YYYs, Flaming Lips, Walkmen Rock Spiderman 3
Also Black Mountain, Killers, Snow Patrol, Wolfmother

Who's excited for Spiderman 3? Me! Especially now that the soundtrack has been announced. No more emo Spiderman for this one (though I gotta say, that Dashboard song from Spidey 2 is pretty hot)-- Peter Parker's gone full-on hipster.

Due out on CD AND LP May 1 via Record Collection, Spiderman 3: The Official Soundtrack features all completely brand new songs from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Flaming Lips, Record Collection's own Walkmen, the Killers, Black Mountain, Wolfmother, Rogue Wave, Jason Schwartzman (aka Coconut Records), and more.

The Flaming Lips song is called "Spiderman vs. Muhammad Ali"!!! It HAS to rule. It just has to.

The soundtrack was produced by Dave Sardy (Walkmen, LCD Soundsystem, Oasis, Wolfmother).

So far, the only song that's available is the Snow Patrol one, which can be streamed below. "Vidicated" is so much better. [MORE...]

Malkmus, Hold Steady, Jim James, Calexico Do Dylan
Plus: Willie Nelson, Roger McGuinn of the Byrds

Sorry, Adam Duritz. You don't get to be Bob Dylan. But guess what? In Velvet Goldmine/Far From Heaven director Todd Haynes' forthcoming feature I'm Not There, six other people do-- including Richard Gere, Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, and even Cate Blanchett. Each plays a Dylan of a different period in the experimental flick, presently in post-production and tentatively slated for release later this year.

A lot of fine folks who aren't playing Dylan get to do the next best thing-- cover the man's timeless songs for the film's soundtrack. While details have not yet been completely confirmed, we do know Stephen Malkmus, the Hold Steady, and Calexico-- with Jim James, Willie Nelson, and the Byrds' Roger McGuinn-- are among the acts giving it the old Dylan try.

According to Rollingstone.com, Stephen Malkmus takes on Dylan's "Maggie's Farm" and "Ballad of a Thin Man"-- with Dylan bandmember Tony Garnier in his band and Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo in the producer's chair. Judging from a post on the Malkmus website, it seems the indie icon's cover will appear in the film itself with an actor mouthing the words: "Maybe we arent supposed to talk about this too much. but one of our favorite movie stars inhabits senor jick's voice to perfection," claims the Malkmus site.

The Hold Steady, meanwhile, take on B-side "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?", according to a post on sound engineer John Agnello's website (intense high five to reader Kaley Evans for the tip!). Mustachioed Hold Steady keyboardist Franz Nicolay confirmed the band's participation in I'm Not There on his own website.

Calexico contribute a rendition of Street Legal's "Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)", joined by folk legend Willie Nelson and flamenco guitarist Salvador Duran. The band performed and briefly discussed their cover on Minnesota Public Radio last September. Check out the video here.

Finally, in an August 2006 interview with The Daily Californian, Joey Burns of Calexico mentioned My Morning Jacket's Jim James had lent vocals to another Calexico-backed I'm Not Here Dylan cover (apparently set to appear in a Richard Gere scene), and that Calexico had recorded tracks for Roger McGuinn for a third soundtrack contribution.

Contrary to early reports, Jack White will not be participating, according to his publicist. Other rumored participants include PJ Harvey, Aimee Mann, and Michael Stipe.

Underworld Breaking Soundtrack on the Way

Now that "new rave" is all the rage in the UK press, there's never been a better time to embrace an old rave touchstone: London electronic duo Underworld, who've been making you gyrate for nearly 20 years now.

You'll probably want to keep your hips in check, however, while viewing the Underworld co-scored drama Breaking and Entering in movie theaters this winter. As previously noted, Underworld's Karl Hyde and Rick Smith teamed up with film composer Gabriel Yared to compose the score to the film, the latest from director Anthony Minghella (Cold Mountain, The English Patient).

The Underworld/Yared soundtrack hits shops December 5 via V2, while the corresponding film-- which stars Jude Law, Juliette Binoche, and some other pretty people enduring conflict, rising action, and resolution in London-- lands in New York and L.A. cineplexes on December 9. The rest of us uncultured Americans will have to wait until January 19 to throw popcorn at it.

Given the setting, Law's presence, the poster portraits, the trailer's allusions to infidelity, and the press release's claim the film "explores the darker side of relationships and human emotion", this thing looks an awful lot like Closer lite. Check out the trailer and stream two soundtrack selections by tapping the links below.

"We've been jamming here in Abbey Road [studios] for a while now and having a really good time, producing some very different music," Hyde told Pitchfork late last year regarding Underworld's collaboration with Yared.

Minghella can dig it: "Witnessing Gabriel, Karl and Rick in a room together was a revelation," said the director in the aforementioned press release. Aw, group hug! [MORE...]

The Pastels Ready New Album, Score Play
Indie pop kids everywhere overcome with fits of giddiness

If your anorak feels extra snuggly and your chai tastes especially sweet today, that's probably because the Pastels are on the prowl once again. The seminal Glasgow shambling indie pop trio has returned in earnest, with a new album, a collaboration, and a live score for a theatre production all in the works for you, their polite and devoted fanbase.

First up, the Pastels have contributed original music to Do I Mean Anything To You Or Am I Just Passing By?, a new, somewhat experimental play written and directed by Gerard McInulty-- aka Caeser, formerly of Factory/Sarah Records act the Wake (which also at one point included a young Bobby Gillespie) and presently of the Occasional Keepers. The work previews November 17 and 18 and runs from the 21-25 at Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre, with Pastels Stephen McRobbie and Katrina Mitchell in attendance to contribute live music to each performance.

According to their MySpace and current label home, Domino Records, the band have also been diligently working on a brand new full length-- technically the follow-up to 1997's Illumination, and their first collection of new material since the 2002 film soundtrack The Last Great Wilderness. Chalk up the long wait to the fact that the Pastels have been busy concentrating on their Domino-affiliated imprint Geographic Music, and also busy being honest and adorable.

Also on the way: a collaboration with Tokyo twee duo Tenniscoats. No word yet on titles or release dates for either record, but after a nearly ten year Pastels hiatus, I suppose we can stand to wait just a wee bit longer. [MORE...]

Gretta Cohn, Ex-Cursive, Talks Cat Power, Solo Work

Since leaving Saddle Creek manic emo-ters Cursive-- for whom she shredded cello for four years, lending an electrifying edge to band's live show, LP The Ugly Organ, and EPs Burst and Bloom and 8 Teeth to Eat You-- Gretta Cohn's days have only gotten busier. Presently she's collaborating all willy-nilly, chipping away at a solo/not-solo record, and appearing with Cat Power and Charles Barkley on national late-night television.

Cohn joined Chan Marshall's Memphis Rhythm Band for several shows on the chanteuse's recent tour. As the ace cellist and sometime Pitchfork contributor-- now living once again in her native New York-- wrote in a recent e-mail to Pitchfork, playing with Chan Marshall and Co. has been an absolute blast.

"They were so welcoming, and we just sat around for hours in between shows, talking about music...I've never played a show where everyone smiled at each other during the set," she enthused.

Cohn also performed with Cat Power on this year's Halloween episode of "Late Night With Conan O'Brien". Also a guest that night: none other than Charles Barkley, famous for having his name pun'd by Gnarls Barkley. Apparently he played basketball too, or something.

"Late night is so funny," wrote Gretta. "Hours of waiting, two minutes of playing, and some serious makeup on the face." [MORE...]

Yo La Tengo, Animal Collective on Shortbus Soundtrack

So yes, John Cameron Mitchell's (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) new film Shortbus is the one where some dude sings our nation's national anthem into another dude's butt. Perhaps you've also heard it's a skin flick with heart, or that it takes a thoughtfully candid look at the sexploits of various dispossessed persons, or that it's phenomenal and/or abominable.

What you may not have heard is that it also boasts a bangin' soundtrack featuring an exclusive cut by Yo La Tengo, among other treasures. And who better than lovemonkey Conor Oberst and his Team Love label to bring that amor-rific soundtrack to the streets? Shortbus (the CD) arrives November 7 bearing previously unreleased YLT tune "Wizard's Sleeve" alongside still fresh selections from Animal Collective, Azure Ray, the Hidden Cameras, controversial Swedish glam-rockers the Ark, and even a few Shortbus (the film) stars: Sook-Yin Lee, Justin Bond (aka Kiki of Kiki & Herb fame), Scott Matthew, and Jay Brannan. Perfect for, dear god, sing-alongs with your friends! [MORE...]

Stream: Spoon: "The Book I Write"
From the Stranger Than Fiction Soundtrack

When we heard that Spoon had created a new song for the soundtrack to the new Will Ferrell film Stranger Than Fiction, we knew not to anticipate an ambient drone piece or a skull-crushing noise dirge. And, as expected, Spoon deliver an upbeat ditty balancing just the right amount of polish and scuzz, with chugging acoustic guitar and piano infused with splashes of strings and horns (possibly synthesized). Close your eyes, and a montage of Ferrell engaged in a series of goofy antics is right there.

As previously reported, Stranger Than Fiction opens in theaters on November 10, and the soundtrack comes out on Columbia Records/Sony Music Soundtrax on November 7. The score was composed by Spoon's Britt Daniel in collaboration with Marie Antoinette/Lost in Translation/Thumbsucker music supervisor Brian Reitzell. In addition to "The Book I Write" and pieces of the score, the soundtrack album includes the previously released Spoon tracks "The Way We Get By", "My Mathematical Mind", and "Vittorio E", as well as songs by Delta 5, Califone, M83, Maximo Park, the Jam, the Upsetters, and more.

In other Spoon news, the band recently updated its website to reveal that they are hard at work on their sixth album, working in their hometown of Austin, Texas with longtime producer Mike McCarthy. In an interview with Billboard.com last week, Daniel said that the album is half done, and that it is tentatively slated to be released in April or May of 2007. According to their website, songs being considered for the album include "Don't Make Me a Target", "My Little Japanese Cigarette Case", "Kindness Kills Them", "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga", "Black Like Me" (wha?!), "The Way You Said, Yeah He Did", and "Eddie's Ragga".

The only two performances scheduled for the rest of the year are a Britt Daniel solo show at the Parish in Austin next Thursday, November 2, with opening acts Pink Nasty and Sally Crew, as well as an appearance at the Fun Fun Fun festival in Austin's Waterloo Park on December 1. The fest will also feature Peaches, the Black Angels, Dead Meadow, Circle Jerks, Negative Approach, Dead Meadow, Prefuse 73, Whitey, and more.

New Spoon Song on Stranger Than Fiction Soundtrack
Britt Daniel co-scored the film

The soundtrack to Stranger Than Fiction, the new Will Ferrell and Emma Thompson movie, now has a release date and a tracklist. As previously reported, the score was composed in part by Spoon's Britt Daniel, who collaborated with Marie Antoinette/Lost in Translation/Thumbsucker music supervisor Brian Reitzell.

The biggest news for Spoon fans, though, is that the band contributed "The Book I Write", a completely new song written for the movie. Other artists on the soundtrack include Califone, M83, Maximo Park, the Jam, and omnipresent soundtrack man Vangelis.

Stranger Than Fiction opens in theaters on November 10, and the soundtrack comes out on Columbia Records/Sony Music Soundtrax on November 7. [MORE...]

Spoon's Britt Daniel Scores Film

Monster's Ball/Finding Neverland director Marc Forster's new movie Stranger Than Fiction couldn't have a more fitting title. Sure it features Will Ferrell as an IRS agent having his life narrated by Emma Thompson, who thinks she's finishing her next novel, but what's really important is a tiny credit at the end of the trailer linked below. Look closely and you'll see, "Music by: Britt Daniel". WHA?!!

Yes, Spoon's "The Way We Get By" is featured at the beginning of the trailer, but you don't get a music writing credit for one song in a commercial. Rather, Spoon frontman Daniel has made his foray into film scoring by lending original instrumental tracks (and previously released Spoon songs) to Stranger Than Fiction, along with Lost in Translation soundtrack contributor Brian Reitzell. Selections from Max Richter's The Blue Notebooks will also appear in the film, which hits theaters November 10-- but that won't stop me from pleading, "Gimme Fiction!"

Deerhoof Reveal Friend Opportunity Tracklist
Also working on soundtrack to Hollywood movie

Just three days after announcing that their next album, Friend Opportunity, will be released on Kill Rock Stars/5RC on January 23, 2007, Deerhoof have dribbled out even more delicious morsels of newsy goodness.

First of all, there's the Friend Opportunity tracklist, which is printed below, as well as the fact that the album artwork was created by Scottish artist David Shrigley, the man behind Bonnie "Prince" Billy's "Agnes Queen of Sorrow" and Blur's "Good Song" videos.

Then there's the announcement that the band is working with composer Ed Shearmur on the soundtrack to the film Dedication, directed by actor Justin Theroux (Mulholland Drive, Six Feet Under, Miami Vice) and starring Billy Crudup, Mandy Moore, Tom Wilkinson, and Amy Sedaris.

Finally, and most amazingly, on October 23 and 24, at Waterman's Community Center in North Haven, Maine, the North Haven Community School will perform a Milk Man ballet, based on Deerhoof's 2004 album of the same name. It will primarily feature kids from grades three through eight.

In fifteen years, if you meet a kid who graduated from North Haven Community School in North Haven, Maine, and they complain about how much their elementary school or middle school sucked, feel free to call them a liar, and then beat them up. [MORE...]

Outkast Reveal Idlewild Tracklist

Looks like this thing is actually going to come out after all. August 22 will allegedly be the day when the soundtrack album for the long-anticipated Outkast film Idlewild will hit store shelves, and the movie will open three days later, on August 25. We'll believe it when we're actually sitting in the theater and Big Boi and Andre 3000 are dancing away up on screen in front of us.

For now, we've got the official, confirmed tracklist for the soundtrack. The video for "Idlewild Blue (Don'tchu Worry 'Bout Me) will premiere on MTV's TRL (that show is still on?) this Tuesday, August 8.

Tracklist:

01 Intro
02 Mighty "O"
03 Peaches featuring Sleepy Brown & Scar
04 Idlewild Blue (Don'tchu Worry 'Bout Me)
05 Infatuation (Interlude)
06 N2U featuring Khujo Goodie
07 Morris Brown featuring Scar & Sleepy Brown
08 Chronomentrophobia
09 The Train featuring Scar & Sleepy Brown
10 Life Is Like a Musical
11 No Bootleg DVDs (Interlude)
12 Hollywood Divorce featuring Lil' Wayne & Snoop Dogg
13 Zora (Interlude)
14 Call the Law featuring Janelle Monáe
15 Bamboo & Cross (Interlude)
16 BuggFace
17 Makes No Sense at All
18 In Your Dreams featuring Killer Mike & Janelle Monáe
19 PJ & Rooster
20 Mutron Angel featuring Whild Peach
21 Greatest Show on Earth featuring Macy Gray
22 You're Beautiful (Interlude)
23 When I Look in Your Eyes
24 Dyin' to Live
25 A Bad Note

We sure hope track 22 isn't a James Blunt cover.

Mogwai on Miami Vice Soundtrack
Jamie Foxx to Colin Farrell: “This band will change your life.”

Usually, when music is described as "cinematic," we imagine it as the soundtrack to some sort of epic film about love during wartime or interstellar space travel or the discovery of some lost civilization. We're certainly not thinking about Miami Vice, the kind of film that itself can barely be called cinematic. Then again, maybe we underestimate the Foxx/Farrell vehicle, because Mogwai have seen something in it. Or at least they're contributing to the soundtrack.

As unbelievable (and kind of awesome) as it seems, Mogwai are indeed contributing two Mr. Beast tracks, "We're No Here" and "Auto Rock", to the Miami Vice soundtrack, where they'll sit next to the likes of Goldfrapp, Moby, and India.Arie. Ah, India.Arie and Mogwai, together at last.

The soundtrack will be released July 25, and also features contributions from Emilio Estefan and John Murphy, who sums up the Mogwai philosophy with the title "Mercado Nuevo". [MORE...]

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