Piper FergusonJust the briefest of posts today as I decamp for the east coast. If you want something more substantial, might I suggest a burrito.

It’s been a while since Dallas’ Old 97s have been in heavy rotation hereabouts – or any kind of rotation, if I’m being honest – but there was a spell back around 2004 or so when hardly a day went by that I didn’t listen to either Fight Songs or Satellite Rides multiple times. So while I haven’t heard their new record The Grand Theatre Volume One, just released last week (Volume Two will follow next Spring), I am intrigued by the fact that rather than include Toronto on their full Winter itinerary, they are sending Rhett Miller and Murry Hammond to town for an intimate-type show that could well be cooler than the full band setup. The show takes place on November 10 at the El Mocambo, tickets are $17.50 and go on sale Friday. There’s interviews with Rhett Miller at The Houston Press, Dallas Observer and Spinner and yeah, I busted out Fight Songs while writing this up.

MP3: Old 97’s – “The Grand Theatre”

Spinner talks to Ken Stringfellow of The Posies.

Pixies are giving away a free live EP at their website. Go. Free.

Spin and Limewire ask Liz Phair what she was thinking when making Funstyle, which was released with the Girlysound Tapes yesterday. You can hear the whole thing at Spinner and take home a track courtesy of Limewire. It’s… interesting.

MP3: Liz Phair – “My My”
Stream: Liz Phair / Funstyle

The Chicago Tribune and Philadelphia Weekly talk to Isobel Campbell, in town today for an in-store at Criminal Records at 6PM on her own and then a show at Lee’s Palace later tonight with Mark Lanegan.

NME reports that Lightspeed Champion will release an EP of new material on December 13 entitled Bye Bye and that it’ll include a cover of The Beach Boys’ “Til I Die”, recorded with the aid of Beach Boys collaborator Van Dyke Parks.

NPR is streaming the video of Jonsi’s show in Los Angeles this past weekend.

Exclaim is streaming the whole of Diamond Rings’ debut Special Affections in advance of its release next Tuesday while Pitchfork has the latest single to download as well as a Guest List from John O. He plays The Garrison that same night.

MP3: Diamond Rings – “Something Else”
Stream: Diamond Rings / Special Affections

Chart talks to Murray Lightburn of The Dears.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor have added a fourth – and presumably final – show to their Toronto residency next Spring. They’ll offer up one more show at Lee’s Palace the evening of April 24, following that afternoon’s dry all-ages performance. Tickets are $20 and on sale tomorrow, but you can expect that the freaks fans who bought up tickets for the other three shows in short order will be going after these as well, so hesitate at your peril.

Elizabeth WeibergA note: I’m presently barely conscious after staying up way too late the other night doing the Polaris post-game, so I’m just going to start tossing up stuff that’s been collecting in the hopper over the last few days until I pass out.

And we’ll kick off with a new batch of fully realized, produced and presented songs from the inimitable John Vanderslice, collected under the title of Green Grow The Rushes. It’s being given away for exactly zero dollars in both high-quality MP3 and uncompressed WAV format over at his website. Why? Because he’s got these songs he wants you to hear and because he’s great. But if you want to thank the ‘Slice in some monetary way, perhaps pick up a copy of his last full-length Romanian Names? It’s not quite as free but still a great record.

MP3: John Vanderslice – “Thule Fog”
MP3: John Vanderslice – “I’ll Never Live Up To You”
ZIP: John Vanderslice / Green Grow The Rushes

Exclaim has some details on the new Iron & Wine album, entitled Kiss Each Other Clean and due out in early 2011.

Michael Benjamin Lerner of Telekinesis chats with The Washington Post.

The Thermals have released a new single from Personal Life which, in the parlance of our time, means that there’s a new MP3 to download.

MP3: The Thermals – “Never Listen To Me”

The Line Of Best Fit and Spinner talk to Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer of The Posies. Their new record Blood/Candy is out September 28.

The Boston Herald talks to drummer Bob Nastanovich of Pavement. NYC Taper has also got a recording of their Williamsburg show to share.

Clash interviews Local Natives, in town at the Mod Club on October 19.

Spin declares Lissie to be “breaking out”. She’s at the El Mocambo on October 19.

Spin gets to the root of Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s name, while Filter has a track from their new record Buzzard available to download.

MP3: Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s – “Lunatic, Lunatic, Lunatic”

Spinner serves up an Interface session with Drive-By Truckers.

R.E.M. has completed work on album number 15 and are targeting a Spring 2011 release for it.

Drowned In Sound talks to Will Sheff of Okkervil River about working with Roky Erikson on this year’s True Love Casts Out All Evil.

NYC Taper is sharing a recording of Spoon’s show in the teeny tiny Cake Shop last week.

The new Deerhunter record Halcyon Digest is streaming at NPR in advance of its release next week. They’re at Lee’s Palace the Opera House on October 19.

Stream: Deerhunter / Halcyon Digest

The AV Club, American Songwriter, The Boston Herald, Pinnastorm, The Awl and NPR have interviews with Superchunk. NPR is also streaming their show in Washington DC last week and NYC Taper offering downloads of the Brooklyn show, giving you a taste of what to expect when they return to Toronto to play the Sound Academy on December 9 opening up for Broken Social Scene; you’ll just have to imagine the pogoing.

The Sydney Morning Herald talks to Interpol.

PitchforkTV has posted a POV session with The Hold Steady.

Clash declares Holly Miranda “One To Watch”.

New York Magazine talks to Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner.

Spin gets a live preview of Nicole Atkins’ new record Mondo Amore, due out on January 25 of next year, and you can download a new track from the record over at Nicole’s website.

Daytrotter has posted a session with Ra Ra Riot, who have made good on their promise to come back to town in December – they’ll be at the Mod Club on the first of that month, tickets $16.

MP3: Ra Ra Riot – “Boy”

Barry KlippBradford Cox’s Deerhunter first began marketing their forthcoming album Halcyon Digest earlier this Summer via unconventional means, initiating a campaign wherein fans would download and print off old-school, xerox-styled flyers promoting the record and submit pictures of them posted up in and around their neighbourhoods in exchange for MP3 goodies, both from the new record and the Deerhunter archives. I can’t say as that I’ve seen any around my own hood, but clearly people have been participating.

As the September 28 release date for the new record draws near, the Atlanta-based band are gearing up for a more conventional but proven effective means of record promotion – touring their asses off. Pitchfork has the full itinerary, which includes a handful of northeast US dates this month before kicking off in earnest come October. Toronto welcomes them back – they were just here in March opening up for Spoon – on October 19 for a date at the Opera House, where they’ll be supported by Real Estate and Casino Vs Japan.

MP3: Deerhunter – “Revival”

A Place To Bury Strangers have released a new video from Exploding Head.

Video: A Place To Bury Strangers – “I Lived My Life To Stand In The Shadow Of Your Heart”

Antony & The Johnsons have released an MP3 for the title track from their forthcoming EP Thank You For Your Love, out August 24, as a teaser both for the short-player and the full-length it’s taken from, Swanlights, which will follow on October 12.

MP3: Antony & The Johnsons – “Thank You For Your Love”

The AV Club interviews Dean & Britta.

Nashville Scene talks to Josh Ritter. He’s at the Phoenix on October 26.

Jim James tells Rolling Stone that My Morning Jacket have been back in the studio and a new record is targeted for mid-2011.

Spin talks to Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of The Posies about their new record Blood/Candy, out September 28, and has a stream of the song “Licenses to Hide”, which features vocals from Lisa Lobsinger of Broken Social Scene and Reverie Sound Revue.

The Tripwire gets in the back of a van with The Acorn. For a video session. Get your mind out of the gutter.

The Toronto Star has a feature piece on Arcade Fire. They’re at the Toronto Islands next Saturday and last night’s MSG show is available to stream on YouTube.

As proof that their gig at the Phoenix in April actually did count as an intimate club show, Wolf Parade will be back for the finale of their Fall tour in support of Expo 86 at the Sound Academy on November 26.

MP3: Wolf Parade – “Ghost Pressure”
MP3: Wolf Parade – “What Did My Lover Say? (It Always Had To Go This Way)

The Line Of Best Fit has released a new Oh! Canada compilation of Canadian MP3s as assembled by Brits.

Dublin’s Villagers, whose Becoming A Jackal has been shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, has a date at the Drake Underground on September 27. Tickets $10 in advance.

MP3: Villagers – “Becoming A Jackal”

Spinner talks to Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite about the band’s new studio album which is targeted for a February 2011 release. Their Burning/Special Moves live set is due on August 24.

NME talks to Paul Smith of Maximo Park about releasing his first solo album Margins, due out October 11.

MP3: Paul Smith – “North Atlantic Drift”

Nicky Wire of Manic Street Preachers gives BBC6 some details on their forthcoming record Postcards From A Young Man, coming September 27.

Nick Cave discusses Grinderman with Rolling Stone. Grinderman 2 is out September 14 and the North American tour kicks of November 11 at the Phoenix in Toronto. I don’t think people are sufficiently excited about this show because it’s not possible to be sufficiently excited about this show.

Brooklyn Paper talks to Jack Rabid, publisher of The Big Takeover which has just celebrated 30 years of being one of the finest and most dedicated music magazines out there. Salut.

Phil HarderI was going to skip posting today entirely but a few choice bits came up on the radar that merited a quick mention – most notably, the announcement of Bettie Serveert’s Autumn North American tour that had been promised since their latest album – the surprisingly rowdy Pharmacy Of Love – was released back in march.

Amongst those dates is a September 28 appearance in Toronto at the Drake Underground, the Dutch rockers’ first visit since a barn-burner of a set at the Horseshoe back in February 2005. It’s a bit surprising that their tour routing doesn’t take them through Vegas for Matador 21 – they released three terrific college rock-defining records on the seminal label back in the ’90s and I thought for sure that their Fall visit would be timed to coincide with the anniversary festivities, but hey, I’m perfectly happy to see them closer to home.

MP3: Bettie Serveert – “Semaphore”
MP3: Bettie Serveert – “The Pharmacy”
Video: Bettie Serveert – “Deny All”

The Sadies have been added as support for Arcade Fire’s August 14 show on the Toronto Islands. It’s unclear if anyone else is being added or if that’s going to be it.

The Globe & Mail profiles Shad. He plays the Kool Haus on August 1.

Paste catches up with Tokyo Police Club.

The Deli features Fang Island.

Band Of Horses have released a new video from Infinite Arms; they’re at the Kool Haus on October 21.

Video: Band Of Horses – “Laredo”

The Los Angeles Times gets She & Him to compile a musical mixtape dedicated to California.

The Posies will release a new album entitled Blood/Candy on September 28. Blurt has details.

Tim Burgess of The Charlatans talks to NME about their forthcoming album Who We Touch, out in North America on September 14. They’re at Lee’s Palace on September 17.

Spinner continues to talk to The Joy Formidable.

Jonathan TaggartSaying I was a bit award-ed out following last week’s Polaris Prize gala would be something of an understatement, so the ceremonies for the Verge XM Awards the following night were largely ignored around these parts. But that doesn’t mean the results weren’t of interest – okay, Alexisonfire winning album of the year was of zero interest, but the declaration of Vancouver’s Dan Mangan as artist of the year certainly drew a double-take. This response had nothing to do with Mangan or his work, simply the fact that it’s a pretty heady honour to bestow on someone who’d only released his new album Nice, Nice, Very Nice a little over a month prior, though that was preceded by the Roboteering EP in the Spring. The whys and wherefores of that do interest me, but we’ll set that aside for now and just consider the record.

And it’s a good one. On the surface, it’s a tuneful collection of roots-rock/pop, hummably melodic and understatedly orchestrated, but what’s most compelling is the narrator that Mangan inhabits in his songs. Though his likeable rasp implies a certain forthrightness of character, that he’s the sort of guy who tells is straight and like it is, lyrically he’s much slipperier. Sardonic observer of the world around him one moment, absurdist storyteller the next, but I suppose when done right the two really aren’t all that different. You’re never sure if Mangan is telling tall tales or pouring his broken heart out because he does both with a twinkle in his eye; the unreliable narrator, the court jester, or just the guy perched on a barstool, it doesn’t really matter – there’s as much cosmic truth as fiction in these songs and either is where you find it. And if you’re just looking for some great songs, they’re here too. Artist of the Year still strikes me as a bit premature, but if Mangan is still finding himself up for awards in a year’s time or so, it wouldn’t surprise me a bit.

Mangan kicks off a cross-country tour this week and will be in Toronto in a couple weeks on October 16 for an in-store at Criminal Records on October 16 at 6PM and a gig proper at the Rivoli that night. Then it’s off to the UK and Europe. Okay, maybe he’s having a really good year after all. There’s features on Mangan at The Georgia Straight.

MP3: Dan Mangan – “Road Regrets”
MP3: Dan Mangan – “Robots”
Video: Dan Mangan – “The Indie Queens Are Waiting”
Stream: Dan Mangan / Roboteering
Stream: Dan Mangan / Nice, Nice, Very Nice
MySpace: Dan Mangan

As promised, Sloan are giving away a new song. “Take It Upon Yourself” is a Chris song that sounds like a Jay song (it’s the piano) and is available for frees in exchange for your email address.

Note that the Rural Alberta Advantage show originally scheduled for November 4 at Lee’s Palace has been moved to November 20 – tickets for the former date are still good. There’s an interview with frontman Nils Edenloff at The Maneater.

Forest City Lovers have completed their first 7″ single, available to pre-order now in advance of its November 10 release. Something to hold you over until they release album number three next year.

Portions of the Caribou Vibration Ensemble performance at All Tomorrow’s Parties NY have been made available to stream or download at the Free Music Archive, with word that a full live album may be forthcoming. The Toronto show was amazing – I expect this was nothing less.

MP3: The Caribou Vibration Ensemble – “Skunks”
MP3: The Caribou Vibration Ensemble – “Barnowl”
MP3: The Caribou Vibration Ensemble – “Brahminy Kite”
MP3: The Caribou Vibration Ensemble – “A Final Warning”

Handsome Furs have set a date for Lee’s Palace on December 5, tickets $15. No occasion, just bringing some rock.

MP3: Handsome Furs – “I’m Confused”

NPR has a World Cafe session with The Jayhawks.

Spinner has another video taken from the forthcoming live R.E.M. album Live At The Olympia, out October 27.

Video: R.E.M. – “Man-Sized Wreath” (live)

Long-time R.E.M. sideman and once-and-future Posie Ken Stringfellow has a new band of Norwegians called The Disciplines. It’s got a garage-ish bent, but there’s no suppressing Stringfellow’s canny pop sensibilities. They’re heading out for a North American tour next month, including a stop at the Velvet Underground in Toronto on October 22 ($8 in advance), and are also looking for places to crash in many of the cities on the itinerary and a Vox AC30 amp to borrow.

Video: The Disciplines – “Best Mistake”
Video: The Disciplines – “Yours For The Taking (Smoking Kills)”

AZCentral talks to the other principal in the Posies, Jon Auer.

City Pages Q&A’s Built To Spill, whose new record There Is No Enemy is out next week and who have Lee’s Palace reserved for two nights, October 6 and 7.

Epigram Music talks to Sufjan Stevens about his BQE project, out October 20. He plays Lee’s Palace on Thursday night, October 1.

St Vincent’s Annice clark talks to Radar Online about her contribution to the soundtrack to New Moon, which I’m content to know nothing about save for one of the protagonists sparkles. Clark also gives an interview to The Vanguard.

There’s a new video for the Taken By Trees cover of Animal Collective’s “My Girls”, from her new album East Of Eden.

Video: Taken By Trees – “My Boys”

Blurt has a feature on Monsters Of Folk, who will be at Massey Hall on November 2.