Sonic Youth set to work on new album

The follow-up to this year’s ‘The Eternal’, guitarist Lee Ranaldo has confirmed that they’re “most probably going back into the studio next year”, but did add that the band were still enjoying playing their current album live.

As for future releases, Ranaldo revealed plans to digitise over 30 years of the band’s recordings.

“We’re doing a big archival house clean right now,” he explained. “We’ve got a massive archive of audio and video that’s sitting in our studio in Hoboken. We’ve got somebody in there who’s noting every single thing down and making a massive database, and then we’re going to start digitising it because some of the tapes are 30 years old now.”

Paste: Fleet Foxes talk ‘pretty boring’ new album

“I want the recording to be really fast,” he said. “I want to do all the vocal takes in one go, so even if there are fuck-ups, I want them to be on there. I want there to be guitar mistakes. I want there to be not totally flawless vocals. I want to record it and have that kind of cohesive sound… As a whole, it’s probably a little less upbeat… But some of it is just more realistic… I guess people think we’re already a mellow band, so maybe the next album will be pretty boring to most people.”

I like the concept of this. I want to hear stuff that isn’t totally perfect. I think that is what will make this album ‘respectable’.

Pure Groove has a 7” Transparent Records bundle available for $32

this bundle features:

Emil & Friends, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Fergus & Geronimo, Smith Westerns, That Ghost and Small Black

Alex Bleeker And The Freaks: Part 2 download

Real Estate bassist Alex Bleeker and his Freaks (including Real Estaters Matt Mondanile and Martin Courtney) just released their hazy Crazy Horse-flavored self-titled debut on Underwater Peoples. In this week’s Drop we we talk with Bleeker about languid, melancholic closer “Part 2.”

Santa Fe Reporter posts article on what’s wrong with modern music

Pitchfork makes top of the list:

“Pitchfork should change its name to hipster-lessons-for-preteens-who-don’t-listen-to-anything-unless-we-tell-them-to.com. Now, instead of actually forming an opinion based on a group’s talent or musical merit, you can simply visit this website and be told what you’re supposed to like from a panel of idiots that leads the mediocrity-in-music campaign with such sanctimonious vigor, it makes me sick. Yes, criticism has a strong and valid position in the music world, but should be used as guidelines rather than words to live by. Do yourself a favor and choose for yourself. If one more person tells me what pitchfork said about something, it’ll mean a pitchfork in the face for that person.”

YES.

Music labels bet ‘Vevo’ is the next MTV

“Launched on Tuesday [tonight], Vevo offers music from both Universal and Sony, as well as EMI Music, and contains programing from CBS radio stations and Last.fm, both owned by CBS Corp. In all about 30,000 videos are available.The idea is to create an MTV for the digital age, a music site where all the latest and archived videos can be found. It’s a business model similar to that of Hulu, the popular TV and movie site.”

“…Vevo launched with the support of nearly 20 new advertising partnerships, including names like Colgate-Palmolive Co., MasterCard Inc., McDonald’s Corp., and AT&T Inc. These advertisers will pay a near premium rate of around $20 to $45 for every 1,000-page views, Vevo Chief Executive Rio Caraeff said in an interview.”

via Metrogum

Pitchfork reports: Jeff Mangum, of Neutral Milk Hotel, who created most likely the most iconic and influential albums of the 90s (In The Aeroplane Over The Sea) has created a new song.

“Reclusive Neutral Milk Hotel leader Jeff Mangum hasn’t released any new music in forever, so any news of a new Mangum track is a big deal. In July, we reported that Mangum would show up on Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox, a tribute album dedicated to New Zealand indie forefather and stroke survivor Chris Knox. But when the tracklist for the New Zealand release of Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox came out last month, Mangum wasn’t on it.

Well, good news: Mangum is on the U.S. version of the album, which is out now digitally via Merge. (Physical copies are due February 23.) Mangum covers “Sign the Dotted Line”, a song by Knox’s band Tall Dwarfs.”

I think everyone is going to be wondering if this could mean more from Mangum.