general

New Handsome Furs: I’m Confused

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About the only thing more titillating than those Handsome Furs promotional photos is the mere fact that a new album, Face Control, is on its way, due out March 10 (via Sub Pop).

My friend Royce basically nailed it when he recently said Dan Boeckner was the guy keeping Wolf Parade focused, preventing Spencer Krug from taking the band into the proggy Sunset Rubdown arena. I couldn’t agree more.

Here’s the tracklisting for Face Control:

1. Legal Tender
2. Evangeline
3. Talking Hotel Arbat Blues
4. (Passport Kontrol)
5. All We Want, Baby, Is Everything
6. I’m Confused
7. (White City)
8. Nyet Spasiba
9. Officer of Hearts
10. (It’s Not Me, It’s You)
11. Thy Will Be Done
12. Radio Kaliningrad

arizona, general

Jan. 23: Art One benefit show

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Local artist and art teacher Chad Knapp is organizing a benefit show to help keep Art One gallery open in Scottsdale.

In Chad’s own words:

“The gallery has helped countless young artists and schools, please come down and see the bands and the art work. The gallery is going to start setting up shows and you are more than welcome to contact them about setting up shows. It’s going to be run similar to the way the Modified is run.”

The benefit starts at 7 p.m. and costs $5. Scheduled bands include Source Victoria and Art for Starters; one more band will be announced.

The gallery is located at 4120 N. Marshall Way in Scottsdale.

general

New Neko Case: People Got a Lotta Nerve

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If it’s not enough that we’re getting a new Neko Case mp3 from her forthcoming album Middle Cyclone, Neko and her label, Anti-, will donate five bucks to Best Friends Animal Society for every blog that posts this new track, People Got a Lotta Nerve.

Read the Anti- blog for more details. Needless to say, as a huge animal lover – and the owner of one mean machine of an English bulldog – I highly encourage the posting and reposting for this mission. And, oh yeah, that track is pretty outstanding, too.

general, video

N.A.S.A.: Money (feat. Z-Trip, Chuck D., etc.) (video)

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DJ Z-Trip updated his site with some news, including his brush with a bomb threat (and DJing shortly thereafter), his posting of a new Obama mix (saving that for another post) and this new video for the N.A.S.A. track Money on which Z provides some cuts.

This particular track features Z-Trip, Chuck D., David Byrne, Seu George and Ras Congo (did I forget anybody?). Shepard Fairy and Syd Garon (director of DJ Q-Bert’s Wave Twisters) created the video.

By the look of it, the N.A.S.A. album, The Spirit of Apollo, has guest spots from just about anyone you can imagine (Chali 2na! There’s a shocker.) In all honesty, I know little about N.A.S.A., but Z-Trip’s involvement usually means I’ll give it a chance.

Stereogum also posted a new N.A.S.A. track.

general

New Elvis Perkins in Dearland: Shampoo

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Waaaaay back in 2006, I told you that Elvis Perkins’ While You Were Sleeping (off the outstanding Ash Wednesday) was my favorite song of that year.

Earlier in 2006, Perkins played a studio session at KEXP, and one of the four tracks he played was Shampoo, an old/new song that will appear on his March 10 self-titled album under the name Elvis Perkins in Dearland, on XL Recordings. The album, recorded in upstate New York in late 2008, includes a full band, the same group that joined Perkins on the road in support of Ash Wednesday.

Here’s the tracklisting for the new album, which I’m excited to hear in full band glory:

Shampoo
Hey
Hours Last Stand
I Heard Your Voice in Dresden
Send My Fond Regards to Lonelyville
I’ll Be Arriving
Chains, Chains, Chains
Doomsday
123 Goodbye
How’s Forever Been Baby

Related:
Elvis Perkins on Take-Away Shows

general, video

A.C. Newman: Like a Hitman, Like a Dancer

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I’ve had A.C. Newman’s forthcoming album, Get Guilty (out Jan. 20), on repeat the past couple weeks — not only because I’m writing a review of it but also because it’s really, really good (I hope to be more eloquent with my vocabulary in the review).

Pitchfork’s Forkcast caught up with Newman and his band for a video of Like a Hitman, Like a Dancer for something called the “DUMBO Session.” (That’s short for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. Cute.)

While you ponder if Newman ever will write a bad song (he won’t), check the stick work on the drums. More drummers should make use of the rim on the snare drum – a totally underrated piece of functional hardware on a kit.

general

Bon Iver: Blood Bank (mp3)

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Bon Iver found a place on many a year-end list in 2008 (including mine), even though For Emma, Forever Ago was technically self-released in 2007.

In a smart move of striking while the iron is hot, Justin Vernon will release the four-song EP Blood Bank on Jan. 20 via Jagjaguwar. The label released an mp3 (192 kbps) of the title track today but stated: “No promotional copies will be available until that time (Jan. 20).”

Related:
Bon Iver: The MySpace Transmissions

hip-hop

Guilty Simpson: Piglets (prod. by Oh No)

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Paying attention to Twitter can actually be rewarding sometimes.

On Sunday evening, Stones Throw (Web site / Twitter) dropped a link for a “Twitter exclusive”: an mp3 of Piglets by Guilty Simpson, a track that’s on EA Sports’ Skate 2 soundtrack.

It’s actually a remix of Pigs, which appeared on Guilty Simpson’s 2008 album Ode To The Ghetto. Oh No fleshes out the minimalist drum beats of the original for Piglets, a modern-day Fuck tha Police: “I’m just a young rap artist / do the shit you probably refer to as ‘that garbage’ “

  • Guilty Simpson | Piglets

[UPDATE: MP3 removed by request; good time to join Twitter.]