Blog: Pitchfork: Forkcast

On the surface, it makes just about no sense for Swedish pop pros Peter Bjorn and John to open Depeche Mode 's summer American tour, since their bubbling-over joy has basically nothing to do with Depeche Mode's brooding synthetic throb. You'd think that someone like Ladytron , who will open a few of Depeche Mode's Eastern European shows, would be a better fit, just based on the sense of elegant gloom they share. [...]

Last night, mere minutes after Ryan Seacrest inadvertently suggested that a (female) "American Idol" contestant should stay on her knees for him, the most smarmy man alive mentioned that Kanye West would appear on the most popular TV show in the country next week. He was not lying. West will show this year's 13 "Idol" finalists how to flex their vocal cords when he does "Heartless" on next Wednesday's show . Fellow P4k news correspondent Tom Breihan's reaction: "He's really taking [...]

We travel to the wide-open spaces of Whitefish, Mont., to watch hyper-pop mastermind Dan Deacon put the finishing touches on his new LP, Bromst . The Baltimore iconoclast walks us through the dizzying experimentation behind his follow-up to Spiderman of the Rings . Part One Pitchfork.tv page with embed code is here . Part Two [...]

Photo by Kathryn Yu -- For the first time in the history of this earth, new wave nutballs Devo will perform their classic 1978 Brian Eno-produced debut, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! , in its entirety live in concert. Front to back, "Mongoloid", "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", "Jocko Homo" and the rest. The Don't Look Back show goes down at London's Kentish Town Forum May 6. The yellow-jumpsuited crew will [...]

Earlier this afternoon, the Chicago Tribun e's Greg Kot reported three of the headliners for this year's Lollapalooza Festival : the Beastie Boys , Depeche Mode , and Jane's Addiction . Reps for the festival and the bands wouldn't confirm Kot's info, which Kot claims he got from "multiple sources inside the industry." What can we say? The man is connected. The festival will go down August 7-9 in Chicago's [...]

Yesterday, we reported on the release of "The Beatles: Rock Band" . But the Beatles aren't the only A-list quartet with a video game in the works. And I'm probably going to hell for saying it, but I'm way, way more amped for the imminent release of "Guitar Hero Metallica" , especially now that Activision , the game's developer, has announced the tracklist. "Guitar Hero Metallica" hits stores on March 29, and it's available on [...]

Explosions, abominable snowmen, skulls, flying-v guitars used as weapons, shredding jams in a snowstorm-- this is my kind of video. (via Brooklyn Vegan ) [from Crack the Skye ; due 03/24/09 on Reprise ]

Explosions, abominable snowmen, skulls, flying-v guitars used as weapons, shredding jams in a snowstorm-- this is my kind of video. (via Brooklyn Vegan ) [from Crack the Skye ; due 03/24/09 on Reprise ]

While there were many great bands and performances at last year's Pitchfork Music Festival , there were only a few genuine stars in the classic sense of the word. Jarvis Cocker didn't headline the fest, but he was definitely the biggest star; whether stalking the stage, engaging in witty banter, or breaking down into whiteboy James Brown convulsions , the former Pulp leader entertained like a bizarro Vegas vet. The trip to our Chicago fest didn't only result in an [...]

Last week, we announced that the fourth annual Pitchfork Music Festival would jump off at Chicago's lovely Union Park July 17-19. If the mere fact that our festival is happening again wasn't enough to convince you to save the date and book any necessary flights, this should. We can now announce a few of the bands who will play this year's fest, as well as a truly badass new feature. First, the schedule: Friday, July 17 [...]

Here's the first mp3 from St. Vincent's forthcoming album Actor . MP3:> St. Vincent: "The Strangers" [from Actor ; due 05/05/09 on 4AD ]

• St. Vincent - The Strangers

You know impressively bearded alt-country OG Steve Earle is a good guy because he helped Bubbles through rehab on The Wire . So he didn't need to solidify his good-guy status any further by recording an album in tribute to the late country-folk cult hero Townes Van Zandt . But Earle's done it anyway. That's just how he rolls. On May 12, New West will release Townes , Earle's tribute [...]

Ghostface Killah releases a low-key and straight-up track in support of Rihanna (but really, for all his ladies), urging her to stay strong and "protect ya neck." A few lines miss but it sounds like his heart is in the right place. ( Nah Right , via Idolator ) MP3:> Ghostface Killah: "Message From Ghost"

The North Carolina indie institution Merge Records turns 20 this year, and they're celebrating their anniversary in grand style. As you know, they're putting out a sweet subscription-only box set featuring contributions from all kinds of special guests . And, as we reported in January, the label will host a huge five-day music festival this summer. Their SCORE! series is already sending exclusive compilations to [...]

Rokia Traoré has become one of world music's great synthesizers, combining the rhythms and traditions of diverse cultures from Africa and Europe into a complex sound that only she could create. As she prepared for an American tour, we spoke to Traoré about her new album, her guitar, and, as she puts it, her new self. read more

Madlib pays tribute to the sadly departed J Dilla, a producer with whom he'd forged a mutual stylistic compatibility, one that began with beat-tape trading by mail and resulted in the underground classic Champion Sound. read more

Chicago-based organ/percussion two-piece combines punky energy with elements drawn from the traditional music of Eastern Europe. David Sitek produces. read more

Mike Patton recruits Italy's most progressive no-wave metal bands (as far as we know) to his eclectic Ipecac roster. read more

This longtime solo outlet for Jan St. Werner of Mouse on Mars plays host to a compilation of recent works commissioned to accompany art installations. Many pieces focus on issues of technology in everyday life, with industrial signifiers replacing the organic electronic music from St. Werner's previous works. read more

This outstanding Norweigian label-- home to experimental rock, jazz, and electronic artists such as Supersilent, Alog, and Shining-- celebrated its fifth anniversary with a 2xCD + book collection; now it does the same to honor its 10th year in business. read more