SCARLETT JOHANSSON RELEASES EP, COVERS CURE
Scarlett Johansson, much storied already in these pages (postings?) for her recent album of Tom Waits covers entitled Anywhere I Lay My Head, has just released a new live EP covering songs from said record as well as “Boys Don’t Cry”, the Cure classic. Given the live setting, one might think the songs wouldn’t translate as well without the David Sitek production touch. However, these tracks remain whoozy and beautiful with Johansson’s deep and whispy vocals providing an original and creative take on the bark and growl of Waits. Still, both artists deliver the songs with a common ingredient: soulfulness, and these tracks are chock full of it. Taking a hit to our wallets for the blogosphere, we at Cannibal Cheerleader purchased the EP from iTunes and will now post a few tracks for everyone.

NEW KANYE VIDEO W/ ANDRE 3000
Courtesy of Kanye’s blog, we have this completely awesome Michael Jackson meets Motown meets modern day track called “Everybody”, featuring the “Cool Outrageous Lovers Of Uniquely Raw Styles” (COLOURS for short, haha, oh politics) which features Andre 3000, Kanye West, and Sa-Ra. I also do believe that if you watch the video you’ll spot Chromeo spinning on top of the platform. Check it out y’all, see what you think!

********************************************************************

BLOC PARTY BASSIST TAKES PATERNITY LEAVE
Looks like our favorite post-punkster bassist Gordon Moakes of Bloc Party fame is going to be a daddy, and as such is taking a few months off the BP tour-wagon in order to be at home when the baby arrives. Says Moakes from a posting at the Bloc Party website:

“Unfortunately I’m not going to be able to join the boys during the next month or so of touring. The reason for this is that my wife is expecting our first baby in a few weeks and after some long hard thinking we all decided, band included, that it was a bit silly for me to be flying round the world at such a critical time in the pregnancy. No one wants me to wind up in the wrong continent should there be any complications or should the little one decide to put in an early appearance. So while the other chaps are jetting around the Pacific Rim I will be buying the groceries, attending ante-natal classes and generally preparing myself for the cloud of unknown that is becoming a Dad.

In my stead we’ve been schooling a friend of ours, Daniel Lindegren (aka Tommy Sparks), in the ways of the Bloc. For the next few weeks Daniel will be doing his best to cover my portfolio of bass, keys, buttons, knobs and things that go ‘clonk’. He is more than proficient at many of these things so I can’t see it marring anyone’s enjoyment of the Bloc Party experience while I’m away. All being well, I will return to reclaim my mantle around the end of August, possibly bringing with me some profound wisdom as a new father, if not a complete lack of sleep.“

Seems reasonable to us Gordon! Good luck with the baby, and stay tuned CC readers for more info on the upcoming third LP from Bloc Party. Here’s a little track that makes us hope this little guy continues the family lineage.

NEW BAND CHEER – THE SHONDES
I was attracted to this band by a banner ad that read ‘The Shondes – The new Sleater-Kinney?”. While it may be a lofty comparison to set this Brooklyn quartet alongside the greatest American punk act of all time, the Shondes do bring the rock and definitely have some tracks behind them. With a combination of old school riot grrrl, neo-classicism, queercore, and traditional Jewish music (yeah, we don’t know how it all works together either), The Shondes pull off punk with the immediacy of bands like Bikini Kill but with the panache and songwriting skills of acts like Team Dresch. Definitely worth checking out if only for the killer violin parts; take a listen below and visit the band’s Myspace.

OF MONTREAL REVEAL SKELETAL LAMPING
After a few news-releases and subsequent retractions over at Pitchfork, our favorite gender-bending Canadian indie-rockers Of Montreal have announced the details behind their upcoming album Skeletal Lamping (that’s the crazy and bizarre cover art up there). Read more details here, but if it’s anything like the band’s last LP, we can expect a brand of subversive pop that transcends boundaries yet again.

View Larger Map

********************************************************************
TRYOUTS: NAS’ UNTITLED
It must be hard to capture a moment in time on record, when all the feelings, the culture, the zeitgeist of the moment coalesces on one singular album. Nas‘ Untitled however, a fantastic followup to 2006’s Hip Hop Is Dead and perhaps his best post-Illmatic album, genuinely captures the fear, the hypocrisy, and the madness that is today’s America, and in doing so has crafted perhaps the best record of the year. Whereas his collaboration with DJ Green Lantern produced tracks of great bombast and excitement, Untitled is a calculated affair, placing intellectual verses over smooth, thoughtful beats with an air of critical thought and perhaps a hint of impending sadness. While The Nigger Tape was fantastic, Untitled transcends such accolades, not necessarily because it’s a better album outright but more so because its political statement is so bold as to suggest the message outweighs the medium. Nas has outshone even his own career-path on this defining album. Makes the team and is first in line for captain.

Nas – “You Can’t Stop Us Now”
********************************************************************
TRYOUTS: BECK’S MODERN GUILT
The good news about Beck’s new album Modern Guilt is that cuts like “Chemtrails”, so haunting and ethereal as to remind listeners of the artist’s magnum opus Sea Change, are peppered throughout the record. Tracks like “Orphans” (featuring Cat Power!) and “Youthless” transcend the middling territory of the past few Beck efforts and really standout as fantastic testaments to the power of the Odelayer’s freaky-folk ballads. However, the album, for all its effort to sound spare and stepped-down sounds at times a bit sleepy. Still, an award goes to Danger Mouse for recapturing the slacker nature of Beck’s lo-fi recordings. Makes the team though expect this one to get kicked from the team when the principal catches him under the bleachers making those special ‘Chemtrails’…

Beck – “Chemtrails”
********************************************************************
STARS’ BEDROOM UP FOR POLARIS AWARD
According to this Stereogum article Stars‘ album In Our Bedroom After the War is up for the preeminent Canadian music prize the Polaris Award, given to the best Canada-produced album regardless of sales. Definitely a great break for one of our favorite albums of last year which nonetheless continues to pop up this year. Great work Stars, we’ll see you at ACL!

Stars – “Window Bird”
********************************************************************
KANYE NEEDS ANGER MANAGEMENT?
Can’t a brother catch a break? Even Kanye’s management thinks he needs anger management according to this Rock Daily report. Sounds to me like a publicity stunt to help change the erroneous public opinion that a black man shouldn’t speak unless spoken too. Personally I like West’s outspoken nature but we’ll see how everyone feels when he’s Uncle Tomming it on your TV screen all night. Keep up the fight Kanye I say!

Kanye West – “Can’t Tell Me Nothing”

Comments people?

“We regret to inform our fans that we will not be participating in this year’s Warped Tour. We have been going non-stop for the past 6 months and didn’t realize how much the intense schedule would take out of us. Something had to give and sadly it’s this tour.”

Seeing their last live show here in Austin definitely makes it easy for us to understand how the band might be a little tired after all this non-stop touring. Also, as we’ve mentioned before, Jemina Pearl was none too happy to be participating in the poseur-filled Warped Tour, so looks like this might be a win-win. Get some rest guys!
********************************************************************
WHISPERTOWN2000 CHANGE NAME, PLOT TOUR
Whispertown2000 (remember, no space!), or now The Whispertown 2000 have begun mapping out their new tour via their Myspace and here’s what their most recent bulletin had to say:

“Hello, fine people.

So, it looks as if our preposed tour should happen in September. Please respond if you or someone you know books at a college or venue.
We would love to support or open up for someone in your town!!!

P.S.
New Record to be released early October!!

P.S. We’re changing our name to The Whispertown 2000 ..

P.S.
Website and Merch Store soon to come

P.S. Pushing Oars…
P.S.
xo”

So you’ve got a new Whispertown 2000 LP, a new tour (please swing through Austin!), a new website, and a new name! And who wants to bet me ‘Pushing Oars’ might just be the name of this their sophomore release? Only time will tell, stay tuned for more from these guys…
********************************************************************
TREASURE MAMMAL TOUR BEGINSOur favorite motivational speaker/experimental hip-hop artist Treasure Mammal is about to embark on his US tour! He’s going to be swinging through Austin this coming Sunday, and you know that Cannibal Cheerleader will be there with bells on to capture the whole event. If you’re on his itinerary (check out the Myspace!) then be sure and see this guy: the experience is life-altering.
********************************************************************
KANYE WEST RESPONDS TO BONNAROO INCIDENT
The blogosphere has erupted over the past week over an incident at Bonnaroo where Kanye West’s late night set, scheduled to begin at 2:45am was delayed until 4:45am for (before today) unknown reasons.
What could have been a simple controversy about disgruntled fans quickly turned into racist tirades against proud black artists who don’t display the humility that privileged young hippies feel they should. It of course goes without saying that the backlash against any African-American artist who doesn’t meet the fickle Internet’s standards will be far stronger than a Caucasian performer and the comments section on the likes of Stereogum are proof enough of that. Commentators claim that a mere apology would have sufficed, though given the fact that they were already throwing things on Kanye’s stage, perhaps it was their turn to apologize to him. Obviously I have strong feelings on the issue, however not so much as our friend Mr. West who comments on his blog (copied here in its brutally honest entirety, thanks Pitchfork):

LATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AT THAT POINT WE’RE RACING AGAINST THE SUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AT 4:20AM DON COMES BACK 2 THE BUS AND TELLS ME, ” IT WOULD TAKE 45 MORE MINUTES TO PUT ALL YOUR PYRO IN!” I SAY I HAVE TO GET OUT THERE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE . I HIT THE STAGE AND PEOPLE HAD BEEN THROWING SHIT ON THE STAGE AND HAD ACTUALLY HIT THE JANE SCREEN WITH, I GUESS BOTTLES OR SOMETHING AND HAD BROKEN MY FUCKING SCREEN. REMEMBER WHEN YOU WERE A SHORTY AND WATER WOULD HIT THE TV?????? WHEN I GOT 2 “THROUGH THE WIRE” I STEPPED ON THE FRONT PART OF MY STAGE AND THERE WAS SO MUCH LIQUID ON THE STAGE I COULDN’T MOVE WITHOUT SLIPPING. I HAD TO ADJUST MY WHOLE PERFORMANCE STYLE BECAUSE OF IT. A FEW MORE SONGS IN AND THE SONG WAS ON IT’S WAY UP.. I CUT A FEW SONGS FROM THE SET BECAUSE I WANTED PEOPLE 2 EXPERIENCE STRONGER WHILE THERE WAS STILL SOME DARKNESS TO PERFORM IT IN. I’VE STRUGGLED WITH STRONGER FROM IT’S CONCEPTION. REMEMBER LAST SUMMER WHEN I CANCELED SOME TV APPEARANCES. IT WAS BECAUSE I DIDN’T WANT TO PERFORM STRONGER IN THE DAYTIME. ANYONE WHO CAME TO THE GLOW TOUR CAN UNDERSTAND WHY I WANTED PEOPLE TO SEE IT PROPERLY. IT BROKE MY HEART THAT I COULDN’T GIVE THESE FANS STRONGER IN IT’S GREATEST FORM… BY THE TIME I GOT TO STRONGER IT WAS DAYTIME AND IT BROKE MY HEART. I’M SORRY TO EVERYONE THAT I DIDN’T HAVE THE ABILITY 2 GIVE THE PERFORMANCE I WANTED TO. I’M SORRY… SOMETIMES I GO 2, 3 DAYS W/O SLEEP WORKING ON MY PERFORMANCE… I HAVE TO ICE MY KNEES AFTER EVERY SHOW AND THEY HURT WHEN I WALK THROUGH THE AIRPORT… HAVING AN EXPENSIVE STAGE CUTS MY PAYDAY IN HALF… CALL ME WHAT YOU WANT BUT NEVER SAY I DIDN’T GIVE MY ALL!!!”

Spoken like a true artist Kanye. Here at Cannibal Cheerleader we realize when a performer on the level of Michael Jackson with a political slant reminiscent of Dylan reaches the top of the heap. Shame to see so many people trying to pull him down. This is actually a good segue into my next section…
********************************************************************
CANNIBAL CHEERLEADER – PRINT EDITION!As that last section may have made readers realize, I’m an opinionated person. However, Cannibal Cheerleader is more about the music than the politics but that’s going to change when we release the Cannibal Cheerleader Zine here in Austin, Texas. It will be available free in various locations around the city and will feature artist profiles, artwork, politics, music essays, and Austin-centric articles, all based around the theme of brave, creative music journalism with no commercial ties holding us down. Be prepared to be shocked (not that the idea of a Cannibal Cheerleader isn’t shocking enough, haha). Coming in mid-to-late July, look for it then.

PS. MP3’s will hopefully be back next week everyone!

Comments?