Adam CK VollickWhen it was announced that Neil Young was working with Daniel Lanois on a new record, you couldn’t help but pay attention. Not only did you have two Canadian musical icons working together for the first time, but Lanois was behind records that rejuvenated more than a few legendary careers, including those of Bob Dylan and Emmylou Harris. Whether Young’s career – 40 years old and defined by numerous artistic swerves – needed rejuvenation is another matter but the fruits of his collaboration with Lanois, entitled Le Noise and out next Tuesday, will certainly stand as an interesting addition to his catalog.

It’s a solo record in the purest sense, featuring Young and Young alone on acoustic and electric guitar and perhaps due to the stripped down aesthetic and recording in his own home, it finds him sounding particularly introspective and vulnerable. Lanois mainly makes his presence felt in the post-production, looping Young’s parts over themselves, adding delays and reverbs and generally adding his sonic signature. Initial listens might leave even long-time Young fans used to his twists and turns a bit disoriented – “Angry World” is the most bent track on the record and was, of course, the first released taste – but it doesn’t take long to find one’s footing and appreciate one of the more interesting and revealing works he’s turned out in recent years.

NPR is streaming Le Noise right now, and over the past week, there’s been a number of fittingly lo-fi videos released for some of the songs; I suspect we can expect more before they’re done. The Los Angeles Times has a photo gallery of Neil Young through the years.

Video: Neil Young – “Walk With Me”
Video: Neil Young – “Hitchhiker”
Video: Neil Young – “Angry World”
Stream: Neil Young / Le Noise

Look at What the Light Did Now is a documentary about the making of Feist’s last record The Reminder. It will premiere at Pop Montreal in a couple weeks and then make a circuit of festivals and special screenings; nothing in Toronto yet but you can’t believe that something’s not in the works to run it somewhere hereabouts eventually.

Trailer: Look At What The Light Did Now

NPR is streaming a session with Sarah Harmer; she plays Massey Hall on November 20.

For those still asking “who?” with regards to new Polaris champs Karkwa, aux.tv has assembled a primer on the Montreal quintet.

After a few delays, Woodpigeon’s Balladeer: To All The Guys I’ve Loved Before, released earlier this year as a bonus CD with Die Stadt Muzikanten, should be available on its own in both digital and vinyl editions. Also new for Woodpigeon completists (a futile quest if ever there was one) is a digital EP for “Our Love Is As Tall As The Calgary Tower” and accompanying video. Woodpigeon will play a free noon-hour show at Yonge-Dundas Square on October 6.

Video: Woodpigeon – “Our Love Is As Tall As The Calgary Tower”

Also playing a free show a little sooner than that – as in tonight – are Sloan, Bedouin Soundclash and Great Lake Swimmers as part of a CBC-sponsored event. The live music gets underway around 7:30 PM and goes until 9. A few more details over at Exclaim.

Pitchfork reports that the two-thirds of Sleater-Kinney who are not Corin Tucker have teamed with Mary Timony, ex of Helium, to form a new band called Wild Flag. There’s no fruits of their labours to hear yet but they’ve already signed to Merge and are looking to have a record out in early 2011.

Los Angeles’ Glasser has a date at the Drake Underground on November 11 in support of her debut Ring, out next Tuesday.

MP3: Glasser – “Home”

Following a dust-up in Indianapolis, No Depression reports that Justin Townes Earle has suspended his Fall tour to enter rehab – this includes the October 15 date at the Horseshoe.

Spinner continues to milk an interview with Nick Cave of Grinderman (that link is a two-fer) while Pitchfork talks to Cave and drummer Jim Sclavunos. They play the Phoenix on November 11.

First Aid Kit has a new video from their debut The Big Black & The Blue. They are at The El Mocambo on October 15.

Video: First Aid Kit – “Ghost Town”

Clash talks cultural differences with Phoenix.

Jon BergmanNot much stops Los Campesinos!. The Welsh troupe shook off the departure of two founding members – keyboardist Aleksandra last Summer and drummer Ollie almost exactly a year later – and have ploughed ahead, continuing to release new music at a ridiculous pace, including their third album Romance Is Boring earlier this year and just this week, following up with a new EP entitled All’s Well That Ends. And just last week, frontman Gareth took a header whilst stage-diving and despite suffering “a sprained wrist, ripped ear, mild concussion and a ‘lump on the head'”, finished the song and the gig.

One thing that they couldn’t plough through, however, was a volcano – namely Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull. Said geological entity’s disquiet this past Spring forced the band to scotch a number of North American dates as they sat in a Heathrow departure lounge instead of pogoing around east coast stages, but they’re aiming to make some of those up and more. They just announced a Fall tour which kicks off in one of the cities who lost a show – Toronto – but instead of the spacious Phoenix, where they were slated to play in April, they’ll instead be at the decidedly clubbier Wrongbar on October 8. Considering the new joint is less than half the size of the old joint, expect the $20 tickets to be gone fast when they go on sale at 10AM on Friday.

MP3: Los Campesinos! – “There Are Listed Buildings”
MP3: Los Campesinos! – “The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future”

Paste reports that Noah & The Whale have targeted a March 2011 release for their third album.

Mojo talks to Johnny Marr about his soundtrack work.

Spinner talks to Glen Hansard of The Swell Season about their upcoming projects, which include a Frames reunion and tour for him and a solo record from Marketa Irglova.

Spin talks to Klara S&omul;derberg of First Aid Kit, who will be in town at the El Mocambo on October 15.

Boston post-punk legends Mission Of Burma have booked a date at The Garrison on October 22. So far it looks like a one-off and not part of a tour, but considering they didn’t come up here for last year’s The Sound The Speed The Light and are making it up to us. Either way, if my records are correct, they haven’t been here since Fall of 2006 and while the reunion has been ongoing for some time, do not take them for granted and if you haven’t seen them, do so. End PSA.

MP3: Mission Of Burma – “1, 2, 3 Partyy”
MP3: Mission Of Burma – “Max Ernst”

Exclaim reports that Matt & Kim have given their next record a name and release date. Expect to hear a lot of Sidewalks when they play the Phoenix on October 29, as it will be in stores the following Tuesday, November 2.

Daytrotter has a session with The Depreciation Guild; they’re at the El Mocambo on October 4.

NPR is streaming a studio session with Stars. They will be at Massey Hall on October 23.

Bryan Lee-O’MalleyYesterday afternoon, the words “Scott Pilgrim” became the top trending topic worldwide on Twitter, a remarkable if probably fleeting accomplishment that kind of underscores how big a deal the release of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (the motion picture) this coming Friday is… at least to people on Twitter. And like indie rock. And comic books. And (old-school) video games. And Toronto. In other words, people like me. And possibly/probably you.

And so I present to you a selection of particularly interesting or entertaining links culled from the veritable ocean of Pilgrim-related articles, interviews, videos, games and online tchotchke related to the film. Or at least the ones I found. There’s this About.com interview with series creator Bryan Lee-O’Malley, these The Los Angeles Times and AV Club conversations with film director Edgar Wright, this The Toronto Star interview both Wright and star Michael Cera, this series overview for newbs from The Globe & Mail, this collection of fake Lucas Lee movie posters, this MTV cast interview video at their Lee’s Palace soundstage (with an explanation of why they didn’t use the real Lee’s as a set), this Newsarama interview with various cast members and this other Los Angeles Times piece interviewing music supervisor Nigel Godrich and contributor Beck about putting together the music for the film.

Advance reviews of the film are pretty good but I’m sure once you adjust for geekdom, it’s awesome. I will have to wait a while to see for myself, though, as other engagements will keep me from making it to a theatre probably until Monday or Tuesday. But to hold me over, I re-read the whole series last night and have this fascinating interactive trailer, this brilliant trailer assembled from frames of the comic, this video of Jason Schwartzman and Michael Cera doing the weather for an Atlanta news broadcast and as the domino that will finally get me to perhaps get a modern video game system (or at least borrow one for a while), the video game trailer. And both the soundtrack and original score of the film are available to stream in their entirety at Spinner.

Stream: Scott Pilgrim Vs The World Original Soundtrack
Stream: Scott Pilgrim Vs The World Original Score

Bradley’s Almanac is sharing a recording of Arcade Fire’s show in Boston a couple weeks ago while Zoilus has posted a transcript of an interview with Win Butler. They play the Toronto Islands this coming Saturday, and congratulations to the band on scoring #1 records in the Canada, the UK and USA.

Owen Pallett will release a new EP on 10″ come September 28 – details on A Swedish Love Story available at Domino Records.

Movie Entertainment profiles celebrity Basia Bulat while The Edmonton Journal finds out about her next project. She’s at the Phoenix on October 26.

Prefix interviews Stars, who will be setting up at Massey Hall on October 23.

PopMatters asks 20 questions of Tokyo Police Club, who will be opening up for Phoenix at the Ricoh Coliseum on October 26.

Paste talks to Liz Powell of Land Of Talk, whose new one Cloak And Cipher is out next week. They’re at Lee’s Palace on September 16.

American Songwriter profiles American songwriter Samantha Crain. She’s at the Horseshoe on September 26.

Spinner inquires about The Thermals’ Personal Life. It’s out September 7 and they follow it with a show at Lee’s Palace on October 9.

Daytrotter has posted a session with First Aid Kit and another with Ferraby Lionheart, who will be opening up for them at the El Mocambo on October 15.

The first video from Grinderman’s Grinderman 2 is out and yes, it’s 100% ridiculous. Grinderman 2 is out September 14 and they play the Phoenix on November 11.

Video: Grinderman – “Heathen Child”

Kate Nash, having played the deliberately undersized Mod Club back in April, brings her second album My Best Friend Is You back to town for a show at the Phoenix on November 13 as part of an extensive Fall tour. The Sydney Morning Herald has an interview.

Video: Kate Nash – “Do Wah Do”

The Cribs have just released a new video for a non-album single entitled “Housewife”.

Video: The Cribs – “Housewife”

This Is Fake DIY has got an acoustic session with Sky Larkin and The Yorkshire Evening Post an interview.

Blurt has a feature piece on The Wedding Present.

Julien BourgeoisThe inimitable Jens Lekman has been a bit quiet since wrapping up support for 2007’s Night Falls On Kortedala but a the last couple weeks have seen not quite a flurry of activity from the Swedish singer-songwriter, but definite signs that he’s not been idle while away.

First came what he called “A Summer In 3/4 Time”, a downloadable mix/mash-up that started as a remix he did for Au Revoir Simone and turned into an extended aural treatise on 3/4 and 6/8 tempos spanning all eras and genres of pop music with some film quotes thrown in for good measure. There’s a breakdown of the what and the why at his Small Talk journal, but really all you need to know is this.

And while that was very unexpected and enjoyable, the real treat came last week when a new song surfaced and was made available for free in exchange for an email. It also came with an extended backstory describing its origins – your boilerplate boy loses girl on the eve of the US election, fakes being happy on Swedish TV and writes a song about it – but what’s most important is that the song is big and sweeping and pure Jens. And bodes very well for his next record, whenever it’s done.

MP3: Jens Lekman presents A Summer in 3/4 Time

Yours Truly solicits an acoustic performance from First Aid Kit; they’re back in North America this Fall and are at the El Mocambo on October 15.

The San Francisco Chronicle interviews Joanna Newsom.

NYC Taper is sharing a recording of The National at Terminal 5 in New York last week.

The Fly solicits an In The Courtyard video session from The Morning Bender. See them in a similar setting on Wednesday afternoon when they play a free acoustic set outside The Big Chill ice cream in Little Italy, in between opening gigs for The Black Keys at the Kool Haus on August 4 and 5.

Spinner talks to Greg Edwards of Autolux. Transit Transit is out this week and they are at Lee’s Palace on August 24.

Matt Pond PA will be at the Mod Club on October 1. They released The Dark Leaves back in the Spring.

MP3: Matt Pond PA – “Grave’s Disease”

Punk legends Bad Religion will be in town on October 14 at a venue to be announced in support of their new record The Dissent of Man, out September 28.

Video: Bad Religion – “New Dark Ages”

How do you know Broken Social Scene are down under? Interviews in Australia’s The Vine and New Zealand’s Under The Radar. And oh yeah, their new video is out.

Video: Broken Social Scene – “Forced To Love”

If you haven’t heard it yet, NPR is streaming the whole of Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs – out now if you’re analog and tomorrow if you’re digital. They play the Toronto Islands on August 14.

Stream: Arcade Fire / The Suburbs

And last but certainly not least – Grinderman is at the Phoenix on November 11, full dates at Pitchfork. Grinderman 2 is out September 14.

Trailer: Grinderman 2

Pieter van HattemSo all manner of things have been piling up over the past week while I’ve been reminiscing about warm Summer sojourns to Chicago. Let’s get to them.

San Francisco’s Morning Benders are no strangers to Toronto this year, having already come through town twice – once in April for their own show just after their latest album Big Echo was released, and again in June opening up for Broken Bells. They’re back in a couple weeks supporting both Black Keys dates at the Kool Haus on August 3 and 4, but in addition to those performances, they’ve announced they’ll be playing a free acoustic show at the corner of College and Manning in Little Italy on August 4 at 5:30PM in what probably would have been a Soundscapes in-store had the weather not been so nice (or so everyone is hoping). There are rumours that there will be free BBQ and ice cream, but even without refreshments it’ll be a fine, free afternoon of pop music.

MP3: The Morning Benders – “Promises”
Video: The Morning Benders – “Promises”

At long last, after watching her Lilith Fair, Of Montreal and own dates skip us over, Toronto has a date with soul/r&b superstar-in-waiting Janelle Monáe – she is joining The Sadies in supporting Arcade Fire on the Toronto Islands on August 14. Why yes, that is a wacky-ass bill, how good of you to notice. But also an excellent one. Watch this video and tell me that Arcade Fire doesn’t run a real risk of being upstaged by her.

Video: Janelle Monáe – “Tightrope”

Unpronouncable Californian dance-punk outfit !!! (chk chk chk to their friends) have slated a North America tour in support of their forthcoming album Strange Weather Isn’t It?, due out on August 24. Grab an MP3 from their website and look for them at Lee’s Palace on September 26, tickets $16.50 in advance.

MP3: !!! – “Must Be The Moon”
Video: !!! – “AM/FM”

The Dears look to be about done with the follow up to 2008’s Missiles as they’ve scheduled a three-night stand at the Garrison from October 13 to 15 where they’ll surely be previewing new material; tickets on sale Friday (via Singing Lamb). Update: Their label reports that they’ll play the entire new album at the shows and the record isn’t due out till early 2011.

MP3: The Dears – “Disclaimer”

Only in town last month, Swedish sister act First Aid Kit are coming back to North America and will be at the El Mocambo in Toronto on October 15.

MP3: First Aid Kit – “I Met Up With The King”

Blonde Redhead have plotted a North American tour in support of their forthcoming album Penny Sparkle, due September 14. They’ll be at the Phoenix on October 17 with Pantha Du Prince as support; tickets $24.

MP3: Blonde Redhead – “Here Sometimes”
MP3: Pantha Du Prince – “The Splendour”

Helmet are still around and will be at Lee’s Palace on October 17 in support of a new album, Seeing Eye Dog, out September 7.

Video: Helmet – “Unsung”

There are apparently still enough people who want to see The Dandy Warhols live that they can not only book The Phoenix for them, but charge $30 a head. They’re there November 1.

Video: The Dandy Warhols – “Bohemian Like You”

Delorean are back on November 18 for a date at the Mod Club with Lemonade as support.

MP3: Delorean – “Real Love”
Video: Lemonade – “Big Weekend”

Blitzen Trapper tell Spinner that even though Destroyer Of The Void only came out last month, they’re already writing its follow-up. Look for them at the Opera House on August 3.

If it ever looks like Ben Curtis of School Of Seven Bells is sleepwalking through a show, it’s because he may very well be. Hopefully their new live drummer will keep him on his toes when they play the Mod Club on September 15. He also chats with New York Magazine.

Chart has a chat with Beach House; they’re at the Molson Amphitheatre on September 27.

Spinner serves up an Interface session with Stars. They play Massey Hall on October 23.

NPR has a World Cafe session with The National.

Jeff Tweedy talks to Billboard about Wilco’s future as an independent band.

Their own major label experiment come to an ignoble end, Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s will release Buzzard on September 21 on their own.

Paste catches up with John Roderick of The Long Winters, who are so overdue for a new album it’s not funny.

Interview talks to She & Him’s Matt Ward and Zooey Deschanel.

Spinner interviews Holly Miranda.

Rest in peace, Andy Hummel of Big Star.

The final volume of Scott Pilgrim came out this week – The Toronto Star and National Post look at the comic book phenomenon and the film that will be released on August 13, while Exclaim looks at the movie’s soundtrack.