An entry in our “Most Anticipated Albums of 2010,” Arcade Fire’s since-titled The Suburbs has gotten a single, a cover, a release date (August 2), and, at long last, a track listing. At 16 tracks, three of which are two-parters (well, two are and one seems to involve some sort of reprise, but that’s just a quibble over semantics), it could be the largest album from the band to date, and considering the band in question, “the largest album to date” means a lot. Head over to Arcade Fire’s oddly stripped-down website (seriously, didn’t they used to indulge in epic artwork and crazy interactive menus and whatnot?) for more details.
-Christian Hagen
This week Elephant 6 announced that they would be releasing their low-budget movie Major Organ and the Adding Machine this coming September 14. The movie looks confusing and inspired by hallucinogens. The movie and remastered version of the coinciding album will feature music by indie titans Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel), Kevin Barnes (of Montreal), and Will Cullen Hart (Olivia Tremor Control, Circulatory System). This is wonderful news for anyone familiar with the Georgia-based label’s penchant for weirdness and also transcendent greatness. Here’s the trailer:
-Cooper Foyt
The one show I’ll always be most depressed about not being 21 for when it went down was when the Canadian post-rock collective Godspeed You! Black Emperor made their way to First Avenue in 2003 for what allegedly went down as the one of the most intense and volatile concerts in the Twin Cities of this decade. Not only did the band deliver in the music department, crafting their live setting crescendos as meticulously and naturally as they’re able to do on record, often to ear-splitting volumes and rhythms that rumble the intestines, but also delivered quite the decisive political harangue that went on as long as one of their epic compositions, but with a lot more words (not long after famously being pulled over by American police in the south who suspected them and their guitars/drums of being terrorists and guns/bombs no less). Whether any of this sounds obnoxious/pretentious to you or not should be moot; their fans (myself included) obviously have reason to be excited that the band is back and not just curating this year’s ATP Festival, featuring headliner ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic (I know, what?), but also officially touring Europe shortly thereafter and promising 2011 North American dates, to be announced soon. If I miss this one, it will be my own damn fault. Check out Stereoboard for more info.
-Chris Polley
I’m on a bit of a classic hip-hop kick right now. Blame it on Jeff Chang’s exhaustive and artfully researched book, Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: The History of the Hip-Hop Generation. Or maybe blame it on last week’s news piece regarding the Rock the Bells tour with Lauryn Hill, Snoop Dogg, and A Tribe Called Quest, a lineup so mythic it’s like a rap historian’s wet dream. Whatever the reason, when news struck of the leak of the pre-ordained single from Dr. Dre’s looooong-awaited Detox album, “Under Pressure feat. Jay-Z,” I was there pretty much instantly. Unfortunately, the version currently available is reportedly unfinished (and tagged with an obnoxious, replaying plug for whatever website was conniving enough to get the track onto the web in the first place), and the track is, as it stands now, somewhat underwhelming, considering the heavyweights involved. Still, this could finally push Dre over the edge of releasing this beast of an album (he certainly does like to take it at his own pace), and that’s something I can fully support. You can listen to a streaming version of the track here for now.
-Christian Hagen
UPDATE: EMI, the troubled major music label, has decided to change course and evolve into a “Global Rights Management Business.” This is the first sign that the major music labels are finally coming to terms with their impending doom. EMI nearly went bankrupt this year, but they were bailed out by a private equity firm. Their dramatic shift in business strategy does suggest that EMI is trying to survive instead of languishing in the quickly deteriorating music business. EMI will now focus on signing artists to so-called 360 deals where they will help manage all aspects of a band or artist’s career. They will also attempt to work with indie artists who are unwilling to sign over their music to the label by assisting them with distribution. EMI is definatly making a move in the right direction. Music content is more popular than ever, and there certainly will be billions to made by owning and licensing music. Music is not nor will it ever be free. EMI might be securing its future as a profitable business by shifting its focus to rights management from the traditional business model of a music label. It might indeed be already too late to save the sinking ship, but only time will tell.
-Daniel Wipert
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There are no OMDs due this week, nor do we have the playlist situation worked out. But if you haven’t yet, check out some of the awesome stuff we posted last week! Or leave a comment down below with news you think we should be covering!