Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks to Release New Beck Produced Record


It has been a lonnnnng while since we last recieved a record from Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks. Of course we can’t complain, right? Can you say Pavement reunion? Malkmus and the crew headed back in the studio with indie sensation Beck, to create their newest record that will be released on Matador Records. Mirror Traffic will be out August 23rd. If you can’t bare to wait, take a look below of a live sneak peak of one of the new tracks. This will be the last album to feature drummer Janet Weiss (formerly of Sleater Kinney), as she is going full fledge with her newest project, Wild Flag. Joggers drummer Jake Morris will take over for her for the time being.

Vincent Moon Starts His Own Traveling Label, “Petites Planètes”

Looking for a new genre to redirect his musical aspirations, Vincent Moon has branched out to all corners of the world to expose local musicians to the traditional western audience.  Typically blanketed under the insufficiently described banner of “World Music,” a Sao Paulo rooftop musician, a street performer in Chinatown, a folk singer in Buenos Aires, and a cello player in Rio are a sample of artists Moon will profile with his new label, Petites Planètes.

The project, solely funded from donations, will see an update every Friday, with both the films and soundtrack available for download for free under a CC license.  Go to www.petitesplanetes.cc for a look at this fantastic new series.

My Morning Jacket Add New Dates


In celebration of their forthcoming album, Circuital, My Morning Jacket have announced a slew of additional tour dates.  Joining them on the road will be Neko Case. And, the band will donate $1 from every ticket sold to local charity.

Additionally, MMJ have also just released their “Official American Express UNSTAGED Trailer” in celebration of  joining forces with Todd Haynes for their upcoming performance in the American Express’ “Unstaged” music series. Peep the trailer and a full list of dates below.

My Morning Jacket Tour Dates:
(New dates in bold)

05/20:  Gulf Shores, AL @ Hangout Festival
05/31:  Louisville, KY @ Louisville Palace Theater
06/02-06/05:  Ozark, AR @ Wakarusa Festival

06/05:  Hunter, NY @ Mountain Jam
06/09-06/12:  Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Festival
06/16:  Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater
06/17:  Chicago, IL @ Auditorium Theatre
06/22:  Los Angeles, CA @ Pantages Theatre
06/24: Oakland, CA @ Fox Theatre
06/26:  Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
06/28:  Portland, OR @ Edgefield
06/29:  Vancouver, BC @ Orpheum
06/30-07/03:  Quincy, CA @ High Sierra Music Festival
7/2 Santa Barbara, CA Santa Barbara Bowl
07/11:  Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus
07/12:  Montreal, QC @ Metropolis
07/16: Southwold  @ Latitude Festival
07/17: London  @ Somerset House
8/2 St. Louis, MO The Pageant 
8/3 Kansas City, MO Uptown Theater 
08/04:  Denver, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
08/05-08/13:  Bangor, ME @ The KahBang FestivalTOUR DATES W/ NEKO CASE:  
8/7 Indianapolis, IN The Lawn at White River State Park 
8/8 Columbus, OH LC Pavilion 
8/10 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE 
8/12 Columbia, MD Merriweather Post Pavilion 
8/14 Boston, MA Bank Of America Pavilion 
8/16 Rochester Hills, MI Meadow Brook 
8/17 Cincinnati, OH PNC Pavilion at Riverbend Music Center
8/20 Alpharetta, GA Verizon Wireless Amphitheater 
8/21 Charlotte, NC Time Warner Cable Uptown Amphitheater 

Amanda Palmer Announces Winners of ‘Map of Tasmania Remix Project’ and ‘On An Unknown Beach’ Video


The lovely and talented Amanda Palmer announced the winners of her remix project on Indaba Music recently. The ultimate winner is David Minnik of Detroit, MI, and the pentultimate winners are Jared Graham (York, PA) and Simone Ewouds (Enschede, The Netherlands). Their interpretations of Palmer’s tracks are now available on the two remix EP’s featured on her pay-what-you-desire Bandcamp website. The winners also were compensated for their contributions to the remix EP’s. Minnick took home $1,000 and the two runners-up, $500 each. Palmer also recently released the “On An Unknown Beach Video,” which features Palmer as a rejected bride running on an empty beach and rolling around the sand in despair. Though it sounds laughable, the video is a beautiful representation of this heart-wrenching song.

New Video From Wild Beasts’ Upcoming Record Availalble


The video for the single “Albatross” off the impending third record, Smother, from English band Wild Beasts is now available for viewing. The video is artfully filmed by Dave Ma focusing on an attractive, tortured female dancer while Wild Beasts look on from some kind of outside viewing station. It seems as though this beautiful dancer is a patient in an institution of some kind until her room switches to a kind of photo shoot back drop. Digital music permeates the song with serene, chorus like vocals in the background. In the video, you can see the lips of the Wild Beasts members moving, but exactly what they are singing is indistinguishable. The music is pretty and the video is abstract and captivating with lovely lighting and costumes but once it’s over the experience feels unrequited. Maybe a listen to the record as a whole is needed to be fully satisfied.

Kenna Releases “Chains” Video


Though the song is a great summer party mp3, the video suffers greatly from what I like to call “Juno-itis.” Juno-itis is a rapidly spreading disease in the independent music video world. Symptoms include classic hipster clothing, Ray-Bans, polaroids, lots of tattoos, drawings coming to life, and usually an odd mascot costume (or in this case, just a head). Directors, stop doing this crap. There are better ways to convey the meshing of fantasy and reality. Find them. The song on the other hand is fantastic for what it is: music to get fucked up and dance on your kitchen table, just like they do in the video. Lion head optional.