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Cut Copy's Ben Browning Announces Solo EP

Jenn Pelly — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:42:00 -0600

On March 19, Cut Copy bassist Ben Browning will issue a solo EP, Lover Motion, via the band's own Cutters label. The single "I Can't Say" is out now digitally and on 12" vinyl.

Watch Chairlift Cover Beyoncé With Das Racist's Kool A.D.

Jenn Pelly — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:52:00 -0600

On a recent visit to Australia's Triple J Radio, Das Racist's Victor Vazquez (aka Kool A.D.) and Chairlift covered Beyoncé, offering a welcomed take of her 4 highlight "Party". It features an updated verse from Vazquez and is appropriately prefaced by the "Niggas in Paris" intro riff.

Video: Julia Holter: "Für Felix"

Carrie Battan — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:00:00 -0600

On March 8, L.A. experimentalist Julia Holter will release Ekstasis, the follow-up to last year's excellent LP Tragedy. Below find the eerie, Eric Fensler-directed video for "Für Felix", and read our recent interview with Holter here. (Note: The video was originally posted in 2008, but "Für Felix" will appear on the forthcoming record.)

Jay Reatard Documentary Better Than Something Announces First Theatrical Run

Jenn Pelly — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:00:00 -0600

After a solid run through the festival circuit in 2011, the Jay Reatard documentary Better Than Something has announced its first official string of screenings throughout the U.S. It premiers Friday, March 2 in Brooklyn, Memphis, Seattle, and Portland, Oregon.

Ty Segall to Release Two New Albums

Jenn Pelly — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:51:00 -0600

Photo by Charles Taylor Bergquist

In a recent interview with the Dartmouth College blog Dartbeat, Ty Segall said he will release two new albums within the next six months, in addition to his upcoming collaboration with White Fence. Thanks to Robert Szypko for the tip.

Video: Bruce Springsteen: "We Take Care of Our Own"

Carrie Battan — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:28:00 -0600

Bruce Springsteen's new album Wrecking Ball is scheduled for release on March 5 in the UK and March 6 in the U.S. Below, watch the lyrics-subtitled video for the album's lead single "We Take Care of Our Own".

Wolf Parade's Spencer Krug Announces New Moonface Album

Jenn Pelly — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown has announced a new album for his Moonface project. The record is titled With Siinai: Heartbreaking Bravery, and will be released April 17 via Jagjaguwar.

Listen to a New Solo Track From Jack White, "Machine Gun Silhouette"

Carrie Battan — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:24:00 -0600

As reported, Jack White's got a solo album called Blunderbluss out on April 24 through Columbia and his own Third Man Records. We've already heard the first single "Love Interruption"-- today a new cut called "Machine Gun Silhouette" has surfaced. Listen to it here, via MTV.

Chocolate Industries to Issue Electronic Soul Comp

Jenn Pelly — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:23:00 -0600

This April, the Chocolate Industries label will release Personal Space: Electronic Soul 1974-1984, a compilation of underground, self-produced electronic soul music from the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Stones Throw Will Release an Album From Geoff Barrow's Hip-Hop Project This Spring

Jenn Pelly — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:10:00 -0600

Geoff Barrow of Portishead has a new hip-hop project, Quakers, as the Guardian (via Beats Per Minute) points out. Stones Throw will release their 41-track album this spring, samples from which are available here.

Watch Bon Iver's Justin Vernon Play an Extended "Perth" With the Roots

Jenn Pelly — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:54:00 -0600

Bon Iver's Justin Vernon was in New York a few weeks back, and the Roots asked him to stop by "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon". On the originally scheduled date, January 19, ?uestlove Tweeted about "a mammoth awesome remix 'Perth' jam w/@blobtower." You can now check out the performance of their extended eight-minute jam, a web exclusive:

tUnE-yArDs to Score Buster Keaton Films at San Francisco International Film Festival

Jenn Pelly — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:43:00 -0600

Photo by Chad Wadsworth

Merrill Garbus and tUnE-yArDs have announced a performance during the 55th San Francisco International Film Festival, on April 23 at the Castro Theater.

Keith Fullerton Whitman Announces New Album

Jenn Pelly — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:19:00 -0600

Experimental sound artist Keith Fullerton Whitman will release his new album Generators February 28 via Editions Mego.

Listen to Tom Jones and Jack White Covering Howlin' Wolf

Carrie Battan — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:03:00 -0600

As reported, beloved Welsh singer Tom Jones teamed up with Jack White for an installment of the Third Man Records Blue Series, a collection produced by White at his Third Man studio in Nashville. Consequence of Sound points out that the collaboration-- a cover of blues cut "Evil" (made popular by Howlin' Wolf")-- is here via BBC 6 Radio, and it features White himself.

Listen to a Grinderman Remix Featuring the National's Matt Berninger

Carrie Battan — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:26:00 -0600

MP3: Grinderman: "Evil (Silver Alert Remix) [ft. Matt Berninger]"

As previously reported, the disbanded Grinderman are gearing up to release a remix album, Grinderman 2 RMX, on Mute internationally on March 12 and Anti- in North America the following day. We've already heard Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Nick Zinner's take on "Bellringer Blues"-- now listen to Silver Alert's remix of "Evil", which features the National's Matt Berninger.

Video: Jay-Z and Kanye West: "Niggas in Paris"

Carrie Battan — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:59:00 -0600

The video for Jay-Z and Kanye West's year-dominating 2011 anthem "Niggas in Paris" is here, and it's prefaced by the following disclaimers: "THIS VIDEO HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED BY EPILEPSY ACTION TO POTENTIALLY TRIGGER SEIZURES FOR PEOPLE WITH PHOTOSENSITIVE EPILEPSY" and "VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED".

Best Coast Were a "Jeopardy!" Response

Jenn Pelly — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:32:00 -0600

It's college week on "Jeopardy!", which means 15 students from Harvard, Columbia, M.I.T., and other schools around the U.S. are competing to win $100,000. As previously reported, "Fleet Foxes" were an answer on the show last week. Now the Best Coast website has posted a picture from the band's own "Jeopardy!" mention: "Bethany Cosentino fronts the L.A. band called not "West" but "Best" this-- in your face, Eastern seaboard!"

"Portlandia" Is Getting a Book

Carrie Battan — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:19:00 -0600

"Portlandia", the IFC sketch-comedy show that's featured indie darlings ranging from St. Vincent to Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock, is getting the book treatment. On November 20, Hachette imprint Grand Central Publishing will release PORTLANDIA: A Guide for Visitors in the style of a traditional travel guide. It'll lead readers through the city's landmarks, restaurants, etc., in the same tone that Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen have developed on the show.

Watch James Mercer Play a New Shins Song, "It's Only Life"

Carrie Battan — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:35:00 -0600

Update: Looks like the video has been set to private, we'll re-embed if that changes.

Port of Morrow, the new album from the Shins, is out on March 20 via Columbia and James Mercer's imprint Aural Apothecary. Mercer recently stopped by San Diego radio station 91X, where he offered an acoustic version of a new song from the record called "It's Only Life", BPM points out. Watch the full four-song set-- which also includes Port of Morrow single "Simple Song" and Shins classics "Young Pilgrims" and "New Slang"-- below.

Look Inside London's Fabric Club

Jenn Pelly — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:28:00 -0600

The London club Fabric, renowned for its Friday and Saturday dubstep, house, and techno nights and its Fabriclive mix series, is now accessible throughout the world. Sort of.

Video: Lee Ranaldo: "Off the Wall"

Jenn Pelly — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:36:00 -0600

Lee Ranaldo's new video for Between the Times & the Tides cut "Off the Wall" is a visual ode to New York. The clip, posted at Sonic Youth's Facebook page, mixes live footage from a performance at Williamsburg, Brooklyn's Glasslands Gallery with vignettes captured by Ranaldo throughout the city: the trees in Battery Park, the Holland Tunnel, Hudson River Park. It also includes a clip from Walt Whitman's forest, and incorporates shots from David Linton's recent, kaleidoscopic installation at Downtown Manhattan's historic Clocktower Gallery.

Gorillaz, James Murphy, and André 3000 Team Up

Pitchfork — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0600

Gorillaz' partnership with Converse was unveiled in full today. Their contribution to the "Three Artists, One Song" series is called "DoYaThing" and features Damon Albarn collaborating with James Murphy and André 3000. It will be available for free download on the company's website on February 23.

Earl Sweatshirt Returns

Larry Fitzmaurice — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:10:00 -0600

As Odd Future fans and New Yorker readers both know, OF member Earl Sweatshirt has been M.I.A. since the group began attracting attention (it's presumed that he has been at a youth camp in Samoa). Back in November, OF leader Tyler, the Creator engaged in some heavy trolling by claiming that Earl had returned from whereever he'd been all this time-- but this time, it looks like he might actually be back.

Video: Cults: "You Know What I Mean"

Jenn Pelly and Carrie Battan — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:01:00 -0600

Cults have posted a video for their finger-snappy 1960s ode "You Know What I Mean", from their self-titled debut from last year. The video sees a lovesick Madeline Follin taking care of guitarist Brian Oblivion, who plays the part of a dare-taking carnival member, after he fails to successfully jump through a ring of fire. Watch the clip, directed by Isaiah Seret, via NPR:

Sleigh Bells Will Appear on "Saturday Night Live"

Carrie Battan — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:28:00 -0600

Sleigh Bells have been announced as the musical guests on the February 18 episode of "Saturday Night Live". They'll play "Comeback Kid" and the album track "End of the Line", both from the forthcoming album Reign of Terror, out February 21 via Mom+Pop. Maya Rudolph will host the episode.