The Cure to Release 13th Album in June, Announce Street Date for First Set of Expanded Reissues
Chris Ott confides he "has to turn away to keep from bursting"

The Cure have revealed plans to release their forthcoming 13th full-length on June 22nd, according to a report from Billboard. Though details are still a bit sketchy, the album, which is yet to be titled, is apparently being produced by Korn and At the Drive-In producer Russ Robinson. The record will be issued on Robinson's fledgling I Am Recordings label, which, weirdly, will make The Cure official labelmates of The Blood Brothers, Glassjaw, and September.

Though fans are concerned that Robinson's harder-edged style could detract from or overdigitze the band's trademark atmospherics, The Cure's decision to hire Robinson marks a step up from their previous two albums, which were produced by longtime engineers Paul Corkett (Bloodflowers and Steve Lyon (Wild Mood Swings)-- neither of which had much experience under their belt as full-fledged producers: Corkett had previously only produced for Suede and Placebo, while Lyon had only one production credit, for The Creatures.

The Cure are scheduled to promote the new release a week from today on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and have also announced a handful of live dates-- including a headlining performance on the second night of the Coachella Festival on May 2nd. The group will then hit Washington, DC's RFK Stadium on May 22nd, alongside Jay-Z, Modest Mouse and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and will also be making the rounds on the European festival circuit this summer. Additionally, an extensive North American tour is reportedly planned to kick off in late July, though dates have not yet been revealed. Dates, as they stand currently:

04-30 Los Angeles, CA - The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
05-02 Indio, CA - Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival
05-22 Washington, DC - RFK Stadium
06-26 Hamburg, Germany - Hurricane Festival
06-27 Stuttgart, Germany - Southside Festival
07-09 Manchester, England - Move Festival
07-10 Naas, Ireland - Oxegen Festival

In related Cure news, the band are apparently about the become the latest beneficiaries of Rhino Records' apparent campaign to offer expanded reissues of the complete discographies of every band that ever found a home in the Warner/Elektra/Atlantic stable. Four of The Cure's early albums are being eyed for an August 17th re-release-- including their 1979 debut, Three Imaginary Boys, 1980's Seventeen Seconds, 1981's Faith, and 1982's Pornography-- with the remaining albums to follow, Costello-style, over the next 18 months. Tracklists, however, have yet to be announced.

Those of you wondering if there'll be anything left over for the bonus discs of The Cure's forthcoming expanded reissues after the recent release of the four-disc rarities/b-sides box set, Join the Dots, can rest assured: The Cure vaults contain more than 4,000 tapes of scrapped recorded output spanning the band's entire 25-year history.

The Cure: http://www.thecure.com

Merge Celebrates 15th with 3xCD Comp, Concert
In stark contrast to Mac McCaughan's 40th, spent weeping in the dark over Blue Bunny ice cream, Home Improvement reruns

It's a forgivable offense to occasionally confuse Merge Records with Matador Records-- after all, they start with the same letter, they've worked with some of the same artists, they're both on the Eastern seaboard, and yes, they've both been around for 15 years. It's almost eerie, really. A scant two weeks on the heels of Matador's announcement of their 15-year bonanza (translation: a compilation, a concert), Merge have announced their own 15-year bonanza (comp, concert). However, Merge's strategic marketing divisions seems to have one up on Matador, as their details are already nailed down.

First up, on July 13th, will be a three-disc compilation of Merge artists past and present, entitled Old Enough to Know Better. Fans will note that Merge's ten-year celebration only rated one disc, so they're upping the ante this time, with two discs of previously released material, and one of rare and hard-to-find non-album tracks (a la Matador's ten-year Everything Is Nice comp).

It couldn't have been a simple task to weed through 15 years of records and pare it all down to just two discs, and for the most part Merge has done a fine job, but the all-inclusiveness does have a downside-- there's a fucking Music Tapes track. It's nearly at the end of disc two, though, so you can just shut that shit off after The Clean. All proceeds from Old Enough to Know Better-- which, incidentally, will run you a mere $14.98-- will go to the Future of Music Coalition, which is, for the record, a fine destination for your money. The goodies:

Disc 1:
01 Neutral Milk Hotel: "Song Against Sex"
02 Superchunk: "Cool"
03 Butterglory: "She's Got The Akshun!"
04 3D's: "Beautiful Things"
05 East River Pipe: "Shiny Shiny Pimpmobile"
06 The Clientele: "(I Want You) More Than Ever"
07 Guv'ner: "Break A Promise"
08 Lambchop: "Your Fucking Sunny Day"
09 Pram: "Track Of The Cat"
10 Polvo: "ragic Carpet Ride"
11 The Magnetic Fields: "Long Vermont Roads"
12 Portastatic: "Noisy Night"
13 Buzzcocks: "Jerk"
14 Spent: "Excuse Me While I Drink Myself To Death"
15 Rock*A*Teens: "Hwy R"
16 Ganger: "Cats Dogs & Babies Jaws"
17 Beatnik Filmstars: "Now I'm A Millionaire"
18 The Ashley Stove: "Dancing Music"
19 Breadwinner: "Exploder"
20 Pipe: "Chula"
21 And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead: "Mistakes & Regrets"

Disc 2:
01 Spoon: "Anything You Want"
02 The Ladybug Transistor: "Oceans In The Hall"
03 M. Ward: "Outta My Head"
04 Versus: "Eskimo"
05 Third Eye Foundation: "In Bristol With A Pistol"
06 Imperial Teen: "Ivanka"
07 Bricks: "A History of Lies"
08 Matt Suggs: "Where's Your Patience Dear?"
09 Annie Hayden: "Slip Is Showing"
10 David Kilgour: "Today Is Gonna Be Mine"
11 Seaweed: "Thru The Window"
12 Erectus Monotone: "Old New"
13 Destroyer: "Modern Painters"
14 Paul Burch: "Isolda"
15 Mad Scene: "Spilled Oranges"
16 The Essex Green: "Late Great Cassiopia"
17 The Karl Hendricks Trio: "Naked And High On Drugs"
18 The Rosebuds: "What Can I Do?"
19 The Clean: "E Motel"
20 The Music Tapes: "An Orchestration's Overture"
21 Spaceheads: "Angel Station"

Disc 3 (new/previously unreleased/hard to find):
01 M. Ward: "One More Goodbye"
02 Angels Of Epistemology: "Fiction Romance"
03 The Radar Brothers: "Painted Forest Fire"
04 Portastatic: "Some Small History"
05 The Ladybug Transistor: "Jersey Streets"
06 Camera Obscura: "San Francisco Song"
07 Shark Quest: "Monsters"
08 East River Pipe: "Chrystal Queen"
09 The Essex Green: "Mendicino"
10 The Clientele: "Where The Universes Are"
11 Richard Buckner: "Dogwood"
12 The Rosebuds: "Happily Ever After"
13 Crooked Fingers: "La Maleta Fea"
14 Spent: "Corvette Summer"
15 Spoon: "Decora"
16 Destroyer: "Streethawk II"
17 Lambchop: "The Gap In My Education (Berman)"
18 Superchunk: "Freaks In Charge"
19 David Kilgour: "On The Outside"

Oh yeah, we said a show, too, right? Well, it's a little more than that. The cream of Merge's crop will play over the course of four nights (historians will note: one more than at the ten-year shindig), three of which will take place at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro. The fourth night of the festival will take place at the Carolina Theatre in Durham, presumably to make a little more room for the many, many musicians who take the stage when Lambchop plays (not to mention the additional string section that will be attending this performance).

We don't have any specific details, but Merge is reportedly also trying to "set up some other periphery events around the shows." Will there be face painting? Water balloon fights? Civil War reenactments? Or just heavy drinking? Only time will tell. Tickets for all shows will go on sale May 1st. Lineups:

07-29 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
Superchunk, M. Ward, The Essex Green, Richard Buckner, The Rosebuds

07-30 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
Crooked Fingers, Camera Obscura, Versus, Radar Bros., Portastatic, Double Dynamite

07-31 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
Spoon, Destroyer, Ladybug Transistor, Matt Suggs, Shark Quest

08-01 Durham, NC - Carolina Theatre
Lambchop, The Clientele, David Kilgour

Merge: http://www.mergerecords.com

Sloan Embark on North American Tour
But are stopped at border for impromptu John Entwistle impression

I'm as much of a sucker for a cheap joke about Canada as the next guy, but whenever I want to feel good about our frosty neighbors to the North, I remember that they've been kind enough to share some kick-ass music with us-- not to mention the fact that they actually play the good stuff on the radio instead of banishing it to the far corners of low-power college broadcasts. The contributions of Canada to the annals of popular music are quite extensive, but this time around, we're talking about Sloan. Yes, it's been nearly two years since the fab foursome have graced us with a major U.S. tour, but they're back, and look out, son, 'cause these shaggy cock-rockers came to smack your ass with an aggressive dose of sunshiny pop.

Sloan are touring in support of their seventh and latest album, Action Pact, which was released in Canada this past August, but until now had only been available as an import. That oversight, however, will be remedied on May 11th, as Koch Distribution (home to such prestigious acts as Chumbawamba, Ringo Starr and Jimmie's Chicken Shack) gives the album a Stateside release. Dates:

04-23 Peterborough, ON - Club Vibe
04-28 London, ON- The Drink
04-29 Kitchener, ON- Element
04-30 Ottawa, ON - Capitol Music Hall
05-01 Montreal, QB - Club Soda
05-05 Bowling Green, OH - Howard's Club
05-07 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
05-08 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
05-09 Philadelphia, PA - T.L.A.
05-11 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
05-13 Washington, DC - Black Cat
05-14 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
05-15 Atlanta, GA - Cotton Club
05-16 Nashville, TN - Exit / In
05-18 Cincinnati, OH - 20th Century
05-19 Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
05-20 Grand Rapids, MI - Intersection
05-21 Buffalo, NY - Infinity
05-22 Chicago, IL - Metro
05-23 Detroit, MI - St. Andrew's Hall

Sloan: http://www.sloanmusic.com
ViK: http://www.vikrecordings.com

An Apology to Jim Guthrie, Who Is Touring Canada
Fuck the rest of y'all pisspigs

To be honest, I didn't think Guthrie had it in him. Hobbling onto the "hey, I'm a solo-artist now" scene in 1999 as some guy from Royal City, his debut, A Thousand Songs, was a jarring combination of muddled eccentricity, experimentalism and, uh, pop-ism. The songs were alright, sure, but his caterwauling folk deconstructions just didn't do it for me. So, writing Guthrie off as one of those failed attempts at finding a stage, a stool and an audience for songs better left in the bedroom, I didn't bother with his 2002 follow-up, Morning Noon Night. But, last year, Jim re-entered my consciousness somethin' serious with Now, More Than Ever. Gone was the electronic parsley. Gone was the Playstation production. And in its place, Guthrie gloriously opted for STRING SECTIONSSSS! And remarkably improved songsmanship. So, I report the following tour dates as an apology to Jim-- manifest in the form of half-assed Pitchfork journalism, of course. But, Canada, you play a part in this apology, too. If you don't mind, on one of the dates below, could you do your old reporter-friend Rob a favor and stop in at your local club to see Jim's set? It'll be good. Maybe it'll have strings. Dates:

04-23 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada - Pyramid Cabaret %
04-24 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada - Louis U Of Sask.%
04-26 Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada - The State %
04-27 Calgary, Alberta, Canada - Carpenters Union Hall %
04-29 Calgary, Alberta, Canada - Liberty Lounge %
04-30 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada - Sidetrack %
05-01 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada - Seedy’s %
05-03 Victoria, British Columbia, Canada - Logan’s %
05-04 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - Brickyards %'
05-05 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - Railway Club *
05-07 Calgary, Alberta, Canada - Weeds *
05-08 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada - The Black Dog *

* with Nathan Lawr
% with The Constantines

Three Gut: http://www.threegutrecords.com

The Decemberists Gear Up to Record Next Album, Premiere Songs on Newly Announced Tour Dates
A tale of 26 cities

I tell you, it's getting so you can't swing a dead cat without hitting The Decemberists! Colin Meloy and his merry band are heading out on their umpteenth swing through these here United States, proving once and for all how much they really like their tour bus (and you!). However, this time around, they do have an ulterior motive-- one that should give you a reason to turn off the TV, hit the club, and see them again: They'll be previewing some of the songs to be featured on their upcoming album.

Pitchfork contacted Meloy and confirmed that The Decemberists are planning to head into the studio this summer to record their third full-length for Kill Rock Stars. If you're keeping count, that'll make three albums and two EPs in the same time that The Cure have released... well, basically nothing.

This latest round of dates is actually the second leg of the "Never Send to Know With Whom the Van Rolls, It Rolls With Thee" tour, and if you think we're kidding, you can head on over to The Decemberists' website and buy a t-shirt to that effect. And several other effects. They'll be supported by The Long Winters and The Places (but not The The) on all dates, except May 19th and June 18th, both of which are festival shows. Insert obligatory list of dates, cities and clubs here:

04-30 Seattle, WA - Crocodile Cafe
05-01 Seattle, WA - Crocodile Cafe
05-27 Portland, OR - Aladdin
05-28 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richards on Richard
05-29 George, WA - Sasquatch Festival
05-31 Salt Lake City, UT - Lo Fi Café <br> 06-01 Denver, CO - Gothic Theater
06-03 Minneapolis, MN - 400 Bar
06-04 Chicago, IL - Metro
06-05 Detroit, MI - Shelter
06-06 Toronto, Ontario - Lees Palace
06-07 Montreal, Quebec - El Salon
06-08 Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's
06-10 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
06-11 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
06-12 Boston, MA - Paradise
06-14 Washington, D.C. - 9:30 Club
06-15 Philadelphia, PA - TLA
06-16 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
06-17 Atlanta, GA - Echo Lounge
06-18 Birmingham, AL - City Stages Festival
06-19 Nashville, TN - Exit/In
06-21 Dallas, TX - Trees
06-22 Austin, TX - The Parish
06-24 Tucson, AZ - Plush
06-25 San Diego, CA - Casbah
06-26 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey
06-27 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
06-28 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall

The Decemberists: http://www.decemberists.com
Kill Rock Stars: http://www.killrockstars.com

More North American Tour Dates for the Pixies
David Lovering to set off baking soda volcano as encore

Operating like the naughty subject of a press secretary's wet dream, the Pixies haven't stopped popping up in music news outlets since launching their new reunion tour. As the tour progresses, the buzz only grows, and the recent leakage of the official bootleg from their recent Minneapolis performance has certainly done nothing to combat the excitement. At this point, the only real negativity heard regarding the tour has been some fans' worries that they won't be able to get tickets. And some fans certainly won't. Consider that most tickets sell out within mere minutes of going on sale, and even the first night of the gargantuan Coachella festival in Indio, California-- the night the Pixies will grace the stage-- have sold out as well. Many may point out that the ticket sales for that night could also be due to the fact that Radiohead, Kraftwerk, and Death Cab for Cutie are also playing, but since that really doesn't jibe with the flow of this story, we'd thank you not to bring it up again.

Luckily, some of those fears have been squashed as the band, keeping with the tradition of letting the news leak in a steady stream, have just announced even more dates for their reunion tour. As information begins to solidify about the massive amounts of people who are just dying to see the band, several cities are seeing second, third, and even fourth dates announced. Rock on, Chicago:

>> Remaining North American dates:
04-22 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom
04-23 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom
04-24 Spokane, WA - Big Easy
04-25 Boise, Idaho - Big Easy
04-27 Eugene, OR - MacDonald Theatre
04-28 Eugene, OR - MacDonald Theatre
04-29 Davis, CA - Freeborn Hall
05-01 Indio, CA - Coachella Festival
09-04 Bend, OR - Les Schwab Amphitheatre
09-06 Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot Festival
09-18 Austin, TX - Austin City Limits
09-24 Berkeley, CA- U.C. Berkeley Greek Theater
09-25 Berkeley, CA- U.C. Berkeley Greek Theater
10-13 Atlanta, GA - Fox Theatre
10-14 Atlanta, GA - Fox Theatre
11-11 Minneapolis, MN - Wilkins Auditorium
11-13 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom
11-14 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom
11-15 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom
11-16 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom
11-24 Toronto, Ontario - Arrow Hall

Pixies: http://www.pixiesmusic.com
4AD: http://www.4ad.com

Jay-Z Mashups Officially Out of Hand: Slack Album
Spiral Stairs, Beanie Sigel plan Pimpin' School of Jiggatry side project

Aww, not again! First came The Grey Album, DJ Danger Mouse's clever mashup of Jay-Z's Black Album rhymes and The Beatles' White Album. But since then, DJ Danger Mouse has inspired other Black Album related mashups, such as the ridiculous Metallicated Black on Black Album and the Weezer sendup, The Black and Blue Album. And it didn't end there...

Next in the series of unending Jay-Z mashups is The Slack Album, created by heretofore unknown (at least by me, and let's be honest, probably you) DJ N-Wee. Here, DJ N-Wee pits The Black Album against Pavement's canonical Slanted and Enchanted. It's darkest before the dawn, folks-- other propositions we've heard include: The Crack Album (Jay-Z vs Rick James), The Jack Album (Jay-Z vs White Stripes), and The Zach Album (Jay-Z vs Saved by the Bell).

The Slack Album is comprised of 14 tracks, about half of which are conventional hip-hop tracks. As N-Wee explains on his website, he's "going for a mix of bizarre lo-fi hip-hop, uneducated art noise, and humor..." Since both the original source albums have 14 songs, the mashups are made "track-for-track," meaning you get such deranged hybrids as "Change Clothes" and "Conduit for Sale!", "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" and "Zurich Is Stained", and of course, "99 Problems" and "Here".

As of today, the album has officially been completed, and is available via BitTorrent from the official Slack Album website. 28-year-old N-Wee tells Pitchfork that he created the tracks "on a lark... The a cappella vocals were available, I was bored, downloaded them, tried a few things out one afternoon, and figured I might as well finish it. Everybody has pointed out how brilliant Jay-Z was to make the a cappellas widely available, and I do wish that more of my favorite hip-hop artists would do the same thing."

N-Wee didn't pick Slanted and Enchanted for any particular reason: "The choice was really just another lark. Sure, [there are] 14 tracks on each disc... and there are other nice coincidences, like the fact that the last song on each album is the only song on either album in 6/8 time. But The Slack Album was really just one title on a silly list of unlikely hybrid possibilities that I made up after downloading the vocal tracks. Since most of my friends are bigger Pavement fans than they are of Waits or Beefheart [the other considerations for mashup], I made a few tracks to make them laugh. The tracks I banged out in an hour or whatever worked a little better than I thought they probably should. So I decided to take it on as a bigger project, a 'fun challenge.'"

N-Wee doesn't plan to release the album commercially, unlike The Grey Album, to hopefully avoid some of the related legal issues. However, The Slack Album will be available on various file-sharing networks, and from the album's webpage. Tracklist:

01 Interlude
02 Trigger 4th
03 What More Can I Singe
04 In The Mouth, An Encore
05 Change Conduits
06 Zurich Your Shoulder
07 Chesley's Little Threat
08 Loretta Clarity
09 99 Problems Here
10 Two States' Public Service Announcements
11 Perfume-V My Thug
12 Famed Lucifer
13 Jackals, Allure - The Lonesome Era
14 Our First Singer

The Slack Album: http://www.theslackalbum.com

Mogwai, Boards of Canada, Four Tet Remix Boom Bip
Lali Puna: "Willkommen zum Terrorkuppel!"

It's the boom, bip, the boom Boom Bip, and on May 5th, he's gearing up to release a remix compendium titled corymb, which is set to feature remixes of his songs by his pals in cLOUDDEAD-- who combine instrumental soundscaping, laptop glitchery, and post-rock drama-- as well as various bright lights of the outré electronica scene like Boards of Canada, Venetian Snares, Lali Puna, and Four Tet. Oh yeah, and Mogwai's in there somewhere. Call within the next five minutes and you'll also receive a handful of Peel Sessions and previously unreleased tracks. Zzrp:

01 From Left to Right
02 Last Walk Around Mirror Lake (Boards of Canada remix)
03 The Unthinkable featuring Buck 65 (Venetian Snares remix)
04 Closed Shoulders (cLOUDDEAD remix)
05 First Walk (Peel Session)
06 Morning and a Day
07 Awaiting an Accident (Lali Puna remix)
08 Third Stream (Four Tet remix)
09 The Use of Unacceptable Colors in Nature (Mogwai remix)
10 In the Tree Top
11 Pulse All Over (Peel Session)

Seized by the joyous remix frenzy of this increasingly incestuous scene, Boom Bip is returning the favor in spades. An embarrassing moment reportedly occurred when he was asked to remix a Boards of Canada remix of a cLOUDDEAD remix of a Lali Puna song, and, upon completing it, discovered that he had actually mixed it back to its original form! These things happen. Presently, you kids can catch his remixation on Amon Tobin's Verbal Remixes, Smyglyssna's We Can Fix It Remixes, Mountaineers' Belgique Limb, and Pet's Snooze. In progress are remixes of Mogwai, The Free Design, Her Space Holiday, Lali Puna, and a Harvest Records remix project including Sonic Youth, Jim O'Rourke, Sigur Rós, and others. He's also planning the release of a brand new album that should be in the can and ready to be remixed into oblivion by late spring or early summer.

Lex: http://www.lexrecords.com

New Björk LP Slated for Fall, Live LPs Due in June
Completists to be beaten, robbed by the homeless

It's finally time to dig that old swan dress out of the closet: Björk, patron saint of Icelandic musical invention, has brought news of progress on her forthcoming album, still tentatively titled The Lake Experience. Although it continues to loom foggy on the horizon, the disc is presently being recorded in New York City, and is now slated for a late 2004 release. It will be her fifth solo studio full-length, excluding such treatz as the youthful Gling-Gló</I>, the remix project Telegram, and the music-from-and-inspired-by Dancer in the Dark EP Selmasongs.

According to sources at her official website, The Lake Experience will continue Björk's long and heralded tradition of featuring outrageous guest musicians. Here, she'll pair up with "famed" Japanese beatboxer Dokaka, who is said to have garnered "worldwide" "notoriety" for his elaborate and unique style. To date, the man has released we-don't-even-know-how-many shockingly precise a cappella renditions of time-tested favorites. Among the victims are King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man", and-- if you can guess only one-- Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit".

Of course, that's not all she plans to release. Employing similar strategies to those used by Lt. Robert Pollard to fell entire armies of pocketbooks, Björk is once again set to milk her rabid fanbase for every potential penny with no less than four live albums-- one for every album she's released. Slated to hit stores on June 1st, Debut Live, Post Live, Homogenic Live and Vespertine Live will feature live renditions of every song from their respective original LPs in the exact same running order. And for optimum dollar-fetching, the discs will be released individually, freeing them from the exclusive and intricate case design of her recent and massive box set. Additionally, those of you who enjoy listening to music in the smallest possible medium will be pleased to hear that the LPs are being issued on outmoded MiniDisc, for whatever reason.

This move comes on the heels of other meaningless fans-only Björk releases, which to date include nearly 60 slightly varying CD singles, a whopping seven box sets (some of which compile said singles), a greatest hits package, and like ten DVDs. There's satiating the endless needs of your fanbase, and then there's just being evil. Class-action, anyone?

Bjork: http://www.bjork.com
One Little Indian: http://www.indian.co.uk

Posted by Micah C. Harding in on Tue: 04-20-04: 12:00 AM CDT | Permalink