Words & photos by Jenn Hernandez

The chill and the overcast came back for the last day of Outside Lands weekend, but it still didn’t stop us from buying cold lemonade and a chocolate chip cookie on our way in from some entrepreneurial eight year-olds. Hey, they figured out since they were cute, they could sell anything. Props to them.

We waddled down to see Oklahoma’s Other Lives as the first act of the day, wanting to see the outfit break out the cello and piano to accompany their dreamy folkpop. At times it truthfully felt like the notes and soft percussions were floating through the trees in the park in a mystical, sort of gorgeous eerie tangle. The weather did impact the energy of attendees in the first part of the day, but seeing the crowd at Matt & Kim later on showed that the sentiment was brushed off by then. And, I’m sure this goes without saying, but seriously: Matt & Kim are two most adorable fucking people on the face of the planet.

Exhibit one: “Ladies, there are two reasons to take off your hootchie hoops. One, when you are about to get into a fight, and two, when you are about to play drums so that your drum stick does not go through.”
- Kim on jewelry malfunctions
Exhibit two: “What the fuck, sun? What do you have better to do?”
- Matt on the weather being a bitch

The two were all super smiles and high energy from start to finish, including a rising version of “Yeah Yeah” that elicited a lot of fist pumping from the crowd, and Kim “backing that ass up” into the crowd later on in the set.

The Dead Weather’s set, as highly anticipated as it was touted as, definitely delivered in terms of precision and a whole lotta bass. Alison Mosshart is a performer in a class all her own, prowling the stage and exuding such an air of confidence mingled with sex and a lot of hair whipping, you forget that she actually has a respectable set of chops on her as well. Jack White, of course, decided to sing during the fourth song after all photographers had already left the pit, prompting a rush the front to snap him and his own hair singing.

While we hoped for a showdown between M.I.A. and Tenacious D, as the rapper expressed her distain for the duo’s last minute addition to the festival roster last week, her performance was actually one of the more disappointing ones. The energy was there but somehow still seemed to fall flat, like the translation from record to live just wasn’t smooth. After passing out plastic bull horns to the crowd to toot along to for “Bucky Done Gun” and sharing details about her experiences in San Francisco (”I got engaged here…I got pregnant here too”), she busted into a Beastie Boys tribute, playing the beginning of “Intergalatic” and “Sabotage” in homage of Beastie Adam Horowitz’s recovery from cancer and subsequent pullout of the band for Outside Lands. At one point M.I.A. did do some headbanger-worthy flips with her hair, which we instantly decided needed to be pitted against Mosshart. It could be a hair whip-off.

As the festival grounds started to turn on their night lights and Tenacious D had a Jack Black stunt double do cartwheels for him, it began to get really cold – but I will still full of admiration for what was able to been pulled off in such a short weekend.

More highlights included:
- Atmosphere’s Slug asking the “beautiful people” in the audience to shut up, and for everyone else to do the index finger salute
- new Morning Benders‘ pretty ballad “Promises” live
- using the phone charging station to give my Blackberry more juice, and being eternally grateful
- receiving an airport hug at the Hug Station, and then a touchy-feeling one (we’ll let you figure that one out)
- eating oysters for the first time (verdict: shellfish-y)
- enjoying Modest Mouse ripping through “Dashboard” on the main stage while eating a crepe
- the crunker dancer dressed in a blue suit and Michael Jackson T-shirt for M.I.A.’s set being wonderfully awkward
- being reminded that festivals, especially ones in set in as majestic of a place as Golden Gate Park, are one of the numerous reasons why I am in love with my city, and then wondering: since Jack Black and Jack White were at the same festival on the same day, did they take a picture together? Have they ever?

Other Lives

Morning Benders

Atmosphere

Matt & Kim

The Dead Weather



(Jack White photo, courtesy of Jennifer McGaffey)

M.I.A.

Tenacious D

Here’s to lucky 2010.

Modest Mouse have released the music video for their single “King Rat,” which Heath Ledger was in the middle of directing around the time of his death. Ledger had conceptualized the animated video with The Masses in order to raise awareness about illegal whaling off the coast of Australia through a clever role reversal. Proceeds from iTunes downloads of the video will go towards the nonprofit Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. The song can be heard on Modest Mouse’s EP No One’s First, and You’re Next, which also comes out today. (via Spin)

Remember that time we streamed Modest Mouse’s “Whale Song” exclusively for you? On August 4th, the band is set to release an EP entitled No One’s First, And You’re Next, featuring that very song, amongst seven others. Six of the songs on the upcoming EP were featured on limited promo 7″ singles, and the song “King Rat” was a free 7″ which came along with purchase of 2007’s We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank, and “I’ve Got it All (Most)” was a B-side to the “Float On” single and is currently out of print. That means that this EP is a godsend for all you record player-less Modest Mouse fans out there. But never fear vinyl junkies, the EP will be released on vinyl on August 18th for you too.

No One’s First, And You’re Next tracklisting
1. Satellite Skin
2. Guilty Cocker Spaniels
3. Autumn Beds
4. The Whale Song
5. Perpetual Motion Machine
6. History Sticks To Your Feet
7. King Rat
8. I’ve Got It All (Most)

Modest Mouse Tour Dates
8.17 – Halifax, NS (Forum Mulipurpose Room)
8.19 – Montreal, QC (Metropolis)
8.20 – Kingston, ON (Ale House)
8.21 – Toronto, ON (Sound Academy)
8.22 – Toronto, ON (Sound Academy)
8.24 – Columbus, OH (Lifestyle Communities Pavilion)
8.25 – Chicago, IL (Aragon Ballroom)
8.28 – San Diego, CA (Street Scene)
8.29 – Anaheim, CA (Grove of Anaheim)
8.30 – San Francisco, CA (Outside Lands)
9.1 – Salt Lake City, UT (In The Venue)
9.2 – Denver, CO (Fillmore Auditorium)
9.3 – Billings, MT (Alberta Bair Theater)
9.4 – Missoula, MT (Wilma Theater)
9.5 – Spokane, WA (Knitting Factory Concert House)
9.7 – Seattle, WA (Bumbershoot)
9.9 – Honolulu, HI (Pipeline Café)
9.20 – Portland, OR (Glacial Pace showcase at NorthWest Music Festival)
9.21 – Portland, OR (Crystal Ballroom)
9.22 – Portland, OR (Crystal Ballroom)
9.23 – Portland, OR (Crystal Ballroom)

Did you know you can hear Modest Mouse’s new single, ‘Perpetual Motion Machine,’ today at Spin.com for free? You can, knuckleheads The single, served on hot red 7”, will be officially released July 21 but is available for listening online now. (There are only 4,000 pressed copies of the single and your reputation is on the line, so get with it.) The record features ‘Perpetual Motion Machine,” and ‘History Sticks To Your Feet,’ both never before released cuts, and will be available on wax as well as iTunes formats. (Bonus: Look for Pitchfork’s free drop of ‘History’ on July 16.)

For the next few days we’re sharing an exclusive sneak preview of “Whale Song,” a recent live staple and now B-side on Modest Mouse’s new limited Autumn Beds 7-inch. It’s as dark and dissonant a six minutes as Isaac Brock has churned out since The Moon & Antarctica, the master stroke that made the Mouse indie rock holy cows. Only drawback: You probably shouldn’t hold your breath for the Kids Bop version to come bouncing down the pipeline any time soon.

Modest Mouse – The Whale Song

Modest Mouse had planned on shelling out a new 7″ single with two new songs for Record Store Day this past April, but it never happened. The anticipated 7″ is now ready for release, however, and will finally be come out on May 26.

The 7″ will be limited to 4,000 copies, and will include “Satellite Skin” and “Guilty Cocker Spaniels”. According to Pitchfork, each copy will be individually numbered on orange vinyl, with an embossed sleeve. If you can’t pick up the exclusive vinyl copy, you can still get the songs on iTunes as well. If you still can’t handle the anticipation of the release (though we have all been waiting for a while now, so a few more weeks isn’t too trying), “Satellite Skin” will be released on the band’s MySpace, May 15, and will be made into a music video soon as well.

A little over a month ago, indie rock veterans The Shins announced the contract between their label, Sub Pop, and themselves had expired and the band was taking a “writing hiatus.” Now, Shins’ frontman James Mercer has revealed that the band has had some major line-up changes, as well as some news of a new Shins album coming out on Mercer’s own label.

In an interview with Pitchfork, Mercer gave up the details about the new switches within the band. Joe Plummer of Modest Mouse will now be replacing Jesse Sandoval as the drummer for the Shins, and Ron Lewis of Fruit Bats, will be joining the band on bass, while keyboardist Marty Crandall has also left the Shins behind.

The new line-up was revealed at Western Washington University this past Saturday night, when the crowd saw the band sans Crandall and Sandoval. Mercer told Pitchfork that he, Crandall and Sandoval had all been playing together since the mid-90s, originally with Flake Music, and it was time to shuffle the line-up around a bit.

“I started to have production ideas that I wanted to do that basically required some other people,” he said. “It’s mainly about that. It’s an aesthetic decision. It’s kind of hard to talk about stuff like that, isn’t it? Because I don’t want to bum anybody out. I’m on good terms with those guys, I hope to maintain that.”

Now, Mercer and his new band mates are touring together as well as recording the new Shins album, which has an estimated release date for early next year. The album will be released on Mercer’s own label, Aural Apothecary, instead of the band’s forever-long label partner, Sub Pop.

Alongside the new switch up within the Shins, Mercer has been focusing his energy on other various projects as well, including a co-starring role with Carrie Brownstein in Some Days Are Better Than Others, collaborating with Modest Mouse on a soundtrack for the film 180 Degrees South, and appearing on the forthcoming Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse album.

The line-up for San Francisco’s second annual Outside Lands Music & Arts festival has been announced. The three-day festival will take place in late August at the Golden Gate park, and headliners include Pearl Jam, Beastie Boys, M.I.A. Dave Matthews Band, and… Tom Jones. (If that’s not enough to make you want to go by itself, than we don’t know what to tell you.)

The festival runs from August 28-30, and along with it’s diverse line up, the event offers some of the best food and wine in the California region, as well as providing various eco-friendly options — like recycling and a solar powered cell phone charging station — for concert-goers.

Along with the aforementioned headliners, other acts on the roster include Modest Mouse, TV on the Radio, Mastodon, Built To Spill, Atmosphere, Deerhunter, Portugal. The Man and Matt and Kim, among a whole bunch more. Tickets for the Outside Lands Music & Arts festival go on sale this Sunday, April 19, at 10 a.m. Some of the proceeds for each ticket sold also go to a good cause, helping benefit San Francisco’s Recreation and Park Department.

Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival Line-up
Pearl Jam
Dave Matthews Band
Beastie Boys
Incubus
Black Eyed Peas
M.I.A
Jason Mraz
Ween
The Mars Volta
Thievery Corporation
Modest Mouse
Band of Horses
TV on the Radio
Dead Weather
Atmosphere
Tom Jones
Silversun Pickups
The National
Q-Tip
Brett Dennen
Built To Spill
Mastodon
Raphael Saadiq
Calexico
Os Mutantes
Midnite
JJ Grey & Mofro
Kinky
Deerhunter
Lila Downs
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
The Dodos
Bettye LaVette
Dengue Fever
Heartless Bastards
The Dirtbombs
Lenka
Akron/Family
John Vanderslice
Matt and Kim
Portugal. The Man
The Morning Benders
The Duke Spirit
Zee Avi
Blind Pilot
SambaDa
Ryan Bingham
West Indian Girl
Extra Golden

The pAper chAse will be releasing their new album Someday This Could All Be Yours (Part 1), late next month on Kill Rock Stars Records, so we thought we would share a taste of what is to come from John Congleton and his band with an exclusive listen to “What Should We Do?”.

This Could All Be Yours (Part 1) will be the fifth album released by The pAper chAse, and will be followed up by Part 2 later within the year. Congleton is widely known for his work with Modest Mouse, Explosions in the Sky, and Antony And The Johnsons among many others, but his work with the pAper chAse is far different from the sounds he creates in the studio. If “What Should  We Do?” gives any indication of what The pAper chAse are preparing to deliver to us, then we’d have to say that they’re sticking close to the formula that has proven to work for them; with a taste of frantic, discord mirroring the conceptual ideas of natural disasters buried within the lyrics. Sure, “What Should We Do?” is a bit on the long side, but The pAper chAse manages to captivate your ears with it’s chaos. 

The pAper chAse – “What Should We Do With Your Body? (The Lightning)”

MP3 Download.

The sad and real truth of Heath Ledger’s death is slowly starting to be revealed as more and more news of his unfinished work starts to become known to the world. Which included a completed, but unreleased Modest Mouse video and a planned Nick Drake biopic.

In an Entertainment Weekly article [via Pitchfork], about the last film Ledger was working on prior to his death — director Terry Gilliam’s currently in-limbo, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus — it is reported that Ledger and Gilliam first met about the role in 2007, while “Ledger was in London directing an as-yet-unreleased video for Modest Mouse.”

Ledger’s sudden death threatened to derail the project, a surrealistic fantasy about a traveling theater troupe. But Gilliam pressed on, recruiting Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell to play different incarnations of Ledger’s character, a charismatic con man named Tony. Now, in the wake of Ledger’s Oscar win, interest in the film has spiked.

Upon reading this, The Playlist decided to do some research and found out the video was for “King Rat”, a We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank bonus track. They also note that in an interview with VH1 in spring 2007, Isaac Brock said, “Heath Ledger’s been wanting to do a video for one of the songs that didn’t make it on the record, ‘King Rat.’ Terry Gilliam is going to help animate it. Heath and I have a mutual friend and when we were in Australia, my fiancé and some of us in the band went out on a boat with him and his family and friends and talked about the idea. He’s got a video production company and was interested in working on something. We were talking back and forth for a while. The idea seemed sort of dropped, but then he just sent me an email saying that he wanted to do it. And I love me some Terry Gilliam. I hope it works out and I don’t sound like a fucking liar at the end of this.”

The Playlist also reported that Heath was working on a Nick Drake biopic as well, which had included footage shot by Ledger that features the bathtub suicide scene.

Back to Pitchfork, who reports the status of the “King Rat” video is currently unknown. And lastly, Zack Snyder, if you, or anyone else from Watchmen are reading this, please watch Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight repeatedly, then remake the movie.

Former Polyphonic Spree-ite Annie Clark, perhaps better known after 2007’s Marry Me as St. Vincent, has announced the details of her forthcoming follow-up, Actor.

Actor is her second solo album, set for a May 5 release date on 4AD. She produced the album herself with help from John Congleton, who’s produced for Modest Mouse and, of course, The Spree. Clark plays guitar, bass and keyboard on the record, plus stretching out her vocal cords. The album will also feature woodwinds, French horns and three percussionists.

The first single from the album is “Actor Out of Work,” and it will be out April 20. Clark has dates coming up in San Francisco for Noise Pop and Austin for SXSW.

St. Vincent – Actor
01 The Strangers
02 Save Me From What I Want
03 Neighbors
04 Actor Out of Work
05 Black Rainbow
06 Laughing With a Mouth of Blood
07 Marrow
08 The Bed
09 The Party
10 Just the Same But Brand New
11 The Sequel

St. Vincent tour dates
02.27.09 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall (Noise Pop Festival)
03.18.09 – Austin, TX – Central Presbyterian Church (4AD SXSW showcase)
03.20.09 – Austin, TX – Antone’s (Billions Corporation SXSW showcase)