Stripes, Franz, Wilco, Lips Onboard for Bonnaroo 2007
Plus Decemberists, Roots, Spoon, Hold Steady, Hot Chip, Girl Talk, DJ Shadow, Lily Allen

This June, the Earth's gravitational field will shift ever so slightly northward as tens of thousands of revelers, many of them wandering in a drug-induced haze, converge upon Manchester, Tennessee for Bonnaroo 2007. In between blackouts, these party people are in for quite the treat, as the fest unveiled its initial lineup today.

Among the highlights: the White Stripes, Franz Ferdinand, Wilco, the Flaming Lips, the Roots, the Decemberists, Spoon, DJ Shadow, the Hold Steady, Hot Chip, Lily Allen, Tortoise, Feist, Girl Talk, Aesop Rock, Annuals, the National, Regina Spektor, the Black Keys, Dr. Dog, the Little Ones, Manu Chao, Charlie Louvin, Gogol Bordello, and Wolfmother.

David Cross, Lewis Black, and Dave Attell will crack wise in a special comedy tent, while other musical acts of note include the recently reunited Police (as you know), Tool, Ween, Fountains of Wayne, Damien Rice, Kings of Leon, Ben Harper, String Cheese Incident, Cold War Kids, Brazilian Girls, Apollo Sunshine, and the Slip.

As previously reported, the sixth annual edition of Bonnaroo sets the prairies of Tennessee ablaze from June 14 through June 17. Tickets go on sale at noon (Eastern) on February 23. And if this music stuff just isn't your thing, there's plenty else to keep you occupied: this year's fest boasts a "comedy club, cinema, silent disco, arcade, Internet cafés, restaurants, yoga classes, and hundreds of high quality craft vendors," according to the press release. Will it be Wayne Coyne in a giant bubble or Ms. Pac-man, people? The choice is yours.

Andrew Bird Announces Environmentally-Friendly Tour

This spring, dapper Andrew Bird ditches the armchair for the open road and forgoes the apocrypha for the holy truth of song, touring across the U.S. and Europe in support of Armchair Apocrypha, out March 20 on Fat Possum.

Joining Bird for various dates are the blogtastic support trio of Cold War Kids, Tokyo Police Club, and Elvis Perkins, Broken Social Scenester Apostle of Hustle, and folk-rocker Cortney Tidwell. And although something of a one-man-band, Andrew has enlisted trusty sidemen Martin Dosh (drums, percussion) and Jeremy Ylvisaker (guitar, bass) to share the stage at all engagements.

Just which aspect of multi-faceted Bird will woo you on this tour? Will it be his dashing good looks? His catchy, sophisticated tunes? His way with whistling? His prowess with the pedals? The romantic swoop of his violin arm? Or how about his environmentally-friendly touring habits?

That's right, Andrew's working with non-profit group Reverb to make this tour awesome for fans and Mother Nature alike. He'll fuel his tour bus with vegetable oil-derived biodiesel, make all shows "carbon neutral" with help from Native Energy, hawk eco-friendly merch, and even fill the green room with, well, green goods thanks to Stonyfield Farm.

What's more, Mr. Bird's dabblings in film and dance are set to take root this year as well. He's presently accepting submissions for non-profit project the Chicago Short Film Brigade (details here), and you may hear his composition for Molly Shanahan's dance piece My Name Is Blackbird at Chicago's Building Stage this April (details here). [MORE...]

9th Wonder Teaches Class With Play (of Kid 'n Play)

Recent Little Brother departee 9th Wonder, aka Patrick Douthit, has worked with Jay-Z, De La Soul, and Destiny's Child. But none of them compare to Christopher Martin. No, not the lead singer of Coldplay, and not DJ Premier.

Rather, "Play" of Kid 'n Play fame, aka the one without that hair.

This semester at North Carolina Central University, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Douthit and Martin are teaching a course titled "Hip Hop in Context" as part of the university's Hip Hop Initiative.

Here's the course description: "'Hip Hop in Context' examines the cultural phenomenon through its development, history, communication style, dance form, music, and artistic process. Throughout the course, students will explore the dynamics of race, gender, youth, and class. The course will employ various sources for analysis and information including: videos, commercials, movies, songs, and other multimedia sources."

The university also hopes to develop a guest lecture series featuring other big hip hop names. The other elements of the Hip Hop Initiative include the second annual Hip Hop Summit (which took place February 9 and 10), a student-run label called Eagle Records, and continuing education classes starting this fall.

When he's not holding office hours, the HHI's website says that 9th Wonder is working on a solo album titled Dream Merchant 2.0.

Blood Brothers Announce North American Tour

The Blood Brothers have announced that after yowling through Europe this month, they will return to North America for a lengthy tour in support of last year's Young Machetes LP.

The Brothers' trek begins in mid-March in Salt Lake City and concludes with an appearance at East Rutherford, New Jersey's Meadowlands Sports Complex in May for Bamboozle 2007 (which also includes a bunch of bands your little sister likes.)

As previously reported, Blood Brothers bassist Morgan Henderson contributed to the forthcoming Minus the Bear remix compilation under his O, Hunter alias. The disc, titled Interpretaciones Del Oso, is a full-blown reworking of Minus the Bear's Menos el Oso (2005). It is due February 20 via Suicide Squeeze. [MORE...]

Apples in Stereo, Polyphonic Spree Support Critic-Turned-Politician
Also: Centro-matic, the Paper Chase, Rhett Miller, Ben Kweller

The talk in MusicCriticTown these days is that jobs are scarce, underpaid, and underappreciated. So it seems that former Dallas Observer music editor Zac Crain has found one solution to these problems: give the whole thing up and run for mayor of Dallas.

We're a little baffled by his decision, but hey, the only thing we've ever campaigned for was the position of albums on Pitchfork's year-end list. Then again, Crain bears a slight resemblance to a hairier Ian MacKaye, so maybe he has MacKaye's political bent and knack for riveting public performances as well.

Though he announced his candidacy back in April, he has recently recruited members of the Dallas music scene to contribute songs to a benefit album for his campaign.

The 32-song, double-disc compilation features contributions from the Polyphonic Spree's Tim DeLaughter, Ben Kweller, Rhett Miller (with instrumentation by Jon Brion), the Deathray Davies' John Dufilho with the Apples in Stereo's Robert Schneider, Centro-matic, the Paper Chase, and many more. Plenty of the tracks are previously unreleased or were written exclusively for the compilation, which is available for purchase here. [MORE...]

The Blow Tour with Mirah, Electrelane

The Blow's Poor Aim: Love Songs EP is, as previously reported, due for the expanded reissue treatment on April 24 via K Records, and the Portland duo behind the music won't let it go un-re-heard live.

Khaela Maricich and Jona Bechtolt (aka YACHT) have announced a bi-continental spring tour, and it's set to kick off at the end of this month.

The pair will spend Leg One visiting East Coast colleges (and a couple of clubs) with K labelmate Mirah. The Blow will trek through Europe in late March and April, and return to North America for a short previously reported stint with Electrelane and Tender Forever in May. In addition, they will play a one-off gig on February 16 in their hometown of Portland, Oregon.

YACHT has a few solo dates on the agenda as well, including-- surprise, surprise-- several SXSW appearances. [MORE...]

Charalambides Kick Off Tour

Kranky's Charalambides begin their U.S. tour tonight in Phoenix. It will continue through mid-March, when they return to their home state of Texas. Along the way, they will play a slew of dates with Ecstatic Peace!-niks MV & EE in addition to hitting up that label's South by Southwest showcase. [MORE...]

Bloc Party Add Tour Dates
Contribute to future-themed photo exhibit/book alongside Goldfrapp

Bloc Party have added a considerable number of UK and European dates to their current tour, which will carry them around the world between now and May.

And as if we didn’t already have enough dystopian visions of the future from them in the form of A Weekend in the City, they are also contributing to a photography book and exhibition inspired by the theme "Tomorrow." The project-- titled All Tomorrow's Pictures-- will commemorate London's Institute of Contemporary Arts' 60th anniversary. Bloc Party, Alison Goldfrapp, Helena Christensen (hello!), and album artist Peter Blake are among the project's 60 contributors, who will use a Sony Ericsson K800i camera phone to produce an image or series of images based on the theme.

The only non-celebrity contributor will be the winner of an online contest that ends March 2. After the public votes on the photo submissions, a panel including ICA Artistic Director Ekow Eshun will judge a shortlist of contestants to determine the winner. Full contest rules are here.

The exhibit will run from May 30 through June 8, and the book will be available on opening day. Also on that day, there will be an auction of the original prints. [MORE...]

Jesus Lizard/Scratch Acid's David Yow Joins L.A.'s Qui

Whether you've been basking in David Yow's sweat since the 1980s or just caught Scratch Acid reunion fever this past fall, have we got news for you. The ex-Scratch Acid, ex-Jesus Lizard maniac has joined L.A.-based noise rockers Qui. Now a trio with Yow on vocals, Qui have a full-length on the way in 2007.

The as-yet-untitled album features Yow hootin' and hollerin' and follows up 2003's Baby Kisses (Heart of a Champion Records), which Qui guitarist/vocalist Matt Cronk and drummer/vocalist Paul Christensen recorded and released as a duo. Qui also serve up a new 7" via Infrasonic Sound Recordings in the coming weeks.

The newly Yow-endowed Qui hit the roads of the American South and West this March, including appearances at SXSW. Mad praise to reader Philip Crabtree for the tip!

In other news, this guy wishes he were the David Yow. [MORE...]

The Pipettes Schedule UK/Euro Tour

Those charming lasses in the Pipettes will spread the love across the world in the coming months, as they have announced a tour of the UK and Europe in April and May. That trek follows their previously reported trip to our shores in March, which has been expanded by one date in Brooklyn.

Of course, the Pips will hit SXSW for a series of shows, including the Pitchfork Music Festival / Windish Agency party, which, as you know, is taking place Friday, March 16 at Emo's and Emo's Jr. Girl Talk, Deerhunter, Crystal Castles, Rjd2, Menomena, the Ponys, Do Make Say Think, Simian Mobile Disco, Fujiya + Miyagi, Beach House, and Marnie Stern are all also on the bill. [MORE...]

New Order, Eno, Durutti on Post-Punk Comp Reissue

Re-issue! Re-package! Re-package!
Re-evaluate the songs
double-pack with a photograph
Extra Track (and a tacky badge)...

Ah Morrissey...stop being so pessimistic. Sure, the "sickening greed" of the music industry's "sycophantic slags" dates further back than we care to remember, but certainly there are exceptions to the rule, right? For instance, the rescuing from obscurity (and exorbitant eBay spending) of notable 1980 "postpunk pop avant-garde" (thank you Greil Marcus!) compilation From Brussels With Love by LTM Recordings.

Originally the very first release by mysterious Belgian label Les Disques du Crépuscule, the From Brussels With Love cassette compilation from November 1980 has long been a sought-after oddity of a bygone era, not to mention a bygone format.

LTM released the collection for the first time on CD yesterday, February 12 (although there are supposedly ultra-rare Japanese versions kicking around, if you prefer that particular quest). Scoop it up via Darla in the U.S.

Much of the material is quite rare and appears only on the cassette, including an early committal to tape by Thomas Dolby, two "experiments" by Factory Records' Durutti Column, tunes by New Order (with one-time Ian Curtis "replacement" Kevin Hewick) and in-house producer Martin Hannett, compositions by soundtrack gurus Michael Nyman and Harold Budd, interviews with actress Jeanne Moreau and Brian Eno (by Wim Mertens), a track by Wire's Bruce Gilbert and Graham Lewis, two "jingles" by original Ultravox vocalist John Foxx, and other curios.

Clocking in at 75 minutes, this CD reissue's aim is true and it has almost everything the original cassette release did-- minus A Certain Ratio's live version of "Felch" found on the cassette, and minus the cassette itself, of course-- including a 16-page facsimile of the original booklet and artwork by the superb Crépuscule designers Benoît Hennebert and Jean-François Octave. [MORE...]

CSS Announce Green Screen Video Contest
Stephen Colbert challenges them to a keytar solo battle

Love makers/Death From Above listeners CSS are following in the footsteps of the Decemberists and Stephen Colbert by allowing fans to direct the video for "Alcohol" using green screen footage of the band.

Users of Italian social networking/video site QOOB can access the footage here, manipulate it into a music video of their creation, and submit the video by April 15. CSS will choose the winning video, and the winning director will receive 2,000 Euros.

Hopefully the result will fare more successfully than the Decemberists' attempt, which seems to have been scrapped.

CSS have also added a few solo dates after their previously reported tour with Klaxons, New Young Pony Club, and the Sunshine Underground. They are on that tour now. [MORE...]

Crippled Black Phoenix [ft. Mogwai, Portishead] Tour
A Love of Shared Disasters set for April 2 release

What do you get when you combine the formidable talents of members of Mogwai, Portishead, Electric Wizard, and a bunch of random bands? As previously reported, you get Crippled Black Phoenix, a supergroup of sorts serving up some sumptuous post-rock confections.

Crippled Black Phoenix's previously noted main course, debut LP A Love of Shared Disasters, has a release date at last: the disc hits UK shops April 2 via Invada Records, the imprint helmed by Portishead principal and CBP producer Geoff Barrow. A Love comes in CD and limited edition 12" gatefold double-vinyl formats, and Crippled Black Phoenix burn through venues across Europe this spring in support of the record. Those dates include a spot at Fernelmont, Belgium's Rhâââ Lovely Festival alongside Pelican, Part Chimp, Audrey, Bracken, and Milenasong.

Oh right, and Portishead? No real news from that front, save a recent Dead Air Space-esque MySpace post from Barrow:

"been working on the new songs
going around in circles every day
but things are progressing upwards
trying to meet deadlines for this year
ive goto go
my little ones cryin"

It's been nearly ten years, man! We're cryin too. [MORE...]

Robyn Says "Konichiwa" to UK With Expanded Robyn

Do you know what it takes to love Robyn? For starters, forget everything you thought you knew about the 90s pop splash, because she's reinvented, reinvigorated, and pretty much unstoppable nowadays. Following up November's Rakamonie EP, Robyn will finally treat UK audiences to a deluxe edition of Robyn, her comeback LP, originally released way back in April 2005 in the anti-diva's native Sweden (and landing at #39 on Pitchfork's Top 50 that year).

The UK edition of Robyn arrives April 2 and comes bolstered with slick new cover art, Teddybears cover "Cobrastyle" (off the Rakamonie EP), and "With Every Heartbeat" (Robyn's dazzling collaboration with producer Kleerup), as well as brand new versions of "Robotboy" and "Burn Like You". Single "Konichiwa Bitches" paves the way, hitting UK shops March 26, backed with remixes from Trentemøller, Menta, and Oscar the Punk. Check out the zany video in Forkcast right now.

Robyn celebrates her UK foray with a gig at London's Metro on March 2.

And given the current trickle-down rate from Europe to the UK to the Land of Freedom, we unfashionable Americans can anticipate a U.S. release of Robyn in, like, third quarter 2008 or something. [MORE...]

Devendra, Sunset Rubdown, Why? Cover/Remix Xiu Xiu

5RC will soon ship off for that great big record store in the sky (where they have everything on vinyl), but not before treating discerning audiences to one last left-of-center indie gem-- and this one might as well be the Hope Diamond. On April 10, the KRS-affiliated imprint hits us with Remixed and Covered, a massive two-disc set packed with, you guessed it, remixes and covers of Xiu Xiu songs.

On disc one, spring tourmates Sunset Rubdown take on A Promise's "Apistat Commander", avant-hoppers Why? do The Air Force's devastating closer, "Wig Master", and melancholic folkie Marissa Nadler makes Fabulous Muscles jam "Clowne Towne" her own. Devendra Banhart's cover of "Support Our Troops OH!" (originally released on a split 7") crops up again here as well.

Alas, Tu Mi Piaci covers EP stars Pussycat Dolls do not return Xiu Xiu the favor.

Disc two boasts remixes from the likes of loop-happy Creepshow partner Grouper, slice'n'dicer Kid606, like-minded shrieker This Song Is a Mess but So Am I, club MC/producer Gold Chains, boundary-pushers To Live and Shave in L.A., and Xiu Xiu themselves.

Remixed and Covered is one of approximately 92 Xiu Xiu-related releases due this year. Others include the previously reported reprise of XXL, Xiu Xiu's collaboration with Italy's Larsen, whose Spicchiologi? drops May 29 via Important; the follow-up to PLUG award-winner The Air Force, which features a duet with Michael Gira; side projects with Deerhoof's John Dieterich and This Song Is a Mess; and a video collection and tour DVD.

That DVD should be available this spring, when, somehow, Xiu Xiu will find time for a month-long tour (be on the lookout for another Polaroid project as well). And! Perhaps inspired by all that Neon Bible toll-free hoopla, Xiu Xiu have set up their own "hotline", which you may dial up to hear effed-up, mostly indecipherable messages. For a good time, call (510) 587-3204. [MORE...]

Pretty Girls Make Graves Schedule Farewell Tour

Matador punk rockers Pretty Girls Make Graves have announced the dates for their last-ever tour, which is set to take place in May and early June. As previously reported, the band's split was fueled by drummer Nick Dewitt's departure.

The majority of the trek will be supported by Frenchkiss signees Call Me Lightning (whose sophomore album, Soft Skeletons, is due on February 20) and Seattle/L.A. sextet Moonrats. [MORE...]

Rhymefest Turning New Album into Stage Musical
"This thing is going to be hip hop, but it's [also] going to be a revolution."

Rhymefest is hard at work preparing his previously reported new album, El Che, for a fall release on J Records. And he has big plans for the record: it's going to be adapted into a stage show.

In a recent interview with Pitchfork, the Chicago MC said the Blue Collar follow-up is "70% done" and that "Kanye [West] is playing a bigger role this year than he did last year as far as behind-the-scenes, helping me develop the songs." And though he also hopes to include contributions from DJ Premier, Ghostface Killah, and Kelis, he "doesn't want a lot of rappers featured on this album."

Instead, Rhymefest has focused the album squarely on himself, as reflected by its title (Che is his given name, after Che Guevara) and its concept. "The album tells a story from front to back. And you're gonna have songs you can take from the album and put them on the radio, and you won't even know the difference. Also, I want to have a show competing with Prince and Michael Jackson. I thought, 'How can I do that?' and I said, 'I'm gonna have to do it as a play, a musical of sorts.' Once El Che comes out, the only way you'll see me perform is if you come to this musical. But if you come to this musical, it'll be the best hip hop performance art experience you've ever had."

Rhymefest is working with Anthony Moseley and Chicago theater organization Collaboraction to produce the musical, which will incorporate existing elements of his live show-- like his mid-set freestyles-- into a stage version of El Che. "The album is kind of based on my life as a child, and the play is going to read out that way, based on a true story. There are not going to be a lot of people in the play. It's going to be like, me plus two other people."

Fest plans to launch a tour of the musical to coincide with El Che's release, and he will supplement the album and the touring show with "videos for every song. The videos are going to be like a scavenger hunt. Some of them will be up for download to your phone; some of them will be on other people's CDs or released as a DVD; and some of them will be released for free over iTunes. A lot of time is going to be spent not only on making the music, but gathering the content."

It's a lot of content, but Rhymefest has a lot on his mind. "This thing is going to be hip hop, but it's [also] going to be a revolution. Isn't that what hip hop needs right now? Doesn't it need an infusion of Public Enemy and the Fugees and Bob Marley? What the fuck happened? When everybody started selling death, and I started seeing people who knew better talk about how they'll take their guns and do this, do that with you-- you know, there's a time for everything, but it's like every time is the right time to be in the club and shooting somebody and selling somebody some drugs. When I saw people who I'm like, 'This motherfucker knows better,' start bending that way, I started worrying. I started saying, 'Why is the new style of rapping to rap bad?' If you rap well, they say, 'Oh, that's complicated.' I realized that the only way I could avoid becoming what people would term as a 'hater' was to give more to my art.

"A high-school kid said to me, 'I'm not into hip hop. I like rap.' I said, 'Well, what's rap?' And he said to me, '[Young] Jeezy. Jeezy's just rap. I don't have to think about it. Hip hop is like culture, breakdancing and DJing and all that shit. I ain't into that. I want to hear Jeezy just rap.' That was the first time I experienced the generation gap in rap music, where kids are like, 'I don't care about the culture.' It's really our fault, because we didn't teach the kids about it. Our parents taught us to love Al Green and Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. We didn't teach our kids to love them; we didn't teach our kids to appreciate KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane, and Rakim. So when they stray from it, we just want to say, 'Shame on you.' My thing is, I want to show the children the beauty of the culture of hip hop, and if one day they can respond to it, we'll be finally starting to do our job. [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.)