Pitchfork

Indie festival barnstormers Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks and Tortoise will join a lineup of other all-stars and future stars as headliners at this year's San Francisco installment of the Noise Pop Festival. The 11th annual festival of independent music in the American style will run from February 25th to March 2nd, and feature more than twenty rock shows, seven film screenings, and an improved series of pop music symposia, thanks to a new partnership with the Experience Music Project in Seattle.

n Noise Pop was founded in 1993 by San Francisco scenester Kevin Arnold as a celebration of the unusual, avant, and exciting in popular music-- and frankly, it's just nice to hear Kev's keeping himself busy since that harsh breakup with Winnie Cooper all those years ago. The event's alumni include some of the best artists of the past decade like The Flaming Lips, Yo La Tengo, and Modest Mouse; all-time favorites like X, Big Star, and Bob Mould; and new arrivals like The White Stripes and Jimmy Eat World. Wait, did we just say Jimmy Eat World? Maybe we should've quit at The White Stripes. Anyway, in recent years, Noise Pop has even been instrumental in bringing together new acts like Loose Fur, whose members, Jim O'Rourke and Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, first played together at the 2000 event in Chicago.

n This year's festival will showcase, among others, Cat Power, Trans Am, The Locust, Mountain Goats, (smog), The Blood Brothers, John Vanderslice, Calexico, Erase Errata, Folk Implosion (sans John Davis), and the newly reunited Camper Van Beethoven. Dude, does this mean Cracker broke up? And if so, who's singing for Jets to Brazil now?

n Last year, festival directors released Ten Years of Noise Pop, a two-disc compilation featuring live highlights from years past and previously unreleased cuts from festival participants like Spoon, Neko Case, and Guided by Voices. Tickets for this year's festival are available now, and if you are so inclined, you can even pick up an all-week badge for $145 that entitles you, the holder, admission to all the shows, films, and Education Series events, and tickets to the private opening night party with that sexxxy dirtbag Har Mar Superstar. (Ryan, expect my expense report shortly.) Here's the event lineup, so far:

n 02-25 Bimbo's 365 Club - Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
02-26 Bimbo's 365 Club - Cat Power, Women & Children, Entrance
02-26 Bottom of the Hill - Dead Moon, The Pattern
02-26 Fillmore - The Donnas, OK Go
02-26 Great American Music Hall - Trans Am, Minus the Bear
02-27 Bimbo's 365 Club - Camper Van Beethoven
02-27 Bottom of the Hill - Folk Implosion, Alaska
02-27 Café Du Nord - M Ward, Starflyer 59
02-27 Great American Music Hall - Dirt Bombs, Von Bondies, Sermon
02-28 Bottom of the Hill - Hot Rod Circuit, Tsunami Bomb
02-28 Café Du Nord - The Go
03-01 Bimbo's 365 Club - Calexico, Nicolia Dunger
03-01 Bottom of the Hill - Tsunami Bomb, Hot Rod Circuit
03-01 Café Du Nord - (smog)
03-01 Great American Music Hall - The Locust, Erase Errata, Milemarker, Blood Bros
03-02 Bimbo's 365 Club - Tortoise
03-02 Bottom of the Hill - Mountain Goats, John Vanderslice

"