Perry Farrell's Satellite Party Gets Ultra Payloaded

Book your reservations now, revelers: former James Addiction/Porno for Pyros frontman Perry Farrell has a party planned that should make all that new rave hoopla look like your 1st grade Chuck E. Cheese's birthday non-bash. It's called Satellite Party, and as Farrell enthused to Pitchfork last fall, "it could be the best work I've ever done."

Satellite Party transmit their debut full-length-- a concept record, titled Ultra Payloaded Satellite Party, about partying it up on a satellite orbiting the Earth-- on May 15 (Columbia). The eleven-track set features contributions from a whole mess of folks, including New Order bassist Peter Hook, Red Hot Chili Peppers Flea and John Frusciante, Thievery Corporation, film composer Harry Gregson-Williams, and the mysterious pop product known only as Fergie.

Stoners will be especially pleased to learn that Jim Morrison makes an appearance on Ultra Payloaded as well: Farrell unearthed a previously unheard Morrison spoken-word vocal for the album's closing track, "Woman in the Window". Other Party jams include "Celebrate", "Awesome", "Mr. Sunshine", and first single "Wish Upon a Dog Star".

As for the disc's sound, thus spake Farrell: "[It's] this great hybrid of sound, using electronics and hip hop beats and the power and strength of rock'n'roll, and even symphony."

"We know that [2007] is our year," Farrell also told Pitchfork last October, so expect plenty of touring, late night TV appearances, promotional events, and partying. For now, the Party is slated to rock the ESPN Winter X-Games tomorrow (January 25) in Aspen, Colorado-- and don't be surprised to find them at Farrell's own Lollapalooza this summer. [MORE...]

The Decemberists Offer iTunes Live From SoHo EP
Upon realizing that Bowery flophouses don't have the best acoustics, the band settled on recording in a computer store instead

Colin Meloy and his band of folksy, proggy, pop-rockers-- the Decembersomethings, maybe you've heard of them?-- have become pretty ubiquitous recently due to their ability to capitalize on some fortunate opportunities and their willingness to shill for The Man (and, okay, charity) on occasion.

The Decemberists are continuing the latter pursuit on their exclusive-to-iTunes Live From SoHo EP, which is currently available from the digital music store.

The six-song set was recorded at the Apple Store in New York City's SoHo neighborhood in November during CMJ. (Apparently, Live From the Apple Store just didn't have the same ring to it). It includes songs from each of the band's full-lengths, three of which are from last year's The Crane Wife.

According to Pitchfork's own report from the show, these songs feature "the band in 'stripped-down acoustic storytelling' mode" with "the Apple Store's excellent sound system coaxing out the nuances of the Decemberists' folksier side." And according to trusted iTunes commentator "Anonymous", "the sound that the decemberists make is like no other, i love colins voice, and i think all the songs have a good melody, its easy to listen 2, wats not 2 love." [MORE...]

Apostle of Hustle Sing National Anthem of Nowhere

Andrew Whiteman isn't just a guitarist in Broken Social Scene. He's also got a good thing going with Apostle of Hustle, too. That band's sophomore LP, National Anthem of Nowhere, is due in Canada on February 6, the U.S. on March 6, and Europe on March 26, on Arts&Crafts. It was produced by Martin Kinack and Whiteman at various stops across Canada, including, in true indie form, Whiteman's bedroom.

The album's first track, "My Sword Hand's Anger", is available for free download from the Arts&Crafts website by clicking on the link at the bottom of this story. Don't like what you hear? Think you can do better?
The band is offering listeners the chance to cover, remix, or reinterpret "My Sword Hand's Anger" as a contest. Submissions will be judged by an Arts&Crafts panel, and one winner will receive studio equipment, a pair of tickets to an Apostle of Hustle show, and a signed 12" copy of National Anthem.

Apostle of Hustle will spend the next few weeks presenting OUIJA, a weekly residency at Toronto's Rivoli and Kingston's Grand clubs. Whiteman and bandmates Julian Brown and Dean Stone will, according to their MySpace blog, "[do] two sets of both intimate minor-key mood music and flourishing interstellar guitar jams." In addition, they've created what they call "the Jukebox Effect", encouraging fans to e-mail their Myspace page with requests for songs the band should cover. "A new song sacrificed each week!" they promise. [MORE...]

Phil Elverum Re-Adopts Microphones Name for New 7"

Having ascended Mount Eerie, planted his lo-fi flag at its peak, and tobogganed down its frosty slopes, Phil Elverum is ready for something new. And by something new, we mean something old.

Elverum-- who once went by Elvrum-- has journeyed deep into the attics of his past to retrieve another name he once used: the Microphones. It's under that moniker that the enigmatic folky released the bulk of his recorded material (much of it for K Records), and it's that moniker that earned him distinction as the creative force behind Pitchfork's #1 album of 2001, The Glow, Pt. 2.

To celebrate the return of the Microphones, Phil has pressed a brand new 7". The self-released vinyl frisbee, available now from Elverum's website and in stores this March, includes a couple nuggets of song-advice from Phil: "Don't Smoke" and-- one we should all be taking very seriously right now-- "Get Off the Internet".

The name flip-floppery shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. Elverum did, after all, tell Pitchfork "The whole [Microphones] break-up thing is a ridiculous joke" back in October 2003.

Seems Mount Eerie's not done for good either, however, as our man Phil has a couple concerts scheduled in February under that name.

Does this mean we'll soon be hearing from Songs: Ohia again too? [MORE...]

Stuart Murdoch, Will Oldham, Jarvis Head Kiddie Comp
The Wiggles recoil in fear

The indie rock children's compilation market continues to grow. Last year, See You on the Moon, The Colours Are Brighter, All Together Now (and two more Kidz Bop collections) hit shelves. And the trend shows no sign of stopping in 2007.

Alec Ounsworth of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is reportedly working on a collection of kids songs, as are Luscious Jackson. DeSoto's previously reported Play will be out April 17.

And now comes word of Songs for the Young at Heart, arranged by Stuart Staples and Dave Boulter of Tindersticks. It's due February 26 via V2 UK.

Frankly, Tindersticks are probably one of the last bands on earth we would expect to curate a children's music compilation, given their general malaise and all. But we guess kids can get sad too.

The disc features contributions from Stuart Murdoch (Belle & Sebastian), Jarvis Cocker, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Kurt Wagner (Lambchop), Cerys Matthews, Robert Forster (the Go-Betweens), Tindersticks, Staples solo, and more.

Bonnie "Prince" Billy's cover of "Puff, the Magic Dragon" and Staples' "Theme for the Young at Heart" were originally released on a 7" in July 2005 as a "first taste" of the compilation project on Lucky Dog Recordings.

Oldham's "Puff, the Magic Dragon" will go up against Broken Social Scene's version from See You on the Moon in a "which sounds better when you're stoned?" competition taking place in the Pitchfork office supply closet later this evening.

The first run of Songs for the Young at Heart will be limited edition, packaged with a Sexton Ming-illustrated children's book featuring Marriott Edgar's "The Lion & Albert", which Cocker recites on the disc. [MORE...]

Can You Make an Album in 28 Days?

Well, can you? That's what the 2007 RPM Challenge is asking, and a whole heap of musical acts from around the world have said "Yes!" in their respective languages.

Now in its second year, the Record Production Month Challenge dares bands and solo artists to use February's 28 days to record an entire album of original material. Last year's event prompted the creation of full-length records from an impressive 165 bands-- totaling over 1600 original songs-- all of which you may stream here.

This year the Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based Challenge opens its gates to an international pool of participants-- meaning anyone anywhere with even the crudest of recording equipment can partake. Read the complete challenge doctrine here, then get ye registered here.

So, like, who wins? Everybody who completes the challenge, man. Like the concurrent FAWM (February Album Writing Month) event and November's National Novel Writing Month (both of which influenced the founding of RPM), the aim is motivation, and thus the prize is the fruits of your very own artistic labor.

Check out Pitchfork scribe Chris Dahlen's column on last year's RPM Challenge, in which he interviews RPM's founders and challenge participants while exploring the inspiring psychology surrounding the event. Then break out the notebook, the Casio, and the 4-track and get cracking-- you might not wind up with Loveless, but who knows, you could be the next Beat Happening.

Faust Founder/Producer Uwe Nettelbeck Passes On

Any joke about bargaining with the devil is surely tasteless: we are saddened to report that Uwe Nettelbeck, founder and overseer of krautrock legends Faust, passed away on January 17. The disheartening news arrives via a post by Faust member Jean-Hervé Peron on his website, Art-Errorist.

Peron wrote, "besides being a sharp-witted but yet charming and loving husband/father/grandfather, [Uwe] was an outstanding cook, a writer who always generated deep emotions and interest and a genius selfless music producer.

"I thank you Uwe for all you have done for our music. Faust is your work, no doubt.

"Your work will outlast all of us. May your soul rest in peace."

Nettelbeck, a producer and one-time music journalist, founded Faust in Wümme, Germany in 1971. The group was one of Virgin Records' first signings and went on to record several highly-influential albums over the next few years, including the seminal Faust and Faust IV, before disbanding in 1975. Several of the original members have since regrouped under the Faust banner to tour and record.

No further details of Nettelbeck's death are known at this point. Fellow Faust founding member Rudolf Sosna passed away in 1996.

The present incarnation of Faust-- which includes Peron, original member Werner "Zappi" Diermaier, and Ulan Bator's Amaury Cambuzat-- has a record of new material on the way in March 2007 (mixed by Colin Potter and Nurse With Wound's Steve Stapleton), as well as a DVD. Hear new song "Lass Mich" below.

Dinosaur Jr. Reveal Reunion Album Details
Pig has officially been freed

By this time, you're probably aware that J Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Murph are back in full Dinosaur Jr. force. (When Lou isn't too busy with that whole Sebadoh thing, that is.) But they've gone beyond the reunion tour(s) for, um, Beyond, their John Agnello-engineered full-length due out May 1 on Fat Possum.

Beyond was recorded at Mascis' Bisquiteen studio in Amherst, Massachusetts, and according to a press release, it's both "some of the best music Dinosaur Jr. have ever made" and "an adrenaline-inducing ride, not of nostalgia, but of bona fide excitement." Well then, color us excited and full of adrenaline.

On May 29, Dinosaur Jr. will release their previously reported Image Entertainment DVD Dinosaur Jr.: Live From the Middle East. Nike will make the previously reported Dinosaur Jr. skate shoe available in a limited edition in February. So hurry up and get in line, because we know demand for those kicks will be high. Right. [MORE...]

Jennifer O'Connor Tours, Joins Sykes, Dump for 7" Club
More 7" buds: Mascott, Hotel Lights, Choo Choo La Rouge

Acclaimed Matador Records songstress Jennifer O'Connor is all primed to go over some mountains and across some valleys this winter, on a month-long tour in support of, you guessed it, 2006's lovely Over the Mountain, Across the Valley and Back to the Stars.

Joining Ms. O'Connor for the jaunt: the Bright Eyes-esque excitable folk musings of former Miracle of 86 frontman Kevin Devine (who headlines), Filter magazine-adored Pablo, and erstwhile Vagrant Records dudes Koufax (whose "Brightside" should totally be on your iTunes, people).

What's more, Jennifer jumpstarts her own Kiam Records imprint-- on which she released her first couple solo discs-- this January with a new limited edition collaborative 7" series. For a mere $25 (including shipping), she'll treat series subscribers to five different 7"s over the course of the year, each featuring a joint effort and individual tracks from O'Connor and a quality act of her choosing. Those quality acts include Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter, Dump (aka James McNew of Yo La Tengo), Mascott (ex-Helium and Sparklehorse player Kendall Meade), Hotel Lights (ex-Ben Folds Five drummer Darren Jessee), and Boston rockers Choo Choo La Rouge.

The first 7" pairs O'Connor with Choo Choo on a tune called "Little Airplane Heart" and should be out soon (on red vinyl, no less). Join the club by Paypal-ing $25 to jennifer@jenniferoconnor.net and keep your eyes peeled for a new Kiam website and more releases to follow in the near future. So rad! [MORE...]

!!!'s Offer Talks Myth Takes, Out Hud, Politics, Welfare
"I like to think of myself as somewhere in between the second coming and dog shit."

People don't dance no more-- particularly people of the scrawny, white variety-- but thanks to dance-punk acts like the Rapture and !!!, they're at least trying.

When !!! release their much-salivated-over, previously reported third full length-- Myth Takes, their first for Warp Records worldwide, due March 6-- those people will have ample reason to try the two-step once again. And, while they're at it, brush up on their chin-stroke: The disc's ambitious, often electrifying production and arrangements should have pundits' minds cranking and jaws flapping just as much as its infectious grooves and gnarled guitar lines keep those hips gyrating. Just check out the disc's scintillating centerpiece, "Heart of Hearts", and color us stoked.

Pitchfork caught up with Nic Offer by phone this week as the !!! (and former Out Hud) vocalist/ party-starter was about to catch a plane-- on a quest, no doubt, to stir up some ruckus in exotic far-off locales. Sort of.

Pitchfork: Where are you off to?

Nic Offer: London for the beginning of the year, for the European promo trip.

Pitchfork: How does that work?

Nic: I'm just doing press. It's going to be a long month of talking to myself. I just came back from Japan, doing a press fair, and then I was back for a couple of days. We just did a video yesterday-- I flew back for that, and now I'm going back overseas.

Pitchfork: Sweet-- Which song is the video for?

Nic: "Must Be the Moon".

Pitchfork: Who directed it?

Nic: The official disco-punk director, Ben [Dickinson], the one who does LCD, Juan Maclean, Supersystem, Rapture, and now he did us. His treatment looked great, and actually he was a great guy to work with. We couldn't really turn him down. You find it's good to work with people who are a bit hungry, you know? And he definitely is. And I guess he likes disco-punk.

Pitchfork: So what's the treatment?

Nic: It's kind of tongue-in-cheek; he wanted it to look like a Kenneth Anger film, or Performance, the Mick Jagger movie. So he's got us in all kinds of 60s garb...To me it seemed like such a New York story, but everybody came away with the haunting effects of the moon-- that seemed to be the image people got from the song. It's pretty tongue-in-cheek, and it's going to give a lot of people a reason to hate us.

Pitchfork: Do you think a lot of people hate you right now?

Nic: Anyone who gets any level of press has to deal with some level of hate, and I think we're especially hateable-- and when you see the video you'll know what I mean. There's going to be people who just don't get it. If you look at it and think we're taking ourselves seriously, you're going to fucking hate us. But we had a blast, it was ridiculous and really fun. So, whatever.

Pitchfork: So Myth Takes, is that the way someone with a lisp says 'mistakes?' Where does the title come from?

Nic: You know, I'm really into meanings-- to have exactly five meanings, and that's what that one does. So of course it means that.

Pitchfork: Fair enough. So how does Myth Takes depart from !!!'s previous work, if at all?

Nic: Lyrically we tried a less-direct approach. I feel like with the last record [2004's Louden Up Now] I tried to say everything very plainly. And it seemed like it was too in people's faces. So I tried to say what I felt was a similar message, but told more through stories. Sometimes it seems like you get your point across more by taking a more abstract view. Sometimes the point hits harder-- comes through more directly. It was definitely fun to take that approach, and I felt fresher writing that way. And it opened up a new side of me...and I've been exploring more since then.

Pitchfork: What inspired you to take that new route with your writing?

Nic: Uh, bad reviews.

Pitchfork: So you pay attention to your press?

Nic: No, I mean, you don't, but you catch a drift. I personally don't read anything on the internet-- I mean, aside from you guys [Pitchfork]. You kind of have to pay attention to you, because you're the barometer of all the internet stuff-- but I can't weed through the internet, because I can have my ego blown to gargantuan sizes and then shattered within seconds. It's all there. I always say, if you believe all that stuff, you either think you're the second coming-- or total dog shit. So I like to think of myself as somewhere in between the second coming and dog shit. [MORE...]

The Kooks Return to North America
They're creepy and they're kooky, mysterious and…OK, I'll stop now

Having gone quadruple-platinum in Britain (that means, like, 4000 copies sold, right? Kidding!), Brighton youthquakers the Kooks are heading to North America to attempt to replicate that success. Their tour, which kicks off at Coachella and crosses the continent during the first two weeks in May, is the band's second trek to our shores, following an extremely brief jaunt last fall.

The string of dates is in support of the Kooks' debut album Inside In/Inside Out, released in the States on Astralwerks in October, as well as a forthcoming iTunes EP. That EP, available January 30, features live acoustic performances of album tracks "Ooh La", "See the World", "Sofa Song", and "She Moves in Her Own Way", as well as new songs "Need to Be" and "Miss You", as well as a cover of...Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy". Noooooo! Not another one! [MORE...]

The Knife's Silent Shout to Become Three-Disc Set
Live DVD to be included in deluxe edition

The greatest album of 2006 is about to become even better. In April, Mute will release a three-disc deluxe edition of the Knife's breakthrough album Silent Shout. It will include the album on one disc, the live DVD Silent Shout: An Audiovisual Experience and music videos from the Deep Cuts and Silent Shout albums on a second disc, and a third CD featuring the music from the live DVD.

Silent Shout: An Audiovisual Experience was released on its own in Europe back in November, as previously reported. It captures Olof Dreijer and Karin Dreijer Andersson performing live (or "live" as the case may be) on April 12, 2006 in Gothenburg, Sweden, and was directed by Andreas Nilsson. Check out "We Share Our Mother's Health" from the DVD by clicking here.

As previously reported, on February 20 in the U.S., Mute will release the latest single from Silent Shout, "Marble House", on CD and 12". (It comes out February 19 in Europe on Brille.) The single is backed by remixes from Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio, Planningtorock, Rex the Dog, Emperor Machine, and Booka Shade, as well as the "Marble House" video. [MORE...]

Do you have a news tip for us? Anything crazy happen at a show you attended recently? Do you have inside info on the bands we cover? Is one of your favorite artists (that's not somebody you know personally) releasing a new record you'd like to see covered? You will remain completely anonymous, unless we are given your express permission to reveal your identity. (Please note that publicists, managers, booking agents, and other artist representatives are generally exempt from this rule, but will also be granted anonymity if requested.)