HAPPY 78th BIRTHDAY JOHNNY CASH

 

Happy Birthday Man in Black... Tonight we toast to you Mr. Cash.  Enjoy the quiet campfire tonight.  

Thom Yorke's Atoms For Peace

Thom Yorke has named his new side project and announced a string of US dates.  Rejoice, people!  Atoms for Peace will hit both coasts for 8 shows in the lead up to Coachella.  The group consists of Yorke, Flea (presumably wearing clothes), percussionist Mauro Refosco, drummer Joey Waronker (Beck/REM) and long time Radiohead production wizard Nigel Godrich.  Should be a good time, indeed.


Yorke also debuted several new tunes at a Green Party show in Cambridge a few nights back. Check out some videos of the performance below these tasty tour dates.


Atoms For Peace
(Flying Lotus Supports New York Through Oakland)
04.05 New York, NY Roseland Ballroom
04.06 New York, NY Roseland Ballroom
04.08 Boston, MA Citi Wang Theatre*
04.10 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom
04.11 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom
04.14 Oakland, CA Fox Theatre
04.15 Oakland, CA Fox Theatre
04.17 Santa Barbara, CA Santa Barbara Bowl
04.18 Indio, CA Coachella*

* See you there???

 "Give Up the Ghost"



"The Daily Mail"


"Mouse Dog Bird"

RAAAAAAAANDY SLAYS THE HIP HOP WORLD

 

Comic hilarioso Aziz Ansari has recently teamed up with production samurai Dave Sitek to put together a "mixtape".  Actually, I should say Aziz's alter ego Raaaaaaaandy! with 8 a's has teamed up with TV on the Radio's Sitek for an inexplicable hip hop project.  And out of the vowels and F-Bombs comes this, the first track from the "mixtape".  Personally, I think he Kiiiiiiiills it, and can't wait for more. Listen for yet another RZA cameo at the end! 

Hear the insanity here.  (NSFW)

 

HAITI RELIEF - Artists Unite for HEAR TO HELP

As the support for Haiti from the music industry continues to pour out, Filter Magazine and American Eagle Outfitters have teamed up to release Hear to Help, an amazing benefit compilation featuring the likes of Beck, Vampire Weekend, Julian Casablancas, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and one of my favorites, Charlotte Gainsbourg.  The disc is packed with great remixes and some tasty covers, such as Of Montreal taking on Franz Ferdinand and Snow Patrol revamping Bright Eyes. The CD is currently available in all American Eagle stores through March 19, and will be available through the stores website starting tomorrow.  All proceeds will go to Oxfam America, so please donate by purchasing this great disc.


Hear to Help Tracklist:
01 Beck: "Volcano" (Acoustic version)
02 Snow Patrol: "You Will. You? Will. You? Will. You? Will." (Bright Eyes cover)
03 Keane: "Black Burning Heart" (French version)
04 Air: "So Light Is Her Footfall" (Breakbot Remix)
05 Charlotte Gainsbourg: "Dandelion"
06 Julian Casablancas: "Long Island Blues"
07 Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: "Am I Only" (ReMix)
08 The Breeders: "We're Gonna Rise"
09 Vampire Weekend: "Cousinz" (Toy Selectah Mex-More Remix)
10 Noah and the Whale: "Love of an Orchestra" (Chew Fu Fix)
11 Camera Obscura: "The World Is Full of Strangers"
12 Minus the Bear: "Broken China"
13 of Montreal: "Take Me Out" (live) (Franz Ferdinand cover)
14 Busdriver: "Running Water"
15 Surfer Blood: "Take It Easy" (Drop the Lime Remix)
16 Grizzly Bear: "Boy From School" (Hot Chip cover)
17 AM: "Endings Are Beginnings" (Piano Mix)

It's 2/22, DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR BOOMBOX IS??

I do, and at the moment my Boombox can't get enough of Spoon's new album Transference, especially "Written in Reverse".  Also Real Estate's self-titled fuzz gem is getting some repeated spins today.  I'm feeling like a shut in, and slightly haunted by desires to both ski in Colorado and figure out who the hell Ke$ha is.  Unfortunately, neither will happen tonight, so music and writing will have to satiate me... then wine... then Kung Fu. Happy reading people.  Have a Spoon video, on me.

Written In Reverse from Spoon on Vimeo.

FLAMING LIPS DATES

Yep, the Fearless Freaks will hit the road this summer for a streak of very random dates, mostly festivals and large outdoor venues.  With the recent release of both Embryonic and their version of Dark Side of the Moon with Stardeath & White Dwarfs (Peaches and Henry Rollins), the setlists could certainly vary from night to night.  The Lips have already announced they will perform Dark Side in its' entirety at some gigs, including Bonnaroo.  Should be a grand spectacle, as usual...

Flaming Lips Tour Dates
03/12/10 Fri Austin Music Hall Austin, TX
03/13/10 Sat NX35 Denton, TX
04/15/10 Thu Charlottesville Pavilion Charlottesville, VA
04/18/10 Sun Barton Hall Ithaca, NY
04/19/10 Mon The Wellmont Theatre Montclair, NJ
04/21/10 Wed Riverside Theater Milwaukee, WI
04/23/10 Fri Capitol Federal Park at Sandstone Bonner Springs, KS
05/15/10 Sat Hangout Music Festival Gulf Shores, AL
06/06/10 Sun Eleanor Tinsley Park Houston, TX
06/11/10 Fri Bonnaroo Music Festival Manchester, TN
07/03/10 Sat Nateva Music & Camping Festival Oxford, ME
07/22/10 Thu Artpark Lewiston, NY
07/26/10 Mon Central Park SummerStage New York, NY

WU-TANG MASSACRE

Wu-Massacre, the eagerly anticipated collaboration between Wu-Tang Clan trio Ghostface Killah, Method Man, and Raekwon will finally get released!!  Def Jam is set to drop the album on March 30.  As with most Wu-Tang projects, mastermind RZA will produce most of the tracks, with additional help from Wu-prodigy Mathematics.  Guests are aplenty, with Inspectah Deck, Cappadonna, Streetlife, Soloman Childs, and Trife set to feature. Even comedian Tracy Morgan has a non-rapping cameo.  Live band Rhythm Roots All Stars also contribute to a few tracks. These are arguably the 3 finest lyricist in the Clan, so I have high hopes.  If Meth would pay his taxes, maybe this triple barrel rhyme shotgun could tour... so put down the blunts Johnny Blaze, and get TurboTax homie.


How sick is that artwork?? 

Listen to a good mixtape version of "Meth vs Chef Part 2" on YouTube. Straight torture.

Sasquatch!!

The festival season is lurking, and thus far it seems like a pissing contest, as each lineup that surfaces seems to get better and better.  Not to be overlooked, the Sasquatch! Festival will return to The Gorge this Memorial Day weekend (May 29-31), and the initial lineup looks yummy.  Headliners are Pavement, My Morning Jacket, and, get this, Massive Attack!  But the bill is full of heavy hitters including Vampire Weekend, MGMT, the National, LCD Soundsystem, Band of Horses, Ween, Tegan and Sara, Broken Social Scene, Passion Pit, Public Enemy, She & Him, the New Pornographers, the Hold Steady, the xx, Dirty Projectors, No Age, Drive-By Truckers, Kid Cudi, the Mountain Goats, Camera Obscura, Girls, Japandroids, Wale, YACHT, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Neon Indian, and Local Natives.


I can't possibly write about this festival without mentioning one of my all-time heroes, so allow me to beg the festival Gods... PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let this guy come back this year!!!

MGMT Keep it Weird

Brooklyn duo MGMT will release their sophomore trip Congratulations on April 13 via Columbia.  Artist Anthony Ausgang has designed the album cover and, unsurprisingly, its a bit out there.  The band are only scheduled for a few festival dates right now, but expect a full tour soon. Scope the Congratulations cover art below...

Vampire Weekend "Giving Up the Gun"

Check out the new Vampire Weekend video for the Contra track "Giving Up the Gun". It's as quirky and strange as we've come to expect from VW, but also has some All-Star cameos, especially guest judge RZA. "Go on, go on, go on..." Enjoy.