Pitchfork

Okay, we checked our calendars and it's not April 1, so now they've either moved the Fool's Day or something very sinister occured somewhere and, dear god...really did trigger some disastrous series of events, leading to the completely unthinkable. Are you ready for this? Here goes: Kill Rock Stars, perhaps the most reputable and prestigious independent rock label operating today, has announced a surprising new addition to their time-honored cred-steady roster. Joining the ranks of greats and legends such as Elliott Smith, Sleater-Kinney, Bikini Kill, and Unwound (and more recently the Decemberists, Xiu Xiu, and Deerhoof) is...Linda fucking Perry! Escandalo!

If the name doesn't sound familiar to you, it's probably because you haven't been bumping any 4 Non Blondes lately. Perry is most widely known as that group's frontwoman and core songwriter, making her responsible for their reprehensible mid-90s summer adult-alterna-smash "What's Up", but has more recently made a name for herself as the songwriting force behind sassy pop starlets Pink and Kelly Osbourne. Perry's biggest success to date, however, came in 2003, with the international chart success and Grammy nomination of Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful", which she wrote and produced.

The Olympia-based indie institution now has plans to reissue Perry's out-of-print solo debut, In Flight, as a joint release with Perry's own Custard label on September 13. Originally released by Interscope Records in 1996, the record briefly hit stores and then quickly and quietly flopped-- for some mysterious reason.

But why Kill Rock Stars? Well, maybe it's the Pacific Northwest-Courtney Love connection-- Perry also had a hand in producing America's Sweetheart! Or maybe KRS founder Slim Moon is out of his skull with $$$'s. Now, granted, the man didn't get to where he is today by being easily persuaded by the mean green, but then, the press release for this thing is pretty nonchalant in lending an explanation for such a wacky endeavor. It states: "There's an old saying that goes something along the lines of 'if you love something, set it free; if it comes back it's yours.' That's the sentiment behind In Flight... It's a deep and endearing recording that with each subsequent listening reveals something you might have missed the first time around. Really... go ahead and give it a couple listens and see for yourself." OKAY I'M SOLD!!!

We pretty much just found out about this, so who knows what's going on in that crazy office of theirs. We'll report back if there turns out to be some answer that isn't just "no, they really have gone mad."

* Kill Rock Stars: