Dntel Collaborating With Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley, Fog Members For Next Album; Jimmy Tamborello Remixes Madonna, Flaming Lips; Postal Service Ordered By Government To Change Name
Gibbard, Tamborello feeling a little disgruntled...uh-oh...

[Updated Wednesday, November 5th, 2003 13:30:00 Pitchfork Central Time]

Maybe you have all been wondering what is going on with Dntel, the atmospherically electronic alter-ego of one Jimmy Tamborello. Well, in case you just evolved from the ocean's muck, Tamborello has been fairly busy with a little project called The Postal Service, a partnership with a little rockstar called Ben Gibbard. Now, we all love the electro-pop of Give Up, but dammit, when is Tamborello gonna get back to doing what he does best? Pitchfork recently had the opportunity of finding out a little bit about the future of Dntel as well as Tamborello's other projects.

Tamborello is currently hard at work on his follow up to 2001's Life is Full of Possibilities, which he plans to release through the Plug Research label by year's end. He originally planned to do the album, tentatively titled Just Like Heaven, by himself so "it didn't seem like I was U.N.K.L.E. or something, like having a guest was the whole thing behind Dntel." Nevertheless, temptation has gotten the better of him, and while he didn't want to jinx any collaborations by speaking on unconfirmed guests, expect vocal contributions from Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst ("Breakfast In Bed"), Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis ("A Warm Bed Is Something"), and Fog's Andrew Broder. Tamborello himself will also be contributing vocals to a track or two.

In Postal Service goings-on, Jimmy T. has completed a few remixes under various aliases for songs by Azure Ray, The Flaming Lips ("Do You Realize??"), and Madonna ("Nothing Fails"). Yes, the Britney-kissing, Gap-jean hawking Madonna, not some ironically named indie-rockers. He doesn't know if the Azure Ray or Madonna remixes will be used yet, but let's all keep our fingers crossed. As previously reported, Tamborello's remix of "Do You Realize??" is set to appear on the Flaming Lips' Ego-Tripping At The Gates Of Hell EP later this month.

Gibbard wasn't involved in these remixes, Tamborello notes: "Ben's not around to work on little things like this. It's more just in the spirit of [The Postal Service]. But actually, the U.S. Postal Service sent us a cease-and-desist letter. We're talking to them right now, it's not figured out yet. So all these remixes I've had to do under different names." Ridiculous! I'm sure if it were up to Ashcroft bands like the Dead Kennedys, Bush, Anthrax, the Presidents Of The United States Of America, and classic '80s indie outlet I.R.S. would have to pack it up, too. It just goes to illustrate the misplaced priorities of this administration. I mean, if the federal government sends any band a cease-and-desist letter this year, it should be Staind!

In any case, Gibbard and Tamborello plan to do another album in 2004 (band name TBD, though probably not "Death Cab For Congress") as well as doing some more touring in January. We'll have more for you about this when we know it.

Plug Research: http://www.plugresearch.com
Sub Pop: http://www.subpop.com

New Danielson Famile, Bro. Danielson Albums, Documentary Due in 2004
They are weak but he is strong

[Posted Wednesday, November 5th, 2003 06:00:00 Pitchfork Central Time]

According to Secretly Canadian's Jonathan Cargill, Danielson Famile principal Daniel Smith is set to release an album entitled Brother Is To Son under his Bro. Danielson moniker in March of 2004. A new full-length by the Danielson Famile, as well as a twelve-inch release on Burnt Toast Vinyl, are expected to follow. Meanwhile, Brooklyn-based film studio Creative Arson has been hard at work on a Danielson Famile documentary, and we recently had a chance to talk to director/studio founder JL Aronson, who was more than willing to comment at length about the movie and the band.

When performing as a collective, the Famile (generally composed of Smith and his six siblings, ranging in age from their early teens to their 20's) dress up as an assorted cast of doctors and nurses, perhaps as an allusion to the predominant theme of healing featured in their Christian beliefs. In addition to the buoyant and bizarre parade of sound which has become the band's comprehensive calling card, the group also delivers a notoriously wacky live performance. When playing solo as Bro. Danielson, Smith favors the homemade guise of a friendly tree, which bears assorted fruit of an assuredly delicious nature.

Aronson commented on the evolution of the outlandish and whimsical group, which began as Smith's senior thesis at Rutgers: "Though many aspects are collaborative, the artistic expression of Danielson goes back to Daniel. The first official Bro. Danielson release is monumental in that, after five albums, it draws a clear line between the different incarnations that have come before, and the solitary expression that is Daniel on his own. I guess it is rather complex at first: Dan sees the three incarnations of Danielson as representing the three stations (my words, not his) of his artifice: the relationship between the individual and the holy; the relationship between the family unit as a holy structure (the famile) and the relationship between friends which may or may not include family (Danielsonship)."

Obviously he's put a lot of thought into this. "It was an odd feeling. I didn't intend to be anyone's biggest fan, I just thought they'd be a good subject for a movie," Aronson told Pitchfork. "The dichotomy between spiritual firmament and secular enthusiasm seemed rife with contradictions and, hence, potential drama. But somewhere along this road I saw that Danielson was worth lots more than all the hype could add up to."

"The Danielson Famile Movie, when it is accomplished (after I find a way to get all my equipment and footage back from the pawnshop), will be unlike any band movie ever seen before because it will be as much about a family as about an artist," Aronson promises. "And despite the above comments, it's not a love letter, either. It is a collage of actions and reactions, intimacy and priorities, passages and reminders, rock and roll."

According to Aronson, to whom we are grateful for providing such an extensive account, the film should be released around the same time as the next Danielson Famile record in mid-2004. Finally, should you live in Chicago or Los Angeles, you'll be able to get a quick fix of the Famile at one of two dates scheduled this month:

11-06 Chicago, IL - Intuit Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art
11-08 Long Beach, CA - The Queen Mary (All Tomorrow's Parties)

Danielson Famile: http://www.danielsonfamile.com
Danielson Famile Movie: http://www.creativearson.com/danielson
Secretly Canadian: http://www.secretlycanadian.com

Audio Lunchbox, Napster Offer Alternatives To iTunes; Interpol Opens For Ludacris
"Virtual Mom" feature of Audio Lunchbox substitutes clean versions of all yer nasty sex jams

[Posted Wednesday, November 5th, 2003 06:00:00 Pitchfork Central Time]

Cory D. Byrom and John L. Ferrer report:
As the latest attempt at legitimizing music downloads, Audio Lunchbox promises to try their hardest to woo you with their roster of indie labels willing to give up the goods. Co-founder Morgan Harris offers the some insight into the humble goals the indie-centric service has set for itself: "Audio Lunchbox is the premier online destination for downloading the hottest independent music and getting the latest scoop on upcoming and established artists. Our goal is to offer the most complete, genre diverse library of independently distributed digital files at one destination."

Harris hopes to lure music fans with more than 120,000 tracks from over 35 indie labels, including Epitaph, Anti-, Razor and Tie, Barsuk, Vagrant, Artemis, Slowdance, Better Looking, and KOCH, as well as the majority of the content offered on CDBaby.com. And the site expects to add tracks from 100 more labels in the next 90 days, Harris reports.

Striving to be much more than just another music download service, Audio Lunchbox will also act as a lifestyle site showcasing what's new in indie music and featuring the latest info on all your favorite new and established artists. A website that showcases new music and offers up-to-date info on independent artists? That sounds stupid. Who would read that?

One of the more interesting aspects of the service, and the aspect most likely to keep any major labels from knocking on their door, is the lack of any Digital Rights Management (that's DRM to you and me) imbedded in any of the music offered. That means you can download it and then burn it, trade it, rip it, scatter it, smother it, and cover it as many times as you like. At a around a buck a file (or ten for an album), Audio Lunchbox hopes to capture some of iTunes' business while giving its users the same flexibility that file-sharing enthusiasts have enjoyed since the demise of Napster.

What's that? Demise? Napster? The only thing more pathetic than a reunion of a forgotten, welcome-worn screaming-guitar rock band is the comeback of the most infamous, snowball-starting, much-beloved-but-long-ago-replaced software created since Lotus 1-2-3. Much like, say, a Motley Crue tour, the return of Napster is pointless, too expensive, and not especially interesting to anyone but nostalgia fetishists.

Roxio is supposedly hoping that the marquee value of the name Napster will attract people to use this pay service instead of iTunes, MusicNet, MusicWave, Tune Time, Music City, or EZ-MP3 (I made most of those up instead of doing research, but I bet you didn't even notice). Of course, as always, there are barriers: just as the original Napster never came out with an official Mac version (co-opting the shareware clone Macster instead), the new software shuns not only Mac users of every stripe but Windows 95 and NT users as well.

Nonetheless, the resurrected Napster boasts 500,000 songs from a combination of indies and majors, adding content from Billboard, Yahoo!, and Launch as well as 40 commercial-free, interactive radio stations on the service's premium level. Like iTunes, Napster hopes to lure users with the promise of exclusive tracks: the first batch of Napster exclusives includes live sessions from Guided By Voices, MxPx, Brian McKnight and Cold. The service debuted last month with an equally exclusive (and eclectic) showcase at the House of Blues in Los Angeles. Interpol, Dashboard Confessional, and Ludacris were among the performers at the bash, surely one of the stranger live dockets of 2003.

Audio Lunchbox: http://www.audiolunchbox.com
Napster: http://www.napster.com

Devo Re-Release Rare Clips On DVD, Sell Swiffers
Mothersbaugh's "Rugrats" score criminally shunned by Oscar

[Updated Wednesday, November 6th, 2003 01:00:00 Pitchfork Central Time]

Devo's The Truth About De-Evolution is certainly one of the rarest, most sought-after collectable items in the world of rock paraphernalia, due to its wide recognition as being possibly the first music video ever made. So it's legitimately surprising and wonderful that it will finally be coming out on DVD. The Complete Truth About De-Evolution is due November 18th through Rhino. Along with the famous film, the disc will feature extra videos and commentary by Mark Mothersbaugh, Gerald V. Casale, and director Chuck Slater.

Devo-philes can also check out the brand new book We Are Devo: Are We Not Men, featuring interviews, photographs, and the extensive history of the band and their resulting cult phenomenon. This is an excellent early Christmas gift for people who like Devo and who still read books, few as they may be.

With all these retrospective books and DVD's, you might forget the band hasn't actually broken up. Recently they re-recorded their song "Whip It" as an advertisement for Swiffer mops (you can see that at the attached link, or you can easily guess how it goes), and they even played some shows in support of Tony Hawk's skateboarding tour (hmmm). Most recently they've been spotted in the liners of A Perfect Circle's new Thirteenth Step as doing backup vocals on "Pet." Okay, so that last one is a stretch... seems Maynard James Keenan's a fan, and his young son is named Devo. Yes, after the band.

.: Swiffer Ad: mms://windowsmedia.dvlabs.com/adcritic/swiffer-swiffermom.asf

Devo: http://www.clubdevo.com
Rhino: http://www.rhino.com

The Vexers on Big Honking Tour Through December
I wanna Vex you up

[Posted Wednesday, November 5th, 2003 06:00:00 Pitchfork Central Time]

On their website, nouveau post-punks The Vexers have posted dates for their positively epic fall tour through the U.S. and England. They'll be playing with a variety of bands, from The Sick Lipstick (quite appropriate) to Small Brown Bike (less so, but feasible) to an opening spot on a bill with mother-loving Sense Field. Wait, what? That's like if Yeah Yeah Yeahs opened for Pedro the Lion-- an engraved invitation to intra-audience violence and communication breakdown. This could be the basis for a new Quadrophenia-- instead of rockers vs. mods, it'll be leather jackets vs. cardigans. And that, my friends, is the sound of the zeitgeist being captured.

The Vexers are on tour to support the Gangland Ballads and the Death of Sex Set EP, which came out in the U.S. in September via Ace Fu Records, as the follow-up to their self-titled Ace Fu debut LP. Gangland was released in the UK on October 20th, via Cargo UK. From what I understand, rock 'n' roll musicians often set up commercial displays of their wares when they perform in concert. These are colloquially known as "merch tables," and I'm sure that, at any of the following live dates, you can trade in all your salmon-kissed new twenties, crisp pounds, or bricks of gold for the new EP, the first album, and assorted fashion styles. The dates, if you please:

11-06 London, England - The Monarch (w/ Elefant, Sense Field)
11-09 Nottingham, England - Rescue Rooms (w/ Melt Banana)
11-10 Leeds, England - The Vine
11-11 London, England - Buffalo Bar
11-12 London, England - Metro Bar
11-13 London, England - On the Rocks
11-14 Leicester, England - Sumo
11-15 Cardiff, Wales - Barfly
11-21 Des Moines, IA - Vaudeville Mews
11-22 Columbia, MO - Music Cafe
11-23 Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge
11-24 Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court (w/ Sick Lipstick, Tyrades)
11-25 Portland, OR - Dante's (w/ Fireballs of Freedom, the Riffs)
11-27 Seattle, WA - Graceland
11-29 Los Angeles, CA - Roxy
11-30 Anaheim, CA - Chain Reaction
12-03 El Paso, TX - Club 101
12-05 Austin, TX - Emo's (w/ The Oranges Band, Small Brown Bike)
12-06 San Antonio, TX - Sin 13
12-07 Houston, TX - Mary Jane's (w/ Catch 22, Boys Night Out)
12-10 Myrtle Beach, SC - The Lime Light (w/ Something About Vampires, Sluts)

The Vexers formed in 2001 when its principals left their sun-dappled, idyllic L.A. home for Philadelphia, where that city's gritty atmosphere settled into the crevices of their wiry (pun intended), sparse post-punk. Often drawing comparisons to original post-punk acts such as Wire, The Fall, X-Ray Spex and Gang of Four, as well as modern descendents like Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Elastica and The Liars, The Vexers have polarized audiences throughout their short career. The crux seems to be the issue of authenticity. Good music has to be shaped by heart, not expectations, and if The Vexers want to sing songs called "Mutual Masturbation" over single-string guitar lines, it's better for them to do exactly that than to try to concoct some mystic, populist rant just because that's how Mark E. Smith did it.

Vexers: http://www.thevexers.com
Ace Fu: http://www.acefu.com

Beta Band Get Mixed By Nigel Godrich; New Album In February
Alpha Band still mom's favorite

[Posted Tuesday, November 4th, 2003 04:00:00 Pitchfork Central Time]

After receiving near-universal acclaim for their debut and sophomore releases, The Beta Band and Hot Shots II, The Beta Band holds the world in suspense (and if not the world, at least the hearts of introverted electronica geeks everywhere) about their third full-length release. And just like the follow up to any great thing (the can opener to the can, the cart to the horse, and the Internet to porn), it must expand upon the previous subject while introducing and utilizing new aspects of its advanced form. All right, enough of that 11th grade term paper bullshit, here's the perts: Nigel Godrich, the prodigious whiz behind the latest albums from Beck and Radiohead, is mixing the upcoming record, which is almost complete.

The album doesn't even have a name or even a label at this point, though the group hopes to release it in February 2004. Beta Band frontman Steve Mason explains on the group's website: "Me and Rich (Greentree) went down at the weekend to see what he's doing to our LP and its all good! Looks like 12 tracks will go on the record out of the 17 we recorded. Mixing will be done in two weeks and the LP will be out in February. It has taken a long fucking time I know, we feel it too! But we ain't been lazy!" And you thought Billy Corgan liked to be in control.

Further on the Beta Band horizon: the band announced that they are compiling a DVD to accompany the 2004 release, possibly utilizing some of the music that doesn't make it onto the full-length. Solo projects are blooming as well, with Mason's King Biscuit more than half way done with their next album and others on the way from Greentree and drummer/percussionist Robin Jones.

Beta Band: http://www.betaband.com

Dreamworks Records In Acquisition Talks With Universal
Fred Durst to Rye Coalition: "Can't you guys just play like Korn?"

[Posted Tuesday, November 4th, 2003 04:00:00 Pitchfork Central Time]

No matter how much money the record industry claims to be losing in its ongoing war against consumer apathy and the popularity of file-sharing music, they can always cough up a little change to buy each other out. Billboard magazine reported last week that Universal Music Group, the largest label group in the biz, has reached an agreement to acquire Dreamworks Records for around $100 million from its parent company, Dreamworks SKG. Interestingly, if the transfer comes to pass, it will be the third David Geffen-started label to be absorbed by Universal, following the mid-'90s megamerger that resulted in much of the rosters of Geffen, DGC and A&M being dumped while lucrative acts like Nirvana, Beck, Weezer, Hole, Sting and Sheryl Crow remained. Insiders fear that many Dreamworks artists will meet the same fate if the label is folded into the current Interscope/Geffen/A&M umbrella.

Dreamworks was originally modeled around a small, artist-oriented roster that included Elliott Smith, Rufus Wainwright, Jonathan Fire*Eater, Morphine and Creeper Lagoon. Label principals Mo Ostin and Lenny Waronker, who had guided Warner Bros. Records through some of its most profitable and artistically fruitful periods, saw Dreamworks as an opportunity to stick by idiosyncratic artists and grow their careers gradually, in stark contrast to the sign 'em-and-screw 'em ethos that reigned at Universal. But Dreamworks didn't score any hits until landing more mainstream artists like Nelly "I'm Like A Bird" Furtado and pickup-truck patriot Toby Keith, as well as radio-friendly acts of lowest-common-denominator quality (I'm talkin' Alien Ant Farm and Papa Roach bad). The label has also had mild success with soundtracks to Dreamworks films including Shrek, American Beauty, and Almost Famous.

The current Dreamworks roster includes an all-over-the-place array of talent and lack thereof, ranging from the luminous crunch of Sparta and Rye Coalition to emo heroes Jimmy Eat World and Saves The Day to the complicated pop of Elliott Smith and Eels to avant hip-hoppers Q-Tip and Floetry.

Dreamworks: http://www.dreamworksrecords.com

Mary Lou Lord To Release Second Studio Album In February
Second coming of Lord probably inevitable given recent pre-apocalyptic events

[Posted Tuesday, November 4th, 2003 04:00:00 Pitchfork Central Time]

By any measure, Mary Lou Lord has had a bit of an odd career so far. Starting out playing subways in Boston, she attracted the attention of Kill Rock Stars and recorded a couple of EP's, put out one album on Sony's ill-fated WORK label, and then proceeded to mostly disappear for a bit. Then she had a child, which apparently provided her with the proper motivation to head back into the subways, of course-- hey, she's gotta provide. Her most recent release, 2001's Live City Sounds, collected a number of those subterranean performances, and was relatively well received and not nearly as crappy-sounding as you might suppose for a single-mic, in-the-subway affair.

Numerous reports have placed Lord in London over much of the last year, recording with long-time collaborator Nick Saloman of The Bevis Frond. Now she's back in the states, the album is finished, and she's even planning to play a proper tour or two. Take that, commuters of Boston: you're just going to have to listen to the crazy old guy with the accordion and the drum machine from now on.

According to David Gwiazdowski of Rubric Records, the new album is titled Baby Blue, after the included Badfinger cover (also recently covered by Portastatic-- getting quite a workout for one '70s power-pop song), and consists largely of Nick Saloman tunes penned specifically for Lord. She'll be backed by a full band on the album, which is scheduled to be released on February 24th, 2004. Here's the tracklist (all songs by Nick Saloman except where noted):

01 The Wind Blew All Around Me [The Bevis Frond]
02 Long Way From Tupelo [Mary Lou Lord]
03 43
04 Baby Blue [Badfinger]
05 Cold Kilburn Rain
06 Farming It Out
07 The Inhibition Twist [The Bevis Frond]
08 Because He's Leaving
09 Someone Always Talks
10 Turn Me Round [Saloman/Lord]
11 Stars Burn Out [The Bevis Frond]
12 Ron
13 Fearless [Pink Floyd]
14 Old Tin Tray

Lord has played the occasional show recently, and according to fansite Not Necessarily The Best Homepage, a more comprehensive U.S. and European tour is planned for spring 2004. We will, of course, bring you the dates when they're available.

Lord also recently commented on the death of close friend Elliott Smith, who played some guitar on Got No Shadow and wrote one of Lord's signature tunes, "I Figured You Out." "He sort of shut everyone out for the last three or four years," Lord told the Associated Press. "He just became really reclusive... maybe he was in a downward spiral and he didn't want to take everyone else with him."

Mary Lou Lord: http://www.maryloulord.yi.org
Rubric: http://www.rubricrecords.com

The Ladybug Transistor Kick Off Fall Tour
Miniature version of band found in Philadelphia mayor's office; escorted out by tiny security

[Posted Tuesday, November 4th, 2003 04:00:00 Pitchfork Central Time]

Following last month's domestic release of their self-titled fifth album, psych-pop quintet The Ladybug Transistor kicked off their U.S. fall tour last week. Rather than touring with a single companion, The Ladybug Transistor's fall tour finds them paired with a variety of compelling acts including Mates of State, American Analog Set, and TV on the Radio. Heck, why stick with the same old partner when you can have variety? Dates:

11-04 Seattle, WA - Graceland (w/ American Analog Set, Ester Drang)
11-05 Portland, OR - Holocene (w/ Viva Voce, Eux Autres)
11-07 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill (w/ Call & Response, Bart Davenport)
11-08 Los Angeles, CA - Spaceland (w/ Call & Response)
11-09 Tucson, AZ - Solar Cultural Gallery (w/ Nick Luca Trio)
11-11 Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge (w/ TV on the Radio)
11-12 Lawrence, KS - Replay Lounge
11-13 Norman, OK - Opolis
11-14 Austin, TX - Emo's (w/ Mates of State)
11-15 Denton, TX - Good Records
11-15 Denton, TX - Rubber Gloves (w/ Mates of State)
11-16 Jackson, MI - Martin's Lounge
11-17 Nashville, TN - Springwater
11-18 Chattanooga, TN - Lamar's
11-19 Athens, GA - Caledonia (w/ The Instruments, Finishing School)
11-20 Baltimore, MD - Ottobar
11-22 Brooklyn, NY - Northsix (w/ Fontaine Toups, The Last Wave)

London's Track and Field label will handle the European release of the new album, although a release date has not yet been announced. For those pining for a vinyl version, Track and Field is also planning a limited-edition LP in a gatefold sleeve. Consult the label or official Ladybug Transistor website for further details.

In other Ladybug news, flautist, keyboardist, and vocalist Sasha Bell (also of the Essex Green) recently released a solo effort under the moniker of Finishing School (listed as support at the Athens date of the tour) on The Telegraph Company label. The album includes a bonus DVD.

Ladybug Transistor: http://www.theladybugtransistor.com
Merge: http://www.mergerecords.com
Track and Field: http://www.trackandfield.org.uk
Telegraph Company: http://www.thetelegraphcompany.com

Rivulets Split CD with Marc Gartman, Cover Big Star
So much cuter than full-sized rivules

[Posted Tuesday, November 4th, 2003 04:00:00 Pitchfork Central Time]

Brian Howe and Rob Mackey report:
Rivulets, the digital slow-core project revolving around singer/songwriter Nathan Amundson's childhood fetish and simple balladry, is preparing to release a split album with NY musician Marc Gartman (who has worked with Pale Horse and Rider, made a documentary about Low and played with them) on Tract Records. The Rivulets-Low connection is already pretty solid, as Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker played on Debridement, Rivulets' second and most recent album on Chairkickers Union, Low's label.

The split will be available in early November, though you can preview MP3's on Tract's website right now. The project will feature five songs from each artist, all either unreleased or alternate versions of previous material. The Rivulets' half includes a version of "Cutter" remixed by Aarktica, whose John DeRosa also guested on Debridement, and who has also played with Pale Horse and Rider-- a project to which Amundson has also contributed. Damn, this is getting confusing; can someone get me my abacus and a yellow tablet? The Gartman half includes a song called "Luf Kanh Brhak Ur Hrt," followed by "A Grave Mistake," from which any resultant jokes would be just too easy. We're putting you on notice, Gartman. Watch it with the funny stuff.

From the upcoming split, expect downcast, narcotic repetition and breathy vocals that unfold in geological time; expect coffee-shop style singer/songwriter fare adorned in sundry bells and whistles. Expect a tracklist:

01 Rivulets: "Cutter" [featuring Jarboe]
02 Rivulets: "Keep You From Harm"
03 Rivulets: "Happy New Year"
04 Rivulets: "Wind is Howling"
05 Rivulets: "Cutter" [Aarktica remix]
06 Marc Gartman: "Hats and Wools"
07 Marc Gartman: "The Error of My Ways"
08 Marc Gartman: "Roswell"
09 Marc Gartman: "Luf Kanh Brhak Ur Hrt"
10 Marc Gartman: "A Grave Mistake"

Rivulets is also contributing a track to Tract's Eye of the Beholder Vol. 3 compilation, the latest in a series of extremely limited-edition compilations. This third volume is currently available, but at a 500 copy print run, good luck finding it if you didn't preorder. Rivulets, stepping in at zero hour to fill a vacancy, contributed a home-recorded microcassette demo of the unreleased song "Your Light and How It Shined," which appears alongside new material from Devendra Banhart, Marc Gartman, Pale Horse and Rider (see also intricacies; Byzantine interconnections), and The Strugglers. When one considers that Rivulets have also signed on to participate in Tract's upcoming Will Oldham tribute album, the sharp eye detects an emergent pattern. A pattern involving Rivulets DOING EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN WITH TRACT EXCEPT RELEASING THEIR ACTUAL ALBUMS! OK, I'm sorry. The track... or shall I say, Tract list:

01 Celestine: "Come On"
02 The Struggler: "Fine-Tuned"
03 Bianca: "Loosen Up"
04 Burd Early: "Woken"
05 Diana Darby: "Crazy"
06 Sodastream: "Bring Him Down"
07 Red Admiral: "Becoming a Sun"
08 Boy Omega: "Here the Sharks Swim"
09 Devendra Banhart: "Nature Walks"
10 Marc Gartman: "Las Vegas"
11 Racingpaperplanes: "PQ"
12 Ian Downey: "Now That My Life is Over"
13 The Virginia Reel: "New Song"
14 Pale Horse and Rider: "Annabelle"
15 Homeland: "The Evidence"
16 Rivulets: "Your Light and How It Shined"
17 Adrian Crowley: "Morning Frost"
18 Annika Bentley: "Gloria Wrist"

And finally, Rivulets is also appearing on Blue, the latest installment in a conceptual series curated by San Francisco label Dreams by Degrees, which brings together disparate artists to play songs thematically united according to color. Rivulets will contribute a cover of Big Star's "Blue Moon." Once more:

01 Corbi Wright: "What Can I Give to My Love"
02 Film School: "Sick of the Shame, Part Two"
03 Your Friend: "Love Ate the Wheelbarrow"
04 cobalt
05 Park Avenue Music: "Sun = So Bright"
06 Vela: "Less Panda"
07 powder
08 L'Altra: "Unperfect Storm"
09 cerulean
10 Sir: "It's Not True"
11 Lazarus: "106 Words on Wishes"
12 Vetiver: "You May Be Blue"
13 cornflower
14 Rivulets: "Blue Moon"
15 midnight
16 John Davis: "Unglückt Gebracht"
17 Stratford 4: "Blue Light"
18 winter - spring 03

Rivulets: http://www.rivulets.net
Tract: http://www.tractrecords.com
Dreams By Degrees: http://www.dreamsbydegrees.com

Racebannon Traverse The Nation This Fall
Jonny Quest talked into "experience building" roadie internship

[Posted Tuesday, November 4th, 2003 04:00:00 Pitchfork Central Time]

Racebannon is taking their genre-warping hardcore sound around the U.S. this winter for an extensive twenty-three date tour with a bevy of guests. Changing the minds of fans and harsh critics of the recent underground hardcore scene, Racebannon's lead vocalist and spastic mouthpiece introduces an unmistakable blend of ranting lyrics and unbridled anger that parallels the extreme sonic impact of the band. Check it out. The dates:

11-05 Bloomington, IN - Vertigo *
11-15 Bloomington, IN - Rhino's (w/ Majhas, Eve's Revenge)
11-21 Chicago, IL - Fireside Bowl (w/ Small Brown Bike, The Oranges Band)
11-22 St. Paul, MN - Big V's
11-23 Minneapolis, MN - The Babylon
11-26 Spokane, WA - The Detour
11-27 Vancouver, British Columbia - Brickyard
11-28 Portland, OR - Dante's *
11-29 Tacoma, WA - Hell's Kitchen *
11-30 Olympia, WA - The Go Club *
12-02 Los Angeles, CA - Silverlake Lounge (w/ The Mae Shi)
12-03 San Francisco, CA - The Pound
12-04 Sacramento, CA - Capital Garage *
12-05 Berkeley, CA - Starry Plough *
12-06 San Jose, CA -The Blank Club *
12-07 Long Beach, CA - Koo's (w/ Radio Berlin)
12-08 Phoenix, AZ - Modified
12-09 Albuquerque, NM - Launchpad
12-10 Denver, CO - Climax Lounge
12-11 Lawrence, KS - The Replay Lounge
12-12 Oklahoma City, OK - The Conservatory
12-13 St. Louis, MO - The Creepy Crawl

* with Jucifer

Racebannon: http://www.racebannon.net

Dizzee Rascal Signs To Matador
"Wot U On" [ft. Chan Marshall], "I Luv U" [Pizzicato Five horn dub] possible b-sides

[Posted Monday, November 3rd, 2003 04:00:00 Pitchfork Central Time]

American fans of British undaground hip-hop (all twelve of you), rejoice! Matador recently signed Dizzee Rascal, famed 18-year old British rapper and winner of the Mercury Music Prize. Matador is teaming up with Rascal's UK label XL Recordings to release Rascal's debut album, Boy In Da Corner, on American soil. The CD will drop some time in January, so in short: don't bother paying $30 for the import! What this all boils down to, basically, is that for all of you connoisseurs of indie hip-hop out there who are tiring of Definitive Jux and MF Doom, prepare to be fulfilled.

Matador seemed psyched about the possibility of signing the fresh young star. Let's hear it from them: "18 years of age and hailing from East London, Dizzee's unique hybrid of hip-hop, drum & bass and UK garage coupled with his explosive real-life tales of street crime, poverty, sex and guns, are a combination unlike any MC we've heard-- underground or over." Yeah, dog.

Rascal's debut album has met with near universal praise from critics, including New Musical Express and The Guardian (whose reviews, alongside Pitchfork's, are reprinted in total on Matador's news page)-- even breaking onto our own Best New Music page. The Guardian had this to say about Rascal and his British audience: "Whether anybody will listen [to Rascal] seems questionable. Both Dizzee Rascal's music and message are wildly unpalatable, and the British record-buying public is not currently renowned for wild risk-taking." Same here, brotha, but stranger things have been known to happen in America once the British hype machine has had its way with something. Let's hope the American audience is looking for something a little more hardcore.

Dizzee Rascal: http://www.dizzeerascal.co.uk
Matador: http://www.matadorrecords.com

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