We’re just going to throw it out there that this collaboration between current Tripwire feature, King Khan, and former Tripwire feature, Black Lips, will probably sound like “good old rock & roll” and will probably also be a little “crazy” and “wild.” The recording may also have involved dudes spitting on or in each other.

Press release!

When the Black Lips had to flee India after almost getting arrested (long story) and getting their passports confiscated (longer story), they fled to Berlin to hole up with their old pal and label-mate King Khan. Mark Sultan (aka BBQ, one half of King Khan & BBQ Show) also happened to be there, and it happened to be freezing in Berlin that week so no one really wanted to leave the house. So what do a bunch of garage-rock all-stars (and international refugees) do in the middle of winter in cramped conditions? They give birth to an album and band of the same name, The Almighty Defenders. The guys went to Moon Studios and recorded these tracks, brimming with soul, earnest shouts, cries and hand-claps over post-modern gospel-rock anthems.

Ever since Wavves aka Nathan Williams had a little mental breakdown on the Pitchfork-curated stage at the Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona a few weeks ago, the music site has taken a not-so-subtle negative stance towards Williams whenever it sees an opportunity. It began with the actual news story of Wavves bad Primavera show, which Pitchfork founder Ryan Schreiber himself began with this little cat scratch directed at the Best New Music-earning band…

Over the past six months, the San Diego no-fi outfit Wavves has notoriously made a better bedroom project than live band.

… and finished with a suggestion that Williams and drummer Ryan Ulsh might kill each other before they even made it to Pitchfork’s own music festival on July 18th. The latter bit of blood lust has proven itself to be untrue with the passage of time, but the former seems an odd assertion considering Schreiber is presumably the one who booked (or approved the booking of) Wavves at both Primavera and the Pitchfork Festival. We’ve also seen Wavves several times in venues both large and small and he’s never failed to be pretty awesome, if not more accessible than he is on record.

So what are we to make of Pitchfork’s recent Wavves-bashing editorial direction, which culminated today in a post that quotes Black Lips’ Jared Swilley talking wildly about Williams in a Norwegian radio interview, crescendos (yeah, blog posts crescendo) with “it should be noted that this is not the first time a band has talked shit about Wavves” (yes, clearly should be noted) and mentions both bands will be at Pitchfork’s festival and ends with “Feel the drama!” (really?)?

We’d like to hear what you think in the comments section. Has Wavves one bad show earned the ire of music’s biggest critic? Is Pitchfork just trying to pump up its festival’s ticket sales? Or is Pitchfork just being a dick? Let’s hear it.

[Photo by Hatnim Lee]

So remember when we spoke with the Black Lips after their show with GZA at this year’s SxSW? Well, we used this intro when we posted the MP3 and we’re re-using it now to show you the video for the version of “Drop I Hold” that GZA does not perform on. Get over it.
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[Photo by Hatnim Lee]

So remember when we spoke with the Black Lips after their show with GZA at this year’s SxSW? Well it turns out the collaboration of the song “Drop I Hold” has been recorded and will be released as an iTunes EP.
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The soundtrack for the latest Carlos Cuaron film, Rudo y Cursi, is something your going to want to get your hands on come Cinco de Mayo, when it is released on iTunes. The film’s soundtrack, which will be released on Nacional Records, will feature (among others) Devendra Banhart and Black Lips covering regional Mexican songs.
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