Watch Video For Fever Ray’s Cover of Nick Cave’s “Stranger Than Kindness,” Which Is Scarier Than Either The Strangers, Dr. Strange, or Quark-Based Strange Matter (Only Barely, Though…That Shit Is Mysterious) [Gorilla vs. Bear]

In Other Fever Ray News, She’s Giving Away a Live Version of Her Self-Titled Debut With This Weeks The Guardian In the U.K….Good News For Those In The UK. Bad News For Us Running New York Based Music Blog [NME]

Josh Homme/Dave Grohl/John Paul Jones Supergroup Them Crooked Vultures Announce Album Details; Self-Titled LP Released November 17, Containing Song Called “An Interlude With Ludes” Which is Such a Dated and Awesome Drug Reference That I’m Red Faced With Joy [Pitchfork]

R.E.M., Rage Against the Machine, and Pearl Jam Push For Closure of Guantanamo Bay, Joining The Rest of Rational Americans Who Believe Torture Is Even A Little Not Cool [BBC]

Hold Steady Frontman/Promoter of All Things Positive Craig Finn, To Co-Adapt Chuck Klosterman’s Fargo Rock City Into a Movie; Finn Says of the Subject: “I’m Writing a Screenplay/ Camera, Lights, and Clever Kids Getting Action, Bab-ay/ I Hope The Oscars Recall It Fairly Fondly” [Idolator]

Former Island Records Boss Marc Marot Wants a Clause in Record Contracts That Allows Record Labels To Intervene When Artists Are Suffering Drug Problems; Next Year, Labels Set to Introduce “Nap Time” Clause, Requiring All Artists To Take 20-Minuter Whenever Label Deems Them “Cranky” [NME]

Stream Former Pulp Frontman Jarvis Cocker’s Contribution To Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox Adaptation, “Fantastic Mr. Fox AKA Petey’s Song” – It’s Cute and Stuff [Stereogum]

Watch Video For Weezer’s “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To” Off Upcoming LP Ratitude; It’s Very 1950s-Chic; Meanwhile, Rivers Is Probably Knee-Deep in a Melding of the Minds With Katy Perry Right Now [Babelgum]

compiled by Max Sebela

TOP DOG
Ahh, super groups. The anticipation, the hype… the usual disappointment resulting from all that anticipation and hype.Whenever a group of big shiny names are put together, it makes it hard to remember that a mix of great things doesn’t always equate to greatness. Take, for example, bacon and vodka or aliens and predators. One can still hope, however, that the latest, most shiny super group will be half as awesome as they should be.

Dedicated JM.com readers are already up to speed on the Vultures, but for those of you who aren’t, Them Crooked Vultures involves three really talented people: Josh Homme (of Queens of the Stone Age), Dave Grohl (of Foo Fighters), and the great John Paul Jones (I won’t patronize you). Oh yeah, and Grohl’s on drums. That’s right, a rhythm section consisting of Dave Grohl and motherfucking John Paul Jones. Keeping things round, Homme’s longstanding band mate Alain Johannes has been brought along to assist on guitars.

Well, some speculation on the band can now be lifted, as their gig yesterday at the Belgian music festival, Pukkelpop (www.pukkelpop.be/), has yielded some worthwhile YouTube fruit. The audio isn’t perfect, but it’s good enough to give you a solid idea of the band. Hommes seems to have a strong handle – the riffs have that gloomy, stoner-rock edge he’s known for. But both Homme and Grohl have often shown a large admiration for classic rock, and having JPJ around is definitely pushing them further in that direction, with one of the songs even having a strong Cream vibe to it.

So the good news is that the band seems not to suck. The bad news is that the album release date that was floating around early this month was bogus, and that there isn’t even a title for such an LP, or any idea of when it might be out. But recently a clip surfaced showing the band in the studio, which is a pretty good indication that an album is coming. How soon, however, remains a mystery. For now, keep your ears to the ground and your eyes on YouTube.

by Geoff Anstey

Them Crooked Vultures performing “Dead End Friends” at Pukkelpop:

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s Frontman Alec Ounsworth Releases A Surprise Solo Album, Skin and Bones, Buy It Here; Ounsworth’s Solo Debut (Uh, I Guess Not Anymore…Follow-up?) Mo Beauty Released October 20 [Brooklyn Vegan]

Stream New Wavves Song, “Cool Jumper,” Allegedly Featuring Hella’s Drummer Extraordinaire Zach Hill…It’s Six Minutes Long, And, Hate To Admit It, Pretty Cool [Gorilla Vs. Bear]

Stream The Notebook Star Ryan Gosling’s Band Dead Man’s Bones’s New Song “My Body’s A Zombie For You”…Weirdly, That’s Exactly What The Song Is About, And Features A Chorus Of Children Singing About Said Zombies; Dead Man’s Bones Released October 6 [Pitchfork]

MTV Gives Up Times Square Studio, Famous As TRL’s Home – Backstreet Boys Unsure Of Where They’ll Announce Umpteenth Reunion Tour, And Perform A Capella Cover of Some Boyz II Men Song In Front Of Dwindling, School-Cutting Preteens [Idolator]

Stream Justin Vernon’s (Bon Iver) New Project Volcano Choir’s First Song “Island, IS” (This Song Is Proof That Bon Iver Could Record A Dance Album); Volcano Choir’s Debut, Unmap, Released September 22 [Pitchfork]

Dave Grohl, Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme, and Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones’ Them Crooked Vultures Unveil 14 Seconds of Song, “Nobody Loves Me And Neither Do I” [Spin]

The Lower East Side to Tribeca And Now to Williamsburg New York Venue The Knitting Factory Announces Les Savy Fav Will Headline Their Opening Show On September 9; Knitting Factory Also Announces Plan To Get Priced Out In a Few Years, And Be Forced To Move Again [NME]

Popular LA Venue (And Birthplace of No Age and Abe Vigoda) The Smell Announces DVD Live at the Smell; Released September 1 [Pitchfork]

Britpop Giants The Verve Break Up For The Third Time (Which Is Good, Because Without The Verve Making New Music, They Can Be Properly and Exclusively Remembered For This) [Guardian]

Norwegian Electopop Queen Annie’s Second Album Don’t Stop To Finally Be Released October 19, Nearly A Year After It Leaked [Pitchfork]

Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox, AKA Atlas Sound, Releases Fleetwood Mac Cover, “Walk A Thin Line”; Stream It [Deerhunter Blog]

compiled by Max Sebela

The Beatles Get Their Own QVC Store; Weirdest Shop Item: Four Yellow Submarine Themed Baseballs. QVC: Get Authentic. I Want A Set Of Hard Day’s Night Styled Cricket Wickets [Idolator]

Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme, Foo Fighter’s Dave Grohl and Led Zepellin’s John Paul Jones Debuted Their Very Original Sludge-Rock Band, Them Crooked Vultures (And Apparently, It Was Good) [Spin]

Stream Garage Punk Jay Reatard’s Upcoming Matador Debut LP Watch Me Fall; Released August 18 [NME]

The Upcoming $45 Million Dollar Spiderman Musical, With Music By U2’s Bono and The Edge, Facing Budget Problems “Mary Jane, My Spider Sense Is Tingling – Maybe This Is The Wrong Time To Put On A $45 Million Dollar Musical…Wait, No…That’s My Common Sense” [NME]

Watch New Video “I’m Good” From Virginia Rap Heroes Clipse (Pharrell Sings Really Poorly On It, and I’ve Never Seen Ex-Coke Dealers Having So Much Leisurely Fun); Till The Casket Drops Released October 20 [Pitchfork]

Microphones/Mount Eerie Guy Phil Elverum Does Really Great Interview In Village Voice; Calls Upcoming LP Wind’s Poem Loudest Album He’s Done (Also Has Called It His Best), Expresses Love Of Loud Things In General [Village Voice]

Arcade Fire Multi-Instrumentalist Owen Pallett, AKA Final Fantasy, Signs To Domino, Announces New LP, Heartland; Released “The First Week Of 2010” [Pitchfork]

Stream Brooklyn Garage Pop Trio Vivian Girls’ Two New Songs, “The End” and “Can’t Get Over You”; New LP Everything Goes Wrong Released September 8 [Myspace]

Popular Music Magazine Pitchfork.com Announces Plans To Present “The Decade In Music” Starting Next Week…Four Months Before Decade Ends. Well, So Much For Journalistic Perspective [Pitchfork]

Sufjan Stevens Announces Fall Tour (!!!!); Four New York Dates In October (!!!!); Fans Giggle Like School Girls [Asthmatic Kitty]

Stream Black Lips/King Khan & BBQ Show Supergroup, The Almighty Defenders’ First Song, “Cone Of Light” – This Track Is Throwback, Handclap Soul And Will Be On Repeat For Several Hours; The Almighty Defenders Released September 22 [Pitchfork]

by Max Sebela

ORIGINALITY CORNER
Sunday night in Chicago, some lucky Lollapalooza after-partiers will be the first to hear what happens when Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters), John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), and Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) have at it. The group has booked a surprise debut show at the 1,100 capacity Metro, following the close of the three-day festival. My guess is that it will be sheer collective rock genius. But for now there’s only speculation.

Going by the name Them Crooked Vultures, the trio has decided it’s time to stop bullshitting and join forces, but it’s all so ambiguous. For four years, rumors have itched ears that one day this could happen. In 2005, Grohl told Mojo about the prospective project that would feature him on drums, a treat in itself. He hasn’t been dedicated to his kit since the flannel days of Nirvana. The only solid information known is that October 23 is the official release date for the album, Never Deserved The Future, on Interscope.

If you look for them on Myspace there’s nothing more than the logos of each of their respective bands – no music, no pictures, no friends, no comments, nothing. There is a website, but again, a state of nothingness – well, except for a simple silhouette of some sort of being, part human, part vulture.

Public relations are keeping a tight lip. Fans will just have to wait until Monday to catch buzz of The Crooked Vultures with hopes that someone out there will be recording and posting clips on YouTube, or something to that nature. Leave it to these guys to make years-long hearsay come true.

In the two day wait, why not listen to “Go With the Flow,” off the now-classic 2003 Queens of the Stone Age LP Songs For The Deaf, streaming below.

by Genette Nowak

DAILY NEWS PICKS

Stream/Purchase New Radiohead Song, “Harry Patch (In Memory of);” All Proceeds Go To The Royal British Legion; Song Is a Dedication To The Last Remaining WWI Veteran Harry Patch, Who Passed Away Last Week [Brooklyn Vegan]

This Is Not News, But Music Go Music’s “Warm in the Shadows” Is The Best 9 Minute Disco Revival Track Of The Year Thus Far; Stream It (And Frontwoman Gala Bell Does A Mean Debbie Harry) [Gorilla vs. Bear]

NME Releases List Of 50 Things Pushing Music Forward – Animal Collective Named Number One, Which Means By “Forward,” NME Means “Most Aptly Revives Styles and Techniques Used In 1966” [NME]

Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch, Better Known As MCA, Is Recovering Well From First Cancer Surgery; Will Undergo Radiation Therapy – With Jay Pushing For Him, MCA’s Got To Feel Pretty Good [Spin]

Jack White To Release Solo Single, “Farm Fly Blues;” Released August 11 [NME]

Foo Fighter Dave Grohl, Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme, and Led Zeppelin’s Bassist John Paul Jones Announce Supergroup, Them Crooked Vultures (Which Couldn’t Be A Better Name Combination of Grunge, Sludge, and Blues, Repsectively) [Spin]

Stream (Allegedly; This Player Hasn’t Worked On Like Four Different Browsers Update: Player Works and EP Is Awesome) New No Age EP Losing Feeling Super Early; Released October 6 [Pitchfork]

Watch Deerhunter, Dan Deacon, and No Age Play Through 10-Minute Deerhunter Noise-Jam “Cryptograms” All Together – It’s Like A Really Filthy Looking Frankenstein of Noise Bands [Pitchfork]

Stream Folkie Guy William Fitzsimmons’s Smokey, Acoustic Cover of Kanye West’s 808s Single “Heartless” (Or, Better Yet, Stream This Version of “Heartless” – You Know 808s Is A Pretty Serious Album, And I Didn’t Realize How Serious It Was Until I Heard It Inappropriately Sung By A Small Army of Preschoolers) [Popmatters]

Stream All of Mount Eerie’s Loud, Abrasive, and Interesting New Album Wind’s Poem; Released August 18 [Stereogum]

by Max Sebela