Pitchfork

By the time they built up those Ships back in the spring of 2006, Daniel Smith's Danielson (with and without his Famile) had been making with the music for more than a decade.

Two whole discs of favorite tracks from the pre-Ships era-- plus some previously unheard alternate versions, live cuts, and various unreleased material-- have been collected for a new anthology entitled Trying Hartz. In addition to 28 Danielson tunes, the set features Smith's personal thoughts about each and every track in the collection, plus some additional liners from The Ice Storm novelist Rick Moody. Trying Hartz is due November 4 from Secretly Canadian.

But enough looking back! There's a whole slew of Danielson fall tour dates with Cryptacize to look forward to, kicking off on Halloween in New York City. Gee, wonder what Daniel will dress as?

On September 2, look out for a whole new gang down in Beverly Hills.

Nah, not the cast of "90210", the craptastical-looking 21st century rehash of the iconic 1990s teen drama-- though they'll certainly be there that night for their two-hour series premiere on the CW. I'm talking Omaha popsters Tilly and the Wall, who will join the new crew to perform "Pot Kettle Black"-- from June's O-- at "a character's not-so-sweet sixteen." You know, I've never been a big fan of alternative music rubbing elbows with vacuous mainstream television, but those guys are gonna rock the house.

Tilly have yet another forthcoming appearance on your telly, and this one certainly suits their M.O. a little better. As previously reported, they'll teach one and all their ABCs on a fall episode of "Sesame Street".

Before all that, though, they've got a few new letters to brush up on: CSS, for whom they'll open on a handful of tour dates next month. Then it's off to the UK in October.

Photo by Kathryn Yu

Europe, South America, and-- for a night in Tel Aviv, anyway-- Asia, just you wait. Soon enough, all your favorite Sung will be Tonged, your Water will be good and sworn at, and those Strawberries you've been saving from the summer will get good and jammed.

And what, you may puzzle, is the cause of all this weird shit? Well, Animal Collective, obvs, who will make their way in the general direction of the aforementioned spots this fall as part of a series of dates revealed since our last report on the matter. The new continent-spanning engagements stretch well into November.

In other Animal Collective news, the Notwist recently got Panda Bear to remix their single for "Boneless".

On his first non-collaborative album in five years, Anticon beatmeister Alias has tapped his hometown of Portland, Maine for inspiration: The mostly instrumental album's title, Resurgam, is also Portland's Latin motto. It translates to "I will rise again."

Alias hasn't totally forsaken the spirit of sharing on Resurgam, however. The album features two collaborative tracks, the previously Forkcasted "Well Water Black" with Why?'s Yoni Wolf and "The Weathering" with the One AM Radio.

Anticon will officially release Resurgam in physical formats September 2, though the album is available through some digital retailers now. Alias presently has two dates lined up in support of the record.

Sunburned Hand of the Man lost a core member recently when Adam Nodelman passed away suddenly at his home in Woodstock, New York on August 25. The cause of his death is still unknown. He was 43 and left behind a wife and three daughters.

In addition to Sunburned, Nodelman played in numerous bands throughout his musical career, including Borbetomagus, Missing Foundation, Motherhead Bug, Crash Worship, Franklin's Mint, Bunnybrains, and Shitsweat.

Memorial services for Nodelman are being planned in Woodstock, New York City, and western Massachusetts. Anyone who has photos or video footage of Nodelman is encouraged to contact Sunburned Hand of the Man at sunburnedhand@gmail.com.

Photo by George Chin

We knew things were getting a bit rocky for Kevin "Skwerl" Cogill earlier this week, when it was learned that the FBI had arrested Mr. Cogill following suspicion that the Antiquiet blogger had violated federal copyright law. Cogill had admitted to leaking nine previously unreleased tracks purportedly from Guns N' Roses' perennially eventual Chinese Democracy LP via Antiquiet back in June.

What we didn't know was this: according to the Los Angeles Times, Cogill faces up to three years in prison and $250,000 in fines, seeing as he's now the first California resident to be charged under an anti-piracy law that makes it a felony to distribute a copyrighted work on computer networks before its release. Yikes! Careful where you put that Skeletal Lamping, everybody.

Cogill was released shortly after his Wednesday arrest on $10,000 bond, and was not required to enter a plea at this time. But according to former Guns N' Roses guitarist (and amateur law buff?) Slash, Cogill's potential return to the clink couldn't come soon enough.

"I hope he rots in jail," Slash told the Times. "It's going to affect the sales of the record, and it's not fair. The Internet is what it is, and you have to deal with it accordingly, but I think if someone goes and steals something, it's theft." I only wish he'd suggested they "throw him to the Snakepit."

Axl Rose and company also managed to get out a statement that, though intentionally vague, may bode a little better for Cogill. Said the Guns N' Roses camp, according to the Times: "Presently, though we don't support this guy's actions at that level, our interest is in the original source. We can't comment publicly at this time as the investigation is ongoing."

Ongoing too, as ever, is the wait for a proper release date for Chinese Democracy-- which, it would seem, would alone solve damn near all these problems.

Sure, it might not be the face shredder they're set to embark on over in the UK in October with Los Campesinos! and Times New Viking, but damn it if a North American No Age headlining romp isn't gonna tear some shit up anyway.

Dean and Randy will strike out yet again in November for a good many opportunities to climb on top of things, spew some Nouns, and, of course, Rip Weirdly. It is, after all, what they do best.

It might be too much to expect a new LP from Soft Machine co-founder Kevin Ayers so soon after The Unfairground. After all, some 15 years elapsed between that one and its predecessor, and one assumes gathering a group of guests such as the one on Unfairground takes more than a few months' time.

Lucky for us, Ayers has amassed quite an archive in the years he's spent not releasing a heck of a lot of music, and he's raided the boxes of reel-to-reel tapes for What More Can I Say...

The disc compiles a number of previously unreleased demos and studio outtakes set to tape in the early 1970s. What More not only features Kevin at his most intimate, but also includes guest performances from Ayers' Soft Machine bandmate Robert Wyatt, Tubular Bells dude Mike Oldfield, the late bassist Archie Legget, and organist David Bedford. The set is due September 1 in the UK from LO-MAX and November 4 in the States and Canada on Reel Recordings.

There's more Kevin coming at you soon enough, as LO-MAX will issue a limited edition 7" for Unfairground's "Baby Come Home" on September 8, backed with the album's "Walk on Water".

And last but certainly not least, there's Songs for Insane Times, a four-disc retrospective of Ayers' work from 1969-1980 due September 8 from EMI Harvest in Europe, Japan, and Hong Kong (U.S. release TBA). In addition to three discs of studio selections, Insane Times collects on its fourth disc a previously unreleased concert recording from Ayers' performance at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall on May 25, 1973.

The name says it all, really: the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass fest, though in possession of an undeniable penchant for that which twangs, is hardly strictly a bluegrass festival.

From October 3-5, the eighth annual free-of-charge fest will run the gamut all over San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, bringing with it performances from the likes of Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Elvis Costello's High Whines and Spirits, Iron & Wine, Earl Scruggs, Ralph Stanley & His Clinch Mountain Boys, Nick Lowe, Richard Thompson, Emmylou Harris, Jon Langford's Skull Orchard featuring Sally Timms and the Burlington Welsh Male Chorus, Heavy Trash, Ben Kweller, Steve Earle and the Bluegrass Dukes, Steve's son Justin Townes Earle, Gary Louris and Mark Olson of the Jayhawks, Gogol Bordello, the Del McCoury Band, Iris DeMent, Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Loudon Wainwright III, Odetta, Tift Merritt, Greg Brown, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Waco Brothers, and, I kid you not, MC Hammer. Oaktown represent!

The free show will be preceded by a pair of not-so-free shows at October 2 and 3 at the city's Great American Music Hall. Appearing that night will be Guitar - Bass - Drums, a bit of a dad-rock supergroup featuring Ry Cooder, Nick Lowe, and Jim Keltner. Proceeds from those shows will go to the Richard deLone Special Housing Project, which seeks to assist those afflicted by Prader-Willi Syndrome.

Torche's tour in support of sophomore album Meanderthal begins this weekend with a show in Orlando on August 31. The rock juggernaut's tour is as humongous as Meanderthal sounds, and it includes dates with Hydrahead label mates Clouds, as well as Pelican, Coliseum, and Black Cobra.