Twilight Singers Tour With Mark Lanegan

A couple weeks ago, Greg Dulli dropped the big Afghan Whigs reunion bomb, but it doesn't look like he plans on quitting his day job in the Twilight Singers any time soon. In late October, the band will hit the road for their second American tour of the year, with Screaming Trees/Queens of the Stone Age/Isobel Campbell dude Mark Lanegan on board as an official band member. Much gravelly-voiced singing about drinking and screwing shall ensue.

Stars of Track and Field and Jeff Klein will support all dates except Brooklyn, at which Twilight Singers collaborator Steve Myers' band Mighty Fine will take Klein's place. [MORE...]

Video: Bonnie "Prince" Billy Commercial 4
Another one?!?

Holy mother of bongs, kids! If you thought three installments of Will Oldham stalking Neil Hamburger were tripped-out, wait until you see this. Guest director Neil Michael Hagerty (the Howling Hex, etc.) trash-compacts cartoons, claymation, crayon drawings, butterflies, televisions, raspy narration, and Oldham dancing in slow-motion into a impenetrable mindfuck of a 29-second commercial. Play it loud and be sure to watch the whole thing...

Tim Buckley Best Of Due

On October 3, Rhino Records will pay tribute to the short but legendary career of singer/songwriter/producer/Jeff-dad Tim Buckley with the release of The Best of Tim Buckley, a single-disc collection of 18 remastered tracks.

Although he passed away in 1975 at age 28, Buckley produced an impressive range of work, including nine genre-traversing studio albums. The Best of Tim Buckley reflects his evolution from early folk and psych songwriter to later jazz and soul improviser. The collection contains a rare track, "Sing a Song For You", from Rhino's limited-edition release Works in Progress, as well as "Goodbye and Hello", the eight-minute title track from his sophomore album, and covers of Tom Waits' "Martha" and Fred Neil's "Dolphins." [MORE...]

Pitchfork Seeks Senior Account Manager

Pitchfork Media's Chicago headquarters is looking for a Senior Account Manager to generate advertising and develop new business. The position is full-time and requires 2-4 years of sales experience (online preferred).

Since the work environment is decidedly non-corporate (like, we listen to music all day, and sometimes Scott gets crabby, but whatever), the ideal candidate should be disciplined and self-motivated. He/she must also possess a strong understanding of what Pitchfork is and does (i.e., we are not "into" agriculture). [MORE...]

Beach House Release Debut, Tour

Baltimore's Beach House will release their self-titled debut via Carpark Records on October 3, and if you couldn't tell from our recent track review and Infinite Mixtape entry, we like them a lot. We don't know of any actual beach houses in Baltimore, though. Or at least not any beach houses we'd necessarily want to visit.

The duo will hit the road in October on a tour with a fellow ocean-obsessed duo, New Zealand's Over the Atlantic, whose debut, Junica, comes out today, also on Carpark. Unfortunately, the dates are all bound to the North American continent, so international fans will have to wait to see them until one of the bands actually crosses over the Atlantic. Ba dum dum.
[MORE...]

Video: Field Music: "In Context"

Field Music's second full-length, the previously reported Tones of Town, comes out January 22 on Memphis Industries, but for those who just can't wait, the band is releasing non-album single "In Context" on October 9. This is the song's video, and it's pretty great.

Its simplicity is its strong point, with director Dan Lowe spending most of his time focusing entirely on a man's hand scribbling with a Sharpie. Thing is, it's actually fun and kind of hypnotic, so much so that we barely had time to notice the man's watch tan. Make sure to watch to the end for the reveal.

Various Declare The World Is Gone
Least helpful band name since The Music

Usually, when a new group's music is referred to as sounding like Massive Attack or Portishead, it means we're in for shitty downtempo tracks to play in upscale boutiques. Rarely is anyone able to capture the fear in "Safe From Harm" or "Wandering Star", that sense that something very, very dangerous is lurking just around the corner.

Various do. A shady British production duo known only by their first names (Adam and Ian), Various drew the attention of beats connoisseurs via a serious of mysterious, genre-hopping singles that skipped from dub to mashups to broken folk, yet all maintained that singular sense of dread. Their debut full-length, The World Is Gone, came out on XL in the UK in July; it will be released in America on triple vinyl on September 26 and on October 24 on CD. The single for "Hater", backed by the non-album track "Biker Walk", will also come out on Tuesday.

This is some seriously cool, creepy stuff. [MORE...]

Superchunk, Clem Snide Rock for "Daily Show"
So do the Upper Crust, Jon Stewart, and "Daily Show" correspondents, writers

Those Book Eaters sure gave fellow 826NYC donors a run for their money with their David Byrne/Sufjan Stevens/Ben Gibbard/Dave Eggers/more-supported tour (which concludes at Ann Arbor on October 29).

Now, "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" will try and take some charity-profiting revenge with a benefit all its own-- "TEN F#@KING YEARS (THE CONCERT)"-- in celebration of the program's ten year anniversary. Of course, proceeds will be sent the way of the aforementioned tutoring workshop.

The event, set to take place at the Big Apple's Irving Plaza on November 16, will feature "Daily Show" correspondents and writers, as well as musical guests Clem Snide, Superchunk, the Upper Crust, and a surprise special guest. Stewart himself will appear on tape, alas, not live.

Lady Sovereign Covers Sex Pistols for "The O.C."
Seth Cohen declares "Ch-Ching" way better than her new stuff

Grime comes to Newport Beach this fall, as Lady Sovereign is slated to contribute a cover of the Sex Pistols' "Pretty Vacant" to the next soundtrack album from "The O.C.". The song, as well as Sov's latest single, "Love Me or Hate Me", will also be featured in an episode. An episode in which Ryan discovers mp3 blogs...kidding!

In the meantime, the release date for Sov's debut album Public Warning has been moved back from October 17 to October 31. She kicks off a North American tour on October 23. [MORE...]

Jeff Mangum Guests on New Apples in Stereo LP
Elijah Wood has a record label?!

Rejoice! For the Frodo has finally joined the Elephant 6 Collective. Sort of.

Elijah Wood has signed the first act to his newly formed Simian Records -- the Apples in Stereo. And Robert Schneider & co. have a new album due, New Magnetic Wonder, their first in five years. AND Jeff Mangum's on it!

The dual-sided CD is slated for record store shelves on February 7, 2007 via Simian/Elephant 6/Yep Roc. It holds 14 songs and, says a press release, 12 "link tracks". In addition to Mangum, guest contributors include Per Ole Bratset, Bill Doss, John Ferguson, John Fernandes, Pete Fitzpatrick, Bryce Goggin (who also grabs a production credit), Matthew Goodman, W. Cullen Hart, Otto Helmuth, Jeff Holland, Tony Miller, Craig Morris, Adam Sachs, Zach Shaw, and more.

Mangum plays "drums, cow object, backing vocals, handclaps" (no, we don't know what a "cow object" is either), while "London audience" contributes "anger due to Apples' overly-loud guitars." Oh you sensitive Brits!

On New Magnetic Wonder, Schneider invented a new musical scale, the "Non-Pythagorean Scale", which can be experienced on an enhanced portion of the multimedia release (it includes digital files for MIDI usage and an in-depth description of the new scale, which, quite frankly, we'll need).

Other developments include the semi-loss of drummer and backup vocalist Hilarie Sidney, who left the Apples in Stereo to focus on her other band, the High Water Marks. She did, however, compose two numbers on the record: "Sunndal Song" and "Sunday Sounds".

A tour is also on its way, though dates have not yet been confirmed. [MORE...]

KF Whitman, Dresden Dolls Play Brainwaves
KT Tunstall, GWAR, Tears for Fears play Totally Made Up Fest

The mighty Brainwashed.com-- one of Pitchfork's fellow alums from the Internet class of 1996-- will this year celebrate its tenth year of online operations. Besides offering streaming audio/video and original editorial content on musical matters over the years, Brainwashed has also made itself super-useful by hosting the websites of numerous indie bands (!!!, Tortoise, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Antony and the Johnsons, etc.) and labels (Kranky, Stormy, Terminal Kaleidoscope, Tigerbeat6, Ba Da Bing!, etc.), as well as the site's own recording label, Brainwashed Recordings.

A successful, decade-long go at this calls for a party, and party they shall-- festival stylee! Hence, the Brainwaves Festival takes up residence at Arlington, Massachusetts' Regent Theatre from November 17-19.

With four "sets" spread over three days, Brainwaves will feature performances by Keith Fullerton Whitman, Stephen Stapleton (as DJ) and Colin Potter of Nurse With Wound, Greg Davis, Edward Ka-Spel and Silverman, Christoph Heemann, Andreas Martin, Volcano the Bear, Windy & Carl, Jessica Bailiff, Landing, and more-- including, oddly enough, the Dresden Dolls. Full lineup ahead.

Brainwashed founder and main-brain Jon Whitney told Pitchfork via email that he's predicted "surprised, unannounced guest appearances" because several unconfirmed performers "don't know if they can commit, or don't know about getting into the country, or don't want to be ambushed by the vicious indie paparazzi" (gulp!). [MORE...]

MP3: Tom Waits: “Bottom of the World”

The origins of the 54 tracks making up Orphans, Tom Waits' upcoming three-disc collection of new and rare material (due November 21 on Anti), will surely be disclosed in the package's lengthy booklet, but until then, we've gotta rely on internet rumors and our own instincts.

Which means, we're hypothesizing that "Bottom of the World," a song culled from the Brawlers third of Orphans, originally debuted in the 2003 hobo documentary, Long Gone.

Lines like "My daddy told me, looking back, the best friend you'll have is a railroad track" and "Well I dined last night with Scarface Ron on Tilapia fishcakes and fried black swan" point to this conclusion, as does the lonesome nature of the song. The near six-minute tune should be more haunting with its dismal chorus ("I'm lost at the bottom of the world"), but Waits carries it with a matter-of-fact attitude and hopeful instrumental that appear to purposely contradict his words.

Photos: Joanna Newsom / Smog [The Parish, Austin, TX, 09/19/06]

Lucky Austinites were treated to a last-minute show from Joanna Newsom and Smog last night at the Parish, after Newsom was able to borrow a harp. She played a mix of tracks from Ys and The Milk-Eyed Mender for the packed crowd, most of which exited after her opening set. Bill Callahan opened with a solo version of "The Well", and was then joined by Newsom on keyboards for a set similar to their last performance in Austin. They played mostly material from the latest Smog album, A River Ain't Too Much to Love, as well as oldies "Cold Blooded Old Times" and "Blood Red Bird".

Check out Joanna's shoes! [MORE...]

Video: Lupe Fiasco ft. Jill Scott: “Daydreamin'”

It may be International Talk Like a Pirate Day, but our(rrrrr) overplayed parrot-toting friends must move aside for at least the next several minutes, because Lupe Fiasco is in with the new, and the new is robots.

The video for "Daydreamin'" (ft. Jill Scott) from Fiasco's debut LP, Food and Liquor (out today on 1st and 15th/Atlantic), takes place at a Lupe-run cushy toy, vinyl, and skate shop called Righteous Kung Fu.

But it's hard to be productive when you have a sneaking suspicion that somebody's watching you, especially if that somebody is a large, cartoonish robot who just might be able to show up yr dancin' skills.

Our only regret is that the robot at no time hops on a skateboard, and trust us-- it has its chance. Arrr!

In other news, MySpace Secret Shows is putting on a show tonight featuring Fiasco and guest DJs Tone B. Nimble, 5^th Element, and Gemini tonight at Chicago's Metro. A selected number of guaranteed admission wristbands are available for pickup at Tower Records on Clark, but if you can't get over there during the work day (not all bosses are as understanding as Pitchfork bosses), wait in line tonight for some first come, first serve goodness.

Video: The Pipettes: “Judy”

Just in time for the release of Civil War #4, the Pipettes have come out with their own comic-themed video for "Judy". The video fleshes out the song's alpha female to be a man-using criminal with a penchant for thought bubbles, and the Pipettes themselves sport big red dresses and new haircuts.

Photos: Sufjan Stevens [Paramount Theater; Austin, TX; 09/16/06]

From cub scouts to swan-angels to cheerleaders to...butterflies? Sufjan Steven's most ambitious tour to date set up shop at Austin, Texas' Paramount Theater this weekend for the second of two packed shows. While Stevens donned wings of a different sort, his sizable backing ensemble sported adorable, matching butterfly wings for the duration of the main set.

Sufjan dubbed his band the "Chinese Butterfly Brigade" (the wings symbolize "transcendence and elevation," see), and together they fluttered through tunes from Michigan, Illinois, Seven Swans, and this year's The Avalanche-- even "Dear Mr Supercomputer". Stevens and Co. also treated Sufjanatics to a promising, string-laden brand new tune titled "Majesty Snowbird". Lighter on the marching band and community choir vibes of much of Sufjan's repertoire, it hinted at a slightly more mature treatment future U.S. states might be getting.

For the encore, Sufjan shed the wings, appearing in a sleeveless black t-shirt to perform a fine rendition of crowd-pleaser "Chicago". My Brightest Diamond, featuring Butterfly Brigadier Shara Worden, opened. The Sufjan/Diamond butterfly tour continues through next month; dates and more photos ahead. [MORE...]

Final Fantasy Wins Polaris Music Prize

Shockingly, an album called He Poos Clouds has won something other than a Worst Title Ever award. Final Fantasy's second album won the prestigious Polaris Music Prize last night (the Polaris being Canada's equivalent of the Mercury Music Prize). Final Fantasy, aka Arcade Fire sideman/master string arranger Owen Pallett, walked away with $20,000 and a sense of pride in being deemed better than Broken Social Scene, Wolf Parade, and the New Pornographers, among others.

According to a press release, Pallett had this reaction upon being awarded the Prize: "Confused! But happy and appreciative. Not in a million years. Along with Malajube and Cadence Weapon, I'm one of the few bands with no money behind me, so I'm going to try to put it to good use."

The Polaris Music Prize winner was determined by an 11-member "Gala Jury", part of the over 100 journalists and broadcasters who originally submitted their votes for the best Canadian album released between June 1, 2005 and May 31, 2006. (Full disclosure: Pitchfork's own Mark Pytlik was one of those journalists.) According to jury moderator Liisa Ladouceur, He Poos Clouds was picked because it is "a record that took us on a journey that was exceptional from start to finish."

Here are the albums it beat:

Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene
Cadence Weapon - Breaking Kayfabe
The Deadly Snakes - Porcella
Sarah Harmer - I'm a Mountain
K'naan - The Dusty Foot Philosopher
Malajube - Trompe L'Oeil
Metric - Live It Out
The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary

Congratulations, Owen!

Adem's Love Hits U.S., Tours With Juana Molina

Not to be confused with arch-Google-rival the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, singer/songwriter/Fridge-dude Adem makes fanciful folk pop songs about love, outer space, and more love. His latest, the appropriately titled Love and Other Planets, crash-landed in the UK back in April, when we could actually count Pluto among those other planets. Love arrives on Pluto-bereft American shelves at last on September 26, courtesy of the cool cadets at Domino Records U.S.

The 12-track affair features tunes co-mixed by Adem's Fridge compatriot, Kieran Hebden (aka Four Tet). Adem will celebrate its release by seeking love on this planet next month, launching a 14-date tour with Juana Molina on October 8. Bring a few extra bucks to these gigs, as Adem will be hawking copies of an exclusive tour CD featuring the video for Love's "Launch Yourself", along with remixes by Four Tet, Hot Chip, and others. It'll be, um, out of this world. No doubt about it.

Fridge, meanwhile, have completed their latest LP, to see release sometime during the cold months of early next year. [MORE...]

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.)