Pitchfork

-- Whoever picks bands for those iTunes Live Sessions deserves a beer. Thus far, the series of iTunes-only EPs has featured stalwarts like Spiritualized and Billy Bragg, and just last week, My Morning Jacket. And on February 3, San Franciscan noise-pop weirdos Deerhoof will drop their own Apple-endorsed short-player. It features live versions of "The Tears and Music of Love", "Blue Cash", "Buck and Judy", "Makko Shobu", "Basket Ball Get Your Groove Back", and "Milk Man". In other Deerhoof news, they've got a few dates coming up in Japan next week, and Burning Star Core's C. Spencer Yeh just released a freaked-out Atari-looking video for "Buck and Judy".

-- Hey, Merge found a band that hadn't been reissued yet! Next Tuesday, January 27, Merge will reissue The Bright Orange Years and All-Night Lotus Party, the first two albums from the mid-80s Boston underground-rock forgotten heroes Volcano Suns. Mission of Burma drummer Peter Prescott founded the Suns after Burma's breakup, and Bob Weston, Prescott's bandmate in the reunited Burma, handled the remastering for both albums, neither of which has ever come out on CD. Both reissues will come with a ton of bonus tracks.

-- New wave survivor Chrissie Hynde and her Pretenders will head out on a long American headlining tour at the end of the month, and it'll be their first in more than half a decade. The Pretenders have also teamed up with PETA for a YouTube contest where you can somehow save animals by lip-syncing their impressively whoopass rockabilly workout "Boots of Chinese Plastic". (You have to do it while wearing actual plastic shoes, though. I guess that's where the whole saving-animals angle comes in.) The winner gets to appear in the song's music video.

-- Also heading out on tour both in the U.S. and Europe are fire-and-brimstone speed-bluegrass fake hicks O'Death, who will be opening a few dates for fellow fake hick Les Claypool. Les Claypool: Still doing stuff!