click HERE for a bigger version of the above flyer.

Hinted at and posted in some form on SXSW's website recently, but now offically announced... BrooklynVegan had the honor of helping put together what will be a very special show happening this Tuesday, March 13, 2012 in Austin as part of SXSW at the Belmont in honor of muiti-talented artist Daniel Johnston's very first comic book "Space Ducks", or more specifically to help celebrate the release of the FREE iPad app version that is coming first, new Daniel Johnston songs and tributes to him included. Read more about the forthcoming app and partially-Kickstarter funded graphic novel, which you can PRE-ORDER NOW, at the end of this post.

The party, big flyer HERE, is open to all SXSW badgeholders. Get there early for drink specials courtesy of Original Moonshine, Tecate and Republic Tequilia, and to experience the entire night of special sets. There will be Daniel Johnston covers and tributes throughout, with co-headlining performances by Daniel Johnston and Built to Spill. It will go like this:

Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ the Belmont, Austin, TX
8:00 Dinosaur Feathers
8:40 special guest (a band we're not allowed to announce)
9:25 R. Stevie Moore
9:55 Jeffrey Lewis
10:25 Kimya Dawson
11:10 Will Sheff of Okkervil River
11:35 Foy Vance
11:40 Matt Vasquez of Delta Spirit
11:45 Alex Maas of the Black Angels
11:55 Daniel Johnston & Motopony
01:05 Built to Spill

Doors close at 2am.

This show is happening one night before the BrooklynVegan official SXSW showcase at Bar 96 which is two nights before the BrooklynVegan/Power of the Riff official SXSW showcase at Scoot Inn.

Learn more about Space Ducks, and others who had a hand in this all, below...

Continue reading "BV Presents Daniel Johnston's 'Space Ducks' SXSW Launch Party w/ Daniel, Built to Spill & many more performing"

The Shins at Terminal 5 in 2009 (more by Natasha Ryan)

The Shins are set to perform on SNL on March 10, ten days before the release of their new album, Port of Morrow, due out on March 20 via Aural Apothecary/Columbia Records. It will be the band's second SNL performance (they first performed in 2007).

While they're in town they'll be playing a streaming show too:

The Shins are back! NPR invites you to experience the anticipated new album Port Of Morrow in an exclusive live concert stream via the new NPR Music iPad app. Download the free NPR Music app to watch the live show on March 7 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

The show will take place at a club in NYC.

Though no public live-and-in-person NYC shows have been announced (yet?), the Shins' upcoming tour currently includes Bonnaroo, Sasquatch!, Coachella, and SXSW. All announced dates are listed below.

They just released a video for the album's single, "Simple Song," which you can watch below, along with a lyric video for that song's b-side, "September," and all dates...

Continue reading "The Shins playing SNL and a NPR iPad app show (while in NYC), have a new video, other dates & stuff"

Bjork at Housing Works in 2009 (more by Ryan Muir)

Bjork has been stirring things up lately as she preps her upcoming seventh album Biophilia. The album, which has no official release date yet, is set to be a multi-media affair that encompasses a 10-song album in many formats. There's the traditional format, and music videos for every track directed by long-time collaborator Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), and an iPad app produced with interactive artist Scott Snibbe for each track, and a Biophilia live show which is premiering later this month at her three-week residency at Manchester International Festival. Exact dates are listed below.

Regarding the iPad apps, The Guardian reports:

Biophilia for iPad will include around 10 separate apps, all housed within one "mother" app. Each of the smaller apps will relate to a different track from the album, allowing people to explore and interact with the song's themes or even make a completely new version. It will also be an evolving entity that will grow as and when the album's release schedule dictates, with new elements added...For one song, Virus, the app will feature a close-up study of cells being attacked by a virus to represent what Snibbe calls: "A kind of a love story between a virus and a cell. And of course the virus loves the cell so much that it destroys it." The interactive game challenges the user to halt the attack of the virus, although the result is that the song will stop if you succeed. In order to hear the rest of the song, you have to let the virus take its course. Using some artistic license, the cells will also mouth along to the chorus. It's this determination to fuse different elements together - be it juxtaposing a female choir from Greenland with the bleeps and glitches of electronic music pioneers Matmos during the Vespertine tour, or meshing soaring strings and jagged beats on the Homogenic album - that helps explain the power and success of Björk's collaborations.

--

In support of the album, Bjork launched a new website, which according to her twitter, includes an "interactive Biophilia universe". The site has an audio clip at the bottom of Bjork speaking about innovations in electronic music and how she is excited to apply them to Biophilia. According to a message on the homepage when viewed in Firefox, "this website has been developed using the latest html5 technology. to experience it fully, we recommend you to use the following browsers: safari, chrome."

The album features the employment of two brand new instruments created for Bjork by Icelandic organ maker Bjorgvin Tomasson. One is an organ that Bjork controls digitally with a computer, and the other, which Bjork calls a "gameleste" is a hybrid of a celeste and a gamelan.

So far, we've been graced with two clips from the upcoming album. Back in December, an instrumental track off Biophilia appeared on the Solar System iPad app. She also posted a 33 second clip of herself driving while the new song "Crystalline" plays on the car stereo. Check both of those out below. According to her twitter, "Crystalline" will appear in full towards the end of June. She also posted a picture on facebook hinting at a video for the song:

It had also been announced in February that Bjork is releasing a collaboration with Omar Souleyman, who played Music Hall of Williamsburg last night (6/12). No details on the collab have been released since, though a 2011 release date is anticipated. UPDATE: the collaboration is just a remix of a Biophilia track.

No live U.S. Bjork dates to announce yet, but the Bjork-covering jazz orchestra Bjorkestra plays Highline Ballroom Tuesday (6/14) as part of the Blue Note Jazz Festival. Tickets are on sale, and can be purchased with a 50% off discount by using the access code "BIGBAND". (note: Ticketweb seems to be having issues, so try again later if you can't get to the link).

Videos and tour dates below...

Continue reading "Bjork slowly revealing 'Biophilia' (performing it live in the UK), Bjorkestra playing Highline (now 50% off!)"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Bibi Tanga - "Be Africa" (Dave Sitek Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Little Dragon - Blinking Pigs (MP3)

Little Dragon @ Le Poisson Rouge in 2009 (more by Matthew Taplinger)

Little Dragon announced an early 2011 US tour promoting the release of their upcoming third full length album. The tour makes two stops in New York at Music Hall of Williamsburg on January 20 and Bowery Ballroom on January 21. Tickets are on sale. No openers mentioned yet.

Little Dragon are currently on an international tour (Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand) supporting the Gorillaz, whose most recent album Plastic Beach features Little Dragon on two tracks; "Empire Ants" and "To Binge." LD vocalist Yukimi Nagano also performs both songs live with the band (you may have seen her do it at MSG or on Letterman).

Speaking of Gorillaz, Damon Albarn has announced not only an upcoming Gorillaz album, but two other albums as well. According to an interview with Stuff, Albarn has plans for a second album by The Good, The Bad, & The Queen, and for an album by a new band he's a part of. The new band features Tony Allen (also of The Good, The Bad, & The Queen), Flea, and some of Albarn's "favourite African musicians will be involved also."

Stuff also asked Albarn if Blur, who released a DVD documentary this year, have any plans for a world tour or new album. Albarn responded, "There won't be another world tour for me - for anything - for five to six years; it would seem unlikely. I have a young daughter and it's just not feasible, it's too long away from home. This has been great, but it's too much after a while and so, no, there won't be any tours for me for a while, I should think."

Albarn has also been recording a new Gorillaz album on tour with his iPad. He told NME "I've made it on an iPad - I hope I'll be making the first record on an iPad," he said. "I fell in love with my iPad as soon as I got it, so I've made a completely different kind of record." Albarn wants to release the album "before Christmas."

Gorillaz recorded a new single "Doncamatic" with British R&B singer Daley which will be officially released on November 22 in three formats. The CD version also includes a Joker remix of the song, the iTunes EP adds the third track "Album Mix Tape," and the 7 inch single is "Doncamatic" with the Paul Harris remix of "Empire Ants" on side B. All three formats are currently available for pre-order. There's also a video for the song. You can watch it below.

Little Dragon also recently collaborated with Dave Sitek on one of the tracks off this year's Maximum Balloon release. Sitek more recently remixed the track "Be Africa" by France's Bibi Tanga . It has nothing to do with anything really, but it's being offered as a free download, so grab that mp3 above.

The Gorillaz video and all tour dates below...

Continue reading "new Damon Albarn albums & a Gorillaz video, his iPad, Little Dragon tour dates & Dave Sitek too"

Eclectic rocker Neil Young, who has made no secret of his disdain for the Grammys, finally won a coveted trophy on Sunday for the first time in a career spanning almost 50 years.

Fittingly, the Canadian singer/songwriter was honored for a long-delayed boxed set collecting more than 120 tracks from his early days.

"Neil Young Archives Vol. 1 (1963-1972)" won the Grammy for best art direction on a boxed or special limited-edition package. Young, 64, shared the award with fellow art directors Gary Burden and Jenice Heo.

"Thanks a lot, everybody," Young said as he accepted his statuette.

He also competed for best solo rock vocal Grammy but lost to Bruce Springsteen, whose career total rose to 20.

On Friday he was honored by the music industry at its annual MusiCares charity fundraiser in recognition of his annual concerts for the Bridge School for disabled children.

The 10-disc "Archives" boxed set has been in the works for years, with Young frequently delaying its release so that technology could catch up with his vision. It boasts studio and live tracks, demos, outtakes and other rarities, as well as videos and the first digital release of his directing debut, "Journey Through the Past."

Fans have the choice of three configurations: CD, DVD and Blu-ray -- the most expensive at more than $200. [Reuters]

Kings of Leon won three. MGMT won none. Loudon Wainwright, Steve Earle, Levon Helm, Steve Martin (bluegrass), and Michael J Fox all won Grammys. Phoenix won for best Alternative Music Album. David Byrne & Brian Eno's CD won for 'Recording Package'. Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, Les Paul and Michael Jackson were honored. Stephen Colbert won in the comedy category which came later in the show than his iPad bit. Video of that with the full list of winners below...

Continue reading "full list of 2010 Grammy Award Winners (Phoenix, Stephen Colbert, Kings of Leon, David Byrne, Leonard Cohen & more) "