During the next few days I’ll be in Austin witnessing what is sure to be a monumentally insane experience while I gather video interviews for Art in the Age. To a select few bands I interview, I’ll be giving away ROOT as well as some yet-to-be released AITA Tee designs. Totally excited!

Bands I’m looking forward to seeing include: Best Coast, Octopus Project, Moon Duo, Woods, Dum Dum Girls, Talk Normal, First Aid Kit, Banjo Or Freakout, Serena Maneesh and  CFCF.

To see what I am up to during the festival and/or to get in touch, follow Art in the Age on Facebook and Twitter. Regular posting will resume next Monday.

Will Apple’s purchase of Lala lead to the DEATH OF DOWNLOADING? Some interesting insights via Tech Crunch:

For years there’s been speculation that Apple would supplement their $1/song (now $1.29) iTunes business with a monthly subscription service, but their upcoming plans are quite different and once again are positioning them to lead the digital music industry into a new era. Leveraging their ubiquitous iTunes software Apple plans to upgrade their users almost over night to a cloud music service in an ambitious move to beat Amazon and others to a cloud music service. Record labels are wary to give Apple even greater dominance which is why Apple’s new strategy is designed to sidestep new licenses from the major labels.

Apple’s recent acquisition of digital music startup Lala rekindled speculation of an iTunes subscription service. There’s no shortage of subscription offerings (Napster, Rhapsody, Spotify, Pandora, etc), but none have attracted the millions of subscribers necessary to make the high royalty structures work. Experts have pondered that Apple’s design expertise and hardware integration could make subscription work. And leveraging Lala’s digital library, licenses from the major labels, and a management team who cycled through several business models including the ten cent web song rental could make it a reality. It’s a logical assumption, but after talking to a wide variety of insider sources it’s clear there is no upcoming Apple subscription service and Apple has far different plans.

Read the rest of the article on Tech Crunch and leave your thoughts in the comments.

What the…??? I’m not a fan of this his music, but this is pretty crazy/awesome. So apparently the “Andrew W.K.” from the albums was in fact an actor hired by the real Andrew Wilkes-Krier, his dad and some others in an attempt to create “the ultimate frontman”??? Read the story below and then click through to the video where he admits it:

Popular memes and subcultural rumours suggest that another person, known as “Steev Mike”, is behind Andrew W.K.’s music. The rumours began with the release of Andrew’s first album, “I Get Wet”, when many music critics and industry insiders accused Andrew W.K. of being a corporate rock think-tank construction. When a series of websites appeared in November 2004, supposedly created by someone calling himself “Steev Mike”, the early accusations began to ring of truth. Andrew WK’s website also appeared to have been hacked during the same time period.

In November 2004, Andrew addressed the issue for the first time – in an open letter posted on his official website, he wrote, “PLEASE DON’T BELIEVE STEEV MIKE. I USED TO CALL MYSELF STEEV MIKE A LONG TIME AGO AND IT’S NOTHING NOW. Someone is trying to confuse you and make me look bad.”

A 2000 article from UK magazine Dazed & Confused, which featured a full-page story on “Steev Mike”, but showed a photo and discography of “Andrew W.K.”. Steev Mike was listed as “Executive Producer” on Andrew’s first album “I Get Wet”. Three years later, Steev Mike was listed again on Andrew’s DVD “Who Knows”, and on Andrew’s third album, “Close Calls With Brick Walls”, as “Executive Producer”.

In March 2006, a 1992 Bulb Records 7″ 45 recorded under the name Steev Mike was discovered. The tracks on the record were found to be the same as Bulb band Couch’s first EP, except for the last track, which was Couch’s track Old Man instead of the listed track (Is This) Time Travel Man.

In May 2009 Andrew discussed the “Steev Mike” rumours once again in an interview with British magazine, Front. In the interview he states, “Steev Mike is the executive producer on my first album. The nature of how we presented my initial offerings caused some confusion, even though I tried to make it as straight forward as possible”. He also adds later in the interview, in reference to rumours of him being a “puppet” for a record label, “Most of what you’ve heard is exaggerated but the parts that are true may be more disturbing than you’d hoped”.

In December 2009 during a lecture at Madame Jojo’s in London, Andrew W.K. finally admitted that the Andrew W.K. persona was created by a committee including himself, his father, and other individuals. Claiming, “I’m not the guy you’ve seen from the I Get Wet album…I’m not that same person. I don’t just mean that in a philosophical or conceptual way. It’s not the same person at all.” He continued to say that people were auditioned to play the part of Andrew W.K. and that the music and performances were created, “in the spirit of commerce.” Finally, in an interview from the same video he says, “I thought it would be more interesting if my secret history was revealed after the fact rather than as a precursor”.

(via Wikipedia)

Watch the video interview here. Andrew W.K. admits the truth around the 2:00 minute mark. Ingenious or retarded? Both?

Truth be told, I know that most of you steal albums. It’s cool, if you do, I won’t tell — promise. However, you may want to redeem yourself by helping to support an awesome band like Asobi Seksu tour across England in support of White Lies, AND do an intimate show tour in the US in January. They simply won’t make enough money to do both so they are kindly asking for your donations.

Their goal is to raise $7,500 by December 31 of this year. Each increment donated (ranging from $1 to $5,000) can get you an awesome prize from the band, the smallest plaedge ($1) will get you a digital download of one song from their upcoming acoustic album, ReWolf. The largest pledge ($5,000) will land you a private acoustic performance for you and your friends anywhere in the New York/Tri-State area.

Watch a video on their Kickstarter page and follow them on Twitter for regular updates. Let’s help them do this and give them a Happy New Year!!!

via Jay’s Twitter. C’est la vie…

{MP3} Jay Reatard – “Oh It’s Such a Shame”

Hello all, I just wanted to tell you about some new additions to the blog. First, you can listen to the 10 latest mp3s by clicking on the “MP3 PLAYER” link located at the top of the page. It’s a stand-alone player (has it’s own window), so feel free to use it while visiting other sites. Second, there is now a drop-down calendar located on the left sidebar that lists recommended, upcoming Philly shows, which will be updated monthly. Enjoy!

New Zealand Indie legend Chris Knox, who is currently recovering from a recent stroke, will soon receive a heavy dose of good vibes from an incredible list of musicians who have submitted cover versions of his songs for an upcoming compilation entitled Stroke. Impressive:

David Kilgour, The Mint Chicks, Lou Barlow, Graeme Downs, Guided By Voices, The Mountain Goats, Jay Clarkson, Martin Phillips, Jay Reatard, Yo La Tengo, Lambchop, Shane Carter, Pumice, Alec Bathgate, Will Oldham, Jeff Mangum (OMG?!!), Bill Callahan, Lambchop, and The Magnetic Fields.

Apparently more bands are expected to contribute including The Bats and Olivia Tremor Control. Now that’s la la la la la love!

Read the press release on Chris’ blog and check out his music NOW if you havent already. Dude is a genius and I wish him a speedy recovery.

{via Pitchfork}

Wow! Check out these unreleased, possibly remastered My Bloody Valentine tracks that have just leaked online. All 3 sound like they are from the Isn’t Anything period, or the EPs in between that album and Loveless. As one member on the MBV forum points out, “Kevin Song” most likely never got past the demo phase. It’s a cool tune, nonetheless, as are “Bilinda Song” and “Cowboy Song”. The latter of seems to be the most completed of the 3, and is reminiscent of “Feed Me With Your Kiss”. Suddenly it’s 1990 again!

{MP3} My Bloody Valentine – “Kevin Song” (Previously Unreleased)

{MP3} My Bloody Valentine – “Bilinda Song” (Previously Unreleased)

{MP3} My Bloody Valentine – “Cowboy Song” (Previously Unreleased)

Art in the Age (the other blog I write for) just released this awesome new Tee of tour doodles designed by Brooklyn band Asobi Seksu. You can read more about it on their blog and purchase it in the store.

I don’t like this dude’s music, but…this sucks:

From Jens’ Blog:
“I picked home one last souvenir from South America, it’s called the H1N1 virus. Wrongfully known as the Swineflue.

I was crossing the Atlantic when things started getting really bad, the fever was hallucinogenic and shaking me like a leaf and I grabbed the sleeve of the Air France steward. “I’m not feeling well, I should see a doctor” I said and the reply came as a brilliant mix of death anxiety and french rudeness: “Uh, yes… Terminal D… go there maybe… when we land”. After that the stewards and stewardesses took long detours. A ring of empty seats formed around me. Peoples eyes were kind but determined, they read “Poor you, I really wish you all the best but if you come near me or my kid I will have to stab you with this plastic fork”. I got up and went to the bathroom where I fainted.

Now I’m in quarantine for ten days. I can see the summer through my window and it’s just perfect. Summer is always best through a window.”

(via DailySwarm)

It’s true! The Walrus has a new logo and site design to coincide with the re-launch of its long-standing parent company Quaker City Mercantile (Formerly Gyro Worldwide).

The Walrus is now powered by the open-source blog format WordPress, which has allowed us to roll out some great new features such as commenting (yea, it’s about time!), “like” or “dislike”, and multiple viewing–expanded view for the full experience and list view for the “at-a-glance” experience.  There will be more additions to come, so please stay tuned. Also, please excuse any sloppiness as we are still tinkering with the design and content transfer.

Thanks for reading,
Michael

Oooooh Stone-Age Lung!

Read the full story on the NYTimes.

(via Daily Swarm)