Pitchfork

Photo by Elena Morelli

Over the last week, more than one person has mentioned to me how pleased they are that, as the temps drop and the sun sets just a bit earlier every afternoon, we're getting into what they call "Bon Iver weather."

I can see that; any opportunity to make Justin Vernon's autumnal mini-epic For Emma, Forever Ago that much more evocative and lovely, you might as well take. How fitting, then, that through the final few weeks of the fall, Vernon will hit the road both in Europe and in the States to bring out his tunes in the climes to which they are best suited.

Kristian Matsson, better known as Swedish Dylan devotee The Tallest Man on Earth, will join Bon Iver for all of his U.S. shows.

Live music being performed right on your television screen this week:

Monday, October 20:

NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Mates of State (rerun)
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Hot Chip (rerun)

Tuesday, October 21:

CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Laura Marling
FUEL TV: The Daily Habit: A Place to Bury Strangers
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Atmosphere (rerun)

Wednesday, October 22:

CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: The Pretenders (rerun)
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Young Jeezy (rerun)

Thursday, October 23:

BET: BET Hip-Hop Awards: Lil Wayne, T.I., Nas, Common, Young Jeezy, Ice Cube, Ludacris, Nelly, N.E.R.D., Rick Ross, MC Lyte
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Pete Seeger (rerun)
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Cold War Kids
NBC: The Tonight Show With Jay Leno: Glen Campbell
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Moby (rerun)

Friday, October 24:

ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live!: Smashing Pumpkins
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Beck (rerun)
FUEL TV: The Daily Habit: Deerhoof
NBC: The Tonight Show With Jay Leno: Al Green

GZA, Jay Reatard, Islands, Retribution Gospel Choir, Holy Fuck, Sebastien Grainger, Monotonix, Basia Bulat, Laura Barrett, Woodhands, Young Widows, Ron Sexsmith, Josh Ritter, and recently reunited locals the Inbreds head up the bomb-ass lineup for this year's Halifax Pop Explosion, which kicks off tomorrow (October 21) and runs through October 25 at a smattering of venues in the Nova Scotian city.

This year, the fest's 16th, has the music mingling with more general cultural offerings and media types talking their talk, but as those things don't easily lend themselves to explosives puns, we'll just leave it at that.

Bringing their never-ending math equation into the realm of the algebraic, New York's +/- (or, if you must, Plus/Minus) will issue new album Xs on Your Eyes tomorrow (October 21) with a little help from Absolutely Kosher.

The 11-track disc emerges just as James Baluyut, Chris Deaner, and Patrick Ramos are set to add a few new stamps to their passports, embarking on a fairly extensive tour of Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines that begins later this week. The jaunt finds +/- joined on most dates by Baluyut and Ramos' other band, the mighty Versus, who don't play out all that often these days. All this provided, of course, they solve for X and show all their work.

Again? Young money Lil Wayne stepped to MTV.com on Saturday in advance of the taping of the "BET Hip-Hop Awards" to fill them in on his next LP, which will apparently bear the same title a few Milli of you out there already have stashed on your CD shelf.

Weezy F. tells MTV.com his next record will be an updated version of this spring's monstrous Tha Carter III with "all brand-new songs." He insists that it will not, in fact, take the form of Tha Carter IV, which Wayne recently mentioned working up on that ESPN blog of his. No release date was given for this new Carter III, and Wayne has laid some slightly shaky info on MTV.com in the past, so I wouldn't start lining up outside the record shop now or anything.

Recent B-day boy Wayne also reportedly told the crowd at the "BET Awards" that he's "got a son about to be born any day now, so shout-out to him. Pray for me." Aw, a really Lil Wayne! I wonder if those tattoos are genetic...

A Billboard.com story today citing the MTV.com report also notes that Wayne is collaborating with T-Pain under the banner T-Wayne (clever!) on a duet album(!) due sometime next year. Meanwhile, Wayne's ESPN blog suggests that Dedication 3 mixtape should be turning up "real soon." We'll believe it when we hear it, Wayne.

Wayne's doing a few shows through the next several weeks, and the "BET Awards" air Thursday, October 23.

Photo by Jon Behm

Is it live, or is it Tapes 'n Tapes? Well, both, as it turns out. The Minneapolis mumblers will hit the road anew come January for a pretty extensive two-part tour of the States. Things kick off in Omaha in the middle of January, touch down after a hometown show some three weeks later, and pick right back up in late February for another round of live Tapes action. More like Dates 'n... eh, let's not.

In other news from eastern Minnesota, TNT pop up on that recently issued Live From Radio K comp, doing an in-studio take on "George Michael".

Photos by Fiona Diffley

Things this good aren't meant to last: the Drowned in Sound-sponsored Shred Yr Face tour-- featuring the likes of No Age, Times New Viking, and Los Campesinos!-- comes to a halt in the middle of this week, leaving only a faint whiff of reverb (and all that nifty tour swag) in its wake.

The three made their way through Dublin, Ireland's Whelan's over the weekend, and as befits a tour that goes by that title, they perpetrated more than a bit of ruckus. Gareth and Neil Campesinos! hopped in the crowd causing what our photographer Fiona Diffley called "utter mayhem." Get a glimpse of the chaos in the photos below, or on one of the last few dates of the run.

Also note that each band has new jams coming at you shortly. Los Campesinos! will issue We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed October 27 in the UK from Wichita and November 25 (not November 11, as previously planned) in North America on Arts & Crafts. No Age's "Teen Creeps" single hits via Sub Pop on November 4, and Times New Viking's Stay Awake EP makes it way to your ears on 7" tomorrow (October 21) from Matador.

No Age










Los Campesinos!














Times New Viking

Photo by Ryan Muir

They've not gone so far as to name it just yet, but LCD Soundsystem linchpin James Murphy nevertheless has been talking up a new musical DFA project to the folks at BBC's 6Music-- a record from the band currently named Hockey Night. The group, made of Scott Wells and Paul Sprangers, may yet change its name.

Murphy, alongside his LCD Soundsystem/Special Disco Version partner Pat Mahoney, will guest on what the former called a "classic rock record", which he expects will make its way to a record shelf near you in the first half of 2009. No word on whether that description means it will sound like Creedence and Zeppelin, or if it's simply really good-- though if it sounds like Creedence and Zeppelin that inherently means it's also really good.

Murphy, who will produce, mix, and play bass on the disc, also claims it will feature assistance from members of Hercules and Love Affair. While it's not entirely clear if Murphy will be a permanent fixture in the band, this is still exciting stuff. [CORRECTION: DFA confirms that James Murphy is not a member of the group, merely that he produced and mixed the record.]

Murphy and Mahoney will kick off a brief Special Disco Version tour over the weekend in Europe.

Photo by Chris Woodcock

Madlib just keeps on pummeling us with more releases than we can handle, and yet, we try to handle them anyway. In his latest blast of tunes, Madlib has put together an even newer Beat Konducta album than the one that comes out on vinyl on November 11 (moved from October 28), as well as a companion EP to a forthcoming art book.

The Beat Konducta album is called Beat Konducta Vol. 6: Dil Withers Suite, a fitting follow-up to the Dil Cosby Suite contained on Vol. 5. Like Vol. 5, the album is already available for download. A vinyl release will follow via Stones Throw in December, and a CD containing Vol. 5 and Vol. 6 is coming early next year. Both volumes feature J.Rocc and are tributes to the late J Dilla.

The aforementioned EP is an exclusive 10" featuring three previously unreleased tracks ("Prelude", "Monkfunkin", and "El-Ray") from Madlib's jazz-oriented projects/aliases: Young Jazz Rebels, Monk Hughes, and Last Electro. The EP comes with Stones Throw's release of the very first art book from Jason Jägel, the man responsible for MF DOOM's MM..Food? album cover, among others. The book is called 73 Funshine and comes out on November 3.

On the live front, Madlib will appear at Stones Throw's CMJ party, which hits NYC's Gallery Bar on October 22.

Photos by Hugh Twyman and Rachel Hartwig

More Mangum madness over the weekend: this time the elusive Neutral Milk Hotel man turned up at the Friday Rochester stop, the Saturday Pittsburgh stop, and the Sunday Columbus, Ohio stop on the Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour. They sure weren't kidding about that surprise thing, huh? And, what's more, on the latter two occasions-- as noted in Forkcast last night-- Mangum played an actual Neutral Milk Hotel song (omg!), B-side "Engine", in addition to joining his E6 pals for some ruckus-making.

The photos here show Jeff at Brillobox in Pittsburgh on Saturday. Meanwhile, chaos reportedly erupted at the Rochester event after Mangum joined his tourmates for a riotous rendition of Olivia Tremor Control jam "The Bark and Below It" that culminated with everybody wigging out and tossing their instruments to-and-fro. As one Pitchfork reader gushed, "Best show I will ever see in my entire lifetime."

UPDATE: Some additional shots from the Pittsburgh show, courtesy of reader Rachel Hartwig, are now below.

Mangum still has a few more chances to pop up as the Holiday Surprise Tour continues this week.

Jeff Mangum and Friends









Photos by Hugh Twyman






Photos by Rachel Hartwig