I wouldn’t envy the task of following-up the accolades bestowed upon an album like Funeral. It was one of those fluke cultural bubbles, wherein a band rides a wave of impenetrable hype that escalates its record sales from 0 to pop-culture-reference-point in a matter of a few heavy-handed reviews. The trouble is The Arcade Fire […]

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Former Smiths bassist Andy Rourke (not one of Morrissey’s favorite people since he testified in Mike Joyce’s case against the former Smiths leader for back royalties) is organizing the line-up for the Versus Cancer Benefit, taking place in Manchester, England on March 30th. Echo & the Bunnymen, Peter Hook (New Order), Noel Gallager, Paul Weller, […]

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Bjork’s album art has always been, uhh, eccentric, but Volta may be in the running for hands down ugliest- not only for Bjork album covers but also for the year. Here’s to hoping Timbaland doesn’t make her music sound like Japanese enema porn raining down on an elfin, Icelandic songstress.

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Nasty Little Man reports that Spoon has confirmed a July 13th release for its as yet untitled sixth full-length. The band is staying with the fine men and women at Merge. And, just for fun, here’s the tracklist, replete with colloquial misspellings (which presumably make much more sense when pronounced with Britt Daniel’s affected rasp), […]

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The White Stripes are set to follow-up 2005’s Get Behind Me Satan with 13 songs recorded in Nashville, TN collectively – and ill-advisedly – known as Icky Thump. I’ve never understood why an album’s tracklist is newsworthy. Who cares what the songs are called? Is it just a matter of checking to see if your […]

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[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/2iqg3LVx2Ws” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] Video for one of the best songs of the year thus far. Menomena is currently on tour supporting Friend or Foe, out now on Barsuk. The remaining shows: March 27 – Great Scott, Allston, Mass. March 28 – Bowery Ballroom, New York March 29 – Princeton University, Princeton, N.J. […]

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I was much more excited about Rhino’s Cure reissue series before they came out. So far, the band’s first seven albums (from 1979’s Three Imaginary Boys through 1987’s Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me) have been given the deluxe make-over. Rhino is doling them out in sets of three, and the good stuff has almost […]

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