Drive-By Truckers back Bettye LaVette on new album

Soul vocalist Bettye LaVette is backed by Southern rock combo the Drive-By Truckers on her new album, “The Scene of the Crime.” Due Sept. 25 via Anti-, the album finds LaVette interpreting material penned by such artists as Willie Nelson and Elton John. A track list has yet to be announced.

In addition to the Truckers, contributions were turned in by Muscle Shoals keyboardist Spooner Oldham and bassist David Hood, who is the father of Truckers vocalist/guitarist Patterson Hood. “To have recorded with Patterson’s father all those years ago, and now to have recorded with both of them was singularly unique,” says LaVette, who made an album at Muscle Shoals in the early 1970s that was shelved by Atlantic and not released until nearly 30 years later.

“The Scene of the Crime” is the follow-up to 2005′s acclaimed “I’ve Got My Own Hell To Raise,” which reached No. 4 on Billboard’s Top Blues Albums chart.

The hard-touring LaVette will be on the road all summer, beginning June 7 at the Burlington (Vt). Discover Jazz Festival.
(via billboard online)

Kingblind Downloads

Sufjan Stevens – In The Words Of The Governor

Savath & Savalas feat. Jose Gonzalez – Estrella De Dos Caras

Colin Meloy – Oh No [Lavender Diamond cover]

REM:: Demos 1990

Talking Heads – Demos (1975)

Minutemen: 1983-12-16, Philadelphia

Polyphonic Spree:: Running Away New Track

Bloc Party vs. Gwen Stefani “What You Hunting For?”

Bloc Party vs. Coldplay “Hunting For Witches In My Place”

Bloc Party “Say It Right” Nelly Furtado Cover

“Fancy Footwork” Guns N Bombs Remix

Nada Surf Eyes Gibbard, Hatfield For New Album

Veteran rock outfit Nada Surf is eyeing a January release for its next Barsuk album, tentatively titled “Time for Plan A.” The set was recorded in February in Seattle with producer John Goodmanson and will likely feature guest appearances from Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard, Juliana Hatfield, Harvey Danger’s Sean Nelson and the Long Winters’ John Roderick.

“We tracked maybe 20 songs. I’d say a third of those still need lyrics,” frontman Matthew Caws said of the follow-up to 2005′s “The Weight Is a Gift.” “It’s probably 70% there, but of the ones we’re going to put on, maybe three songs still need words and the other ones need to be cooked a little.”

Caws says he can’t accurately describe the sound of the album because he’s still not sure what songs will make the cut, but admits, “there is some hard rock, almost early ’80s British metal for a couple of minutes. I don’t even know if the record is going in a positive direction or a vitriolic direction. I think it’s getting weirder. But then some songs sound like Tom Petty, which is a great thing if it works and a bummer if it doesn’t.”

Seven songs feature cello accompaniment, about which Caws marvels, “It’s not cheesy and it doesn’t suck the rock out, which has happened to us before.”

Nada Surf is plotting a special September acoustic tour, which it may book by soliciting private houses to play at via MySpace. “If you have a house, can put 100 people in it and make sure it doesn’t get shut down because there are too many cars on your lawn, let’s do it,” Caws says. A brief South American tour is also in the works for October.

But beforehand, Caws and drummer Daniel Lorca will play an acoustic set at a June 3 benefit in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in an effort to save the area’s historic Domino Sugar Factory from demolition. The space is likely to be turned into luxury housing on Williamsburg’s burgeoning waterfront. “This is a neighborhood already packed way beyond capacity,” Caws says. “Taking the subway here is insane, and that’s without the 80,000 new units or whatever.”

In addition, the band’s long out-of-print “Karmic” EP will be reissued June 12 via Hi Speed Soul, the in-house imprint of San Diego record store M-Theory that is named after a song from Nada Surf’s “Let Go” album.

“Flattery will get you everywhere in that case, so we were like, ‘Sure! You want to put out our EP? Cool!,’” Caws says. “Karmic” will also include the extra track “Pressure Free,” previously only available as the B-side to Nada Surf’s second seven-inch vinyl single.

iTunes 7.2 supports DRM-free ‘iTunes Plus’ music

An update to Apple’s iTunes software is available for download from Apple’s Web site and through the Software Update system preference. The new version, 7.2, adds support for previewing, purchasing and downloading DRM-free music through the iTunes Store.

“We have always believed that music should be accessible and DRM-free,” Chris Bell, Apple’s director of worldwide marketing for iTunes, told Macworld. “This is the right direction for the future.”

Apple is calling the new music “iTunes Plus,” and plans to offer it alongside the FairPlay-encrypted AAC files it has offered for some time through the iTunes Store. “iTunes Plus” files cost a bit more — $1.29 per track, versus the $0.99 per track for protected files — but have been encoded at a higher bit rate, 256Kbps AAC, instead of 128Kbps AAC, which should yield better audio fidelity.

There are several links to iTunes Plus when you go to the store. Apple is also offering a one-click upgrade for all of your EMI purchased DRM songs. If you choose to upgrade, iTunes gives you the choice to save the original songs on the desktop or delete them from your computer.

“We believe iTunes plus is the future so we made it very simple to upgrade,” said Bell.

Apple first announced in early April plans to start offering songs for sale through the iTunes Store that don’t use Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology. The company made the announcement with music publisher EMI, and said that all of EMI’s catalog of music and music videos would be available for download sans DRM by the end of May. With the introduction of iTunes 7.2 this week, Apple is set to do just that.

During the April announcement Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that EMI is only the first major label to join with Apple to offer DRM-free music. Jobs predicts that by the end of 2007, more than half the songs on the iTunes Store will be DRM-free.

Bell reiterated Jobs’ timeframe and added that “Indie labels are already embracing iTunes Plus and they will be on soon.”

Kingblind Downloads

The New Pornographers My Rights Versus Yours NEW TRACK!

Foundry Field Recordings:: transistor kids

Rasputina:: Cage In A Cave

Nadir:: Slave (Distorted Soul Album Version)

The Ladybug Transistor:: Three Days From Now

Sub Pop to distribute De Stijl Records

How charming to see Sub Pop growing up and even becoming a parent. The label is soon to birth spinoff Hardly Art. And now it will act as a step-parent for De Stijl. No, that doesn’t mean Sub Pop will be re-releasing copies of the old White Stripes album of the same name. De Stijl is also a little imprint out of Minneapolis. Sub Pop and De Stijl first joined forces in 2003 to bring Michael Yonkers’ Microminiature Love from vinyl (the format De Stijl has specialized in up to now) to CD. Now the two outfits will form an ongoing relationship with a string of releases set for this year, including more back catalogue material from Yonkers and others. You can head to the label’s website for more details.

The Cult Inks With Roadrunner

Veteran British rock act the Cult has signed with Roadrunner. The group’s first new album since 2001′s Atlantic set “Beyond Good and Evil” will be released Sept. 25 in conjunction with its own New Wilderness imprint. The as-yet-untitled set is being recorded in London with producer Youth.

Beginning June 5, the Cult, which now includes lone founding members vocalist Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy, will be on the road in Europe supporting the Who. North American dates are being booked for the fall.

Following the release of “Beyond Good and Evil,” which Astbury previously told Billboard.com was a “soul destroying” experience, the Cult was inactive for three-and-a-half years before reuniting to tour in the spring of 2006.

As previously reported, Astbury guests on “Burn My Shadow,” the first single from the upcoming UNKLE album, “War Stories.”
(via billboard online)

The Police Return To The Stage With Vancouver Warm-Up

The Police played their first concert in more than 20 years last night (May 27) in front of a 4,000-strong, fan club-only audience at Vancouver’s GM Place, rocking through a 21-song, 125-minute set that went heavy on hits from the band’s early 1980s heyday. The show opened with “Message in a Bottle” and closed with the spirited early hit “Next to You.”

The group officially begins its mammoth reunion tour tonight at the same arena, with support from Fiction Plane. The trek is expected to last through the end of the year and will likely finish as the top ticket seller of 2007.

The reunion already has taken in $102 million on sales of 900,000 ticket in North America and another $66 million from sales of 650,000 tickets overseas, according to estimates by Billboard.

Among the oddities that appeared in the warm-up show set list were “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” which was rarely played live during the band’s first incarnation, and a medley of “Voices Inside My Head” and “When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What’s Still Around,” which was first tested out during a February press conference in Los Angeles.

Here is the Police’s May 27, 2007, set list:

“Message in a Bottle”
“Synchronicity II”
“Don’t Stand So Close to Me”
“Voices Inside My Head”/”When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What’s Still Around”
“Spirits in the Material World”
“Driven to Tears”
“Walking on the Moon”
“Truth Hits Everybody”
“Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”
“Wrapped Around Your Finger”
“The Bed’s Too Big Without You”
“Murder by Numbers”
“De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da”
“Invisible Sun”
“Walking in Your Footsteps”
“Can’t Stand Losing You”
“Roxanne”
“King of Pain”
“So Lonely”
“Every Breath You Take”
“Next to You”
(via billboard)

Electrelane:: No shouts, No alarms (Album Review)

Written in Berlin and recorded in Michigan, the cosmopolitan quartet’s fourth album proffers glinting indie rock served with a dash of art school hauteur. Thus, Stereolab and Neu! influences abound, while connoisseurs’ bonnets are sporadically doffed to post-punk avatars like The Auteurs. Having eschewed the over-earnest knob-twiddling of erstwhile producer Steve Albini, Verity Susman’s vocals and Mia Clarke’s guitars now sound crisp and urgent, and when the envelope gets pushed – as on the strings and horns-caressed In Berlin – the band’s detached cool melts into a pleasing joi de vivre.
(David Sheppard)

Wilco performs “What Light” from the “Shake it Off” DVD and album “Sky Blue Sky”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El5d8C47GzE]

Kingblind Downloads

Quietly anthemic indie rock band The National have just released their new vaguely Smog-like gothic Cave and Cohen-esque album ‘Boxer‘ and are gearing up for a sold out five date residency at the Bowery Ballroom in New York.
The National – Fake Empire

The National – Slipping Husband

The National – Murder Me Rachael

The National – Cold Girl Fever

The National – Son

The National – Wasp Nest

The National – High Beams

Pinback Sets Date For Second Touch & Go Album

Pinback will return Sept. 11 with its second Touch & Go album, “Autumn of the Seraphs.” The 11-track set is the follow-up to 2004′s “Summer in Abaddon.” Drumming was provided by both Mario Rubalcaba (ex-Rocket From The Crypt, Hot Snakes) and No Knife’s Chris Prescott.

“This one is probably more of a departure than anything we’ve done,” vocalist/guitarist Rob Crow said earlier this year. “It’s unexpectedly ‘up,’ perhaps. It seems a bit more like a band is playing than any of the other ones. It could be the tightest we’ve had, actually.”

As of yet, the band has not announced tour plans, as Crow is busy with a number of upcoming projects on his own Robcore label. Two new albums from Crow’s Goblin Cock side project are finished; the first, “Come With Me if You Want To Live” is a “regular” album, while another, “Dragonf*cker,” is “One side with a 20-minute long song; the other is a bunch of covers with a 10-minute Osmonds medley,” according to Crow.

Fans can also look for new releases from Aspects Of Physics, Optionally Yours and Thingy, as well as a 7-inch vinyl single from Alpha Male.

Here is the track list for “Autumn of the Seraphs”:

“From Nothing to Nowhere”
“Barnes”
“Good to Sea”
“How We Breathe”
“Walters”
“Subbing for Eden”
“Devil You Know”
“Blue Harvest”
“Torch”
“Bouquet”
“Off by 50″

Liars announce new album details

LIARS – LIARS

BRAND NEW ALBUM – OUT AUGUST 28, 2007

What do you expect from Liars?
Noise? Concept? Both?
Their new LP delivers neither.

Liars announce details of a brand new release. Out on Mute on August 28th 2007, ‘Liars’ will be available on CD, white vinyl and download.

Recorded on the heels of 2006’s ‘Drum’s Not Dead’ somewhere between LA and Berlin, Liars’ 4th album marks another bold transition for Angus Andrew, Aaron Hemphill and Julian Gross.

For the new album Liars have foregone theory for a more practical approach, one based on traditional song structures and instrument usage.

“I’d never felt like a songwriter ‘til this album,” explains Angus. “If you told me last year Liars would release a record like this, I would have laughed. If you said I’d be playing guitar solos, I’d have called you a liar. We never know what we’re making ‘til it’s made… this time I’m a bit shocked.”

Tracklisting
Plaster Casts Of Everything
Houseclouds
Leather Prowler
Sailing To Byzantium
What Would They Know
Cycle Time
Freak Out
Pure Unevil
Clear Island
The Dumb In The Rain
Protection

THE NATIONAL:: Boxer (Album Review)

The chamber rock quintet the National broke through in 2005 with “Alligator,” a moody album that sounded more than a little like the Willard Grant Conspiracy gone post- punk. The band earned plaudits for mixing disparate styles and avoiding the “woe is me” shoe-gazer tar pit. Eager to replicate that success, the National hews too closely to established formula on “Boxer,” content to revisit previously explored territory without expanding its sound.

Granted, “Boxer” is a big-sounding record, laden with strings, horns, piano, guitar and singer Matt Berninger’s rich voice, each element interlocking with jigsaw precision and buffed to a high black sheen. And given the tenor of the times, Berninger’s worldview is appropriately gloomy – when he sings “we’re half-awake in a fake empire” on the opener, “Fake Empire,” he could be reciting America’s new letterhead-ready slogan – but its effectiveness is weakened when the gloom spreads over of a dozen songs. The record’s brighter spots (“Apartment Story” and “Green Gloves,” which recall the band’s pre-”Alligator” Americana- influenced work) strike a better balance between gloomy and, er, less gloomy. Still, night-black, painstakingly crafted and bloodless, “Boxer” is musical obsidian.
(STEPHEN HAAG- CT)

The White Stripes announce US tour

The White Stripes have announced a tour of the US, kicking off in Chicago in September.

The band will continue on their quest to play all remaining 16 states they have yet to travel to in support of their forthcoming album ‘Icky Thump’, set for release on June 19.

The September stint will see them play eight more never-before-played States, including Alaska and North Dakota, as well as revisiting a number of others.

The dates confirmed so far are:

Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom (September 4,5)
Lincoln, NE Pershing Center Auditorium (6)
Fargo, ND Fargo Civic Auditorium (7)
Rapid City, SD Rushmore Plaza Civic Center (8)
Jackson Hole, WY Snowking Center (10)
Boise, ID Idaho Center Theatre (11)
Salt Lake City, UT The “E” Center (12)
Albuquerque, NM Kiva Auditorium (13)
Austin, TX Austin City Limits (14-16)
Inglewood, CA The Forum (19)
Berkeley, CA Greek Theatre (21)
Anchorage, AK William A. Egan Civic Center (24)
Seattle, WA Paramount Ballroom (26,27)
(More dates are expected to be announced shortly)
via nme

Kingblind.com giveaway (Ragged Magazine Prize Pack)

To win up just send an email to kingblind(at)gmail.com With RAGGED MAG in the subject line and your name and address (and hoodie size) in the body of the message

What you win in our Ragged contest

RAGGED – VIP Prize Pack

- American Rag Cie RAGGED hoodie
- CDs from each of the seven RAGGED Issue 2 artists — Aqualung, Robbers On High Street, Midnight Movies, The Colour, Miho Hatori, Carina Round & The Cinematics
- copy of RAGGED magazine

About Ragged Mag::
Filter Magazine, the country’s premiere independent music publication, and
innovative clothing brand American Rag Cie have once again partnered to
launch Issue #2 of RAGGED. This thirty-two page special edition magazine
features stories on indie rock and alternative music from major and
up-and-coming artists. Artists featured in RAGGED Issue #2 include Aqualung,
Robbers On High Street, Midnight Movies The Colour, Miho Hatori, Carina
Round, and The Cinematics.

RAGGED #2 is also being distributed for free nationwide at concerts and
festivals throughout the summer. The issue is also available to download
online at www.RaggedMag.com along with music from all the artists, a contest
to win $500 American Rag Cie wardrobe.

www.raggedmag.com

The White Stripes:: Icky Thump (Music Video)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OjTspCqvk8]

This week’s list of recommended releases

Ok, June has the new Queens of the Stone Age, Beastie Boys and The White Stripes.. But until then check out what you can get in the meantime. Kingblind recommends- The Bravery, Battles, Killing Joke, Voxtrot, The National and The Queers. (Serious, buy the new Battles album. It’s crazy.)

Astrid Swan: Poverina [cd]
Battles: Mirrored [cd]
Beach Boys: The Warmth of the Sun [cd]
Ben + Vesper: All This Could Kill You [cd]
Benni Hemm Hemm: Kajak [cd]
Black Moth Super Rainbow: Dandelion Gum [cd]
The Bravery: The Sun And The Moon [cd]
Charles Mingus: Charles Mingus in Paris Complete America Session [cd]
Chick Corea and Bela Fleck: The Enchantment [cd]
Dashboard Confessional: Dusk and Summer [cd]
Erasure: Light At The End Of The World [cd]
Handsome Furs: Plague Park [cd]
Hayseed Dixie: Weapons of Grass Destruction [cd]
HIM: Uneasy Listening: Vol. 2 [cd]
Hot Chip: DJ Kicks [cd]
Jeff Buckley: So Real: Songs from Jeff Buckley [cd]
Joan Osborne: Breakfast in Bed [cd]
Killing Joke: Bootleg Vinyl Archive, Vol. 1 (remastered) [cd]
Killing Joke: Bootleg Vinyl Archive, Vol. 2 (remastered) [cd]
Lateef & Z-Trip: Ahead Of The Curve [cd]
Loudon Wainwright III: Strange Weirdos: Music from and Inspired by the Film Knocked Up [cd]
Maccabees: Colour It In [cd]
Meg Baird: Dear Companion [cd]
Miracle Fortress: Five Roses [cd]
Motor Unhuman [cd]
My Teenage Stride: Ears Like Golden Bats [cd]
The National: Boxer [cd]
Ozzy Osbourne: Black Rain [cd]
Parts & Labor: Mapmaker [cd]
The Queers: Don’t Back Down [cd]
Richmond Fontaine: Thirteen Cities [cd]
Shapes And Sizes: Split Lips, Winnings Hips, A Shiner [cd]
Stars: Do You Trust Your Friends? [cd]
Tim Armstrong: A Poet’s Life [cd]
Ulrich Schnauss: Quicksand Memory EP [cd]
The Used: Lies For The Liars [cd]
Various Artists: Crucial Acoustic Blues [cd]
Various Artists: Crucial Rockin’ Blues [cd]
Various Artists: Just One More: A Musical Tribute To Larry Brown, A Great American Author [cd]
Various Artists: Kyle Xy (soundtrack) [cd]
Various Artists: More Crucial Guitar Blues [cd]
Various Artists: Motown Remixed, Vol. 2 [cd]
Various Artists: Once (soundtrack) [cd]
Various Artists: Zealous Records Presents Soul Sides, Vol. 2: The Covers [cd]
Voxtrot: Voxtrot [cd]
Wheat: Everyday I Said A Prayer For Kathy And Made A One Inch Square [cd]
White Rabbits: Fort Nightly [cd]

Timbaland – Throw It On Me Feat The Hives (Music Video)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn6kGzRSjhU]

Panda Bear:: Person Pitch (Album Review)

When Animal Collective’s Panda Bear, aka Noah Lennox, is at his best, it can feel like you’ve tapped directly into the sounds that swirled around Brian Wilson’s head during the sandbox in the studio era. But though 60s influences are numerous throughout Person Pitch, from its soaring psychedelic vocal melodies to shimmering layers of guitar and percussion, the panoply of clicks, whirrs and other less readily identifiable blurs of sound that streak its length situate Panda Bear’s fourth solo album squarely in post-techno territory. The result is an album as rich as it is strange.
(Chris Power)

The Bravery:: The Sun and the moon (Album Stream)

The Bravery’s The Sun and The Moon is out today, 5/22. Check out the full album stream below
CLICK TO HEAR TO LISTEN

Beastie Boys to play surprise show in Seattle THIS FRIDAY

Hey kids.. Guess what.. The Beastie Boys will be playing a surprise show in Seattle, WA at The Crocodile Cafe THIS FRIDAY (5/25/07) you can buy tickets tomorrow (Wed, 05/23/07 @ 04:00 PM PST) at Ticketmaster.com Man alive this is going to be a great show!! Think of it as the Sasquatch! warm up.. Well don’t think it.. It is!!

Kingblind’s Favorite Finds

Perry Farell’s Satellite Party “Wish Upon A Dog Star” video

Beginning spring 2009, Stockholm will feature an interactive ABBA museum.

Esquire offers tips to make the perfect mix tape.

Bjork’s entire Coachella set is available at Google Video.

The New York Sun examines the Jesus and Mary Chain reunion.

Harp interviews Nick Cave about his film career.

Ex-Jesus Lizard Frontman Reappears With Qui

Not much had been heard from one of rock’s most unpredictable and confrontational frontmen, David Yow, since the dissolution of the Jesus Lizard in 1999. But now, Yow has reappeared as a member of the Los Angeles-based band Qui. Although the bass-less group was founded by guitarist Matt Cronk and drummer Paul Christensen seven years ago and had already issued an album on its own (2003′s “Baby Kisses”), Yow was welcomed in as a permanent member last year.

The first release by the newly expanded lineup, “Love’s Miracle,” will drop on Sept. 11 via Ipecac. Says Yow, “It just sort of organically became that I was in the band. We’d go to practice and I’d start having input. We decided, ‘Geez, it looks like we’re a three piece now.’”

While the group’s art-punk sound is not all that far off from Yow’s previous work with the Jesus Lizard, the singer does mention a few differences. “For one thing, both of these guys can really sing — they’re teaching me to how to do two and three part harmonies and things like that,” he says. “There was little or none of that in the Jesus Lizard. Some of the songs — particularly the new ones, we’ve got a few in the bag since we recorded the album — are really, really difficult. It takes a great deal of thought while playing them. Granted, there were some pretty difficult ones with the Jesus Lizard too, but not as hard as these are for me.”

Ipecac enthusiastically snapped up the group after hearing just a few minutes of “Love’s Miracle,” according to Yow. “A lot of the stuff that they do is a little more along the lines of what we do,” he says. “Ipecac has sort of a ‘built in weirdo bunch of people.’”

Qui will be playing a record release party in L.A. on the day of the album’s release, before immediately launching a six-and-a-half week tour of the States. The group will then follow this up with a month’s worth of European dates, before getting to work on its next album. In addition, a few pre-release live dates will occur in July in England.

Kingblind Downloads

Download the latest free Adult Swim sampler ‘Warm & Scratchy’. Featuring: Tv on the Radio, Liars, The Rapture and More.

Band Of Horses – Sweden 11th Aug 2006

Voxtrot:: Kidgloves

The National:: Fake Empire

White Rabbit:: The Plot

Joy Division:: Warsaw

Spoon:: The Ghost of You Lingers (Music Video)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKmgUdRAzxQ]

Hear the new White Stripes album:: Icky Thump

CLICK TO HEAR ICKY THUMP

ALSO.. Watch the making of Icky Thump Video
CLICK TO VIEW

The White Stripes make live return in Nashville-
first gig together in two years

The White Stripes made their live return last night (May 18) at The Cannery Ballroom in Jack White’s new hometown Nashville, Tennessee.

Announced less than 48 hours prior, the pre-tour show sold out in less than five minutes with fans ecstatic to see the duo perform for the first time since December 2005 – and the first time in Nashville since 2001.

Without an introduction, The White Stripes quietly took the stage and quickly began with a cover of Hank Williams Sr’s ‘Tennessee Border’, a fact not lost on the Tennessee crowd who hooped and hollered their approval.

As usual the entire stage was done up in red, white and black, a theme that went so far as to include the stage hands who wore black fedoras with red feathers and even the lighting woman who had dyed her hair red.

Meg White wore a black and white polka dot dress with a red and white polka dot scarf while Jack wore a plain black t-shirt with red trousers and had cut his hair in a way that recalled the his looks on the cover of second album ‘De Stijl’, possibly in an homage to the band celebrating their tenth anniversary.

Before launching into the title track for their forthcoming album ‘Icky Thump’, Jack asked the crowd “How’s my new hometown doing?” to an overwhelming response but after that the dup got down to business, pounding their way through a set cherry picked from their five album back catalog as well as a few covers including a crowd pleasing version of Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’.

The band did showcase several new songs from the forthcoming ‘Icky Thump’ including the acoustic, country-leaning ‘Effect And Cause’ and the downbeat story song ‘I’A a Martyr For My Love For You’.

However the band had to struggle through some sound issues and an increasingly chatty crowd, which even saw the duo cut one new song, ‘I’m Slowly Turning Into You’ off after just one verse.

After ending the set with ‘Wasting My Time’, a smiling Jack returned to the stage for the encore armed with a Polaroid camera which he pointed at Meg and then the crowd before launching into a head banging version of ‘Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground’.

The frontman then told the crowd, “We’ve heard from Hank and we’ve heard from Dolly”, before adding “there’s one more” the pair needed to cover in order to complete the Tennessee song cycle.

They then launched into Loretta Lynn’s Rated X’ featuring Meg handling some off key vocals to the delight of the crowd.

After that Jack announced “Now we’ve blessed our first show in Tennessee” before ending the show with a raucous version of ‘Seven Nation Army’.

The White Stripes played:

‘Tennessee Border’
‘When I Hear My Name’
‘Black Math’
‘Do’
‘Cause And Effect’
‘Jolene’
‘Death Letter/Motherless Children’
‘Hotel Yorba’
‘I’m A Martyr For My Love For You’
‘Cannon/John The Revelator’
‘Ball And Biscuit’
‘I’m Slowly Turning Into You’
‘We’re Going To Be Friends’
‘Apple Blossom’
‘Wasting My Time’
‘Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground’
‘Rated X’
‘Seven Nation Army’
(via NME)

Kingblind Downloads

Minneapolis band Tapes n Tapes and their Come on Pilgrim-era Pixies sound mixed with early Pavement and bits of Cash, Cohen, and Cave in an indie-billy kinda way. The first three songs are from their last album, 2006’s ‘The Loon‘. (And yes, These are all free AND legal)
Tapes n Tapes – Insistor

Tapes n Tapes – Cowbell

Tapes n Tapes – Omaha

Tapes n Tapes – Beachgirls

Tapes n Tapes – 50s Parking

Tapes n Tapes – Icedbergs

Tapes n Tapes – Frankfurt

Tapes n Tapes – The Futon Fire (demo)

Queens Of The Stone Age – “Sick Sick Sick” (music video)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcXCaXz0GbU]

Jesus Lizard concert DVD on the way

Chicago alt.rock anti-heroes The Jesus Lizard were famous for putting on some electric live shows. And though they disbanded at the turn of the century, fans can travel back in time with the group’s first concert DVD. The aptly titled The Jesus Lizard Live will be out on June 5 through MVD Visual.

The hour-long concert, filmed with two cameras at Boston’s Venus De Milo club on Oct. 4, 1994, showcases the band at their peak. The lineup at the time featured singer David Yow (who now fronts Qui), drummer Mac McNeilly, guitarist Duane Denison and bassist David Sims.

The DVD will include five additional tracks recorded at a 1992 CBGB’s gig in New York City, as well as the first home video of the band to be released to the public. The liner notes were written by Michael Azerrad, author of the acclaimed Our Band Could Be Your Life.

Here are the tracks on The Jesus Lizard Live:

* “Gladiator”
* “Mouthbreaker”
* “Destroy Before Reading”
* “Puss”
* “Bloody Mary”
* “Nub”
* “Horse”
* “One Evening”
* “The Associate”
* “Killer McHann”
* “Mailman”
* “Boilermaker”
* “Fly On The Wall”
* “Chrome”
* “Seasick”
* “Then Comes Dudley” (bonus track)
* “If You Had Lips” (bonus track)
* “My Own Urine” (bonus track)
* “Wheelchair Epidemic” (bonus track)
* “Monkey Trick” (bonus track)

Modest Mouse:: “Missed the Boat” Live on Craig Ferguson (Video)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxdzOd-2kh8]

Dungen:: Tio Bitar (Album Review)

2004’s Ta Det Lugnt introduced the wider world to the anachronistic realm of Gustav Ejstes and his comrades – a combo for which music beyond 1972 is irrelevantly futuristic. Still enmeshed in post-Summer Of Love acid rock, Dungen’s latest ticks all the right antediluvian boxes (why play a straight 4/4 beat when there are tom-toms to be roundly assaulted à la Keith Moon?) with Reine Fiske’s guitar flights effectively channelling Hendrix, the hard rocking sporadically abating for lovely oases of Mellotron and strings. The influences may be antediluvian but the spirit is timeless.
(David Sheppard)

Kingblind Downloads

Seafood formed in London around 1996 and cite Sonic Youth, Pixies, and Lemonheads as major influences though for all the loud guitars and indie-rockisms they benefit from a pop sheen that suits the melodic qualities of their finely honed tunes.
Seafood – Western Battle

Seafood – Summer Falls

Seafood – In This Light Will You Fight Me

Seafood – Belt

And some more misc. goodness
The Verve – Wigan Demos 1990

Talking Heads – Cleveland 1979

Janes Addiction – Metro, Chicago 1988

Kaiser Chiefs – London 2007

The Beastie Boys:: The Rat Cage

Kingblind Ticket Giveaway (The Horrors)

Kingblind.com is giving away a pair of tickets to see The Horrors on June 20th at The Crocodile Cafe in Seattle, WA. To win tickets just send an email with THE HORRORS in the subject line and your name and address in the body of the message to kingblind(at)gmail.com and we will randomly pick a winner.

Stream for “Count in Fives”:
CLICK TO LISTEN

Video for “Count in Fives”:
CLICK TO VIEW

About The Horrors::
With influences that include Edward Gorey, Screaming Lord Sutch, Joe Meek, and the Cramps, the Horrors craft a grimy, goth-tinged kind of punk rock that’s almost as campy as it is catchy. The big-haired, black-clad quintet — which features singer Faris Badwan, bassist Tomethy Furse, guitarist Joshua Von Grimm, drummer Coffin Joe, and keyboardist Spider Webb — formed in the summer of 2005 and quickly gained notoriety around London for their look, sound, and brief but frantic live shows. Loog soon signed them, and the Horrors released their official debut single, Sheena Is a Parasite/Jack the Ripper, in spring 2006. The buzz around the band reached a peak that summer, with the Horrors DJing at the Troubled Minds club night, having to reschedule in-store appearances because of crowd concerns and releasing their second single, Death at the Chapel. They also reissued =Sheena Is a Parasite as a limited-edition DVD single. The song’s startling video was directed by Chris Cunningham and featured actress Samantha Morton as Sheena. Late that summer, the band signed to Stolen Transmission in the U.S. and released a self-titled EP that fall. They also issued the Count in Fives single in the U.K. around that time. The Gloves single arrived early in 2007, heralding the release of the Horrors’ full-length debut, Strange House, which arrived in the U.K. that March and in the U.S. in May.

Catch The Horrors on Tour::
June 4 Luna Lounge Brooklyn, NY
June 5 The Fillmore at Irving Plaza New York City, NY
June 7 Paradise Boston, MA
June 8 Rocknroll Hotel Washington DC
June 9 Northstar Philadelphia,PA
June 10 Petite Campus Montreal, QUE
June 11 Mod Club Toronto, ONT
June 12 Grog Shop Cleveland, OH
June 14 The Abbey Pub Chicago, IL
June 15 Triple Rock Minneapolis, MN
June 18 El Rey Theatre Los Angeles, CA
June 19 Popscene/330 Ritch San Francisco, CA
June 20 Crocodile Seattle, WA

The Sea and Cake:: Everybody (Album Review)

Thanks to each of its members’ healthy sidelines — drummer John McEntire plays in Tortoise, guitarist Archer Prewitt authors a successful comic book — the Sea and Cake, one of the Chicago post-rock scene’s longest-running acts, get around to putting out an album only every three or four years. But few indie bands are as consistent as this one — which means you pretty much know what to expect from a new Sea and Cake disc: breezy lounge-pop tunes embroidered with sleek keyboard blips and gentle drum-machine pitter-patter. This follow-up to 2003’s One Bedroom opens with a bit of a fake-out: sporting a rootsy guitar jangle and a relatively assertive beat, “Up on Crutches” seems to introduce a new-but-not-necessarily-improved Sea and Cake, one more concerned with rocking than with grooving. Soon enough, though, Everybody reverts to form.

Kingblind Downloads

Kind of eerie experimental and atmospheric indie rock, that’s by turns weird and beautiful, from the unsigned (!) We Yes You No.
We Yes You No – It’s My Stop

We Yes You No – Life Is Number 10

We Yes You No -Noir-esque

Irish four piece The Basement play a mix of indie rock, blues, country, and Irish barroom. They had the NME saying they’ll ’sail beyond all other pretenders’.
The Basement – Do You Think..

The Basement – I Just Caught A Face

The Basement – It’s Kinda Love

Battles:: Mirrored (Album Review)

After a string of intermittently brilliant EPs, these hi-tech New York instrumentalists finally release their first proper full-length, and with it propel themselves into quite another league. There was always something uniquely enticing in their amalgam of machine-code guitar hooks, electronics and brainy robotic rhythms, but a new sense of warped pop suss and a constant barrage of ear-catching ideas makes Mirrored all the more surprising and addictive. The biggest change is the addition of vocals – often just wordless, dehumanised hums and whistles, as on the much-praised single Atlas, reinforcing the odd sense of Battles being as much some kind of bio-mechanical experiment as a band. The way repeated listens allow its unobvious rhythmic and melodic logic to take root is fantastically rewarding – by the time album closer Race Out reprises and mutates the themes of the opening salvo Race In, your brain might feel like it’s been completely rewired. Terrific stuff.
(Tom Hughes)

Kingblind news that you can use

Amazon to sell DRM-free MP3s in new store

Bonnaroo to add jazz tent

Rick Rubin finalizes Columbia position

Worst albums by great bands

Aging punk rocker still swears – but not near the kids

Web radio royalty dispute analyzed

Video – The Flaming Lips “She Don’t Use Jelly” live in Oklahoma
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_qJlxrQp8A]
Here’s a sneak peek at the Flaming Lips’ upcoming UFOs at the Zoo DVD, set for release July 10th. This revisitation of the Lips’ breakthrough hit has all the hallmarks of a traditional F.L. blowout – Wayne’s white suit, fisheye lens cameras, gigantic balloons, confetti, dancing santas and more!! Enjoy..

Sufjan Stevens wastes valuable time by writing book intro instead of researching his next record

We music fans have long known that Sufjan Stevens is one of the most literary songwriters this world’s got. Now the publishing world is finally catching up – Stevens will provide the introduction to The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2007, edited by Dave Eggers and due out in October from Houghton Mifflin. The collection will contain all sortsa stuff – fiction, nonfiction pieces, comics, even blog posts (maybe this one made the cut!). And while I’m thrilled that Stevens is getting attention outside of the indie music world, I wish he would stop procrastinating and get down to recording his next album, which I sure hope is Texas, ‘cuz I bet that one will be really good. (via prefix)

Battles:: Atlas (Music Video)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpGp-22t0lU]

Interpol:: The Heinrich Maneuver (New Single)

Here is the 1st single from the new Interpol album “Our Love to Admire” due July 10th on Capitol Records.
CLICK TO STREAM SINGLE

Wilco:: Sky Blue Sky (Album Review)

Now, here’s a refreshing turn – a Wilco studio recording that sounds like it was made by a real band playing together in the same room. A little less Jim O’Rourke goes a long way. And the good news for old-school Wilco fans doesn’t end there. All those self-consciously avant bits of the two previous albums have been ditched along with Jeff Tweedy’s laughable lyrical abstractions in favour of tuneful, direct songs that at least seem to carry some emotional weight. Sky Blue Sky is not quite a feel-good album, but it’s as close as Tweedy could get by using the Relatively Clean Rivers LP as a road map.
(Tim Perlich)

Pumpkins Plan Residencies In Asheville, San Fran

The Smashing Pumpkins will set up camp in Asheville, N.C., and San Francisco for multiple-night stands this summer, during which they will draw from a different set list each night.

The Billy Corgan-led group will visit the Orange Peel in Asheville on June 23-24, 26-27, 29-30 and July 2-3 and 5. A residency at San Francisco’s Fillmore is set for July 22, 24-25, 27-28, 30-31 and Aug. 1. Tickets go on sale Sunday (May 20) but will only be available online.

In a new twist, fans are encouraged to record shows throughout the residencies with their own audio and video equipment. According to a spokesperson, the Pumpkins will be digging deep into their back catalog and playing material from their new album, “Zeitgeist,” due July 10 via Martha’s Music/Reprise. The band may even play songs “written on the day of the show.”

As previously reported, the Pumpkins will play their first show in seven years May 22 in Paris. It has still yet to be announced who will join Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin in the live band, but the Chicago Tribune recently reported it will be bassist Ginger Reyes and guitarist Jeff Schroeder.

Kingblind Downloads

Cool messy on-the-button punk pop from Killrockstar band Bangs.

Bangs – I Want More

Bangs – Into You

Bangs – Burnout

Iowa Super Soccer are a five-piece from Myslowice, Poland. They cite influences like Slowdive, Galaxie 500, and Field Mice, and are currently on tour with The Twang.

Iowa Super Soccer – The River

Iowa Super Soccer – 10000 Miles

Iowa Super Soccer – Morning

Barsuk Records signs David Bazan (ex-Pedro the Lion)

Here is a note that we just received from Barsuk Records:
Barsuk Records is honored to announce that we have added former Pedro the Lion front-man David Bazan to our roster. We will be re-releasing the Fewer Moving Parts EP (originally released in a very limited way by Bazan himself in June of last year) shortly. The 10-song EP presents five new Bazan songs, each recorded in both stripped-down acoustic and full instrumentation forms.

Bazan, who was recently named #85 in Paste Magazine’s Top 100 Living Songwriters, is currently on tour opening for Ben Gibbard and plans to hit the road again this fall for a headlining tour of the US.

After wrapping up the tour, Bazan will head into the studio where we will begin work on a new full-length record, tentatively scheduled for an early 2008 release.

NPR just webcast a full performance from Bazan’s current tour with Ben Gibbard and Jonathan Rice, and you can hear and download it here:
CLICK TO LISTEN

Here’s an mp3 from the EP – the full band version of “Cold Beer and Cigarettes” you should feel free to distribute as you wish.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

Big Business tour in support of Waterworks

If you feel an unexplainable rumbling in your gut sometime in June, put down the Immodium – it’s most likely just Big Business. The fuzz-metal duo has already got 21 gigs lined up in June and early July, all in support of its Hydrahead-released second album Here Come the Waterworks. Further chipping away at their impressive stamina, Big Business’ Jared Warren and Coady Willis have only four days rest in between their current European tour with The Melvins (Warren and Willis are now permanent members) and their own summer gig marathon. Get ‘em some Gatorade if you see ‘em on tour at one of the dates posted below

Jun 8 2007 El Corazon Seattle, Washington
Jun 9 2007 The Badlander Missoula, Montana
Jun 11 2007 The Aquarium (Dempsey’s Upstairs) Fargo, North Dakota
Jun 12 2007 Sokol Underground Omaha, Nebraska
Jun 13 2007 Vaudeville Mews Des Moines, Iowa
Jun 14 2007 Triple Rock Social Club Minneapolis, Minnesota
Jun 15 2007 The Empty Bottle Chicago, Illinois
Jun 16 2007 Little Brother’s Columbus, Ohio
Jun 18 2007 The Middle East Cafe–Upstairs Boston, Massachusetts
Jun 19 2007 The Knitting Factory New York, New York w/ Panthers
Jun 20 2007 Black Cat Washington DC, Washington DC w/ Panthers
Jun 21 2007 North Star Bar Philadelphia, Pennsylvania w/ Panthers
Jun 22 2007 The Ottobar Baltimore, Maryland w/ Panthers
Jun 23 2007 Cat’s Cradle Carrboro, North Carolina
Jun 24 2007 The Drunken Unicorn Atlanta, Georgia
Jun 25 2007 The Nick Birmingham, Alabama
Jun 26 2007 Spanish Moon Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Jun 28 2007 The Conservatory Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Jun 29 2007 Juanita’s Cantina Little Rock, Arkansas
Jul 1 2007 Larimer Lounge Denver, Colorado
Jul 3 2007 Urban Lounge Salt Lake City, Utah
(via prefix)

Kingblind Downloads

Audionom – ‘Kein Bock’

The Sword:: Freya

Cheeseburger – ‘Tiger’

Dungen – ‘Gör Det Nu’

Priestbird – ‘Season of the Sun’

VietNam – ‘Welcome To My Room’

Kingblind Downloads

Videohippos:: Kool Shades

Videohippos:: The List

Dega Breaks – All Night (Racket)

Rocky Votolato:: Postcard from Kentucky

Jesse Sykes:: LLL

what made milwaukee famous:: sweet lady

Kingblind’s Favorite Finds

The 25 Most Exquisitely Sad Songs in the Whole World

THE LONG TAKE- The Greatest Long Tracking Shots in Cinema

The Rolling Stones: Round one goes to the Wild Horses. via goldenfiddle

The Guardian’s music blog examines the relationship between music and politics under the Blair administration.

Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy talks to the Phoenix about his band’s new album, Sky Blue Sky.

Farewell to cassettes: Tales of the tape

Rock Photographer Frank Mullen is profiled in Pine Magazine

Stream the new Wilco Album

Click to hear the fantastic new Wilco album “Sky Blue Sky” out 5/15/07

“Sky Blue Sky” has hints of early-seventies Southern California folk-rock sweetness in the harmonies. The album is filled with brash guitar solos that take songs like “You Are My Face” and “Shake It Off” in unexpected directions. This is Wilco’s 6th album and first that is the product of collective songwriting, As well as the first to feature all members of the touring band.

Kingblind Downloads

Dog Day – Oh Dead Life

Albert Hammond Jr – Boston 2007

Elliott Smith – Variety Playhouse 1999

Elliott Smith: 1999-03-05, Santa Barbara “Speed Trials” Live

Black Flag:: The Complete 1982 Demos Plus More Silver CD Soundboard – A quality

Pissed Jeans – I’ve Still Got You (Ice Cream)

Dntel – The Distance (ft. Arthur & Yu)

Comets on Fire – Dogwood Rust

Low- Breaker

New Bad Religion coming in July

There are always new bad religions popping up from the freak fringes. Mormonism. Scientology. But this post isn’t about crackpot crusaders like Joseph Smith or L. Ron Hubbard. It’s about political punk crusaders Bad Religion. The band slated to release its next album, New Maps of Hell, July 10 on Epitaph. It will be preceded by first single “Honest Goodbye,” available via digital download May 22. The song was inspired by Perry Smith, one of two murderers in the case made famous by In Cold Blood. Continue on after the jump for Maps‘ tracklist.

1. 52 Seconds
2. Heroes & Martyrs
3. Germs Of Perfection
4. New Dark Ages
5. Requiem For Dissent
6. Before You Die
7. Honest Goodbye
8. Dearly Beloved
9. Grains Of Wrath
10. Murder
11. Scrutiny
12. Prodigal Son
13. The Grand Delusion
14. Lost Pilgrim
15. Submission Complete
16. Fields Of Mars

Prince to play London, then study the Bible

LONDON – Prince will play 21 concerts in London this autumn and plans to take time off music to study the Bible, he announced on Tuesday.

The innovative funk artist, who created such groundbreaking works as 1984’s “Purple Rain” and 1987’s “Sign O’ The Times” and sold an estimated 80 million albums, made a brief appearance in London to announce the gigs.

Outside Organization, a PR company helping to publicize the tour, said in a statement that Prince would be performing his greatest hits “for the very last time,” but the artist did not confirm the claim.

Wearing dark shades, a high-collared purple shirt and cream suit, Prince explained why his only appearances in Europe this year would take place in London.

“I love London. I’ve had some of my favorite shows here.”

Prince said he would be looking for a place to live for the duration of his stay.

He will charge 31.21 pounds per ticket ($62), after his recent record “3121,” with which he scored his first U.S. No. 1 album in almost 17 years in 2006.

“Last time I was here, a lot of people didn’t get to see me, so we’re trying to make it affordable for everybody,” he said.

Barbra Streisand recently hit the headlines in Britain when tickets to her upcoming show at the 02 venue in London went on sale for up to 600 pounds each. Prince plans to open his London tour with seven nights at the same location, starting August 1.

Prince said he planned to change his show every night, meaning fans who came to several shows would get a broader cross section of his music.

“We play so many different styles of music, it’s really hard to get a full dose of what we do unless you come to several shows. I also have a wide fan base that comes to multiple shows all the time.”

He said he had learned about 150 songs from which to choose, and hinted that he may perform up-and-coming British singer Amy Winehouse’s “Love is a Losing Game.” Asked if he would ask her on stage to perform with him, he replied: ”Absolutely.”
Unsurprisingly for a performer who has had run-ins with the music establishment in the past, Prince referred to the industry as “the speculation business.” He plans to give away copies of his new album to anyone attending the concerts.

“It’s direct marketing and I don’t have to be in the speculation business of the record industry, which is going through a lot of tumultuous times right now,” he explained, when asked why he was giving his music away.

The 48-year-old, who said he was getting his inspiration these days from “prophets from the Bible,” added that he did not expect to be back in London performing for some time after the 2007 visit.

“That’s another reason why we’re trying to stay so long. I just need to take some time off for study and travel.” When asked what he was studying, he replied: “The Bible.”
(Reuters)

Elliott Smith:: New Moon (Album Review)

These 24 tracks, recorded during the late Elliott Smith’s mid-’90s peak, capture the bruised troubadour in full bloom: a mostly unheard mix of drug ballads, defeated love songs and tart character studies of fellow broken souls, some of which match all but his greatest. “High Times” and “New Disaster” are crowned with inimitable choruses, characteristically bitter and catchy, while a tender cover of Big Star’s “Thirteen” suggests that Smith absorbed as much sentiment from Alex Chilton as he did from the Beatles. Usually featuring a backing band, a farfisa or Smith’s own double-tracked vocals and guitar, New Moon sounds less like a pile of outtakes than an official album released in a parallel universe—one where Smith managed to dodge the reaper and keep on singing.
(Erik Davis)

Fiery Furnaces to tour

The prolific brother/sister duo the Fiery Furnaces have announced summer tour dates. Does this foretell new material coming from the band? Not sure. Especially since the latest news update on the band’s website consists simply of trivia questions about the Friedbergers. Fun!

Read on after the jump for the tour info…

6/21 Cleveland Heights, OH – Grog Shop
6/22 Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle
6/23 Ann Arbor, MI – Blind Pig
6/25 Toronto, ON – The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern
6/26 Ottawa, ON – Babylon Club
6/28 Philadelphia, PA – North Star
6/29 Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club
6/30 Hoboken, NJ – Maxwell’s
7/1 Brooklyn, NY – Studio B
7/5 Washington, DC – Black Cat
7/6 Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theatre
7/7 Atlanta, GA – The Earl

Kingblind Downloads

The Ladybug Transistor:: Three Days From Now

The Lodger – Kicking Sand

Through the Sparks:: Mexico (Every Last Buffalo)

Shapes and Sizes:: Head Movin

My Brightest Diamond:: Gold Chains – Freakout

New releases this week

A great week for releases.. Kingblind recommends picking up releases from Bjork, The Clientele, Deerhunter, Elliott Smith, Of Montreal, Radiohead, The Sea and Cake and Shannon Wright.. Whew… That’s a lot of new music..

Alsace Lorraine: Dark One [cd]
The Bad Plus: PROG [cd]
Bjork: Volta [cd]
Boggs: Forts [cd]
Brakes: The Beatific Visions [cd]
The Clientele: God Save The Clientele [cd]
Deerhunter: Flourescent Grey EP [cd]
Dept of Energy: Held By Waits [cd]
Detroit Cobras: Tied and True [cd]
Electrelane: No Shouts, No Calls [cd]
Elliott Smith: New Moon [cd]
Great Lake Swimmers: Ongiara [cd]
HIM: And Love Said No: Greatest Hits 1997-2004 [cd]
The Ike Reilly Assassination: We Belong to the Staggering Evening [cd]
Keren Ann: Keren Ann [cd]
KMFDM: Adios (remastered) [cd]
KMFDM: Symbols (remastered) [cd]
Lavender Diamond: Imagine Our Love [cd]
Lisa Gerrard: Silver Tree [cd]
Mary Timony Band: The Shapes We Make [cd]
Maximo Park: Our Earthly Pleasures [cd]
Mice Parade: Mice Parade [cd]
Mike Jones: The American Dream [cd]
Mystery Jets: Zootime [cd]
Of Montreal: Icons, Abstract Thee EP [cd]
Page France: …And the Family Telephone [cd]
Radiohead: Com Lag (2Plus2IsFive) (reissue) [cd]
Richard Shindell: South of Delia [cd]
Rumskib: Rumskib [cd]
The Sea And Cake: Everybody [cd]
Sage Francis: Human The Death Dance [cd]
Sea Wolf: Get to the River Before It Runs Too Low [cd]
Shannon Wright: Let in the Light [cd]
Tarwater: Spider Smile [cd]
Travis: The Boy With No Name [cd]
Various Artists: Beatles Blues [cd]
Various Artists: We All Love Ennio Morricone [cd]
Voyces: Kissing Like It’s Love [cd]
Wooden Stars: People Are Different [cd]
Yardbirds: The Yardbirds Story: 1963-66 [cd]b

Homme, Astbury, Autolux Join UNKLE’s ‘War’

Josh Homme, the Cult’s Ian Astbury, Massive Attack’s 3D, Autolux, Nada Surf’s Matthew Caws, Jeordie White and the Duke Spirit are among the guests on the third UNKLE album, “War Stories,” due July 24 in North America via group leader James Lavelle’s new Surrender All label.

Astbury sings on first single “Burn My Shadow,” while Homme augments “Restless.” Lavelle also makes his vocal debut here, singing “Hold My Hand” on his own and dueting with Richard File on “Morning Rage.” The album was co-produced by Lavelle and Chris Goss and recorded in part at Rancho de la Luna Studios in Joshua Tree, Calif., home to Homme’s long-running Desert Sessions projects.

“War Stories” is the follow-up to 2003′s “Never, Never, Land,” which reached No. 6 on Billboard’s Top Electronic Albums chart. It will also be available in a limited-edition two-disc set, featuring an instrumental version of the album. The artwork features paintings from 3D.

UNKLE will tour inernational festivals this summer, and in the fall, visit North America with a full band for the first time. Dates have yet to be announced.

Here is the track list for “War Stories”:

Intro
“Chemistry”
“Hold My Hand”
“Restless” (feat. Josh Homme)
“Keys to the Kingdom” (feat. Gavin Clark)
“Price You Pay”
“Burn My Shadow” (feat. Ian Astbury)
“May Day” (feat. the Duke Spirit)
“Persons & Machinery” (feat. Autolux)
“Twilight” (feat. 3D)
“Morning Rage”
“Lawless”
“Broken” (feat. Gavin Clark)
“When Things Explode” (feat. Ian Astbury)
(via billboard)

Kingblind Downloads

Here are some demos from the Calgary born songstress Feist. Her new album ‘The Reminder‘ is out now.
Feist – Intuition (Demo)

Feist – Leisure Suite (Demo)

Feist – Mushaboom (Demo)

Feist – The Eastern Shore (Demo)

Salty Pirates hail from Halmstad in Sweden and play Pavement / Malkmus-esque indie pop. This EP was recorded in early 2007.
Salty Pirates – Survivalist Guide

Salty Pirates – The Guy You Talk With

Salty Pirates – Common Sense

Salty Pirates – Smoking Indoors

Golden Smog:: Blood on the slacks (Album Review)

Once heralded as an alt-country supergroup, Golden Smog have come full circle with the disappointing Blood On The Slacks, returning to the status of cover band pastime for Minneapolis musician pals. With a major label sized budget to blow, Gary Louris, Dan Murphy, Kraig Johnson and Marc Perlman could record at their own leisurely pace in sunny Spain and have the option of discussing over pool-side sangria which David Bowie and J. Mascis songs they should do. Out of the six originals here, two are throwaways, another is instrumental filler, and only the opener, Can’t Even Tie Your Own Shoes – which will have Dave Pirner and Jeff Tweedy wondering who it’s about – comes close to approaching the low standard set by the most recent work of the participants’ full-time gigs. Enough already.
(Tim Perlich)

Kingblind.com presents:: Rock and Roll High School

Hello Friends,
DJ Teenage Rampage & DJ Kingblind will be Djing this Saturday night with our pal DJ Fontana at SOLO at 200 Roy St. Seattle, WA- 206-213-0080 http://solo-bar.com

Solo is this amazing new bar in lower Queen Anne that our friends just opened.. It’s a beautiful spot with strong drinks, amazing food and of course some fantastic music & movies.

So here is the lowdown

From 9pm till 2am
Dj’s will be spinning the best in Rock N’ Roll, Glam, Punk, Garage, New Wave and more.

We will also be showing some great rock movies throughout the night as well.. And on top off all that we will be doing giveaways all night long of some of the best new albums that have just hit the stores..

Wanna win the new Modest Mouse, Kings of Leon, Bright Eyes, Arctic Monkeys and more.. just see your bartender for a raffle ticket.

And your cost??? 100% Free.. That right suckers.. This bad boy is free.. So come on down and say hello.. See ya Saturday night!!

LCD Soundsystem:: All of my friends (Music Video)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2V_ZT-nyOs]

Kingblind.com Giveaway (Arctic Monkey’s 12″ vinyl)

Hello everyone!! We haven’t done a giveaway in a bit so we thought now would be a great time to give ya some vinyl goodness.

We are giving away the Arctic Monkeys “Brianstorm” 12″.. The sinister surf rockish hit from the lads from Sheffield.

Here is how you can win::
Just send and email to kingblind(at)gmail.com with ARCTIC MONKEYS in the Subject line and your name and address in the body of the message. We will randomly pick a winner today.. (You must have the subject line and name and address filled out correctly. If you don’t your entry automatically is ignored)

Arctic Monkeys “Brianstorm” 12″

Tracklisting:

1. If you found this it’s probably too late
2. Brianstorm
3. Temptation greets you like your naughty friend
4. What if you were right the first time?

Modest Mouse:: Dashboard (Live on Letterman)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmm_SjUAK7I]

Kingblind Downloads

Arcade Fire:: Maps (Yeah Yeah Yeah’s cover)

The Spires – My Favorite Cigarette

Arctic Monkeys Live @ – Tokyo, Japan 29-03-07

Air featuring Charlotte Gainsbourg & Jarvis Cocker – The Duelist

IGGY POP – ‘Heroin Hates You’ (Live @ Stardust Ballroom, LA 1979)

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club:: Baby 81 (Album Review)

On 2005’s Howl, these LA-based bad boys dialed down the swirling Jesus and Mary Chain guitars that defined their first two albums and did a hard-edged folk-blues thing full of foot-stomping percussion and tent-revival twang. The result was intermittently thrilling but made you wonder why they’d done away with the sonic signature that endeared them to a sizable crowd of psych-rock nuts in the first place. Although suggesting that the trio are still fascinated by vintage American roots music, BRMC’s fourth full-length does bring back some of the old post-shoegaze texture. “Took Out a Loan” and “Lien on Your Dreams” layer riffs atop riffs, piling up sheets of six-string fuzz like (dirty) laundry in a basket; “Need Some Air” sports a death-disco bass line that imagines XTRMNTR-era Primal Scream covering Screamadelica-era Primal Scream. The songwriting isn’t BRMC’s most memorable, but Baby 81’s noise-roots fumes are pretty thick.

The Fratellis Cancel U.S. Dates

Scottish rockers The Fratellis have canceled the rest of their May U.S. dates. The announcement was made via the band’s official website yesterday and covers all shows through May 13th, including a week of shows supporting BRMC. The cancellation is “due to a rigorous tour schedule, spending the last two years on the road.”

The band is said to have flown home immediately after their performance at the Coachella festival last weekend. The Fratellis will play European festivals throughout the summer, sporadically returning to the U.S. to support The Police and play Lollapalooza.

The Fratellis canceled U.S. tour dates:

April
29 Sacramento, CA – Harlow’s Night Club

May
01 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
02 Denver, CO – Bluebird Theatre
04 Scottsdale, AZ – Martini Ranch
05 Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theatre*
06 San Diego, CA – House Of Blues*
08 Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern*
09 San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore*
11 Portland, OR – Roseland Theater*
12 Vancouver, BC – Richard’s On Richards*
13 Seattle, WA – Showbox*

* = w/ Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

The Fratellis current U.S. tour dates:

June
13 Oakland, CA – McAfee Coliseum #

July
19 Philadelphia, PA – Citizens Bank Park #

August
03 Chicago, IL – Grant Park [Lollapallooza]
05 East Rutherford, NJ – Giants Stadium #
(via the fine folks at Filter)

Blur are shite Uh.. I mean reunite.

According to bassist Alex James, Blur will hit the studio this summer — with founding guitarist Graham Coxon!

Blur as a Graham Coxon-less trio, 2003

Blur fans rejoice! Following years of speculation and the recent demise of Gorillaz as recording artists, Britpop sensations Blur have reportedly settled their differences with original guitarist Graham Coxon and will attempt to record as a quartet for the first time since 1999′s 13. According to NME.com, Blur bassist Alex James exposed the reunion in a recent interview: “We’re all heading into the studio together this summer — Graham’s coming too.” But James confirms the reunion could go either way: “We’re gonna see if we’ve still got it. If not, I think we’ll just call it a day.” Please, Blur, please! You still go’ it in you! A band spokesperson could not be reached for comment at press time.

BEASTIE BOYS GO INSTRUMENTAL, AGAIN

“The Mix-Up” – All-Instrumental Album Out June 26

Mike “Mike D” Diamond, Adam “MCA” Yauch and Adam “Adrock” Horovitz have confirmed a June 26 release date for their seventh studio album, “The Mix-Up”, on Capitol Records.

The Mix-Up is Beastie Boys’ first-ever full album of all-new instrumental material. The follow-up to 2004′s To The 5 Boroughs, The Mix-Up features Diamond, Horovitz and Yauch back on drums, guitar and bass, with able assistance from Keyboard Money Mark and percussionist Alfredo Ortiz, on 12 brand new wordless, sample-less, scratchless originals. Sure to please fans of the instrumental cuts from Check Your Head and Ill Communication and the cult hit compilation album made up largely of those tracks, The In Sound From Way Out!, The Mix-Up finds NYC’s favorite sons drawing on one of their arsenal’s primary strengths and pushing it into bold new directions.

Beastie Boys will kick off a summer’s worth of worldwide touring May 26 & 27 with two sets at the Sasquatch! Festival at the Gorge in Washington State. The band will be playing at several European festivals throughout June and July, including Live Earth at Wembley Stadium on July 7.

The complete track listing for The Mix-Up is:

1. B For My Name
2. 14th St. Break
3. Suco De Tangerina
4. The Gala Event
5. Electric Worm
6. Freaky Hijiki
7. Off The Grid
8. The Rat Cage
9. The Melee
10. Dramastically Different *
11. The Cousin Of Death
12. The Kangaroo Rat

* Yes “Dramastically” is intentional.

A ticket message from The White Stripes

Hello Children,

Tickets for The White Stripes’ upcoming North American tour officially go on sale starting as early as tomorrow. Please see below for general info on sale dates.

Need your tickets before the official on sale date? There are currently a small amount of pre-sale tickets still available for select locations, visit the presale link at the top of the “shows” section of the site to see if they are available in your area.

On Sale dates:
May 3rd: Mile One Center/St. John’s, NF (7/16)

May 4th: All Canadian dates
Madison Square Garden/NYC, NY (7/24)
Chevrolet Theater/Wallingford, CT (7/25)

May 5th: Grand Opera House/Wilmington, DE (7/27)
House of Blues/Myrtle Beach, SC (7/29)

May 11th: Agganis Arena/Boston, MA (7/23)
Patriot Center/Fairfax, VA (7/25)
Snowden Grove/Southaven, MS (7/31)

May 12th: Sloss Furnace/Birmingham, AL (7/30)

May 18th: Cumberland Civic Center/Portland, ME (7/22)

Kingblind news that you can use

Beastie Boys to ‘Mix Up’ New Album

Courtney Love’s Auction Nirvana

Modest Mouse, Shins Log On For Download Festival

Win Butler Fine After Surgery

Sharpton Leading March Against Profane Rap Lyrics

Sirius Q1 loss shrinks from year ago

Shortlist Music Prize finalists announced

The Police have Compilation, Reissues, Fan Club Show On Tap

As the start of the Police’s reunion tour approaches, there is a flurry of activity in the group’s camp, including a new double-disc compilation, reissues of albums from guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland, a book of Sting’s lyrics and a special warm-up gig for fan club members on May 27 in Vancouver.

On June 5, A&M/UMe will issue an eponymous Police collection featuring 28 tracks spread over two discs. The same day, remastered editions of the Summers/Robert Fripp 1982 collaboration “I Advance Masked” and Copeland’s 1985 release “The Rhythmatist” will hit stores.

On June 29, Copeland’s Police documentary “The Police Inside Out” will be released in Japan, most likely with a bonus disc of previously unreleased footage, according to the band’s Web site.

Meanwhile, the Sting lyric tome “Lyrics by Sting” is due Oct. 23 via Dial Press, which previously published his memoir, “Broken Music.” The new book will boast lyrics from 100-plus songs plus commentary about the writing process from the artist.

As for the May 27 warm-up, tickets are only available to fan club members and will not be sold to the general public. The venue will be scaled back for a more intimate seating configuration than what will be utilized the following night for the tour’s proper kick-off.

Finally, the trio is in talks to play a free show in Havana in December “as an expression of their gratitude to Cuban fans who have supported the Police throughout the years,” according to its site. www.policetour.com

Here is the track list for “The Police”:

Disc one:
“Fallout”
“Can’t Stand Losing You”
“Next to You”
“Roxanne”
“Truth Hits Everybody”
“Hole in My Life”
“So Lonely”
“Message in a Bottle”
“Reggatta De Blanc”
“Bring on the Night”
“Walking on the Moon”
“Don’t Stand So Close to Me”
“Driven to Tears”
“Canary in a Coalmine”

Disc two:
“De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da”
“Voices Inside My Head”
“Invisible Sun”
“Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”
“Spirits in the Material World”
“Demolition Man”
“Every Breath You Take”
“Synchronicity I”
“Wrapped Around Your Finger”
“Walking in Your Footsteps”
“Synchronicity II”
“King of Pain”
“Murder by Numbers”
“Tea in the Sahara”
(via billboard.com)

Kingblind Downloads

The Fleshtones – The Girl From Baltimore

New York Dolls – Dance Like A Monkey

Killing Joke – War Dance

Radio Birdman – TV Eye (Stooges cover)

The Saints – Demolition Girl

Hell Is For Heroes – One Of Us

Grizzly Bear – Knife (Girl Talk Rmx)

Grizzly Bear – On A Neck, On A Spit

Television & Patti Smith – CBGB’s 1975

The key is now free
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
What the heck is this key for?

Jarvis Cocker:: The Showbox, Seattle, WA 4/30/07 (Live Review)

“Hello, I’m Jarvis,” mutters the bespectacled beanpole ambling onstage, as the opening chords of “Fat Children” blast across The Showbox. A sea of devotees swoons in his presence before he’s even sung the first lyric, and when we does, swooping his hands and leaping off of monitors, you know you’re in the presence of greatness.

This night ushered in Jarvis’ first visit to Seattle. And the venue screamed in joy when Mr. Cocker said how much he liked Seattle because it reminded him of home. Once the barrage of “Fat Children” signals its exit with one last limp-wristed dance move, Jarvis & co (including former Pulp bassist Steve Mackey) launch into “Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time”, and at this point, people are openly weeping. Most of Jarvis, the brand new eponymous solo record, is a mid-tempo, highbrow lounge act reminiscent of his hero Serge Gainsbourg, and last night reflected that: slow jams like “Tonight” and “Disney Time” shimmer while Jarvis struts the stage, whipping his hips around like the oldest teenager of all time, but it’s the completely magnificent “Big Julie” that steals the show, with its tale of a teenage girls finding solace in nothing but her favorite song played on a shitty radio–for all of his ups and downs, success and failures, you could tell that behind those foggy glasses, Jarvis can still feel Big Julie’s pain and alienation, which is what makes him such a credible, and ultimately sympathetic, performer.

Pulp were the best pop band of the ’90s, certainly the best act Britpop had to offer, and from the looks of it, Jarvis will continue to relentlessly squeeze every last ounce of fandom from us in the coming years, until we’re nothing but shriveled, bleary-eyed husks, contently humming his tunes over and over again. Amazing.

Jarvis Cocker:: Big Stuff (MP3)

Touch & Go Records going digital

Venerable indie label Touch and Go Records will launch a digital download store this summer. The site will offer up the label’s back catalog, new releases, and Steve Albini material not available for consumption anywhere else online. Prices will be similar to fees for songs and albums elsewhere, and the material will be available in non-DRM MP3 format.

Feist:: The Reminder (Album Review)

As I listened to this in a hotel bed the other night, it felt as though I stopped breathing for at least a few seconds. This probably means I should describe The Reminder as breathtaking. But that would be cheesy. So let’s try this: Feist is now that rare artist in complete control of her talent. Where Let It Die now seems like a scattershot experiment, The Reminder focuses and expands, as Feist narrows in on a trademark sound. In this way she can write a swaggering rock song (I Feel It All), personify quiet heartbreak (The Park), make a Nina Simone cover her unyielding signature and use another writer’s tiny fragment to build a joyous pop song (1234, which borrows from New Buffalo’s Sally Seltmann), but never sound anything less than remarkably controlled and singular. At this point, Feist could sing Berlin’s classic Take My Breath Away and uncover previously unrealized nuance. And that – with all due respect to Jessica Simpson – is a high compliment.
(AARON WHERRY)