Tegan and Sara Coming to DVD

Seeing double? Don't be alarmed. Canada's favorite tune-carrying twins, Tegan and Sara, are set to follow in the footsteps of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. Nah, no eating disorders or public breakups. Rather, T&S are headed down the road towards media mogul-dom, with the release of their DVD, It's Not Fun, Don't Do It!

The disc hits stores in North America and Australia courtesy of Vapor/Sanctuary Records tomorrow, August 8. In addition to a full live concert from a performance at Toronto, Ontario's Phoenix Concert Theatre, the disc includes a segment on the making of 2004's So Jealous, a tour documentary, music videos for "Walking With a Ghost", "Speak Slow", "I Hear Noises", "Living Room", and "Monday, Monday, Monday", a photo album, and band commentary.

Unlike most bands, Tegan and Sara are actually funny. So the commentary will actually be worth listening to. [MORE...]

Video: Tegan and Sara: It's Not Fun Don't Do It trailer

T.V. Eye: August 7-13, 2006

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

Monday, August 7:

CBS: "Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson": The Subways
NBC: "Late Night With Conan O'Brien": Metric (rerun)

Tuesday, August 8:

NBC: "Late Night With Conan O'Brien": Yeah Yeah Yeahs
NBC: "Last Call With Carson Daly"": The Constantines

Wednesday, August 9:

CBS: "Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson": Editors
NBC: "Late Night With Conan O'Brien": Sonic Youth

Thursday, August 10:

IFC: "The Henry Rollins Show": Ani DiFranco (rerun)

Friday, August 11:

NBC: "Last Call With Carson Daly": Rhymefest

Saturday, August 12:

IFC: "The Henry Rollins Show": Rollins Band

Video: Arctic Monkeys: "Leave Before the Lights Come On"

Just when we were starting to forget about the Arctic Monkeys (ha!), Domino Records has stealthily leaked their new video to YouTube. The "Leave Before the Lights Come On" clip is typically bleak Monkeys fare, only with more than a hint of black humor. It starts with a man saving a woman from suicide...and goes downhill from there.

The "Leave Before the Lights Come On" single is out August 14 on Domino on 7" and CD. If you're on the Arctic Monkeys mailing list, you can get a free Arctic Monkeys beer mat with purchase. Because nothing goes better with suicide than beer!

Exclusive: Cass McCombs Signs to Domino

In the game of black dots on white tiles, Cass McCombs is on top. The singer/songwriter responsible for last year's PREfection (on 4AD) has signed a worldwide deal with Domino Records.

McCombs has written and recorded his Domino debut, scheduled to hit record stores in early 2007, but has not yet titled it.

As previously reported, McCombs will support Andrew Bird on his upcoming fall trek. [MORE...]

Other: Cass McCombs: Live at the Hideout

The Knife Schedule U.S. Shows
Can you tell I'm excited?

At last, enigmatic Swedish sibling duo the Knife have announced their first-ever American shows. There's only three of them: one in New York, one in San Francisco, and one in L.A. But the New York date is during CMJ, so that helps a little bit, right?

As if the prospect of seeing Olof Dreijer and Karin Dreijer Andersson playing "Heartbeats" or "Still Light" live wasn't tantalizing enough, the Knife's performances happen to be multi-media collaborations with artist Andreas Nilsson. As Olof recently told our own Mark Pytlik, "For the live show, [Nilsson]'s been working with it for many, many months, and he involved some other artists to build dolls and do very advanced drawings-- he's just spacing out...The show is 50% his show and 50% our music."

This is going to RULE. [MORE...]

Video: The Knife: Silent Shout

MP3: Exclusive: Snow Patrol: "Chasing Cars (The Hey Team Remix)"

The original version of Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars" (the latest single from their new album, Eyes Open), is plenty beautiful, but there isn't really anything to distinguish it from heaps of other pretty, soaring love songs.

This remix, courtesy of a mysterious entity called the Hey Team, turns the track into something else. It's even more beautiful, but it's also kinda fucked up. It begins with fluttery beats and a wisp of ambient background noise, swells on a pulsing undercurrent, and then, around the three-minute mark, starts to break down. Little jagged shards cut in and out, attacking the song with computer-game-rebooting noises and stop-start stutters. It all gets more and more confusing until it just stops, falling away to reveal a curtain of strings.

Expertly crafted and extremely satisfying, this is up there with Röyksopp's take on Coldplay's "Clocks" in the sad-sack remix Hall of Fame. I don't know who the Hey Team are (related to the Go! Team?), but I'm looking forward to hearing more from them. [MORE...]

MP3: Snow Patrol: Chasing Cars (The Hey Team remix)

Strokes' Hammond Goes Solo

Following in the illustrious footsteps of such alt-rock guitarists as James Iha, John Frusciante, and that dude from Korn who found Jesus, the Strokes' Albert Hammond Jr. is heading out on his own. No, he isn't leaving the band (as far as we know), but according to NME.com, he's putting out a solo album.

Entitled Yours to Keep and due out in the UK on October 9 on Rough Trade, the disc features bassist Josh Lattanzi (Ben Kweller) and drummer Matt Romano (Adam Green) serving as Hammond's backing band as well as guest spots from Kweller, Sean Lennon, Strokes manager Ryan Gentles, Fountains of Wayne's Jody Porter, Mikki James of Thin Lizard Dawn and Sammy James Jr. of the Mooney Suzuki. Greg Lattimer of Thin Lizard Dawn produced the album.

Hammond's 'fro allegedly plays cowbell on several songs. [MORE...]

Video: The Strokes: You Only Live Once

Ted Leo Triumphs Over Power Outage
For once in our lives, we actually wish we were in Baltimore for one night

With all due respect to the (almost) late, great Sleater-Kinney, we must report that Carrie, Corin, and Janet have been bested by Ted Leo. The mighty ladies may have been no match for a power failure, but Mr. Leo sure is.

Wednesday night at Baltimore's Ottobar, the power went out 3/4 of the way through Leo's set, according to several Pitchfork reader reports.

Reader Ira Gamerman wrote in to say that as soon as the lights went out, Leo led the crowd in singing "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson, "Maps" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey. "Then he grabbed an acoustic guitar [and] played 2 songs by flashlight."

Another reader, Jeffrey Jutton, says one of those songs was a Lungfish cover, and that after it was over, Leo "promptly fell off the stage."

"I've never seen anything like it at a show before. He literally fell off the stage, there was a huge crash, the crowd gasped because there were no lights on or anything, and then you heard the acoustic guitar strumming again. Incredible...

"At that point, everyone was asked to leave the club, so Ted took to the streets and gave an impromptu concert out in front of the Ottobar for his fans."

Holy moly!

Ted Leo is no stranger to hurting himself during a performance; on Saturday at the Pitchfork Music Festival, he smacked himself in the forehead with a microphone so hard that he bled. (See John Lombardo's photo at the top of this story.)

He's also no stranger to playing through power outages. In 2003, during the infamous New York City blackout, he entertained concertgoers at NYC's South Street Seaport with a full set. His performance of "Stove by a Whale" from that day ended up on the Ted Leo/Pharmacists DVD Dirty Old Town.

Leo will return to the South Street Seaport on August 25, as part of a string of shows scheduled throughout the next two months. [MORE...]

MP3: Ted Leo: Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone

MP3: Swan Lake: "All Fires"
Wolf Parade and Frog Eyes Kick Off Tour

New Sunset Rubdown! Just kidding--but it sure sounds like it. Nothing about this track from the Canindie supergroup of Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade/Sunset Rubdown), Dan Bejar (Destroyer/New Pornographers) and Carey Mercer (Frog Eyes) sonically separates it from Krug's solo project.

It isn't clear what Bejar's or Mercer's contribution to the song was, but no matter--this would be a standout even on Sunset Rubdown's fantastic latest album Shut Up I Am Dreaming.

"All Fires" comes from Swan Lake's debut album, Beast Moans, due out November 21 on Jagjaguwar. [MORE...]

MP3: Swan Lake: All Fires

Cat Power Adds Shows, Joins Bob Dylan Tribute Show

Now that she's up and running, there's no stopping Cat Power. The once-shy performer has seemingly found her groove with her latest backing group, the Memphis Rhythm Band, as Chan Marshall has added several shows to her fall tour itinerary.

After hitting some European fests and Austin City Limits, Marshall will join the stellar lineup of Patti Smith, Philip Glass, Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Ryan Adams, Rosanne Cash, Bob Mould, and many more, at the Music for Youth benefit concert "The Music of Bob Dylan" at NYC's Avery Fisher Hall on November 9. Naturally, they'll all be playing Dylan songs.

In other news, an exclusive Cat Power iTunes session will be available September 5.

[MORE...]

Video: Cat Power: Lived in Bars

Get Him Eat Him Prep LP, Tour With Evangelicals

For the follow-up to last year's Geography Cones, Get Him Eat Him (featuring the vocals and guitar stylings of Pitchfork's very own Matt LeMay), have something very special in store. Matt tells us that Jason Caddell, formerly the guitarist in the Dismemberment Plan, is co-producing the currently untitled album.

"We tracked some guitars with Jason at Inner Ear in DC...and some this week with Charles Bissell from the Wrens," LeMay said in an email.

As if GHEH hadn't already fulfilled their indie rock star quota, Zach Condon of Beirut also "came over last week and played some trumpet," in addition to his bandmates "Kristin and Jon, [who] played some violin and baritone sax (respectively)." Namedropper!

In addition to being nameless at the moment, the album also has no release date, though the band is beginning a huge tour of the U.S. tonight in Ohio. They'll start out by themselves before meeting up with Evangelicals and then ending the tour with four shows with Beirut and Curtains.

Speaking of tours, Get Him Eat Him have just finished a tour EP featuring three new tracks and a Sebadoh cover. Each EP is handmade by the band (but watch out for grease-- we hear they like sandwi...er, sammiches), and they have only made about 125 copies. It will be available while it lasts on the tour, but even if you can't attend one of the shows, you can still get it from www.gethimeathim.com/shop. [MORE...]

MP3: Get Him Eat Him: Mumble Mumble

Outkast Reveal Idlewild Tracklist

Looks like this thing is actually going to come out after all. August 22 will allegedly be the day when the soundtrack album for the long-anticipated Outkast film Idlewild will hit store shelves, and the movie will open three days later, on August 25. We'll believe it when we're actually sitting in the theater and Big Boi and Andre 3000 are dancing away up on screen in front of us.

For now, we've got the official, confirmed tracklist for the soundtrack. The video for "Idlewild Blue (Don'tchu Worry 'Bout Me) will premiere on MTV's TRL (that show is still on?) this Tuesday, August 8.

01 Intro
02 Mighty "O"
03 Peaches featuring Sleepy Brown & Scar
04 Idlewild Blue (Don'tchu Worry 'Bout Me)
05 Infatuation (Interlude)
06 N2U featuring Khujo Goodie
07 Morris Brown featuring Scar & Sleepy Brown
08 Chronomentrophobia
09 The Train featuring Scar & Sleepy Brown
10 Life Is Like a Musical
11 No Bootleg DVDs (Interlude)
12 Hollywood Divorce featuring Lil' Wayne & Snoop Dogg
13 Zora (Interlude)
14 Call the Law featuring Janelle Monáe
15 Bamboo & Cross (Interlude)
16 BuggFace
17 Makes No Sense at All
18 In Your Dreams featuring Killer Mike & Janelle Monáe
19 PJ & Rooster
20 Mutron Angel featuring Whild Peach
21 Greatest Show on Earth featuring Macy Gray
22 You're Beautiful (Interlude)
23 When I Look in Your Eyes
24 Dyin' to Live
25 A Bad Note

We sure hope track 22 isn't a James Blunt cover.

Stream: Outkast: Mighty O

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.)