Ashes to Ashes

Okay - so I very rarely get angry when it comes to music, but I am pretty pissed right now.

I just found out that Phoenix - the soft rock band outta France that released their second album this summer to widespread acclaim - has added US tour dates.

This normally would not be a problem except that the tour is by invite only and if you don't get an invite the only other way to get tickets is through your local CAMEL CIGARETTE representative.

WHAT?!?!

I'm sorry, but seriously that's the worst crap I've ever heard. Thanks Phoenix, I'm really psyched that only serious smokers can hang out at your gigs. And also that you're getting played repeatedly on MTVu. Sweet.

Their agent definitely should've given them the thumbs down on this idea, seriously, WTF?

Lame lame lame.

If you're like me (and a huge loser) you can send them an angry email at their myspace page:
http://www.myspace.com/wearephoenix

But - in some good news The Shins just announced a show at McCarren pool on August 23. Tickets go on sale Saturday at noon and you can expect those puppies to be gone in about a second - but you gotta have faith! Plus, their songs will change your life.

St. Somewhere

Alert! Apparently someone at Central Park Summerstage forgot the basic principles of any sort of marketing/advertising techniques as they just added one of the biggest artists of 2006 - Gnarls Barkley - onto their roster.

Gnarls is playing on 8/17 at Central Park and although tickets went on sale a week ago no one seems to have noticed as I just picked up 4. I'm definitely headed uptown to see what outfits they'll be wearing this time around - CRAZY!

Feeling Rapturous

Happy Independence Day! The Rapture is coming out with another album in October!

PItchfork got the exclusive interview which reveals that the band - a dance-punk foursome from NYC, as they've been called - has worked with a plethora of producers on this forthcoming album, including Danger Mouse himself. What they've said that is especially encouraging is that the album is much tighter than "Echoes" - their 2003 release - which is great to hear because while "Echoes" had some great great tracks that really pushed the limits, there were also several tracks that couldn't hold the interest. But these guys mix some serious vocals, really strong bass and some cowbell (yes, more cowbell) to produce tunes that translate well on stage as well as on your stereo (I saw these guys at the Bowery last fall - phenomenal).

They will be touring in the states in the fall, after they do a few dates this summer with Daft Punk in Japan (ah! why don't I live in Tokyo?!?!). I'll post again when they release the dates.

Read the Pitchfork article here: http://pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/Exclusive_The_Rapture_Reveal_New_Album
Checkout the new single from The Rapture here: http://www.myspace.com/therapture?

Speaking of added dates, definitely worth noting that the Scissor Sisters have been added to the Village Voice Siren Festival in two weekends in Coney Island. The fabulous Jake Shears, Ana Matronic and Baby Daddy join other great players like Art Brut, Stars, and Tapes n' Tapes for the day long event.

Check out the full lineup and schedule for Siren here: http://www.villagevoice.com/siren/index.html