Weekend Hype

The year's most overexposed indie band, Vampire Weekend, are returning home to play what is likely their largest local show to date. If you still don't know who this band is, a) you live under a rock and b) you haven't seen one of the 1,000 movies/commercials/TV shows their song "A-Punk" has been featured in. The guys will be playing Terminal 5 on December 3rd. Tickets are $25 and go on sale Friday at noon. No word on openers just yet, but still definitely worth checking out.

The 411 On The 808

Kanye West's new album will be called 808's & Heartbreak, and has a tentative release date of December 16th according to Target and Amazon. This marks a new era for 'Ye, as he's apparently decided to move on from the "academic" themes of his first three albums (College Dropout, Late Registration, Graduation). For those in the dark about things, "808" is a type of drum machine that is often used to compose hip-hop. Kanye performed the album's first single, "Love LockDown" at the VMA's this past Sunday night. Here is the album artwork for the song:

Back To The Basics UPDATE

As reported last month, Sonic Youth had fulfilled their longstanding album contractual obligations with Geffen. The band had mentioned that they would be going "indie" once again for next year's studio release, but was unwilling to reveal the specifics. Well, it has been confirmed that the label they are now signed to is Matador. The Manhattan-based label's lineup continues to get more and more stacked. Good for them.

Red Letter Day

The saying goes, "as one door closes, another opens". Well, I am happy to report that this time a not-so-great one is shutting only for an AMAZING one to reopen. James Dewees, the brains behind Reggie and The Full Affect, recently embarked on a farewell tour that inevitably means the demise of Reggie. While some may find this to be sad news, rest assured many (including myself) will be thrilled to learn that this break-up means the reunion of The Get Up Kids! At Friday night's Reggie & The Full Affect show in Chicago, Dewees confirmed what many had been speculating for quite awhile. He told the crowd to expect a all-out spring tour with a Get Up Kids show in Chicago within the next six months or so. Needless to say, this news has made my Monday.

Something To Love

Taken from the FOW website:

"On Wednesday, September 10, Fountains of Wayne will participate in a benefit show at NYC's Knitting Factory for Kelly Buchanan, a friend and singer/songwriter who was recently injured and is suffering from traumatic brain damage. Also appearing will be Nada Surf, Measure, and an "All-Star Band" featuring Mike Viola and others. Each artist will play approximately four to five songs and also cover one of Kelly's songs. Doors at 7pm. Tickets are $25, All Ages. for more info see kellybuchanan.com."

Reasons you should go to this:

1) Fountains of Wayne AND Nada Surf at one of the city's best venues.

2) Knitting Factory is moving to Brooklyn, so catch it while you can.

3) Who doesn't love power pop?!

3) It's a great cause.

VMA's? We Don't Care....

As much as I hate to acknowledge the existence of the VMA's, the one silver lining is that we got a first taste of the new Kanye West song, "Love LockDown". Kanye closed out the show with the first single off his still untitled album that comes out this upcoming December. Check it out HERE.

Falling Down

Karma's a bitch. Just ask Noel Gallagher -- the front man with very loose lips as of late. This past weekend, he and Oasis played the Toronto Virgin Festival. But it wans't the band's set people were talking about. Apparently, someone wanted to shut him up the hard way. During "Morning Glory," a crazed fan bumrushed the stage and bulldozed Gallagher mid-song. It was caught on tape and is of course now the toast of the town over in YouTube land. Scroll over to the minute-and-a-half mark to see said spill. Despite the nasty tumple, the band finished their headlining set.