Video: Katherine McPhee vs. the Afghan Whigs

There's a helluva lot of WTF floating around YouTube, but man oh man, if you ever needed evidence that the world is a sick and twisted place, watch this surreal video. What kind of warped mind decides that footage of a wholesome, dewy-eyed "American Idol" runner-up should be soundtracked by Greg Dulli leering, "Come on little rabbit/ Show me where you got it/ 'Cause I know you got a habit"? (What kind of warped mind makes a Katherine McPhee montage in the first place?)

Pitchfork Seeks Business Intern

According to the Chicago Police Department, last month alone several incidents of kidnapping, prostitution, and arson took place within walking distance of Pitchfork World Headquarters.

If you haven't stopped reading by now, you're ballsy, one of the many desired qualities we look for in our internship candidates.

Business intern responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following: Assisting our sales team with client contact and research, working on things that we think are important, helping with accounts receivable and payable, managing promotional materials, executing promotions, and providing overall help to streamline our business operations. All candidates must be excellent at almost everything. We need to make sure you'll be able to handle an office as unbelievably intense as ours.

We prefer candidates who are able to obtain college credit for the internship, but this is not mandatory. If you're interested, please email us a cover letter and résumé. Also include your hours of availability and a potential start date. Deadline is Monday, August 21 at 3 p.m. CST.

Stephen Malkmus Gets Remixed
Teaching the indie kids to dance again

We bet he looks good on the dancefloor, but does Stephen Malkmus sound good on the dancefloor? We'll find out August 28, when Domino UK releases the Kindling for the Master remix EP, featuring four club-ready takes on the title track. "Kindling", from last year's Face the Truth, gets tweaked by Hot Chip, Canadian experimentalist Polmo Polpo, Emperor Machine (aka Andy Meecham of Chicken Lips), and Norwegian space disco king Prins Thomas under his Major Swellings alias. [MORE...]

MP3: Stephen Malkmus: Baby C'mon

Hot Chip Schedule Fall Tour

Last month, Hot Chip invited their MySpace friends to a Greco Roman wrestling party. Now, they've fast-forwarded through time to request your presence at a slew of modern-day-themed dance extravaganzas across Europe and North America. Togas and singlets may be inappropriate for the occasion, but spandex can be just as festive. %FULL ARTICLE%

Dates:

08-25 Leeds, England - Leeds Festival
08-26 London, England - TDK Festival
08-27 Reading, England - Reading Festival
09-02 Glasgow, Scotland - Indian Summer Festival
09-03 Stradbally, Ireland - Electric Picnic
09-10 Isle of Wight, England - Bestival
09-12 Cologne, Germany - Prime Club
09-13 Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Paradiso
09-15 Copenhagen, Denmark - Little Vega
09-17 Stockholm, Sweden - Kagelbanan
09-19 Berlin, Germany - Lido
09-20 Hamburg, Germany - Uebel Gefaehrlich
09-21 Mannheim, Germany - Alter Feuerwach
09-22 Munich, Germany - Atomic Café
09-23 Milan, Italy - Rainbow
09-26 Barcelona, Spain - Bikini
09-27 Lyon, France - Nincasi
09-28 Tulle, France - Festival
09-29 Paris, France - Maroquinerie
09-30 Strasbourg, France - Osophere Festival
10-01 Brussels, Belgium - Botanique Festival
10-02 Dublin, Ireland - Ambassador
10-08 Bournemouth, England - Old Firestation
10-09 Bristol, England - Anson Rooms
10-10 Birmingham, England - Irish Centre
10-11 London, England - Astoria
10-12 Norwich, England - Waterfront
10-13 Nottingham, England - Rescue Rooms
10-14 Manchester, England - Academy 2
10-16 Glasgow, Scotland - Arches
10-17 Aberdeen, Scotland - Moshulu
10-19 Leeds, England - Metropolitan University
10-20 Newcastle, England - Northumbria University
10-21 Sheffield, England - Leadmill
11-01 Baltimore, MD - Sonar
11-02 New York, NY - Webster Hall
11-03 Philadelphia, PA - Pure *
11-04 Boston, MA - Paradise
11-05 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rossa
11-06 Toronto, Ontario - Mod Club
11-07 Cleveland Heights, OH - Grog Shop
11-08 Columbus, OH - Wexner Center #
11-10 Chicago, IL - Metro
11-11 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue ^
11-14 Seattle, WA - Neumos
11-15 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
11-17 San Francisco, CA - Mezzanine
11-18 Los Angeles, CA - Ex_Plx
11-19 San Diego, CA - Casbah

* with Justice, the Klaxons
# with Mouse on Mars, Birdy Nam Nam
^ with Jamie Lidell

Stream: Hot Chip: The Warning

Holopaw's Beachwolf Recovering From Beating

Last Sunday, August 13, Holopaw's Ryan "Beachwolf" Gensemer was badly and randomly beaten on a Chicago street corner. According to an email from the band, Gensemer's jaw is broken in three places, and he has a concussion and some kidney damage.

Clearly, the experience would be seriously traumatic for anyone, but because Gensemer is a poor musician without healthcare, his situation is extra-specially traumatic. If you want to send money or well-wishes, please contact helpbeachwolf@gmail.com.

"We are not in the business of begging," said the email, "but this circumstance calls for any effort we can think of."

Video: Holopaw: Curious

Herbert Kicks off Tour

Starting Sunday night right here in Chicago, Matthew Herbert will bring the magic that is Scale to our shores. His brief North American trek is just a week long, and made up of half DJ sets and half live performances.

Who knows what toys he'll break out. [MORE...]

Video: Herbert: Moving Like a Train

Arctic Monkeys Invite Fans to Phone In and Sound Off!
Vow to savage any and all Prince-Albert-in-a-can jokers

Got something you'd like to personally say to the Arctic Monkeys? Been dying tell Alex how good he looks on the dancefloor? Share some fabricated stories about the Bay Area? Tell the whole lot to sod off? Well here's your chance. The Arctics have just extended an open phoning invitation to their North American followers via fan community theriotvan.com. It's quite simple, really. Dial the magic number, then enter the second magic number, then enter the third magic number (all detailed below), and finally, leave a "SHORT, CLEAR, and WELL THOUGHT OUT" message for the Monkeys.

Profanity is OK, but not encouraged. Same goes for, ahem, monkey-business. Encouraged, at least on the website: addressing painfully boring topics such as "How did you first hear about the Arctic Monkeys?" Internet users of North America, we know you can do better than that.

So then what? Well, the Arctics will post their three favorite messages on theriotvan.com and hit their creators with prize packs. And then, who knows, maybe your voice will pop up on the follow-up to Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. Maybe the last track on that one will consist of a saccharine outpouring of answering machine fan-love. Maybe I'm totally talking about the new Christina Aguilera album, whoops!

Call quick-- the deadline is Monday, August 21-- and be warned: that's not a toll-free number. [MORE...]

Video: Arctic Monkeys: Leave Before the Lights Come On

Cardigans Talk U.S. Release of Gravity

No one-hit lovefools, enduring Swedish pop rockers the Cardigans are poised to finally release their sixth long-player in the U.S. Nettwerk will issue the 11-track affair, titled Super Extra Gravity, on September 19-- although the most devout Cards fans have been rocking the European import for nearly a year now.

Pitchfork caught up with charming chief Cardigan Nina Persson to discuss the release's delay, her film debut, a cancelled U.S. tour, Japanese audiences, and yes, "Lovefool". [MORE...]

Video: The Cardigans: I Need Some Fine Wine and You, You Need to Be Nicer

Damon Albarn's New Band Gets Name, First Gig

Replacements' Westerberg, Stinson Unite for Cartoon
No, not Aqua Teen Drunk Force

A grizzly bear, Boog (voice of Martin Lawrence), makes friends with a mule-deer, Elliot (Ashton Kutcher), in the forthcoming animated film Open Season, set to hit theaters September 29. But that's not the only friendship between wild animals involved with the film, as former Replacements bandmates Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson have also rekindled their bond for its music. Following March's Replacements best-of reunion, Westerberg and Stinson have joined together for two songs on the Open Season soundtrack, due September 26 via Lost Highway.

The disc includes ten Westerberg originals (he and Ramin Djawadi scored the film), two of which ("Love You in the Fall" and "Right to Arm Bears") feature Stinson on bass. Pete Yorn and Deathray each perform a Westerberg track as well, titled "I Belong (Reprise)" and "Wild As I Wanna Be", respectively.

The soundtrack is also home to Deathray's "I Wanna Lose Control (Uh Oh)" and the Takling Heads' "Wild Wild Life". [MORE...]

MP3: Paul Westerberg: Dirty Diesel

Supersystem Tour Behind Sophomore LP
Peddle drugs behind sophomore dormitories

Hate to say it, but those dance moves you've been pulling lately are a bit out of fashion. Thankfully, Supersystem will soon show you how to do it right, both in living rooms and local venues across the nation.

The NY/DC dance-punks (once known as Dischord's El Guapo and not very danceable) will hit us with a new LP, A Million Microphones, on August 22 in the U.S. (September 11 in Europe), courtesy of Touch and Go. The quartet recorded this 11-song set-- the follow-up to their 2005 debut Always Never Again-- with engineer Jonathan Kreinik (Trans Am, the Make Up, Out Hud, !!!) at Brooklyn's Headgear Studio.

Supersystem have a massive fall trek on the agenda, including a stop at Touch and Go's uber-awesome 25th Anniversary Celebration, where you can learn new dance moves from not only those dudes, but also Big Black (albeit for only a few songs), Scratch Acid, Shellac, Ted Leo, Calexico, the Black Heart Procession, CocoRosie, and so many more. It's goin' down September 8-10 at Chicago's Hideout. [MORE...]

MP3: Supersystem: White Light/White Light
Video: Supersystem: White Light/White Light

Exclusive Premiere: Hold Steady: "Chips Ahoy!" MP3

Far as we can tell, this sucker hasn't even leaked its way into internet realms yet (not that we'd ever partake of illicit, sinful, morally depraved downloading if it did-- PLEASE!), so it is with double the generosity that the kind folks at Vagrant Records today allow Pitchfork to share with you, kind readers, the exclusive world premiere of Boys and Girls' rollicking first single.

"Chips Ahoy!" finds Craig Finn and company spinning a fine yarn about a perplexing, clairvoyant gal who throws narrator Finn for a loop: "I love this girl, but I can't tell when she's having a good time." Don't sweat it, Craig-- millions of fist-pumping, air-guitaring boys and girls across America are now.

MP3: The Hold Steady: Chips Ahoy!

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