Hey, it’s Jess, and I’m back with this week’s Music Fix. Lots of exciting (and bizarre) music news this week, so let’s get to it!
Jónsi from Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós front man Jón Thor Birgisson (Jónsi) has announced dates for his first tour of North America as a solo artist. If Jónsi’s first single “Boy Lilikoi” (below) is any indication of the full album, fans of Sigur Rós’ 2008 Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust will be pleased. It’s a step toward mainstream pop and features lyrics both in English and Icelandic. Jónsi’s debut solo album Go will be released worldwide the week of April 5th.
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Amanda F*cking Palmer’s New Project
Amanda Palmer is back in the news – this time with a somewhat bizarre project involving conjoined twins. Although Palmer has crafted an elaborate back story for the twins, the conjoined pair is actually Palmer herself along with accordion player Jason Webley. The duo is called Evelyn & Evelyn, and their self-titled album is set for release on March 10. More notably, the album will feature the debut of Frances Bean Cobain, daughter of Kurt Cobain, singing with other guests including Weird Al Yankovic, Tegan and Sara, and My Chemical Romance front man Gerard Way. Listen to songs and find tour dates for Evelyn & Evelyn at their MySpace.
The Strokes Recording Fourth Studio Album
Four years following First Impressions of Earth, garage rockers The Strokes are back in the studio recording their fourth album. Joe Chiccarelli, who has previously worked with The White Stripes, The Shins, and U2, among others, is producing.
The Magnetic Fields Documentary
The trailer for Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields was posted on YouTube earlier this week. The documentary follows Merritt and The Magnetic Fields for four tours and three albums, and features interviews with comedian Sarah Silverman, band member/manager Claudia Gonson, and several authors. It also borrows its title from one of my favorite Magnetic Field’s songs. Strange Powers premieres in Austin, TX at this year’s SXSW film festival. Learn more at http://www.strangepowersfilm.com.
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2010 Pitchfork Festival
Pitchfork announced a partial lineup for their annual Pitchfork Festival held in Chicago’s Union Park July 16-18. Acts include Modest Mouse, LCD Soundsystem, Raekwon, recently reunited Pavement, and much-buzzed-about Brooklyn electro duo Sleigh Bells.
Ke$ha’s Hollywood Prank
For a brief moment, Hollywood was “Ke$hawood.” Watch Ke$ha and her sidekicks pull off a pretty impressive stunt. Clearly, the guards protecting this American icon don’t think cameras, leopard dresses, and glitter in the middle of the night are grounds for suspicion.
Sade’s New Album
Sade released her sixth studio album Soldier of Love yesterday. This is the first new material Sade has released in over 10 years. Her first single is called “Soldier of Love,” and it’s military-inspired percussion holds true to the album’s title. Listen to it here.
The Apples In Stereo Announce Tour
Indie darlings The Apples in Stereo announced their 2010 tour dates on their MySpace this past week. The band is supporting their upcoming album Travellers in Space and Time. If you haven’t heard of The Apples in Stereo, you might recall their song “Energy” from a 2009 Pepsi advertisement.
So stoked for the Evelyn Evelyn record! Especially hearing Francis Bean sing? Should be interesting. Also: Kurt (with a “K”) Cobain?
Sorry about that. Correction is made.
I’m pretty sure the Ke$ha thing is a hoax. Probably to make her look more cool/edgy or whatnot. Or else I would have turned Hollywood into Jennywood long ago.
Agreed. I can see how it would be done to make fans feel like “That’s EXACTLY the crazy shit I would do with my college friends!”, but c’mon. Really? And even if it wasn’t pre-arranged with security, some risk for someone with a #1 single. How would she ever pay the fine? :P
I sorta feel like Ke$ha is just as staged as that hoax was, like carefully constructed chaos. So I guess in that sense it’s perfect. Also I only just realised I’ve been saying her name wrong this whole time.
Good work on the Icelandic titles, i rarely see correct spelling when foreigners try to write anything Icelandic.
Thanks! Although I admit, that was a copy/paste deal.
Evelyn Evelyn is my musical dream come true. I was such a fangirl for Gerard Way, haha, I had no idea he was invovled.
I’ve been waiting for an actual Evelyn Evelyn album FOREVER. Feels like it, anyway. Also, I’m digging the solo Jónsi.
omg EVELYN AND EVELYN. Thanks so much for letting me know about this, evelyn’s basically my favourite name ever and what I plan on calling my first daughter, hah. Amanda Palmer + Tegan and Sara collaboration might just make me faint.
JONSI!!!!!!
Also, I love The Strokes. I just do. Excited for their new album!
you guys it took me so long to figure out what the deal was with evelyn evelyn, super embarrassing
I feel like we keep talking about the same people here. No?
Who would you like to see? I’m open to suggestions on other stuff to cover, but hey… a conjoined twin concept album is news, and I’m not even a fan of Amanda Palmer.
Gah don’t take me seriously. I’m a crampy twat right now.
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