The fourth annual Fun Fun Fun Fest will hit Austin, Texas’ Waterloo Park for two days packed with music on November 7 and 8. The full lineup for the 2009 festival was just announced, and includes Ratatat, Of Montreal, Crystal Castles, Les Savy Fav, Yeasayer, Mission of Burma, Broadcast, Atlas Sound, No Age, Shonen Knife, Fuck Buttons, Times New Viking, Crystal Antlers, Jesus Lizard, Kid Sister, HEALTH, Neon Indian, and Alaska in Winter, among many others. Tickets go on sale today on the Fun Fest’s website, with early bird tickets going for $67.50 and early bird pip tickets selling for $135. The entire lineup is available for your viewing pleasure here.

Freshly sharpened pencils, lumpy apple slices and All Tomorrow’s Parties: it must be back-to-school time! Located in upstate New York at a country club with a capacity of only 2,800, this music festival sounds exactly like the liberal arts colleges I would have sacrificed myself at age 17 to attend. But instead of semesters of boredom and years of loans, this is just one big orgiastic weekend, September 11-13, partially curated by free love-enthusiasts The Flaming Lips.

The Sunday lineup, hand-selected and headlined by the Lips, includes Super Furry Animals, Boredoms, Crystal Castles, Deerhoof with Martha Colburn, and best of all, No Age performing Hüsker Dü with Bob Mould. I’m seeing colors right now. Check out the full line-up here.

In related Flaming Lips news, a new digital EP, titled “Songs from The Future Album Embryonic” is available to ATP ticket purchasers for free, and at basement bargain price for the rest of us. The three-song sampler should get you salivating for their first studio full-length in three years, coming out this fall… It’s about damn time.

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.

Undoubtedly one of our most anticipated releases of 2009 is the forthcoming sophomore release from HEALTH (seriously, this has been a great year for music, but anwyay…). We were already treated to the incredible single “Die Slow”, and now we have the artwork and release date to keep us salivating.

On September 8 2009, HEALTH will release their second album Get Color via Lovepump United once again. Recorded in “an especially gnarly part of Lincoln Heights, L.A with Manny Nieto,” the new LP is “a celebration of sound; pretty, harsh, soft and basked in a blanket of ethereal vocals.” We’re going to assume this means their bringing the dance ala the “Die Slow” single. We surely hope this doesn’t mean the harsh, thrash-infusion won’t be lost forever, but if “Die Slow” is any indication, Health have been taking cues from their partners in “Crimewave”, Crystal Castles, moving further away from their avant noise days.

Get Color track listing
01. In Heat
02. Die Slow
03. Nice Girls
04. Death+
05. Before Tigers
06. Severin
07. Eat Flesh
08. We Are Water
09. In Violet

I usually hate how people will commend bands for making their sound poppier and more accessible, which is exactly the case for the new Health single “Die Slow”. Only problem is, I can’t stop listening to this song.

Released as a 7-inch on Lovepump United in advance of their upcoming full-length Get Color, the “Die Slow” single (the B-Side comes with a Pictureplane remix of the song) would suggest Health have been taking cues from their partners in “Crimewave”, Crystal Castles. Moving further away from their avant noise days than ever before, it seems as though the band will be looking to break out of the underground, much the way fellow L.A. sonic stranglers No Age have been able to do. Making their claim to one of the best records we’ve yet to hear, here is at least one of the best singles of 2009.

Health – “Die Slow” [via 88 Days In My Veins]

At last, the Lollapalooza rumors are put to rest — Depeche Mode, Tool, The Killers, Beastie Boys, Kings of Leon and (of course) Jane’s Addiction will be headlining this year’s festival, along with an impressive cast of supporting bands, Lollapalooza organizers confirmed today.

More than 100 bands/artists/DJs will take the Lolla stage this year, including TV on the Radio, Vampire Weekend, Andrew Bird, Animal Collective, Arctic Monkeys, Fleet Foxes, Silversun Pickups, Bon Iver, Crystal Castles, Los Campesinos! and Passion Pit. This year’s event will also introduce “Perry’s”, a nightclub style stage featuring dance and electronic music. The DJs set to spin include MSTRKRFT, Bassnectar, DeadMau5, Animal Collective and Bloody Beetroots.

After selling out last year for the first time since Lollapalooza took roots in Chicago, ticket sales don’t seem to be lagging. Early bird discount passes went on sale at the end of March for $195. Regular priced tickets are $205, and of course if you’re not like the rest of us, worrying about saving $10 on a $200 concert ticket, you can always check out the VIP options at Lollapalooza.com.

Lollapalooza 2009
Depeche Mode
Tool
The Killers
Jane’s Addiction
Beastie Boys
Kings of Leon
Lou Reed
Ben Harper and Relentless 7
Thievery Corporation
Snoop Dogg
Rise Against
Andrew Bird
TV on the Radio
Vampire Weekend
The Decemberists
Neko Case
STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9)
Animal Collective
Band of Horses
Of Montreal
Arctic Monkeys
Coheed and Cambria
Ben Folds
Fleet Foxes
Silversun Pickups
Kaiser Chiefs
Crystal Castles
Bon Iver
Santigold
Atmosphere
Dan Auberbach
Cold War Kids
Deerhunter
Lykke Li
Robert Earl Keen
Peter Bjorn and John
Heartless Bastards
Gomez
Glasvegas
Federico Aubele
Dan Deacon
Passion Pit
The Raveonettes
The Gaslight Anthem
The Airborne Toxic Event
White Lies
Ra Ra Riot
No Age
Asher Roth
Los Campesinos!
Bat For Lashes
Chairlift
Gang Gang Dance
The Virgins
Amazing Baby
Portugal. The Man
The Knux
Ida Maria
Delta Spirit
Friendly Fires
Manchester Orchestra
Constantines
Ezra Furman & The Harpoons
Hockey
Miike Snow
Alberta Cross
Hey Champ
Sam Roberts Band
The Henry Clay People
Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam
Cage the Elephant
Living Things
The Low Anthem
Blind Pilot
Langhorne Slim
Other Lives
The Builders and The Butchers
Eric Church
Joe Pug
Kevin Devine
The Green Cards
Carney
Thenewno2

Featured performers at Perry’s
Bassnectar
MSTRKRFT
Simian Mobile Disco
DeadMau5
Boys Noise
KiD CuDi
Crookers
A-Trak
Hercules and Love Affair (DJ Set)
The Bloody Beetroots (DJ Set)
LA Riots
Kaskade
The Glitch Mob
Hollywood Holt
Rye Rye
He Say, She Say
Car Stereo (Wars)
Dark Wave Disco
Moneypenny
Yello Fever
Animal Collective (DJ Set)

We’ve been anticipating Blur’s reunion since we first heard about it, and were even more excited when they confirmed the addition of Crystal Castles, Deerhoof and (to a lesser extent, it’s nothing personal) Vampire Weekend to the line up for their reunion shows at Hyde Park. But the hype keeps growing with the announcement of two intimate shows for fans before their awaited reunion. See how nice they are? They hype up the Hyde Park shows so it’s not as annoying when you’re told they won’t be Blur’s first shows back as originally advertised.

The warm up shows will be played at East Anglian Railway Museum, in Colchester, England on June 13 and London Goldsmith’s College, on June 22. Proceeds for the June 13 sow will be donated to the museum’s charity and the Aldham Village Hall Restoration Project. The band announced the warm-up shows to their fan club, and tickets for the shows are on sale now for Blur fan club members, and further preview show announcements are due out shortly.

Crystal Castles and Vega have found themselves in a battle of the bands, and no, they’re not playing some cheesy winner-takes-all show anytime soon. Instead, the bands have been bickering back and forth since last night, when Vega was kicked off the Crystal Castles’ bill, before the Castles eventually canceled the show altogether last minute, disappointing the thousands of fans that were there to see Alice Glass in all her glory.

Crystal Castles were supposed to play to a sold-out crowd at the Dallas, TX venue the Granada Theatre with Vega last night, but instead left  fans waiting for over two hours for the show to start, only to be  told at 10 p.m. that it was canceled, according to GorillaVsBear. Vega has retaliated against Crystal Castles, and has blamed them for canceling the show  and kicking the band off the bill because of “petty bullshit.” Crystal Castles representatives have retaliated against Alan Palomo of Vega’s comments, saying the band were kicked off the  bill for legitimate reasons after the band had stole an FX-pedal from Crystal Castles. Of course, Palomo denies the statements from the representative, saying it was “fucking bullshit.”

Vega has also blamed Crystal Castles for being Prima Donnas at the Granada Theatre while they were trying to sound check for the show. The band was allegedly unhappy with  the sound of the venue, and wanted to cancel the show instead of  possibly not having enough kick drum. According to the CCs crew, the venue was ill-equipped for the sound Crystal Castles was producing, and they were worried they would have blown the speaker system if they had performed at their normal  standards. The band’s reps have also said the blame should not be put on the band for not playing, but instead on whomever booked the band for the venue.

We’re not sure exactly how much sound is amped out of Crystal Castles’ set, but Ratatat and Animal Collective have both played on the same speakers and  have managed well, so the unparalleled stories between Vega  and Crystal Castles is leaving a sour taste of caddy behaviors pouring all over the internet. The Granada Theatre is refunding the ticket costs to each person who missed out on a what could have been, sweet show.

UPDATE

The folks at the Dallas Observer send us this tip. Granada Theatre owner Mike Schoder has put the blame squarely on the Crystal Castles for the canceled show last night, and defended Vega against the haughty band. Read the e-mail statement released by Mike Schoder below, and head here to read about all of the events as they unfolded.

E-mail from Granada Theatre owner Mike Schoder
Let me start with a definition: 
Pre-madonna: Pre-madonnas cannot help the way they are because their parents spoiled them and they are still developing their personalities. All a pre-madonna has to do is whine and their parents give them what they want.

Here’s how our day went at the Granada on Tue:
Vega (Alan from Ghosthustler) opened for CC in Austin Monday night. At 5pm (3 hrs before doors) we received a call from CC that Vega could not be on the bill.

Vega had been approved by CC in advance for the bill. Early on Tue CC hired a light tech from Austin that is also a DJ  to replace Vega.

CC could have communicated with Vega early in the day before they left Austin.

Vega was at the Granada waiting to soundcheck.

CC would not enter the building until Vega was gone from the premise.

Alan was super cool. No pre-madonna.

We’ve never seen this request. The other co-promoter out of Austin has never seen this kind of request.

CC whining…

CC soundchecked at 6pm instead of at 4pm.

CC didn’t “like the sound of their kickdrum”.

CC insists that “more woofers be brought in”.

Rental places close at 6pm.

It is now 7pm.

Granada has 16 – 18″ sub-woofers and 12 – 15″ sub-woofers. Also 32 – 8″ midranges. Lots of firepower.

Sound check was great.

CC says they would rather cancel the show than possibly not have enough kick drum.

Granada begs that the show goes on.

Granada even offers to dismantle sub woofer stacks and place them in different places in the room.

Granada was willing to do anything to have the show go on.

CC waits until after 10pm to give final cancellation.

The show must go on. Life is all perception. One person sees the day as beautiful, another sees the day as crap.

Why would any band crap on their fans like this?

Insecurity is a cancer. Love yourself. Love your sound guy and the system at the club you are playing.

Play the show. Then listen to your fans. If you don’t like the sound at a club never go back to the club.

We’ve had every big band imaginable in every genre imaginable and had amazing shows.

Nobody has complained about our sound. This is totally out of left field. 

The sound at Granada is amazing…and would have been if CC would have just got on stage and played.

Today, Granada is refunding ticket cost and entire service charge to each patron. No one cares for live music more than we do. We’ve put together an amazing room, staff and sound system.

We’ll see you soon fellow music fans.
Mike Schoder and all the Staff at Granada.

Hot off the presses this morning from across the pond — Blur have announced the roster of bands who’ll join them in Hyde Park for their highly anticipated reunion gigs this July. Among the chosen ones are Crystal Castles, Vampire Weekend, Foals and more.

The band gave the official word to NME this morning, and the hand-picked line-ups for the two nights are as follows: July 2 features Foals, Crystal Castles, Friendly Fires and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, and July 3 features Vampire Weekend, Amadou & Mariam, Florence And The Machine and Deerhoof.

Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koening told NME.com, “I think the Hyde Park show will be pretty phenomenal. People have been waiting a long time to see Blur reunite and it’s flattering to be invited to play at all. This will be my first time seeing Blur live and I’m psyched.”

We spoke with guitarist Graham Coxon about the reunion last month, and while we forgot to ask him who would be opening, he did speak about the process of reuniting and rehearsing the old songs.

Blur will also play Manchester’s MEN Arena June 26, with Klaxons and Florence And The Machine supporting. Ticket info for all three shows is available here.

After the momentous success of last year, All Points West is back for another go at the festival scene, and even though we won’t be seeing Radiohead back on the stage for another round of jaw dropping performances this year, the line up is pretty stacked, having Coldplay, Tool and The Beastie Boys headlining the three day event at Liberty State Park in New Jersey. 

The festival will take place on July 31-August 2, and along with the three headliners, MGMT, Fleet Foxes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Gogol Bordello, Crystal Castles, and Echo & The Bunnymen are all part of the loaded line up. The festival is also taking a Coachella-like turn this year, axing the Queen of the Valley stage, and instead creating a tent to house comedy, DJs, and electronic acts, as reported by Brooklyn Vegan. 

If you went to the festival last year, you might remember the woes of traveling to and from the park, but don’t cringe too soon. This year the festival heads have tried to revamp the transportation system, to ensure more frequent ferry rides from Manhattan, and free Light Rail travel from Jersey-side travelers. One other major improvement has been made to the festival as well — the beer garden area will have shorter lines, more beer and will have views of the stage, so what more could you ask for? 

Tickets for All Points West go on sale on April 3rd, and further information about the festival will continue to be updated at the All Points website.

All Points West Music & Arts Festival line-up
Friday, July 31
Beastie Boys, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Vampire Weekend, The National, Fleet Foxes, MSTRKRFT, Q-Tip, The Pharcyde, Organized Konfusion, The Knux, Ra Ra Riot, Seasick Steve, Telepathe, Shearwater, Heartless Bastards, Flying Lotus, College Humor Live, Arj Barker, Eugene Mirman and Bo Burnham.

Saturday, August 1
Tool, My Bloody Valentine, Gogol Bordello, Arctic Monkeys, Neko Case, The Ting Tings, Yelle, Crystal Castles, St. Vincent, Tokyo Police Club, The Cool Kids, Kool Keith, Cage the Elephant, Chairlift, White Rabbits, Electric Touch, The Postelles, Black Gold, College Humor Live, Tim & Eric, Judah Friedlander and Jim Jeffries.

Sunday, August 2 
Coldplay, Echo & The Bunnymen, MGMT, The Black Keys, Elbow, Silversun Pickups, Mogwai, We Are Scientists, Ghostland Observatory, The Gaslight Anthem, Etienne De Crecy, Lykke Li, Akron/Family, Steel Train, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, College Humor Live, Janeane Garofalo, Michael Showalter and Todd Barry.

Today’s the big day, kids! Lovepump United has two singles hitting the streets, Clip’d Beaks‘ “Visions” b/w “Dank Swamp” 7″ and Pictureplane’s first LPU-release, the “Trance Doll” 7″.

Clip’d Beaks are back from an extended vacay and following up 2007’s Hoarse Lords with the “Visions” 7″. The chaotic post-punk sound is back and more concentrated than ever. “Trance Doll”, Pictureplane’s first release on Lovepump United, is playground of dirty synths and broken beats. He’s working on a full-length, as well, and with a resume of remixes including Crystal Castles, HEALTH and Beirut’s Zach Condon, we’re definitely interested to see where he’s taking us on the LP.

Clip’d Beaks and Pictureplane will be playing LPU’s SXSW showcase, as well as upcoming dates with HEALTH.

Clip’d Beaks on tour
03.16.09 – Los Angeles, CA (The Smell)
03.17.09 – Phoenix, AZ (Trunkspace) w/ Pictureplane & HEALTH
03.18.09 – El Paso, TX (Black Market) w/ Pictureplane & HEALTH
03.21.09 – Austin, TX (The Mohawk) (Lovepump United SXSW Showcase)

Pictureplane on tour with HEALTH
03.17.09 – Phoenix, AZ (Trunkspace) w/ Clip’d Beaks
03.18.09 – El Paso, TX (Black Market) w/ Clip’d Beaks
03.21.09 – Austin, TX (The Mohawk) (Lovepump United SXSW Showcase)
03.23.09 – Tallahassee, FL (Club Down Under)
03.24.09 – Knoxville, TN (Catalyst) w/ WAVVES
03.25.09 – Greensboro, NC (Greene Street Club)
03.26.09 – Atlanta, GA (The Earl)
03.27.09 – Baton Rouge, LA. (The Spanish Moon)
03.28.09 – Houston, TX (Houston Block Party)
03.30.09 – Lubbock, TX (Bash Riprocks)
03.31.09 – Santa Fe, NM (Warehouse 21)
04.01.09 – Tucson, AZ (Solar Culture)

Without any press interviews or even barely a word while they perform, Crystal Castles took the music-world by storm when they released their self-titled debut back in March. And when you add the coolest woman of 2008 to one of LA’s — if not the world’s — preeminent noise-makers in HEALTH, the result is a recipe for a great single.

We have to admit, it’s not our favorite single from the Crystal Castles record. Nor is it our favorite HEALTH-related track, but when two of the best independent music forces collide with such force, we felt we had to give “Crimewave” it’s due. By far two of our favorite artists of 2008, it’s nice to be able to mention them in the same breath.

Crystal Castles Vs. HEALTH “Crimewave”

Despite being on a critically panned record, this highly acclaimed single was bumped far and wide by dance and indie kids alike. Along with Crystal Castles, Does It Offend You, Yeah? helped kick off 2008 as a year of raunchy, Justice-inspired, live dance music.

Does It Offend You, Yeah? – “We Are Rockstars”