Jack White – Love Interruption

“Love Interruption” is the first taste of Jack White’s forthcoming debut album, Blunderbuss, out April 23/24 on Third Man Records/XL Recordings/Columbia..

Rumors have been swirling for a while, and now M.I.A. herself has confirmed them. When Madonna performs at the Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday, she’ll perform her new single “Give Me All Your Luvin’,” and her collaborators M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj will join her in the middle of the field. M.I.A. may have had a spotty few years, but this is still just about as big as it gets.

M.I.A. dropped the info-bomb on Zane Lowe’s BBC radio show today, as NME reports. Here’s what she said: “If you’re gonna go to the Super Bowl, you might as well go with America’s biggest female icons.” I love the resignation there. This would, of course, explain why she didn’t sing with Tom Petty a couple of years ago.

M.I.A.’s own new album should land this summer.

They’re trying to get the search results pruned and cherry-picked… full story at paidContent:

In a confidential document obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, lobbying groups for the major rights holders claimed Google and Microsoft‘s Bing are making it “much more difficult” for people to find legal music and films online.

The private document, obtained by the free speech campaigners Open Rights Group and shared with the Guardian, urges the government to introduce a voluntary body that would remove rogue websites from internet search results…

In celebration of the band’s 40th anniversary, Roxy Music will embark on a career-spanning reissue campaign. On April 2, Virgin will put out an eight-CD/four-DVD box set called Roxy Music: The Complete Studio Recordings 1972-1982. It includes eight Roxy Music studio albums: 1972′s Roxy Music, 1973′s For Your Pleasure and Stranded, 1974′s Country Life, 1975′s Siren, 1979′s Manifesto, 1980′s Flesh and Blood, and 1982′s Avalon, along with “high-resolution audio” versions of the albums on DVD.

The set will also feature a bunch of bonus material, including non-album singles, B-sides, and remixes. Check out the full tracklists at fansite Roxyrama.
Below, watch footage of Roxy Music performing “Love Is the Drug”, from Siren.

Disney has halted sales of a Mickey Mouse shirt after its comparisons to Joy Division drew web attention. View t-shirt here

The shirt, which presented a silhouette of the iconic cartoon character’s head filled with raised black-and-white lines, echoed the cover of the post-punk band’s 1979 album “Unknown Pleasures.” That album’s own cover image, representing readings from the first pulsar discovery, was borrowed from an astronomy encyclopedia.

“Inspired by the iconic sleeve of Joy Division’s ‘Unknown Pleasures’ album, this Waves Mickey Mouse Tee incorporates Mickey’s image within the graphic of the pulse of a star. That’s appropriate given few stars have made bigger waves than Mickey!” this listing, now removed, read.

“As soon as we became aware there could be an issue, we pulled it from our shelves and our online store to review the situation further,” a Disney representative said, according to reports.

The shirt was sold out as of Tuesday evening, after initial reports — which questioned the shirt’s appropriateness, given the suicide that ended the band’s career — made waves online.

It was for sale at the Disneyland and Disney World theme parks as well as Disney’s online store.

But former Joy Division bassist Peter Hook weighed in before the pull, making light of the situation.

“I take it as a compliment,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “If I had a pound for every time someone bootlegged Joy Division, I’d be as rich as Disney. But it’s interesting in a kitsch way. It’s this cross between something very adult and this well-known image of childhood.”

To his knowledge, Disney hadn’t consulted with the band’s remaining members on the shirt, Hook added.

Gothamist has the story of CBGB‘s supposed reboot in New York City…

So, about that whole CBGBs is dead thing? It may be coming back, and soon. We have it on good authority that the legendary venue is still alive in spirit, and angling to take over a new space in Manhattan. With the contents of the original club still around in a basement somewhere, if all goes according to plan it will even look like the old space…

It’s been three decades since the last appearance of Popeye in a hand-drawn form, but today the iconic spinach-loving Sailor Man returns along with Olive Oyl, Swee’Pea, Wimpy, Bluto, and… Wilco. Watch above as director Darren Romanelli and King Features bring the classic cartoon back to life, just in time for Jeff Tweedy to settle Bluto and Popeye’s near-century-long rivalry for the love of Olive Oyl, once and for all. (via 24bit)

Iggy Pop has been named ambassador of Record Store Day 2012.

Set to take place on April 21, Record Store Day sees exclusive releases and special shows to celebrate independent record shops. The Stooges main man has said of his new role: “As Record Store Day Ambassador for 2012 I feel like a representative from some exotic jungle full of life and death and sex and anger, called upon to wear a leopard skin and translate joy to the world of the dead.”

He added: “A person should have a personality. You won’t get one dicking around on a computer. It helps to go somewhere where there are other persons. Persons who are interested in something you are. That’s how a record store or any shop that’s got some life to it should work. It’s not about selling shit.”

He continued: “I got my name, my musical education and my personality all from working at a record store during my tender years. Small indie shops have always been a mix of theatre and laboratory. In the 50′s and 60′s the teen kids used to gather after school at these places to listen free to the latest singles and see if they liked the beat.”

“You could buy the disc you liked for 79 cents and if you were lucky meet a chick. Clerks in these places became managers, (like Brian Epstein), label heads, (Jac Holzman) and Faces on album covers (like me).”

For more information on Record Store Day, visit recordstoreday.com. The Flaming Lips’ frontman Wayne Coyne is working on a compilation of tracks with other artists for the 2012 event including Neon Indian, Lightning Bolt and Prefuse 73, reports Billboard.com.

The new video for Sleigh Bells’ “Comeback Kid” is a riot of badass fashion choices: Alexis Krauss’ leather jacket, newly blonde hair, and whitewashed jean shorts, and Derek Miller’s Nirvana t-shirt, varsity jacket, and sunglasses. Directed by Miller and Gregory Kohn, the clip for the Reign of Terror track can be watched below, via MTV.

It sorta seems like a Jim Jarmusch movie, right? An infamous Torontoan cruster gets charged for murder after a botched robbery she attempted with two friends, and uncle and his nephew, on an antiques dealer she had befriended a year before. Above is the accused, Danielle Delottinville’s band. Sheesh. Full story at The Hamilton Spectator (via Punknews):

Jessie Kovacs’ sister knew early on her brother’s new punk rocker friend was bad news.

“I told her to beat it — (to) get out of his life,” Mary Auld-Kovacs said.

Danielle Delottinville, the 28-year-old lead singer of local band Pantychrist, now stands accused of first-degree murder in the death of Kovacs…

Matthews told reporters Thursday that the focus of the investigation has not changed; investigators still believe the murder is a case of robbery gone wrong.

Auld-Kovacs said she did not know the two Port Hope men, but her brother had asked her to watch one of Pantychrist’s videos around the time she first met Delottinville…

Cloud Nothings’ new record Attack on Memory is out tomorrow on Carpark. The strange video for album opener “No Future/No Past”, directed by John Ryan Manning, features a distraught man pushed to the ground, cringing and clenching his fists as he slowly moves through a house and parking lot.

Cloud Nothings – “No Future / No Past” Official Video from Urban Outfitters on Vimeo.

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Etta James’ performance of the enduring classic “At Last” was the embodiment of refined soul: Angelic-sounding strings harkened the arrival of her passionate yet measured vocals as she sang tenderly about a love finally realized after a long and patient wait.

In real life, little about James was as genteel as that song. The platinum blonde’s first hit was a saucy R&B number about sex, and she was known as a hell-raiser who had tempestuous relationships with her family, her men and the music industry. Then she spent years battling a drug addiction that she admitted sapped away at her great talents.

In other words, she was one of music’s original bad girls.

“The bad girls … had the look that I liked,” she wrote in her 1995 autobiography, “Rage to Survive.” `’I wanted to be rare, I wanted to be noticed, I wanted to be exotic as a Cotton Club chorus girl, and I wanted to be obvious as the most flamboyant hooker on the street. I just wanted to be.”

James’ spirit could not be contained – perhaps that’s what made her so magnetic in music; it is surely what made her so dynamic as one of R&B, blues and rock `n’ roll’s underrated legends. The 73-year-old died at Riverside Community Hospital, with her husband and sons at her side, De Leon said.

“It’s a tremendous loss for her fans around the world,” he said. “She’ll be missed. A great American singer. Her music defied category.”

Recently her health went into decline, and by 2011, she was being cared for at home by a personal doctor.

She suffered from dementia, kidney problems and leukemia. Her husband and her two sons fought over control of her $1 million estate, though a deal was later struck keeping Mills as the conservator and capping the singer’s expenses at $350,000. In December 2011, her physician announced that her leukemia was terminal, and asked for prayers for the singer.

Few are better than Guided by Voices at writing potent, rich, catchy rock songs. Throughout the 21 razor-sharp chunks o’ rock over 41 non-stop minutes on “Let’s Go Eat the Factory,” the indie progenitors whose lo-fidelity, highly addictive sound has attracted one of the most intensely devoted fan bases this side of the Grateful Dead somehow embody the entirety of rock history. At its best the Ohio group recalls a combination of early Who energy, classic Beatles harmonies, and, as on the superb Joy Division riff-off, “Cyclone Utilities (Remember Your Birthday),” a keen sense of punk and post-punk history.

As is always the case with lead singer Robert Pollard and Guided by Voices, the lyrics are, to put it generously, obtuse. When you can make out the words — the production style is flat and virtually monophonic — they often pour forth evocations or, as others may call it, abstract gibberish. Like on “Imperial Racehorsing,” the lines “animal action, animal taste/animal traction, all over the place/animal virtue, all over my face” is followed by the non sequitur chorus, “Now she’s fighter, now she’s fighter.”

“Let’s Go Eat the Factory” offers a few sonic augmentations that may leap out at fans of the classic “Bee Thousand”-era GBV. A few hint at a “Sgt. Pepper’s” vibe, but if the Sergeant were crammed in a cluttered suburban basement with a string section in a corner near the washer and dryer. The highlight is the epic (by GBV standards) 31/2 minute song “Waves,” a magnetic rock workout featuring a primal chord progression. But, as is the case with most Pollard releases, it’s hard to pick a best moment, because catchy new favorites pop out with each successive listen, timed to explode in incremental bursts.

The battle over the SOPA and PIPA bills — the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect Intellectual Property Act — currently making their way through the U.S. Congress has hit a crescendo. Wikipedia, Reddit and other sites shut themselves down on Jan. 18 to protest the legislation which enables the U.S. government to block public access to any site accused of copyright infringement without their day in court.

Several artists are also now speaking out on the bills that are supposed to be protecting their rights.

Trent Reznor, MGMT, Nada Surf’s Daniel Lorca, OK Go, Amanda Palmer, Erin McKeown and the Lonely Island, the comedic band fronted by ‘Saturday Night Live’s Andy Samberg, wrote an open letter on Jan 17 stating their opposition to PIPA and SOPA.

“We, along with the rest of society, have benefited immensely from a free and open Internet,” the letter says. “It allows us to connect with our fans and reach new audiences. Using social media services like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, we can communicate directly with millions of fans and interact with them in ways that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago.”

The letter also stated that the new statutes could “be easily abused against legitimate services like those upon we depend.”

Radiohead placed a “Stop PIPA” link atop its website today while rock group Circa Survive blacked out its own site in support. “Today we have blacked out our site in protest of SOPA/PIPA,” the band tweeted. “We value freedom of speech far above $.” Placebo meanwhile posed a simple question asking for opinions on the bill via Twitter while OK Go “is offline today, in protest of #sopa.”

Elsewhere, the Flaming Lips changed its Twitter profile picture to a stop sign with “STOP SOPA” written on it and singer-songwriter Butch Walker posted “SOPA” in a tweet with a link to a photo showing a brick wall with a one-way arrow painted on it.

“You know what they say, once you go black… #SOPA,” the Roots’ Questlove tweeted while
Canadian singer Lindi Ortega tweeted a little more bluntly, “Censor the internet??? What is this f-kery all about?”

Disturbed singer David Draiman posted a letter on his position through his Twitter account. “Now with the SOPA and PIPA bills, they seek to extend governmental control to be able to censor free speech and expression on one of the last bastions of that nation; the internet,” Draiman said.

“Don’t get me wrong, I am all for legislation that holds thieves and pirate-ers accountable for their illegal acts; stealing music, movies or any other type of art from artists, without proper compensation is criminal and such acts should come with punishments that fit the crime; including fines, and the suspension/elimination of internet privileges and such.

“I sincerely hope that the legislation is re-written to clamp down on piracy without restricting the freedoms that this country was founded on.”

Meanwhile over 30 music companies have been identified as supporters of SOPA/PIPA, including BMI, CBS Corporation, EMI Music Publishing, MCA Records, Universal Music Group Inc.

What will surely be a cantankerous, well-recollected read. Full story at Rolling Stone

Johnny Ramone’s last words will finally reach fans when his memoir is released this spring. Commando: The Autobiography of Johnny Ramone covers the Ramones guitarist’s rise to fame with the innovative New York punks, as well as his childhood memories and health battles (he died from prostate cancer in 2004)…

This week Santigold played a pair of sold-out shows at Music Hall Of Williamsburg and reviews for the shows have been fantastic. Directly on their back comes “Big Mouth,” and its video starring Santi and her S1W-ettes, the first single from Master Of My Make-Believe and the first listen of what just became a staple at sceney DJ nights for Q1 ’12. Grab the MP3 for the price of an email over at santigold.com — the video is below.

Maybe. The world’s most popular site for file sharing/pirating/torrented media has begun a new launched a new initiative that they call The Promo Bay, in which artists of all stripes are encouraged to submit a ‘doodle,’ or a re-branding of The Pirate Bay home page, for promotional purposes. A tiny band-aid on a gaping wound?

As you might have seen we sometimes replace our front page logo with others. Sometimes we link to important political issues like internet censorship and sometimes it’s to some cool indie musicians we like.

We would now like to improve this feature. We want you to send us an email (below) and tell us what you have and where you would like it to be shown…

Of course, we can and will not release everything we recieve. We will pick something every now and then from the pool. If we like your submission, and the countries you chose are not already flooded by requests, you will recieve an email when it’s about to start…

The independent punk label, which was founded in 1987, stopped officially releasing new music in 2006, but now it has finally been announced that the label has completely ceased business.

Former Lookout! Records artist Ted Leo announced the shut down of the label on his website Tedleo.com. He said: Our beloved Lookout! Records, which ceased releasing new material in 2006, but carried on keeping the catalog in print until this past December, has, sadly, shuttered its windows for good.

The label released Green Day’s first two albums – ’39/Smooth’ and ‘Kerplunk’ along with records by Operation Ivy, The Donnas, Avail, Screeching Weasel, The Queers, The Mr. T Experience and Citizen Fish and many others.

Wired:
The Obama administration said Saturday that it would not support legislation mandating changes to internet infrastructure to fight online copyright and trademark infringement…

The announcement follows a whirlwind week in which leaders in the House and Senate, apparently buckling to widespread pressure, announced they would at least temporarily remove DNS-redirecting requirements in the Protect IP Act in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House. The White House move likely signals that Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) and House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) would not likely re-introduce the Domain Name System redirecting provisions in their bills…

Washington Monthly:
It’s possible that a related version of SOPA could come back at some point down the road — though probably not this year — but for now, the push against the bill has succeeded beautifully…

For the past year or so, Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne has been sharing bits of info about a few high-profile collaborations that the band have in the works — even going so far as to attempt recruiting famous guests publicly on Twitter. Now this intriguing project, specific details of which were previously unknown and likely up in the air, appears to be coming to fruition with a number of tracks revealed to be in the can and more on the way.

“All these things happen within a couple of days,” Coyne told Rolling Stone of their team-ups so far with the likes of Nick Cave, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, Edward Sharpe (with whom the Lips performed alongside in a cemetery last year), Neon Indian, and Yoko Ono. “You set up these [collaborations] in your mind and immediately get to work.”

In addition to the aforementioned artists, Coyne is attempting to recruit Ke$ha, Lykke Li, and Erykah Badu for the album, tentatively due out in April. We’ll keep an eye out for further details as this project progresses, but in the meantime, revisit the Lips performing “Do You Realize??” with Ed Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes below:

Slowcore pioneers Codeine are to reform for a series of live shows following the reissue of all three of their albums, it has been revealed.

The original line-up – vocalist/bassist Stephen Immerwahr, guitarist John Engle and even drummer Chris Brokaw, who originally defected to another band in 1992 – will reunite for their first live performances since 1994, starting with an appearance at the All Tomorrow’s Parties three-day takeover of the Alexandra Palace between May 25-27th.

The reunion, which will see the three-piece play a string of dates in the US as well as Europe, commemorates the reissue of their back catalogue. All three of their albums – 1990’s Frigid Stars, 1992’s Barely Real and 1994’s The White Birch – are due to be re-released on vinyl by Chicago-based label Numero Group on May 7th. Packaged as double albums with a CD of the same material, each LP will boast singles, demos, Peel sessions and live tracks from the period, with elaborate packaging and extensive liner notes as standard. A deluxe box set of all three albums, limited to 1000 copies, will also be available. (Via The Quietus)

Here’s the official HD trailer for Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom. Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, Moonrise Kingdom tells the story of two twelve-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore — and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle. Bruce Willis plays the local sheriff. Edward Norton is a Khaki Scout troop leader. Bill Murray and Frances McDormand portray the young girl’s parents. The cast also includes Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, and Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as the boy and girl. Directed by Anderson, and co-written with Roman Coppola. In theaters: May 25th, 2012.

fIREHOSE — featuring Mike Watt, George Hurley, and Ed Crawford — will be reforming and touring, And now we have their current west coast tour dates.. Thanks Watt!! fIREHOSE formed in 1986 following the death Minutemen front man D. Boon. They performed more than 900 shows, and last played on February 12, 1994 at the Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro, California.

April 5: Harlow’s, Sacramento, CA
April 6: Doug Fir, Portland, OR
April 7: Neumos, Seattle, WA
April 9: Wild Buffalo House of Music, Bellingham, WA
April 10: WOW Hall, Eugene, OR
April 11: Slim’s, San Francisco, CA
April 12: Historic Coconut Grove Ballroom, Santa Cruz, CA *
April 13: Fulton 55, Fresno, CA
April 14: Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, Indio, CA
April 17: Crescent Ballroom, Phoenix, AZ *
April 18: Orpheum Theatre, Flagstaff, AZ *
April 19: Plush, Tucson, AZ
April 20: Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, Indio, CA

The Velvet Underground file lawsuit over iconic banana symbol Defunct band block Andy Warhol image from their 1967 album being used on iPads and iPhones

The Velvet Underground have filed a lawsuit seeking to block its iconic Andy Warhol-designed banana being used on covers for iPads and iPhones.

The defunct 1960′s band, formed by Lou Reed and John Cale, has announced it is taking action against the Andy Warhol Foundation after reading newspaper reports in the past year that the foundation had agreed to license the banana design to a series of cases, sleeves and bags.

According to the lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court, the group have claimed the iconic banana design is synonymous with The Velvet Underground, which features on their 1967 album ‘The Velvet Underground And Nico’.

The design, which was never officially copyrighted, “became a symbol, truly an icon, of The Velvet Underground for some 25 years”, court papers added, reports Reuters.

The Velvet Underground is seeking an injunction blocking the use of the banana by third parties, a declaration that the Warhol Foundation has no copyright interest in the design, unspecified damages, and a share of the profits made by the Warhol Foundation from any licensing deals.

Sleigh Bells are gearing up for an eight-date tour of Florida, their home state, with Diplo and Liturgy. They’ve announced six North American dates following the Florida loop. The expanded schedule is below, followed by the BNT’d “Born to Lose”, from their upcoming Reign of Terror LP.
Sleigh Bells:

02-03 Gainesville, FL – Florida Theater *#
02-04 Tampa, FL – The Ritz *#
02-06 Pensacola, FL – Vinyl Music Hall *#
02-07 Tallahassee, FL – The Moon *#
02-09 Jacksonville, FL – Freebird Live *#
02-10 Orlando, FL – Firestone *#
02-11 Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Revolution *#
02-14 Miami, FL – Grand Central *#
02-16 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
02-17 New York, NY – Terminal 5
02-18 Toronto, Ontario – Phoenix
02-21 Los Angeles, CA – Music Box
02-23 San Francisco, CA – Regency Ballroom
02-24 Seattle, WA – Showbox at Market

* with Diplo
# with Liturgy

On April 2nd 2011 LCD Soundsystem played its final show at Madison Square Garden. LCD frontman James Murphy had made the conscious decision to disband one of the most celebrated and influential bands of its generation at the peak of its popularity, ensuring that the band would go out on top with the biggest and most ambitious concert of its career. The instantly sold out near four-hour extravaganza did just that, moving the thousands in attendance to tears of joy and grief, with NEW YORK magazine calling the event “a marvel of pure craft” and TIME magazine lamenting “we may never dance again.” SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS is both a narrative film documenting this once in a lifetime performance and an intimate portrait of James Murphy as he navigates the lead-up to the show, the day after, and the personal and professional ramifications of his decision.

SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS was directed by Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace and produced by Lucas Ochoa and Thomas Benski of Pulse Films (the same team that directed and produced the Grammy-nominated Blur documentary, NO DISTANCE LEFT TO RUN) and James Murphy. The film’s executive producer is Christine Vachon (I’M NOT THERE, FAR FROM HEAVEN, BOYS DON’T CRY, ONE HOUR PHOTO, HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, etc.), with former LCD manager Keith Wood and The Creators Project.

For more info check out http://shutupandplaythehits.com

SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS will receive its debut screening at this year’s Sundance film festival. Check out the trailer below:

Neutral Milk Hotel frontman Jeff Mangum is touring the U.S. and Europe this year, including gigs at the postponed Minehead ATP Festival, which he’s helping curate. New dates have been added to the tour, including a West Coast run featuring an appearance at Coachella. Opening several shows will be the Music Tapes, while others will be supported by Andrew Scott Laura, a new trio of Andrew Rieger and Laura Carter of Elf Power with Scott Spillane of Neutral Milk Hotel and Gerbils.

Check out the updated tour schedule below.
01-18 New Haven, CT – Shubert Theater *
01-19-21 Brooklyn, NY – Gilman Opera House at Brooklyn Academy of Music *
01-25 Philadelphia, PA – Irvine Auditorium at University of Pennsylvania *
01-27-28 Washington, DC – Lincoln Theatre *
01-30 Chapel Hill, NC – Memorial Hall at University of North Carolina #
02-01 Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse #
02-04 Minneapolis, MN – Pantages Theatre #
02-06 Chicago, IL – Athenaeum Theater #
02-07 Chicago, IL – Athenaeum Theater #
02-08 Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theater #
02-10-11 Athens, GA – 40 Watt Club #
03-07 Dublin, Ireland – Vicar Street #
03-09-11 Minehead, England – ATP Curated By Jeff Mangum
03-13-14 London, England – Union Chapel
04-09-10 Oakland, CA – Fox Theater
04-14 Indio, CA – Coachella
04-16 Seattle, WA – Moore Theater
04-18-19 Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
04-21 Indio, CA – Coachella
05-30 Barcelona, Spain – Primavera Sound
06-07 Porto, Portugal – Primavera Sound

* with the Music Tapes
# with Andrew Scott Laura

Pulp, Radiohead, At The Drive In, Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg to play Coachella Festival Mazzy Star, Bon Iver, Arctic Monkeys, Florence, The Horrors and Justice also play the California festival
More Pulp news, reviews, videos and tour dates

Pulp, Radiohead and the newly reunited At The Drive-In have all been confirmed to play this spring’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California.

Other bands confirmed for the festival, which will take place over two weekends this April, are: The Black Keys, The Shins, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, Cat Power, Bon Iver, Jeff Mangum, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Mazzy Star, Madness, Florence And The Machine, Justice, Arctic Monkeys and The Horrors. For full line-up details visit: Coachella’s Facebook page. Tickets go on sale January 13.

Coachella festival will run over two weekends for the first time in 2012 (April 13-13, 20-22). A statement on the festival’s website says they are expanding the event – which was headlined by Arcade Fire, Kings Of Leon and Kanye West last year at the Empire Polo Club – so they can accommodate larger audiences.

Yesterday Pulp took to Twitter to post a Coachella teaser message simply stating: “You think this is over?” The band were thought to have played their final reunion show at Ireland’s Electric Picnic festival in September of last year, during which Jarvis Cocker hinted that the 90-minute set might be their last ever gig.

Following yesterday’s confirmation that Radiohead will headline Coachella, Radiohead at Ease points out that the band has announced three additional West Coast dates, for Seattle, San Jose, and Santa Barbara in April. Check out all of their dates, plus the video for “Lotus Flower”, below.
Radiohead:

02-27 Miami, FL – American Airlines Arena *
02-29 Tampa, FL – St. Pete Times Forum *
03-01 Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena *
03-03 Houston, TX – Toyota Center *
03-05 Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center *
03-07 Austin, TX – Frank Erwin Center *
03-09 St. Louis, MO – Scottrade Center *
03-11 Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center *
03-13 Broomfield, CO – 1st Bank Center *
03-15 Glendale, AZ – Jobing.com Arena *
04-09 Seattle, WA – Key Arena *
04-11 San Jose, CA – HP Pavilion *
04-12 Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl *
04-14 Indio, CA – Coachella
04-17 Mexico City, Mexico – Foro Sol *#
04-18 Mexico City, Mexico – Foro Sol *#
04-21 Indio, CA – Coachella
06-30 Rome, Italy – Hyppodrome Capanelle
07-01 Florence, Italy – Parco Delle Cascine
07-03 Bologna, Italy – Piazza Maggiore
07-04 Codroipo, Italy – Villa Manin
07-06 Berlin, Germany – Wuhlheide
07-07 Berlin, Germany – Wuhlheide
07-10 Nimes, France – Les Arenes #
07-11 Nimes, France – Les Arenes #
07-13 Kobetamendi Park, Spain – Bilbao BBK Live
07-15 Lisbon, Portugal – Optimus Alive Fest
07-25 Taipei, Taiwan – Nanang Exhibition Hall

* with Other Lives
# with Caribou

Following speculation flying around the internet as of late about the potential reunion of big-haired El Paso post-hardcore crew At The Drive-In, a notice on the band’s website appears to confirm the rumours.

“To whom it may concern,” the front page says, “At The Drive-In will be breaking their 11 year silence. THIS STATION IS… NOW… OPERATIONAL.”

At The Drive-In split at the height of their popularity after the release of 2001′s Relationship Of Command album, amid intra-band tension. Immediately afterwards they formed Sparta and The Mars Volta, both of whom have played and released records intermittently in the interim period.

The White Stripes to put out new ‘outtakes’ release this month The band are releasing never before heard versions of two classic tracks

The White Stripes are set to release alternate versions of two classic tracks, which have not been available to fans before now.

An early version of the band’s 2003 single ‘Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground’, which is simply titled ‘Dead Leaves’ and an early recording of ‘Let’s Build A Home’ will both be released on a special 7′ vinyl, simply titled ‘Outtakes’.

The recordings will be sold as part of Jack White’s Third Man Recordings’ exclusive series of From The Vault releases, with a third singles collection also set to be released by the Nashville based label.

Jack White recently revealed that he has collaborated with Tom Jones for a one-off release on Third Man Records. The Welsh crooner has recorded a version of his 2002 track ‘Jezebel’ and a cover of Howlin’ Wolf’s ‘Evil’ for the release, which is set to be the latest in the label’s ‘Blue Series’.

The ‘Blue Series’ has previously featured artists such as Laura Marling and Insane Clown Posse, who put out their track ‘Leck Mich Im Arsch’ as an exclusive seven-inch and download last September.

The Mars Volta have confirmed that they will release a new album this year.

The band’s frontman, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, posted a message on his official YouTube account revealing that the experimental rock band had almost finished work on their sixth studio LP and the follow-up to 2009′s ‘Octahedron’.

After Sony’s Official Playstation blog announced that the band had contributed a song called ‘Zed And Two Naughts’ for their new baseball computer game ‘MLB 12 The Show’, Bixler-Zavala wrote: New Volta almost done. Vocals done. Just trying to rebutcher it and finish guitar. In studio until this week then on to Mexico to add more quantum entanglement to it. The sonogram of the little beast is looking very good.

Previously, The Mars Volta’s guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López had said that the as-yet-untitled album would mark the end of an era in the band’s songwriting, stating: “I want to collaborate more. I’ve had 10 years of kind of being a benign dictator in this band and I want to make it more like a democracy.”

However, he added that he add no plans to reunite with his former bandmates in At The Drive-In, although he did admit he could “never say never” about a possible reunion.

Last spring, the Flaming Lips recorded an EP with Neon Indian called The Flaming Lips With Neon Indian. On New Year’s Day, Neon Indian opened for the Lips in Oklahoma City as part of the Lips’ New Year’s Freak Out No. 5 (which also included Yoko Ono). Last night, Neon Indian’s Alan Palomo Tweeted a video of the Lips and Neon Indian playing “Is David Bowie Dying?” from the EP at the New Year’s Day show. Watch it below.
In conjunction with the New Year’s Freak Out, Flaming Lips and Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band released a four-track collaborative EP. It included “Atlas Eets Christmas”, “Brain of Heaven”, “The Fear Litany”, and “Do It!”. Listen to all four tracks on the YouTube page of Lips fansite Slow Nerve Action.

The Flaming Lips and Neon Indian: “Is David Bowie Dying?”

(via pitchfork)

A Jack White Q&A from this month’s MOJO hit the White Swirl this morning, in which the Third Man Records founder revealed some intriguing 2012 releases for the Nashville label. Most surprisingly, perhaps, is confirmation for the rumor that White has recorded a new Blue Series single with knighted Welsh crooner Tom Jones: a cover of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Evil (Is Going On)”…

Miles Kane has confirmed that he will reunite with Arctic Monkeys’ singer Alex Turner to record again as The Last Shadow Puppets, possibly as soon as at the end of this year.

‘The Colour Of The Trap’ singer is currently on tour with the Arctic Monkeys across Australia and has said that he and Turner will record the follow-up to ‘The Age Of The Understatement’ “when the time is right”.

He told Noise11.com when asked about the status of The Last Shadow Puppets: “There will be [another record] when the time is right. We’ll both know together when it’s right. We’re both enjoying our own things, but we’re still working together and when the time is right we’ll go and do that again.” When asked if he could put a date on it, Kane replied: “Maybe the end of this year, maybe next year.”

He also revealed that he didn’t actually expect to make a full album as The Last Shadow Puppets in the first place and that the speed with which he and Turner wrote and recorded ‘The Age Of The Understatement’ came as a complete shock.

He said of this: “We didn’t even expect to make a record. We were just these two young guys who had written these songs and went to France for two weeks to record and see what would happen. In two weeks we recorded 11 songs. We have a great connection, me and Alex. It is a great partnership”.

Miles Kane tours the UK in April next year. The singer will play eight dates, kicking off at Nottingham Rock City on April 20 and wrapping up with a date at the London HMV Forum on April 28.

Billboard.biz:

The sound may not be crystal clear. They can be scratched and skip from time to time. It’s not a very mobile music form. But they are growing in popularity. Vinyl record sales have grown steadily over the past six years, according to Nielsen SoundScan…

Here’s a more subdued side to Alabama Shakes: Presumably set to appear on this spring’s debut full-length, “Boys and Girls” finds Brittany Howard and Co. in familiar soulful territory, yet this time for some tender reflection on the breakup of a childhood friendship.

Before his death in 1986, Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott gave an unidentified caretaker 150 tapes of unreleased music. Now, the Irish Independent reports, some of the nearly 700 songs included in that stash will finally see the light of day, as Universal is prepping a new Thin Lizzy box set due out later this year.

“This is an absolutely stunning find,” project manager Steve Hammonds told the newspaper.

Following on the heels of another box set, ‘Live at the BBC,’ which was released last year, the collection will feature outtakes and alternate versions of Lizzy hits, as well as “material which was recorded but never released at the time,” Hammonds said. The tunes spans 1971 to 1981, when the Dublin rockers were signed to Decca.

The group’s surviving members are said to be helping with the project, and while Wednesday, Jan. 4 marks the 26th anniversary of Lynott’s passing, Hammonds insists this set is no crass cash-in.

“Phil Lynott passed the material on to a third party for safekeeping,” he said. “They held on to it for decades because they were waiting for the right people to come along.”

“They really didn’t trust anyone enough to release it properly,” he added. “No money has changed hands, this person is a Thin Lizzy fan.”

Kele Okereke has confirmed that Bloc Party will release a new album later this year.

Speaking to Zane Lowe on Radio 1 today (January 3), the frontman said that a follow up to their third album, 2008′s ‘Intimacy’, will be out at some point in 2012. The band have been working on their fourth album in New York.

Last year Kele courted controversy by claiming that while he was busy with his solo career, the remaining members of Bloc Party would be auditioning new singers to allow them to continue playing together. Bloc Party soon backtracked on the admission, which had been made to NME.

Zane Lowe went on to contact the band’s management, who denied the developments. Lowe then took to Twitter to claim: “Bloc Party thing is nonsense. Management confirm it. Solid… solid as a rrrrock.”

As management officially denied there was anything going on, the band distanced themselves from the claims. It was then suggested that the four members had been in cahoots to whip up publicity for the band and ‘get one over’ on the media.

Rock legends Pink Floyd are set to reunite and perform at the Olympics.

The celebrated group, whose original line-up last played together at Live 8 in 2005 after more than 20 years apart, are expected to be among the star acts at the closing ceremony in August.

“It’s long been made clear it would take something very special to get Pink Floyd back together again and it doesn’t get any bigger than the Olympics,” says an insider.

“Like Sir Paul [McCartney, who is tipped to open the Games], they have been a major part of the nation’s culture over the past 40 years and it will be very fitting that they’re involved when London is on show to the world. It’s hoped everything can be confirmed in the coming weeks.”