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Tuesday, June 16

Antony Covers Beyoncé on New Single

He's "Crazy in Love" Antony Covers Beyoncé on New Single

Antony and the Johnsons' cover of Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love", which they've been doing live for a while now, goes beyond the usual tired-ass "indie dudes covering pop song" thing and actually brings out new shades and colors in the song, trading Beyoncé's head-rush blast of joy for bare, empty desperation. And Antony Hegarty doesn't attempt to handle the Jay-Z guest verse, which is a big plus.

Soon, Antony will finally release a studio version of that cover. On August 4, Secretly Canadian will release Antony's "Crazy in Love" in the U.S. as a double A-side single with the Crying Light highlight "Aeon". A day earlier, Rough Trade will release the single in Europe and the UK. It'll be out on CD and 7" vinyl in America, but overseas only gets the 7". Sorry.

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Echo Chamber: Black Francis

"I was recently quoted about the state of the music business, and I was saying it should be kind of a $5 world right now. Records and tickets should be cheap, given the overpricing of the recent years and the state of the world economy. But now, this box comes out and I feel like the biggest shithead in the world."

-- Pixies frontman Black Francis at least feels bad about charging you $495 for Minotaur. (via Wired's Underwire)

Posted by Tom Breihan on June 16, 2009 at 11:45 a.m.

Tags: Black Francis, Echo Chamber, Pixies

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New Song: Modest Mouse: "Autumn Beds"

Modest Mouse are following their recent post-Record Store Day single "Satellite Skin"/"Guilty Cocker Spaniels" with yet another, a 7" featuring "Whale Song" and "Autumn Beds", the latter of which you can hear below at Spinner. The 7" will be available in independent record stores this Saturday, June 20, for Vinyl Saturday.

Stream:> Modest Mouse: "Autumn Beds"

Posted by on June 16, 2009 at 11:35 a.m.

Tags: Audio, Modest Mouse

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The Very Best Announce Debut Album

M.I.A., Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend guest The Very Best Announce Debut Album

Back in 2007, a chance meeting at a second-hand furniture store led the Malawian singer Esau Mwamwaya to team up with the European DJ/producer duo Radioclit to form the unlikely group the Very Best. Last year, they dropped Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit Are the Very Best, a leftfield surprise of a mixtape that joyously smashed borders and crashed year-end lists, including ours.

Radioclit drew all sorts of lines between various strands of African-influenced pop music and actual African music, backing Mwamwaya with everything from Vampire Weekend's "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" to Michael Jackson's theme from Free Willy. Mwamwaya, singing in four different languages, made everything flow together effortlessly, bringing a dizzy lightness to every track that came his way.

Thankfully, that mixtape didn't mark the end of Mwamwaya's collaboration with Radioclit. This fall, the Very Best will return when Green Owl releases Warm Heart of Africa, the group's official debut LP. M.I.A. and Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koenig will make guest appearances, on the tracks "Rain Dance" and "Warm Heart of Africa", respectively.

Check out a stream of the album track "Ntende Uli" here:

Next month, the Very Best will make their way to the U.S. for a few performances, including one at our own Pitchfork Music Festival. If these guys are anywhere near as fun onstage as they are on record, we're in for a good show. Dates below.

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Video: Beyoncé [ft. Kanye West]: "Ego"

Here's yet another collaborative video with Kanye and an R&B diva, this one a black-and-white clip with some in-your-face Kanye spitting before Beyoncé shows off some of her "Single Ladies" moves.

Posted by Mark Richardson on June 16, 2009 at 10:40 a.m.

Tags: Beyoncé, Kanye West, video

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Video: Jenny Lewis: "Black Sand"

Kaleidoscopic visuals and weather maps abound in the new Jenny Lewis video for "Black Sand", a track from last year's Acid Tongue.

Posted by Mark Ricahrdson on June 16, 2009 at 10:25 a.m.

Tags: Jenny Lewis, video

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Video: Sonic Youth: "Sacred Trickster"

A trio of femme fatales bust up a haughty rooftop party in this video for "Sacred Trickster", the first single from Sonic Youth's new LP, The Eternal.

Lots more viewable Sonic Youth content-- including an exclusive performance, interview, and music video playlist-- over at Pitchfork.tv.

[from The Eternal; out now on Matador]

Posted by Ryan Dombal on June 16, 2009 at 10 a.m.

Tags: Sonic Youth, video

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Prefuse 73 Gathers Battles, Tortoise, Hella Members for Risil Collective

As if Prefuse 73 mastermind Guillermo Scott Herren wasn't already busy enough with the fifty bazillion projects he's releasing this year, he's somehow found the time to round up practically everyone he knows in the experimental indie-rock universe and recruited them all into a sort of super-collective called Risil. And he knows a lot of people.

On July 23, Important will release the first full-length from the crew, which right now includes Herren, Hella's Zach Hill, Tortoise's John McEntire, Battles' Tyondai Braxton, School of Seven Bells' Alejandra Deheza and Benjamin Curtis, and Savath & Savalas' Eva Puyuelo Muns. That's a lot of people! The cover is above, and the tracklist is below.

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White Stripes' Crazy 2007 Canadian Tour Gets a Documentary Film

Photo by Autumn de Wilde

In 2007, the White Stripes toured Canada. Or, more accurately, they toured the living hell out of Canada. They made a point to play every province and territory in the country, from big cities like Toronto to off-the-beaten-path locales like Whitehorse and Charlottetown, and they also captured their great Northern adventure on tape.

And Jack and Meg White didn't just stick to concert halls. They rocked a fishing boat, a classroom, a city bus, a public park, and a warehouse. It all ended with an extremely brief concert in Newfoundland. As we reported at the time, the Stripes were trailed by a film crew throughout the trek.

Back in April, we reported that a White Stripes film was one of the seemingly hundreds of projects Jack White had in progress. Now, the puzzle pieces are fitting together. The CBC reports that the forthcoming White Stripes movie is indeed a documentary about that Canadian tour.

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Monday, June 15

Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy Team for Tour

America's Most Wanted tour also features Soulja Boy and Drake Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy Team for Tour

And just like that, the hip-hop tour of the summer is a go. Starting July 27 in Scranton, Pennsylvania and wrapping up August 23 in Dallas, Texas, the America's Most Wanted tour features four of rap's most exciting stars traveling across North America on a single bill.

That's sometime-guitarist Lil Wayne, ad lib revolutionary Young Jeezy, YouTube impresario Soulja Boy, and "Best I Ever Had" upstart Drake teaming up in the name of economic security and maximum visibility. Feel free to start planning that "Prom Queen" bathroom break now.

Full itinerary below: