Pitchfork

Call it robbing the cradle if you wish: Wakefield, England's the Cribs sure do attract the attend of older fellas. First, it was Lee Ranaldo, who appeared on their 2007 effort Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever.

Now, Smiths guitarist-- and, more recently, Modest Mouse guitarist-- Johnny Marr is linking up with the young act for some recording and possibly a little road trip. Turns out Crib bassist Gary Jarman met Mr. Marr at a party in Portland (where both are now living), got buddy-buddy real quick-like, and decided to write, perform and record together. No word on what form the sessions will take, but there's talk of an EP, an LP, and even the possibility of Johnny taking a little time away from the Modest Mouse to tour with the Cribs.

When they're not hanging out with rock royalty, the Cribs are putting out singles for "I'm a Realist" from Men's Needs. No, really: there are two out this week! In the UK, Wichita Recordings issued "I'm a Realist" backed with a cover of the Replacements' "Bastards of Young" (produced by Bernard Butler-- hey look, another old dude!) on Monday the 25th, making one wonder if there's a Westerberg in the Cribs' future.

Warner's U.S. single looks forward a bit, matching "Realist" with two new tunes, a live video for "Our Bovine Public", and the Postal Service remix of "I'm a Realist" we Forkcasted on Wednesday. That one's available only on iTunes at the moment, which sorta means another single for the song is planned for March 4 when it hits other digital retailers.

And, when they're not releasing singles for "I'm a Realist", the Cribs are gearing up to tour North America! The band will hit Mexico City March 8 before heading to the States, popping in at South by Southwest for a spell in between club dates. Hey, I hear Thurston's gonna be there if you guys need a fifth...

Oh wait... what's this? There's ANOTHER "I'm a Realist" single? A 7" backed by the Postal Service remix? And it's only going to be available on the North American tour? Jeez.

"I'm a Realist" U.S. single:

01 I'm a Realist
02 I'm a Realist (Postal Service remix)
03 Don't You Wanna Be Relevant
04 Kind Words for the Broken hearted
05 Our Bovine Public (live video)

Crib notes:

02-28 London, England - 02 Arena (NME Awards Big Gig)
03-08 Mexico City, Mexico - MX Beat Festival
03-11 Houston, TX - Engine Room *#
03-12 Dallas, TX - The Loft *#
03-13-14 Austin, TX - SXSW
03-15 New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jacks *#
03-17 Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club *#
03-19 Washington, DC - Black Cat *#
03-20 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg *
03-21 Boston, MA - Paradise *
03-22 Philadelphia, PA - North Star *#
03-23 Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop *#
03-25 Chicago, IL - Double Door *#
03-26 Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theatre *#
03-28 Denver, CO - Bluebird *#
03-31 Portland, OR - Chop Suey
04-02 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge *#
04-03 San Francisco, CA - PopScene *#
04-04 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre *#
05-29-31 Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Sound Festival
06-07-08 Inverness, Scotland - Rock Ness Festival
06-12 Coventry, England - Kasbah

* with Jeffrey Lewis and the Jitters
# with Ra Ra Riot