Passion Pit played in Los Angeles for two consecutive nights with Cale Parks and Harlem Shakes. Excellent efforts on the two opening bands on both nights, but this is about the dance band of the summer.

Both shows, one at the tiny Troubadour in West Hollywood, and the other at the more appropriately-sized Echoplex in LA, were sold out for the mere price of $15 each. Because of buzz and the hype, tickets were going for $45-$65 each on Craigslist. The local scalper is living large this week.

This pretty much applies to both nights, but everyone is amped to dance and have a good time with their new favorite band. The boys of Passion Pit come out on stage, frontman Michael Angelakos is that friend you have in school that decided to grow a curly afro and a beard, one of the dudes has a McLovin quality to him, and the other keyboardist cast away to the side looks like he’s just lucky to be in a band.

In their short set, they play the best songs off their debut LP Manners, “Folds in Your Hands” and “Little Secrets”. The crowd goes crazy for the single “The Reeling” and blogger favorite “Sleepyhead”. The band has cleaned up and polished the tunes from their Chunk of Change EP. “I Got Your Number”, “Sleepyhead” and “Better Things” all have peppier disco feel to them. The crowd takes the place of the child choir, echoing and singing along “higher and higher” and “OH NO!” If you don’t focus on his voice constantly cracking, it is a really good time.

Angelakos is young, and fairly new, so his stage banter needs some work. Wait a few months, and that humbled and modest attitude they are sporting now will soon turn to snappy attitudes and flashier outfits. That is, if in a few months, Angelakos still has a voice. Auto-tune and production are his friends, because that dude is so pitchy. From time to time, you’ll see people giggle at his warble and whine; not hitting high notes, fading off. The music, though, is so heart-thumping and fun, that his screams go unnoticed, and the dancing continues.

The second night at the Echoplex was a bigger production with a video backdrop and lights, more distraction from his voice. The Echoplex show was more energetic and exciting. On both nights, they only played for fifty minutes. For those people that paid $50 for a ticket, that’s a dollar minute. Everyone had the idea that the smaller venue meant a better, more intimate performance, but really, it was kind of a lackluster show. The second night had more people, so more people to impress, and all in all, a better showing.

It’s time for the weekly rumor. The type that cannot be confirmed nor denied because all parties involved are long since deceased. The type of rumor that will have people talking for the next three minutes, maybe resulting in an IM to a friend with the link and that one emoticon that looks like you’re saying “hmmmm.”

Well, today it’s coming from the good people at The Daily Swarm, who reported on a story in The Independent, which suggests Jimi Hendrix was murdered by his manager, who stood to collect millions of dollars on a life insurance policy. The claim was made by a roadie, who says Hendrix’s manager, Michael Jeffrey, confessed to the “killing.” Regardless, Jeffrey was killed in a plane crash two years later, so the point is moot from a legal standpoint. But not a historical one.

Read the full account here.

First it was the meltdown in front of thousands of people. Then came the apology, which was focused on the level of stress Nathan Williams has endured since starting to tour extensively in February. Now comes the solution (or one solution we should say).

As Pitchfork is reporting, the rest of the Wavves European tour is apparently cancelled — or at least not listed on their MySpace anymore.

One of our favorite French Canadian exports dropped a new CD entitled Labyrinthes back in March. We’ve had the new Malajube record in our iTunes since, but find it creeping into our consciousness as a standout when we’ve got the player on shuffle. With a pleasant, if not instantly recognizable, demeanor, statements like, “Wait, who is this?” followed by, “This is pretty good.” are common whenever a track from Labyrinthes pops up.

In typical Malajube fashion, most — if not all — of the songs are sung in French, and with a quieter yet far more expansive tone on their latest LP, they sound a bit like Dungen (with the Montreal appeal of course). Often, these slower tempo tracks, like “Dragon De Glace” for example, are our favorites on the album. For good reason “Porté Disparu” is the lead single; with a more-traditional pop bent and uptempo stride, it’s the obvious choice, but we kind of dig the ethereal vision of the whole record.

Malajube – “Porté Disparu”

MP3 Download

As reported last Friday, Nathan Williams and drummer Ryan Ulsh stumbled their way through a cut-short Wavves set at the Primavera Sound Festival that included an intraband meltdown, shoe tossing, boos and passive aggressive audience taunting. Later that evening, Williams apologized via his Ghost Ramp, citing copious amounts of alcohol, sedatives and touring as the culprit.

From the Wavves Ghost blog:
Friday, May 29, 2009
Primavera/Europe

I think in the back of my head I knew I wasn’t exactly mentally healthy enough to continue to tour the way I have been since February. Honest truth is this has all happened so fast and I feel like the weight of it has been building for months now with what seems like a never ending touring and press schedule which includes absolutely zero time to myself. I’m sorry to everyone who has put effort into this and to everyone who supported me. Mixing ecstasy valium and xanax before having to play in front of thousands of people was one of the more poor decisions I’ve made(duh) and I realize my drinking has been a problem now for a good period of time. Nothing else I can do but apologize to everyone that has been affected by my poor decision making. I made a mistake. Not the first mistake I’ve made and it for sure wont be the last. I’m human. Don’t know why I chose the biggest platform I could imagine to loose my shit, but that’s life. You live and you learn.

It was back in April that Phil Spector was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of actress Lana Clarkson after only 30 hours of jury deliberation. Now he’s been sentenced to the maximum 19 years to life.

From CNN:

That means Spector, 69, would be 88 before he would be eligible for parole.

Spector’s lawyer gave a $17,000 check to Donna Clarkson, the victim’s mother, to pay for her funeral expenses — part of the court-ordered sentence.

Read the full story here.

Unfortunately, this week was dominated by the very sad news of Jay Bennett’s passing. So while we spoke to Maria Taylor, Ladytron, Mastodon, Landmine Marathon and Torche, and premiered the video for These United States’ “Honor Amongst Thieves”, this week our thoughts are on Jay and his family. Here is The Tripwire week in review.

FEATURES
Lady Luck: An Interview With Maria Taylor

Five Questions For Ladytron

Bombshell – Mastodon, Landmine Marathon, Torche

LISTEN
Mew – “Introducing Palace Players”

Glasser – “Learn” (YACHT Remix)

Pygmy Shrews – “Shame Canal”

Free Eneergy – “Dream City”

LIVE
White Rabbits, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Antlers @ Bowery Ballroom | NYC

Vandaveer @ Sycamore | Brooklyn

BLOG
The Greatest Song At This Moment – Prince & The Power Generation “7″

The Singles Collection – No Talk, Inmates, Smart Cops

Bombshell – Mastodon, Landmine Marathon, Torche

New Music Thursday – Twin Crystals

TV
Cass McCombs – “Dreams Come True Girl” (Featuring Karen Black)

Exclusive Premiere – These United States “Honor Amongst Thieves”

Royksopp – “The Girl & The Robot” (Featuring Robyn)

Grizzly Bear – “Two Weeks”

NEWS
R.I.P. – Jay Bennett 1963-2009

Dan Deacon & Ensemble Blog About First Tour As A Band

Rivers Cuomo: “Snuggies Are Totally Legit”

Lady Sovereign Walks Off Stage In San Francisco

American Idol’s Adam Lambert To Front Queen?

Full Glastonbury Lineup Announced

Scarlett Johansson Has A New Pete Yorn Album On The Way

Beastie Boys Announce New Album Details While Mike D Gets Fined

Dear Hip-Hop Press, Please Stop Interviewing Spencer Pratt

South Carolina Judge Settles The Case Of James Brown Estate

Bueller? Bueller? Cameron’s House Up For Sale

Micachu And The Shapes Are Coming Back For More BBQ

New Jay Reatard LP, MP3

Listen To David Byrne Give You A Guided Tour Of His Office

Screaming Females Tapped As Main Support For Dead Weather Tour

Previously On Lost To Record For ABC

Want To Hear What Remastered Sounds Like?

Jay Bennett’s Family Issues Letter To Fans

Depeche Mode Tour Of The Universe Is Back On

Fox News Is Getting (Even More) Fucked Up

The Populist View – 05.28.09

Chris Brown Allegedly Sued For Administering A Wedgie

Guitar Hero 5 To Include Sonic Youth, Elliott Smith Among Others

Subtle’s Dax Pierson Awarded $183 Million Settlement Against Ford

Wavves Crash At Primavera

Kurt Vile Signs To Matador

Tone Loc Collapses On Stage, Rushed To Hospital

Yet Another Reason Why Spencer Moody Is Awesome

If we had any word on whether this was a serious matter or not, we would be inclined to make some “Funky Cold Medina” joke. But since we still don’t have any idea the cause of his collapse, all jokes will be held until a later time.

From Perez Hilton (yeah, we know):

Our former Celebrity Rap Superstar buddy seemed to be somewhat unconscious and had to be taken away in an ambulance. As for the reason he collapsed, no one’s quite sure what happened.

Club officials wouldn’t comment on the situation. Though, according to one of the Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies working security at the show, it seems Tone has a history of seizures.

Read the full account here.

Since we have a tendency to look below the radar for our music, we decided to take a weekly look at The Populist View. We’ll stop short of calling our tastes underground, let’s just say we’re pop-culturally inept. So we’ve devised a way to keep up to date.

Its quite simple actually. We’re just going to give side by side comparisons of top ten U.S. singles from Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and the Official top ten UK singles of every week. This way we’ll always know what’s spreading the cheese for radio programmers and people who still buy music in the two most influential music markets in the world. And if this week’s list is any indication, the people want their Black Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga on both sides of the Atlantic!

Billboard’s top ten U.S. singles for the week of 05.28.09
#01. “Boom Boom Pow” – The Black Eyed Peas
#02. “Poker Face” – Lady Gaga
#03. “Blame It” – Jamie Foxx feat. T-Pain
#04. “Don’t Stop Believin’” – Glee Cast
#05. “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)” – Pitbull
#06. “New Divide” – Linkin Park
#07. “Day ‘N’ Nite” – Kid Cudi
#08. “Halo” – Beyonce
#09. “Birthday Sex” – Jeremih
#10. “Waking Up In Vegas” – Katy Perry

The Official top ten UK singles for the week of 05.28.09
#01. “Bonkers” – Dizzee Rascal & Armand Van Helden
#02. “Boom Boom Pow” – The Black Eyed Peas
#03. “Number 1″ – Tinchy Stryder feat. N-Dubz
#04. “We Made You” – Eminem
#05. “Red” – Daniel Merriweather
#06. “In For The Kill” – La Roux
#07. “Not Fair” – Lily Allen
#08. “Kiss Me Thru The Phone” – Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em feat. Sammie
#09. “Poker Face” – Lady Gaga
#10. “Fairytale” – Alexander Rybak

The first single from Mew’s upcoming LP, No More Stories Are Told Today I’m Sorry They Washed Away No More Stories The World Is Grey I’m Tired Let’s Wash Away (still not as bad as Marnie Stern), “Introducing Palace Players” sees a bit more pop than the normally progressive and self-described pretentious art rock these Danes have given us in years past.

Mew – “Introducing Palace Players”

Yup, we did it. We were able to find two new Crystal bands in consecutive weeks. Last week it was the Euro-dance Kitsune product Crystal Fighters, this week it’s Vancouver’s psychedelic-punk-pioneers Twin Crystals. But don’t be scared off by the name.

Like every good “crystal” band, they have a synth-aesthetic, but the stereotypes stop there. They add a bit of the synth-punk made famous by bands like The Death Set or Team Robespierre to a dissodent backdrop of psychedelic fusion more akin to fellow Canadians DD/MM/YYYY. Featuring members of Modern Creatures, they are part of a burgeoning Vancouver punk scene that includes bands like Shearing Pinx, Nu Sensae and the Defektors, yet embody more of a universal sound that would also go over well with the bong tokers (hey, it’s Vancouver) and the dance kids in addition to the punks. That’s marketability baby!

Their self-titled LP was recently released on Needs More Ram Records and is getting critical praise abound, while their split 10-inch with Night Wounds is quite possibly one of the coolest vinyl releases we’ve seen (they were cut on acetate blanks from 1941). This track, “Two Girls”, actually comes from their Separated Birth EP. We recommend them all.

Twin Crystals – “Two Girls”

Domestic life with artificial intelligence and a white bed dominate the screen for Röyksopp’s new single “The Girl & The Robot,” which also stars Swedish singer Robyn.

The Norwegian duo employs more of a club anthem mixed with slight techno tendencies for the song, which will be released in stores next month. It starts out with a haunting and hooking electro powerhouse with Robyn’s sweet-like vocals stating “I go mental every time you leave for work” and asking when her beloved he-bot will be home.

The song is the second single taken from Röyksopp’s new album Junior, which also features guests Lykke Li and Karin Dreijer Andersson (The Knife/Fever Ray). The video marks the first time band members Torbjørn Brundtland and Svein Berge appear in their own video, of who we had great pleasure trying to spot.

Robyn, who borrows a bit from the La Roux handbook to hair styles and lounges around in a futuristic cocktail dress, looks pensive for much of the video. What happens when you fall in love with your pre-ordered robot man? What happens when he does landscaping outside? What happens when a pregnancy test is involved? Watch below and see if these Europeans are really predicting the future.

Röyksopp Featuring Robyn – “The Girl & The Robot”

This week started off with the very sad news that ex-Wilco multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett passed away in the very early hours of Monday morning. Though still no cause of death has been identified, his family has issued their statement via his mailing list. Hoping to clear up some potential rumors and end things on a high note, they sent out a mass e-mail yesterday [May 27] morning.

From Spinner:
The email states that “Jay was in a really good place these past few years” and that, contrary to common perception, he looked back on his seven years with Wilco both fondly and proudly. He was knee-deep in work on another solo album and was also taking graduate classes to pursue his “umpteenth degree” at the time of his death.

Read the full story here.

As we told you, Antlers have signed with Frenchkiss Records and will be re-releasing their critically acclaimed LP Hospice. Now they’ve released the first remastered single, so we thought we’d give you both to listen to.

When we spoke to Antlers brainchild Peter Silberman, we gave you the pre-remastered version of the single “Two” to check out. Now that it’s been re-released, here it is again for a side by side comparison. So listen to them both diligently, dissect and deconstruct them, and then go see the Antlers on tour, because they’re a good band.

Antlers – “Two” (original)

Antlers – “Two” (remastered)

When Jason Glastetter reported that Lost tribute band Previously on Lost was hired by ABC to record for the television phenom, we had to find out exactly what this meant. They couldn’t replace that awesome theme song, could they?

We took a few moments with one half of POL, Adam Schatz, to ask what exactly the band’s responsibilities would include. Adam explained that they were hired to record for ABC’s web series, Lost Untangled. The series, which recaps each episode comedically using action figures, cutout dolls, and a very elaborate set, has had over 10 million views to date.

“The people behind Untangled reached out to us asking us to do what we do best — to write a recap for the Season 5 finale,” Adam told us. “So we did it, and we truly believe it is our best song to date.”

As for it’s specific use, Adam said “they’re currently filming a music video for it using the action figures with pieces of dialogue recreating scenes from the finale episode.” He’s hoping this is the start of something bigger, adding that the band has aspirations to write recaps of every Lost episode for Untangled next season. In the meantime, check out ABC.com around June 1 to watch what Adam says, “will likely be the funniest thing ever.”

Go here to listen to Previously on Lost ultimate recap — “LOST in Two Minutes”, and check below for tour dates.

Previously on Lost tour dates
06.06.09 – Brooklyn, NY (Public Assembly)
06.09.09 – Cambridge, MA (Middle East Downstairs)
06.10.09 – Providence, RI (AS220)
06.12.09 – Easton, MD (Nightcat)
06.13.09 – Philadelphia, PA (Danger Danger Gallery)

Hey, remember back in March when we presented Screaming Females as our On The Cover artist, suggesting you get acquainted — especially with their insanely talented (and young) frontwoman Marissa Paternoster? Well, if you weren’t listening to us back then, maybe you’ll listen to Jack White now.

It’s official as of today (in their words “mega-officially”), Brunswick, NJ’s diy heroes Screaming Females will be the main support on The Dead Weather’s upcoming July tour. We can’t wait to see Jack ask Marissa to join him on stage for a shred-off, only to be left in the dust by the 22-year old. Nah, we kid, we kid. We’re fans of Mr. White too, but seriously excited for the kids in SF to finally be getting some mainstream attention. Oh, and get this — they still book their own shows, and since Power Move was released on Don Giovanni, they’ve toured with Throwing Muses, Dinosaur Jr. and now The Dead Weather. Right on!

Below are the dates, mark your calendars.

Screaming Females tour dates with The Dead Weather
07.13.09 – Washington DC (9:30 Club)
07.14.09 – Washington, DC (9:30 Club)
07.16.09 – New York, NY (Terminal 5)
07.17.09 – New York, NY (Terminal 5)
07.18.09 – Boston, MA (House of Blues)
07.21.09 – Montreal, QC (Olympia De Montreal)
07.22.09 – Toronto, ON (Kool Haus)
07.24.09 – Detroit, MI (The Fillmore)
07.25.09 – Columbus, OH (The LC Pavilion)
07.27.09 – Minneapolis, MN (First Avenue)
07.28.09 – Chicago, IL (Vic Theatre)
07.29.09 – Chicago, IL (Vic Theatre)
07.30.09 – Nashville, TN (War Memorial Auditorium)

Our bros, who we just so happen to share some very close quarters with, recently produced a whole magazine dedicated to Mr. David Byrne. As if giving the man an entire publication and calling him an “icon” wasn’t enough, now he’s giving aural tours of his office for them.

From The FADER:
In our current issue, along with all of its other David Byrne-related wonder, you can see regular FADER contributor Jason Nocito’s intimate photos of Byrne in his massive office at the Todo Mundo headquarters. Because of the natural constraints of paper magazines, we were neither able to fit every photo in the issue nor have Byrne explain what you were looking at. Fortunately, we have the internet, and Byrne was generous enough to record this guided audio tour of all the peculiar objects and ephemera photographed by Nocito that otherwise would’ve never been seen. We had so much material, and Byrne had so much to say, we’ve decided to split it into three parts, the first of which you can see and hear above.

Oh, and because they set their Blip link to private, we can’t embed it. So go here and watch it.

Editorial Disclaimer: Tripwire contributor Sarahana filmed and edited this video, which is why we felt it most appropriate for her to set it up.

In 2008, These United States released two albums teeming with Americana references, though it’s the latter of the two, Crimes, that sounds like it comes from a world lost in the far west; a world in which men are almost always smelly and drunk, swaying between life and death, depending on what hour of the day it is.

The upbeat and catchy “Honor Amongst Thieves” is a prime chapter of this narrative and it’s appropriately placed right in the middle of that album. With Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) as our main hero, we are treated to images of a tavern, a tie dangling from a door knob, a mischievous Lucy, a Johnny with his jack knife, and a hoodlum’s roaring chorus about honor amongst thieves.

With that in mind, this completely green-screen-less video was inspired by a somewhat old school tradition of black and white movies, such as the equally hoodlum-ish Down by Law starring Tom Waits. It features a collage of live footage and candid shots, topped with two charming and odd acts of thievery by two of the band members. This is what front man Jesse Elliott told us about it:

“These United States are made for the Age of Energy — for better, for worse, for liquid, for solid, for all evaporations in between, they are movement. They are wasting what they conserve, conserving what they waste, Interstate 95 to the Fisherman’s Wharf, swindling, sweating, bobbing, weaving, loving, thieving.”

These United States – “Honor Amongst Thieves”

Keeping in the vein of posting songs we really like just for the sake of it, here is a YACHT remix of Glasser’s “Learn”.

FADER premiered this track back in April, but given the recent reception of YACHT’s See Mystery Lights in our office (not to mention the first single), we’ve been digging through our old YACHT archives for music to explore — which brought us to this remix of Glasser.

A little backwards, I know, but in the end, we all win.

Glasser – “Learn” (YACHT Remix)

MP3 Download

More than two years into the battle over James Brown’s estate, a South Carolina judge on Tuesday approved a settlement that gives nearly half of his assets to a charitable trust, about a quarter to his widow and young son, and the rest to Brown’s adult children. Insert hot tub comment here.

From The Washington Post:
The settlement establishes that Tomi Rae Hynie Brown, a former backup singer to Brown, is the surviving spouse and her son, James Brown II, is his child. Brown’s attorneys had claimed she was not Brown’s widow because she was still married to another man when she and Brown said their vows in 2001.

“I am so relieved and happy that the court has approved this settlement,” Brown’s widow said in a statement to the AP. “I want to be able to work with the trustees and other Brown family members to promote James Brown’s legacy. My son James and I are grateful to the judge and hope this nightmare is finally over.”

Read the full story here.

Last night I was asked to witness an intimate performance by Washington DC-based folk artist Vandaveer at Ditmas Park’s Sycamore. The small basement of the lounge designed by Norwegian architect Ole Sondresen (who also designed The National’s studio, who as rumor has it, is also affiliated with Sycamore), was the ideal setting for the Kentucky-born musician.

The name Vandaveer actually refers to the performing pseudonym of singer/songwriter Mark Charles Heidinger, accompanied on this tour by back-up vocalist Rose Guerin. The ambiance of Sycamore’s performance space was akin to a combination of a sauna mixed with the hull of an old sail boat. It was both warming and slightly church-like (the seats were set up similar to pews as Mark pointed out), while at the same time a bit claustrophobic. This would have more to do with the candle lighting and flowers strewn about than the actual size of the room — it was almost funeral-esque.

Again, this was perfect for Vandaveer’s simple-yet-endearing formula of strong craftmanship with the honest tone of a seasoned musician. His upcoming album Divide & Conquer is already out in France, Switzerland and Belgium on Alter K. Records/Discograph, which will be preceded by a limited edition 7-inch Supply and Demand Records will be putting out.

Have you seen the line-up for Bonnaroo? No seriously, have you seen it? Eclectic doesn’t even begin to describe a festival that can showcase Merle Haggard and Crystal Castles in the same line-up. Or how about a reunited Phish playing 2 shows in the same arena as The Dillinger Escape Plan? So you have absolutely no reason to not want to win tickets to the 2009 edition of Bonnaroo.

Two lucky winners will be chosen at random to win a pair of general admission tickets to this year’s festival, which officially goes down in Manchester, Tennessee from June 11-14. All you have to do to enter is e-mail us here (contests[at]thetripwire.com) with the subject of “Bonnaroo” and your full contact info*. The contest will run until this Friday, June 5. So enter now and keep your fingers crossed. Oh, and just a tip, be careful if driving through Putnam County, Tennessee.

*Please provide e-mail and full mailing address. E-mail addresses not already on our mailing list will be added. Contest officially ends at 6 p.m. EST on Friday, June 5th.

According to Pitchfork, who passed along the news from those graph-lovers at USA TODAY, more Scarlett Johansson music is on the way. This time around, the starlet teamed up with Pete Yorn to record a batch of duets inspired by yet another music icon: Serge Gainsbourg.

Yorn, who wrote eight new originals with the 60s duets between Gainsbourg and his one-time movie star girlfriend Brigitte Bardot in mind, brought in Johansson to add complimentary vocal work. The end result being a song cycle tracing the tumultuous arc of a failed relationship. What’s more, the remaining ninth track, “I Am The Cosmos”, was penned by Big Star founder Chris Bell. The aptly-titled Break Up lands in September via Atco/Rhino. If you can’t write to hear what t you can stream lead single “Relator” here.

We’ve been scrambling to keep you up-to-date as Glastonbury’s slowly leaked megaconfirmation after megaconfirmation in the past few months. But today’s full lineup announcement is something to behold, the headlining package of Neil Young, the Boss and a reunited Blur now propped up by a roster so behemoth and iron-clad, it’s equal parts intimidating and enticing. Also playing: Bloc Party, Lady Gaga, Jarvis Cocker, Regina Spektor, Maximo Park, Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Lily Allen, Tom Jones, Pete Doherty, Q-Tip, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Streets, Ray Davies and and and and…

There will be mud.

Filmed entirely at the Phoenix Theater in Petaluma, CA, the idea for Cass McCombs‘ video for the first single from his forthcoming LP Catacombs [June 8 UK / July 7 US on Domino] was based on characters from an original screenplay written by McCombs and director Aaron Brown. Brown himself playing a “Demiurge”, a supernatural being that controls time and space, as well as the actions of McCombs and Ms. Karen Black.

In the words of Aaron Brown, director:

“It was really inspiring working with friends and collaborators which allowed for a lot to happen in a little amount time, and to try out different ideas inspired by our original script. Karen, of course, was an inspiration and joy and has a spectacular camera presence that she carries wherever she goes. I hope the video makes people want to listen to the song a lot, it’s both deep and playful and I hope the video adds a third dimension to form some kind of trinity. We listened to that song about 50 times that day and I like it more than ever.”

Cass McCombs – “Dreams ComeTrue Girl” (Featuring Karen Black)

Combining the drummer of Drunkdriver (Jeremy Villalobos) and the avant noise guitar work of Zs (Ben Greenberg) with the bass and vocals of Tia Vincent leaves you with the newest insurgent into the revivalist Brooklyn hardcore scene; Pygmy Shrews.

Total disclaimer. I actually just really like this song (check out the chorus at about the 1:40 mark), but my friend Nate Dorr has done a much better job of writing about Pygmy Shrews. So in the meantime, I’ll leave you with some noteworthy tid bits about musical expectations and if you’d like to know more, I suggest checking out Nate’s piece.

Pygmy Shrews debut album The Egyptian will be out this summer on Wantage USA, also home to the likes of Japanther, Big Business, and the Oxes (RIP), while the Big Time cassette is available now through their MySpace.

Pygmy Shrews – “Shame Canal”

The Snuggification of America continues.

Rolling Stone reported late last week via their Rock & Roll Daily blog that pop titans Weezer are getting set to unleash the Wuggie, a “W”-adorned version of the inexplicably popular Snuggie.

Frontdude Rivers Cuomo described the fleeced fruits (that’s right) of the band’s collabo with the Snuggie mindtrust as “totally legit.” Maybe get ready for the breast-less Blink 182 adaptation to start making appearances sometime this summer. 


By David Bevan

From Impose:
We were supposed to be keeping a tour photo blog this whole time but its been such an insanely busy and tight packed schedule that we thought it would be best to wait until the last days to start working on it! Here is it!

Read the entire story here.

It was only three weeks ago we reported Jay Bennett’s claim against his former bandmates in Wilco for breach of contract and unpaid artist’s royalties. Now those claims and any disputes between him and Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy seem like a distant and irrelevant side note in the story of Bennett’s life. Jay Bennett passed away Sunday morning in Urbana, Illinois. He was 45 years old.

Edward Burch, a friend and musician who collaborated with Bennett on the 2005 album The Palace at 4 a.m., spoke to the Chicago Sun Times on Sunday. “Early this morning, Jay died in his sleep and an autopsy is being performed. The family is in mourning and is unavailable for comment at this time.”

Bennett was a member of Wilco from 1994 through 2001, and worked very closely with Tweedy for the creation of the albums Being There, Summerteeth, and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Bennett’s departure from the band, during the recording of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, was documented in the 2002 film I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.

Yesterday morning, Tweedy commented through band publicist Deb Bernardini via the following statement:

“We are all deeply saddened by this tragedy. We will miss Jay as we remember him — as a truly unique and gifted human being and one who made welcome and significant contributions to the band’s songs and evolution. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends in this very difficult time.”

Man, we’re updating all of yesterday’s news it seems like. First it was Bob Dylan who didn’t write the poem that is being auctioned as such, and then Lex Records said Mike Patton is not working with Watchmen author Alan Moore. But if we are to leave you with one update this week, it would be the feel good story of Trent Reznor helping a fan raise over $260,000 for a much needed heart transplant.

We told you late yesterday that Trent and NIN were offering the chance to hang with them backstage in exchange for donations to help Eric De La Cruz get a heart transplant. The Nevada resident and sister to former CNN anchor Veronica De La Cruz is unable to get on a transplant list because he receives his health insurance through a State that does not have an active transplant center.

Then yesterday on Trent’s Twitter came the message:
I am truly blown away by the response to this: http://store.nin.com/helperic/
We are over 260K in less than a day! THANK YOU #ERIC

Only to be outdone today with an update via the same Twitter:
RT @VeronicaDLCruz: $446,020 as of midnte last night. The #‘s r overwhelming.Thank u TR! Let’s kp fightng so this nvr happns again.#ERIC

Read the full story here.

To find out more about Eric’s situation, please go here or here.

This seemed to be a week of a lot of big names getting involved in various acts of celebration and controversy. We spoke to Chris Cornell and celebrated the reunions of The Libertines and The Strokes, while sadly celebrating Joey Ramones Birthday. Radiohead entered the studio again, Jack White and Alison Mosshart were part of a rumored scrummage, Trash Talk e-mailed Us, Gonzales broke records at masturbatory speed, and of course we premiered new music. Sharon Van Etten also sang to us in her kitchen; that was nice. Here is The Tripwire week in review.

FEATURES
Sharon Van Etten Sings In Her Kitchen

Five Questions For Chris Cornell

Record Shopping With Awesome New Republic

LISTEN
Phoenix – “Lisztomania” (Holy Ghost! Loves Paris Remixomania)

Nisennenmondai – “Destination Tokyo”

HEALTH – “Die Slow”

Passion Pit – “The Reeling” (wallpaper. Remix)

Crystal Fighters – “Xtatic Truth” & “I Love London”

Cassettes Won’t Listen – “Into The Hillside”

Seven Sunny Memorial Day Weekend Songs

LIVE
No Fun Fest (Sonic Youth, Bardo Pond, Blank Dogs, Yellow Tears & More) @ Music Hall of Williamsburg | Brooklyn

St. Vincent, Pattern Is Movement @ Webster Hall | NYC

BLOG
IM Solipsist – Are You Reading This?

The Singles Collection – Ancestors, Fresh Meat, Young Widows, Melt Banana

Greatest Song At This Moment – The Beatles “She Said, She Said”

New Music Thursday – Crystal Fighters

TV
Crystal Stilts – “Love Is A Wave”

Suckers – “Easy Chair”

White Rabbits – “Percussion Gun”

Beirut – “La Llorona”

The Libertines – Winter Hours

Pulling Teeth – Paranoid Delusions Paradise Illusions

Brimstone Howl – We Came In Peace

NEWS
Celebrating Joey Ramones Birthday

Trash Talk E-mailed Us

Radio Head Enters The Studio

Strokes Members To Reunite For Mercury Lounge Gig

The Libertines Reunite At London Gig

Do It Again: Boston Globe’s Geoff Edgers’ Quest To Reunite The Kinks

Jeffrey Lewis: “Inspired By” Is Sometimes Known As “Illegal Infringement Of Copyright”

Gonzales Has Nothing On Chronic Masturbator

Tommy Ramone, Handsome Dick, Lenny Kaye And Chris Stein = Loud Fast Jews!

Someone Other Than Pete Doherty Addresses The Logistics Of A Real Libertines Reunion

Eighth Grader Attempts Suicide After Marilyn Manson-Related Altercation With Teacher

Ponytail’s Dustin Wong To Drop Solo Record

Pearl Jam To Be First Musical Guest On Conan’s Tonight Show

Introducing… The Hipster Helmet

The Wrens Post New Demo On MySpace

Details Revealed On Paul Banks’ Julian Plenti LP

Did Jack White Really Punch Alison Mosshart

Au Revoir Simone & Savoir Adore; Two NY Bands With French Names Who Want To Give You Free Music

Michael Stipe Endorses Fischerspooner Cover Of “Fascinating”

UPDATE: Alison Mosshart Addresses “Grotesque” Rumors

HEALTH Reveals Details Of Get Color

Want To Buy Albert Hammond Jr.’s Apartment

Iggy Pop To Reunite Raw Power-Era Stooges

Twilight Heartthrob To Portray Black Metal Icon Varg Vikernes Of Burzum In Upcoming Movie

Want To Buy A Poem Bob Dylan Wrote When He Was 16?

Mike Patton To Collaborate With “Watchmen” Author Alan Moore

You Can Hang Out With Nine Inch Nails And Jane’s Addiction For A Small Donation

Vampire Weekend Is Hanging Out With Goths, High Schoolers And Ra Ra Riot

UPDATE: Bob Dylan Poem Up For Auction Was Plagiarized

Beirut’s Zach Condon is determined to go global. For the band’s newest EP, March of the Zapotec, Condon traveled to Mexico to partner up with mariachi ensemble Banda Jimenez from Teotitlan del Valle. The result is a rather stunning mix of trumpet, percussion, and Condon’s haunting vocals.

For the video “La Llorona,” a black dog wanders around a small Mexican pueblito, encountering members of Banda Jimenez as well as witnessing a church fire. The imagery and feel of smudged paintings give the video a surreal effect, which is appropriate considering the tale of La Llorona is of a woman who killed her children and then herself to be with the man she wanted, only to be rejected by him. Cold.

And, Oakland’s been a roll this week: “La Llorena” was animated and directed by artist Owen Cook. We can’t wait to see what the video for “The Akara” may look like if Cook decides to illustrate it.

Beirut – “La Llorona”

In honor of the Memorial Day weekend, we took a very small poll asking a few friends to give us their ideal summer song. You know, the kind you would want to hear if you were outside driving around right now without a care in the world. Then we narrowed it down to seven eleven (an arbitrary number, who knows, it still may expand). So, here are seven eleven summer classics from Sister Nancy, Pavement, The Pharcyde, Donovan, Dizzee Rascal, Animal Collective, Screeching Weasel, People Under the Stairs, Dan Deacon, Queen and the one, the only, The Notorious B.I.G..

Sister Nancy – “Bam Bam”

Pavement – “Gold Soundz”

The Pharcyde – “Runnin”

Donovan – “There Is A Mountain”

Dizzee Rascal – “Bonkers”

Animal Collective – “My Girls”

Screeching Weasel – “Totally”

People Under The Stairs – “Acid Raindrops”

Dan Deacon – “Crystal Cat”

Queen – “Fat Bottomed Girls”

The Notorious B.I.G. – “Juicy”

Eh, we’ve all done it as a kid. Wrote down our the lyrics to a certain song that spoke to us. Turns out a young Bob Zimmerman — later to be known as Bob Dylan — was doing the same thing when he was 16. The poem titled “Little Buddy” that famed New York auction house Christie’s will be auctioning June 23 is actually a Hank Snow song.

From the Wisconsin State Journal:
Bill Malone, Madison’s esteemed country music historian, was on the phone early Wednesday morning.
“That’s a Hank Snow song,” Malone said. “I’ve been singing it my whole life.”

Bob Dylan, however, did not compose “Little Buddy.” Malone was right. It was written and recorded by Hank Snow, a Canadian-born country artist who sold 70 million records and was best known for his 1950 hit, “I’m Movin’ On.”

Read the full story here.

Trent Reznor has come up with a fan-friendly way to help Eric De La Cruz get a heart transplant. The Nevada resident and sister to former CNN anchor Veronica De La Cruz is unable to get on a transplant list because he receives his health insurance through a State that does not have an active transplant center.

In a letter posted today on the Nine Inch Nails website, Reznor is offering the chance to hang out with NIN and touring mates Jane’s Addiction at any of their upcoming tour stops in exchange for a donation to Eric’s fund. The letter reads:

This is for something important. Eric De La Cruz is dying and needs a heart transplant. He keeps getting turned down for a transplant list because he’s on Nevada Medicaid, and there are no transplant centers in Nevada. We want to get involved and hopefully so do you, so we’re extending a hand. His sister Veronica (former Anchor and Internet Correspondent for CNN) has started a campaign to save his life.

Sincerely, Trent Reznor

The post goes onto say that all donations must arrive by 5 p.m. (PST) at least 2 days prior to the show you want to attend. To make a donation and claim the opportunity to chill with some pioneering musicians, just go here.

To find out more about Eric’s situation, please go here or here.

As if reuniting Faith No More wasn’t enough, this is going to drive all the fan-boys crazy.

From Billboard:
He may have insisted his name did not appear on the “Watchmen” movie. But legendary comic book writer Alan Moore has been enthusiastic in his partnership with U.K. indie Lex Records on the release of a new work including an audiobook and soundtrack.

The score that accompanies the book is being worked on by Andrew Broder of alternative act Fog and spoken word artist Adam Drucker. Brown says musicians in the frame to provide key elements of the soundtrack include Mike Patton of Faith No More and Justin Broadrick, formerly of industrial metal band Godflesh.

Read the full story here.

Keeping with our Crystal theme today, here’s the newest video from Brooklyn’s Crystal Stilts, who remain one of our favorite bands of the recent garage revival. Where some have gone for total punk, while others have gone psych, and we can’t forget the pop, the Stilts seamlessly can blend them all for a mixture you can still groove to without any of the guilt.

Crystal Stilts – “Love Is A Wave”

Well now’s your chance. A poem written by a teenage Bob Dylan about his dead dog, entitled “Little Buddy”, is currently up for auction and is expected to fetch upwards of $15,000.

From Undercover:
Dylan was still going by his given name Bob Zimmerman when he wrote the two-page poem in 1957 during a stay at summer camp in Wisconsin, US.

Read the full story here.

Bringing a progressive agglomeration of Basque-influenced folk, electronic synthetic beats and unparalleled vocals to the forefront of European music through their infamous live shows and rigorous tour schedule, the East London-based five-some of fury Crystal Fighters are absolutely killing it.

With their first single official “Xtatic Truth”, released on Parisian powerhouse, Kitsune, last week, the band is gearing up for more brain busting to come, especially with the release of their first full length later this year. Last year, the group gained fame with their Internet smash “I Love London”, voted in Mixmag’s Top 100 Records for 2008 — the only unreleased single in the top 100 — and with a stellar session at Radio 1 Live Session for Rob da Bank. If these tracks don’t make you want to rip your shirt off and dive into a sweaty sea of beautiful people and glistening gems, I don’t know what will.

Crystal Fighters – “Xtatic Truth”

Crystal Fighters – “I Love London” [via Pinglewood]

By Sarah Zellweger

Though he is slated to be released from prison soon after spending 16-years behind bars on murder and arson charges, Varg Vikernes of Burzum remains one of the most controversial men in black metal. Now his story can be told once and for all — from the mouth of a teenage heartthrob.


[Lords Of Chaos book cover]

From Blabbermouth:
Jackson Rathbone, the teen heartthrob from Twilight, has reportedly agreed to play Varg Vikernes (a.k.a. Count Grishnackh) — the former Burzum mastermind who is currently serving a Norwegian prison term for the August 1993 murder of Mayhem guitarist Oystein Aarseth (a.k.a. Euronymous) and setting fire to three churches — in the upcoming movie Lords Of Chaos.

Read the full story, and Varg’s comments on Lords Of Chaos here.