Rabbit Factory Unleashes Soul of Neal Hemphill
Plus exclusive MP3s from Ralph "Soul" Jackson

Tomorrow, February 6, Chicago label Rabbit Factory will release Birmingham Sound: The Soul of Neal Hemphill Vol. 1. (It's available on eMusic now.) It's a compilation of soul from Birmingham, Alabama in the 60s and 70s named for plumber-turned-studio owner Neal Hemphill. Hemphill was responsible for a great deal of the music produced in the city during that time, and the 23-track compilation includes tracks by Frederick Knight (who wrote "Ring My Bell", a hit for Anita Ward), the Blue Notes, and Ralph "Soul" Jackson.

Rabbit Factory will also use the two Jackson tracks on a 45 release in conjunction with the compilation, with "Set Me Free" on the A-side and "Take Me Back" on the B. The label has offered both tracks for download at the links below. "Set Me Free" is an uptempo plea backed by a female chorus, while "Take Me Back" is a little more wistful. [MORE...]

Exclusive: Okkervil River Deluxe-ify Sheep, Enter Studio
Frontman Will Sheff loses voice, cancels tour with Josh Ritter

Despite a few snags, the mighty Okkervil River just keeps on rushing. The emotive Austin folk-pop troupe has announced plans to release a new album-- the follow-up to 2005's quite well-received Black Sheep Boy-- later this year. Indeed, the boys were in the studio just a moment ago, laying new jams to tape with producer Brian Beattie (BSB, Don't Fall in Love With Everyone You See).

They've had to abandon recording for the moment, however: Okkervil frontman Will Sheff regretfully revealed to Jound.com message board hounds recently (special thanks to reader Kevin Lok for the tip) that he has been forced to cancel his previously announced tour with Josh Ritter. All those emotional outbursts strained Sheff's voice considerably; he's following his doctor's advice and resting up while keeping his trap shut. "My voice is damaged and the only thing that will really make it get better is not using it for a little while," wrote Sheff. We wish him a speedy recovery.

On a brighter note, Okkervil River will play an Austin show at the University of Texas' Hogg Auditorium on April 21. They're also onboard for SXSW, playing Quack!Media and Found magazine's day party (at Bourbon Rocks) and Jagjaguwar's night showcase (at the Mohawk) on March 15.

Additionally, the Okkervils serve up a deluxe reissue of Black Sheep Boy, bundled with companion EP Black Sheep Boy Appendix and bonus goodies, on March 6 via Jagjaguwar. Titled Black Sheep Boy (Definitive Edition), the two-CD set boasts both releases plus B-side "The Next Four Months", the fine animated video for "For Real", and a new video for an alternate version of Appendix's "No Key, No Plan".

The Definite Edition further bolsters its claim of definitiveness by including "a big fat booklet and a gold-embossed sleeve," according to a press release. We're told it "combin[es] style and substance like never before," which, while hyperbolic, still sounds pretty damn sweet.

Cancelled dates ahoy. [MORE...]

Chin Up Chin Up, Boris Yeltsin to Tour

Midwesterners Chin Up Chin Up and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin are teaming up for a tour later this month. The former is supporting This Harness Can't Ride Anything (Suicide Squeeze) while the latter is pushing a reissue of Broom (Polyvinyl).

Both Chin Up Chin Up and SSLYBY have dates on their own as well, including stops at SXSW. [MORE...]

Bjork Reveals Release Date?

Hidden away in the top right-hand corner of Björk's website, written in small font in the "Future Releases, Radio + TV section", it says this:

07.05.07 - New Album (tbc)

So it seems that Björk has set a tentative release date for her highly anticipated new album-- you know, the one that features collaborations with Antony, Timbaland, Lightning Bolt's Brian Chippendale, and many more. That would be May 7, a Monday-- so we assume that's the European release date.

Thanks to eagle-eyed reader Jason Hoyos for pointing it out!

As previously reported, Björk is playing Coachella, Glastonbury, Roskilde, and Poland's Open'er festivals this spring and summer. Next stop: your neighborhood block party!

Mysterious Arcade Fire Pamphlet Surfaces

No, we have no idea what's going on here either. But it appears to have something to do with the fable of "The Wolf and the Fox" that mysteriously appeared alongside the Neon Bible lyrics on the album's website yesterday. If you turn the thing upside down, the text of that fable is written, alongside what seems to be its French translation.

Click here here for a larger version of the pamphlet.

LSF, Wolf Parade, Islands Members Team Up for Benefit

Dave Eggers has once again called upon his friends in high places for the benefit of his nonprofit 826 tutoring centers. Eggers' publishing house, McSweeney's, has put together the McSweeney's Presents: the World, Explained event, set to take place March 15 at New York's Symphony Space. Proceeds will go to both 826NYC and 826LA.

Performing at the event will be an "indie supergroup" comprised of Les Savy Fav's Syd Butler, Wolf Parade's Dan Boeckner and Hadji Bakara, and Islands' Nick Diamonds. The group's name? Internet. Yes, Internet. Clever, guys.

The show will also feature "comedy, music and[/or] extreme power point presentations" from Mac pitchman/"Daily Show" contributor John Hodgman, author/"This American Life" contributor David Rakoff, author/Wired contributing editor Joshua Davis, and author/former "Late Show With David Letterman" writer Rodney Rothman.

Photos: Sparklehorse / Jesse Sykes [Austin, TX; 02/02/07]

Photos by Zach Vowell

For a home-recording singer/songwriter, Mark Linkous and his touring version of Sparklehorse appeared on stage at Austin's Antone's this past Friday with a surprising air of professionalism. Linkous-- decked out in an ensemble coat, vest, slacks, and discriminating footwear-- stripped away much of the lo-fi trickery from the night's songs, preferring to rely more on his voice and memorable lyrics.

Bittersweet numbers like "Spirit Ditch" and "Apple Bed" never upstaged uptempo songs like "Hammering the Cramps"-- which, following Jesse Sykes' opening set of siren vocals and slow-burn hypnotics, provided a welcome contrast. Not all the tricks were forsaken, though, as Linkous more often than not cloaked his voice through his trusty processed microphone.

This was Sparklehorse's first date on their first U.S. tour in quite some time, so maybe it was too much to ask for Experimental Linkous. And really, disappointments were practically non-existent (minus the omission of "Shade and Honey"!). If Astralwerks ever decides to put out a Sparklehorse greatest hits collection, they needn't look much further than this night's setlist.

Sparklehorse and Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter continue their North American tour through March.

JESSE SYKES & THE SWEET HEREAFTER


SPARKLEHORSE



[MORE...]

Beatles, Apple Inc. Settle Lawsuit
Both sides celebrate by swimming in pools of money

One of rock'n'roll's longest-festering disputes vanished into thin air today, as it was announced that the world-conquering mega-corporations known as the Beatles and Apple Inc. have decided to give peace a chance and end their ongoing trademark battle.

You see, the Beatles' holding company is named Apple Corps Ltd., and has held that name, as well as its logo of a shiny green apple, for decades. In 1991, the band and the computer makers agreed to share the name, so long as the latter didn't enter the music business. The advent of iTunes and the iPod in this decade kind of mucked that up.

According to the Associated Press, today's settlement "gives Apple Inc. ownership of all the trademarks related to 'Apple.' In addition, Apple Inc. will license certain of those trademarks back to Apple Corps for their continued use."

Eternally black turtleneck-clad Apple CEO Steve Jobs said, "We love the Beatles, and it has been painful being at odds with them over these trademarks. It feels great to resolve this in a positive manner, and in a way that should remove the potential of further disagreements in the future."

Naturally, talk has turned to the possibility of a Beatles-Apple Inc. partnership, with a deal for the band's music hitting the iTunes store rumored to be in the works. The Beatles are one of the last holdouts against the selling of legal downloads, forcing music fans to resort to all kinds of crate-digging, eBay price gouging, and dangerous underground bootlegging just to hear "Yesterday". Not.

T.V. Eye: February 5-9, 2007

Pitchfork's T.V. Picks for This Week:

Monday, February 5:

Fuel TV: "The Daily Habit": Of Montreal

Tuesday, February 6:

ABC: "Jimmy Kimmel Live": Paul Weller
NBC: "Late Night With Conan O'Brien": Calexico

Wednesday, February 7:

Syndicated: "The Ellen DeGeneres Show": Christina Aguilera

Thursday, February 8:

ABC: "Jimmy Kimmel Live": Gwen Stefani
CBS: "Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson": the Game

Friday, February 9:

Syndicated: "The Ellen DeGeneres Show": Gwen Stefani

Photos: Cat Power [New York, NY; 02/02/07]

While Punxsutawney Phil and his congregation were busy shadow-watching last Friday, bar-dweller Cat Power was out partying-- at a museum. As previously reported, Chan Marshall performed at New York's Museum of Modern Art as part of a PopRally "Happening" celebrating multimedia artist Doug Aitken's new video piece, sleepwalkers. Projected onto one of the MoMA's outside walls, sleepwalkers features Marshall, Seu Jorge, and others taking "nocturnal journeys" (that was the sound of your mind sloshing around in the gutter) and will be on display through February 20.

Also onhand last Friday: Aitken himself, cabbie-blogger Melissa Plaut, and street drummers Ryan Donowho (who also appears in sleepwalkers) and Hisham Bharoocha (Soft Circle, ex-Black Dice). If Kathryn Yu's wonderful photos are any indication, Marshall looks more assured than ever. She plays scattered dates through the coming weeks-- springtime shows, if we can believe old Phil.






[MORE...]

Gnarls Barkley Hold Haiku Contest
We like when he sings / But we still miss Goodie Mob / Where is Big Gipp now?

In anticipation of their February 11 performance at the Grammys, Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse have found yet another way to drum up interest in Gnarls Barkley. This time, it's a haiku contest run and judged by the fictional (we think) "CEO of St. Elsewhere", A.B. Vidal.

Don't think that just any haiku praising the film-obsessed duo will do, though. In fact, it's probably best not to mention Gnarls Barkley in your haiku at all, because Vidal has limited the thematic possibilities to "either Solitude or Pineapples. Or, if you can manage it, both," according to Gnarls Barkley's website.

The winner(s) of the competition will receive three limited-edition Gnarls Barkley lithographs (one each for "Crazy", "Smiley Faces", and "Gone Daddy Gone"). Vidal will announce the winner(s) on the day of the Grammy performance, which means aspiring poets have six days to complete their haiku. But remember, if you show friends and family your solitude/pineapple-themed work, they will think you're crazy (possibly).

As previously reported, Gnarls Barkley will tour with the Red Hot Chili Peppers in late February/early March in between a few festival performances. [MORE...]

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Announce Spring Tour

With their new album Some Loud Thunder barely a week old, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah have announced a spring North American tour supporting it. They're in Europe right now, and will take half of February and most of March off before hitting the road on our shores starting April 10.

Much clapping will ensue. [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.)