Bell Orchestre news.

There's a new Bell Orchestre recording in progress.
We are working with John McEntire at
Soma Electronic Music Studios in Chicago.
It will be worth the wait.

This is good news. I really liked the orchestral take on post-rock that this lot had on Recording a Tape the Colour of the Light and with Arcade Fire off the road for a year hopefully they'll get over here at some point.

"Les Lumieres" live ...

Despite earlier reports it’s not going to be called "Pardon My Blues" and there’s a good chance that nor will it be named "Kissing The Beehive".

Whatever the fuck it’s called the new Wolf Parade album will be out on Sub Pop on June 17th. There’ll be 9 songs on it and according to Dan Boeckner it’ll be “proggy”.

Apparently once the current Sunset Rubdown (Crawdaddy, May 20th) and Handsome Furs touring commitments are taken care of there’ll be a massive Wolf Parade Tour.

Tracklisting:

01 Soldier's Grin
02 Call It a Ritual
03 Language City
04 Bang Your Drum
05 California Dreamer
06 The Grey Estates
07 Fine Young Cannibals
08 An Animal in Your Care
09 Kissing the Beehive

Edit: Stereogum have posted Call It A Ritual.

Crayonsmith to tour the new world with Islands.

2-6 week tour in the summer. Details to be confirmed in the next couple of days. Fair play.

They're launching their new album tomorrow too.

Tracklisting for the new National EP.

The Virginia EP out May 20th.

1. You Done it Again, Virginia
2. Santa Clara
3. Blank Slate
4. Tall Saint
5. Without Permission
6. Forever After Days
7. Rest Of Years
8. Slow Show(Live)
9. Lucky You(Live)
10. Mansion On The Hill (Live)
11. Fake Empire(Live)
12. About Today (Live)

"About Today" is a monster live, really glad that's included on it.

Finally, details of the new Wolf Parade album are out.

Kissing the Beehive

June 17th on Sub Pop.

The best thing they've ever done will still be a Jape cover.

The Raconteurs are the latest big band to do something funny with the release of a record. It's all summarised here (by the way, judging by the comments on that page Guardian readers don't like music reviewers much, I wonder if they're below or above "George W. Bush", "non-organic, non-fair trade lentils" and "shops that have run out of Birkenstocks" on The List). Basically Jack, Brendan and the other 2 aren't sending out review copies to the media so the fans get to hear it at the same time as the press does on release day.

That was the plan anyway, iOops. The album appeared on the private torrent networks as early as 8AM last Friday in lossless M4A format so that seems to indicate that Spin have their facts right. I wonder if any heads will roll at Apple over this.

What the what?

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/telecoms/article3578699.ece

Amanda Andrews and Jonathan Richards

In a career built on publicity-seeking moves, Madonna has made another bid for attention by announcing plans to give Vodafone customers access to her latest album before it goes on sale.

The Material Girl, who turns 50 this year, will release one song a day from Hard Candy, her eighteenth full-length album, in the week leading up to its retail release on April 28.

Seven of the eleven tracks will be available for Vodafone customers to buy for about 99p each. They can be downloaded for 24 hours before being replaced by the next track.

The mobile operator's customers in ten countries, including the UK, Spain, Portugal, Germany and Belgium, will also be able to buy

4 Minutes, Madonna's new single, for 75p immediately. The Timbaland production features Justin Timberlake.

John Reid, Warner Music Europe president, said: “Vodafone's enormous platform will bring enormous marketing power. Madonna is one of a few artists with worldwide appeal and we expect these to sell well.

“This is an innovative way to reach millions of Madonna fans around the world, building anticipation and excitement around this landmark release and helping to create a real event for Vodafone customers.”

The decision follows a similar move by Timbaland, an artist as well as a renowned R&B producer, in the United States last month. He became the first artist to release an album exclusively via mobile on the Verizon network.

Previously concerned that iTunes would mean the demise of the album, Madonna relented to the power of Apple's online music store only last year. In 2006, a ringtone of Hung Up became the best-selling in 29 countries when it was released a month before the song went on sale in stores.

News of Madonna's latest album release came as she faced press speculation in the past week about her marriage.

Reports of a split between Guy Ritchie and Madonna have come as the film director failed to make an appearance at the singer's induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

“I am delighted to confirm that Mr and Mrs Guy Ritchie remain happily married,” Liz Rosenberg, Madonna's spokeswoman, said yesterday.

My day ... just been made.

Found this on The Wrens board just now.

I found this on a "Cavern" message board. Pretty cool, boys, pretty cool...

Feb 25, 2008
The Wrens have "nearly finished" recording a new album.

The band previewed two new songs at the recording of Channel 4's Live From Abbey Road last week, their first new material since 2003's The Meadowlands.

A source said: "They're way ahead of schedule with the new album. Abbey Road isn't going on screen for a while, and the band felt it was the right time to see what people made of the new songs."

--Joel

Of course in the world of The Wrens "nearly finished" could mean "you're gonna have to wait another 2 years".

I just got that hug. The Wrens are my favourite North American band of all time and the best live act on the planet, I love them like hippies love The Dead. I'm posting a couple of rarities from them.

Oh and Charles Bissell is joining Okkervil River as a touring member on their April North American tour. Hopefully that means he'll be coming over with them when they hit Europe the following month when I presume they'll book another Dublin gig after their marvelous last one and that hopinf he'll be bringing his looptacular solo act along as an opener.

MP3: The Wrens - Everyone Choose Sides (alt. version) NOT from The Meadowlands.
MP3: The Wrens - Boys You Won't (live) from BBC Radio Humberside Session.

Pavement reunion on the cards?

The Guardian seems to think so.

Pavement reunion talk finds new legs



It must be exhausting being a former member of Pavement. Just as with Led Zeppelin alumni, every single interview leads right back to the reunion question. And not just that - every answer is scrutinised for the teensiest hint of what discussions might have taken place.

This week Pavement's name is back on fans' lips. The hubbub follows an article in Entertainment Weekly, where not one, not two, but three of the band's former members express an interest, however idly, in playing a reunion show. The band, one of the most important American indie groups of the 1990s, let's not forget, disbanded relatively amicably in 1999.

Both of the group's principal songwriters are entertaining the notion. Scott Kannberg, aka Spiral Stairs, is certainly game: "Matador [Records] is having a 20th anniversary party soon, so maybe we'll try to do something for that," he said. "The only hurdle might be getting everyone to drop what they're doing, but I'm sure the excitement of playing again will make it okay."

Stephen Malkmus, the group's other main dude, is perhaps the busiest of the former five-piece. He is currently promoting a new solo album - his third since the break-up. He too seems willing: "Something small in 10 years like the Zeppelin thing sounds good to me," he said, referring to the Zep's one-off London show last year. "Obviously, the arena would be smaller than theirs, though."

And for bassist Mark Ibold, there was no hesitation at all. "Why not next month?" he said.

While there's nothing concrete in this talk, Matador's anniversary does fall next year - a coincidental 10 years since Pavement's dissolution. That gives the musicians more than enough time to free up schedules, relearn the songs and tune (or detune) guitars.

The latest development in the lableless release wars.

Quoting the press release, because it’s easy …

"Nine Inch Nails presents Ghosts I - IV, a brand new 36 track instrumental collection available right now. Almost two hours of new music composed and recorded over an intense ten week period last fall, Ghosts I - IV sprawls Nine Inch Nails across a variety of new terrain."

"Trent Reznor explains, "I've been considering and wanting to make this kind of record for years, but by its very nature it wouldn't have made sense until this point. This collection of music is the result of working from a very visual perspective - dressing imagined locations and scenarios with sound and texture; a soundtrack for daydreams. I'm very pleased with the result and the ability to present it directly to you without interference. I hope you enjoy the first four volumes of Ghosts."

Reznor was involved in the last Saul Williams record and like that album Ghosts … has been released online with a number of pricing options depending on how much you want to hear/splash out on. For zero cash money you get 9 DRM free 320kbps MP3’s as well as "a 40-page PDF book covering the whole release" and a "digital extras pack, with wallpapers, icons, and other graphics for your computer, website, profile, etc.".

$5 gets you "all 36 tracks in a variety of digital formats" plus the PDF and "digital extras".

For the low low price of $10 you get the above plus to your door you will receive two CDs "in a six panel digipak package with a 16 page booklet" that will be shipped on April 8.

And finally for the hardcore obsessive $75 will get you all the digital stuff AND "Ghosts I-IV in a hardcover fabric slipcase containing: two audio CDs, one data DVD (for remixing) with all 36 tracks in multi-track format, and a Blu-ray disc with Ghosts I-IV in high-definition 96/24 stereo and accompanying slideshow." PLUS a 48 page book of "photographs by Phillip Graybill and Rob Sheridan - visual aesthetic accompaniments to the music from the recording process and the outside world." That ships on May 1.

But if you’re beyond a hardcore obsessive and fall into the “idiot” category $300 gets you "ultra deluxe limited edition package" which is limited to 2,500 copies and includes the $75 package plus "an exclusive four-LP 180 gram vinyl set in a fabric slipcase, and two exclusive limited edition Giclee prints in a luxurious package."

The album is being released under Creative Commons Licence the terms of which say that people are free to share the files on a non-commercial basis. That’s an interesting development but I suspect that it’s down to Reznor wanting to say “Fuck You” to the RIAA after his recent unhappy label experience .

Now I couldn’t give a shit about NIN musically but the way this album is being released is really interesting, not quite the Radiohead In Rainbows pay what you like then fork out big for the boxset model but the various payment/extras model could, I suspect be something that happens more and more in the future. The idea looks, to me, to have more legs then what Thom and co. did. I suppose labels have been doing it for some years with the basic CD/deluxe package release strategy and charging an extra few quid for an extra CD/DVD/nicer box but giving away the basic package online will I think become a far more common occurrence.

Of course, this will only work with bands that have significant audiences built up, probably thanks to label support over a number of years. And no doubt Reznor will strike a licencing deal with a label to distribute the physical CD in the shops.

You can get the album here.