SpinSeeing as how I’m presently some combination of underslept, overtired, and probably hung over, I’m keeping this brief. Which is good because this week’s selection doesn’t really need a lot of description beyond, “it’s Titus Andronicus covering Nirvana’s ‘Breed'” – it sounds exactly as you would think it would, all punk, snot, and snarl.

It was the New Jersey outfit’s contribution to last year’s Newermind, a tribute album assembled by Spin to mark the twentieth anniversary of Nevermind. Some of the other contributions may have been more creative or unexpected, but for capturing the intensity and attitude of Nirvana, Patrick Stickles and company got it right.

Titus Andronicus are at Lee’s Palace this Tuesday in support of their third album, Local Business. I imagine the twentieth anniversary editions of In Utero are being readied for release next year as we speak.

MP3: Titus Andronicus – “Breed”
Video: Nirvana – “Breed”

Mary RozziI forget who I was talking to but it was just in the last couple of weeks and it was about how Feist has done a pretty good job of not having anyone notice it’s been a long time since her last record – almost four years, three months and counting. Sure, the first couple years of that was spent touring and promoting The Reminder as it blew up worldwide, but after that wound down she’s struck a pretty good balance between guest appearances – whether occasionally onstage with Broken Social Scene or on record as a duet partner with Wilco – to make people happy just to see and hear her, and staying out of sight enough that those same people don’t wonder why she’s not hidden away, working on a new record.

Well it turns out she has been, and with her website now taken over by the first of a dozen “vignettes” – short videos soundtracked by what we can probably assume are samples of the new record. And while I’m sure they’d like to keep details tantalizingly obscured, women’s magazine Chatelaine revealed, while nominating Ms Leslie as one of their “women of the year”, that the new record was targeted for an October 2011 release. Presumably they’re not just making that up – after all, it’s Chatelaine. In any case, the timeline indicated by the vignette calendar on Feist’s website – the third clip is dated July 25 – implies that this won’t be a long, drawn-out reveal; you’ll probably be able to pre-order whatever this is before the August long weekend is over.

Video: Feist – “My Moon My Man”

Broken Social Scene guitarist Andrew Whiteman slags his own band’s latest video and videos in general to Spinner and tells The Calgary Herald they didn’t deserve a book to be written about them, while Paste compiles a list of the bands that make up the Broken Social family tree.

FFWD chats with Beatrice Martin of Coeur de pirate, herself way overdue for a new album though at least she allows that when it arrives, it will likely be entitled Blonde.

Room 205 has another performance in their video session with Austra online while The Georgia Straight has a feature.

The Globe & Mail, The Georgia Straight and Uptown have interviews with Louise Burns.

Exclaim solicits a rooftop performance from The Darcys, who should be announcing details about the release of their second self-titled album soon. One would hope.

Bay Of Quinte and Napanee Guide interview Patrick Pentland of Sloan, who’re clearly in cottage country right now but will be back in the city playing a free show at Echo Beach on August 5.

The reconstituted Doughboys will warm up for their August 9 date opening up for Foo Fighters at the Air Canada Centre with a free show at the Bovine Sex Club the night before, August 8. I would like to go to this but I fear that my broken collarbone (hey guys I broke my collarbone for the third time) won’t be healed enough to survive the mosh pit that’ll surely ensue, even if it is a middle-aged mosh pit.

Video: The Doughboys – “Fix Me”

Mudhoney have a date at The Horseshoe on September 10, tickets $22.50 in advance.

MP3: Mudhoney – “I’m Now”
MP3: Mudhoney – “Sonic Infusion”

Paste catches up with Portugal. The Man while Mashable finds out about their sled dog-powered new video. They bring their new album In The Mountain, In The Cloud to the Opera House on October 18; tickets are $16.50 in advance.

Video: Portugal. The Man – “Got It All”

Neon Indian will follow up the September 13 release of Era Extraña with a North American tour that hits Lee’s Palace on October 18.

Video: Neon Indian – “Heart: Decay”

Flush with their second Polaris shortlist appearance, maritimers Hey Rosetta! are embarking on a cross-Canada tour and bringing aussies The Jezabels along with them. The Toronto stop is November 24 at The Phoenix, tickets $20 in advance. Hey Rosetta will also be the subject of a Polaris Salon on August 9 at the Drake, wherein a juror will talk to the band about their record, and The Jezabels are prepping their debut Prisoner for a Spring 2012 release.

MP3: Hey Rosetta! – “Yer Spring”
MP3: The Jezabels – “Mace Spray”

NOW, The Village Voice, Boston Phoenix and hour talk to Erika Anderson of EMA, who makes her Toronto debut at The Garrison tomorrow night.

Spin pokes around Stephen Malkmus’ home. Malkmus’ latest Mirror Traffic is out August 23 and he plays The Phoenix on September 21.

Hot on the heels of announcing their new record – Father, Son, Holy Ghost out September 13 – and Fall tour – The Mod Club on September 27 – Girls have put out a first MP3 from said record.

MP3: Girls – “Vomit”

NPR has a World Cafe session with Warpaint while The Japan Times and New Zealand Herald have interviews.

TV On The Radio have released a new video from Nine Types Of Light.

Video: TV On The Radio – “Caffeinated Consciousness”

Peter Silberman of The Antlers goes into some of the influences that went into Burst Apart for Stereogum.

Spin is marking the 20th anniversary of Nirvana’s Nevermind with a tribute album – available for free – featuring the likes of Titus Andronicus, EMA and The Vaselines, amongst others.

WikipediaSaying I’m excited about tonight’s Manic Street Preachers show at the Phoenix has a whiff of understatement about it. As does that previous sentence. To be clear: I am very excited about this show. Not just because they’re a band I’ve liked/loved through high points and low (and there’ve been some low, yes), or because they’ve unexpectedly put out one of my favourite records of the year in Journal For Plague Lovers, but because I hadn’t expected them to ever tour North America again. But they’re here, tonight, at the Phoenix, and I’m dedicating this week’s cover to them.

They did make it easy, though, having recorded no shortage of covers in their long history, both expected and unexpected. This one counts as more the former as it’s hard to imagine that the Manics weren’t inspired by what Nirvana was doing to rejuvenate loud, raw guitar rock in the early ’90s though their first few records borrowed more from the glammy arena rock that Nirvana is credited with slaying. This particular recording comes from a BBC Radio 1 session circa 1999, Nirvana having long since disintegrated and the Manics were entering a creatively fallow period, and has James Dean Bradfield turning the “Been A Son”‘s snarling punk into an acoustic blues moan – wholly inverted but still stirring. It was released on the 2003 b-sides/rarities compilation Lipstick Traces: A Secret History.

Kurt Cobain took his own life over 15 years ago, yet the Nirvana vaults have yet to be fully plundered (or re-plundered) – November 3 sees a couple of new releases coming, a 20th anniversary edition of their debut Bleach – which features a live version of “Been A Son” on the bonus live disc – and recording of their 1992 performance at the Reading Festival in the UK on both CD and DVD. That set also contained “Been A Son” – I expect the clip below is the same footage as on the DVD, but hopefully that’ll look and sound better. And not have the time code stamped on it.

The Flint Journal has an interview with Manics drummer Sean Moore. And neither Manics or especially Nirvana-related (though sort of), Spin has compiled their list of the top 50 covers of all-time, with streaming audio. If you like hearing people doing other peoples’ songs, check it out.

MP3: Manic Street Preachers – “Been A Son”
Video: Nirvana – “Been A Son” (live at Reading 1992)