OPP

Nat Baldwin does Daytrotter, and reveals his fandom for the Boston Celtics

Those unable to make Bonnaroo take heed: here is the live webcast schedule

Beck reveals Modern Guilt album art, tracklisting, and release date (July 8th)

Metallica blames managers for taking down mostly positive reviews of their forthcoming album

My Morning Jacket playing Madison Square Garden on New Year's Eve

Michael Stipe will be signing copies of the R.E.M. photo book Hello at McNally Robinson on 52 Prince Street on Sunday

AND on topic, watch R.E.M. cover Television with "See No Evil"

Pharrell Williams wants to produce the new Strokes album

Atlantic Records sues Stone Temple Pilots for trying to leave their contract early

Weezer invites fans to perform alongside them on tour

Music journalist quits over allegations he hired a ghost writer

S/S Friends = Clothes + Music

Sam Champion guitarist Sean Sullivan has a busy summer ahead. In addition to the July release of the Brooklyn quartet's sophomore full length Heavenly Bender (North Street Records) and the inevitable slew of live shows to support it, he recently started the clothing line S/S Friends with girlfriend Sarah.

Consisting of "seasonally specific" clothing items (namely swim trunks and knit hats), the label pairs each item with a specially curated music release for every run. The initial set features mens swim trunks (see above) with a 7" vinyl single "Easy Street", which Sullivan describes as a "weird and winning study of early reggae styles and recording techniques."

The goods are already available at a number of retailers in Manhattan and Brooklyn (and even L.A.). See the list HERE or to order direct from their Cobble Hill HQ hit them up at ss@friendscanvastrunks.com.

In the meantime, be sure to catch Sam Champion on June 27th when they play the Prospect Park Bandshell with Cold War Kids and Elvis Perkins (canvas trunks optional).

Listen: "Your Party Was Yesterday?"

See also:
- Sam Champion To Record Live Album...TONIGHT
- Sam Champion @ Texas Garage - 15 March 2008 (SXSW Day 4, pics)
- EAR FARM's Top Ten Bands To Emerge in 2007 & Ten To Watch Out For in 2008

Visit Sam Champion on Myspace.

OPP

Free Geekery offers 100 FREE sources for (good) downloadable music

REMINDER: Reserve your Sonic Youth 4th of July tickets today

Social network for iPhone knows what you're listening to and where you are listening to it

Austrian dungeon victim wakes up to Robbie Williams after two-month coma

Will anyone sing for John McCain?

Wolf Parade's Dan Boeckner handles this week's Guest List on Pitchfork

Mods & Rockers Film Festival in Hollywood opens June 26

Boy George to perform free show for NYC sanitation workers

Scott Storch is wanted by Miami-Dade police

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Gorilla vs. Bear asks various artists what their favorite album of 2008 is so far

Of Montreal readies new album

Bradley's Almanac has mp3s of the entire 25-song Breeders set in Boston recently, including Beatles and Amps covers

Idolator rounds up reviews of My Morning Jacket's Evil Urges

Beck plays a bunch of new tunes at an L.A. secret show

Coolio takes a fantastic voyage and gets arrested for suspended license

Production issues to delay Coldplay tour by two weeks

Have Franz Ferdinand gone Afrobeat for their new album?

Kings of Leon drink all day and write a new album as a result

'Band' On The Run: new iPhone application

Amidst news of the awesome (and affordable) new generation of iPhones, it was something else entirely that caught our attention yesterday: BAND.

The brainchild of Moo Cow Music's Mark Terry, Band is a new application for iPhone that will allow users to compose original tunes on the go with the usage of a two-octave piano, guitar, bass guitar, drum kit, vinyl scratcher, and mixer via the phone's touchscreen. And according to a WIRED report on the new gadget:

All instruments will be usable in the same song, while a multi-touch interface will allow up to five notes or samples to be played at the same time. Animated keys and strings will appear to move when activated, and any part can be edited, erased or overdubbed. An included metronome keeps the beat to keep each part on time.

Check out the above demo video to see Band in action; the initial edition should be available in a few weeks time, while future versions of the application will even allow users to create their own instruments. Apologies to "books" and "reading", but it seems we may have found a new subway activity?

Listen: "Band on the Run" (Foo Fighters cover version)

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Following the release of Third and the announcement they will not play live again in 2008, Portishead goes crazy with solo projects

Reserve your tickets for Sonic Youth's Fourth of July show starting at noon on Thursday

Los Angeles Times: My Morning Jacket, Martha Wainwright benefit from oversharing

Stream the new Sigur Rós album in its entirety over at their website

Billy Bob Thornton pursues his first love with his band the Boxmasters

The Guardian blog: why rock can't shock any more

Bradford Cox, Eleanor Friedberger, and others join Converse's new campaign

Chuck Berry won't shill for John McCain even though his song's been appropriated for his campaign; he's an Obama supporter

Warner Music Group pulls its music from Last.fm

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AC/DC's new album will be exclusively sold at Wal-Mart

Watch clips of Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones playing with the Foo Fighters at Wembley Stadium

Alabama (the band) sues their own drummer for $200k for being "overpaid"

Rolling Stone's "Ask a Rock Star" turns to....David Cook?

Radiohead covers Portishead's "The Rip"

Man Man prep summer tour EP

The New York Times profiles Trent Reznor

Dethklok show evacuated due to fire

The Virgin Megastore at Times Square will close in 2009

Spam Filter: The Walkmen New Album Details and Tour Dates Revealed

You're looking at the cover art to The Walkmen's fourth LP, You & Me, coming out on Gigantic Records this fall (and not in August as previously reported). The press release states:

With some romance and drama, You and Me harnesses a sense of classic live-band production into meticulously constructed, unique-sounding rock songs. The sound would definitely not be mistaken for old, but it would be impossible to ignore the most timeless influences. You and Me offers a distinctive twist to the“Walkmen” sound of their first three records. Each song shows focus, and an up-beat enthusiasm apparent in all lyrics, music, and performances. It is a long record, clocking in at just under an hour, and it presents a wide range of ideas.

Intriguing yes? There's more too; the band also released the tracklisting and announced some August tour dates - including two Bowery stops - in advance of the record's release. Check it out after the jump...

Here's You & Me's tracklisting:

1. Dónde está la Playa
2. Flamingos (for Colbert)
3. On the Water
4. In the New Year
5. Seven Years of Holidays (for Stretch)
6. Postcards from Tiny Islands
7. Red Moon
8. Canadian Girl
9. Four Provinces
10. Long Time Ahead of Us
11. The Blue Route
12. New Country
13. I Lost You
14. If Only It Were True

And here are their tour dates:

18 Aug - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom, New York
19 Aug - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom, New York
21 Aug - Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour
22 Aug - Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour
27 Aug - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
28 Aug - Vancouver, BC @ Richards on Richard, Vancouver (co-bill w/ Man Man)
29 Aug - Victoria, BC @ Rifflandia Festival, Victoria (Black Mountain, Destroyer, etc.)
30 Aug - Seattle, WA @ Bumbershoot Festival

Happy Friday indeed!

Listen: "Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone"

Watch:
"Little House Of Savages" by The Walkmen (live @ The Earl, Atlanta, GA 9 Mar 2008) on YouTube | download QT
"If Only It Were True" by The Walkmen (live @ The Earl, Atlanta, GA 9 Mar 2008) on YouTube | download QT

See also:
- The Walkmen, Franz Ferdinand: The Musician as Food Critic
- 8+
- The Walkmen and Vampire Weekend @ The Earl (Atlanta) - 9 Mar 2008 (pics, video)
- The Walkmen @ Avalon - 17 October 2007

Visit The Walkmen on MySpace

OPP

Terrence Howard to release an album this fall?

Van Halen reunion grosses more than $93 million

Bob Dylan endorses Barack Obama

Members of Led Zeppelin to rock Wembley with Foo Fighters tonight?

More details emerge about Mastodon's "creepy" new album

American Idol runner-up David Archuleta signs a record deal

Last.fm jumps into live music with Bowery Presents

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Country star George Jones is getting a stolen guitar returned to him 46 years later

Why? forced to cancel tour dates as 2/3 of the band come down with the mumps

Yes also cancels their tour as lead singer Jon Anderson has fallen ill

Obama's nomination unleashes tide of questionable music blogging?

Dave Eggers handled "guest whistling duties" on Aimee Mann's new album

Check out Stereogum's Quit Your Day Job feature with Torche

Oneida set to release new album Preteen Weaponry on August 5 before releasing a triple album in 2009

Drowned in Sound interviews Silver Jews' David Berman

Liars to release digital-only Freak Out EP on July 8

Joy Division edition of Microsoft Zune available June 17

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The Minneapolis City Pages chats with R.E.M.'s Mike Mills

PopMatters: ten reasons Bo Diddley is the forgotten heavyweight champion of rock

Deerhoof's new album Offend Maggie is due out on October 7 on Kill Rock Stars, and they reveal more details too

Alton Kelley, the artist who helped create the psychedelic style of posters of the 1960s San Francisco rock scene, died Sunday at age 67

Yeah Yeah Yeahs have commenced recording their new album

NYC Taper examines whether music blog payola is a problem

Brooklyn Vegan has pics from Black Lips' Maxwell's show on Monday

OPP

Stars pay tribute to Bo Diddley, who died yesterday of heart failure at age 79

Liam Gallagher's wife challenges Gordon Ramsay to a cookoff

PopMatters interviews Portishead

Paul McCartney plays "A Day In The Life" live as Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club turns 41

Tori Amos leaves Epic Records and decides to go indie

The Streets' Mike Skinner reveals he will make two more albums and then call it quits

Coldplay to apparently release quick follow-up to Viva La Vida

Alice Cooper set to release a concept album about a spider serial killer

OPP

Okkervil River announces tour - with two stops at Webster Hall Oct. 6-7 - and details of The Stand Ins

Prefix has this past weekend covered, with pics from Apes and Androids at Bowery, Wire at South Street Seaport, and Ponytail at the Knitting Factory

The Boston Globe is the latest to do a trend piece on the comeback of vinyl records

Morrissey sets September UK release date for ninth studio album, Years of Refusal

Pitchfork interviews Why?

The New York Times reviews Saturday's Stone Temple Pilots show....and is concerned about Weiland

Associated Press: Over the top MTV Movie Awards have smoke, no fire

Mastodon, Slayer, and Trivium line up November European tour dates together

Kurt Cobain's ashes stolen?

OPP

Swap out your boring strum bar with a real guitar string via this Rock Band mod kit

Watch Beach House play a song they just wrote while on a train in Norway

Yahoo! Music considers the 25 Most Rockin' Guitar Riffs of all time

Steven Tyler went to rehab to find a "safe environment" where he could recover from foot surgery

David Cook has a record-breaking 11 new songs debuting on America's Hot 100 singles chart

My Morning Jacket confirmed to play Toronto's North By Northeast festival

Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett commissioned to do the two-minute title sequences for BBC's broadcast of the Olympics

Sammy Hagar thinks his new band Chickenfoot - which also includes Chad Smith, Michael Anthony, and Joe Satriani - is as good as Led Zeppelin

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NME investigates the worst album covers ever

Sunset Rubdown do a Black Cab Session

Wired takes a look at some of the best new animated videos out there

Malawi court approves Madonna adoption

Cracked has 7 reasons why the new Kid Rock song may be the worst tune ever

R. Kelly's defense claiming music critic Jim DeRogatis is guilty of child pornography for handing over Kelly's sex tape to the cops????

Sony Music taps into its photo archive as a resource to use during hard times

TV News Producer Cheatsheet: Offbeat News Stories (with accompanying bumper music)

Peru, Chile fight over potato's origin: The historic rivalry between Chile and Peru has taken a new form as the two countries argue over the origin of the potato. Read more/above photo from HERE.

Listen: "Mashed Potato Time" by Dee Dee Sharp

Liquor store owner told to stop taking shoplifters' shoes: Tired of losing $1,000 worth of merchandise a month in thefts, Gabe Fidanque started telling shoplifters he caught that they had two choices: Give him one of their shoes or he'd call the police. Read more HERE/photo from HERE.

Listen: "No More Shoes" by Stephen Malkmus

Maine town selling old jail for $200,000: If you're in the market for a roomy brick-and-stone house - complete with some pretty impressive security features - look no further. The Somerset County Jail in downtown Skowhegan is for sale. Read more HERE/photo from HERE.

Listen: "In The Jailhouse Now" by The Soggy Bottom Boys

View more offbeat news/bumper music matches after the jump...

Duo tries to break world handshaking record: Kevin Whittaker and Cory Jens shook hands with one another Monday for 9 1/2 hours, trying to beat a handshaking record of about nine hours set by two Germans. Read more HERE/photo from HERE.

Listen: "The Handshake" by MGMT

Girl stung by scorpion in Wal-Mart watermelon: A 12-year-old girl picking up a seedless watermelon from a bin was stung Sunday by a tan, inch-long scorpion that had apparently stowed away in a shipment from Mexico. Read more HERE/photo from HERE.

Listen: "The Scorpion" by Megadeth

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Stereogum does a premature evaluation of Weezer's forthcoming Red Album

Pick the song that will be inescapable by this time next month over at Idolator's 2008 Summer Jam Tournament

A Brooklyn man convicted of music piracy may face five years in prison

Smashing Pumpkins to celebrate their 20th anniversary with a tour and DVD

Check out Rainn Wilson's Sasquatch blog over at Rolling Stone

Ratatat announce small tour with a stop at Music Hall of Williamsburg July 15th

MuxFind lets you search and discover on Muxtape

Rock Band stage kit - complete with fog machine and stage lights - to come out this August for Xbox 360

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Prefix has a 3-part "illustrated review" of the recent Black Moth Super Rainbow/Subtle show at the Rock & Roll Hotel in D.C.

The Streets play first UK show in over a year

KEXP has a review of Day 2 of Sasquatch, and so does the A.V. Club

Yale gives Paul McCartney honorary music degree

Build your own mini music publication with Idiomag's new widget

MuchMusic counts down the 12 most powerful musicians of today

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KEXP has a review of Day One of Sasquatch

Is Blender going out of business?

Does music belong in humor? The A.V. Club rounds up 15 novelty songs from prominent funnymen

The Chicago Tribune has a piece about the effect of gas prices on touring musicians

And somewhat on topic, details emerge about Radiohead's green touring techniques

Check out the Mountain Goats Daytrotter session

Watch the video for the new Ratatat song "Mirando"

Peruse Pitchfork's guide to summer festivals

OPP

Donewaiting sits down with Oneida for a great interview

Looks like Muxtape went down yesterday in a "perfect storm of elements", and EF lost our latest mux as a result

Head over to Daytrotter and listen to a recent set from Grand Archives

Augusten Burroughs is the latest author to contribute to Largehearted Boy's Book Notes column

Okkervil River plan new album, The Stand Ins, to be released September 9th

The Seattle Times has a preview of this weekend's Sasquatch Festival....from the perspective of the Sasquatch?

PopMatters reviews The National's new film A Skin, A Night

Mastodon taps producer Brendan O'Brien for their next album

Death Cab For Cutie scores their first number one album with Narrow Stairs