Generally speaking, the end of Memorial Day weekend signals the unofficial beginning of summer. Lots of us have been free for awhile now, but for those of you who have yet to finish up the semester, leave your day job, and head to the beach, you’ll find various news items that will make you long for the dog days and cool nights of the season. There are festival updates as well as album and concert reviews to get you ready.
You’ll also find lots of other things, some intriguing and others just plain ridiculous.
Need I say more?
— Let’s begin with the obligatory festival updates: Bumbershoot, Musicfest NW, Outside Lands , and Capitol Hill Block Party unveiled their lineups this week. The North Coast Music Festival debuts in Chicago this September. The economy put an end to the 2010 Canadian Virgin Festivals.
— And now the obligatory Arcade Fire news item: the group will play the first non-festival show of its upcoming tour in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Sorry, Toronto.
— Finally, the obligatory tour announcements: Paul McCartney, Arcade Fire, Belle & Sebastian, Pixies, The National, Smashing Pumpkins, Aerosmith, Robyn, Dirty Projectors, Yeasayer will all be hitting the road in the weeks and months ahead.
Moving on…
— M.I.A. blasted New York Times writer Lynn Hirschberg with a single entitled “Haters”.
— Ali-Ollie Woodson of the quintessential Motown group The Temptations passed away at the age of 58.
— Antoine Fuqua (of Training Day fame) is set to direct the Tupac Shakur biopic.
— Wilco and Coldplay are supporting youth sports teams.
— They might be on hiatus, but look for new material from Stereolab this fall.
— Radiohead‘s Phil Selway will make his solo debut in late August.
— Nick Freed reviewed Expo 86, the hotly anticipated new album by Wolf Parade.
— Much has been made of the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main St. reissue. Here’s what Stephen Foster had to say.
— Elias Newman chatted up Chad Elliot of Funeral Party.
— For those of you who missed LCD Soundsystem at Chicago’s Metro last Friday, Meghan Brosnan was there.
— On that note, Ted Maider, Winston Robbins, Kacie McKinney provided an extensive recap of Sasquatch! 2010.
— Oh, and we’re continuing our plot to take over the world.
