The Townhall's blasticpubble, in conjunction with lou2ser, has posted online a videotaped performance by The Olivia Tremor Control and The Music Tapes from 1999, live at the Echo Lounge in Atlanta. The duo have also posted videos for Of Montreal, Marshmallow Coast, and The Sunshine Fix, taped at the Kindercore 2000 Expo. Some clips, with links to the full sets:

Julian Koster, leader of The Music Tapes and late of Neutral Milk Hotel, can be pretty reclusive. That's why it's pretty exciting to learn that he's had a friend set up a website for him to pass on "updates, announcements and other magical things." The first is a singing saw concert in New York City on August 8. For instructions--you must have a ticket!--please visit his website directly:

The Orbiting Human Circus

Thanks to the proprietor of the website for letting me know!

UPDATE: I just received a nice note from Julian, who wanted to reassure everyone (in case there was any doubt) that the website is completely legitimate and not a hoax, and will serve as the official dispenser of Music Tapes information in the future.

Here's a little Dressy Bessy live video to hold you over until the next album comes out. It's not new...I just felt like posting some Dressy Bessy music today.

There's a very good Kevin Barnes interview buried in Pitchfork's 2007 festival coverage. The direct link is here. He sheds some light on the new album (which isn't, yet), and explains the new direction he's exploring musically, which sounds fascinating actually. Also there's some talk about Star Wars, and why some good performances can be created out of chaos, specifically losing bassist Matt Dawson before the Pitchfork show. He writes:

Yeah...this whole show was a bit of flying by the seat of our pants because we didn't have much time to rehearse and our bass player quit-- well, he quit/got fired-- a couple days before the show, and so we had to figure out what we were going to do without a bass player. And so the guy who had been doing guitar tech for us stepped in on a couple different songs and Nina, my wife, who used to play bass with us, played on a song, and then we used some bass on the backing tracks. And then our CD player-- the thing we use to play the backing tracks for us-- wasn't programmed correctly so it kept skipping to the next song.

This paragraph caused a bit of panic in the Of Montreal forum amongst the many Matt D. fans. So Matt responded:

I was "fired" for the offence of quitting. The firing occurred after I told Kevin that Pitchfork would be my last show with the band. He said to just go ahead and go, I asked if he was sure and he said yes. There wasn't a lot of discussion. I had made the decision to leave the band weeks before and it was no surprise to anyone. I guess he didn't want anyone around who wasn't 100% committed. I made it clear that I really wouldn't have minded doing that last show to make the transition as smooth as possible considering the circumstances (there were a lot of very sudden, complicated circumstances). I really hope Kevin isn't trying to be publicly nasty. Davey [Pierce] is a wonderful guy and a gifted musician and if he wants and gets the gig I am happy for him. Hopefully no more needs to be said about this.

Me too. Again, best wishes to Matt in all future projects.

Casper & the Cookies have announced that they will be backing the legendary Daniel Johnston for his upcoming appearance at the 2007 Athens PopFest. The band writes on their MySpace page, "His regular band can't make it and while he's going to do some solo stuff...we will have the honor of playing several songs with him! The show will be Saturday, Aug. 11th at the 40 Watt here in Athens."

Quixoticgoat has also pointed out that you can hear a terrific Casper & the Cookies cover of the Honeycombs classic "Have I the Right?" at the Coercion Records MySpace page. They've been doing this live at their shows, so it's cool to hear a clean studio version.

Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) plugs a handful of his favorite bands at the New York Times, including Dr. Dog, Grizzly Bear, Panda Bear, and A Hawk and a Hacksaw. He writes:

I followed this band because Jeremy Barnes used to be in a band called Neutral Milk Hotel, and I loved their records. This group has made at least one or two other records. “A Hawk and a Hacksaw” (Leaf) was a collaboration with the Hun Hangár Ensemble. It has a cymbalon, which is like a piano played like a hammered dulcimer. I actually bought a cymbalon in Hamburg, Germany, on tour and had to find a way to ship it back home. It has a broken string, so we’re still looking for someone who could repair it. I listen to a lot of folk music from around the world. I don’t know the background of everyone in this group, but the music has a freshness to it. Just love that cymbalon, can’t get enough of it.

Just to be clear, their latest EP is a collaboration with the Hun Hangar Ensemble, not their self-titled first album. (This is probably the NY Times' copy editor's fault, not Mr. Tweedy's.) Still, pretty nice plug.

You may have heard the positive word-of-mouth surrounding the incipient band from Elf Power guitarist Jimmy Hughes. Folklore, with their debut album The Ghost of H.W. Beaverman, has accomplished the mean feat of pulling off a concept album that plays as a gorgeous collection of pop songs. In the Optical Atlas interview, Jimmy discusses why he decided to have a collection of guest vocalists add their own spin to his songs, how he's expanding his recent EP into a full-length, and helps unlock the legend of H.W. Beaverman.

In the Courtyard with: Jimmy Hughes of Folklore

Deerhunter had an amusing run-in with Kevin Barnes at the Pitchfork Festival. From the band's blog:

I always wanted to start a feud with Kevin Barnes from of Montreal. This started with the now-imfamous dis song he wrote about my good friend / sometimes "girlfriend" Eva ("Bunny Aint No Kind of Rider") My plan was to beat him up or at least shank him on stage. I saw him everywhere over the course of the weekend and kind of snarrled at him from across the catering table. He was walking around in the middle of the day wearing blue glitter eyemakeup and asspants. Long story short: we were driving away at the end of the night sunday, and i saw him being interviewed by the pitchfork dudes on video. I ran up and grabbed the mic (thinking i was going to humiliate him on a small level, and look all badass) and asked him "Why are you such a pretentious fucktard?" and he looks at me and says really saddly "Because I havent figured it out yet..."I walked away feeling like such a fucking asshole. I got served. I told the guys in the van to hold up and ran back over to him after he was interviewed and apologized and explained my feud concept. He was really cool and nice. Then he came and hung out with us for the rest of the night.

The Booty Patrol is reporting that more Of Montreal dates have been secured for the U.S., including two nights at the Avalon in Los Angeles and three nights at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. Amazing. I have updated the Optical Atlas tour dates section with these as well as other E6 dates.

Of Montreal Upcoming U.S. Dates

09-28 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
10-02 Knoxville, TN - Bijou Theatre *
10-03 Urbana, IL - Canopy Club *
10-04 Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theatre *
10-05 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue *
10-06 Chicago, IL - Metro *
10-07 Chicago, IL - Metro *
10-08 Oberlin, OH - Hale's Gym *
10-09 Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre *
10-10 Buffalo, NY - The Tralf *
10-11 Philadelphia, PA - The Trocadero *
10-12 Boston, MA - The Roxy *
10-13 New York, NY - Roseland *
10-14 Baltimore, MD - Ram's Head Live *
10-31 Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club *
11-01 New Orleans, LA - House of Blues *
11-02 Houston, TX - Numbers *
11-03 Austin, TX - Fun Fun Fun Fest
11-04 Dallas, TX - Granda Theatre *
11-05 El Paso, TX - Club 101 *
11-06 Tempe, AZ - Marquee *
11-07 Tucson, AZ - Rialto *
11-08 Los Angeles, CA - Avalon *
11-09 Los Angeles, CA - Avalon *
11-12 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall *
11-13 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall *
11-14 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall *
11-16 Salt Lake City, UT - In the Venue *
11-17 Denver, CO - Ogden Theater *
11-18 Lawrence, KS - Liberty Hall *
11-19 St. Louis, MO - The Pageant *
* with Grand Buffet, MGMT

Often when I listen to The Albemarle Sound, the third album by The Ladybug Transistor, I feel like I'm enjoying the soundtrack to the perfect 60's film that was never made: part European art film, part romantic melodrama, part Spaghetti Western. For the latter, play "Cienfuegos," replete with the sound effects of a crackling fire that might be a homestead burnt to the ground by grinning, yellow-toothed bandits. "Cienfuegos (Cicada Sonata)" is an alternate version of the instrumental, the B-side on the Brighton Bound single. It's a little more modest, and ultimately more piano-driven. But see if it doesn't make you want to hop on a horse, ride across the New Mexico desert, and shoot somebody's hat off.

The Ladybug Transistor - Cienfuegos (Cicada Sonata)

Some observers at the recent Of Montreal performance at the Pitchfork Festival noticed the absence of longtime member Matt Dawson. This led to speculation that he's left the band, which he just confirmed in a Townhall thread. Matt writes:

Hello everyone, it's true I have left the band, but everything is amicable. I am just a bit worn out from three years on the road and and it seems like a good time to take a break, spend some time practicing, and try my hand at some different things. Thank you all for coming to the shows and I have had a great time playing in the band.

Kind of sad, as Matt was always a cheery presence in the band's live incarnation. Still, I am amazed that any of the Of Montrealers are still able to stand on a stage for any given time without collapsing, given their constant, breakneck touring. Best wishes to Matt in his future endeavors from Optical Atlas.

The Ladybug Transistor recently taped a performance and interview for WNYC's Soundcheck program. Thanks to the Ladybugs for the head's-up.

The Ladybug Transistor on Soundcheck

Of Montreal's latest video, "Suffer for Fashion," is now accompanied by a limited edition CD single, available at Polyvinyl Records' online store. The single features two bonus tracks, the previously-available "Du Og Meg" and a cover of the Fiery Furnaces' "Tropical Ice-Land." "Suffer for Fashion" is labelled as a "Radio Edit." Since "Du Og Meg" is pretty widely disseminated by now, most of you will be picking this up just for the Fiery Furnaces cover and the spectacular David Barnes art. In that case, it's still a pretty good deal at just $5.25. Order it here.

We're going way back for this week's rarity - a bonus track from The Minders' excellent singles collection, Cul-de-sacs and Dead Ends. "In the Know" features lead Minder Martyn Leaper for the first half, then switches over to Rebecca Cole for the second half's vocals, making it a little unique in their catalog. Just a nice little bit of summer pop.

The Minders - In the Know

The Ladybug Transistor have announced U.S. dates promoting their new album, Can't Wait Another Day. Best of all, they'll be playing many of them with two great bands, Papercuts and The Starlight Mints. I certainly hope they add Madison on the 3rd...

07-06 Saint Petersburg, Russia - Place
07-07 Moscow, Russia - Gauloises Avant Fest 2007
07-15 New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jack's *
07-16 Birmingham, AL - The Bottletree *
07-18 Miami, FL - Studio A *
07-19 Delray Beach, FL - City Limits *^
07-20 Tallahassee, FL - Beta Bar *
07-21 Orlando, FL - Back Booth *
07-22 Gainesville, FL - Common Grounds *
07-25 Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club *
07-26 Memphis, TN - Hi Tone *
07-28 Tulsa, OK - D-Fest
07-29 St. Louis, MO - The Bluebird &
07-31 Cleveland Heights, OH - Grog Shop %
08-01 Grand Rapids, MI - The Wealthy Theatre
08-02 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle #@
08-04 Minneapolis, MN - 7th St Entry
08-07 Seattle, WA - Crocodile Cafe @
08-08 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge @
08-09 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill @
08-11 Los Angeles, CA - Spaceland @
08-13 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge @
08-14 Denver, CO - Hi-Dive @
08-16 Denton, TX - Rubber Gloves @
08-17 Austin, TX - Emo's @
08-18 Houston, TX - Rudyard's Pub @
08-20 Atlanta, GA - The Earl @
08-21 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 @
09-27 Cambridge, MA - T.T. the Bear's Place

* with the Starlight Mints
^ with the Postmarks
& with Bound Stems
% with Stars of Track and Field
# with Sparklehorse
@ with Papercuts

Guess it's Robert Schneider week at Optical Atlas. Here's an interview with him on CBC Radio, if you're looking for something interesting to listen to.

Breaking New Sound

Hey everyone, here's a birthday present I can share with you, courtesy Robert Schneider. It's a new song from Thee American Revolution, from their forthcoming LP, Buddha Electrostorm. Can I just say that it blows my mind?

Thee American Revolution - Powerhouse

This week's MP3 is a Marbles rarity--"Baby, It's Your Birthday" from 1999's Hydroponic Mascara Volume Two (a great compilation which also featured The Minders, Fablefactory, Elf Power, and more). And the reason is that it really is my birthday today (July 4).

Marbles - Baby It's Your Birthday

Speaking of Robert Schneider (Marble), the Apples in Stereo frontman and self-avowed mathematics fan will be appearing at MathFest in San Jose, California, August 2nd through the 5th. Joe Gallian, president of the Mathematics Association of America, will host a public interview with Schneider on Thursday, August 2nd, at 6pm, at the MathFest event, and Robert will perform "a short acoustic set" on Saturday, August 4th, at 9pm. Robert is a math devotee who created a "non-Pythagorean" musical scale which is employed in his latest Apples album, New Magnetic Wonder.

He writes Optical Atlas, "I'm excited and pretty nervous about it. I get to hear a bunch of really cool lectures (and stand around awkwardly feeling out of place I am sure, even moreso than the other attendees) including some lectures about Leonard Euler (my math hero), who is the coolest, most creative, amazing mathematician of all time (along with Ramanujan, who was also a very beautiful figure, though not as important as Euler). I highly recommend everyone should read up about Euler, an inspired and interesting historical figure whose name should be a household word like Edison or Ben Franklin (actually check out Ramanujan too, for their eras these guys are just as cool and romantic as like Brian Wilson and Syd Barrett, although barely blips on the pop culture radar)."

Register for MathFest and read all about it at their website. Happy 4th of July everyone! (Now stop setting off those fireworks because you're pissing off my dogs.)

Apparently it's been a closely guarded secret for some months, but Kindercore Records is now officially back. Their new website launched July 1. The only hint that this was coming was the image of a zombie hand reaching out of a grave marked "Kindercore R.I.P.", as appeared on the website in recent days.

The long-running Athens label began in April 1996 by musicians Ryan Lewis and Dan Geller, first releasing a handful of cassette tapes which they passed out to friends, and eventually graduating to vinyl and CD releases that began to get wide attention and excellent press. Of Montreal, Dressy Bessy, Masters of the Hemisphere, The Essex Green, The Sunshine Fix, Great Lakes, Marshmallow Coast, Call and Response, Kincaid, I Am the World Trade Center, Japancakes, The Four Corners, and Vermont were among the names in Kindercore's roster, as well as international acts such as The Real Tuesday Weld and Birdie. The label was ahead of the curve, specializing in retro-minded pop music, and investing confidence and faith in bands like Of Montreal and Dressy Bessy years before the greater public took interest in them. After a brief distribution deal with Emperor Norton (resulting in Olivia Tremor Control's Singles and Beyond, among other records), in 2002 the label teamed with The Telegraph Company, and seemed poised to both broaden their roster into new genres and begin packaging CDs with bonus music DVDs as an added incentive to move physical product (see Dressy Bessy's self-titled third album). The relationship soon turned sour, as Telegraph attempted to boot Ryan and Dan out of the company they'd founded. The two sued Telegraph, a suit only recently settled with a judgment against Telegraph's Stan Hartman. Meanwhile, the vast Kindercore catalog became either out-of-print or turned over to other labels (as happened with much of Of Montreal's catalog, reissued through Polyvinyl). Now that Kindercore is back, we can hopefully expect to see many gems from the late 90's and early 00's coming back into general availability.

Details are still coming out, and the new website is under construction, but Ryan has posted on their blog: "...this is a very different Kindercore than the one you might be used to. Time, age, experience and a three year legal battle have left their scars and changed our temperment, outlook and values....Kindercore.com is meant to be an evolving, cooperative with input from artists, writers, designers, filmmakers, scientists, bands, fans and all of those in between." Befitting this new community, the website is built to accommodate web comics, videos, and short prose, in addition to the expected features, like streaming music samples and an online shop. They've also signed Athens star (and my crush) King of Prussia, as well as Ruby Isle and USSR. Check it all out here.