boygenius members Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus @ El Rey March 30th 2023

All photos by Alexander Laurence

The White Stripes release "Elephant" (Deluxe) digitally for album's 20th anniversary

THE WHITE STRIPES CELEBRATE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF ELEPHANT WITH DIGITAL DELUXE RELEASE   DIGITAL DELUXE EDITION OF GRAMMY®-AWARD-WINNING 2003 FOURTH STUDIO ALBUM JOINED BY 27-TRACK BONUS LIVE PERFORMANCE RECORDED AT CHICAGO, IL’s HISTORIC ARAGON BALLROOM    ELEPHANT 20TH ANNIVERSARY TEA PARTIES SET FOR TOMORROW, APRIL 1, AT THIRD MAN RECORDS STORES IN DETROIT, NASHVILLE, AND LONDON    LIMITED EDITION COLORED VINYL OUT ON FRIDAY, APRIL 21  PRE-ORDER NOW

Photo credit: Patrick Pantano

The White Stripes are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their RIAA 2x-Platinum Certified 2003 fourth studio album, Elephant, with today’s digital release of Elephant (Deluxe). The special release sees the remastered HD audio of the original studio album joined by a 27-song live set recorded on July 2, 2003 at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom during the band’s blockbuster Elephant Tour. A limited edition 2xLP version of the original Elephant album will also be released on Red Smoke (LP1) & Clear with Red & Black Smoke (LP2) colored vinyl on Friday, April 21; pre-orders are available now. STREAM/PURCHASE ELEPHANT (DELUXE) PRE-ORDER ELEPHANT LIMITED EDITION COLORED VINYL   Elephant (Deluxe) and the Anniversary are also heralded by the re-release of the “I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself” music video directed by Sofia Coppola and starring Kate Moss, which has been newly remastered in HD – WATCH HERE.  The official Elephant 20th anniversary will be celebrated with a trio of Third Man Records Elephant Listening Tea Parties as a nod to the album’s London recording roots. These events are set for tomorrow, April 1, at Third Man Records stores in Detroit, Nashville, and London from 11am to 4pm local time. Entry is free, but attendees with proof of pre-order of the Elephant 20th Anniversary Limited Edition Color Vinyl from any retailer will receive a limited edition bonus print of Jack and Meg from the Toe Rag recording sessions photographed by David James Swanson, while supplies last.    The landmark anniversary is further marked with the launch of a brand-new merchandise store and exclusive Elephant collection, available now at www.whitestripesstore.com. Additional 20th anniversary items will be released throughout the year. New merchandise collections are also available for Jack White, The Raconteurs, and The Dead Weather.   Released on April 1, 2003, Elephant swiftly proved to be a critically acclaimed, award-winning phenomenon, as well as garnering worldwide popularity, peaking at #6 on the Billboard 200 while also topping the UK’s Official Albums Chart. Largely recorded over two weeks in April 2002 at London’s analogue Toe Rag Studios, Elephant includes such now-classic singles as the GRAMMY® Award-winning “Seven Nation Army,” “I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself,” “The Hardest Button To Button,” and “There’s No Home For You Here,” all of which prompted Rolling Stone’s David Fricke to hail the album as quite simply, “a work of pulverizing perfection.” Elephant went on to win the 2004 GRAMMY® Award for “Best Alternative Album” and was an “Album of the Year” nominee. # # # THE WHITE STRIPES ELEPHANT (DELUXE) – AVAILABLE NOW (DIGITAL ONLY) ELEPHANT 20TH ANNIVERSARY LIMITED-EDITION COLORED VINYL - AVAILABLE FRIDAY, APRIL 21 (THIRD MAN RECORDS)

Elephant (Deluxe) Tracklist: Disc 1: 1. Seven Nation Army 2. Black Math 3. There’s No Home For You Here 4. I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself 5. In The Cold, Cold Night 6. I Want To Be The Boy To Warm Your Mother’s Heart 7. You’ve Got Her In Your Pocket 8. Ball And Biscuit 9. The Hardest Button To Button 10. Little Acorns 11. Hypnotize 12. The Air Near My Fingers 13. Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine 14. It’s True That We Love One Another Disc 2: 1. When I Hear My Name (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003) 2. Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003) 3. Lovesick (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003) 4. Hotel Yorba (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003) 5. Aluminum (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003) 6. Cool Drink Of Water Blues (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003) 7. The Hardest Button to Button (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003) 8. I Want To Be The Boy To Warm Your Mother’s Heart (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003) 9. Stones In My Passway (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003) 10. Stop Breaking Down (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003) 11. Do (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003) 12. In The Cold, Cold Night (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003) 13. Seven Nation Army (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003) 14. The Same Boy You’ve Always Known (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003) 15. Blackjack Davey (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003) 16. We’re Going To Be Friends (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003) 17. Offend In Every Way (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003) 18. Little Cream Soda (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003) 19. Cannon / Party Of Special Things to Do (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003) 20. Candy Cane Children (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003) 21. The Air Near My Fingers (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003) 22. This Protector (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003) 23. Screwdriver [Intro] (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003) 24. Ball and Biscuit (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003) 25. Screwdriver [Reprise] (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003) 26. Let’s Build A Home (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003) 27. Goin’ Back to Memphis (Live at The Aragon Ballroom, July 2, 2003)

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The New Pornographers' Merge Records debut "Continue as a Guest" out today

THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS’
MERGE RECORDS DEBUT
CONTINUE AS A GUEST OUT NOW

BAND DEBUTS “BOTTLE EPISODES” FROM NEW ALBUM

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES THIS SPRING

Photo by Ebru Yildiz / Composite by Nicole White

March 31, 2023—The New Pornographers’ debut record for new label Merge Records, Continue as a Guest, is out now. Stream/purchase the album HERE.

In celebration of the new record, the band is debuting the album track “Bottle Episodes” now; listen/share it HERE.

“‘Here inside the TV glow of these bottle episodes,’ this one is another ambivalent story about day-to-day life in the pandemic times,” notes frontperson A.C. Newman. “I was trying to capture a feeling of being stuck, but you don’t mind being stuck. You’re not sure what to call this life you’re leading. Are you happy? You might be. There should be a word for this.”

The band previously shared the record’s first single, “Really Really Light,” alongside a Christian Cerezo-directed video; watch/share it HERE. Most recently they debuted the album tracks “Angelcover” (listen/share HERE) and “Pontius Pilate’s Home Movies” (listen/share HERE).

The album tackles themes of isolation and collapse, following the ambivalence of day-to-day life during the pandemic and the endless pitfalls of living online. But Newman says that Continue as a Guest’s title track also addresses the continually rolling concerns that come with being in a band for so long. “The idea of continuing as a guest felt very apropos to the times,” he explains. “Feeling out of place in culture, in society—not feeling like a part of any zeitgeist, but happy to be separate and living your simple life, your long fade-out. Find your own little nowhere, find some space to fall apart, continue as a guest.”

Stereogum notes in response to the new record that The New Pornographers “make catchy, sophisticated alternate-universe hits,” while Billboard writes that “The New Pornographers have been slinging pristine indie-pop hooks for over two decades now,” and Cool Hunting adds that the record is “a welcome return from [the] indie-pop legends.”

In support of the new album, The New Pornographers are set for a run of North American shows this spring with support from Wild Pink. The dates include two sold out nights at Chicago’s Thalia Hall, as well as further performances at New York’s Brooklyn Steel and Boston’s Royale. See below for a complete list of dates.

Newman began work on Continue as a Guest at his Woodstock, New York home over the course of a year, after the band had just finished touring behind 2019’s In The Morse Code Of Brake Lights. During the writing and recording process, he discovered new lyrical, artistic and sonic approaches experimenting with his own vocal register.

The 10-track record is produced by Newman and features compatriots Neko Case, Kathryn Calder, John Collins, Todd Fancey and Joe Seiders as well as contributions from saxophonist Zach Djanikian and co-writes from Dan Bejar (Destroyer) and Sadie Dupuis (Speedy Ortiz, Sad13). 

The New Pornographers have previously released eight studio albums, including their classic debut, Mass Romantic, reissued in 2021 to celebrate the 21^st anniversary of its premiere. Their latest, In The Morse Code Of Brake Lights, debuted at #2 on the Billboard Alternative Chart, #6 on the Billboard Rock Chart and #15 on the Billboard Album Chart. It was hailed as “infectious” by NPR, while Rolling Stone praised “the Canadian power-pop crew keeps cranking out songs where the hooks-per-minute ratio is almost unseemly.”

Album art credit: Amy Casey

CONTINUE AS A GUEST TRACKLIST

1. Really Really Light

2. Pontius Pilate’s Home Movies

3. Cat and Mouse with the Light

4. Last and Beautiful

5. Continue as a Guest

6. Bottle Episodes

7. Marie and the Undersea

8. Angelcover

9. Firework in the Falling Snow

10. Wish Automatic Suite

TOUR DATES

April 19—Asheville, NC—Salvage Station*

April 20—Atlanta, GA—Variety Playhouse*

April 21—New Orleans, LA—Tipitina’s*

April 22—Houston, TX—White Oak Music Hall*

April 23—Dallas, TX—Studio at The Factory*

April 25—Austin, TX—Paramount*

April 26—Oklahoma City, OK—Tower Theatre*

April 27—St. Louis, MO—Sheldon Concert Hall*

April 28—Omaha, NE—The Waiting Room*

April 29—Kansas City, MO—The Truman*

April 30—Denver, CO—Gothic Theatre*

May 3—St. Paul, MN—The Fitzgerald*

May 4—Milwaukee, WI—Turner Hall*

May 5—Chicago, IL—Thalia Hall [SOLD OUT]*

May 6—Chicago, IL— Thalia Hall [SOLD OUT]*

May 8—Cincinnati, OH—Memorial Hall*

May 9—Columbus, OH—Newport Music Hall*

May 11—Detroit, MI—El Club [SOLD OUT]*

May 12—Toronto, ON—Danforth*

May 13—Burlington, VT—Higher Ground Ballroom*

May 14—Norwalk, CT— Wall Street Theater*

May 15—Boston, MA—Royale*

May 17—New York, NY—Brooklyn Steel*

May 18—Philadelphia, PA—Union Transfer*

May 19—Washington, DC—9:30 Club [SOLD OUT]*

May 20—Washington, DC—9:30 Club*

May 21—Saxapahaw, NC—Haw River Ballroom*

*with Wild Pink

A Certain Ratio's New Album '1982' Is Out Today On Mute

A CERTAIN RATIO’S NEW ALBUM 1982 IS OUT TODAY VIA MUTE

credit: Paul Husband

“The album sounds fabulous: It gleams like a freshly cleaned dancefloor. Every hi-hat hiss and rhythm lick asserts itself. Re-imagining themselves as a benign interstitial force between their influences and imitators like !!! and LCD Soundsystem, ACR enter their fifth decade with the vigor of a young opening act confident about kicking the headliner’s ass” - Pitchfork “1982’s charming and incredibly danceable blend of post-punk and funk continues the group’s efforts to ever-so-slightly update their sound by incorporating new elements and eschewing genre boundaries.” - Slant Magazine “A Certain Ratio’s blend of knife-edge tension and funkateer abandon is a style that’s theirs and theirs only” - Uncut   Today A Certain Ratio have released their eagerly-anticipated new studio album, 1982, on vinyl, CD and digitally via Mute: https://mute.ffm.to/acr-1982 The album release follows the sharing of recent singles “Holy Smoke”, “SAMO” “Afro Dizzy” and “Waiting on a Train”   A Certain Ratio’s greatest strength has always been their unpredictability. “That’s what people like about us, they don’t know what’s coming next!” explains Jez Kerr. This new album manifests this in various ways, including the introduction of two new voices, the charismatic presence of Mancunian rapper Chunky (on “Waiting on a Train”) and one of Manchester’s fastest-rising neo-soul musicians Ellen Beth Abdi. You’ll recognize her from the ACR live line up in recent years, who has collaborated across the album and is already as central to the writing and recording process as the members who’ve been there since the ‘70s. On the track “Constant Curve”, ACR find themselves collaborating once again with dance music producer Emperor Machine, producing a track that can only be described as cosmic jazz punk. Martin says, "We have always been fans of Andy's work so to write and collaborate on a song with him was amazing" Since they emerged from the hallowed grounds of the late ‘70s punk scene, A Certain Ratio have moved with gleeful disregard for boundaries of style and genre, their eye fixed firmly on constant progression. It’s an ethos that’s open-minded over all else, and that’s seen them harness everything from experimental electronica to vintage funk, filtered through their own Mancunian lens. Even by the band’s own standards, however, their latest studio album 1982 is multidimensional. It shoots off in every direction, whether via searing Afrobeat, mind-melting jazz breakdowns or moody electronic experiments. Recorded by the core ACR line up of Jez Kerr, Martin Moscrop and Donald Johnson, alongside Tony Quigley, Matthew Steele and Ellen Beth Abdi, the band’s pleasure at being together in the studio is audible. And the album title? Although 1982 might conjure memories of the year that saw ACR put out both the acclaimed Sextet and the cult favorite I’d Like To See You Again, it’s more of a playful red herring than an invitation to nostalgia. Looking backwards and forwards all at once, drawing on influences from across every spectrum, 1982 is a record that will reward a dedicated listener dozens of times over. To celebrate the release of the album, A Certain Ratio will be embarking on a UK tour throughout April. Full Dates are listed below.  A CERTAIN RATIO 2023 UK TOUR DATES: 4/20/2023 – Edinburgh, Voodoo Rooms 4/21/2023 – Huddersfield, The Parish 4/22/2023 – Manchester, New Century Hall 4/23/2023 – Leeds, Brudenell 4/25/2023 – Nottingham, Rescue Rooms 4/26/2023 – Birmingham, Hare & Hounds 4/27/2023 – Bristol, The Exchange 4/29/2023 – London, The Garage Before that, the band will be hosting a number of special Q&A / signing events in partnership with independent record shops in Manchester, Nottingham and London. 3/31/2023 – Manchester, Piccadilly Records – Q&A / signing 4/1/2023 – London, Rough Trade East - Q&A / signing 4/2/2023 – Nottingham, Rough Trade - Q&A / signing         Track listing: 1. Samo 2. Waiting On A Train 3. 1982 4. A Trip in Hulme 5. Tombo In M3 6. Constant Curve 7. Afro Dizzy 8. Holy Smoke 9. Tier 3 10. Ballad Of ACR   purchase or stream 1982: https://mute.ffm.to/acr-1982 Watch the animated video for “Afro Dizzy”: https://youtu.be/I1v0Bnr1J-Y    Watch the video for “Waiting on a Train” feat. Mancunian rapper Chunky and Ellen Beth Abdi: https://youtu.be/XinZui6T1Cc Watch the video for “SAMO”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdqIg39mxFM   CONNECT WITH A CERTAIN RATIO FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | WEB CONNECT WITH MUTE: FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | WEB

AJA MONET ANNOUNCES DEBUT ALBUM, SHARES “CASTAWAY” VIDEO

AJA MONET ANNOUNCES WHEN THE POEMS DO WHAT THEY DO, SHARES NEW  VIDEO/SINGLE FOR “CASTAWAY” DEBUT ALBUM FROM CELEBRATED SURREALIST BLUES POET FEATURES CONTRIBUTIONS FROM CHIEF XIAN ATUNDE ADJUAH FKA CHRISTIAN SCOTT, MARCUS GILMORE, SAMORA PINDERHUGHES, WEEDIE BRAIMAH, LONNIE HOLLEY AND MORE WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “CASTAWAY” HERE PRE-SAVE / PRE-ORDER THE ALBUM https://drinksumwtr.ffm.to/wtpdwtd

Surrealist blues poet and community organizer aja monet has announced her debut album when the poems do what they do is set for release June 9th via drink sum wtr, a new Secretly Canadian imprint. As previewed by the recently released piece “the devil you know,” and the newly shared “castaway,” the album’s thematic origins center around Black resistance, love, and the inexhaustible quest for joy. She is joined on her journey by a potent roster of esteemed musicians, including Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah FKA Christian Scott (trumpet), Samora Pinderhughes (piano), Elena Pinderhughes (flute), Luques Curtis (bass), Weedie Braimah (percussion), and Marcus Gilmore (drums). Featuring additional vocals by bluesman Lonnie Holley, soul singer  Eryn Allen Kane, DJ & host  Novena Carmel and more. The songs throughout are insistent and unrelenting, with some reminiscent of jazz club virtuosity and melee while others act as a healing balm in gilead, moving like that of the call to intercessory prayer. The album is a potent demonstration of her indefatigable commitment to speak, her poems manifesting as a work of gravity that move constantly between origin and outcome, allowing them to exist in converse.  As a community organizer, poet, and teacher aja monet moves between mediums, each one an element to her writing. Organizing and activism manifest as part of a process toward liberation, with the poems, the music, and the art serving as the scribe of the time. Building off oratorical traditions, aja is the conduit for her predecessors to channel through. At any given time you’ll find the revolutionary spirit of Audre Lorde and the Last Poets, you’ll feel June Jordan, Amiri Baraka, Jayne Cortez and even the expressive ephemerality of a passing blue note. She has been a poet since youth, “I started writing when I was 8 or 9 — [but] I think I was a poet before I wrote my first poem.” She cut her teeth within the walls of the legendary Nuyorican Poets Café, where she won the title of Grand Slam Champion in 2007 at age 19, making her the youngest Grand Slam Champion in the venue’s history. After graduating from Sarah Lawrence College and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and living briefly in Paris, aja co-edited Chorus: A Literary Mixtape alongside poet-actor-director Saul Williams and published her first full length book of poetry called My Mother was A Freedom Fighter with Haymarket Books.  On when the poems do what they do aja monet appears as a woman of letters and storm, her poems do not roar in pentameter - but rather in storm surge because, “Who’s got time for poems when the world is on fire?!.” aja monet is a griot, a storyteller, a chronicler, and your grandmother telling you about her first love all at once. These aren’t poems for poets, but poems for everyone. When you reach the end of this album, you are left with a similar feeling you get when heartbroken, the gravity of barrelling back down to earth, sopping wet with tears, out of breath, overcome with love, despair, hope, and all too aware that all of this, is over far too soon. When the poems do what they do, they do absolutely everything.

Pre-save / pre-order when the poems do what they do https://drinksumwtr.ffm.to/wtpdwtd  Watch the short film for “castaway” https://youtu.be/OHAoAHetsjM  Watch the show film for “the devil you know” https://drinksumwtr.lnk.to/the_devil_you_know  when the poems do what they do track list 1. i am 2. why my love? 3. black joy 4. unhurt 5. weathering 6. the perfect storm 7. the devil you know 8. what makes you feel loved? 9. for sonia 10. yemaya  11. castaway 12. give thanks 13. for the kids who live

aja monet photo by Fanny Chu (high res download here)

“Castaway” single artwork