Shins, Decemberists, Sleater- Kinney on Burn to Shine 3

Like the previous two installments in the series, Burn to Shine 3 features bands who are roughly from the same geographical location as the house in which they perform. Since this installment (curated by Chris Funk of the Decemberists) is in Portland, the Shins, the Decemberists, Sleater-Kinney, Mirah, and the Gossip will be among the bands burning down the house. A press release describes the post-show portion of the film as follows: "Filmed as the sun is setting, the DVD concludes with an incredible fire as we watch the house being burned to the ground by the fire department. This is beautifully shot and accompanied by an experimental spoken word piece by Brendan Canty."

Burn to Shine 3 will be released August 22 on Trixie DVD and will include "an extended slideshow of stills of the bands that day as well as stills of the destruction and film production" as extras.

The roof is on fire:

01 The Thermals - "Welcome to the Planet"
02 Quasi - "Peace and Love"
03 The Planet The - "Look of a Woman"
04 Mirah - "Light the Match"
05 Sleater-Kinney - "Modern Girl"
06 The Ready - "For All You Know"
07 Lifesavas - "The Warning"
08 The Shins - "Saint Simon"
09 The Decemberists - "The Mariner's Revenge Song"
10 Wet Confetti - "Take My Advice"
11 The Gossip - "Listen Up!"
12 Tom Heinl - "Christmas Tree on Fire"

Burn to Shine’s two previous volumes, which took place in Washington, DC and Chicago, respectively, featured such performers as Tortoise, Wilco, Shellac, Ted Leo, Q and Not U, Bob Mould, the Evens, and Freakwater.

Avant-Garde Composer György Ligeti Dead at 83

Born in 1923 in Transylvania, Romania, Ligeti moved with his family to Hungary as a child. In 1943, as a Jew living under the Nazi regime, he was sent to a labor camp. Although he survived the Holocaust, many members of his family did not. In 1956, he left Hungary for Austria, where he connected with many giants of the European new music avant-garde, including Karlheinz Stockhausen, Gottfried Michael Koenig, and Herbert Eimert.

Ligeti composed in a variety of forms and styles, including opera, chamber music, and conceptual pieces, including a work for 100 metronomes and 1961's "Future of Music", written for "non-speaking lecturer and audience." His foremost stylistic innovation was the use of "micropolyphony," described by Pitchfork's own Dominique Leone in a 2002 review as "a concept of composing music not as a melody with harmony and rhythm, but as an endless mesh of interweaving textures where no one voice stands out."

Ligeti achieved a new level of fame when Stanley Kubrick used excerpts from his pieces "Atmospheres" and "Lux Aeterna" in his 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Kubrick would go on to feature Ligeti's music in his 1980 film The Shining and 1999's Eyes Wide Shut as well.

The composer's name has been invoked from time to time on Pitchfork, most recently by Bloc Party's Kele Okereke, who said in an interview that Ligeti's music has helped inspire the sound of his band's forthcoming second album. In an Artist List back in April, Clogs listed two Ligeti pieces as being influential to their band's music. Describing "Atmospheres", Clogs said, "When sound meets space, it's a continually moving pictograph."

Raconteurs Snag Pee Wee for New Video

In the upcoming video directed by the Malloys (who previously helmed the White Stripes' "My Doorbell" video, as well as clips for, um, Jack Johnson and the Black Eyed Peas), each Raconteur "plays an imaginative speed-racing hero in an old-fashioned soap box race," while Reubens "plays an unscrupulous pit boss, stooping to low levels to ensure a win for his racer," according to a press release.

Yes, but for which racer does Pee Wee work? Brendan Benson? Jack White? One of the other two dudes? Find out June 19, when the new "Steady, As She Goes" video debuts on Yahoo! Music. It should be floating around the interweb and other music video outlets shortly after that.

Music video connoisseurs will remember that Reubens also starred in the video for Elton John's "This Train Don't Stop There Any More", alongside Justin Timberlake. Speaking of people in need of a career revival...where's the new record, JT??

Besides busying themselves with music video magic, the Raconteurs are in the middle of their first-ever full-scale tour. With the recent addition of more dates, the boys are now on the road through the end of September.

Ready, steady, there she goes:

06-21 London, England - Hyde Park (Wireless Festival)
06-24 Scheesel, Germany - Hurricane Festival
06-25 Neuhausen Ob Eck, Germany - Southside Festival
07-02 Roskilde, Denmark - Roskilde Festival
07-03 Malmo, Sweden - Accelerator
07-05 Kristiansand, Norway - Quart Festival
07-06 Stockholm, Sweden - Accelerator
07-16 Denver, CO - The Fillmore Auditorium
07-18 Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theatre
07-19 San Diego, CA - Soma
07-21 Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern Theatre
07-23 San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theatre
07-25 Portland, OR - Roseland Theatre
07-26 Vancouver, British Columbia - Malkin Bowl at Stanley Park
07-27 Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre
08-03 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
08-04 Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza
08-05 Ann Arbor, MI - Michigan Theatre
08-06 Cleveland, OH - House of Blues
09-14 Houston, TX - Verizon Wireless Theater
09-15 Grand Prairie, TX - Nokia Live
09-16 Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Festival
09-19 Atlanta, GA - The Tabernacle
09-20 Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live
09-22 Norfolk, VA - The Norva
09-24 Atlantic City, NJ - House of Blues
09-26 New York, NY - Roseland Ballroom
09-28 Providence, RI - Lupo's
09-29 Boston, MA - Orpheum Theater
09-30 Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis

Frog Eyes to Release EP

The Future Is Inter-Disciplinary or Not at All tracklist:

01 Future Fortress
02 Really: The End of Time?
03 Sheldon's Phone Calling the Future That Is All Alive
04 A Feeling: I Feel It
05 I Am Telling You That Cities Were Never Ever Conceived Like This
06 "Politics"
07 "Of Friendship"
08 A Future Begs a Hero

Frog Eyes' upcoming full length, Tears of the Valedictorian is slated for an early 2007 release on Absolutely Kosher. Prior to its due date, the band will tour North America with Wolf Parade, as previously reported. So basically another incestuous stint, thanks to Frog Eyes/Wolf Parade/Sunset Rubdown busybody Spencer Krug. Krug, as previously reported, will drop an album on Jagjaguwar this fall with Frog Eyes bandmate Mercer and Destroyer's Dan Bejar under the name Swan Lake. Mercer is also working as Prancing Cat with wife/Frog Eye Melanie Campbell.

Frog Eyes dates, all taking place in the inter-disciplinary future (or not at all):

08-04 Ottawa, Ontario - Barrymore's Music Hall *
08-05 Toronto, Ontario - Phoenix *
08-06 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick *
08-07 Chicago, IL - Metro *
08-08 Chicago, IL - Metro *
08-09 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue *
08-20 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom *
08-22 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom *
08-24 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore *
08-25 Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern Theatre *
08-27 Salt Lake City, UT - In the Venue *

* with Wolf Parade

Snow Patrol Postpone North American Tour

Singing pretty can have some ugly results, and Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody can prove it. The band's website reports that due to polyps on the singer's throat, they have been forced to cancel their June tour of North America and reschedule it for September. According to Pollstar.com, the new trek will take place September 6-30 and will hit all of the same cities, with San Diego and Las Vegas added.

Remaining canceled shows:

06-14 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom
06-15 Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre
06-16 Portland, OR - Roseland Theatre
06-18 San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theare
06-20 Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern LG
06-22 Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle
06-23 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
06-25 Toronto, Ontario - Kool Haus
06-26 Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
06-27 New York, NY - Roseland

Since February, Lightbody's diagnosis has progressed from laryngitis to "worrying growths," which were quickly renamed "polyps". While Lightbody is resting his vocal chords, the band's booking agent has been furiously rescheduling shows. Assuming they will play again in July, Snow Patrol's current tour schedule looks something like this.

07-14 Suffolk, England - Henham Park (Latitude Festival)
07-15 Leeds, England - Millennium Square
07-16 Nottingham, England - Rock City
07-23 Byron Bay, Australia - Splendour in the Grass Festival
07-24 Sydney, Australia - Enmore Theatre
07-25 Melbourne, Australia - Metro
07-28 Seoul, South Korea - Pentaport Rock Festival
07-30 Tokyo, Japan - Fuji Rock Festival
08-10 Oslo, Norway - Öya Festival
08-12 Auburn, WA - White River Amphitheatre (KNDD Endfest)
08-15 Boston, MA - Bank of America Pavilion
08-19 Dublin, Ireland - Marley Park
08-21 Douglas, Isle of Man - Royal Hall Villa Marina
08-23 Belfast, Northern Ireland - Botanic Gardens
08-25 Edinburgh, Scotland - Meadowbank Stadium
08-26 Cardiff, Wales - Coopers Field (Get Loaded in the Park Festival)
08-27 Cornwall, England - Eden Project
09-02 Trinity, Jersey - Royal Jersey Showground
11-28 Birmingham, England - NIA Birmingham
11-29 Manchester, England - Manchester Evening News Arena
11-30 Newcastle, England - Metro Radio Arena
12-18 London, England - Wembley Arena
12-19 London, England - Wembley Arena

Lightbody appears on Waiting for Clearance, the debut album from mash-up king Freelance Hellraiser (the dude who put Xtina on top of the Strokes for "A Stroke of Genius"). It's out in the UK on Ugly Truth Records on July 3.

Ghostface, Walkmen, Furnaces Rock Cincinnati

We've got another live one for ya. Pull out those summer music festival maps and add Cincinnati, Ohio's Desdemona Festival to the list. From June 23-25, the not-so-lil' Midwestern town will be home to a big fat weekend of rock (and electro and hip-hop).

Taking place right on the Ohio River at Sawyer Point Waterfront Park, the brand new fest features performances from Ghostface Killah, the Walkmen, Fiery Furnaces, Annie, Apples in Stereo, Stellastarr*, the Stills, Mates of State, Radio 4, Enon, Heartless Bastards, We Are Scientists, Rogue Wave, Northern State, Richard Swift, Saturday Looks Good to Me, the Double, Au Revoir Simone, Aberdeen City, and many more.

All that, and kids under 10 get in free! Britney and K-Fed! Brangelina! Bennifer! Bring Sean Preston, Shiloh, Maddox and co. along! "Introduce a young child to indie rock-- it's the right thing to do," sez the Desdemona website. True dat.

According to the man behind the fest, organizer Nick Spencer, the event "is a non-profit effort driven by Cincinnati Tomorrow, an organization working to make Cincinnati a more attractive place for young and creative people." Well, good luck with that.

Strokes, Vedder Cover Gaye
Seriously, what's going on?

Meanwhile, the Strokes will bring their message of environmentalism to various European festivals throughout the rest of the summer:

06-16 Hultsfred, Sweden - Hultsfred Festival
06-18 Manchester, England - Lancashire County Cricket Club *
06-21 London, England - Hyde Park (Wireless Festival)
06-23 Neuhausen ob Eck, Germany - Southside Festival
06-24 Scheessel, Germany - Hurricane Festival
06-26 Cologne, Germany - Palladium
06-27 Berlin, Germany - Berlin Arena
06-29 Paris, France - Le Zenith
06-30 Belfort, France - Les Eurockeennes Festival
07-02 Roskilde, Denmark - Roskilde Festival
07-04 Moscow, Russia - DK Gorbunova
07-08 Naas, Ireland - Punchestown Racecourse (Oxegen Festival)
07-09 Balado, Scotland - T in the Park
07-11 Amsterdam, Holland - Heineken Music Hall
07-13 St. Polten, Austria - Vaz
07-14 Montreux, Switzerland - Miles Davis Hall (Montreux Jazz Festival)
07-15 Turin, Italy - Traffic Festival
07-17 Lyon, France - Antique Theatre
07-18 Nice, France - Theatre de Verdure
07-21 Benicassim, Spain - Benicassim Festiva
07-22 Lisbon, Portugal - Lisboa Soundz Festival
07-28 Incheon, South Korea - Penta Port Rock Festival
07-30 Mt. Fuji, Japan - Fuji Rock Festival

* with Foo Fighters

Video: The Strokes: "Heart in a Cage"

Lisa Germano Preps Young God Debut

Singer/songerwriter Lisa Germano has been around for a long time. She played strings for John Mellencamp (!) in the late 80s and into the 90s, and toured and recorded with the Indigo Girls (!!), David Bowie, Simple Minds, Iggy Pop, and Sheryl Crow (!!!). She also put out several albums on both Capitol Records and 4AD, as well as collaborated with Giant Sand in the side project OP8. But this is (relatively) common knowledge. What's not so well-known, however, is that Lisa Germano can suck you into her dreams. Just ask ex-Swan/current Angel of Light Michael Gira.

"She seems to play violin, piano/keyboards, and guitar with equal authority," Gira claims. "As well as producing her own records with great imaginative effect-- the result is seductive and truly magical. No one sounds like her. You get the feeling you're walking through her dreams as you listen. The intensity of feeling in her singing is a little frightening sometimes-- it's like she's singing very close to your ear, leading you through her world. It's a place I very much enjoy visiting, and I hope you will too."

Does that sound a little creepy to anyone else? At any rate, Gira was impressed enough with Germano that his Young God label will release her new album, In the Maybe World, on July 18. This is Germano's first since 2003's Lullaby for Liquid Pig.

Tracklist:
01 The Day
02 Too Much Space
03 Moon in Hell
04 Golden Cities
05 Into Oblivion
06 In the Land of Fairies
07 Wire
08 In the Maybe World
09 Red Thread
10 Seed
11 Except for the Ghosts
12 After Monday

Germano appears on RockPaperScissors, the third album from composer/producer Michael Brook (Brian Eno, the Pogues), out July 18 on bigHelium/Canadian Rational. She sings a song called "Want".

Murder City Devils Reunite
For one day, Camden relinquishes "America's Most Dangerous City" title

What have members of the now-defunct Murder City Devils been up to since their final release, 2003's R.I.P.? No, they haven't escaped into total post-break-up oblivion, but they have played in Broadcast Oblivion (drummer Coady Willis, now also in Big Business and the Melvins), performed in bands with really long names (vocalist Spencer Moody, now in Triumph of Lethargy Skinned Alive to Death, and Smoke & Smoke), toured modestly with mice (guitarist Dann Gallucci, also in Triumph as well as A Gun Called Tension), created graphic art (guitarist Nate Manny), and prettily made graves (bassist Derek Fudesco).

Well, get ready, Devil-worshippers: it's time to clear away those empty bottles and heal those broken hearts, 'cause the quintessential Seattle punks are reuniting for one quintessentially Seattle event-- the Capitol Hill Block Party. The two-day fest, which celebrates music, art and progressive causes, takes place July 28-29. Besides MCD (who announced news of the reunion show on their MySpace page and appear to be soliciting ideas for "the perfect set list"), other hometown favorites will rock the Block, including: Pretty Girls Make Graves, Band of Horses, Schoolyard Heroes, Minus the Bear, and Big Business. Even more will be announced on June 15. Ah, summer.

But don't get too excited: the Murder City Devils maintain that this is a one-off event. And given how busy the band's members are, we believe them.

Video: Murder City Devils:

Panthers Guitarist Forms Cloudland Canyon

The Double's Jacob Morris, Turing Machine/the Juan MacLean drummer Jerry Fuchs, and Uhlhorn's wife, Kelly Winkler, all contribute to the record, which skips the mega-riff rock found on Panthers albums in favor of electronic noodling, synthesizer soundscapes, and post-rock detours. This Heat, Ash Ra Temple, and Tortoise are all cited as influences, if you know what we're saying.

Tracklist:

01 Opening / Ice of Rift
02 Clearlight Intry
03 Carolina Foxtail / Sea Chirp
04 Field Ghosts
05 Coastal Breathe
06 Holy Canyon (Vanquish)
07 Joyful Noise
08 Secondary Chanting
09 Summer Cloth
10 BrightBeijing

Next week, Cloudland Canyon will head to Chicago to team up with Robert Lowe, aka Lichens (he's also a member of 90 Day Men and has worked with TV on the Radio). In addition to recording together, Cloudland Canyon and Lichens will hit the road for a brief tour. Doesn't look like they're scheduled to play any forested areas, but maybe they should. Dates:

06-26 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle *
06-28 Missoula, MT - The Raven
06-29 Seattle, WA - Sunset Tavern #
06-30 Portland, OR - Towne Lounge $
07-01 San Francisco, CA - Hemlock Tavern ^
07-02 Santa Cruz, CA - Blue Lagoon
07-03 San Diego, CA - Che Café %
07-04 Los Angeles, CA - Compact Space/4^th Party %@
07-06 Baltimore, MD - Talking Head &
07-07 Brooklyn, NY - Union Pool &!
07-08 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church &

* with Zs, Yearling
# with Sir Richard Bishop
$ with White Rainbow, Valet^ with Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound
% with Earthless
@ with No Age, Amps for Christ
& with UW Owl
! with Growing

Stream: Cloudland Canyon: "Clearlight Intry"

Tuxedomoon Return
New Album, New Suits, New Lunar Cycle

Tracklist:

01 Hurry up and Wait (Flying Sequence)
02 Effervescing in the Nether Sphere
03 Soup du Jour
04 Flying Again
05 Triptych
06 I'm Real Stupid
07 Airport Blues
08 Needles Prelude
09 Prometheus Bound

The Show Goes On:

10 Baron Brown
11 Jinx
12 Loneliness
13 Remote (Pralaya)
14 Dream Flight
15 More Flying
16 Vulcanic, Combustible
17 Mr. Comfort
18 Another Flight
19 Invocation Of
20 Carry on Circles

Stream: Tuxedomoon: "Soup du Jour"
Stream: Tuxedomoon: "Triptych"

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.)