Of course, Jay has collaborated plenty of times with Auto-Tune abusers like Kanye West and Lil Wayne. And indeed Kanye, who claimed a couple of weeks back that The Blueprint 3 would be "an anti-Auto-Tune album," co-produced "D.O.A." alongside mentor No I.D. Musically, "D.O.A." is a complete 180 from Kanye's recent robo-soul opus 808s & Heartbreak: chopped-up drums, neck-snap electric guitars, lonely shards of noir saxophone. It bangs hard.

In an interview with Flex after the track debuted, Jay equivocated a bit on his anti-Auto-Tune position. He said that T-Pain, Kanye, and Lil Wayne could all keep using Auto-Tune because they know how to put melodies to it: "Let them guys do it. They got they little niche. Now let's move on." Of course, given that Pain, Kanye, and Wayne are jointly responsible for most of the ubiquitous Auto-Tuned tracks out there, this rates as a pretty big backpedal, though "They got they little niche" isn't exactly a breathless endorsement, either.

On Sunday night, Jay made a surprise appearance during Young Jeezy's set at Hot 97's annual Summer Jam concert at Giants Stadium. The Summer Jam bill always packs pretty much everyone on the station's playlists into the same venue for a day, and so Jay declared war on Auto-Tune on the same stage that featured performances from prominent Auto-Tuners like Ron Brownz, DJ Webstar, and former Jay tourmate The-Dream.

After his verse from Jeezy's "Put On" remix, Jay performed "D.O.A." for the first time. And while he was doing the song, T-Pain emerged from the mass of onstage onlookers to stand beside Jay for pretty much the entire song. (Shaky camera-phone footage here, via Nah Right.)

As we reported last week, The Blueprint 3 is due on September 11, the eighth anniversary of the original Blueprint's release. Jay will release it on his own brand new Roc Nation imprint, via Atlantic.

Expect one billion answer records to "D.O.A." by the time you finish reading this sentence.

Posted by Tom Breihan on June 8, 2009 at 10:15 a.m.

Tags: Gossip, Jay-Z, Kanye West

Madness: "Our House"

At five, both my parents were the de facto DJs of my life, but my dad has always had better taste than my mom by a longshot. So I can remember growing up and being really into a lot of the stuff he was playing. At the time, around '85, he wasn't like a punker or a new wave guy by any stretch of the imagination, but he had a passing interest in that kind of music. So the stuff I remember hearing around the house growing up was Ian Dury, Elvis Costello, and Madness's "Our House", which was, like, my jam.

I actually listened to the song the other day just to make sure I can stand by that as my five-year-old decision. But it's like one of those ultimate pop songs. It's perfectly written. Even though it's not indicative of the Madness style by any stretch of the imagination, I still think it's their masterwork.

At that point, Much Music, which was like the Canadian MTV, hadn't started yet, but we had this show called "City Limits", which would show videos. The video for "Our House" was unbelievable for me. It was a hilarious video. They were dancing funny in it. I remember there's a lot of shots of them walking around doing sort of the Madness low-train type thing that they do, and a lot of dudes jumping in front of a camera and singing parts, which was all you needed to do to win me over at that age. It's something a kid can easily grasp. I've always felt that ska-- the Western version of it, I guess-- is very much a genre for kids. That is definitely true with Madness.

Beastie Boys: "Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun"

From the age of about six to the age of about 10, you couldn't get me to listen to anything but rap music. I was never a deep head when it came to hip-hop, by any stretch of the imagination. The main rap band I was into was the Beastie Boys. I had seen their video for "Fight for Your Right to Party" and decided that that's the tape I needed to get. I loved them right up until Paul's Boutique, which I've got to admit I did not like that much when it came out. But I definitely loved that song because it has a really catchy, anthemic chorus. I liked the fact that the Beastie Boys were yelling, which is something I still like to this day, when people yell.

"Fight for Your Right to Party" was such a funny video. By that point, MuchMusic had started up. I used to get up insanely early every morning and watch either religious programming or MuchMusic. And it's funny, because now I'll listen to Paul's Boutique and I think it's an incredible record the whole way through. But at the time, I liked "Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun", "Johnny Ryall", and "Hey Ladies". Those were the only songs on that record I liked.

The reason I got into classic rock is because of the song on [Run-DMC's] Raising Hell with Aerosmith, "Walk This Way". I was like, "Oh, I kind of like this guitar part." So I bought Toys in the Attic shortly thereafter and that became my foray into the classic rock obsession. But I also got into rap music because of arguably the worst rap song of all time, which is [MC Miker G and DJ Sven's] "Holiday Rap". That song is, like, a wedding staple. That was my entrance into rap music. I didn't get into rap because of anything cool, that's for sure.

Sonic Youth: "Schizophrenia"

By 15, I was getting super into punk rock. Nirvana happened, and I know that's when everyone had their alternative awakening. But I really didn't like Nirvana until after the fact. At 15, I had been put on probation from my school because my friends were selling drugs, so that kind of ended my classic rock phase. And as a junior counselor at a summer camp-- a sports camp, ironically enough-- I met some dude who told me about Sonic Youth. And I bought the videotape for 1991: The Year Punk Broke and fell in love with the song "Schizophrenia" off that.

It was like I got into alternative rock backwards. After falling in love with Sonic Youth, I went back and listened to Nirvana for the first time and fell in love with them well after the fact. But 1995 was the year punk broke for me, when I bought that videotape. The first song on that is a live rendition of "Schizophrenia". And probably because I was watching it on a videotape and I would always have to rewind it to the beginning, I wouldn't always make it through, and that was the song I became completely enamored with.

I saw Sonic Youth at Lollapalooza. I think it was that year, too. It was when they were doing Experimental Jet Set. They played "Schizophrenia" at that show, which was what I was completely ready for. That was when I saw the Jesus Lizard for the first time. I saw Pavement for the first time. I had kind of been really into "Cut Your Hair", and that was around the time of that record. It was a big turning point for me, going to that Lollapalooza.

Smog: "I Break Horses"

This was like my year of a Bertolucci-style sexual awakening, not to go into too many details for you. It was funny; from the age of like 15 to 20, all I cared about was music. Like, I didn't care about romance or having a girlfriend or anything; I just cared about music and going to shows. At the age of 19, I moved to England to do a year of school. At 19, I had my first real girlfriend. And then at 20, I had my first real dumping.

And so my song was "I Break Horses" by Smog, but the weird version. It was the version that's on the "Cold Blooded Old Times" single, where it's live from BBC with Jim O'Rourke playing piano on it. I make that distinction because I listen to the album version of that song and it really doesn't do anything for me. But this version was devastating, and it was the ultimate breakup song for me. It was a sad, sad song. If I listen to the song, to this day-- even though I'm very glad this girl dumped me-- it would probably still bring me to tears. Like, it's those bare moments where a soft song is the epitome of heavy. It's far heavier than anything I've ever heard by like Earth or 16 or Pantera or Sepultura or any of those bands. Like, this is heaviness personified.

I think the reason I got into Smog was just because I was really trying hard at this point. I was going through this thing where I was meeting girls for the first time. And it's a real hard sell, when they're like, "What's your favorite band?", and you're like, "Oh, I listen to power violence music." So I was getting into indie rock at this point. I happened to pick up this Smog single the day she dumped me. And you know, I think "Cold Blooded Old Times" is a great song and I do like all of Callahan's stuff, but this was the song that did it for me.

Cold World: "Refuse to Lose"

This was kind of one of these weird moments where I was over a lot of the stuff I was hearing. We were on tour at this point, and I was super jaded and I was listening to a lot of old Killed by Death bands and really getting into old records. It was one of those points that I'm sure everyone has where you're just like, "There's nothing good that's coming out anymore. There's no good new music. I'm only into old music." And then I heard a 7'' by this band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania called Cold World. And, I'm going to say this, and I can't believe I'm saying it, but they kind of combined rap and hardcore? And I know, on paper, that sounds like a nightmare.

But it's almost like rap is just a slight flavoring. Like chocolate in a mole sauce. You know? It definitely isn't overpowering. This is basically a hardcore band that happens to be influenced by rap music. I heard their first 7", which didn't really do anything for me. I'd seen them live and I thought they had a really cool look on stage. But they didn't really sell me until their second 7", "Ice Grillz", and the song "Refuse to Lose", which is sort of a track one/side one by them.

It was one of those bands that I still tell people that I love and that they're, like, a really important band for me, and people still don't really believe me or know if I'm lying or not. I think their new record is really good as well. But when I first heard that 7", it was actually on the first Fucked Up tour of California. I was driving in the car with my friend, and he was like, "You gotta hear this band, they're pretty bad." And I heard the record and I'm like, "Actually, this is amazing. I'm totally in love with this."

Posted by Tom Breihan on June 8, 2009 at midnight

Tags: 5-10-15-20, Fucked Up

Japandroids:

06-06 Fargo, ND - The Aquarium
06-07 Winnipeg, Manitoba - The Lo Pub
06-09 Edmonton, Alberta - Brixx Bar
06-13 Vancouver, British Columbia - The Biltmore (Music Waste Festival)
06-24 Edmonton, Alberta - Starlite
06-25 Calgary, Alberta - Sled Island Festival
06-26 Calgary, Alberta - Sled Island Festival
06-30 Omaha, NE - The Slowdown
07-01 Kansas City, MO - Record Bar
07-02 Nashville, TN - The End
07-03 Oxford, MS - Blind Pig
07-04 Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn
07-06 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
07-07 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
07-08 Washington, DC - DC9
07-10 Brooklyn, NY - Cameo Gallery
07-11 New York, NY - Piano's
07-12 Boston, MA - Great Scott
07-14 Montreal, Quebec - Club Lambi
07-15 Ottawa, Ontario - Ottawa Blues Festival
07-16 Toronto, Ontario - El Mocambo
07-18 Brooklyn, NY - Siren Music Festival
07-19 Chicago, IL - Pitchfork Music Festival
07-20 Des Moines, IA - Vaudeville Mews
07-21 Denver, CO - Hi Dive
07-23 Boise, ID - Neurolux
07-25 Seattle, WA - Capitol Hill Block Party
07-28 Portland, OR - Holocene
07-29 Sacramento, CA - Blue Lamp
07-30 San Diego, CA - Soda Bar
07-31 Los Angeles, CA - Spaceland
08-01 Visalia, CA - Howie & Sons
08-02 San Francisco, CA - Hemlock
08-07 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richards on Richards

Posted by Ryan Dombal on June 5, 2009 at 4:45 p.m.

Tags: Japandroids, Polyvinyl, Signing

On June 8 and 9, we'll start out with the two-part Sonic Youth episode of A>D>D, the Pitchfork.tv show that captures bands in all the grainy glory of analog VHS equipment.

Here they are on the set:

On Wednesday, June 10 and Thursday, June 11, we'll run our two-part interview with the band, conducted by Pitchfork writer Nitsuh Abebe.

And on Friday, June 12, we'll have a video playlist curated by the band. Did the rest of the group let Thurston pick all obscure black metal and mind-shattering noise? Tune in to find out!

Posted by Tom Breihan on June 5, 2009 at 4:45 p.m.

Tags: Pitchfork.tv, Sonic Youth

The 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival Lineup:

Friday - "Write the Night: Set Lists by Request"
Built to Spill
The Jesus Lizard
Yo La Tengo
Tortoise

Saturday
The National
Beirut
DOOM
Yeasayer
Final Fantasy
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Fucked Up
Plants and Animals
Cymbals Eat Guitars
Black Lips
Matt and Kim
Lindstrøm
Wavves
Ponytail
Charles Hamilton
Bowerbirds
The Antlers *
The Dutchess and the Duke
Disappears

Sunday
The Flaming Lips
Grizzly Bear
M83
The Walkmen
The Thermals
Pharoahe Monch
Blitzen Trapper
Frightened Rabbit
The Mae Shi
The Very Best
Mew
Vivian Girls
Japandroids
DJ/Rupture
Women
Killer Whales
Dianogah
Michael Columbia

* just added

FESTIVAL ACTIVITIES

-- CHIRP Record Fair & Other Delights
The Chicago Independent Radio Project (CHIRP) Record Fair & Other Delights is a can't-miss event for music lovers and vinyl enthusiasts from around the country. Bringing you the best selection of vinyl and CDs to be found under one tent, vendors offer everything from rock and pop to psychedelia and folk, soul and jazz to country and international, house and hip-hop to rockabilly and R&B, and even more! The fair benefits the Chicago Independent Radio Project, an organization committed to bringing a brand new community radio station to Chicago.

-- Coterie
At Coterie Chicago, you will find handmade goods created by a skilled artisan workforce committed to providing cutting-edge art, style, and accessories that enhance your life. Buying directly from the maker creates a heightened sense of community, and now, more than ever, buying products from local artists and makers puts you at the forefront of real, lasting economic and creative stimulus.

-- FLATSTOCK presented by API
The FLATSTOCK poster show series, presented by the American Poster Institute (API), is an ongoing series of exhibitions featuring the work of many of the most popular concert poster artists working today. The FLATSTOCK shows provide the public with opportunities to see fine poster art in person and to meet the artists who've created it, while showcasing the breadth of individual styles they represent. Since beginning in 2003, Flatstock has presented 20 events in the U.S. and Europe and has become the epicenter of the current phenomenon in handmade poster art.

-- Festival Retail
The retail area features over fifteen individual retail vendors including Chicago locals Futurgarb, Crossroads Trading Co., and The Alley. The stores include local artwork, clothing apparel, and accessories, ranging from hand-made to consignment.

-- Rock for Kids
Rock for Kids is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing free music instruction to underprivileged children in the Chicago area. The Rock for Kids booth features a variety of ways for concert goers to learn more about Rock for Kids and support their mission, including an auction of unique items from your favorite Pitchfork artists.

Posted by Pitchfork Staff on June 5, 2009 at 3:10 p.m.

Tags: Festival, Pitchfork Music Festival, Pitchfork News

Tracklist:

Disc 1:

01 Two Angels
02 Ain't No End
03 Waiting for the Sun
04 Martin's Song
05 Clouds
06 Settled Down Like Rain
07 Blue
08 I'd Run Away
09 Over My Shoulder
10 Miss Williams' Guitar
11 Trouble
12 Big Star
13 The Man Who Loved Life
14 Smile
15 I'm Gonna Make You Love Me
16 What Led Me to This Town
17 Tailspin
18 All the Right Reasons
19 Save It for a Rainy Day
20 Angelyne

Disc 2 (deluxe edition):

01 Falling Star
02 Old Woman From Red Clay
03 That's the Bag I'm In
04 Won't Be Coming Home
05 Stone Cold Mess
06 Mission on 2nd
07 Lights
08 Darling Today
09 Break My Mind
10 Get the Load Out
11 Poor Little Fish (Early Version)
12 Someone Will
13 Cure for This
14 I Can Make It on My Own
15 Rotterdam
16 Follow Me
17 In the Canyon
18 Tailspin (Early Version)
19 I Think I've Had Enough
20 Help Me Forget

DVD (deluxe edition):

Final tracklist TBD

01 Waiting for the Sun (music video)
02 Settled Down Like Rain (music video)
03 Take Me With You (When You Go) (music video)
04 Hollywood Town Hall EPK (includes live versions of "Settled Down Like Rain", "Reason to Believe", and "Take Me With You [When You Go]")
05 Blue (music video)
06 Big Star (music video)
07 Sound of Lies EPK
08 Save It for a Rainy Day (music video)

Notes: First career-spanning collection from these Minneapolis alt-country veterans. Available either as a single CD or as a deluxe set with second CD of rarities and DVD included.

Media: Stream various tracks here.

Posted by Tom Breihan on June 5, 2009 at 2:40 p.m.

Tags: Album, New Release, The Jayhawks

Titus Andronicus:

06-06 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
06-08 Baltimore, MD - Ottobar *
06-09 Richmond, VA - Canal Club *
06-10 Charlotte, NC - Neighborhood Theatre *
06-11 Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club *
06-12 Birmingham, AL - The Bottletree *
06-14 Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo Music Festival
06-15 Newport, KY - Southgate House *
06-16 Pittsburgh, PA - Diesel * 
06-17 Buffalo, NY - Tralf Music Hall *
06-18 Easthampton, MA - The Flywheel *
06-19 New Haven, CT - Toad's Place *
06-20 Providence, RI - AS220 *
06-21 Kearny, NJ - Kearny Irish American Club *

* with Ted Leo

Posted by Ryan Dombal on June 5, 2009 at 1:30 p.m.

Tags: Titus Andronicus