INDIEBLOGHEAVEN

Cursive/Mastodon Announce Tour

The string of odd, live indie pairings continues as Mastodon and Cursive will roll out some dates. Following last weeks news of Feist and Grizzly Bear, the bands must have thought, "If they can do it, so can we," although this might be a little more bizarre.

Even Cursive frontman Tim Kasher was caught off guard-

"I questioned it at first and was kind of intimidated," Kasher tells Billboard.com. "Like, why would we play a metal show? Who knows what the crowd will think?"

Even though Cursive had a harder back catalog, they say they won't customize their sets to fit the Mastodon audience. Well, that is until they get pummeled to death for the 12th night in a row. Good luck boys!

Green Day to Release New Single

Pic: Dean Chalkley

Green Day are planning on releasing a new single tomorrow on iTunes. The move is unexpected from the band, as they have reworked John Lennon's "Working Class Hero." Supposedly, Lennon is also heard on the redone version.

All proceeds from the single go towards people suffering in the Darfur region of Africa.

via NME

Live Review: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

They played live in Dallas the other night. The writer says their show was uneven and odd, but solid in parts. There was even a bullhorn citing.

Give it a read here.

Coachella A Big Success Despite Arrests

Zak from Rage at Coachella

Many braved temperatures over 100 degrees, but the stage action was hot from many artists at Coachella this weekend. Some of the highlights included a blistering set from a reunited Rage Against the Machine, to close out the festival. Also Jesus and Mary Chain reunited with Scarlett Johansson singing background vocals on a track.

Arctic Monkeys, CSS, Bjork, Red Hot Chili Peppers and LCD Soundsystem were also among the highlights.

There were quite a few arrests made this time around, with 85 people being taken away in handcuffs along with 37 injuries-zero bonfires though.

Rolling Stone has a full writeup on the RATM performance here

Arctic Monkeys Dominate UK Charts

Favourite Worst Nightmare is out now, and with that comes major dominance in the UK.

As the album flew to #1 this week, it also out sold every other album on the Top 20 UK Album Chart, combined.

Not only that, but including their first album, Arctic Monkeys have 18 songs charting in th UK Top 200.

How many groups can say they have done that?

Virgin Festival Lineup Announced

Talk about a great assortment of acts.

The lineup for the Virgin Festival has been announced, taking place in Baltimore, August 4th and 5th.

The Police, Smashing Pumpkins and Beastie Boys are among the highlights, as well as Amy winehouse, Fountains of Wayne, LCD Soundsystem, Modest Mouse and several others.

Tickets for the two-day event go on sale May 5 through Ticketmaster and are $175 for general admission and $450 for VIP. Single day tickets, will go on sale May 19 for $97.50 general admission and $250 VIP.

For the full lineup, go here

Patrick Wolf Not Retiring Afterall

Last week, Patrick Wolf had this to say about the future-

"My final concert will be this November... I am not sure whether there will be anymore public communications after that. In fact, I am pretty sure there will be none."

Now, after scaling down things, he doesn't seem quite so melodramatic.

Pitchfork: Will this orchestral concert in November really be your last?

Patrick Wolf: Um, yeah. I really want people to know that I never released a press release about this issue. I wasn't trying to get published by anybody. I was just writing a very close community of fans. Somebody took that and turned it into a big story, and it's gotten out of control. I just want people to know that, first of all, I never said I was quitting music, and second of all, I never did it in a public way.

I wouldn't know what to do if I didn't have music in my life, and this is going to turn into some kind of horrendous Mariah Carey speech, but the music has led me through many adventures and disasters and good times and total lonely times and for me to say I was going to quit music is like saying I'm going to commit suicide. It's the most extreme thing that could happen in my life. That would make me miserable, so I would never say I was quitting music, because I would never know where to start.

Read the rest of the interview here

Charlotte Gainsbourg

You're sexy, you're French, you're talented. You have parents who are celebrities, an acting career, and when you feel like singing, you employ the likes of Jarvis Cocker, the guys from Air and the Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon. Oh, and you get Radiohead's producer. Such is the life for Charlotte Gainsbourg, who, in case you haven't noticed, is the most buzzed about artist of the moment in the blogosphere.

Her breathy album is more of a mood piece for a mellow morning, but when applied, it's a solid listen.

Charlotte Gainsbourg-The Songs We Sing mp3 from 5:55 

Live Review: John Vanderslice Plays D.C.

All kinds of wackiness took place at the John Vanderslice show in D.C. last night. Highlights include him serving the audience Mrs. Field's cookies, jumping into the audience so they could join him a cappella on a track, his already quirky lyrics, and more.

Get it from DCist

New White Stripes Tour Dates Announced

The mighty machine, The White Stripes have announced tour dates!

This just after announcing that their first single, 'Icky Thump', will be available exclusively online through the iTunes music stores (US and Canada only) starting today.

Here are the dates-

06-01 Nuerburgring, Germany - Rock Am Ring Festival
06-02 Nurnberg, Germany - Rock Im Park Festival
06-04 Vienna, Austria - Gasometer
06-06 Rome, Italy - Tenda Strisce
06-07 Milan, Italy - Idroscalo
06-09 Lisbon, Portugal - Alive Festival
06-11 Paris, France - Zenith
06-14 London, England - Hyde Park (O2 Wireless Festival)
06-15 Leeds, England - Harewood House (O2 Wireless Festival)
06-17 Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo Festival
06-24 Burnaby, British Columbia - Deer Lake Park
06-25 Whitehorse, Yukon - Yukon Arts Centre
06-26 Yellowknife, Northwest Territories - Shorty Brown Multiplex Arena
06-27 Iqaluit, Nunavut - Arctic Winter Games Arena
06-29 Calgary, Alberta - Pengrowth Saddledome
06-30 Edmonton, Alberta - Shaw Convention Center
07-01 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - TCU Place
07-02 Winnipeg, Manitoba - MTS Centre
07-03 Thunder Bay, Ontario - Community Auditorium
07-05 Toronto, Ontario - Molson Amphitheatre
07-06 Montreal, Quebec - Bell Centre
07-07 London, Ontario - John Labatt Centre
07-08 Ottawa, Ontario - LeBreton Flats Park (Ottawa Bluesfest)
07-10 Moncton, New Brunswick - Moncton Coliseum Arena
07-11 Charlottetown, Price Edward Island - Charlottetown Civic Centre
07-13 Halifax, Nova Scotia - Cunard Centre
07-14 Glace Bay, Nova Scotia - Savoy Theatre
07-16 St. John's, Newfoundland - Mile One Center
07-22 Portland, ME - Cumberland Civic Center
07-23 Boston, MA - Agganis Arena
07-24 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
07-25 Wallingford, CT - Chevrolet Theater
07-27 Wilmington, DE - Grand Opera House
07-28 Fairfax, VA - Patriot Center
07-29 North Myrtle Beach, SC - House of Blues
07-30 Birmingham, AL - Sloss Furnaces
07-31 Southaven, MS - Snowden Grove Park Amphitheater