Pitchfork

Sometimes, being the kind of nerd who reads Billboard magazine cover to cover every week can be rewarding. In the November 3 issue, the "Inside Track" column reported that the Shins are being heavily courted by Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock's Glacial Pace label, an imprint of Epic Records. But that isn't even the most interesting part of the column. That would be this sentence, tucked away at the end:

"In related news, word is that an album featuring Modest Mouse, Built to Spill, and Love as Laughter covering each other's material is in the pipeline for release by Epic next year."

Ooh, now we're talking.

According to Modest Mouse's publicist, the project is "not set in stone, as nothing has been recorded yet," and Built to Spill's publicist didn't know anything about it. UPDATE: Built to Spill's publicist says, "apparently this is only a rumor stemming from something Issac mentioned and nothing firm." But hey, it's still enough to fire up the imagination, right? I bet BTS would kill "Whenever You Breathe Out, I Breathe In (Positive Negative)", and I'd love to hear Brock tear into "The Plan". But that's just me. So let's make this happen, OK guys?

Built to Spill are quiet for the moment, taking a break from the mammoth tour in support of their last album, You in Reverse. Modest Mouse and Love as Laughter are on the road now, along with buddies Man Man. And from the looks of these photos posted on the Modest Mouse photoblog (taken by Pat Graham), their recent Canadian trek sure was fun:

Modest Mouse dates:

11-15 Columbia, MO - The Blue Note *#
11-16 Norman, OK - Lloyd Noble Center (University of Oklahoma)*#
11-17 Albuquerque, NM - Kiva Auditorium *
11-30 Kalamazoo, MI - State Theatre #
12-01 Detroit, MI - Masonic Temple Theatre #
12-02 Chicago, IL - Congress Theatre #
12-03 Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theatre #
12-06 Everett, Washington - Comcast Arena (KNDD show)
12-07 San Francisco, CA - Bill Graham Civic (Live 105 show)
12-09 Los Angeles, CA - Gibson Amphitheatre (KROQ show)
12-10 San Diego, CA - SOMA
12-11 Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theater
12-12 El Paso, TX - Abraham Chavez Theatre
12-14 Grand Prairie, TX - Nokia Theater (KDGE show)
12-15 New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
12-16 Duluth, GA - Arena at Gwinnett Center (99x show)

* with Love as Laughter
# with Man Man

Love as Laughter dates:

11-15 Columbia, MO - The Blue Note *#
11-16 Norman, OK - Lloyd Noble Center (University of Oklahoma)*#
11-17 Albuquerque, NM - Kiva Auditorium *
11-19 Austin, TX - Emo's Jr.
11-20 Houston, TX - Walter's on Washington
11-21 Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon
11-23 Oxford, MS - Proud Larry's
11-24 Atlanta, GA - The Earl
11-25 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 $
12-08 Brooklyn, NY - Union Pool

* with Modest Mouse
# with Man Man
$ with Todd Barry