Man, Kanye West's episode of VH1's "Storytellers" is going to be so awesome. When you combine this guy's passion for eye-popping stagecraft with his tendency to say insane things, you end up with some real appointment viewing. We've already seen the version of "Stronger" that'll air, and it wrecks. And we still have high hopes, even though Reuters has reported on some amazing stuff that won't make it to the air. According to Reuters, VH1 has cut a couple of classic Kanye tirades: One dissing Radiohead and another defending Chris Brown. (Via Stereogum.)

One of Kanye's anecdotes concerned Thom Yorke, who West loves. As a Radiohead fan, West puts half the Pitchfork staff to shame. On the mixtape track "Us Placers", Kanye, alongside Lupe Fiasco and Pharrell, rapped over a sample of Yorke's solo track "The Eraser". And when he talked to The Fader last fall, Kanye described the sound of "Love Lockdown" as "Thom Yorke in the strip club," a truly hilarious image. But according to Reuters, "West was aggrieved that Radiohead singer Thom Yorke had allegedly snubbed him backstage at the Grammys five days earlier. That hurt, West told the audience, because he idolizes the British band, and considers it one of his few creative rivals." Kanye told the "Storytellers" crowd, "So when he performed at the Grammys, I sat the fuck down."

Another of West's rants revolved around the subject of publicly maligned celebrities, most notably newly minted public pariah Chris Brown: "Can't we give Chris a break? ... I know I make mistakes in life." Um, right.

Also, on O.J. Simpson: " O.J. Simpson , amazing. Is he not? What he did, when he did, what he did. Was he not amazing though?"

And on Michael Jackson and Michael Phelps, the latter of whom probably isn't thrilled at being included in this company: " Michael Jackson , amazing. Michael Phelps , amazing ... He's a real fuckin' person; he makes mistakes."

Incredible. According to Reuters, VH1 has actually left that second rant relatively intact, even if the network has "cleaned up those comments a bit."

Kanye taped his "Storytellers" episode on February 13, and it'll air on Saturday, February 28. I cannot wait.

Posted by Tom Breihan on February 27, 2009 at 10:45 a.m.

Tags: Beef, Kanye West, Radiohead, Thom Yorke

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(Photo from last year's Rachael Ray SXSW party by Tyler Grisham)

Last month, we reported that TV chef Rachael Ray would throw another food-and-indie rock parties at SXSW. At the time, the only bands rumored to be playing were the Airborne Toxic Event and the Hold Steady. Well, it's confirmed: As reported by EW.com and confirmed by Ray's website, both bands will indeed play Rose's Mojito and Rachael Ray's Feedback.

Also joining the festivities: Portland punks the Thermals, Syracuse indie poppers Ra Ra Riot, and middle-aged proto-punk legends the New York Dolls, whose live show is probably the most embarrassing thing you could possibly ever watch.

Those bands will be joined by Bob Schneider, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes, Semi Precious Weapons, John Pringle, and Ray's husband's band the Cringe. The party will go down at Maggie Mae's on March 21, from noon to 5:00 pm. Admission's on a first come/first serve basis, so start lining up now.

And oh yes, there will be food. On the menu: Smoky chipotle and black bean chilaquiles, ancho chicken soft tacos, seven layer sliders, Austin mac 'n' cheese suizas, and cornbread-topped bourbon BBQ chicken. The event website also lists all the fancy cocktails that Ray will serve.

Here's what Ray told EW.com about the throwdown: "Some of the bands are new to me, like the Thermals and Semi Precious Weapons, but I sincerely love all of them. I'm a huge Hold Steady fan! Seriously. And I love Bob Schneider. Austin is my favorite city outside of New York, I just love how they do things, and the spirit of it." She's a huge Hold Steady fan! Seriously. Stop fucking with her.

Look, OK. Some will undoubtedly see this party as a sign of the indie scene's ongoing commodification or whatever, and they may even have a point. But a Hold Steady show with seven layer sliders? You will need a cattle prod to keep me out of this thing.

Posted by Tom Breihan on February 27, 2009 at 9:35 a.m.

Tags: Festival, Ra Ra Riot, Rachael Ray, SXSW, The Hold Steady, The New York Dolls, The Thermals

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Once again, Pitchfork has teamed with our friends at the Windish Agency to bring you a party in Austin, Texas! On March 20 at Emo's (603 Red River St.), 12 bands will take over both the main outdoor stage and the Emo's Jr. indoor stage from noon to 6 p.m. You should go if you're in the area...we hear several other bands are playing in Austin around the same time!

The party features performances from indie disco queen Little Boots! Brooklyn fuzz-poppers the Pains of Being Pure at Heart! A-Trak and Diplo DJing at the same time! Lots of other stuff!

The full schedule:

12:00 - Girls (Emo's Jr.)
12:30 - The Mae Shi (Emo's)
1:00 - Little Boots (Emo's Jr.)
1:30 - Max Tundra (Emo's)
2:00 - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (Emo's Jr.)
2:30 - Woods (Emo's)
3:00 - School of Seven Bells (Emo's Jr.)
3:30 - Wavves (Emo's)
4:00 - Dirty Projectors (Emo's Jr.)
4:30 - King Khan & the Shrines (Emo's)
5:00 - A-Trak/Diplo (Emo's Jr.)
5:30 - Department of Eagles (Emo's)

Special thanks to our friends at Ticketweb and our Pitchfork Music Festival partners!

Posted by Pitchfork Staff on February 26, 2009 at 5:10 p.m.

Tags: Pitchfork

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-- Last week, we reported on the existence of Tinted Windows, the bonkers-ass supergroup comprised of Hanson's Taylor Hanson, former Smashing Pumpkin James Iha, Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, and Fountains of Wayne bassist Adam Schlesinger. Well, not only does this absurd little power-pop hydra exist, but it's actually out there in the world, doing stuff. On April 21, Tinted Windows will release their self-titled debut album on S-Curve. They'll also play a few sets at SXSW, pop up on "Letterman" on April 20, and rock the annual Jersey mall-emo fest Bamboozle on May 3.

-- Zooey Deschanel is in She & Him, which means she's now indie enough that we get to report when she does stuff like design sunglasses. So: Merge's blog reports that Deschanel has designed a collection of sunglasses for Oliver Peoples. Even better: to promote those sunglasses, she and director Autumn de Wilde have teamed up to make a ridiculously cute short film set to She & Him's "I Was Made for You".

-- Next Tuesday, the scarred-up but angelic reggae star Mavado will release Mr. Brooks...A Better Tomorrow, his second album, on VP. Mavado's "So Special" has been basically inescapable in New York for months now, and if you've got even a tertiary interest in circa-2009 reggae, this guy is a huge deal.

-- On March 10, Legacy will release a deluxe double-CD reissue of Trailer Park, the 1996 debut album from wispy British folkie Beth Orton, still the only headliner I've ever seen get drowned out by audience chatter. It comes with a 13-song bonus disc of rarities. Orton's always been at her best when she's working with electronic producers like the Chemical Brothers. Of her solo albums, Trailer Park tilts more in that direction than any other, which means it's her best album.

-- During the same sessions in which they recorded last year's Ghost Rock, Midwestern Afrobeat revivalists Nomo also recorded a whole other album, Invisible Cities. Ubiquity will release Invisible Cities on May 5, and the band will tour North America next month.

Posted by Tom Breihan on February 26, 2009 at 1:40 p.m.

Tags: Album, Beth Orton, Mavado, NOMO, Tinted Windows, Zooey Deschanel

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MGMT photo by Kathryn Yu

Psych-pop duo MGMT don't exactly scream "politics"-- unless there happens to be a referendum on glittery stuffed dogs or vaguely Native American duds in the works, we're guessing these guys don't download Rachel Maddow podcasts on the regular. But the pair are now in the middle of a contentious copyright battle with President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, according to Agence France Presse.

AFP reports that Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement party used MGMT's song "Kids" at its national congress in January and in a couple online videos. Thing is, the party never asked MGMT for permission to use the song. And the band is crying foul.

"We are dealing with acts of counterfeiting, an infringement of intellectual property," said the band's French lawyer, Isabelle Wekstein, in an interview with AFP. (Yes, MGMT have a French lawyer.) The UMP owned up to their mistake and "has offered the band one euro (1.25 dollars) in symbolic damages for copyright infringement," says AFP. But Wekstein called the symbolic gesture "insulting" and threatened to sue the party if the band's compensation demands aren't met.

There's an extra dose of irony involved in this particular case of artist vs. politician. As AFP reports, Sarkozy's party is a week away from presenting a new anti-filesharing bill to France's parliament. "It seems that those who led the charge against internet users are not the most respectful of copyright," said Wekstein to AFP, spotlighting said irony.

Does the UMP get any credit for trying to appeal to young adults with a song about little kids by a band that is-- in politician-music-taste terms, at least-- pretty cool? Is MGMT vs. Sarkozy the new Springsteen vs. Reagan? Probably not, but we've got to give it up to the dudes in the feathers for doing a great job of picking their political spot here.

Posted by Ryan Dombal on February 26, 2009 at 1:05 p.m.

Tags: Beef, MGMT

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Photo by Matt Ziegler

Their synthpop phase was more than a decade ago now, so maybe it's time for the Smashing Pumpkins to indulge in another time-honored aging-rocker career cliche: Going retro! Or maybe not. But in the next few months, the reconstituted 90s alt-pop heroes will make a couple of moves that smack of PBS respectability.

For one thing, Billy Corgan will soon put in work to benefit public broadcasting in his hometown of Chicago. On April 17 at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, the Chicago public TV station WTTW and the listener-supported classical radio station WFMT will present a concert celebrating the 25th anniversary of the "Chicago Tonight" TV show . Soul legend Mavis Staples will perform with her band, and Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan will show up for what WTTW promises will be "a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration." It's anyone's guess how Corgan's nasal snarl will match up with Staples' full-throated bellow, but we're at least interested to hear it. (Via Hipsters United.)

And as the L.A. Times reports, the Pumpkins have already linked up with another old-school entertainer: rockabilly revivalist smoothie Chris Isaak. Tonight, February 26, the Biography Channel premieres a new show, "The Chris Isaak Hour", in which host Isaak sings and talks music with a wide range of guests. (Tonight's guest: Trisha Yearwood!) On every episode, guests play five or six songs, and Isaak joins in on one or two.

Stereogum points out this clip of the Pumpkins' appearance on the show, which reveals that at least some of the Isaak interview will revolve around Corgan's always-entertaining persecution complex. Choice Corgan quote: "Yeah, [our fans] really don't like us, that's the funny part." Gee, we wonder why? Should be a party!

Posted by Tom Breihan on February 26, 2009 at 12:30 p.m.

Tags: Benefit, Chris Isaak, Collaboration, Mavis Staples, Smashing Pumpkins, TV

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The scene in The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou where Sigur Rós's "Starálfur" bubbles up on the soundtrack is one of my favorite goosebump moments of the past decade of film, proof positive that the exact right match of song and visual can elevate even a mess of a movie like that one.

So credit Irish writer/director Neil Jordan, the guy who made The Crying Game and Interview With the Vampire, with some truly savvy instincts. As Sigur Rós announced on their website last week, Jordan has enlisted the band's keyboardist, Kjartan Sveinsson, to write the score for his forthcoming film Ondine. A few songs from Sigur Rós will also appear on the soundtrack.

In The Life Aquatic, Sigur Rós's particular brand of airy mystery worked beautifully in fantastical deep-sea scenes. From the looks of things, Jordan may have similar uses in mind for the band. IMDB describes Ondine's plot thusly: "The story of an Irish fisherman who discovers a woman in his fishing net who he believes to be a mermaid." So magical-realist Splash, basically. Nice! Also, Colin Farrell plays a character named Syraceuse, and that guy killed it in In Bruges, so this movie could be really good.

Posted by Tom Breihan on February 26, 2009 at 11:40 a.m.

Tags: Film, Sigur Rós

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