The Virgins stopped by Daytrotter for a 5 song set including the unreleased “Va Va Virgins,” a one-off the band did while snowed in with Ra Ra Riot. The band said:

“We toured with Ra Ra Riot for about three weeks, and became friends over the course of the tour. We really love them; they’re the sweetest kids in the world. Both bands did Daytrotter sessions on the same day and got snowed in. We joked about writing and laying down a whole concept album. In the end, we managed to cut this song, which is just us hanging around in the studio having a lot of fun.”

The Virgins Downloadable Daytrotter Session

Daniel Johnston fans in Sweden, Norway, Scotland, Manchester, London and Dublin will get the added opportunity to see Johnston in concert with “friends”. Backing Daniel up on select dates will be an absolute all-star lineup of Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse, Scout Niblett, James McNew of Yo La Tengo, Norman Blake of Teenage Fanclub, and Jad Fair of Half Japanese.

There’s no word if the supergroup will expand their planned dates to include other regions like let’s say North America but Johnston will be on an extensive tour of North America previous to the “and friends” shows. He seems like the type to tire easily so it's not too likely that the supergroup will add more dates.

Daniel Johnston "and Friends" Tourdates:
07.18 - Stockholm, Sweden - Sticky Fingers
07.19 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Berns
07.20 - Oslo, Norway - Rockefellar
07.23 - Glasgow, UK - The Old Fruit Market
07.24 - Manchester, UK - New Century House
07.25 - London, UK - Indig02
07.27 - Dublin, Ireland - Whelans
07.28 - Dublin, Ireland - Whelans

Daniel Johnston Gets No Name Backup Band

Lykke Li's Youth Novels, released in Scandinavia on February 4th, was released on May 6th in the U.S., and will be released June 9th in the UK. The album was produced in part by Björn Yttling (the Bjorn in Peter Bjorn and John) who also has been touring with the singer to play the part of backing band. She'll be touring the UK with El Perro del Mar over the next month.

Lykke Li

Lykke Li (Myspace)

There was a time not too long ago where the Bonnaroo festival seemed to be all about the “crunchy” music scene. Now the festival, taking place June 12th – 15th in Manchester, Tennessee is gunning for the indie kids (hippies are don't pay for squat).

Among the acts scheduled to perform this year are: My Morning Jacket, Iron & Wine, Rilo Kiley, Gogol Bordello, Death Cab for Cutie, Les Claypool, Money Mark, The Felice Brothers, Fiery Furnaces, Vampire Weekend, Tegan & Sara, Battles, Broken Social Scene (all 9,015 of them!), MGMT, M.I.A., Two Gallants, !!!, Chromeo, Chris Rock, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Superdrag, Sigur Ros and the Swell Season.

Tickets are currently on sale as are RV passes for those able to fuel an RV with good intentions and tales of adventure.

Bonnaroo Lineup Revealed

The internet has given us some good times and some good laughs and Weezer had a pending deadline for their “Pork and Beans” video. Wait a minute, I have an idea! Why not recreate the hits of the web for the new video? We can bang this thing out in a half hour, everyone can go home and the internet can start all over with everyone going back to looking forward to receiving emails with Subject: FW: in them.

Just kidding, everyone hates those so stop sending. Seriously, It’s getting old and I’m sick of asking.



Interview With “Pork & Beans” Director Mathew Cullen.

On September 9th, Texas band Okkervil River will release the follow-up to last year’s much loved Stage Names album. The Stand Ins is rumored to be the omitted and speculated 2nd disc to Stage Names. While that has not been confirmed the album will also user in an extensive fall tour for Okkervil River.

The Stand Ins Tracklist:
“The Stand Ins, One”
“Lost Coastlines”
“Singer Songwriter”
“Starry Stairs”
“ Blue Tulip”
“The Stand Ins, Two”
“Pop Lie”
“ On Tour With Zykos”
“Calling and Not Calling My Ex”
“The Stand Ins, Three”
“Bruce Wayne Campbell Interviewed on the Roof of the Chelsea Hotel, 1979”

Okkervil River Tour Dates:
09/12 Lawrence, KS - The Bottleneck
09/13 Omaha, NE - Slowdown
09/14 Madison, WI - Barrymore Theater
09/15 Fargo, ND - Aquarium
09/17 Seattle, WA - The Showbox
09/18 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richards on Richards
09/19 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
09/21 San Francisco, CA - Treasure Island Festival
09/23 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre
09/24 Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern
09/26 El Paso, TX - The Blue Iguana
09/26, 27, 28 Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Music Festival
09/30 New Orleans, LA - The Republic
10/1 Birmingham, AL - Matthew's Bar & Grill
10/2 Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club
10/4 Richmond, VA - The National
10/6 New York, NY - Webster Hall
10/7 New York, NY - Webster Hall
10/8 Northampton, MA - Pearl Street Nightclub
10-9 Millvale, PA - Mr. Smalls Theatre
10-10 Buffalo, NY - Tralf Music Hall

Okkervil River to Return With New Album and Tour in September

James, the band that provided the American Pie theme song (“Laid"), has just announced plans to get back together after becoming “inactive” back in 2001.

James will be releasing their first album in seven years, Hey Ma, on September 16th and will also tour North America after the release. The album has already been released in the U.K. and debuted at the 10 spot. If the album doesn’t have as successful a debut in the U.S., the band will fake breakup again and then reform in seven years.

Hey Ma Tracklist
"Bubbles"
"Hey Ma"
"Waterfall"
"Oh My Heart"
"Boom Boom"
"Semaphore"
"Upside"
"Whiteboy"
"72"
"Of Monsters & Heroes & Men"
"I Wanna Go Home"

James Announce Plans for New Album

Throw Me the Statue have just released a metaphor laden video for the song “Lolita”. The video is set to premiere on MTV Ocho Cinco June 7th but it has already found its way to the internet.

Watch here, don’t google search ‘lolita’ or the library might kick you out.



Video Premiere Throw Me the Statue “Lolita”

Cindy? Bobby? Hikers Survive 6 Days Lost in the Grand Canyon Even Without the Aid of Flashlight Beans.

50 Cent’s House Burns Down But Nobody Believes Him As He Was Constantly Saying That the Roof Was On Fire.

I Should Never Have Allowed My Son and My Dog to Do Homework in the Bedroom With the Door Closed. Mom and Son Banned from Owning Dogs After Son Takes a Game of Wheelbarrow Too Far.

No Matter How Tough Your Life Is, At Least You Don’t Need to Spray Saltwater On Women’s Feet To Get Turned On. Or Maybe You Do.

Nice Racket They Have Going Here. Yogi Steals the Pic-i-nic Baskets and Man Steals the Tables.

It Ain’t Over Until the Lady Gets Drunk on a Plane.

Hungry As a Horse...That Lives in Florida.

Even National Hoodie Day Isn’t the Appropriate Time to Bring Out Your Klan Costume…Councilor.

Motorboat, Motorboat, Motorboat I’m Sorry, I’m Sorry, I’m Sorry.

The House Comes With Ample Closet Space, Just Enough for a Homeless Japanese Woman To Hide. You Know, If It Ever Comes Up.

There’s no real money in albums anymore, possibly because more and more people seem to have sticky fingers or sticky ‘right-click-save-as’ fingers. You might have noticed that it is not as taboo for an artist to license their music for commercial purposes as it once was (though Of Montreal kind of leapt over the thin line between practical and sellout awhile ago).

While mostly every band is exploring the options of handing over their music to play in the background of sitcoms and films, not many seem to tread into film scoring waters. Since it’s a much different ballgame, one that takes more skill, time and patience, scoring is a goal for very few and an option of even fewer. Singer / songwriter Bon Iver says that it is a dream for him:

“I was talking to someone in L.A. about soundtracks and scoring. I love touring, I love making records, but eventually all I want...I want to score. I want people to ask me to score their film or use my songs in cinematic ways. I think the ultimate media is a story that you can watch and feel and have a musical moment to. I think it's my favorite. I love watching something when music is creating motion within the motion,” Iver said in a recent interview.

While not pointing fingers at others who may be getting while the getting is good, Iver does point out that if he is licensing music, he wants to be “exclusive” and not just pimp out his music to the first person who asks.

Perk up your ears Wilco.

Bon Iver Wants to Score