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- News in Brief: Run-DMC, DMX, Opeth, Enslaved, Crippled Black Phoenix, Tim Exile
- T.V. Eye: February 2-8, 2009
- Van Morrison Sullies Astral Weeks With New LP Cover
- News in Brief: Broken Social Scene, Glasvegas, Harvest of Hope, Anni Rossi
- News in Brief: The Killers, Coldplay, Ladyfinger, Takka Takka, Venice Is Sinking
Best New Music
On The Crying Light, Antony Hegarty remains fascinated with the transitions and overlaps between birth and life, life and death, this world and the next, but he expresses them in more universal, more direct, but no less rapturous terms than he did on his New York-tinted breakthrough I Am a Bird Now.
Anticipated to an almost ridiculous degree, no one looking forward to the latest Animal Collective record-- out tomorrow on vinyl and digitally, and on CD in two weeks-- will be disappointed. Everything that's defined the band to this point has here been refined and amplified into a record that captures the group's quirky and forwardly expressive style.
Reviews
Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim, returns as the central figure of the BPA, or Brighton Port Authority-- a catchall for stuff Cook does with various vocalists, including David Byrne, Iggy Pop, and Dizzee Rascal.
[Douglas Wolk]Kylie Minogue's 2000s resurrection as an electro-pop superstar is celebrated on this remix collection, which includes reworkings of her songs from artists such as the Chemical Brothers and Fischerspooner.
[Andy Battaglia]Michael Nau, ex-Page France leader, releases the first LP from his new project. The countrified atmosphere and vocal trade-offs with Whitney McGraw fall somewhere between Johnny Cash and June Carter and Yo La Tengo circa And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out.
Telefon Tel Aviv's latest-- released on the heels of the death of bandmember Charles Cooper-- is a detailed and smartly programmed reimagining of 1980s synth-pop.
[Joshua Klein]Latest from this eccentric sing-songwriter on Michael Gira's Young God label can be wondrous and wildly inventive as well as self-indulgent.
[Amy Granzin]Fri: 01-30-09
Thu: 01-29-09
Wed: 01-28-09
Tue: 01-27-09
Forkcast
- Pitchfork.tv: Ponytail: Live on "A>D>D" Part 1
- Video: Silver Jews: "Introduction / We Are Real" / "Smith and Jones Forever" (Live at Cumberland Caverns; final show)
- Pitchfork.tv: Filastine: "Desordenador" [Video Premiere]
- New Music: My Morning Jacket: "El Caporal" [Stream]
- New Music: Devendra Banhart: "Forget About Him" (Kath Bloom cover) [MP3/Stream]
- New Music: Smashing Pumpkins: "FOL" [MP3]
- Video: Lily Allen: "The Fear" (Live on "Friday Night With Jonathan Ross")
Features
While We Were Out...
Catching up with last week's reviews, including our takes on the new records from Bruce Springsteen and Franz Ferdinand, EP collaborations between Hot Chip and Robert Wyatt and Jon Brion and Of Montreal, and yet another pair of wonderful Optimo-related mixes.
[Pitchfork Staff]Interview: Buzzcocks
As they tour Europe performing their classic albums, the two original members of the influential punk band talk about reissues, riots, and throwing bricks through windows.
[Patrick Sisson]Interview: Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett
We spoke to the duo behind Gorillaz about their new project, Monkey, as well as such controversial subjects as the disintegration of the West, why Africa is the future of the world, cultural tourism, and Vampire Weekend.
[Scott Plagenhoef]Column: Puritan Blister #42
Kanye West's 808s and Heartbreak isn't just the album of the winter, it's a major pop achievement. And it's a potential salve for those whose personal experiences this month aren't dominated by hope and change.
[William Bowers]Guest List: Max Tundra
Max Tundra talks to us about overcoming his addiction to a web-based word game, the prank phone call that had BBC censors working overtime, and his preference for Polish audiences. [Interview: Tyler Grisham]
[Ben Jacobs]Live Review: Lincoln Memorial Concert and Big Shoulders Ball
This historic week in Washington, D.C. included a lot of music. Pitchfork's Stephen M. Deusner braved the cold at the Lincoln Memorial to catch sets by Bruce Springsteen, U2, and Stevie Wonder, and then attended the Big Shoulders Ball at the Black Cat a day later to see acts including Andrew Bird with members of Tortoise, Ted Leo, Eleventh Dream Day, and Freakwater.
[Stephen M. Deusner]