Pitchfork

Dave Matthews! Why do you keep making it so hard to hate you? You signed My Morning Jacket, reissued Exile in Guyville, put out In Rainbows, and now this. My high school self just can't deal with this cognitive dissonance! Are you trying to make me abandon my adolescent principles or something? Trying to make me open my mind to the idea that the lines between "good" and "bad" music and "indie" and "mainstream" are blurry? ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE ME GROW UP, DAVE MATTHEWS? NOOOOO!

So, um, yeah. Thought the Hold Steady opening for Counting Crows was weird? Well, Craig Finn and the boys will be supporting Dave Matthews Band on six dates this June, right when they get back to the States after touring with Counting Crows in England. Burgettstown, Pennsylvnia won't know what hit it.

The Hold Steady are also touring the States in late March and early April, in support of the documentary/live album A Positive Rage, out April 7 on Vagrant Records in the U.S. (and in Europe on Rough Trade on April 6).

Photo by Ahmed Klink

Since Grizzly Bear released their hushed, fragile Yellow House LP in 2006, the Brooklyn quartet has done things that experimental rock bands don't generally get to do. They've toured arenas opening for Radiohead, they've debuted new songs on late night talk shows, and they've generally earned a rep as one of the most fascinating young bands in the country. Later this month, they'll play a sold out show at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Howard Gilman Opera House, with the Brooklyn Philharmonic backing them. And on May 26, Warp will finally release Veckatimest, Grizzly Bear's follow-up to Yellow House.

Late last week, we talked with frontman Ed Droste about the new album, the BAM show, the Radiohead tour, the Web Sheriff, and everything else going on in the Grizziverse.

Pitchfork: A lot of the early speculation surrounding Veckatimest has set it up as potentially being your big moment. Do you feel any kind of pressure, like you have to live up to something with this?

Ed Droste: I don't think any band doesn't feel pressure when they're releasing an album, whether it's on a small scale or a giant Coldplay scale. There's always going to be some pressure and nervousness about how it will be viewed. But I'm excited to be finally releasing something. We certainly take our time, so there's a little bit of anxiety, but that just comes with the territory. I don't feel like I have to prove that it's as good as Yellow House. I think it's better. I think it's stronger. But who know what other people will say?

Pitchfork: This might be an uncomfortable question, and it's been blown way out of proportion, but you got in some trouble with the Web Sheriff for posting an Animal Collective song on your website a few months back. But are you going to use the Web Sheriff to make sure your album doesn't leak?

ED: No! Are you kidding me? No. But we might be using something equivalent to Web Sheriff. I have a very different philosophy on leaking and the inevitability of it in general. But I did not leak that song. [laughs] The song was out on the net. I was being a smartass. I thought his email demanding a written apology was so funny that I posted it. But a lot of people took it really seriously and didn't see the humor in it, so I was like, "Err, backpedal." But I've emailed with members of Animal Collective, and they are not the slightest bit upset. It's all good.

Pitchfork: You say you have your own philosophy on leaks. What is it?

ED: My philosophy is that, people buying records is dying. Generally speaking, at the level we're at, most of the people who buy our albums do it because they want to support us. Or they're a new fan and they haven't heard us before. But let's put it this way: If we were putting out music in the early 90s, I don't think you'd be interviewing me. I don't think we'd have the fanbase that we have if it were not for out songs being able to spread around the internet and gain attention. I think it'd be harder, if not impossible, for a band like us to have gotten where we've gotten. So I'm incredibly grateful for the internet age.

Of course, the amount of work and effort we've put into this album is staggering. And sometimes it's a bit disheartening to think you can just download it really easily and dismiss it if you don't like it. But that's also the nature of the beast. You just have to deal with it. Of course I'd love to sell a ton of records and chart and stuff. But realistically speaking, it's going to leak. I think a lot of people who I've spoken to if they really like it, they'll buy the vinyl or they'll go buy the CD to support us or on iTunes. Other people support the band by coming to a show. So, of course I'd love to sell a lot of records and chart and stuff but realistically speaking, it's going to leak.

According to Billboard.com, there's a new band that exists on earth called Tinted Windows featuring former Smashing Pumpkin James Iha, Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, handsome Hanson brother Taylor, and Fountains of Wayne bassist Adam Schlesinger.

I am looking at my calendar right now. It is not April 1.

A couple things while my mind is still barely stuck together: You put together one of the most random something-groups ever and the best name you can come up with is Tinted Windows?! Is that a play on the secretive nature of the group? Do they all wear Men in Black shades on stage? Is this a Blues Brothers revival act? But, really, if you're going to go "Tinted" why not go all the way, like Blacked Out. Or Smashed Windows. Well, maybe not "Smashed." Hm. At least a moniker with some confidence, some commitment. As of now, this band is like the transition lenses of something-groups.

The union sort of makes sense considering Iha and Schlesinger co-own a studio and Taylor Hanson seems like an all-around good guy...but still.

Apparently, the band have already recorded their debut album in New York and are set to make their big time live splash at Billboard's SXSW showcase March 20 in Austin.

If this is Billboard's idea of a gag, I have to hand it to them-- it could be an incredible gag.

UPDATE: It's not a gag. Tinted Windows is very real, their publicist assures us. And their album is coming out April 21.

Time for another tobacco ad-related indie rock controversy! Remember when Rolling Stone and Camel featured a whole gang of bands in their "Indie Rock Universe" fold-out advertisement, pissing some bands off to the point where Fucked Up and Xiu Xiu actually filed class-action lawsuits against both companies?

Now, Marlboro's MXBeat concert series will bring bands like Vampire Weekend, N.E.R.D., Primal Scream, and Girl Talk to Mexico. (That MXBeat website is inaccessible outside Mexico.) One problem, though: By sponsoring these shows, Marlboro may be breaking Mexican laws against advertising tobacco.

A press release from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, an anti-tobacco group, alleges that these shows and their advertisements serve to actively market cigarettes to kids. The shows, widely promoted throughout Mexico, will take place in four cities over the next month, culminating in a huge Mexico City festival on March 14.

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids cites Mexico's 2008 General Tobacco Control Law, which makes illegal "any form of sponsorship as a means of placing the elements of any brand of tobacco products or that promotes the purchase and use of tobacco products by the population." The Campaign is calling for Marlboro to cancel the shows.

Here's Campaign president Matthew L. Myers: "The government must take action to uphold Mexico's strong tobacco control law, as well as to protect Mexican youth from the influence of the tobacco industry's irresponsible and illegal marketing. With approximately 27 percent of Mexican youth smoking, we must take all possible action to uphold and enforce our laws."

Since the ads for the shows carry the Marlboro name, the Campaign insists that they violate the law. Here, for instance, are a pair of ads that appeared in Mix-Up magazine, a free monthly publication:

Um, yeah, that first one is pretty clearly a Marlboro ad. Even if it doesn't explicitly show cigarettes, that "Fumar es causa de cancer" disclaimer makes it pretty clear. I'm not a Mexican lawyer or anything, but the folks at Marlboro may have a legal problem on their hands here.

For the bands, this whole situation isn't quite as ethically egregious as the whole Camelstonegate thing, since they presumably knew that they were signing up for a Marlboro-sponsored event. But there does seem to be a real legal issue here.

-- Most artist vanity labels last a little while, put out next to nothing, and are forgotten without much notice. But not David Byrne's Luaka Bop imprint, which celebrates its 21st anniversary this year. In the spirit, the idiosyncratic label is offering a compilation called 21st Century, 21st Year (out May 26) featuring tracks from Luaka heavies like Byrne, Tom Ze, and Os Mutantes.

-- Hungry Bird is an album by Nashville alt-country vets Clem Snide that was recorded in 2006. But it's being released on 429 Records in 2009. February 24, 2009 to be exact. The not broken-up band head out on a U.S. tour starting March 11.

-- Jokey Norwegian electro-poppers Datarock are still wearing red and white track suits, so they decided to call their new album RED. (For perspective, their first album was called Datarock.) Bad news: RED is not coming out until early fall on Nettwerk. Good news: the single, "Give It Up", is out April 7. Also good: the group are planning to debut a few new songs at SXSW next month. According to a MySpace message, the new LP features a Talking Heads-inspired track called "True Stories" which "is nothing but a tribute where we list some of Datarock's favorite Talking Heads tunes." Conceptual!

-- With his Mobb Deep partner Prodigy currently in the middle of a three-and-a-half year prison sentence, rapper-producer Havoc is readying his second solo album, The Hidden Files, due February 24 on E1 Music (formerly Koch). The album features guest turns from Prodigy and Cassidy. Cover and track list at your service.

Photo by Francis Chung

-- Welsh septet Los Campesinos! are already having a great 2009, playing a bunch of sold-out U.S. shows with Titus Andronicus. This is especially impressive since-- in my humble opinion-- they released not one but two of 2008's very best albums, Hold On Now, Youngster... and We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed. Live, their thumb-in-socket energy peaks early and stays there; when they did "You! Me! Dancing!" at NYC's Bowery Ballroom last Sunday, any semblance of Gotham cool evaporated amidst a fever of hand claps. And now even more people will get the chance to be a part of this burgeoning band's success story as they continue to lug their equipment to places like Mexico, Seattle, and the Coachella Festival over the next couple months. Cross your fingers and check the full itinerary.

-- With its jagged beats and ragged stomp, White Rabbits' debut album Fort Nightly was more than a little Spoon-y. So it makes perfect sense for Spoon main man Britt Daniel to man the boards for the follow-up, It's Frightening, due out May 19 on TBD Records. According to a statement from the Spoon man, "[White Rabbits singer Steve Patterson] would meet me at the studio with his dog, some power bars, a couple things of kombucha, and a 40-oz of Budweiser. I got the dog, but his diet never made a lick of sense to me." And if you're not making sense to Britt Daniel, you're probably doing something right. Those living in the NYC area can catch White Rabbits tonight and tomorrow at the Mercury Lounge, while a U.S. tour is in the works for the summer.

-- Flossin-- it's not just for teeth and gums anymore! So put the mint-flavored string down for a moment and pay attention to Flossin, the bonkers experimental band led by ambient maestro Christopher Willits and Hella drum nut Zach Hill. (And it's cool, you guys can use that "not just for teeth" line in future promos if you want.) Flossin just released the improvisational Serpents EP-- download the aptly titled "Crystal Cobra" off of it here -- on Willits's avant-music hub Overlap.org. The release features fellow boundary-busters Matmos. In celebration, Willits is taking a bunch of zonked out visuals with him on a mini-tour hitting New York and Baltimore next week.

-- Techno guy Gui Boratto releases a new album called Take My Breath Away on Kompakt March 3 in the U.S. (It'll be available at online store Beatport starting February 23.)  Boratto will play beats for you in person at these dates and places in the near future. You can hear the title track here. The album's cover is not subtle:

UPDATE: Touch and Go has clarified the information it gave to Pitchfork. We were originally told that the label will no longer be releasing new music. However, the label has since clarified that it hopes to once again release new music at some point in the future, once the dust has settled from the restructuring brought about by the shuttering of its distribution arm.

It's a very, very sad day for indie rock. One of America's foremost independent record labels, Touch and Go Records, has announced that they will no longer release new music.

They have also shuttered their distribution arm, which manufactured and brought to market releases for labels like Merge, Kill Rock Stars, Drag City, Suicide Squeeze, Flameshovel, Jade Tree, and Post Present Medium.

From Big Black and Shellac to Butthole Surfers and the Jesus Lizard, from Dirty Three and Pinback to Ted Leo and TV on the Radio, from Calexico to the Mekons to Slint, Touch and Go nurtured the careers of so many bands that served as backbones for indie rock. They even boasted a promising crop of new bands, with recent releases from Crystal Antlers, Mi Ami, All the Saints, and Sholi.

Crystal Antlers' Tentacles, slated for release on April 7, will still come out. They also plan to go through with a series of Jesus Lizard reissues in August, as well as a Jesus Lizard 7" box set release for Record Store Day.

A statement from the label concluded, "It is the end of a grand chapter in Touch and Go's history, but we also know that good things can come from new beginnings."

It's impossible to calculate the importance Touch and Go had to the rock'n'roll landscape of the past three decades. Back in 2006, when the label celebrated its 25th anniversary, Pitchfork published a few features about the label's history. Read those now for just a small taste of what this remarkable institution accomplished:

• Twenty-five essential Touch and Go albums
• Photos from the Touch and Go 25 Festival
• Video from the Touch and Go 25 Festival
  
• Interview with Touch and Go founder Corey Rusk
  

Love Is Not Pop cover photo by Johanna Hedborg

A savvy artist knows when to change things up, when to lay in the cut, and when to get some new publicity photos. We weren't the only ones lukewarm on the last El Perro Del Mar album, so we're happy that Ms. Perro Del Mar, Sarah Assbring, is taking a chance with her waif-is-me shtick.

Her new seven-song mini-album, titled Love Is Not Pop and recorded with one half of Balearic funk duo Studio, Rasmus Hägg, is a welcomed mini-curve ball. The set will come out in Sweden on April 1 via Licking Fingers (U.S. release date coming soon) and the new song "Change of Heart" is currently streaming at the EPDM MySpace. She's got a few bleached-out new publicity shots, too.

In a confessional post on her website, Assbring goes into detail about the making of Love Is Not Pop, and reveals details behind two more tracks on the record: a cover of Lou Reed's "Heavenly Arms" from 1982's The Blue Mask and "It Is Something (To Have Wept)", inspired by River Phoenix, sometime Calvin Klein photog Bruce Weber and poet G.K. Chesterton. She also mentions Hägg is working on a solo album featuring all sorts of live instrumentation and refers to her work with the producer as "magical." Well, shucks.

EPDM will take part in a couple Morrissey tribute nights in Sweden at the end of this month, and she has a few local gigs lined up for March and April.

Photo by Matt Ziegler

Roots fans worried about the not being able to see their heroes in concert after they start their gig as the backing band for the guy from Fever Pitch on TV March 2 can rest easy. Well, fans who live in New York City, at least. The world's most renowned (and endless-solo-prone) hip-hop band are set to give Manhattan all the funk it can handle, with a residency at the swanky Highline Ballroom. "The Roots Present: The Jam" starts March 5 and continues throughout the spring. "Special guests" are promised. So far, shows are scheduled for March 5, March 19, March 31, April 14, April 21, May 5, May 13, May 18, May 26, June 2, June 10, June 16, and June 23. Also, on February 28, the Roots will perform at Power Shift '09, the "youth energy and climate summit" taking place in Washington, DC.

And if you're still jonzing for some ?uestlove action after that, check out the Roots drummer at his weekly DJ night dubbed "the fANtastic" starting March 26 at artsy downtown enclave (Le) Poisson Rouge. The residency takes place every Thursday until May 28. Since the Roots are friends with everyone who's ever rhymed on a microphone, who knows who'll show up at these residencies? We can picture the post-Jay photos on Nah Right right now...no pressure, dudes!

Of course, the band's afro'd stickman is available for your quipping pleasure every hour of the day at his Twitter. Just recently, he revealed the name of the next Roots album, via a Tweet: How I Got Over.

And if you can't wait a few weeks for your Roots fix, they're  currently starring in a couple webisodes promoting the Fallon show.

Anyone who rented Vicky Christina Barcelona shouldn't be hurting for excuses to jump on a plane to Spain, but we're giving you one anyway. Last month, we announced that Pitchfork would curate a stage at this summer's Primavera Sound Festival, which pops off May 28-30 at Barcelona's Parc Del Fòrum.

The lineup on the Pitchfork Stage is already shaping up nicely. We've got Bowerbirds, the Bug, Crystal Antlers, Crystal Stilts, the Mae Shi, Plants & Animals, Ponytail, the Tallest Man on Earth, Vivian Girls, and WAVVES. Pretty good right? Except now the Pitchfork Stage is no longer the only reason to spend all your recession money on that plane ticket, as if it ever was.

The Primavera folks have now revealed most of their lineup, and hoo boy this thing rules. Aphex Twin! Jarvis Cocker! Lightning Bolt! Ghostface Killah! Sonic Youth! Shellac! Bloc Party! Yo La Tengo! Deerhunter! Phoenix! Bat for Lashes! El-P! Also: Reunions! The Vaselines! Throwing Muses! The Jesus Lizard! A Certain Ratio! Two sets from My Bloody Valentine! You don't need to eat, right? No. No, you need to go to Barcelona.

Here's the list of names, with more yet to come, presented in alphabetical order: