Arcade Fire Lead mtvU Woodie Awards Nominations

Several Pitchfork faves snagged nominations, including the Arcade Fire (five nominations), Common (four), Gorillaz (three), M.I.A., the Decemberists, and Bloc Party (one each). This year's ceremony will be filmed live for the first time, and will feature a full lineup of performers, presenters and more that will be announced in the upcoming weeks.

In keeping with mtvU's brief tradition, the Woodies focus on college community: students from around the country will chip in as on-camera talent and behind-the-scenes commentators throughout the live show. For the second straight year, the awards themselves were designed and made (yes, out of wood) by students at the Greenwich Village-based New School.

And since, let's face it, MTV can't possibly do anything straightforward anymore, nominees are divided into abstruse categories like the "Breaking Woodie", the "Left Field Woodie", the "Good Woodie" and the filthy-sounding "Streaming Woodie" and "Road Woodie". The "International Woodie" goes to Bloc Party. Probably. For a full list of categories and nominations, check out the mtvU website. Winners will be determined by online voting. In last year's inaugural Woodie Awards, Modest Mouse took home top honors as Best Artist and the (sigh) "Silent but Deadly Woodie" for their video for "Float On." Eww, what's that smell?

mtvU: http://www.mtvu.com

Flaming Lips Reveal More About Mystics

After Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots' soothing synths, some fans were nervous about what the Flaming Lips would do with their upcoming album, At War With the Mystics. Would they stray even further into indie-yuppie territory, as per the lukewarm song "Mr. Ambulance Driver" featured on the Wedding Crashers soundtrack?

Well, good news, guitar lovers: Wayne Coyne told MTV.com that the next record is chock full of 'em. He said, "Without any true intention, I think we've found some guitar-rock things that we're freaked out about. People will see that some of it has gone more weird rock." Cue the rock-out emoticon.

Coyne also hinted that the album will definitely be affected by the state of the world: "I don't think you could be making any art in the atmosphere we're in now-- with the war and the different ways people feel about the Bush administration and all that-- without having some things that sort of, not address that specifically, but address this whole idea of what you do with power. When is the time to have mercy? And when is the time to be aggressive?"

But don't worry about a bunch of Bush-bashing songs. Coyne insisted that there are "some things on this record that I hope will stand the test of time long after this war is over and all these young guys come home."

Mystics has been in the works for several years, and was originally scheduled for release early this year. Now it's tentatively coming out in 2006. And so is Christmas on Mars, the Lips' long-overdo epic film project, which is slowly becoming the Chinese Democracy of homemade alien holiday movies. Coyne told MTV, "The way that I work is [not] that much different from the way I would do a painting or even the way that we record our music a lot of the time. We go in and we have a lot of energy and enthusiasm for things that we want to happen and sort of try to shape them up. But if we're lucky, something emerges that's really better than what we intended and we'll go with that. If we're lucky, 'Christmas on Mars' will continue to do that. We'll have built the sets and have actors there, and of course there'll be things for them to say and all that, but something marvelous will happen and we'll be able to incorporate that into the idea of what we wanted to do and it will be better and more expressive and more communicative and more emotional - all those things that I think all artists intend to do."

While we wait, we can pore over the recently released anthology VOID (Video Overview In Deceleration), which collects all of the Lips' music videos on DVD in glorious 5.1 surround sound. It also features commentary from the band for each video. Expand yr mind with these short flicks:

01 Mr. Ambulance Driver
02 SpongeBob and Patrick Confront the Psychic Wall Of Energy
03 Fight Test
04 Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
05 Do You Realize? (UK Version)
06 Race For The Prize
07 Waiting For A Superman
08 This Here Giraffe
09 When You Smile
10 Bad Days
11 Christmas At The Zoo
12 Be My Head
13 She Don't Use Jelly
14 Turn It On
15 Frogs
16 Talkin' Bout The Smiling Deathporn Immortality Blues (Everyone Wants To Live Forever)
17 Phoebe Battles The Pink Robots
18 Are You A Hypnotist??
19 Do You Realize? (US Version)

The only Flaming Lips live date scheduled at the moment is on board the Xingolati Groove Cruise, sailing from Long Beach, California to Ensenada, Mexico on October 14 through 17. They'll be sharing the boat with G. Love and Special Sauce, Banyan, DJ Logic, Slightly Stoopid, Particle, DJ Greyboy, Medeski, Martin & Wood and some more lame hippie crap. Since this show will take place at sea, it might be possible to witness the Lips literally jumping the shark.

The Flaming Lips: http://www.flaminglips.com

Modest Mouse to Re-Release Good News as DualDisc

That direct attack on the already tattered integrity of the album format aside, the real reason to snap up this quickie reissue is the flipside of the DualDisc. It will include the entire album (again) in "enhanced LPCM stereo" and goodies such as the music videos for "Float On" and "Ocean Breathes Salty", a new short film called "Stiff Animal Fantasy" soundtracked by the song "World At Large", Isaac Brock interviewing himself on MTV's Advanced Warning, behind-the-scenes photo galleries, and other assorted graphic bits and animated pieces. What, no Modest Mouse temporary tattoo?

Since it seems like Epic pulled all remaining copies of the original The Moon and Antarctica when that album was reissued last year, you may want to snatch up the plain Jane edition of Good News while it's still around, for future eBay sales. That might not be so important as buying the album only once, which is what all the filesharers were planning for in the first place, right? Right. Or if you exclusively listen to mp3s to preview Modest Mouse's live performance, ignore all the foregoing, and instead check these couple of live shows:

10-06 Reno, NV - Reno Hilton Theater
10-08 Mountain View, CA - Download Festival *

* with the Killers, British Sea Power, the Arcade Fire, Doves, the Lovemakers, Mindless Self Indulgence, H.I.M., Ambulance Ltd.

Modest Mouse: http://www.modestmouse.com

M83 Kick Off U.S. Tour Tomorrow

You can wistfully reflect in rooms full of other wistful reflectors starting tomorrow, as M83 are hitting the road for a short North American tour. (The trek was originally scheduled to begin tonight in Houston, but Pitchfork has just received word that the show has been canceled due to the Hurricane Rita evacuation.) Perhaps Gonzalez will be driving through the Western states behind the wheel of a 2006 Pontiac Torrent, which isn't a file-sharing joke. It's Pontiac's largest new automobile.

Dogs in wheelchairs welcome here:

09-22 Houston, TX - Numbers **CANCELED**
09-23 Austin, TX - Emo's
09-24 Denton, TX - Hailey's
09-25 Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Festival
09-27 Los Angeles, CA - Avalon
09-28 Los Angeles, CA - Ground Zero (University of Southern California)
09-29 San Francisco, CA - Mezzanine
09-30 Portland, OR - Berbati's Pan
10-01 Seattle, WA - Neumo's (KEXP Seattle's John In The Morning At Night Benefit)

M83: http://www.ilovem83.com/

The Darkness Going to Hell on New Album

According to the NME, the album's lead single, "One Way Ticket", will be released in the UK on November 14, followed by the album two weeks later on November 28. The track titles seem pretty straightforward, except for "Dinner Lady Arms". We can't figure out what that means, but I'll be damned if "Knockers" ain't about boobs. ***EDITOR'S NOTE: Several Pitchfork readers have written in to inform us that "dinner lady" means "lunch lady" in British. So I guess that song is about somebody with arms like a lunch lady. Gross.*** Other tracks include "Hazel Eyes" (an answer song to Kelly Clarkson's "Behind These Hazel Eyes", perhaps?) and "Girlfriend", which is probably about-- you guessed it!--somebody's girlfriend. Isn't speculation grand?

Unfortunately for fans of the band's original lineup, Permission to Land's bassist Frankie Poullain was sacked earlier this year, and he doesn't play a note on the new record (guitarist Dan Hawkins laid down the low end in the studio.) But don't fret, because Hawkins' guitar tech Richey Edwards was recently named the Darkness' new bassist.

>>Tracklist:
01 One Way Ticket
02 Knockers
03 Is It Just Me?
04 Dinner Lady Arms
05 Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time
06 Hazel Eyes
07 Bald
08 Girlfriend
09 English Country Garden
10 Blind Man

Meanwhile, frontman Justin Hawkins' solo debut, tentatively titled British Wail, is due several months after the Darkness record. That album is slated to feature "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us", a Sparks cover. We hope the "both of us" in this context refers to Hawkins and his penis.

href="http://pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-07/05.shtml#darkness">The Darkness Replace Bassist, Plan LP

The Darkness: http://www.thedarknessrock.com

Tom Waits Sues Bad Ad Guys, Again

When it comes to inimitable voices, one immediately thinks of Tom Waits, whose ravaged rasp has enabled him to thrive in a musical genre of his own making. While Waits likes nothing more than to lend his coarse voice and handsome mug to favored producers and directors (like Jim Jarmusch and Robert Altman), he neither shills for commercial products nor takes kindly to anyone secretly using his famous inflection, whether it's his very own or that of a soundalike. On September 15, it was widely announced that Waits had filed a suit against the General Motors offshoot Adam Opel AG and the Frankfurt-based advertising firm McCann Erickson Deutschland for violation of the singer's personality rights under German law. He alleges that a Waits impersonator is currently selling cars in Scandinavia, and he won't stand for it.

In a statement to the press, Waits charged with typical wit, "Apparently the highest compliment our culture grants artists nowadays is to be in an ad-- ideally naked and purring on the hood of a new car. I have adamantly and repeatedly refused this dubious honor. Currently accepting, in my absence, is my German doppelganger. While the court can't make me active in radio, I am asking it to make me radioactive to advertisers." He added that the commercial was "equivalent to someone sewing an udder on my face."

There is a long legal history involving Waits and those attempting to procure his incomparable songs and persona for ads. In 1988, Frito Lay was the first company to feel the wrath of Waits when the chip giant used a sound-alike for a radio spot. Waits won a lawsuit and found himself 2.6 million richer for his troubles. In 1993, Levi's had to print an apology in Billboard and cease all use of an unauthorized ad that featured Screamin' Jay Hawkins' version of Waits' "Heartattack and Vine". Audi was the next to try its luck with a Waits voice clone, after getting turned down with their request to use his "Innocent When You Dream" in a 2000 Spanish advert. This resulted in a judgment declaring copyright infringement, violation of moral rights, and more coin in the singer's pocket.You'd think people would have learned not to fuck with this guy by now, but apparently not.

In less litigious Tom Waits news, the elusive singer made an appearance at a Hurricane Katrina benefit concert at Radio City Music Hall in New York on Tuesday. "I wish New Orleans was dry and Washington was underwater," he told the crowd. Waits' label, Anti-, confirmed to Pitchfork that a rarities box set, tentatively titled Orphans, is in the works. There's no more info right now, but we'll keep you updated. In the meantime, take heed the next time you're belting out "16 Shells from a Thirty-Ought-Six" at your fave karaoke spot and your friends stuff a couple dollars down your shirt, ‘cause if Tom Waits finds out, he WILL sue that ass.

Tom Waits: http://www.tomwaits.com

Stoner Rockers Taking Over San Francisco Today

A huge consortium of musicians, including members of Six Organs of Admittance, the Fucking Champs, Neurosis, Sleep, Coachwhips, Comets on Fire and Tribe 8, have gathered in the Bay Area for The Rambler 12-Hour Composition starting at 6 a.m. Pacific time this morning; they will end, naturally, at 6pm. They are banging and strumming drums, bass, electric and acoustic guitar, electric sitar, harp, cello, and more, performing a composition entitled "Universe".

The piece (a sequence of 20-minute segments) speeds up as it progresses toward noon and then slows down again as the day wanes. It was composed by guitarist/drummer Tina Gordon, formerly of Lost Goat and currently of the AC/DC cover band AC/DShe, and is intended to "create a dialogue between light and sound on a sonic voyage," according to a press release. Duuuude. Appropriately enough, the event is sponsored by StonerRock.com. The titular Rambler is "a mobile soundstage and custom music environment" on which the whole shebang will take place, moving across the city from east (Warm Water Cove at sunrise) to west (Ocean Beach at sunset). If you aren't sold yet, allow us to point out that today is the autumnal equinox. What else could you ask for, besides an eighth?

The Rambler's website lists about three dozen performers, who we assume will tag in and out over the course of the day, unless somebody drank a case of Red Bull last night. It sounds like more happenings are in the works; that same website says the event will "christen The Rambler as a traveling music venue and vessel of infinite possibility". But if you're in San Francisco or its environs, you still have plenty of time to catch this one. The organizers have laid out the event's route on their site with little maps and everything, so no matter what time of day it is, you can just retrace their steps and look for...well, you'll probably know it when you see it. Or you can follow the weed smell.

The Rambler: http://www.therambler.org
StonerRock.com: http://www.stonerrock.com

New Nirvana Compilation to Feature Unreleased Tracks

Somewhere in between is Nirvana. On November 1, DGC will unveil a twenty-two-track compilation titled Sliver: The Best of the Box, featuring three unreleased songs and a chunk from 2004's With the Lights Out box set. According to Rolling Stone, ideas for cover artwork are credited to none other than Love child Frances Bean Cobain...and Courtney herself. At the very least, it'll be a money maker. Maybe we'll even like it. Who knows? Gotta love compitalism.

Morrissey at Work on New Album

Everyone's favorite Smiths frontman is currently in the studio with producer Jeff Salzman (the Killers)...and our good friend death. Yup, Morrissey is at work in Rome in film soundtrack god Ennio Morricone’s former studio, which happens to be located in the catacombs of a seventeenth-century church. Ooh, how goth.

According to his publicist, "It's apparently the most full-on rock record Morrissey's ever done. It's a balls-to-the-wall rock record, not a slow one like the last one." The album is close to being wrapped, and is tentatively scheduled for a spring 2006 release. At this point in time, tour dates have not been released, but hey, I'm sure they'll be, uhh, balls-to-the-coffin.

Pitchfork Review: Morrissey: Live at Earls Court
Pitchfork News: Morrissey to Release Live CD, DVD
Morrissey: http://www.morrisseymusic.com/

Bright Eyes, Faint on Saddle Creek Katrina Benefit Comp

The Omaha indie label has released Lagniappe, a compilation of new songs, B-sides, demos and alternate versions, with all proceeds going to the Red Cross for the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. The collection is currently available on iTunes and for pre-order from Saddle Creek's website. It will be in stores on October 25.

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, "lagniappe" is a term used in the Gulf region to describe "a little bonus that a friendly shopkeeper might add to a purchase. By extension, it may mean 'an extra or unexpected gift or benefit'." This little unexpected gift includes new Cursive and Bright Eyes tracks, a Faint B-side and a collaboration between Neva Dinova's Jake Bellows Faint frontman Todd Fink (yes, he changed his last name from Baechle when he married Azure Ray's Orenda Fink). The disc was put together in just a week, with contributors recording in "bedrooms, basements, kitchens, living rooms, and even in a couple of studios," quoth a press release.

So crack open that wallet. It'll make up for not telling that girl's mother you were already two years out of high school. Tracklist:

01 Cursive: Ten Percent to the Ten Percent
02 Maria Taylor and Andy LeMaster: Breathe
03 Criteria: Booketa
04 The Elected: San Francisco Via Chicago Blues
05 Broken Spindles: Move Away (Broken Spindles Remix)
06 Cocoon (Jake Bellows and Todd Fink): She's a Ghost
07 Bright Eyes: Napoleon's Hat
08 The Faint: Hypnotised
09 Orenda Fink: No Evolution (acoustic)
10 Mayday: Footprints
11 Sorry About Dresden: Sunrise: Norfolk, Virginia
12 Two Gallants: All Your Faithless Loyalties
13 The Good Life: New Year's Retribution

* Saddle Creek: http://www.saddlecreekrecords.com

Brian Jonestown Massacre, Mahogany Gear Stolen!

On Sunday night, before a CMJ performance at the Bowery Ballroom in Chinatown, neo-psychedelic hedonists the Brian Jonestown Massacre had their van and their trailer containing all of their equipment stolen. Little Radio, the internet radio station where BJM frontman/frazzled genius Anton Newcombe is a DJ, is asking fans to keep an eye out at pawn shops, music stores, and eBay for the following missing equipment:

* Gretch 1960s round badge drum kit-turquoise (kick drum has the BJM logo on it)
* Fender Bassman 1960s blackface head (the 'B' is blackened out so that it says "assman")
* 1970s silverface Fender Twin amp
* 2 Fender Twin reissue black face amps (one has a sticker on the front that reads "Masonic")
* Red Rickenbacker bass
* 12-string 1960s Gibson ES-335 guitar
* Vox Cheetah guitar- maroon
* Vox 12-string Phantom guitar-- black and white
* Vox 12-string Starstreamer guitar- sunburst teardrop shape
* Rickenbacker 12-string 360 guitar- black and white
* Epiphone 6-string- sunburst guitar
* Telecaster guitar ("not sure the details of it")

There is no word as to whether the BJM will continue touring.

We wish that were the end, but it's not. While performing at Rothko on the Lower East Side last Tuesday, dream pop act Mahogany had equipment stolen from their Brooklyn studio. Worse yet, the computer containing all the songs for their upcoming Darla album Connectivity! was taken as well. In an email to Pitchfork, frontman Andrew Prinz wrote, "We have a plan in place already to make up for the lost material, but it would be great if we could recover the stolen equipment." Here's a list of Mahogany's missing gear:

* Macintosh G5 w/ MOTU PCI card installed
* Micromoog synthesizer with specific mods
* Akai MPC 2000 with 8 outputs
* Mackie 32*4 mixer
* Fender P-Bass, cream
* Techtronix 11x17 flatbed image scanner with transparency adapter
MICROPHONES:
* Audio Technica AT 4060, no power supply
* 747 audio cr-176 (silver tube mic, 70s?, no brand logo, cr1-76 printed below screen. roll off and pad, omni/cardioid, 7 pin connector. Very, very few of these are in the US. Part of a stereo pair. No power supply)
* Akg D112
* Ampex (like sm57 w/ 4pin connector)
* Beyer m201
* Beyer m380 (black w/ 'Disney' engraving)
* Electrovoice 635a
* MXL v69me (no power supply or accessories)
* Oktava mc012 (w/ pad, omni and cardiod. part of stereo pair)
* RFT dm 622 (small ruggedly built blue dynamic w/ large tuchel connector)
* Sennheiser md 421 (x2) (1 white w/ small tuchel connector, one black w/ white clip and diagonal dent on top of screen)
* Shure sm57 (x2) (1 w/ black tape surrounding base of grill)

To the fuckers who stole all this equipment: Hammurabi actually allowed thieves to escape execution in certain cases by paying back their victims tenfold. Better get cracking.

href="http://pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/b/brian-jonestown-massacre/tepid-peppermint-wonderland.shtml">Brian Jonestown Massacre: Tepid Peppermint Wonderland: A Retrospective
href="http://pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-09/08.shtml#brianjonestownmassacre">Brian Jonestown Massacre Tour for New EP

Brian Jonestown Massacre: http://www.brianjonestownmassacre.com
Mahogany: http://www.mahogany.nu

Make Believe Fight the Power

According to the Chicago Reader, Kinsella took off his shorts during a show in Bartlesville, Oklahoma on June 28, then wrung out the sweat from them over the heads of audience members. Now all that would be nothin' but good ol' rock and roll fun, if it weren't for the fact that this particular concert happened to take place at a Christian rock venue, with a pair of Xtian bands also on the bill. Whoops. Kinsella is currently facing up to $20,000 in fines, or ten years in prison.

JoA/MB frontman Tim Kinsella, Nate's cousin, told the Reader that the band signed on for a fourteen-day tour with Jesus-lovin' punk bands Veda and MewithoutYou because they "wanted to play in front of people who had no idea who we were or what to expect." Well, that's putting it mildly. At the June 28 show, all the Make Believers had stripped down to shorts, since it was sweltering inside the venue. At some point during their set, Nate got up from his drums and, according to the affidavit filed by Bartlesville police officer Ben Hollander, "took his pants off and exposed his genitalia and penis to the crowd."

Dude, you were playing a Christian rock show in the Bible Belt! What were you thinking?! According to the Reader, Nate explained to the police that "due to his band being non-Christian, it was part of the 'act' to disrobe on occasions while onstage." WTF? That makes no sense at all.

Nate Kinsella was released on $2,500 bail and had a preliminary hearing on August 5, where he agreed to take a psychological evaluation and drug test. His court date is scheduled for late October. In the meantime, Make Believe are rocking as much as possible, with a nationwide tour kicking off tonight in their hometown of Chicago. They've got a few dates scheduled after the next hearing, including Flower Booking's 15th Anniversary bash at Chi-town's Metro on November 12. Hopefully Nate won't be sitting in a jail cell then.

Beware crotch sweat and overzealous Christians here:

09-21 Chicago, IL-- Bottom Lounge *
09-22 Champaign, IL-- Courtyard Café <br> 10-06 Lawrence, KS-- Jackpot Saloon #
10-07 Denver, CO-- High Dive #
10-08 Salt Lake City, UT-- Kilby Court #
10-10 Seattle, WA-- The Paradox #
10-11 Portland, OR-- Hawthorne Theatre #
10-12 Redding, CA-- The Dip #
10-13 Roseville, CA-- The Underground #
10-14 Bakersfield, CA-- Jerry's Pizza #
10-15 Los Angeles, CA-- The Echo #$
10-16 San Diego, CA-- Che Café #
10-17 Tuscon, AZ-- Solar Culture #
10-19 Austin, TX-- Emo's #
10-20 Denton, TX-- Dan's Silver Leaf #
11-07 Long Branch, NJ-- Brighton Bar
11-08 Baltimore, MD-- Talking Head
11-09 Boston, MA-- The Middle East Upstairs
11-11 Kalamazoo, MI-- Kraftbrau
11-12 Chicago, IL-- Metro (Flower 15 Festival) %

* with XBXRX, Bobby Conn, the Coughs
# with Bird Show
$ with the Mae Shi
% with the Promise Ring, Tristeza

href="http://pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-05/13.shtml#believe">Make Believe Tour, Prepare First Full-Length

Flameshovel: http://www.flameshovel.com

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.)