Pitchfork

Header photo from I Can Has Cheezburger?

At the end of every year, Pitchfork News takes a few weeks off to celebrate the holidays and remember what life is like away from the computer. Now, after a well-deserved break, we're back in full swing, ready to keep you up-to-date on the goings-on of all your favorite (and least favorite) artistsin 2009.

Here's a brief run-down of a few notable things that happened during the break.

Happy new year!

WILCO TO RELEASE LIVE DVD; JEFF TWEEDY'S SON REVEALED TO BE A SURPRISINGLY GOOD BLOGGER

The day before Christmas, Wilco sent out an email newsletter outlining their plans for 2009. In addition to a new album in the spring, the band will release the concert DVD Ashes of American Flags in February or March via Nonesuch. Consisting of footage from Wilco's February 2008 tour in support of latest album Sky Blue Sky, Ashes of American Flags was created by Brendan Canty (yes, the drummer from Fugazi) and Christoph Green at Trixie Films.

Wilco will hit the road in the South in April, including a show at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival on April 25, and will hit Spain in May. In January, Jeff Tweedy will play a trio of Midwestern solo shows, while Nels Cline will tour California with various combos.

On a (literally) related note, if you'd like to feel woefully inadequate as a blogger, writer, or human being in general, check out Jeff's son Spencer Tweedy's blog, which everybody seemed to discover the week before Christmas. A shockingly erudite 13-year-old, Spencer writes about world travel (he's hanging out with his dad and Neil Finn in New Zealand right now), technology, music, politics, and Bar/Bat Mitzvot. Let's hope he doesn't discover drugs or sex any time soon.

KRAFTWERK OPENING FOR RADIOHEAD

As previously reported, Radiohead will spend a good chunk of March 2009 touring Central and South America.

Over the break, Radiohead revealed that German electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk will join them for the entire trek.

Good for them -- both of those bands could use some nice, healthy tans.

SIGUR RÓS ALSO WORKING ON CONCERT FILM

Like Wilco, Sigur Rós are also preparing a live concert film for release in 2009. Director Vincent Morisset (of Arcade Fire "Neon Bible" clip/Miroir Noir movie fame) filmed the band's November 20 and 21, 2008 performances at Alexandra Palace in London.

Sigur Rós' website reports that the film "is currently being edited in montreal and promises to be a nice contrast to Heima, which had a lot of links to context, time and surroundings, whereas this forthcoming concert footage will be purely performance-based."

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN TO RELEASE GREATEST HITS ALBUM...AT WAL-MART

Because there aren't enough Bruce Springsteen greatest hits albums already, and because Wal-Mart needs more stuff to sell, Billboard.com reports that Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band's Greatest Hits will hit the discount behemoth's shelves exclusively on January 13. It features 12 tracks spanning the time period between 1973's "Rosalita" and 2007's "Radio Nowhere", and is completely and totally unnecessary.

Expect Bruce overload this winter, what with the E Street Band's Super Bowl halftime show, a Golden Globe nomination-- and possible Oscar nomintion-- for "The Wrestler" (from the Darren Aronofsky film of the same name), and brand new studio album Working on a Dream, out January 27 via Columbia.

That's the Working on a Dream album cover up there. Man, this guy hasn't had a good album cover since Born in the U.S.A., has he?

BJÖRK PUTS HER MONEY WHERE HER MOUTH IS

Photo by Ashley Williamson

Björk spent much of 2008 working on ways to improve the environmental and economic situations in Iceland, as has been well-documented in Pitchfork's pages. Billboard.com reports that she ended the year taking a financial stake in her home country's future, by partnering with the Reykjavík venture capital firm Audur Capital to create the BJÖRK venture fund.

According to Audur's website, the BJÖRK fund "is intended for investors seeking investment opportunities in new venture creation and the business development of small companies with the objective of catalyzing the recovery of the Icelandic economy." These companies "must be sustainable, both in terms of financial returns as well as being socially and environmentally responsible."

THE HOLD STEADY ANNOUNCE SPRING U.S. TOUR

The Hold Steady just keep on truckin. Following a run of dates in Australia in late January/early Februrary, not to mention keyboardist Franz Nicolay's solo trek in support of his album Major General, the Hold Steady will hit the road in the States in late March and early April. Secretly Canadian rockers The War on Drugs support on all of the spring U.S. shows.

However, before all of that, the Hold Steady will play a one-off gig at the House of Blues in Chicago on January 15. The show is presented by Cubs Charities, and Tom Morello is also on the bill.

R.I.P. EARTHA KITT, DELANEY BRAMLETT, FREDDIE HUBBARD

Over the break, we said goodbye to three musical leading lights: legendary singer/actress/activist Eartha Kitt (pictured), eternal star of stage and screen (including her memorable stint as Catwoman on the "Batman" television show in the 1960s); guitarist Delaney Bramlett, known for his work as a sideman to Eric Clapton and George Harrison as well as half of the duo Delaney & Bonnie; and influential jazz trumpet player Freddie Hubbard.