Elvis Costello, Death Cab, Jenny Lewis Smoke "Weeds"

Marijuana and music go hand in hand, and Showtime's hit series "Weeds" has stepped right up to take advantage of this relationship.

For season two of the show, "Weeds"' theme song, "Little Boxes" by Malvina Reynolds, will be reinterpreted each week by a different artist. Musicians signed up for this cover extravaganza include Elvis Costello, Death Cab for Cutie, Jenny Lewis, the Polyphonic Spree's Tim DeLaughter, Regina Spektor, Englebert Humperdinck, McGarrigle Sisters, Tom Maxwell and Ken Mosher (formerly from Squirrel Nut Zippers), and Ozomatli. There has been no word as to whether or not these tracks will be released.

The second season of the series kicks off on August 14 and will feature guest appearances from Zooey Deschanel and Snoop Dogg, who will play himself and record a pot-related number on the show.

This isn't, however, the only time the Costello-Death Cab love connection has popped up lately. Costello and his band Imposters played a show for VH1's "Decades Rock Live" last May alongside Death Cab, Fiona Apple, and Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong. The all-star band performed a high-energy rendition of Nick Lowe/Costello's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding" at Atlantic City, New Jersey's Trump Taj Mahal. It aired last Friday, and is now available on YouTube:

Pitchfork Music Festival: Sunday Sold Out

Only five days left, and tickets for the second day, Sunday, July 30, of the Pitchfork Music Festival are completely sold out. That leaves us with no more Sunday-only passes available, and, as we told you two weeks ago, no more two-day festival passes. Sorry, folks.

Single-day passes are still available for Saturday, July 29, but they're going VERY quickly. Online ticket sales will end on Wednesday, July 26 at 6 p.m. Central time. Saturday tickets are also available for purchase at the Page Brothers Building, located at 191 N. State Street, every day from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., until they're gone. The Page Brothers Building is also currently hosting the rock-poster gallery show Graphic Noise, featured as part of the City of Chicago's Public Art Program. The show is on view daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

A couple of other festival reminders: there will be no re-entry to the festival, and due to another event, United Center will not be able to provide parking for the festival attendees. We apologize for the inconvenience. [MORE...]

Pavement's Wowee Zowee to Be Reissued

Wowee Zowee is right. Following in the footsteps of their 2002 reissue of Pavement's 1992 debut album Slanted & Enchanted and their 2004 reissue of 1994's Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, Matador will reissue Pavement's fan-favorite third studio release, 1995's Wowee Zowee.

While a tracklist, release date, and load of additional information are still in the works, a few exciting tidbits about the reissue have been revealed by the folks at Matador.

Wowee Zowee version 2.0 will include around twenty album covers by Steve Keene, a never-before-heard concert from the WZ tour, and a number of previously unreleased tracks and rarities, many of which are alternate takes. And that's all we know right now, sorry!

MP3: Pavement: All My Friends

Karen O + Peaches + Johnny Knoxville = "Backass"

Standing blindfolded inside bullpens, back-flipping into lakes, and stapling your butt cheeks together just isn't the same without an original soundtrack. Enter Karen O and Peaches. For the upcoming movie Jackass 2, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman and the queen of electro-sleaze teamed up with Johnny Knoxville to record a song entitled "Backass".

Karen O told Billboard.com last week that the collaboration transpired "because [Peaches] was in L.A. at the time, and we just whipped out a little tune that makes you want to smash heads." Although Johnny's vocals might not be heard in the movie, Karen O assures that "he's quite a crooner."

Jackass 2 hits U.S. theaters Sept. 22. Wolfmother also contribute a song to the soundtrack ("The Joker and the Thief") and are currently shooting a video with Knoxville and other cast members in Australia.

Video: Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Cheated Hearts

Infinite Mixtape #26: Mew: "Zookeeper's Boy"

I first heard the Danish band Mew last month on national radio in their home country between Destiny's Child and Figurines, and instantly wondered why I'd never heard them in the U.S. Despite its vaguely European je ne sais quoi, the first single off their forthcoming And the Glass-Handed Kites LP sounds tailor-made for North American indie boys and girls: an interstellar collision between M83's supernova space-rock and Built to Spill's wide-eyed vocals and melodic sensibility.

Possibly (hopefully!) named for the esteemed 151st Pokémon (ok, probably not), Mew are becoming increasingly popular in Denmark, having toured with R.E.M. and taken home "Album of the Year" and "Band of the Year" at 2003's creatively named Danish Music Critics Award Show. Now, with the album set for stateside release on tomorrow, they could finally leap the pond. Ladies and gents, the latest installment in Pitchfork's Infinite Mixtape MP3 series, "The Zookeeper's Boy"...

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#0026 > Mew: "The Zookeeper's Boy"
[from And the Glass Handed Kites; Sony]
Info: [Mew] | [Myspace]

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// Previously on The Infinite Mixtape:
#0025: Annuals: "Brother"
#0024: My Robot Friend: "One More Try (Vocals by Antony)"
#0023: Susanna & The Magical Orchestra: "Love Will Tear Us Apart"
#0022: Girl Talk: "Smash Your Head"
#0001 - #0021: 21 of 2006's Best Tracks

T.V. Eye: July 24-31, 2006

Pitchfork's T.V. Picks for This Week:

Monday, July 24:

ABC: "Jimmy Kimmel Live": The Flaming Lips
CBS: "Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson": The Buzzcocks
NBC: "Late Night With Conan O'Brien": José González (rerun), "Last Call with Carson Daly": Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (rerun)

Tuesday, July 25:

ABC: "Jimmy Kimmel Live": The Elected
CBS: "Late Show With David Letterman": Tapes 'n Tapes

Wednesday, July 26:

CBS: "Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson": Jurassic 5
NBC: "Tonight Show With Jay Leno": Pharrell

Thursday, July 27:
IFC: "The Henry Rollins Show": New York Dolls (rerun)

Friday, July 28:
ABC: "Jimmy Kimmel Live": Pharrell

Saturday, July 29:
IFC: "The Henry Rollins Show": Slayer

Jeff Mangum Sings With the Instruments
The band as well as the music-playing things.

Jeff Mangum had a busy night out on the town in New York City on Friday. First, he and a few buddies, including Robert Schneider of the Apples in Stereo and Andrew Rieger and Laura Carter of Elf Power, took in the Os Mutantes show at Webster Hall. Then the crew made their way to the tiny Lower East Side club Cake Shop for performances by the New Sound of Numbers and the Instruments, both featuring Heather McIntosh of Circulatory System and Japancakes.

During the Instruments' set, Mangum joined the band for one song. According to my friend Mike Noble, who supplied the information about both the Os Mutantes and Cake Shop shows, "Mangum sat in with the Instruments on a song (er, stood in, sang in his loud I-don't-need-no-microphone way, wordlessly chanting." (He also joined the Instruments during their in-store performance at Sound Fix in Williamsburg the next day)

Mike was also nice enough to share some photos of the event with us. [MORE...]

Victoria Bergsman Leaves the Concretes

Time for another downer from the Concretes. A press statement released earlier this morning said:

"The Concretes have announced that lead singer Victoria Bergsman is departing the band to pursue a solo career. The band will continue playing together and are currently drafting songs for a new album. They performed without Bergsman at the Summercase Festival in Spain. They apologise to fans who were hoping to see them perform together."

Bergsman, a member of the band since its 1995 formation, is currently working on new material, according to the Concretes' website.

So scribble in "departure" under "theft" and "sickness" on that tally of Bad Things to Happen to the Concretes, and add this group of Swedes to the Unluckiest Bands of All Time list.

Video: The Concretes: Chosen One

Photos: Ghostface Killah and Rick Ross [Logan Square Auditorium; 07/20/06]

Hate to blaspheme, but Rick Ross wound up the highlight of this generally depressing show put together by Boost Mobile to reward folks who volunteered to clean a local park. (Awesome idea, seriously, but next time promote it better, please.) Ross delivered a brief but high-energy set that included "Chevy Ridin' High" and, of course, "Hustlin'". Despite the small and confoundingly unenthused crowd, he actually seemed happy to be onstage, never missing an opportunity to remind us that it took him "15 years to reach this point."

Props to the WGCI DJ who worked the crowd between sets, tossing out t-shirts and praise and inviting audience members onstage to freestyle and play "Simon Says". When attempts to start a motorcycle dance-off were thwarted because the house DJ didn't even have "It's Goin' Down", however, it became clear what kind of night this was going to be.

No doubt put off by the lukewarm reception, Ghostface headlined and went through the motions and the hits and not much else; he had a towel draped over his shoulders, but never needed to use it.

Hopefully Ghost is saving his energy for the upcoming Wu-Tang tour. Photos and dates after the jump: [MORE...]

Stream: Beck: "Cell Phone's Dead"

***UPDATE: BECK HAS TAKEN THE TRACK OFF OF HIS WEBSITE. SORRY!*** 

When word first leaked that Nigel Godrich was producing the next Beck album, we expected another introspective, low-key affair like the pair's previous collaborations, 1998's Mutations and 2002's Sea Change.We were wrong.

"Cell Phone's Dead", currently streaming from Beck's website, might as well have been produced by the Dust Brothers. It's typical Beck-funk, bricolage of electro, hip-hop, and Brazilian instrumentation.

As previously reported, Michel Gondry has directed the video. We predict that it will rule.

Tortoise Announce Shows

Like a certain sluggish animal, Tortoise are slooowly announcing fall tour dates in support of their forthcoming rarities box set, A Lazarus Taxon, due out August 22 on Thrill Jockey. Only three have been made public so far (in addition to a previously scheduled Switzerland festival appearance), but more are in the works, including one in the band's hometown of Chicago.

Tomorrow night in London, Tortoise will perform their 1996 classic Millions Now Living Will Never Die in its entirety as part of All Tomorrow's Parties' Don't Look Back series. The band is also supposedly working on music for a new album to be released next year. [MORE...]

Stream: Tortoise: Live at Metro

Exclusive: Mates of State Fall Tour

I know Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel are supposed to be all lovey-dovey and stuff, but for a happy couple, they sure don't spend much time at home. Mates of State are one of those bands that are always on tour, and the next couple months are no different.

After a trek with Death Cab surrounding Lollapalooza, the couple will take a short break before heading out again with Barsuk labelmates Starlight Mints for a North American jaunt in September. [MORE...]

MP3: Mates of State: Fraud in the '80s

Do you have a news tip for us? Anything crazy happen at a show you attended recently? Do you have inside info on the bands we cover? Is one of your favorite artists (that's not somebody you know personally) releasing a new record you'd like to see covered? You will remain completely anonymous, unless we are given your express permission to reveal your identity. (Please note that publicists, managers, booking agents, and other artist representatives are generally exempt from this rule, but will also be granted anonymity if requested.)