TV on the Radio Explain Themselves (Sorta)

Remember those weird Return to Cookie Mountain video ads? Remember the one with the little kid pretending to be the President? Well, here we have an audio clip of TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe explaining what it's all about. See, it's a metaphor. 

Exclusive: Stills to Take on North America

What does a bird have in common with Montreal's favorite un-feathered quintet? Both are fans of migration! This fall, the Stills will take off across North America in support of May's Vice release, Without Feathers. The group will play alongside Kings of Leon and Land of Talk, while still making room for a handful of scattered headlining performances. The trek kicks off early next month with a stint at the Stills' hometown Osheaga Music and Arts Festival. [MORE...]

Castanets and Jana Hunter Tour by Sailboat

Not to be outdone by the Ditty Bops and their recent cross-country bicycle tour, neo-folky notables Castanets and Jana Hunter have joined up with Austin's Peter and the Wolf to tour the great American Northeast-- via sailboat. This whale of a tour gimmick embarked this past weekend from New York City on a three-week, five-gig voyage with trusty skipper OCDJ (former disc jockey for NYC's WFMU) manning the rig. There's a joke in there someplace about a Hunter, a Wolf, a DJ, and some Castanets in a boat, but we're not going to embarrass ourselves trying to invent it. [MORE...]

The Raconteurs to Tour With Bob Dylan

Well I'll be-- Jack White's Raconteurs are racking up some big time opportunities. As previously reported, the group will play the Vegoose Festival on Halloween weekend and "host" MTV's VMAs a week from today...but that doesn't mean we saw their recently announced tour dates with Bob Dylan coming. Last thing we heard, dude was hating on all contemporary music.

But next thing we know, the Raconteurs have tacked on a handful of November tour dates alongside Dylan, who, of course, has a record, Modern Times, on its way via Columbia come August 29.

Prior to kicking things off with the Raconteurs, however, Dylan will spend close to a month on the road with Kings of Leon and the Foo Fighters trading off on support duties. [MORE...]

Revealed: White Stripes on "The Simpsons"

MTV.com has uncovered an image of the White Stripes on the September 17 episode of "The Simpsons". As you can see, the animators chose to depict mustachioed, late-period Jack, rather than early, baby fat Jack. But he's still pretty cute.

Bloc Party Tour With Panic! at the Disco

First there was that Fort Minor remix, and now comes a tour with a bunch of nü-emo stars. In semi-baffling news, Bloc Party will be opening for verbose song-titlers Panic! at the Disco on their fall tour.

Sure, it seems weird, but the beginning of "So Here We Are" does kind of sound like the Juliana Theory. The dates are listed after the jump, all of them with Panic! at the Disco and Something Corporate offshoot Jack's Mannequin. It is sure to be horn-rimmed heaven. [MORE...]

Shins Reveal Album, Song Titles

The Shins might've pushed their album back until January, but they recently revealed some details to Billboard.com. In a move uncomfortably reminiscent of Chumbawamba's "Tubthumping", the Shins have titled their upcoming Sub Pop release Wincing the Night Away. Yeah...probably from getting knocked down over and over again.

Save some backing vocals, Wincing is completely finished and ready for mixing in Portland, Billboard reports. The album will likely feature ten full songs and an intro track, including "Phantom Limb" ("a hypothetical, fictional account of a young, lesbian couple in high school dealing with the shitty small town they live in," frontman James Mercer told Billboard), "Red Rabbits" ("a strange psychedelic piano number with this really tweaked out sound"), "Sea Legs", "Spelling Lessons", "Spilled Needles", and "A Comet Appears".

Wincing the Night Away is the Shins' final album under contract to Sub Pop, and the band is well aware. "We really like the more creative sort of ways people have been putting out their records lately," Mercer said. "People are owning their own masters and having distribution deals. That's real attractive. It's an expensive business. It's probably more expensive for the artists than anyone else." Uh oh-- trouble in paradise?

The Shins have a few dates lined up for next month, though they plan to hold off on any sort of mega-tour until the album's release in 2007. [MORE...]

Video: Lily Allen: "LDN" [Version 2]

Or: "Lily and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Aura", in which our heroine bounds about town emanating magical, life-altering good vibes...or is she trapped in her own colorful cloud of delusion? You'll see. The piece opens with a snicker-worthy skit at a Rough Trade spoof called "Tough Grade", and soon finds Lily-- riding a high reminiscent of Mike Skinner's in the opening verses of the Streets' "It's Too Late"-- skipping to and fro in a red frock and sneakers, transforming pigeons into groovin' parrots and cigarette butts into candy. Still, that candy's, like, been on the ground, dude.

Badly Drawn Boy Gets Born, Tours

Damon Gough, aka Badly Drawn Boy, recently laid down the finishing touches on his new LP, titled Born in the UK. (Correct us if we're wrong, but it sounds like there's a syllable missing there?) The 12-track project follows up 2004's One Plus One Is One and is slated to hit stores October 17 courtesy of Astralwerks (October 16 via EMI in the UK).

One Plus One guest musicians and BDB touring band members Sean McCann and Alex Thomas, as well as vocalist Claire Hewitt, also made contributions to Born.

The disc's first single, "Nothing's Going to Change Your Mind", will be made available on October 2-- although several privately pressed, handmade "'Fish ‘N Chip' style" (quote BDB's website) one-sided seven-inches have already been released to select outlets in three different colors. Each of these exclusive singles will be packaged in a foldout Badly Drawn Boy "newspaper" including a Badly Drawn Boy wooden chip fork.

In addition, any remaining fans can spin the album's title track on Badly Drawn Boy's official website (and we mean "spin" literally here, not just in the crazy rock journalism sense). The page's fancy-ass flash player will feature exclusive custom-built EPs, new tracks, unreleased demos, instrumental numbers, and other cuts from the BDB archive, and will be updated once a month.

And of course, in support of the album's release, Badly Drawn Boy will be embarking on a handful of gigs in both the UK and North America. [MORE...]

Anthology Brings Crate-Digging into the Digital Age

When your parents were your age, they didn't have those new-fangled mp3s. They had to walk to record stores with their own two feet, carrying piggybanks full of quarters earned from diligently mowing lawns all summer...in 80 degree heat! (And, on some days...90 degree heat!!) That's how they got hold of their music.

Well kids, your parents are living in the past. Sure, piggybanks and record shops still abound (and we duly encourage patronage of the latter), but with the iPod, the music-streaming cell phone, and artists unloading exclusive digital releases by the gigaload, there are some pretty spiffy options these days for obtaining music. And now, enter Anthology Recordings, who seek to expand those options by becoming "the first all digital reissue label" (according to a press release), offering rare and out-of-print recordings, all as mp3s.

The label launches October 5 through the Anthology website and will feature full albums, single tracks, and original album artwork available for download. Individual songs will go for 98 cents an mp3, and though Anthology will be the main resource, select titles will also be available via iTunes, eMusic, Rhapsody, and other digital retailers.

The label emerged when founder Keith Abrahamsson (who also works for New York's Kemado Records) noticed that amid increasing demand for digital music, obscure titles were in short supply at popular retail outlets. Thus, Anthology will function both as a regular reissue label and an outlet for less-mainstream music. The first set of releases will be available upon the service's launch, including Swedish psych band Pärson Sound, New York City post-punk group China Shop, On-U Sound dub artists African Head Charge, Minneapolis punk outfit Suicide Commandos, Jersey hard rockers Sainte Anthony's Fyre, Walter Schreifels' post-hardcore project Moondog, and German psych/kraut rockers My Solid Ground.

According to the label, Anthology "is not intended to be the antidote to crate digging, but a resource for music fanatics who would otherwise not hear these rare titles." Plus, the music is supposed to be more affordable for both the label and the consumer. You know, so you don't have to mow as many lawns as your parents did.

Harvey Family Murderer Gets Death Penalty

Closing another chapter in a horrific saga, jurors this week recommended the death penalty for 29-year-old Ricky Javon Gray, the first of two men believed responsible for the gruesome murders of Bryan Harvey (49), his wife Kathryn Harvey (39), and their daughters, nine-year-old Stella and four-year-old Ruby. The report comes from the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and also states that Gray will be officially sentenced on October 23.

As previously reported, the Harveys were found murdered in their Richmond, Virginia home on New Year's Day of this year. Gray and alleged accomplice Ray Joseph Dandridge (who will stand trial September 18) bound and gagged the family, slit their throats, and set fire to the bodies before making off with two laptops and Bryan's wedding ring.

The two men are also charged with robbing and murdering another Richmond-area family-- husband and wife Percyell Tucker (55) and Mary Baskerville Tucker (47), and Mary's daughter Ashley Baskerville (21)-- on January 6, mere days after the Harvey tragedy.

Bryan Harvey was known as the singer/guitarist for noted rock duo House of Freaks and as a member of college rock supergroup Gutterball. A passionate musician, he had been performing as part of the band NRG Krysys at the time of his death. His wife co-ran a local toy store, World of Mirth.

In memory of the slain Harveys, friends have established the Bryan and Kathryn Harvey Family Memorial Endowment, which aims to "provide music, visual art and performing arts enrichment in the Richmond area." Learn how you can contribute by visiting the endowment's website.

Beck, Basement Jaxx, QOTSA Head Detour Music Fest
Blackalicious, Of Montreal, Peeping Tom, Elected also onboard

Lucky Los Angeles! Yesterday, Arthur Nights, and today, the first annual LA Weekly Detour Music Festival has been announced. The day-long event, brought together by the LA Weekly (clearly) and Goldenvoice (creator of Coachella), is scheduled for October 7 in downtown Los Angeles at Main and 1st Streets. Beck, Basement Jaxx, Peeping Tom, Queens of the Stone Age, Blackalicious, Of Montreal, the Elected, Oh No! Oh My!, VHS or Beta, and more will perform.

A portion of ticket proceeds will benefit TreePeople, not the old Doug Martsch band but a nonprofit organization whose goal it is to train communities to plant trees, educate people about the environment, and work with government agencies on water issues. [MORE...]

Stream: David Banner: "Saints Row"

Of all the video game exclusives we've heard, this David Banner song must be the best. It has all of the blatant game content you'd expect from a track named after the game it's featured in: looting, shooting and a Katrina-inspired rant against George Bush. Actually, that last one might not be a part of the game, but it's a nice gesture and actually kind of sweet.

The rest of "Saints Row" is pretty hilarious. It sounds like Outkast on meth, riding a distorted guitar riff (complete with Van Halen-style solo) and a stuttering bass drum that sounds suspiciously like the beginning of the White Stripes' "Blue Orchid". But the best part? The arbitrary invitation to, "Go on, get yo' cousin/ Bring yo' ass to Saints Row." Why thank you, Mr. Banner. I think I will.

Thurston Moore Helps Resurrect Peter Walker
Jack Rose, Greg Davis, more show support

Renowned guitarist Peter Walker (note: not this Peter Walker) will, on November 7, release his first new recordings in 37 years. Yeah, take that, Mission of Burma.

This man recorded for Vanguard Records in the Sixties. He studied with Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan, worked with jazz flutist Jeremy Steig and guitarist Bruce Langhorne, and excels at both Indian instrumentation and flamenco guitar. Heck, he had what qualifies as the coolest job to ever exist (other than the salaried masterminds behind the iTunes visualization feature), creating music specifically for Dr. Timothy Leary's LSD experiments.

Now, Walker has recorded four new tracks, set for release on A Raga for Peter Walker, a semi-tribute album due via Tompkins Square on November 7.

In addition to Walker's contributions, the disc features previously unreleased compositions by Thurston Moore, Steffen Basho-Junghans, James Blackshaw, Greg Davis, Shawn David McMillen, and Jack Rose-- all artists who were influenced by Walker and wanted to show their appreciation. [MORE...]

Kevin Shields Teams With Patti Smith

Super auteur Kevin Shields will appear live with Patti Smith during two shows at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall on September 11 and 12. The performances are billed as "The Coral Sea Sessions" because they take their inspiration from The Coral Sea, Smith's 1996 book tribute to artist Robert Mapplethorpe.

This isn't the first time the pair have teamed up. At last year's Smith-curated Meltdown Festival, Smith and Shields, along with Cat Power, performed as the Coral Sea, also at Queen Elizabeth Hall.

According to NME.com, the shows "will be divided up into two parts. The first half will be a combination of new songs, spoken word pieces and overdubs from Smith plus other musicians. She will preview songs from her forthcoming album of covers, plus a new political piece dedicated to the children of Lebanon. Shields will act as musical director in the second half."

Ooh, spoken word! Maybe that's the direction for the follow-up to Loveless.

The mention of a "political piece" seems to be a reference to "Qana", the song Patti Smith has posted to her website (along with lyrics) for download, which, of course, we have been kind enough to link to below.

Smith will also appear on September 8 at the Tate Modern Gallery in London in "a unique evening of poetry and song" also dedicated to Mapplethorpe.

As previously reported, new music from Shields will appear on the soundtrack to Sofia Coppola's forthcoming film Marie Antoinette.

Sufjan Stevens, David Byrne Duet at NYC Benefit

So often when you give money to a good cause, you're told you'll be paid in karma, good will, or the favor of the Lord. But karma's a myth, good will doesn't come with a receipt, and it's grace-- not deed-- that will get you into heaven. However, at last night's Revenge of the Book Eaters benefit for 826 NYC, charity gave back in record time, as Sufjan Stevens and David Byrne played just one song together as the evening's finale.

Between short performances by Stevens and Byrne, host John Hodgman (an editor for the New York Times Magazine, and, more famously, the PC guy from the Apple Commercials) promised the Beacon Theatre audience of 3,500 that the two would close out the show with a duet if an additional $5,000 dollars in donations could be raised during the event. People dug deep, and after Byrne finished his set, it was announced that they had actually raised just under $15,000.

Byrne performed country versions of his own solo and Talking Heads songs, then invited Sufjan back to the stage, introducing the following song as being "about Michigan, but not written by Sufjan Stevens." Stevens shyly returned with a lyrics sheet and banjo, and together the duo sang a cover of Lefty Frizzell's "Saginaw, Michigan", Stevens fumbling a couple words of the verse while he and Byrne shared the chorus (and a couple hundred people took out the cameras they had snuck in). Instant karma! Except, now that I think about it, for $15k, Byrne and Stevens really owed us three songs. I'm waiting!

Sufjan Stevens & David Byrne: "Saginaw, Michigan"
[Lefty Frizzell cover; live at Beacon Theatre, NYC] | [Video via Stereogum]

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.)