Academy
03-19 Paris, France - Olympia
03-20 Paris, France - Olympia
03-23 Stockholm, Sweden - Circus
03-24 Oslo, Norway - Centrum Scene
03-25 Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega
03-27 Berlin, Germany - Postbahnhof
03-28 Munich, Germany - Elserhalle
03-31 Lyon, France - Transbordeur
04-01 Cologne, Germany - E-Live Music Hall
04-02 Utrecht, Netherlands - Vredenburg
04-04 Brussels, Belgium - Halles de Schaerbeek
04-05 Lille, France - L'Aeronef
04-28 Indio, CA - Empire Polo Field (Coachella)
06-22-24 Pilton, England - Glastonbury

MonsterTracks: Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

To be released March 20th by Epic, featuring Johnny Marr of the Smiths with songwriting and guitar-strumming credits, recorded in Oxford, Mississippi at Sweet Tea Recording Studio with producer Dennis Herring, anticipated by everyone including your mom, (who, believe us, is dropping the phrase "Float On" into casual conversation as we speak to win coolmama points(unless she's dead or something, in which case, sorry. But she's still probably doing it)) the latest from Modest Mouse, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, has floated up onto the shores of The Internet, and MonsterBlood is welcoming it with open arms and a jangly ol' fruitbasket. Here are some more commas for you, in case you haven't had your fill: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Blame it on the tracklist:

01 “March Into the Sea"
02 "Dashboard"
03 "Fire It Up"
04 "Florida"
05 "Parting of the Sensory"
06 "Missed the Boat"
07 "We've Got Everything"
08 "Fly Trapped in a Jar"
09 "Education"
10 "Little Motel"
11 "Steam Engenius
12 "Spitting Venom"
13 "People As Places As People"
14 "Invisible"

Chris Cornell Emancipates Self From AudioSlavery

Former Soundgarden frontman and respectable guy Chris Cornell has extricated himself from the tangled web of Audioslave, a band composed of 3 parts Rage Against The Machine, 1 part Cornell and an incalculably large amount of suckiness. He cites "irresolvable personality conflicts as well as musical differences". MonsterBlood chooses to assume that those "musical differences" he mentioned are the differences between the music they were making and anything anyone would ever want to hear. In related (not quite) news, (because you already know it) RATM, complete with Zach De La Rocha (taking a generous break from his "boooooo!"ming solo career) is still set to perform a one-off headlining reunion at the Coachella Music Festival in Indio, California.

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Living With The Living

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists are set to release Living With the Living, their first album on new home Touch & Go, on March 20th. The first pressing will include a bonus disc complete with a cover of "Rappaport's Testament: I Never Gave Up" by Chumbawumba along with some tracks Ted recorded in December 2006 at Wild Frontier Studios in Brooklyn, which is in New York. Itchin' for your fix? MonsterBlood's got your bogus prescription right here:

01 Fourth World War
02 The Sons of Cain
03 Army Bound
04 Who Do You Love?
05 Colleen
06 A Bottle of Buckie
07 Bomb.Repeat.Bomb
08 La Costa Brava
09 Annunciation Day/Born on Christmas Day
10 The Unwanted Things
11 The Lost Brigade
12 The World Stops Turning
13 Some Beginner's Mind
14 The Toro and the Toreador
15 C.I.A.

Bonus Disc:

01 Nothing Much to Say
02 Old Souls Know
03 Living With the Living
04 Already Too Late?
05 Rappaport's Testament: I Never Gave Up

Like what you hear? You can hear it even louder while surrounded by people on the following dates at the following places:

03-02 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall (Noise Pop)
03-28 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts
03-29 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
03-30 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
03-31 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
04-01 Orlando, FL - Social
04-02 Miami, FL - Studio A
04-04 Baton Rouge, LA - Chelsea's Cafe
04-05 Houston, TX - Numbers
04-06 Dallas, TX - Gypsy Ballroom
04-07 Austin, TX - La Zona Rosa
04-09 Tempe, AZ - Clubhouse
04-10 San Diego, CA - Epicentre
04-13 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre
04-16 Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre
04-17 Seattle, WA - Showbox Showroom
04-18 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards
04-20 Boise, ID - Venue
04-21 Salt Lake City, UT - Club Sound at In the Venue
04-22 Englewood, CO - Gothic Theatre
04-23 Lawrence, KS - Bottleneck
04-25 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
04-26 Madison, WI - Club 770
04-27 Iowa City, IA - Picador
04-28 Chicago, IL - Metro
04-30 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
05-02 Toronto, Ontario - Mod Club
05-03 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rossa
05-04 Boston, MA - Avalon
05-05 New York, NY - Webster Hall

Robbie Williams' Ego Has Landed in Rehab

Happy 33rd Birthday to Robbie Williams from MonsterBlood! We were going to get you a bunch of pills, but it turns out keeping the receipt would have been a good idea, and not just for tax purposes. Here's what Robbie's press rep and birthday buddy came up with for a toast-

"Robbie Williams has today been admitted into a treatment center in America for his dependency on prescription drugs. There will be no further comment on this matter."

And you smell like one, too. Cheers!

Dungen - Tio Bitar

That's right, folks, set your bookmarks, MonsterBlood is getting into the mp3 blog business, and what better way to begin than with Dungen's latest, Tio Bitar (which translates as 10 Pieces in jolly ol' English)? You can grab 2 of those pieces right here, which means you'll have to buy the other 8, but hey; if it's easy it ain't a puzzle, right?

Click 'em or stick 'em:

01 Intro
02 Familj
03 Gör Det Nu
04 Caroline
05 Du Ska Inte Tro Att Det Ordnar Sig
06 Mon Amour
07 Så Blev Det Bestämt
08 Ett Skäl Att Trivas
09 Svart Är Himlen
10 En Gång I År Kom Det En Tår

Matt & Kim Announce Tour Dates, The Ampersand is Paying It's Own Way

Get excited, budding Mendels of the indie pop world; this February and March, a whole bunch of X chromosomes will hit the road with one Y. Why? Because they like you. & you.

IHEARTDATEZ:

02-14 Chicago, IL - Subterranean *
02-16 Baltimore, MD - Sonar
02-17 Haverford, PA - Lunt Basement
02-22 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
02-23 Poughkeepsie, NY - Vassar College
02-24 New York, NY - Rodrigues Coffee House (Fordham University)
02-28 Los Angeles, CA - UCLA
03-01 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill #
03-02 Seattle, WA - Chop Suey
03-03 Seattle, WA - Vera Project
03-09 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom ^
03-10 Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel
03-12 Little Rock, AR - The Treehouse
03-15 Austin, TX - Beauty Bar (iheartcomix SXSW showcase)
03-30 Swarthmore, PA - Olde Club (Swarthmore College)
03-31 Princeton, NJ - Terrace Club (Princeton University) $

* with Flosstradamus
# with Erase Errata, No Age
^ with Professor Murder, Dynamite Arrows
$ with Girl Talk

Arctic Monkeys Set Release Date For New Album, NME Staff Messes Collective Knickers

From MonsterBlood's UK offices:

Cor! We're chuffed to relay the gen that the bloomin' Arctic Monkeys have done anything but a bodge job of naming their new album titled Favourite Worst Nightmare and, Bob's your uncle, we're more than happy to help them flog it. Any road, it's out April 23rd (so long as all is tickety-boo), preceded by the April 16th street date of "Brianstorm", the first single from the record.

Have a butcher's at the tracklist:

01. Brianstorm
02. Teddy Picker
03. D is for Dangerous
04. Balaclava
05. Fluorescent Adolescent
06. Only Ones Who Know
07. Do Me a Favour
08. This House Is a Circus
09. If You Were There, Beware
10. The Bad Thing
11. Old Yellow Bricks
12. 505

Mouse Overcome Modesty, Reveal New Album Art

Still to be released March 20th by Epic

01 “March Into the Sea"
02 "Dashboard"
03 "Fire It Up"
04 "Florida"
05 "Parting of the Sensory"
06 "Missed the Boat"
07 "We've Got Everything"
08 "Fly Trapped in a Jar"
09 "Education"
10 "Little Motel"
11 "Steam Engenius
12 "Spitting Venom"
13 "People As Places As People"
14 "Invisible"

Fun fact: The ASIN, or Amazon Standard Identification Number, for this particular release? B000MRA4WK.

Rick Rubin: I've Held 99 Industry Positions, But Executive Ain't One...Yet

Rick Rubin is in the process of "weighing an offer to become co-chairman of Columbia Records," according to a New York Times story. Rubin, co-founder of Def Jam, hitmaker/career-reviver with American (through Colombia), and all-around unfuckwithable dude, would be running the label, signing artists and working on marketing alongside Steve Barnett at Columbia in his first ever executive po$ition. You crazy for this one, Rick.

Grab Yer Shades - It's Time to Read The Neon Bible!

The Arcade Fire have made the lyrics to their upcoming album Neon Bible available on the website dedicated to said album. It's a perfect companion piece to the audio version, also available for free on... well, a whole buncha places.

White Stripes, Black Ink, GreenBacks

In light of recent success with his acting career as well as the Raconteurs along with the demise of V2, there has been speculation on The Internet(long well-known for it's e-truth) that Jack White isn't exactly in a hurry to record with Meg as The White Stripes anytime in the near or even distant future. Now come rumblings that the candystripers are close to a one-record deal with Warner Brothers which would garner them a 3-4 million dollar guarantee (holla).

Kings of Leon Make Song From New Album Available on MySpace!

Iggy Pop: If It's Not Too Much To Ask, I'd Also Like to Be Your Dawg

A special edition re-release single of The Stooges classic "I Wanna Be Your Dog", available on March 26th, will feature 6 live renditions, including what UnCut calls "a fantastic rapping attempt by Iggy Pop". The release also includes a solo acoustic performance from the Barcelona TV show Sputnik (call your local cable operator) from 1993 alongside versions from 1977, 2000 and 2004. This promises to get your hopes up before having them crushed like so many shards of glass on a stage and then used as weapons of laceration on the metaphorical chest of Iggy's legacy when the first new Stooges album since '73 drops in March. Enjoy the honeymoon.

CocoRosie Announce Album Release Date, Argue Amongst Selves Which One Is Dating Devendra Banhart

The IndieFolkTronic duo CocoRosie have released details of their upcoming LP, The Adventures Of Ghosthorse & Stillborn, to be available April 10th on Touch & Go. Here's what the press release has to say about it:

"Birthed through an intricate process of prank phone calls and clairvoyant documentation, The Adventures of Ghosthorse & Stillborn follows CocoRosie and their crew of miscreants through the Mechanical Forest of Feelings. This album is a departure from the obscured blur of stained glass rêve to a more self-exploitive memoir. Parts are dreamy and parts are savage, but, as with an opera where death represents a secret heaven, the whole record feels like a black diamond in the snow."

Wow, "a black diamond in the snow"! Things sound so great when described in the artful form of press release. As any skiers reading this are sure to know, black diamonds can be mega-treacherous, so listen cautiously to the following tracklist, the order of which we cannot confirm as the titles are not prefaced by numbers:

Rainbowarriors
Promise
Bloody Twins
Japan
Sunshine
Black Poppies
Werewolf
Animals
Houses
Raphael
Girl And The Geese
Miracle

UPDATE! Courtney Love Neither Replacing Paula Nor Qualified for Secretarial Work

via Gawker:

"i woul dnever ever do that, ive never watche dthat show except once with my daughter i went to the final night, I couldnt even get ON that show nor would i wantt o and no offense to anyone who has been on that show and wantsto be on that show- i have no interest at this point in my life, im interested in putting this record out- doing films and doiung rock shows this summer and being on the road, and thats what i shall do. US misrepresented and misquoted me and nothing i said was ever meant for any publication. I didnt kn ow it wa sgoing to be a big deal but then again ive been very busy and id ont exactly pay attention to pop culture and id ont read tabloids and idont have a google alert i find lofe fAr easier without those things"

New Rumor: Courtney ghostwrites Thom Yorke's blog

Festive 50 2006 Announced

The annual Festive 50 list, originated by the late, great John Peel and looked to as representative of "The New Hotness," has been released by Dandelion Radio, a web-based radio station. This represents a torch-passing from Radio 1 Presenters Huw Stephens, Ras Kwame and Rob Da Bank, who populated the list from Peel's death until last year, when the list was dropped from the Radio 1 gameplan. Would you like to see the list?

1. Tall Pony - I'm Your Boyfriend Now
2. The Autons - Snakes
3. Camera Obscura - Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken
4. Decoration - Job In London
5. Peter, Bjorn And John - Young Folks
6. Beatnik Filmstars - Really Quite Bizarre
7. The Playing Fields - Hello New World
8. TV On The Radio - Wolf Like Me
9. Misty's Big Adventure - Fashion Parade
10. Mogwai - Friend Of The Night
11. Decoration - Candidate
12. Los Campesinos! - You! Me! Dancing!
13. Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly - The Chronicles Of A Bohemian Teenager (Part 1)
14. Das Wanderlust - The Orange Shop
15. Mogwai - Glasgow Mega Snake
16. The Bobby Mcgees - Ivor Cutler Is Dead
17. Mugstar - My Baby Skull Has Not Yet Flowered
18. Bearsuit - Steven Fucking Spielberg
19. The Pipettes - Pull Shapes
20. I'm From Barcelona - We're From Barcelona
21. Cartridge - Fooling Around
22. Mugstar - Good Posture Vs Bad Posture
23. Beatnik Filmstars - It's Not What You Know
24. Gossip - Standing In The Way Of Control
25. The Nightingales - Born Again In Birmingham
26. The Nightingales - Black Country
27. Klaxons - Magick
28. Joanna Newsom - Only Skin
29. Morrissey - Life Is A Pigsty
30. The Knife - We Share Our Mothers Health
31. Uffie - Pop The Glock
32. Cat Power - The Greatest
33. Metric - Monster Hospital
34. The Raconteurs - Steady As She Goes
35. The Long Blondes - Once And Never Again
36. Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
37. Booka Shade - In White Rooms
38. Mates Of State - Fraud In The '80s
39. Iliketrains - The Beeching Report
40. Dustin's Bar Mitzvah - To The Ramones
41. Jarvis Cocker - Running The World
42. N-Type - Tolerance
43. Forest Giants - So You Think You're Unhappy
44. Chalkdust - Cheddar Would Be Better
45. Lost Penguin - I Believe I Can Fly
46. Tilly & The Wall - Reckless
47. Seize - The Day Flying
48. Lost Penguin - Mr. Whippy
49. Gilbert - Willow
50. Uke Stanza - You Will With Ivor Cutler

Courtney Love to Replace Paula Abdul on Idol, Promises Predictable 'Always-Drunk' Behavior

In order to best understand the misguidedness of the possible replacement of Paula Abdul with Courtney Love, the following video is essential:

Fireable offense? Well, when you consider that she's acted that way in essentially every interview promoting the new season of Idol, probably, but not if you're gonna replace her with Courtney Love. Hey, speaking of her, can we have the source of the rumor please?

Courtney to Us Weekly: "He called. He was wondering if I was interested. I thought it was kind of weird but brilliant."

Us Weekly Readers: "I am having a hard time reading this. Well, reading most things, I suppose. Oh well."

Secretly Canadian Openly Release Compilation

To commemorate 11 years in the biz, Secretly Canadian is putting out 'SC100' (which is nigh unpronouncable; perhaps those letters and numbers have a deeper meaning...) a covers compilation featuring their roster of artists including, but not limited to, Jens Lekman, Songs:Ohia and the band that released the best album last year, Danielson covering each others' tunes. How sweet.

Original artist is in parentheses. Try not to step on the tracklist:

“See(ing) Double,” Nikki Sudden (June Panic)
“The Last Bandit,” Songs: Ohia (Nikki Sudden)
“Structure: Necessity,” Suzanne Langille (Songs: Ohia)
“The Escape,” Early Day Miners (Suzanne Langille and Loren MazzaCane Connors)
“Upstate,” Damien Jurado (Early Day Miners)
“Abeline,” Dave Fischoff (Damien Jurado)
“Propaganda for a Comic,” Danielson (Dave Fischoff)
“Fruitful Weekend,” June Panic (Danielson)
“Soft Evenings,” Ativin (Marmoset)
“Lungs for the Race,” Swearing At Motorists (Havergal)
“Riding and Romaing,” Havergal (Ativin)
“The Real Thing,” Racebannon (Swearing At Motorists)
“Clubber Lang,” Cornelius Boots (Racebannon)
“We’re All Gonna Die,” Jens Lekman (Scout Niblett)
“Sky Phenomenon,” Marmoset (Jens Lekman)
“40 Years of Our Family,” the Impossible Shapes (Japonize Elephants)
“Birds,” Panoply Academy (the Impossible Shapes)
“Highlight and Marginalia,” Japonize Elephants (Panoply Academy)

Broken Social Scene Produce Film Score, Manage To Leave All Scenes Intact

Broken Social Scene have announced via their website that they have finished the score for The Tracey Fragments, an upcoming motion picture starring Ellen Page which director Bruce McDonald has likened to "Degrassi meets Hendrix". The movie, reportedly filmed in just 14 days, will have its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Fest; Feb. 8 to 18. It will most likely be available on DVD at a later date, which would be cheaper for those of us who live far away from Berlin.

Little Brother Drop 9th Wonder, Atlantic Records

Hip Hop Game brings us sad news from the world of hip-hop today, as Little Brother has parted ways with MC 9th Wonder. Here's what fellow bro Pooh (lol) had to say about it:

“Little Brother has decided, in the best interest of the group, for Little Brother and 9th Wonder to part ways. There are no hard feelings and no beef. This is just a decision that had to be made so all three of us could move forward and continue to provide the world with dope music."

Another big change for the younger siblings is their split with Atlantic which, to hear the boys tell it, has nothing to do with them being dropped and has a lot to do with them leaving. The rumor mill would have you believe that they will release their next record, 'The Getback', on Asylum. I wonder what Pooh has to say about it.

“First, I want to say that Little Brother has not been dropped from Atlantic. At this time we are in the process of negotiating our release from the label due to a difference in philosophies.”

Ah, sibling rivalry. Break it up, you guys, or I'm turning this group right back around and going home!

Dim Mak Signs The Deadly Syndrome, Ignores Unsigned Hype of S.A.R.S.

It's a big day for L.A., with The Deadly Syndrome joining the Dim Mak roster, meaning that if you start talking about them now you'll seem really really cool in about a year. They plan to release an album and an EP worth of material, so find some demos and get excited.

Oh, hey, wait, they're also touring with Oh No! Oh My!:

2/1 - Los Angeles, CA - Cafe Du Nord*
2/3 - Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour*
2/15 - Dallas, TX - THe Cavern
2/17 - Austin, TX - Emo's
2/20 - Phoenix, AZ - Modified
2/21 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues
2/22 - Long Beach, CA - Blue Cafe
2/24 - Los Angeles, CA - Echo

* with Moving Units, not Oh No! Oh My!

In other Dim Mak news, they are currently selling some bitchin' DinoHoodies in their online store!

Walkmen Announce Tour; From the Looks of Things, They'll Be Driving

Folks, it's time to request March and April off and tune up the tie-dyed volvo, it's tour time! The Walkmen will be out for a jaunt (with a suspicious gap eerily similar to the dates of SXSW) with LA's The Broken West and Ferraby Lionheart. If you wanna see them, it can be arranged on the in the following locations on the following dates at the following times:

3.08.07 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
3.09.07 Baltimore, MD - Ottobar
3.10.07 Columbus, OH - Little Brother's
3.11.07 Chicago, IL - Schubas
3.12.07 Newport, KY - Southgate House
3.13.07 Louisville, KY - Headliners
3.18.07 New Orleans, LA - Parish
3.19.07 Tallahassee, FL - Beta Bar
3.20.07 Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club
3.21.07 Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle
3.22.97 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
3.23.07 Washington, DC - Rock & Roll Hotel
4.06.07 Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory *^
4.07.07 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club *^
4.09.07 Boston, MA - Avalon *^
4.12.07 New York, NY - Roseland Ballroom *^
4.17.07 Montreal, Quebec - Spectrum *^
4.18.07 Toronto, Ontario - Kool Haus *^
4.20.07 Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre *#
4.21.07 Minneapolis, MN - Trocadero *#
4.24.07 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom *#
4.25.07 Seattle, WA - Showbox Theatre *#
4.26.07 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom *#
4.27.07 San Francisco, CA - Warfield *#
4.28.07 Los Angeles, CA - venue TBA

* with Kaiser Chiefs
^ with Annuals
# with The Little Ones

Page France to Release New Album; We Paged France About it, They Didn't Call

Sage Francis, on the other hand, won't leave us alone. Baltimore's Page France have announced the impending release of their third album, ...And The Family Telephone, available on May 8th via Suicide Squeeze. You wanna tracklist?

We got yer stinkin' tracklist:

1. The Ruby Ring Man
2. Wet Dog Afternoon
3. Me, Violin, And Dancing Bear
4. Be My Pianist
5. Pigeons
6. Hat And Rabbit
7. A Belly To The Sea
8. A Belly In The Fish
9. Rooster And Its Crow
10. The Jokers Joke
11. Here's A Telephone
12. Beggar's Table Legs
13. Circus Head (Nobody Knows)
14. Casting Day

Grinderman Album Leaks, Reveals Updated Tracklisting

For those of you who have been heralding it as Album of the Year 2007 for a couple months now, the news of Nick Cave's Grinderman project leaking may seem a bit late. For those of you who enjoyed the following tracks:

Chain of Flowers
Rise
Trip
Decoration Day
Vortex

you will find the news quite sad, as they have found themselves on the bloody end of Cave's brutal track-cutting axe, and are nowhere to be seen on the final list. It's sad, we know.

Grind 'em out:

1. Get It On
2. No Pussy Blues
3. Electric Alice
4. Grinderman
5. Depth Charge Ethel
6. Go Tell The Woman
7. I Don't Need You (To Set Me Free)
8. Honey Bee (Let's Fly To Mars)
9. Man In The Moon
10. When My Love Comes Down
11. Love Bomb

Lady Sovereign Confirms Desire for a Lady Complaisant

The tiniest jewel in the Def Jam crown, Lady Sovereign, has gone tellin' tales outside of school to the Minnesota Daily, confirming her rumored lesbianism. SCANDALOOOUUUSSSZZZ! The best rationalization MonsterBlood can find for acting like this is actual news is that she may, hopefully, do something for gays in the rap game. Also, women, Brits and the vertically challenged. Step one: Sell some records! There are reports that Sov's underperformance in that area may get her midget-tossed right off the mighty Def Jam roster. MonsterBlood offers the following advice to Sov regarding workplace dealings; He's not a businessman, he's a business, man!

The Apples in Stereo. On Video. With Audio.

Elephant Six lo-fi-ers The Apples in Stereo have lo-found a way into the spotlight; low-budget, silly, single-shot viral video! Don't laugh, I've heard it's worked in the past. Here's their take on the concept, filmed in Park City, Utah, for the Sundance Film Festival. Guess they found themselves inspired to commit their track "Same Old Drag" to motion pictures.

We Didn't Start the (Arcade) Fire, But They Started a Tour!

Hey, The Arcade Fire are playing 5 shows in London, and you already missed one of 'em. Oops.



Neon Setlist:

Black Mirror
Keep the Car Running
No Cars Go
Black Wave/Bad Vibrations
Haiti
My Body Is A Cage
Ocean Of Noise
Rebellion (Lies)
Intervention
Windowsill
Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels)
The Well And The Lighthouse
(Antichrist Television Blues)
Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out)
---
Wake Up

Don't worry if you can't make any of the other four shows, MonsterBlood's got your back with a video of how good the show would be even if you had only been able to stand in line.

Just Wait 'Til We Get Our Haines on You

In yet another example of late-night crap factory Last Call with Carson Daly playing host to musicians who should be wiping themselves with his booking peoples' messages, video-taping it and putting it on YouTube, the Lovely and Talented Emily Haines will be playing the show on Wednesday night. Tune in, he'll make you cringe!

Noise Pop Festival Reveals 2007 Lineup, SXSW Facetiously Shakes in Boots

Hey, Spin's got some dates, something Chuck Klosterman never accomplished during his time as a senior writer for the publication. haHA, take that, ya pasty dweeb. Anyway, the 15th iteration of Noise Pop will be occurring February 27th through March 4th, in San Francisco. That's California, so be sure to bring a dumb little dog to show people how cute you are.

Noise Pop go the following weasels at the following times:

Tuesday, Feb. 27
Opening Night Party (Mezzanine)

Wednesday, Feb. 28
Hella, with Pop Levi, Macromantics, Tartufi (Bottom of the Hill)
Richard Swift, with the Watson Twins, Ryan Auffenberg, Built for the Sea (Cafe Du Nord)
Sebadoh, with the Bent Mustache, Love of Diagrams, The New Trust (Great American Music Hall) John Vanderslice, with Damien Jurado, the Submarines, Black Fiction (the Independent)
Josh Ritter (Solo Acoustic), with Okkervil River’s Will Sheff (Swedish American Hall)

Thursday, March 1
Matt and Kim, with Erase Errata, No Age (Bottom of the Hill)
Lyrics Born, with the Coup, Lifesavas (the Fillmore)
Roky Erickson and the Explosives (13th Floor Elevators), with Howlin Rain, Oranger, Wooden Shjips (Great American Music Hall)
French Kicks, with Scissors for Lefty, the Oohlas, Magic Bullets (Slim’s) Trainwreck Riders and Langhorn Slim (co-headlining), with Poor Bailey, the Morning Benders (Rickshaw Stop)
Alexi Murdoch, with Aqueduct, the Bird and the Bee (Cafe Du Nord)

Friday, March 2
The Donnas, with Boyskut (Bottom of the Hill)
Annuals, with Simon Dawes, Ray Barbee and the Mattson 2 (Cafe Du Nord)
Jolie Holland, with David Dondero, St. Vincent (the Fillmore)
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, with Georgie James, So Many Dynamos, Pony Come Lately (Great American Music Hall)
Autolux, with Snowden, Malajube, Death of a Party (the Independent)
The Dandy Warhols, with Audrye Sessions, Elephone, DJ Aaron Axelson (Mezzanine)
State Radio, with the New Amsterdams, Streets to Nowhere, the Actual (Slim’s)
Vic Chesnutt, with Zach Rogue, Thao, Alela Diane (Swedish American Hall)

Saturday, March 3
The Ponys, with the Gris Gris, Lemon Sun (Bottom of the Hill)
Brightblack Morning Light, with Women and Children, Glass Ship Builder, Carl Blau (Great American Music Hall)
Clinic, with Earlimart, Sea Wolf, the Mumlers (the Independent)
Ghostland Observatory, with Honeycut, the Gray Kid (Mezzanine)
Spinto Band, with Dios Malos, the Changes, the Old Fashioned Way (Rickshaw Stop)

Sunday, March 4
Cake, with Money Mark, the Botticellis, Scrabbel (Bimbos)
Midlake, with Minipop, Ester Drang (Bottom of the Hill)
The Dwarves, with the White Barons (Bottom of the Hill)
Comedians of Comedy, with Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn, Maria Bamford and special guests TBA (the Independent)

Geoff Rickly of Thursday and Daryl Palumbo of Head Automatica and Glassjaw Get Serious about United Nations (of Music)

"See, no sticky white residue!"

Until just now, MonsterBlood was unaware that such a thing as a "long-awaited grindcore side-project," but here's a case-in-point for you- Mike Palumbo, Crohn's disease survivor, and Geoff Rickly, who specializes in more metaphorical bleeding-heart-on-sleeve-type diseases, have written some songs for their new act United Nations, and will record them shortly. In Rickly's words,

"We were supposed to record before we started this tour but my grandmother died on the last few days of the Rise Against tour so I needed to go home and deal with family stuff. We have a solid lineup and we have seven or eight songs written. We’re gonna write a few more and put the record out later this year. It’s going to take a little more planning because everyone is so busy. We lost a big block of time that we could have worked on it and the Glassjaw tour was so last minute and that also took away from time that we could have spent on it."

Check it out at thursdayonline.net, which is accessible on all 7 days of the week.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Set Release Date for New Album, Pop Sweet Wheelie. Of Rock.

Remember the band that was pretty good, and then suddenly everyone paid attention, and then they stopped paying attention? Well, get ready to pay attention again, as the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have released the details of their soon-to-be-new-album, Baby 81, TBR on May 1st care of RCA. Guitarist Peter Hayes told Billboard

“Things open up and break down within the songs, a lot. There are some songs that are kind of groove-oriented, not so blues- or country influenced [as ‘Howl’].”

So, I guess that means he thinks it's better than the last one. Novel stance. Also, Nick Jago is back on drums for these guys. I'm sure you were sweating it.

Gimme dem tracks:

01 Took Out a Loan
02 Berlin
03 Weapon of Choice
04 Window
05 Cold Mind
06 It’s Not What You Wanted
07 666 Conducer
08 All You Do Is Talk
09 Lien on Your Dreams
10 Need Some Air
11 Killing the Light
12 American X
13 Am I Only

Fall Out Boy Keep it Real with Newfound Hatred of the Proletariat

Pete Wentz, the cute guy who writes the songs for Fallout Boy, is staying true to the working-class roots of pop-punk, or popu if you're keeping up with the Arms Race, by blaming minimum-wage workers for the "devastating" leak of the Boy's forthcoming album Infinity on High. To more clearly illustrate just what was said, here is a quote, which is the mark of dogged journalistic research-

"Our job is to put out records and tour and make music. What are we gonna do? Sit at the plant and watch everybody? Some guy working minimum wage, why would he care how it affects us? It's a multi-pronged thing."

This could be the worst leak in the history in music, f you think that every year computers, iPod, internet music grows exponentially and we're probably one of the biggest bands in rock music on the internet."

Hopefully music will recover from this great loss while you read the full text of the Rolling Stone interview, available on The Internet.

The Police to Bust the Grammys, Ask That Latifah Not Stand So Close to Them

Heyo, it's time to bust some hits off, time to dust some mics off, the cops are back and hoping to kill it. That's right, Sting & The Police will be playing the 2007 Grammys, leading older brothers around the world to ask for their Synchronicity cassettes back.

FRATellis Bro Down with iPod; Kegstands, Sold Out Shows Ensue

If you haven't heard of Fratellis, you probably don't live in the UK. If you haven't heard of the iPod, you probably don't live in the World. If you've heard of neither, you probably don't care about the upcoming iPod advertisement featuring Fratellis's hot HOT single 'Flathead', but apparently enough people do care to sell out 2, count 'em, 2 shows at the Mercury Lounge, which is apparently a big deal. So big a deal that one, count it, one of the shows may be moved to the even more prestigious Bowery, but let's not count chickens before they hatch on our side of the pond. At any rate, here's the advertisement, best served with chips, but don't sweat it if you can only find fries.

Klaxons Klaxoff On J. Timberlake - Now How Heavy is That?

Pretty heavy. The Klaxons, that band you can't listen to in the office without someone asking if it's the new Art Brut, have covered Justin Timberlake, which is very trendy these days. Here's their take on My Love recorded live on BBC Live Lounge with Jo Whiley. If a credible band gives credit to a credible pop star, what are the chances of it being... incredible? Click to find out.

Dinosaur Jr. Release Tracklisting! Dinosaurs Senior Still Extinct. : (

"We don't look like this anymore."

Dinosaur Jr. have announced the tracklist for their first release with all founding members onboard since 1988's "Bug". This one's called "Beyond" (significantly shorter than "Beyond a Shadow of a Doubt, This Record Will Be Beyond Disappointing") and it comes out May 1st on Fat Possum. Also, the band will release a live DVD directed by J. Mascis' Bro-in-Law, and Mascis will be designing his own Nike skate shoe as well. They're silver. Dinosaurs are green.

“Beyond” Tracklisting:

1. Almost Ready
2. Crumble
3. Pick Me Up
4. Back to Your Heart
5. This Is All I Came To Do
6. Been There All the Time
7. It’s Me
8. We’re Not Alone
9. I Got Lost
10. Lightning Bulb
11. What If I Knew…

Here's Hoping This "Reunion" Will Sink Faster Than...well

"LEGENDARY rockers Led Zeppelin are set to re-group after 22 years for a money-spinning stadium tour of America. The three surviving members — singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones — plan to hit the road next summer.The trio hope to pocket £6.4million for the shows."


If I was better at making .gifs, the following image would be rolling in its grave.

Actual journalism on the subject can be found here

I feel pretty. Oh, so pretty. I feel pretty, and girly and dead. P.S. - We're breakin' up the band.

Sad news for single men attending funerals, Pretty Girls will no longer be making Graves.

From prettygirlsmakegraves.com -

We are sorry to announce that our upcoming tour in May will be our last. Nick quit the band and the rest of us feel like it wouldn’t be right to continue on without him. The 5 of us feel very lucky to have met and worked with some truly amazing people over the years. Thank you all so much….

Oh, man, but they were having so much fun...