Pitchfork is reporting that Interpol has canceled most of its U.S. tour dates because U2 had to cancel their tour. Most of Interpol's gigs were scheduled around the U2 tour since they were to be the opening act for several dates. Only four Interpol tour dates remain planned, but one of them is the Pittsburgh date (lucky us!) The band is still scheduled to perform at Mr. Small's on June 23.
Michael Ian Black isn't a musician, but he's the funniest Twitter-er in cybespace and he comments about music a lot, so we're featuring him. Here are some recent tweets from the guy we first loved on VH1's I Love the '80s. To promoters: music festivals don't need to have names that sound like they were made up by Dr. Seuss. When it comes right down to it, banjos are stupid. I apologize for saying banjos are stupid. I didn't mean it. I just meant they look and sound stupid. Starting to worry that Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam might never come out with another album. Within the next couple years, Taylor Swift will be older than half my age. At that point we'll probably do it. A few more tambourine solos would be okay with me. Please look into it, musicians. Hindsight being 20/20, I probably shouldn't have challenged the devil to a fiddle-playing contest. Stupid, stupid, stupid. http://twitter.com/michaelianblack
Every six months I do this. Here's the latest list of my favorites with video clips.
What's exciting is I just saw Jonsi last month and I'll be seeing the other four at Lollapalooza.
1 JONSI/SIGUR ROS
2 MATT & KIM
3 LADY GAGA
4 GOGOL BORDELLO
5 THE NATIONAL
Here's my last list, from November 2009.
Others earning consideration: Ke$ha, MGMT, The National, The Hold Steady, Crystal Castles
Pete Yorn is plugged into pop culture:
Will LOST really answer all the questions in 2 1/2 hours? Is that even possible? Theories out there on what will happen?
Unfortunately, I'm not. I never got into Lost and haven't seen a single minute of it. Once it's finally over, maybe I'll have a marathon and watch the whole thing from the beginning.
http://twitter.com/peteyorn
I didn't get this tweet from Frightened Rabbit right away:
In the words of Lady Gaga "Boise Boise Boise!"
Frightened Rabbit are currently touring the west coast.
http://twitter.com/FRabbits
Last year we blogged about our favorite Pittsburgh musicians and one of those on the list was neo-soul singer/songwriter Joy Ike. Now, she's earning praise beyond the confines of the city, as evidenced by a recent piece on NPR's All Things Considered.
Joy Ike's latest album Rumors is released online today. Rumors is full of warm, charming songs that are beautifully recorded and beautifully performed.
Joy's local CD release party takes place on Sunday at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts at 4 pm. She'll also be at the Three Rivers Arts Fest in June.
Find her online and listen to the excellent track "Sweeter" at www.joyike.com.
Since my early exposure to Casey Kasem at age 5, I've always been a fan of music countdowns, especially ridiculously long countdowns. I'm currently working on a list of my favorite 100 songs of all-time, which I expect to take several months to put together.
Right now WYEP is airing its 913 songs that matter from the last decade - that would be 2000-2009. Tune to 91.3 or head to wyep.org to stream the countdown live. I've already heard some good stuff I wouldn't otherwise hear, like a gem from Tracy Chapman called "America" that I missed when it came out five years ago.
If you can play music while you work, give it a listen. It'll be my soundtrack for the rest of the week.
I was tempted to post another Tweet of the Week by someone silly like Justin Bieber or Mark Hoppus, but I'll go the serious route and instead report the tweet by country singer Kenny Chesney, whose Nashville home is almost totally under water.
TN is a mess with floods. If you're fortunate enough to help out, hit up the mid-TN Red Cross: http://bit.ly/a46gSz Stay safe, everyone.
http://twitter.com/kennychesney
MUST-SEE SHOW:
5/28 Of Montreal @ Ches-A-Rena
Although 2010 is going to be a great summer for concerts in Pittsburgh, the month of May isn't looking so hot. The best show to check out is Of Montreal, who've finally come back to Pittsburgh now that they're not as hot as they were a few years ago. Still, their last two albums Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? and Skeletal Lamping have plenty of exciting moments and the band is known for its live show.
ALSO WORTH ATTENDING:
5/23 Insane Clown Posse, Kittie & Coolio @ Amphitheatre at Station Square
It's a slow month so why not give some love to ICP? I once saw ICP at a tiny bar in New Castle PA and will never forget the spectacle. It was one of the most intense shows I've seen start to finish (probably second, behind Slipknot). There were no "Let's slow it down for a minute" moments. Just lots of hard rock, with Faygo and glitter flying. But if I was attending this show, I'd be most excited to see Coolio, Mr. Gangsta's Paradise himself.
Others to keep in mind:
5/2 Against Me! @ Diesel
5/2 Martin Bisi @ Brillobox
5/2 Bill Maher @ Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead
5/3 Cymbals Eat Guitars @ Brillobox
5/4 AP Tour with Hey Monday and Never Say Never @ Altar Bar
5/5 Sugar and Gold @ Thunderbird Cafe
5/6 Set Your Goals @ Mr. Small's
5/8 Grant Lee Phillips @ Club Cafe
5/13 Cute is What We Aim For @ Diesel
5/14 Sugarland @ First Niagara Pavilion
5/17 Swell Season @ Byham Theater
5/19 Peter Wolf @ Mr. Small's
5/21 Red Jumpsuit Apparatus @ Mr. Small's
5/22 Eric Himan @ Club Cafe
5/22 David Allan Coe @ Altar Bar
5/23 Jefferson Starship @ Benedum Center
5/28 Busta Rhymes & Lil Kim @ Amphitheatre at Station Square
5/29 Country Throwdown with Montgomery Gentry & Jamey Johnson @ First Niagara Pavilion
5/31 Brokencyde & Jeffree Star @ Diesel
