www.pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-06/23.shtml
Rob Kleckner reports: Exhibit A: Classic cover art of Minor Threat's self-titled 1984 compilati on. Exhibit B: Nike Skateboarding's poster image for its "Major Threat" 2005 East Coast Tour. You don't need a degree in graphic design to notice the similarities here . Oh, wait-- one is blue, not red, one says Ma jor, not Minor, and, uh, okay, there are some Nike logos tossed in there . It sort of brings to mind that old interview in which Vanilla Ice atte mpted to defend the difference between "Ice Ice Baby" and "Under Pressur e" ("dun dun dun duh-duh-duh dun" vs. Come on, Nike, your Swoosh is one of the most iconic brand images in the world-- perhaps a tiny notch below the Golden Arches and maybe Coca-Cola . We understand that trading on the image of a legitimately punk rock, a nti-corporate institution will lend some desperately needed credibility to your marketing campaign for the hearts of adolescent skate kids. But doesn't knowing full well that that institution-- in this case the vener able Dischord Records-- would never grant you permission for the use of that image, and just steamrolling the fuck over them anyway because your lawyers can beat up their lawyers negate the very ideals with which you 're attempting to equate yourselves? I mean, there's unethical and then there's just flat-out mercenary. Just to make sure Dischord hadn't truly gone back on everything they've e ver stood for, we asked a representative from the label if Nike had aske d to borrow the image. They said the following: "No, they stole it and w e're not happy about it. Nike is a giant corporation which is attempting to manipulate the alternative skate culture to create an even wider dem and for their already ubiquitous brand. Nike represents just about the a ntithesis of what Dischord stands for and it makes me sick to my stomach to think they are using this explicit imagery to fool kids into thinkin g that the general ethos of this label, and Minor Threat in particular, can somehow be linked to Nike's mission. Though the label is not sure as to what action they're planning to take, they are definitely not happy with Nike's choice. We'll keep you updated as we learn more about the situation.
The Shins, Interpol Featured on KEXP Compilation Rob Kleckner reports: The internet is awesome. I mean, really, you can do everything there: ord er groceries, talk to people in faraway lands, keep up with Lindsay Loha n's weight and boyfriends, download new music (surreptitiously or otherw ise), and, of course, read Pitchfork. You can even listen to radio stati ons from around the world, which is nice, because unfortunately most sta tions don't reach beyond their own city, if that far. Before streaming r adio feeds, and now satellite radio, moving to a new city meant breaking up with your favorite stations. But these days a long distance relation ship is possible. The station has a great tradition of liv e performances by a variety of independent artists from around the globe . But if you're a radio purist who insists on tuning in to actual radio waves, not that internet mumbo-jumbo, and you don't live in the Seattle area, then you've been missing out. Now, KEXP is set to deliver their first-ever com pilation of live in-studio performances. The disc includes contributions from the Shins, Belle & Sebastian, Sonic Youth, the Flaming Lips, My Mo rning Jacket, Air, Interpol, Snow Patrol, Rilo Kiley, and Ben Gibbard, a s well as many more. However, on August 23, the album will be in record shops in the Seattle market, as well as for order online through the station's site. Upcoming guests scheduled to appear live on KEXP include Cloud Cult, Sufj an Stevens, Blitzen Trapper, and Athlete.
Frank Black Announces New Project Kati Llewellyn reports: Vagueness-- mysterious or annoying? Sticking with this recent trend in music, Frank Black has commente d on his latest project, which is currently not affiliated with a label, and shooting for a release sometime in early 2006. It has already been mixed, but Black plans to redo some vocals and possibly add a few more s ongs, so it might be a while. Ho wever, this Nashville-recorded follow-up to his still upcoming solo reco rd, Honeycomb (due out July 19) does feature quite a few guest stars, so at least that should fill some space.
was reco rded in one night, like a midnight to 6 pm the next day all-nighter ki nd of thing." This Nashville set features names such as Levon Helm (the Band) and Tom Petersson (Cheap Trick), amongst others. Several of the songs were co-written with Reid Paley, who had a hand in Honeycomb's "Another Velvet Nightmare". Though Black has not yet booked any shows in support of his new records, he claims to be excited to go back on the road as a solo act. His Pixies are, of course, still riding on the reunion circuit. In the meantime, those crossing their fingers for a new Pixies release... we'll let Black say it in his own words: "We'll see what happens. I pred ict we'll make a record sometime in the next year," he told Billboard.
Television's Tom Verlaine Announces Solo LP, Reissue James Gregory reports: Looks like someone finally refilled the Ritalin prescription, as accordin g to a recent press release from Thrill Jockey, long-dormant Television string-dazzler Tom Verlaine has recently signed with the indie label, an d is currently prepping a new solo disc for release next year. While det ails are still coming together for the upcoming album-- his first solo o uting since 1992's Warm and Cool-- we're assured that an early 2006 stre et date is likely. In the meantime, Verlaine's first release for Thrill Jockey will be an ex panded reissue of Warm and Cool, that will feature the original 14-track album along with eight additional bonus cuts. And while not an alt-rock classic in the vein of Marquee Moon or anything, the album's low key in strumental-only tracks (supported by Television's Fred Smith and Billy F icca) are a definite draw for those in love with Verlaine's melodic nood ling. Tracks: >>Original Album 01 Those Harbor Lights 02 Sleepwalkin' 03 Deep Dark Clouds 04 Saucer Crash 05 Depot (1951) 06 Boulevard 07 Harley Quinn 08 Sor Juanna 09 Depot (1957) 10 Spiritual 11 Little Dance 12 Ore 13 Depot (1958) 14 Lore >>Bonus Tracks 15 Old Car 16 Ancient 17 Asmileyfallsapart 18 Avanti 19 Early Waltz 20 Please Keep Going 21 Tontootempo 22 A Film of Flowers Speaking of the expansion in the press release, Verlaine shed some light on the newly unearthed bonus material. "These are some little bits from here and there and this year and other years dumped into a computer. I t ried to edit out the mistakes but wasn't always able to. And just a quick reminder to the Strokes as they finish mixing their thir d LP-- a reunited Television will be ripe for lick-pilfering as they fin ish up a handful of live dates throughout Europe this summer, including a set at Belgium's Dour Festival (which also sees performances from Brig ht Eyes, Liars, Roots Manuva, and the Blues Explosion).
Fellow Canadians to Remix Stars Susan Hopkins reports: It must be nice to be born of Canada, where a thriving, pumping music sce ne rooted in indie- and electro-pop grinds on and on. And oh, to be a fl y on the wall, because all those names you know-- Caribou (formerly Mani toba), Junior Boys, Broken Social Scene, the Dears, and this writer's ow n personal favorite, Metric-- they're all friends! They are the goddamn Canadian Awesome Music Collective, and now they're getting the band back together, so to speak, in tribute to their countrymen and countrywomen in Stars. The plan is for all of the above bands (and more) to remix songs from Sta rs' Set Yourself on Fire in time to release an album of the new versions in the fall. com spoke to Stars' frontman , Torquil Campbell, about the possible impact of having too many cooks i n the kitchen, especially when said cooks are close personal friends. Bu t Campbell predicted the best: "They are all people who listened to the record a lot and are all close friends of ours, so it's kind of an inter esting experiment from our point of view. I'm always ripping them off, so I can't imag ine they are going to come up ...
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