Video: The Wrens: "She Sends Kisses"

So here we are, nearly three years after The Meadowlands flew into our lives and changed them forevermore, and some dude with some serious claymation skillz has just made a video for the Wrens' "She Sends Kisses".

After receiving the band's blessing, that dude-- Boise, Idaho-based animator Jason Sievers-- toiled nearly a year to come up with the vid below, a thoughtful if a bit ponderous homage to the Meadowlands standout.

Cue the 'Tube:

Mirah Remix Album Due

MP3: Hooliganship: The Light (remix)

Smashing Pumpkins Enlist Queen/Cars Producer

The following message has mysteriously appeared on the Smashing Pumpkins website:

"The Smashing Pumpkins are currently in the recording studio with legendary producer Roy Thomas Baker (Queen, The Cars, The Darkness), at work on their first new album since 1999."

Awesome! If there's anything I want out of a new Smashing Pumpkins album, it's glittery pomp and new wave sparkle.

Still no word on who's in the band other than Billy Corgan, or when the album's coming out. However, I'm guessing that it's going to come out on Warner Bros. or Reprise, since the mailing list on the Pumpkins site is run by Warner/Reprise.

Video: Smashing Pumpkins: 1979

Ryan Adams Produces New Willie Nelson Album

While he might loathe balladeer Bryan Adams, one-B-shy rocker Ryan Adams loves him some Willie Nelson, at least enough to handle production duties on the man's forthcoming album, Songbird. According to Billboard.com, Adams and Nelson have transcended the generational divide to collaborate on the disc, sure to scare up some respectable sales when Lost Highway releases it on Halloween (that's October 31 to the grownups out there).

In this candybag: eleven sugar-coated tracks, with Adams' Cardinals band backing, including a number of choice and not-so-choice covers: Gram Parsons' "$1000 Wedding", the Grateful Dead's "Stella Blue", Christine McVie's "Songbird", and, oh boy, Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah"--this despite Pitchfork's recent strict moratorium on "Hallelujah" covers. They'll rot yr teeth, man. [MORE...]

Stream: Ryan Adams: Various Tracks

Mojave 3 Unveil Fall Tour

Excuses for travellers? How about a big ol' fall tour?

Mojave 3 have announced a two-month trek across North America. They'll kick things off next month in Vancouver and keep up the pace through late October. Come November, M3 are scheduled for a one-off appearance at London's Jazz Cafe.

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Video: Mojave 3: Breaking the Ice

Slits, Knife, Deerhoof, Black Keys Play CMJ
Also Hot Chip, Madlib, Blonde Redhead, the Boy Least Likely To, more

This year's event is scheduled to take place at venues across the Big Apple from October 31 - November 4. The full lineup has yet to be unveiled, but the initial roster ain't looking so shabby.

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Pretty Girls Make Graves Reveal North American Tour

We have to hand it to Pretty Girls Make Graves. The Matador quintet recently announced a North American tour that actually makes its way into Mexico. Because Mexico's part of North America too, remember?

After laying down some tunes for our Southern neighbors, PGMG will head into the States and Canada for a mammoth Élan Vital-supporting trek alongside...shudder...She Wants Revenge. Why oh why?

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MP3: Pretty Girls Make Graves: The Nocturnal House

Stones Throw Celebrates 10 Years With Comp, Tour
New Madvillain album in the works

Turning 10 is a big deal, and for its first year in double digits, Stones Throw Records is having children. Life comes at you fast, I guess. The newborn, Chrome Children, is the full-length collaboration between the Adult Swim network and the entire Stones Throw roster, as previously reported. The compilation will be released October 3 and comes packaged with a full-length DVD of the MF Doom and Madlib headlining gig at this year's SXSW.

Unlike Danger Doom's The Mouse and the Mask, Chrome Children does not feature actual samples of Adult Swim shows (thank god), but the network will be airing advertisements and creating animated videos for some of the songs. All tracks are new and exclusive to Chrome Children, except for J Dilla's "Nothing Like This" and Gary Wilson's "Dream(s)".

Stones Throw is also offering Peanut Butter Wolf's "Chrome Mix"-- a 20-minute mix that takes half of its tracks from Chrome Children-- as an MP3 download from its website (see link below).

Shortly following the release of Chrome Children, there will be a Stones Throw 10th anniversary tour featuring Madlib (his first nationwide tour!), label founder Peanut Butter Wolf, and J. Rocc. Other Stones Throw artists such as MED, Percee P, Egon and currently-unannounced guests will also join the tour on select dates.

Madlib is still hard at work with MF Doom on the upcoming Madvillain album, but he has so many projects in the works before that gets released that you'd be forgiven for forgetting it existed at all. They have done a little recent recording, however. Namely, their take on "The Star-Spangled Banner" (!) and their Chrome Children appearance, "Monkey Suite".

The Beat Konducta has been behind the boards quite a bit recently. He produced Talib Kweli and Norah Jones on the former's forthcoming album, Ear Drum, which is tentatively scheduled for a fall release. His instrumental backings for the Dudley Perkins album Expressions, hit iTunes recently. And Yesterdays New Quintet have just completed "Summer Suite", a 40-minute long track that Stones Throw hopes to release this summer. Time's a-ticking, guys, but considering the abundance of material already being released, I guess I understand. [MORE...]

MP3: Peanut Butter Wolf: Chrome Mix

Pinback Rarities Compilation Due

West Coast indie mainstays Pinback will release their first rarities compilation via Ace Fu on September 5. The 11-track compilation is titled Nautical Antiques (has a nice ring to it) and features B-sides, demos, previously unreleased songs, European bonus tracks, and other tracks.

In a show of Californian solidarity, the duo have autographed 90 copies of the release that the folks at San Diego-based Lou's Records are selling on their website, where Nautical Antiques is available for pre-order now. The tracklist is after the jump.

Don't forget, Pinback are also playing the Touch & Go Records 25th Anniversary Celebration in Chicago on Sunday, September 10.

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MP3: Pinback: Messenger

Stream: Kelis: "Fuck Them Bitches"

Stream: Kelis: Fuck Them Bitches

Aloha Say Hello to U.S. Tour
Say goodbye to privacy, showering daily

Vibe-happy quartet Aloha greets the highway once again, embarking today on a tour that will see the Cleveland-, Cincinnati-, Rochester-, DC-, Brooklyn-based (OK, so everywhere-based) band traveling around the Midwest and East Coast, supported by Frenchkiss four-piece Rahim.

Aloha has already toured extensively in support of their recent 8.0-garnering full-length, Some Echoes (Polyvinyl), which the band is streaming in its entirely on their website.

Also, on September 26, Polyvinyl will release the debut solo album by Aloha drummer and Cex collaborator Cale Parks. Titled Illuminated Manuscript, the 12-track LP first appeared in June on Japan's Stiff Slack imprint (albeit with a slightly different tracklisting and cover art). The label approached Parks after he posted some tracks-- many of them experimental Aloha demos-- on his MySpace page. "I never really set out to make a great solo record," he said of the venture, "It's mostly a collection of random demos and things I'd recorded at home for fun." [MORE...]

MP3: Aloha: Your Eyes
MP3: Cale Parks: Wet Paint

Islands Reveal North American Tour

Judging by their recently announced tour, Islands truly are forever. Or for three months anyway. The Montreal collective has scheduled an extensive tour of North America (save one Switzerland festival gig), which is set to kick off early next month with a stint at the Osheaga Festival in the band's hometown of Montreal. If only J'aime Tambeur could be around to see this one-horned monster...

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Video: Islands: Humans (live at the Fillmore)

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