Rewriteable Content is giving away three of The Little Ones’ Sing Song EPs this week, plus one limited edition poster. The Little Ones are a quickly growing LA band that have been seeing a ton of blog press lately. Sign up here.

My Old Kentucky Blog has a track from the new project from Jimmy Tamborello, James Figurine.

Of the album�s influences, Jimmy says, �In November of 2001 my band Figurine went on a short tour of Germany with Lali Puna. Our label there, Monika, set us up with a driver to get from show to show. She only brought three or four tapes to listen to on the drives, mostly techno. I�d never paid much attention to dancefloor-oriented electronic music, but listening to the same tapes over and over again (especially Kompakt�s pop-leaning Total 3 and some 7�s on Parfum) while driving through Germany made a giant impression on me. So this record was supposed to be an extra melodic, minimal techno record with some sparse vocals, but my technopop tendencies got the best of me, the songs slowly filled up, and this is what I ended up with.�

Pop Matters has interviewed Mike Cooley, one of the three guitarist-songwriters in the Drive-By Truckers.

What’s the first record you remember?

The first LP I remember having of my own was Johnny Cash at San Quentin. And I always thought that was one of my dad’s records, but my mom took all the old home movies and had them compiled onto a VHS tape several years ago and I watched it. I was opening that record at Christmas. I didn’t remember that.

Anthony Kaufman profiles the upcoming Tribeca Film Festival for Time Out New York.

Last year, Subaru rolled out a sport-utility vehicle called the B9 Tribeca, named to capitalize on the lower Manhattan neighborhood�s perceived cachet.The new model has no direct connection to the Tribeca Film Festival, but the two entities have more in common than a moniker. Like an SUV, the event has been criticized for its jumbo size, haphazard performance and gross inefficiencies�but it�s undeniably a lot of fun. �I was skeptical at first,� says Tribeca-basedproducer Jason Kliot, who has two titles in this year�s fest. �But they�ve won me over.�

Salon has entered into the podcast game.

We’re happy to announce our first official podcast: Thomas Bartlett’s Weekly Download, a compilation of the week’s daily downloads along with his commentary (he’s been secretly recording them for the past two weeks, so you’ll have three full shows to listen to — now’s the time to catch up on anything you missed). Consider it a shiny new playlist, with our special quality guarantee. And if you especially love any of the songs, you can always come back here and download them individually for free.

Lemon-Red and Music for Robots have video commentaries for each track of The Streets’ newest album.

When I was talking to Mike Skinner for a piece on the Streets (should be up later this week�), he did a lot of explaining. He explained why he thought the Streets (and his sub-label on 679, The Beats) aren�t catching on this side of the pond. He explained why he makes the albums he does. But the coolest thing he explained was the low-budget video culture that�s popping off in the UK rap/grime scene right now. (If you go to YouTube and check for his �Banquet� and �Get Out of My House� remix videos, you�ll start to get the idea.) So of course, when the Streets� US label asked if I wanted to help in spreading homemade videos of Mike explaining the entirety of his new album, director�s commentary style, I was more than happy to oblige.

All the news that’s fit to print…

Pitchfork Media
-Smashing Pumpkins Reunion Is a Go [LINK]
-Deerhoof Keep Busy With Festivals, Side Projects [LINK]
-Dungen tour world, issue new single [LINK]
-Secret Machines tour, podcast with Bowie [LINK]

NME
-New Libertines songs surface [LINK]
-Snoop Dogg writing debut novel [LINK]
-Neil Young anti-war album - full details unveiled [LINK]
-Test Icicles play final show [LINK]

CMJ
-Guillemots Join Zig-Zag Live Tour [LINK]
-Fiona Apple Announces Summer Tour [LINK]
-Virgin Mega Tour Live On Myspace [LINK]
-Melvins, Haino Score Films Live [LINK]

The MP3 blog, Pound for Pound has a number of Django Reinhardt posts up in the past week.

MSN’s TV Filter blog has an interview with the creator of Huff, Bob Lowry.

TVF: Thank you for agreeing to do this. I’m just now starting to watch “Huff” and I’m having a fair deal of fun with it. I guess I just wanted to start off by asking you how you come up with the idea for the program?

BL: I always wanted to write a show that was character-driven as opposed to plot-driven. And I always wanted to explore a character who was struggling to wake up. Not a narcoleptic, but a person who didn’t want to miss everything that was presented in his life on a daily basis. A friend of mine has this saying which I love, which is “I love the concept of ‘living in the now.’ I’m just never sure when to do it.” Huff wants to be present. A therapist I had many, many years ago said “Most people don’t truly wake up until they learn they’re going to die.” I just wanted to write a show about all of that.

Chuck Klosterman is a polarizing figure in journalism, and though I happen to love him, I can understand why some people might wish him ill. For those that enjoy Klosterman, Large Hearted Boy points to an interesting article about the journalist and his exit from Spin.

It�s a no-brainer that Klosterman was jumping/thrown off a sinking ship�one that even he couldn�t save�so his situation is probably for the better now. Spin�s new head honcho, Andy Pemberton, formerly of the criminally fluffed Blender, plans to go for a �younger� crowd, a feat that will take some degree of magic and a lot of universe shifting (as in, he�d have to make toddlers literate). Even a guy like Klosterman, the number one critic of pop skeeze, can only do so much with a Click Five cover. So yeah, I�m glad he got while the getting was decently good and that he�s out before the fire.

The new XXL will have an interview with Raekwon. Nah Right provides some choice quotes.

I never lost my way. Muthafuckas lost their way, if anything. You got a lot of dudes out there that�s legendary [who] ain�t really got the politics behind their art. My shit stay growing, it�s just that the people need to grow with me. It�s a new generation, [but] I�m from a generation where [everyone is] very solidified in knowing who I am. I can�t keep trying to satisfy everybody that don�t understand.

The Guardian UK has an interview with Matmos.

There aren’t many bands who could treat a violently upset stomach as a recording opportunity. Martin Schmidt, one half of Matmos, groans archly at this suggestion as he meets me to report that Drew Daniel - the other half - is stuck in the hotel throwing up. “Well, I suppose we do ask for it. We have made music out of the preserved uterus of a cow.” Not to mention the sounds of liposuction, a five-gallon bucket of oatmeal and the pages of a Bible turning. Matmos itself was the name given to the psychedelic goo in the film Barbarella.

Coolfer muses on the possibility of Gnarls Barkley being broken by the internet.

Every now and then journalists and Internet commentators will latch onto a band. Currently that band is Gnarls Barkley (producer Danger Mouse and singer Cee-lo). The source of the buzz is not surprising — Danger Mouse was a cause celeb a few years back when EMI didn’t take lightly that he had taken Beatles samples without permission. It’s not just Coolfer who notices the Internet lovefest.

Gorilla vs. Bear posts his top albums of 2006 so far.

Cinematical has the news that the WWE is entering into the movie arena.

Their first effort, a horror film called See No Evil, is due out May 19 and stars a large man called Kane; it’s being distributed by Lionsgate, which also just agreed to handle WWE Film’s newest project, The Condemned. Scheduled to begin shooting a couple of weeks, the movie is another in the legion of titles that work off the Most Dangerous Game/Running Man evil-guy-hunting-humans riff. This one stars Steve Austin as a Stone Cold death row inmate who is “‘purchased’ by a wealthy TV producer, who pits him and nine other condemned men in a battle to the death.” Vinnie Jones (soccer player, not wrestler) also stars, hopefully as the evil producer.

All the news that’s fit to print…

NME
-Smashing Pumpkins get to work on new album [LINK]
-The Streets to sell album cover car [LINK]
-The Strokes guitarist goes solo [LINK]
-Embrace’s England anthem revealed [LINK]

CMJ
-New Cursive Album Imminent [LINK]
-Trans Am Drummer Starts New Project [LINK]
-New Label From Lookout! Co-Founder [LINK]
-Mason Jennings Summer Tour, New LP [LINK]

Tiny Mixtapes
-FCC Opts For More Humorous Payola “Poke” To Ocasionally Gross “Probe” [LINK]
-WTUL Releases Songs From the Basement [LINK]
-Jason Anderson Tours [LINK]
-Oneida Share Tracklist For Forthcoming LP [LINK]

Like Anna Karina has a post about the Godard film La Chinoise.

My first exposure to Jean-Luc Godard’s La Chinoise was a badly damaged and virtually colorless 16mm print that I saw when I was seventeen. I knew little of Marx, Lenin, or Mao at the time (let alone the cultural revolution), but the film, with its cute collegiate Maoists plotting revolution from the safety of a fancy Parisian apartment, had a profound effect on me, and it wasn’t long before I had a dog-eared Little Red Book of my own.

Stylus editor Mike Powell connects some food dots.

Food is a necessity, and in that respect it’s part of a routine; it�s moot.

Of course, the culture surrounding food is both external and superfluous, at least from a biological standpoint: eating together, preparing food together (and all requisite “simple living” nu-zen rhetoric), buying free-range/whole-food/fair trade/whatever. These are ethical and social gestures, depending.

According to BBC News, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has discovered that middle-aged parents are buying more CDs then their young kids. This seems obvious to me, since the current generation has itunes 6.04 programmed into their brains; however, the BBC looks to a more “news worthy” explanation.

So what accounts for the change? One reason is that today’s 50- and 60-somethings have grown up with a culture of music buying. Buying records is often a habit that begins in youth and carries on through life.

But there is also a big change in the way CDs are sold.

Supermarkets now make up a large part of the retail market. Sales have gone from around 12 million in 2000 to around 40 million a year today.

Prices have also fallen, making a CD an impulse purchase that can be popped in with the groceries rather than an expensive treat that could only be acquired by visiting often dark and noisy music stores.

Brooklyn Vegan reports that Tapes ‘n Tapes has had a lineup change.

Erik played some of the bass tracks on the Tapes ‘n Tapes album that he also produced. I don’t know the details, but Erik has officially replaced Shawn as the bassist for this relatively new band.

Robosexual previews the newest Espers album.

The original Espers album is one of my all-time favorites (evar), so I was expecting a lot from the second, or II as it prefers to be called. Fortunately, it lives up to my expectations for the most part, and blows them away for the other.

Stereogum compares the reactions of Pitchfork critics to ten-year olds.

Many of you are glued to Pitchfork Media daily, for the comprehensive news coverage, sure, but also to learn what the indie music site deems “the best new music.” I’m guessing half the time you mutter to yourself: “What the fuck? Only a 6.0?” But there is a science to this!

I’m part cracker. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and started hunting when I was 12 and became a man when I donned orange overalls. I’m also part indie-boy. I shower less frequently than hunters and came of age when I donned a hoodie. So the set-up of the Buckshot Boys DVD only somewhat happily intrigued me: fake deer-hunting-tv-show hosts travel to the All Tomorrow’s Parties music festival in the UK. Good Ol’ Boys meet Better Than You fans.

And it’s a great success, assuming you don’t find the representations of the hunters too overbearing (which they are at times) or the “commercials” unnecessary (which, without fail, they are). The show’s humor lies in part in undercutting the music snobs the hosts encounter and in the bizarre juxtaposition of cultures, accurately portrayed or not. The Boys have a great sense of uncomfortable humor and the ability to stay straitfaced while calling a member of The Melvins “Melvin,” talking Texas deer with Spoon’s Britt Daniel, asking Deerhoof if they can hunt the band, or just hanging out with Mogwai.

The DVD’s finest moment actually lies in its bonus material, when the duo spend a long amount of time talking to Political Indie Poster Boy Ted Leo, who plays along with the joke in just the right way, leading to this exchange about hunting. He battles strenuously when he’s alleged to have said “The Nuge” is his favorite musician/hunter and when he explains that he doesn’t hunt because he’s vegan, one of the Boys repsponds with “That’s okay — deer’s vegan, too,” leaving the trio momentarily stunned.

This isn’t a perfect film, and it’s not brilliant social satire. What it is — at least to someone who’s part of both mocked cultures — is very funny.

Greencine has the lineup for the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.

* Bruno Dumont’s Flandres.
* Nicole Garcia’s Selon Charlie.
* Xavier Giannoli’s Quand j’etais Chaunteur.
* Pedro Almodóvar’s Volver.
* Andrea Arnold’s Red Road.
* Lucas Belvaux’s La Raison du plus faible.
* Rachid Bouchareb’s Indegenes.
* Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Iklimer.
* Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette.
* Pedro Costa’s Juventude em Marcha.
* Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth.
* Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s Babel.
* Aki Kaurismaki’s Lights in the Dusk.
* Richard Kelly’s Southland Tales.
* Richard Linklater’s Fast Food Nation.
* Ken Loach’s The Wind That Shakes the Barley.
* Lou Ye’s Summer Palace.
* Nanni Moretti’s Il Caimano.
* Paolo Sorrentino’s L’amico di famiglia.

All the news that’s fit to print…

Pitchfork Media
-Tapes ‘n Tapes to Tour With Figurines [LINK]
-Xiu Xiu Tour World, Prep Covers EP [LINK]
-The M’s get together with Demme, Dr. Dog [LINK]
-Cloud Cult float across the country [LINK]

NME
-Exclusive - hear the new Kaiser Chiefs songs [LINK]
-The Spinto Band offer up new single [LINK]
-Pete Doherty avoids jail [LINK]
-We Are Scientists’ shoes kidnapped [LINK]

CMJ
-Smoosh Prep Barsuk Debut [LINK]
-Jandek To Perform More Shows [LINK]
-Daniel Johnston Invites You Into His “World” [LINK]
-Rosie Thomas’ Equipment Stolen in Philly [LINK]

Tiny Mixtapes
-American Association of Independent Music Meets Face-to-Face with FCC [LINK]
-Double Death CD/DVD [LINK]
-Hip Hop Leads To Alcohol/TAB Energy Drink Abuse, Says Science [LINK]
-Test Icicles to Release Post-Mortem EP [LINK]

World of Wonder has a rare-ish track from Sparks.

We were browsing through the Sparks bins (new and used) at Amoeba the other day, looking as usual for the album Big Beat, which has “Everybody’s Stupid” on it, a song that used to make our upstairs neighbor in Tribeca mental because we played it too often, too loud, and caterwauled along with it. We’ve long since lost the vinyl and the album must now be out of print or something because we can’t for the life of us…. But we found Just Got Back from Heaven, an obscure (to us) and out-of-print disc from 1993 on the obscure (to everyone) Success label.

Andy Beta rounds-up some recent releases.

Weird boy-girl (Hansel und Gretel) dynamic dualities at play, though only one breadcrumb trail to Neverland is stomachable. Biblical bodily-harm band names, and oxymoronic album titles aside, the masking and layers that Olof Dreijer and Karin Dreijer Andersson project never feel clever and cloying, unlike the Friedbergers. Aside from myself, I can’t think of anyone who would benefit more from an editor (or in this case, a producer) than Fiery Furnaces.

Jim Emerson, of the Chicago Sun-Times, recently attended The Conference of World Affairs in Colorado, and spoke at a panel titled “An Epic Debate: Are Video Games an Art Form?”

Roger Ebert’s site has Jim’s recap of this “epic” debate.

Although I haven’t played many shoot ‘em up video games (I find them as dull as rote gunfights and car chases in movies), I have played open-ended narrative games such as Myst, which I consider to be an immersive experience that creates an artistic world in which the player is encouraged to explore. I compared it to entering and getting lost inside a David Lynch movie (think “Twin Peaks” or “Blue Velvet” or “Mulholland Drive” or “Lost Highway”). It’s a mystery, and like any mystery it draws you in and you try to make sense of what you discover.

Stylus writer Dave Micevic takes on the new film from the Dardenne’s.

L�Enfant has finally premiered here in Chicago to unanimous critical acclaim and I for one am aligning myself with that majority. And why not? Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne make the kind of films most directors should consider undertaking; those free from the burdens of literary traditions that plague many contemporary films, which isn�t to say that their stories could in no way exist within a literary medium but that the way they choose to relate them reveals itself to be wholly cinematic in design.

Chuck Eddy has been let go from The Village Voice.