``All I know is what I read in the papers”

With the surprise appearance of Radiohead‘s eighth LP The King of Limbs released last month, fans across around the world have downloaded, listened to, blogged about, critiqued, remixed and shared said release... But for those audiophiles and Radiohead completists who prefer a physical copy, tomorrow (March 29th) is the day tbd records releases the album on CD and LP in North America.

Accompanying the physical release of The King of Limbs is a free newspaper entitled The Universal Sigh, which will be handed out on Tuesday at select record stores while supplies last. The curious can check out a .pdf version of the newspaper now available via New Zealand music website Ripitup.co.nz. The newspaper consists of short stories and pictures centered around the forest, with artist and longtime Radiohead collaborator Stanley Donwood among the contributors.

News today as well that Radiohead are set to release two new songs on limited-edition vinyl next month. The band will release 'Supercollider' and 'The Butcher' on a seven-inch vinyl single on Record Store Day, April 16th, reports fansite Ateaseweb.com.

The two songs are previously-unreleased, although the former has been played by the band live before. Get this one if you can as there are only going to be 2,000 copies of the single pressed.

Let the Festivalling Begin – Calgary’s Sled Island 2011

As the piles of snow begin to recede and the hats and gloves are put away we can all look forward to a busy music festival season ahead. One of the country’s best is Calgary's Sled Island festival and after clearing up some minor logistical issues the fifth edition of the event has been announced for 2011. Taking place on the weekend of June 22th to June 25th, festival organizers have now revealed six of the festival headliners with a promise of many more to come.

Without further adieu...

For the 2011 edition of Sled Island, UK punk pioneers the Buzzcocks will headline, along with the Dandy Warhols, Blonde Redhead, Sleep, Of Montreal , the Greenhornes and Calgary’s favourite bohemian son Chad VanGaalen returns. The 2011 festival is being curated by Ian Svenious, Grant Lawrence and Bogus Tokus.

Organizers have promised to announce 100 more acts on April 1st, with tickets going on sale as of March 19th right here.

Definitely one of this country’s most diverse and artist packed festivals, Sled Island 2011 is a not miss.


Sled Island from Calgary Arts Development on Vimeo.

A Little Bit O Soul, Eh

I can’t think of a better way to brighten this damp grey day than this show announcement... Word today that the soulful sounds of Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings will be heard throughout a number of Canadian music venues this spring; including a stop in the Forest City on May 13th.

An extensive North American tour kicks off in Knoxville, TN on March 10th and this one is not to be missed if you are a music lover. (Full tour dates are listed below.)

The last few years have been a wave of success for a band that sounds like it might have recorded for Stax or Motown Records forty five years ago!  The hugely talented New York soul band is touring in support of their brilliant 2010 release I Learned the Hard Way out now via Daptone Records.

Plan to attend!

Tour dates:

3|10 Knoxville, TN - Bijou
3|11 Charlotte, NC - McGlohon Theatre
3|12 Augusta, GA - Imperial
3|13 Asheville, NC - Orange Peel
3|15 New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
3|17 Pensacola, FL - Vinyl Music Hall
3|19 Tampa, FL - The Ritz Ybor
3|20 Miami Beach, FL - The Fillmore Miami Beach
3|21 Orlando, FL - Beacham Theater
3|23 Tallahassee, FL - The Moon
3|24 Savannah, GA - Savannah Music Festival, Trustees Theater
3|24 Charleston, SC - Music Farm
3|26 Raleigh, NC - Lincoln Theatre
4|15 Live Oak, FL - Wanee Festival
5|10 Montreal, QC - Metropolis
5|11 Ottawa, ON - Bronson Centre
5|12 Toronto, ON - Sound Academy
5|13 London, ON - London Music Hall
5|14 Pontiac, MI - The Crofoot Ballroom
5|16 Madison, WI - Capitol Theater
5|17 Minneapolis, MN - State Theatre
5|18 Fargo, ND - Fargo Theatre
5|20 Winnipeg, MB - Garrick Centre
5|22 Saskatoon, SK - Louie's Pub
5|24 Edmonton, AB - Starlite Ballroom
5|25 Calgary, AB - MacEwan Hall
5|27 Vancouver, BC - Malkin Bowl
5|28 Victoria, BC - Alix Goolden Performance Hall
6|3 Ozark, AR – Wakarusa


Sharon Jones SXSW 2010 Interview from Yahoo! Music on Vimeo.

The Antlers Burst Apart This Year

You may recall in 2009, Brooklyn’s the Antlers scored a critical hit with their hauntingly gorgeous album Hospice. The record garnered great international praise and a loyal fan following. News today that the trio are getting ready to follow up that Everything is Pop 2009 Record of the Year with another album entitled Burst Apart.

The ten-track collection was recorded in the band's own Brooklyn studio and will be released on May 10th via Frenchkiss Records. (Full Tracklisting below).

If you’d like a more immediate look at the Brooklyn trio’s latest offering and your chance to escape this brutal winter you can catch them at South by Southwest in Austin next week. For those non-travellers out there the fine folks at NPR will be streaming their Thursday show. The band is also confirmed for Sasquatch! 2011 with more dates later in the year.

Burst Apart Tracklisting:

01. I Don’t Want Love
02. French Exit
03. Parentheses
04. No Widows
05. Rolled Together
06. Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out
07. Tiptoe
08. Hounds
09. Corsicana
10. Putting the Dog to Sleep

The Antlers 2011 Tour Dates:

03|16 – Austin, TX @ The Parish (South by Southwest)
03|17 – Austin, TX @ The Parish (South by Southwest)
03|18 – Austin, TX @ The Stage on Sixth (South by Southwest)
05|28 – George, WA @ Sasquatch! Music Festival


http://vimeo.com/17127621 from KUT 90.5 Austin on Vimeo.

I’m In Love With that Band

This item near and dear to this follower of all things 'Westerbergian'... At long last the documentary about The Replacements and the children by the millions that love them, appropriately entitled, “Color Me Obsessed” is completed and will make its world premiere later this month at the Gasparilla International Film Festival in Tampa, Florida. The Kickstarter-funded film is appropriately billed as “the potentially true story of the most influential, always drunk, self-destructive, and yet frighteningly brilliant rock band of all time as told through the eyes of their fans, followers and fellow musicians.”

Directed by Gorman Bechard the film features more than one hundred forty interviews with a diverse array of ‘Mats’ influenced musicians and fans; often one in the same- Colin Meloy of The Decemberists, Craig Finn of The Hold Steady, Grant Hart and Greg Norton of Hüsker Dü, Tommy Ramone, Jesse Malin and others, some of the more famous featured faces.

The filmmakers announced Thursday that “Color Me Obsessed” will be screened to the public for the first time on March 26th at the Florida-based film festival. Its only other announced showing is April 2nd at the Wisconsin Film Festival in Madison, Wis. Expect an update when a commercial release eventually hits the shelves.