This week found me making up a variety of faux buzz bands names that would be tentatively signed to subsidies of majors prior to making grandiose, press-blasting announcements that they were signing to the name of the fill-in-the-blank parent company. For instance: Loyala Payola’s bandcamp LP trends on the buzznet, leads to ‘surprise’ signing to Capitol; HSHR FLTH releases “Couch Surfer” on Big Legal Mess, announce big LP details for upcoming Fat Possum Release; Sk8tr Trender gets endorsed by Faygo soda, announce Interscope signing after shambolic performance video goes viral. There’s at least five more of these, but in the interest of time I want to present to you the week in pop in no particular order.
Zola Jesus recently recorded a Soundcheck Session of “Night” at the Blast House Studios in Madison, Wisconsin. Featuring all those heavy synthesizers and Ian Curtis worship drums and moody atmospheres here:
Video: Soundcheck Sessions – Zola Jesus, “Night”
The latest mixtape offering from the good people at Oki-Ni is Dam Funk mixing up some favorite tracks with the following pledge that, “No MP3s or computer files were used for this mix.” From JEFF the Brotherhood to Prince, it will only make your weekend brighter.oki-ni presents TRUTH by DaM-FunK by oki-ni
In the push for hype maximus for their June 7 True Loves LP, Hooray For Eath have debuted the title track single for iTunes download coinciding with a really fancy and probably expensive video. The video plays out like a short film where a hunted paladin warrior goes on some quixotic quest for an aloof ghostlike maiden. There’s a lot more cinematic fanciness but I will leave the rest to the video.
Video: Hooray for Earth, “True Loves”
Here are the June tour dates for Hooray for Earth’s shows with Architecture In Helsinki.
June
01 Henry Fonda Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
02 Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA
03 Slim's, San Francisco, CA
04 Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR
05 The Venue, Vancouver, BC
06 Neumo's, Seattle, WA
09 Varsity Theater, Minneapolis, MN
10 Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL
11 The Mod Club, Toronto, ONT
12 La Tulipe, Montreal, QC
13 The Paradise, Boston, MA
15 Music Hall of Willamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
16 Webster Hall, New York, NY
17 Black Cat, Washington, DC
18 World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA
Whilst enjoying their recent Actor-Caster, we have just received word that the Generationals have their summer tour plans all straightened out and you can check out those dates no further than right here:
April
29 Iowa City, IA Gabe's Oasis
30 Madison, WI Der Rathskeller
May
01 Hamtramck, MI Small's Bar with Oh No Oh My
02 Newport, KY Southgate House with Oh No Oh My
03 Bloomington, IN The Bishop
04 St. Louis, MO Off Broadway with Oh No Oh My
05 Lawrence, KS Jackpot Music Hall with Oh No Oh My
06 Norman, OK Opolis with Oh No Oh My
07 Austin, TX Emo's with Oh No Oh My
08 New Orleans, LA New Orleans Jazz Festival
11 New York, NY Mercury Lounge with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
12 Brooklyn, NY The Rock Shop with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
13 Washington, DC The Red Palace with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
14 Philadelphia, PA Kungfu Necktie with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
17 Arlington, VA IOTA Club & Café with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
18 Richmond, VA The Camel with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
19 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506 with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
20 Atlanta, GA The Earl with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
21 Nashville, TN The Basement with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
24 Birmingham, AL The Bottletree with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
25 Oxford, MS Proud Larry's with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
26 Houston, TX Fitzgerald's with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
27 Dallas, TX Club Dada
28 Austin, TX Emo's with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
25 New Orleans, LA Tipitina's
July
07 San Antonio, TX The Korva
08 Tempe, AZ Sail Inn with Gardens & Villa
09 Tucson, AZ Club Congress with Gardens & Villa
10 San Diego, CA Casbah with Gardens & Villa
14 Los Angeles, CA The Echo
16 Davis, CA Sophia's Thai Kitchen with Gardens & Villa
17 Portland, OR Mississippi Studios with Gardens & Villa
19 Seattle, WA Tractor Tavern with Gardens & Villa
20 Boise, ID Neurolux with Gardens & Villa
21 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court with Gardens & Villa
22 Denver, CO Underground Music Showcase with Gardens & Villa
23 Santa Fe, NM Corazon with Gardens & Villa
24 Oklahoma City, OK The Conservatory with Gardens & Villa
26 Baton Rouge, LA Manship Theatre with Gardens & Villa
White Fence have made their way out east for a handful of New York performances. We still are enjoying Tim Presley’s last January release …Is Growing Faith, as it remains to be one of the best records released this year. And if you can’t make it to any of the NYC gigs ‘cause your stuck out west, the good news is that White Fence is slated to play the Big Sur Woodsist Festival. Details as follows:
April
29 Brooklyn, NY – Death By Audio 30 New York, NY – Cake Shop
July
30-31 Big Sur, CA – Woodsist Fest
Also check out this video of Blueprint doing a live performance of “So Alive” at the Shadowbox in Seattle, WA. I love that keyboard he’s got strapped to him like a key-tar or something; happy to see portable alive and well in today’s live sets.
Video: Blueprint, “So Alive”
Here are the dates for Blueprint and the Rhymesayers Family “All My Friends” tour with Atmosphere, Grieves, Budo, along with DJ Rare Groove later this year:
September
08 Madison, WI Orpheum Theatre
09 Milwaukee, WI Riverside Theater
10 Indianapolis, IN The Vogue Theatre (with Mudkids) *
11 Covington, KY Madison Theater
12 Grand Rapids, MI Intersection
15 Bozeman, MT Gallatin County Fairgrounds
16 Missoula, MT Wilma Theater
17 Missoula, MT Wilma Theater
18 Spokane, WA Knitting Factory
20 Boise, ID Knitting Factory
21 Bend, OR Midtown Ballroom
22 Eugene, OR McDonald Theater
24 Chico, CA Senator Theatre
25 Reno, NV Knitting Factory
27 Arcata, CA Arcata Community Center
28 Sacramento, CA Sacramento State Union Ballroom
29 Santa Cruz, CA Catalyst
October
01 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues
02 Salt Lake City, UT In The Venue
04 Rapid City, SD Dublin Square
05 Sioux Falls, SD Sioux Empire Expo Building
06 Des Moines, IA People's Court
07 Chicago, IL Congress Theater
Pusha T has a video for “Can I Live” that features him hanging on a boat with mad honeys and some slick rhymes. He mixes his rap sheet with the life of celebrity while extolling the virtues of having a personal legal dream team. “Knowing the feds watch me, private paparazzi, / still chasing me for war crimes like a Nazi, / dice roll got my lawyers yelling yahtzee.”
Video: Pusha T, “Can I Live”
Screaming Females have added a plethora of tour dates while continuing to make the MTV rounds. All we have to say is way to go.
May 06 Kearny, NJ Kearny Irish American Club
19 Stanhope, NJ The Stanhope House
31 Mellvale, PA Mr. Small's Theatre with Against Me! and Lemuria
June
01 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero with Against Me! and Lemuria
02 Washington, DC Black Cat with Against Me! and Lemuria
03 Towson, MD Recher Theatre with Against Me! and Lemuria
04 Allentown, PA Crocodile Rock Cafe with Against Me! and Lemuria
07 New York, NY Webster Hall with Against Me! and Lemuria
08 New Haven, CT Toad's Place with Against Me! and Lemuria
09 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club with Against Me! and Lemuria
10 Burlington, VT Higher Ground with Against Me! and Lemuria
11 Northampton, VA Pearl Street Nightclub with Against Me! and Lemuria
12 Rochester, NY Water Street with Against Me! and Lemuria
14 Cleveland, OH House of Blues with Against Me! and Lemuria
15 Detroit, MI St. Andrews Hall with Against Me! and Lemuria
16 Grand Rapids, MI The Intersection with Against Me! and Lemuria
17 Chicago, IL The Metro with Against Me! and Lemuria
18 Milwaukee, WI The Rave with Against Me! and Lemuria
20 Fargo, ND The Venue with Against Me! and Lemuria
21 Minneapolis, MN First Ave. with Against Me! and Lemuria
30 – 07/03 Roskilde, Denmark Roskilde Festival
August
18 – 21 Richmond, VA Best Friends Day
October
28 – 30 Gainesville, FL FEST 10
We have received a press bulletin that Atlanta's Gold-Bears have made the right career move and signed to Slumberland. Their debut album Are You Falling in Love? is slated for release on May 17, and to show their appreciation and to pique your interest, the GBs have released the album’s opening track “Record Store” in beautiful mp3 format for your downloading pleasure.
MP3: Gold-Bears, “Record Store”
If you would like to see a video of GBs frontman Jeremy Underwood getting his twee on with lots of unassuming smiles and various montages of stock footage of nature and stuff. “So Natural” indeed.
Video: Gold-Bears, “So Natural”
Catch Gold-Bears on the road:
May
14 Atlanta, GA 529
15 Durham, NC The Layabout
16 Washington, DC Velvet Lounge
17 Brooklyn, NY Fireproof
18 Somerville, MA PA's Lounge
19 New York, NY Cake Shop / NYC Pop Fest
20 Philadelphia, PA TBA
21 Richmond, VA Steady Sounds In-Store
And in more indie news, the latest product of the post-vowel inclined set is Southport, NC’s SWTHRT, who has an album for bandcamp download called Compact Disc (get it?). There's nothing like celebrating the death of the CD while utilizing the medium’s merits if but in name alone.
Listen to single “Boys with Problems”, that also celebrates messed up dudes while pleading for a certain understanding that singer Karl Kuehn is one of the million boys with problems. My heart goes out to him and the one million more.
MP3: SWTHRT, “Boys with Problems”
And if you’re in need of some great remixes fed through a whirring blender mulched with some damn fine vintage drum breaks and pitch bending spooky samples of vague radio extracts, then check out Blissed Out’s latest Destroy Mp3s.2 mixtape. Titled “That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore” from the Smiths Moz ballad of the same name, it's also equipped with plenty of that slowed down voice stuff that keeps Jack Donoghue a relevant blog-sex symbol or whatever. Get ready for lots of chopped up fragments of hooks sent on a half-hour odyssey. Listen or download it in full here.Destroy MP3s.2 :: That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore by BLISSED OUT
