-- Jackson's autopsy results could take weeks to come in. (MTV)

-- Quincy Jones: "I've lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him." (Vibe)

-- A timeline of Michael Jackson's history on the Billboard charts. (The New York Times)

-- A chart of songs and artists that have sampled Michael Jackson over the years. (Nah Right)

-- Vintage Jackson pieces from The Village Voice archives by Greg Tate, Vince Aletti, and others. (The Village Voice)

-- Justin Timberlake: "We have lost a genius and a true ambassador of not only Pop music but of all music." (People)

-- A summary of Jackson's financial legacy, which includes a reported $500 million worth of debt. (Reuters)

-- Rock critic Ann Powers: "For Jackson was also completely of this world, his often tragic life and complicated art formed by the phenomenon of global celebrity in the age of late capitalism." (Los Angeles Times)

-- A roundup of Jackson front pages from around the world. (The Guardian)

-- Madonna: "I can't stop crying over the sad news." (People)

-- At 1:30 EST, Jackson albums take up eight of the top 10 spots on iTunes, including the top seven.

-- Jackson R.I.P. t-shirts being sold at Glastonbury. (The Guardian)

-- Lil Wayne: "A sad day in history, not [just] music." (MTV)

-- Rock critic Jon Pareles: "In the end, the superstar and the recluse were not so far apart." (The New York Times)

-- Google, Twitter overwhelmed by news of Jackson's death. (BBC)

-- Usher: "With music, he made it possible for people like Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama to impact the mainstream world." (People)

-- Jackson death news three times more popular than Iran or Swine Flu on Twitter. (The New York Times)

-- ?uestlove: "Did y'all wake up this morning like, 'Man I had a crazy nightmare last night, I dreamt that....'?" (Twitter)

-- Jackson comeback tour promoter AEG to refund $85 million in tickets. (MTV)

-- Rolling Stone's archive of Jackson cover stories and reviews through the years.

-- M.I.A.: "MICHAEL JACKSON the first 2 english words i eva spoke . the future sucx!" (Twitter)

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

Tags: Michael Jackson

Pitchfork: So you're totally finished with this new album, right?

Nick Diamonds: Yeah. It's mastered and everything. We're finishing the art in the next two weeks.

Pitchfork: You guys really raised the bar with that Arm's Way cover.

ND: [laughs] Yeah. It was full sensory overload. This one's going to be a simple and immediate photo instead of something completely hyperbolic, to represent the change in tone of the music.

Pitchfork: So you're going in a more austere direction, musically?

ND: I felt like I went too far in the other direction with Arm's Way. But I don't want to apologize for Arm's Way, and I don't want to be this cliché where I made a difficult second record and now it's a return to form-- but I do see the truth in that. I needed to withdraw from overblown metaphors and filling every possible sonic space. So this record is just made up of sequenced programming, synths, drum machines, guitars, and real bass. And an electric sitar.

With Arm's Way, I felt like I had a lot to prove but now I'm more comfortable just making the music that I want to make. And when I invited Jamie [Thompson] to come back to make this record I knew I wanted to get back to the basics of executing songs. The last record had one constant arrangement schematic. This one is more varied. And the songs are more like short spurts-- I think there are only two songs that go above three minutes and none go above five.

Pitchfork: Apart from Jamie coming back, are there any other lineup changes for the band?

ND: Yeah, I wanted to bring in all new players. I got two brothers, Evan and Geordie Gordon, from this band the Magic. So there are just four people on the album. I think we're going to tour like that, too. I like having the flexibility to make different records. Sometimes it's not easy to do it that way, though.

Pitchfork: Was that weird telling your old band mates, like, "Hey, guys, I'm kind of doing something else with this album"?

ND: Yeah. It's a delicate situation. But everybody else has their own thing-- they're starting families or going back to school or working on other projects. It wasn't like they were standing by while I closed the door on them. It was more of a pivot move, for the time being. I really want to make another record with the Arm's Way lineup at some point.

Pitchfork: So the album is called Vapours-- what kind of vapors are we talking about, exactly?

ND: Not the pharmaceutical or medicinal or herbal kind. It was more in reference to the Biz Markie song, which is about a guy who's looking to get this girl's attention and he can't. Then he gets hot or whatever and she catches his vapors and comes around to him. So, it's kind of a tongue-in-cheek reference to my current standing.

I feel like Vapours is going to catch people and cast a spell on them. It's manifest destiny; I got tendinitis right after I made Arm's Way, so I feel like I'm trying to change things in a positive way here. But this new album still casts the doubt on whether or not I'm able to entertain and cast vapors. It's not a completely confident picture.

Pitchfork: Considering the drum machines and the Biz Markie reference, this sounds like your hip-hop album.

ND: Well, I forgot to mention I'm rapping on almost all the songs [laughs]. I'm not rapping...too much. It is brighter than the last one, though. I dropped the images of gore and extreme destruction and got back to a more playful approach. It's not car crash after car crash. That kind of lyrical imagery is put to the side for a more understated approach.

Pitchfork: So you're just, like, tripping over cracks and scraping your knee now.

ND: Well, there's a car bomb in there. And an alleyway mugging. But that's pretty much the extent of it. The rest is more introverted. It's not angry or mindless. There's less stabbing.

Pitchfork: There's your sticker quote.

ND: "Now with 20% less stabbing."

Pitchfork: How old are you now?

ND: Twenty-seven-- a good age to overdose or get murdered by my manager!

Pitchfork: Are you still generally obsessed with death?

ND: Well, I'm more focused on living with death and disease [laughs]. Instead of all the spectacular ways to die, it's more like, "What illness do I have now?"

Oh man, someone is walking by with the Rihanna umbrella. [laughs]

Pitchfork: Based on previous interviews, you seem to be an artist who cares about what people write about you.

ND: Well, I'm one of the people who doesn't lie about it. Not to be too earnest, but I feel like there's definitely a desire to seem indifferent-- I'll cop to it as much as anyone. But you have to be honest with yourself, too. You're not going to be listening in a void or a vacuum. You're making music to be heard.

Pitchfork: Do you not care about that stuff as much now?

ND: As long as I'm publicly making music, I'm going to be concerned. I definitely don't want it to consume me, but it's always there-- like an eating disorder! [laughs]

Pitchfork: This is the first album that you recorded in New York. Were you affected by the city at all?

ND: Yeah, I wrote a lot of the songs here, too, so there are some references to New York in the lyrics. One of the songs references my relationship with the city because I come from the opposite of a city-- the woods [laughs]. It's called "Switched On", which is a reference to the series of Moog records by Wendy Carlos. But, in general, I don't get too Lou Reed with it.

Pitchfork: When you look back on Vapours in 20 years, what will you think?

ND: Um... I can't believe I used Auto-Tune?

Pitchfork: Seriously?

ND: How serious do you want me to be?

Pitchfork: As an big T-Pain fan, I'd like you to be very serious.

ND: I'm mildly serious-- let's leave some mystery to that one.

Pitchfork: I read on Stereogum that you have a new song that references lazy music critics, which is kind of exciting for someone like me.

ND: Of course, it's shrouded in metaphor-- and Auto-Tune!-- so it won't be entirely apparent. It's not a song like, [singing poorly] "Fuck you, lazy critic. You don't understand me."

Pitchfork: So it's not "Get in the Ring" by Guns N' Roses.

ND: It's a more fun and easier to dance to than that. And no, I don't name any websites.

A "hybrid of the old and new" Islands lineups will play Toronto's Pride Fest on June 27.

Posted by Ryan Dombal on June 26, 2009 at 11:45 a.m.

Tags: Interview, Islands, Nick Diamonds

Posted by Tom Breihan on June 26, 2009 at 11:05 a.m.

Tags: Art, EP, Spoon

"Recently I read a post by another famed alt-rocker from my generation lamenting the negative cultures of the internet...how its inherent narcissism ruins a lot of good fun for everyone because those that shout the loudest and are the most obsessive are able to control a dialogue over things that in the normal discourse of real life wouldn't be that big a deal...I have watched with great interest over the last 15 or so years the rise of the web and how it has given form to new social dynamics and single-handedly helped to blow up the music business that I think I used to belong to...as a interested observer, let me say then that I am fully aware that nothing I say here will change anything as it pertains to any negativity lingering proudly in the human soul, because that is a decision that only comes thru and from the collective; when a majority of us are tired of such constant poison that we'll scream 'enough' at the top of our lungs and the idiots get drowned out by those who have sat silently waiting till they can take it no more...I am more silent these days than not, an ironic fact of which I am criticized by fans for not feeding them with enough vacant info to their liking, but nicely applauded with apathy by those that don't care should I live or die...after all, aren't I a horrible, detestable creature that would dare go his own way in life?...shame on me for not being one of the sheeple!!

"I have tried in vain to create a positive, loving website that takes into great effect those that would use it most...I hear quite often not to let the bad apples in this bunch that do visit the site far too often ruin it for the rest of those that aren't so destructive and are capable to see the forest from the trees...the point being 'hey Billy, its just the way of the world, don't be so sensitive'...

"That's a similar logic I heard when I first started in music and I was told certain things were not possible with my band or my tunes...my point to you is just because everyone accepts something dumb doesn't make it good or whole or essential...in essence their point is, yes, the website is a reflection on the larger culture as a whole, and I am powerless to stop it... Todays laughter was me being criticized for a post that had info about a charity that was offering (to the highest bidder) a lunch with me. Unfortunately, unknown to me, the info stated that lunch was on the person who won the auction. Having never offered myself for a charity lunch date before, I was curious to see what fans might say about it. I was surprised to see a minor detail I was unaware of that said the winner must pay the bill at lunch turn into an attack on me and my supposed fortune. What an asshole I am to not want to buy lunch?

"I bring this to your attention because this is exactly what's to be expected in a mean and bitter world. Every act, no matter how kind or caring must be viewed thru the dim lens of ambition, greed, power, and ultimately selfishness. There must be an ulterior motive to all of this, right?? A charity lunch just can't be as simple as that. The awareness raised for the charity means nothing against what its going to do for my career...and what a career its been! And thank God someone gets to fit the bill for my meal!

"Yes I'm being sarcastic but the sad part is someone out there will read this and think the worst, never seeing the darkness and avarice in their own heart...

"I've made a pledge to lead a different kind of business, and it must begin with this website, which stands as the public face of Smashing Pumpkins World Domination Corp.

"What do I wish to dominate with? Love and good music...did he just say love and good music? Now I know he's insane...

"Love means nothing against someone with something to say.

"So I'll get to my point. This website is going to change. It is going to transform into something that is consistent with the concepts of love, grace, and community. We are not looking backwards anymore, only forward. I for one am willing to stand for something good here, in this little corner of the blogosphere, and say it's time.

"What makes the things I'm saying here even more real to me is the passing of my dear friend Sky Sunlight Saxon. Sky lived everyday with the concept of LOVE as his guide, and he walked the talk. He was a spiritual warrior who would tell me that Yahowa knew the beauty of our hearts, and that musicians were the living prophets of the world. So in Sky's memory I am going to re-dedicate this website to represent the things he cared about most; love, life, music, his spiritual family, and the protection of all God's creatures, big and small.'"

Posted by Ryan Dombal on June 26, 2009 at 10:30 a.m.

Tags: Billy Corgan, Gossip

Carrie Brownstein: Michael Jackson is dead. Those are frightening words to write. They are more scary than any paparazzi photo of Jackson's nose crumbling to pieces, stranger than images of his faceless children wearing shrouds while shopping at the mall, creepier than his skin whitening disease, the burnt hair, the molestation allegations and trial, his chimpanzee confidante, and Neverland combined.

Posted by Amy Phillips on June 25, 2009 at 7:15 p.m.

Tags: Michael Jackson, Obituary