London's High Court ruled in favor of Apple Computer this Monday, finding the company's iTunes Music Store did not violate a 1991 agreement with Apple Corps, a.k.a. Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono, and the estate of George Harrison; yes, a.k.a. The Beatles.

Apple Computer paid some $26 million to keep a trademark lawsuit from hitting the court circuit in 1991, and agreed to stay out of the music business. Apple Corps alleged that iTunes amounted to a violation of the agreement, but London's Justice Mann disagreed on Monday, ruling that iTunes was really more of a "data transmission service."

Shock and surprise: Apple Corps says it will appeal the decision.

Wired News is reporting that France may deal a blow by legal means to the firm hold by which Apple's iTunes Music Store keeps the digital music industry within its grip.

Currently, Apple relies on encoding the digital files sold via its online iTunes Music Store in such ways as to prevent those digital files from being played in other digital music players. It's a one-store, one-track, one-person, one-player model that has kept an overwhelming percentage of the profits in the hands of one company.

France is not planning on a direct confrontation with Apple, rather it would draft a law to legalize the "cracking" of digital formats. Make it legal to change those .m4a files into .mp3 files, and make it illegal to code those files to prevent such an occurrence, and France would have pushed Apple into a bit of a corner.

Conventional wisdom would see Apple either a) stop selling digital music in France altogether (an unlikely scenario), or b) make all of its files universally accessible. Of course, that ignores the possible c) scenario in which Apple keeps its alternative file extensions, but stops coding them as to inhibit being "cracked." It would be minimal work for Apple, and would force consumers to go through the trouble of figuring out how to convert the files in whatever two-, three-, or four-step processes they can come up with.

It should be noted, France is not attempting to start a legal, free-for-all digital music wonderland. The drafted law would also fine individuals approximately $40 for an illegally downloaded track, somewhat more than $150 for sharing that track, and should you write the software to run a file-sharing network, you would fork over more than $300,000 in fines. Not to mention the prison time.

It's a come-all, use-all (legally!) attitude France is hoping to take towards digital copyright, and one to which its worth watching Apple's reaction.

Thinking the Sex Pistols would fall in line was a silly idea, but who would have thought getting Blonde to behave would prove as impossible a task?

Hosted in the grand ballroom of New York's Waldorf-Astoria, the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame's 2006 class was included last night, and what a fuss they made. The inductees included Lynyrd Skynyrd, Black Sabbath, Miles Davis, Blonde, and by now most infamously the Sex Pistols.

The Sex Pistols had hereto-now made no small spectacle of their distaste for the Rock Hall, describing the venue as "urine in wine" and finally expounding on the issue last week on "Jimmy Kimmel Live":

"They never bothered to correct the incredible fatal, bad mistakes about our legend and legacy in their museum and up until now, they've rejected our nomination for three years running, and now they want a piece of us," John Lydon, previously known as Johnny Rotten, explained, "Well, guess what? Kiss this!" As you might imagine, those last two words of Lydon's were indeed accompanied by a hand gesture.

While the Sex Pistols certainly didn't show last night, Blondie did--all current and former members. Frank Infante, Nigel Harrison, and Gary Valentine, three of the original members of the NY rock group left out of its lineup when Deborah Harry re-formed the band fifteen years on, were noticeably ignored by Harry on-stage. Then, with Blondie ready to perform, there was another showdown.


With Infante groaning loudly and making a scene on-stage, Harrison turned to the microphone, "It's messed up for us... we were part of it, too." The snubbed band members then walked off-stage, but not before Infante could lean into the mic for one final groan.

As reported by Pitchfork's Matt LeMay, Oxford Collapse has signed up with the venerable Sup Pop record label and plan to record a studio album this summer. With a limited edition 7" circulating as we speak, the band will bide their time on the road. Dates as follow:

03.10 -- Pittsburgh, PA; Brillobox
03.11 -- Lansing, MI; Mac's Bar
03.12 -- Chicago, IL; Beat Kitchen
03.13 -- Louisville, KY; Keswick Democratic Club
03.14 -- Farmington, MO; O'Aces Center Stage
03.15 -- Dallas, TX; Darkside Lounge
03.16 -- Austin, TX; Habana Calle
03.18 -- Austin, TX; Mother Egan's Pub
03.19 -- Tallahassee, FL; Beta Bar
03.20 -- Tampa, FL; New World Brewery
03.21 -- Gainesville, FL; Common Grounds
03.22 -- Atlanta, GA; Lenny's Bar
03.23 -- Wilmington, NC; Soapbox
03.24 -- Baltimore, MD; The Ottobar
03.25 -- Allston, MA; Great Scott
03.26 -- Brooklyn, NY; Union Pool
03.30 -- Columbus, OH; High Five
03.31 -- Chicago, IL; Schubas
04.01 -- Milwaukee, WI; Cactus Club
04.02 -- Minneapolis, MN; Triple Rock Social Club

The Rolling Stones have confirmed that its "Bigger Bang" World Tour will finally reach Shanghai next month. The legendary rockers will take Shanghai's Grand Stage on April 8, 2006, and are understandably excited about the engagement. Quote the press release:

"'We are looking forward to performing in China for the first time,' said The Rolling Stones."

So excited, in fact, the band members have apparently taken to speaking in unison.

The Stones will finally appear in China three years after canceling several dates there amidst fears of severe acute respiratory syndrome, better-known as SARS. Of course, prior to those abandoned dates the Chinese government, oft-criticized for the trigger-happy approach it takes to the censorship button, had ordered the band not to perform "Brown Sugar," "Honkey Tonk Women," "Beast of Burden," and "Let's Spend the Night Together." No reason was given for the less-than-subtle direction, but it was presumably not because government officials were afraid of the tunes getting stuck in their heads for, like, days.

Tickets for the "A Bigger Bang" Word Tour stopover in Shanghai go on sale today. The tour is the most successful U.S. tour of all time, and has been drawing large crowds on its South American dates as well. Just recently, The Stones drew almost two million people to a free show in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, a remarkable number. By comparison, President Bush drew only about 50,000 people to the streets of Mar del Plata, Argentina last November. And it should be noted, unlike Mr. Bush's fans, none of the Stones' attendees burned down a local Banco Galicia.

Clear Channel is the world's largest radio corporation with some 1,200 radio stations to its name. You may have heard of it. Now, Clear Channel is in search of the "best unsigned artists across the globe" as part of a project called The Clear Channel NEW Music Network, also known as NEW! This NEW! network will be broadcast in glorious HD sound across our purple mountains majesty and amber waves of grain to "hungry-for-new-music audience" everywhere. Sign up now!

Because we here at Kludge like the business philosophy of corporate giants like Google, and dislike the financial business strategy of behemoths like Clear Channel (and kinda because we like CMJ and think that NEW! might be trying to steal its thunder), we thought it would be really great if people took this news with the same healthy helping of skepticism as we did. We also thought it would be pretty funny if we created a bunch of Myspace profiles for bands and uploaded Frank Sinatra songs to them, submitted them to NEW!, and just generally made big public nuisances of ourselves.

But that would probably get us a cease and desist order.

The first-ever live offering from electronic heroes Royksopp is a forty-minute limited edition EP recorded November 2005 in Oslo, Norway. Titled Royksopp's Night Out, the disc covers ground from the group's entire career, included a cover of Queens Of The Stone Age's, "Go With The Flow." We're admittedly pretty curious about that.

Complete tracklist for our fellow curious:

01 - What Else Is There?
02 - Only This Moment
03 - Remind Me
04 - Sparks
05 - Poor Leno
06 - Go Away
07 - Alpha Male
08 - Go With The Flow
09 - Teppefall

Sondre Lerche & The Faces Down Quartet are putting the finishing touches on an album recorded at the end of 2005 at Duper Studio in Bergen, Norway. The disc, appropriately titled Duper Sessions, will be the first of two releases from Lerche in 2006, and is slated for a March 21 release in the U.S. Sessions, released late February in Norway, moved up the Norwegian album charts to #4 this past week, and into the #1 most-downloaded slot on iTunes Norway.

In support of the U.S. release day, Lerche will play three scheduled shows in NYC and LA before returning to Europe for a few television appearances. Those North American dates are:

04.06 -- New York, NY; Bowery Ballroom
04.08 -- Los Angeles, CA; Troubadour
04.09 -- Los Angeles, CA; Troubadour

Anxiously awaited dates, for sure. Meanwhile, the U.S. album release will see a cover of Elvis Costello's "Human Hands" replace "The More I See You," while all copies of the album will feature Cole Porter's "Night And Day" and Prefab Sprout's "Nightengales." Complete tracklist for Sessions follows:

01 - Everyone's Rooting For You
02 - Minor Detail
03 - Across The Land
04 - The Curse Of Being In Love
05 - Dead End Mystery
06 - Night And Day
07 - Once In A While
08 - Human Hands
09 - (You Knocked Me) Off My Feet
10 - (I Wanna) Call It Love
11 - Nightingales
12 - I'm Not From Here
13 - You Sure Look Swell

Hard to believe, we know, but we're only about to see the second full-length album from Karen O and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The band is readying Show Your Bones as we speak, the follow-up to critically hailed and popularly successful Fever To Tell, and is announcing the following tour dates:

U.S.:
04.03 -- Washington, DC; 9:30 Club
04.05 -- Philadelphia, PA; Trocadero
04.07 -- Boston, MA; Orpheum
04.08 -- Montreal, QC; Metropolis
04.10 -- Toronto, ON; Kool Haus
04.11 -- Royal Oak, MI; Royal Oak Music Teatre
04.12 -- Cleveland, OH; Agora Theater
04.14 -- Chicago, IL; Riviera Theater
04.15 -- Milwaukee, WI; Riverside Theatre
04.16 -- Minneapolis, MN; First Avenue
04.18 -- Omaha, NE; Sokol Auditorium
04.19 -- St. Louis, MO; The Pageant
04.21 -- Denver, CO; Fillmore Auditorium
04.22 -- Salt Lake City, UT; University of Utah
04.24 -- Vancouver, BC; Orpheum Theatre
04.25 -- Seattle, WA; Paramount Theatre
04.26 -- Portland, OR; Roseland Theater
04.28 -- San Francisco, CA; SF Weekly Warfield
04.30 -- Indio, CA; Coachella Music & Arts Festival
05.02 -- New York, NY; Roseland

U.K.:
05.13 -- Camber Sands, UK; All Tomorrow's Parties
05.16 -- Kentish Town, UK; The Forum
05.17 -- Kentish Town, UK; The Forum
05.19 -- Glasgow, UK; Barrowland
05.20 -- Manchester, UK; Manchester Academy
05.21 -- Birmingham, UK; Carling Birmingham Academy

The tenth anniversary of the Mid-Atlantic College Radio Conference is fast approaching, and MACRock X has announced a near-finalized lineup of bands. The largest independent music conference on the East Coast will celebrate its tenth b-day with acts like The Walkmen, Pattern Is Movement, Saxon Shore, Spitfire, Ahleuchatistas, Gym Class Heroes, Fin Fang Foom, Owen, Blacklisted, and Municipal Waste. That is, of course, a rather shortened list of things to come and MACRock.org has more of the details you so crave.

MACRock X is scheduled for April 7 & 8, 2006, and registration is open online for a measly $25 for the whole goddamned weekend. That's a lot of bands, a lot of panels, a lot of free shit, and innumerable drunken, hidden basement shows for you to find for not so much money. Kludge highly suggests you make a weekend out of it.

The 2006 season of Decades Rock Live will feature Death Cab For Cutie, Billie Jo Armstrong, and Fiona Apple among others, joining the already-announced lineup which includes Alice In Chains, Dave Navarro, Carrie Underwood, Gretchen Wilson, and Rufus Wainwright.

For the record: Decades Rock Live "features performances honoring celebrated artists from rock to soul who have influenced popular music over the last fifty years." The definition is then expanded to include the "hottest acts... inspired by these legends." The series premiered in November 2005 on VH1 Classic with an episode paying homage to Bonnie Raitt, with guests including Norah Jones, Ben Harper, and Keb Mo.

The artists currently being announced will appear in upcoming episodes paying tribute to Heart (featuring Death Cab, Billie Joe, and Apple) and Elvis Costello (featuring Alice In Chains, Navarro, Underwood, and Wainwright), taping at the Trump Taj Mahal on March 10 and May 19, respectively.

Wanna know more? Check out DecadesRockLive.com for all the details.

In the words of host Jon Stewart, "In case you're keeping score at home: Scorsese, zero Oscars. Three 6 Mafia, one."

It was one of the biggest surprises of the 78th Annual Academy Awards, and one of its most conspicuously plotted moments. Jordan Houstan, Cedric Coleman, and Paul Beauregard took the stage as Three 6 Mafia to perform their Academy Award-nominated "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" from the film Hustle & Flow, and returned to the stage moments later to claim the Oscar.

In recent years, the silver screen as been noticeably slow to acknowledge the rise of hip hop culture, and while it was not the first rap song to win an Oscar (Eminem accomplished the feat most recently with "Lose Yourself" at the 2003 award show), it was the first time a rap group performed its entry live at the Academy Awards. As such, precautions were taken; "Pimp," hardly the family-friendly fare the Best Song category is used to, was bleeped frequently, and the lyrics "bitches talkin' shit," were amended to, "witches jumpin' ship." Apparently, prime time censorship is the price you pay for an Oscar.

Souther rapper Ludacris introduced Three 6 Mafia to the assembled Academy, noting that previous Oscar-winners for Best Song had included such double-entendres as "Shaft," "Can You Feel The Love Tonight," and "Morning After." The Academy giggled politely, and Three 6 Mafia took the stage. They were called back by presenter Queen Latifah just seconds later as she grinned and sang the song's title upon opening the envelope.

Houstan, Coleman, and Beauregard rushed to a stage less-frequented by their brand of microphone-sharing acceptances, but the oft-unintelligible speech the Mafia crew offered was drowned only by the group's enthusiasm. Having exited the stage, Stewart was clearly amused by the scene and offered several jokes, including his on-stage observation several minutes later, "You know, I can still hear the Three 6 Mafia from here."

Right, we exaggerate. But this is a super-long list of dates, people! And it's all an effort by the Rilo Kiley starlet and her backing group, the Watson Twins, to get the good word out on Rabbit Fur Coat, the collective's debut on Conor Oberst's Team Love label. So far, no complaints from PETA.

Anyway, the shows hit so many cities we're not even going to get into it. Only one thing strikes us: there's a Pabst Theatre in Milwaukee? That's so awesome.

U.S.:
03.07 -- Vancouver, BC; Richard's on Richards
03.08 -- Seattle, WA; Neumo's
03.10 -- Denver, CO; Bluebird Theatre
03.11 -- Omaha, NE; Scottish Rites Hall
03.12 -- Minneapolis, MN; Woman's Club
03.13 -- Milwaukee, WI; Pabst Theatre
03.14 -- Chicago, IL; Park West
03.15 -- Grand Rapids, MI; Calvin College Fine Arts Center
03.16 -- Toronto, ON; Opera House
03.17 -- Cambridge, MA; Somerville Theatre
03.18 -- New York, NY; Irving Plaza
03.19 -- New York, NY; Irving Plaza
03.20 -- Philadelphia, PA; First Unitarian Church Sanctuary
03.22 -- Towson, MD; Recher Theatre
03.23 -- Alexandria, VA; The Birchmere
03.24 -- Carrboro, NC; Cat's Cradle
03.25 -- Atlanta, GA; Variety Playhouse
03.26 -- Nashville, TN; Belcourt Theatre
03.28 -- Austin, TX; The Parish
03.29 -- Dallas, TX; Horchow Auditorium at Dallas Museum of Art
03.31 -- Tucson, AZ; Club Congress
04.01 -- Los Angeles, CA; Orpheum Theatre

Europe:
04.07 -- Cologne, Germany; Gloria
04.09 -- Copenhagen, Denmark; Vega
04.10 -- Hamburg, Germany; Uebel & Gefaehrlich
04.11 -- Brussels, Belgium; Domino Festival
04.12 -- Berlin, Germany; Passionskirche
04.14 -- Rotterdam, Netherlands; Motel Mozaique
04.15 -- Paris, France; Nouveau Casino
04.16 -- Brighton, England; Hanbury Ballroom
04.17 -- Gateshead, England; Sage
04.19 -- Glasgow, Scotland; Debating Chambers
04.20 -- Belfast, Northern Ireland; Mandela Hall
04.21 -- Dublin, Ireland; The Village
04.23 -- Manchester, England; Lowry
04.27 -- London, England; Shepherds Bush Empire

Welcome to the World Famous Apollo Theater! April 2-6, 2006 the world-famous Gorillaz will begin a residency at the iconic Harlem stage performing five nights of Demon Days. The show will also highlight live contributions from many of the acts that contributed to the band's 2005 release: De La Soul, Roots Manuva, Ike Turner, Shaun Rider, and Bootie Brown.

The residency program is not a new one for the animated rock/rap heroes who recently completed a similar run of shows across the pond at the Manchester Opera House in the UK. It should also be noted: this is not the highly-anticipated, three-dimensional holographic show that the band has been promising. That tour, complete with holographic images constructed by Passion Pictures, is planned for 2007-2008.

Tickets will go on sale March 10 for the Apollo dates.

Jeff Tweedy & Co. have been scattered about as of late but will all come together for a quick U.S. tour to the following cities. It's a pretty comprehensive list of towns you've never been to unless you live there (no disrespect, now) and no SXSW show to boot. Awesome?

03.08 -- Charleston, SC; North Charleston Performing Arts Center
03.09 -- Athens, GA; Classic Center Exhibit Hall
03.10 -- Jacksonville, FL; Florida Theatre
03.12 -- Sunrise, FL; Markham Park
03.14 -- Tallahassee, FL; The Moon
03.15 -- Meridian, MS; Temple Theatre
03.16 -- Knoxville, TN; Tennessee Theatre
03.17 -- Nashville, TN; Ryman Auditorium
03.18 -- Fayetteville, AR; Walton Arts Center
03.19 -- St. Louis, MO; The Pageant
03.21 -- Kansas City, MO; Uptown
03.22 -- Des Moines, IA; Val Air Ballroom
04.17 -- Bloomington, IN; IU Auditorium
04.19 -- Portland, ME; Merrill Auditorium
04.20 -- Providence, RI; Meehan Auditorium
04.21 -- Sayreville, NJ; Starland Ballroom
04.22 -- Williamsburg, VA; William and Mary Hall

In the band's first U.S. appearance since 2004's Coachella, Radiohead will perform at Bonnaroo '06 in Manchester, TN. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Phil Lesh & Friends, Beck, Elivs Costello & The Imposters, Bonnie Rait, and a host of usual suspects will also headline. The festival lasts June 16 to June 18, 2006, and the typically jam-band friendly atmosphere has made a move ever-so-slightly towards the rock.

Death Cab and Bright Eyes are stars of the Bonnaroo indie sect, which also features reggae artist Matisyahu, and currently-buzzing Cat Power. Ben Folds, My Morning Jacket, and Mike Doughty also appear on the bill, as are dios (malos), Dungen, and Devendra Banhart Band. Suspiciously, so are Blues Traveller and Nickel Creek.

Bonnaroo is headed into its fifth successive year, an overwhelming success story within the recent wave of one-off music and art festivals that have taken over the summer circuit. And, of course, Bonnaroo.com is the place to go for all your official lineup and ticket-buying needs.

Astralwerks has sent out word of two showcases coming up at Austin's annual SXSW festival. Beth Orton and Hot Chip will headline, respectively, the Wednesday and Sunday night gigs, supported by a host of Astralwerks dignitaries including kos, Radio 4, Damon McMahon and Juan McLean. Orton and Hot Chip are currently on the road in support of new material and thus make excellent choices for the headliner slots; the appearance of Brooklyn's Radio 4 on Sunday night is sure to raise a few eyebrows as well, and paired with Hot Chip, it should keep crowds sticking around. Details below.

03.15.06 (@ Antone's):
Beth Orton
Damon McMahon
kos
Stephanie McKay
Willy Mason

03.18.06 (@ Parish):
Hot Chip
Juan McLean
Radio 4
Sia
Small Sins

All the anxious expectation of new tunes completely f-ing screaming from your oversized alarm clock of desire, and you still mash the SNOOZE button... like that's gonna work:

An Albatross - Blessphemy Of The Peace Beast Feastgiver And The B (Ace Fu)
Anna Oxygen - This Is An Exercise (Kill Rock Stars)
Arab Strap - Last Romance (Transdreamer)
Birdie Busch - The Ways We Try (Bar/None)
Califone - Roomsound (Thrill Jockey)
Chicago Underground Duo - In Praise Of Shadows (Thrill Jockey)
Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies (Merge)
Eef Barzelay - Bitter Honey (spinART)
Eels - With Strings: Live At Town Hall (Vagrant)
Elbow - Leaders Of The Free World (V2)
Five Deez - Kommunicator (Rapster)
Gianluca Petrella - Indigo4 (Blue Note)
Head Like A Kite - Random Portraits Of The Home Movie (Pattern 25)
Hell Is For Heroes - Transmit Disrupt (Epitaph)
Holy Fire - In The Name Of The World (Militia Group)
Lashes - Get It (Columbia)
Low Skies - All The Love I Could Find (Flameshovel)
Mexican Institute of Sound - Mejico Maxico (Nacional)
Michael Leviton - My Favorite Place To Drown (Ace Fu)
Slackers - Peculiar (Hellcat)
Slave To The System - Slave To The System (Spitfire)
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? - Boo Hoo Hoo Boo (Kill Rock Stars)
Torture Killer - Swarm! (Metal Blade)
Tunng - Mother's Daughter And Other Songs (Ace Fu)
Two Gallants - What The Toll Tells (Saddle Creek)

KLUDGE THINKS: All sorts of under-the-radar stuff this week. Like moths to a flame, the live Eels album piqued our interest, but we know better than to send it to the top of our iTunes layaway list. There are subtler sharks lurking about... for example: Holy Fire is one of the Militia Group listings frequently known to please our ears, and new stuff from An Albatross? Gearing up for Macrock, no doubt. But we're pretty sure that Kill Rock Stars' They Shoot Horses, Don't They? must be someone's idea of an inside joke, given the album is titled Boo Hoo Hoo Boo. So, we'll pick none of those. Returning for a week away, Kludge toasts Elbow as Leaders Of The Free World, for their tireless efforts in soothing our tired ears.

Okay, so this is what we know: CMJ Music Marathon 2006 will take place October 31 to November 4 in New York City. The conference venue will once again be the Lincoln Center. And... that's pretty much it. That's what we know. It's not like we're lacking for time or anything, but in the spirit of getting out the good word we thought we'd let you know. All the details will be announced on CMJ.com as the details are made ready, and the sooner you pre-register for the annual college-indie industry shindig, the sooner you can get a-working on your Halloween costume! Wow, CMJ and Halloween in New York City. Buckle up.

Polyvinyl starlings The M's have started off the new year with a new release titled Future Women and plan to keep up the momentum with a U.S. tour to showcase the album. Chi-town's M's will stay out on the road en route to seven dates with label-mates Of Montreal (noted below), and a two-show SXSW finale. Listen to Future single "Plan of the Man" here, and check 'em out live:

02.10 -- Kansas City, MO; The Record Bar 
02.11 -- Denver, CO; Larimer Lounge 
02.13 -- Tucson, AZ; Plush 
02.14 -- San Diego, CA; Casbah
02.15 -- Los Angeles, CA; Spaceland
02.16 -- San Francisco, CA; Bottom of the Hill
02.18 -- Seattle, WA; Crocodile Cafe
02.19 -- Portland, OR; Doug Fir Lounge
02.23 -- Minneapolis, MN; 400 Bar
02.24 -- Chicago, IL; Empty Bottle 
02.25 -- Madison, WI; University of Wisconsin
02.27 -- Nashville, TN; The Basement 
02.28 -- Carrboro, NC; Cat's Cradle (w/ of Montreal)
03.01-- Charlottesville, VA; Satellite Ballroom (w/ of Montreal)
  03.02 -- Philadelphia, PA; Starlight Ballroom (w/ of Montreal)
  03.03 -- New York, NY; Bowery Ballroom  (w/ of Montreal)
03.04 -- Portland, ME; Space Gallery (w/ of Montreal)
03.05 -- Cambridge, MA; Middle East (w/ of Montreal)
03.06 -- Hanover, NH; Fuel Rocket Club (w/ of Montreal)
03.09 -- Dayton, OH; Elbo's The Bar 
03.15 -- Austin, TX; Emo's Jr. 
03.16 -- Austin, TX; Yard Dog 

Forgive us for being a few days behind the times, but if you haven't seen the lineup for the 2006 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indigo, CA then you're with us. The two days in the valley will take place April 29 & 30, 2006 and will be headlined by Depeche Mode and Tool, on respective nights. Other names in bigger-bold letters: Daft Punk, Franz Ferdinand, Sigur Ros, Damian Marley, Common, Atmosphere, and Carl Cox on Saturday, with Massive Attack, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bloc Party, Paul Oakenfold, Scissor Sisters, Matisyahu, and James Blunt performing on Sunday.

Check out Coachella.com for the complete and definitive listing, but expect My Morning Jacket, TV On The Radio, Devandra Banhart, Lyrics Born, Sleater-Kinney, Digable Planets, Murs with 9th Wonder, and Dungen to show up among many, many others. Of course, the road warriors of Ted Leo/Pharmacists will be included as well, and Kludge puts the odds on Cat Power shyly calling off at 2:1. Of course, we've been wrong before.

The full Coachella lineup, plus info on how to get tickets, can be found here.

Like a giant ape-beast of sonic fury sneaking up oh-so-quietly behind you and busting out a major beat-down in the key of B-flat minor:

Belle And Sebastian - The Life Pursuit (Matador)
Beth Orton - Comfort Of Strangers (Astralwerks)
Derek Trucks Band - Songlines (Columbia)
Desole - A Story To Tell (Abacus)
Electric Six - Senor Smoke (Metropolis)
Go-Betweens - That Stripped Sunlight Sound (Yep Roc)
Hamell On Trial - Songs For Parents Who Enjoy Drugs (Righteous Babe)
Horns Of Happiness - Would I Find Your Psychic Guideline (Secretly Canadian)
Jack Johnson - Sing-A-Longs And Lullabies... (Motown)
Juliana Theory - A Small Noise (Tooth And Nail)
Kelley Stoltz - Below The Branches (Sub Pop)
Mastodon - Call Of The Mastodon (Relapse)
Minus 5 - The Minus 5 (Yep Roc)
Oceansize - Everyone Into Position (Beggars Banquet)
Pat Martino - Remember: A Tribute to Wes (Blue Note)
Ursula Rucker - Ma'at Mama (!K7)
White Rainbow - Zome (States Rights)
Witnesses - Black Eyes And White Lies (Howler)

Kludge Thinks: We're a bit torn between old favorites, and we're also tempted to make more than an appropriate number of jokes about Jack Johnson's Curious George soundtrack offering. We'll just skip the latter and jump right to the debate set up at the former: Belle And Sebastian vs. Mastodon. While we've always been susceptible to the charm of Scotland's finest, the Relapse release of Mastodon's early metal-grind core beginnings is equally as intriguing. And if you hadn't guessed from the intro, we're in the mood for some stomping. Drum-roll please! This week, Kludge heeds the Call of the Mastodon. Hail, to fire!

While we're checking out Astralwerks' listings, we thought it might be worth mentioning that VHS Or Beta will be taking to the streets for a series of DJ gigs at various parties across America the beautiful in the weeks to come. A few interesting ones in Kentucky with Carlos D, one bizzare-looking date at the Guggenheim in New York (also with Carlos D), and a few days in Austin during SXSW madness. If you're around, it promises to be promising.

02.04 -- Washington DC; Electrotease DC9
02.17 -- Louisville KY; Main Street (w/ Carlos D)
02.18 -- Lexington KY; The Dame (w/ Carlos D)
02.22 -- Las Vegas NV; Magic Convention, Triple 5 Soul BPM Private Event
03.02 -- Boston MA; Harpers Ferry 'Paper Party'
03.03 -- New York NY; Guggenheim Museum (w/ Carlos D)
03.15 -- Austin TX; Beauty Bar
03.16 -- Austin TX; Beauty Bar

Astralwerks upstarts Hot Chip have announced a few dates on the road, five of which - in San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver and Denver - will be in support of a little band called Stereolab. You may have heard of them.

You may not, however, have heard from Hot Chip. Since the band's debut album Coming On Strong was release last November, the comparisons with Beta Band have flown about, but Kludge thinks Hot Chip is a bit less lush and quite a bit more folky in its approach. Regardless, it's all good enough, and opening dates with Stereolab should put the Chip square in front of the proper crowd.

03.03 -- Los Angeles, CA; Echo
03.04 -- San Francisco, CA; Fillmore
03.05 -- Portland, OR; Wonder Ballroom
03.06 -- Seattle, WA, Showbox
03.07 -- Vancouver, BC; Commodore Ballroom
03.09 -- Denver, CO; Gothic Theatre
03.10 -- Philadelphia, PA; Pure
03.11 -- New York, NY; Bowery Ballroom
03.13 -- Boston, MA; Great Scott
03.14 -- Montreal, QC; Lambi
03.15 -- Toronto, ON; Lee's Palace
03.17 -- Austin, TX; SXSW
03.24 -- Miami, FL; Fixed
03.24 -- Miami, FL; M3

Midwest post-rockers The Appleseed Cast have released the first part of upcoming tour dates in support of the band's also-upcoming fourth studio album, Peregrine, due out March 21 from The Militia Group. About the dates below: fellow indie studs Minus The Bear and Rocky Votolato will perform with the band from Portland on though Albuquerque, and keep your eye out for more dates added sometime soon. Also, the March 25 date in the Cast's hometown Lawrence, KS is the Peregrine release party. That 'ought to do it.

02.23 -- St. Louis, MO; The Gargoyle
02.26 -- Colorado Springs, CO; The Black Sheep
02.27 -- Denver, CO; Hi-Dive
02.28 -- Salt Lake City, UT; Kilby Court
03.01 -- Boise, ID; Neurolux
03.03 -- Portland, OR; Loveland
03.04 -- Eugene, OR; WOW Hall
03.05 -- Sacramento, CA; The Library
03.06 -- Berkeley, CA; Bear's Lair
03.07 -- Fresno, CA; The Belmont
03.08 -- San Luis Obispo, CA; SLO Brewing Company
03.09 -- Pomona, CA; The Glass House
03.10 -- San Diego, CA; The Casbah
03.11 -- Tempe, AZ; The Clubhouse
03.12 -- Albuquerque, NM; Launchpad
03.17 -- Denton, TX; Rubbergloves
03.25 -- Lawrence, KS; The Jackpot Saloon

Matador Records is confirming a select few immediate tour dates for Cat Power in support of its recently-released album, The Greatest. Chan Marshall will bring along fellow album-performers Teenie and Flick Hodges, as well as Steve Potts, with the Memphis Rhythm Band for all stops below. Tickets should be on sale now, but Kludge guarantees they won't last long:

02.14 -- New York, NY; Town Hall
02.18 -- Boston, MA; Berklee Performance Center
02.20 -- Seattle, WA; Moore Theatre
02.22 -- Los Angeles, CA; Wilshire Ebell
02.23 -- San Francisco. CA; Palace of Fine Arts
02.24 -- San Francisco, CA; Palace of Fine Arts
02.26 -- Chicago, IL; The Vic
03.04 -- London, UK; The Barbican
03.08 -- Paris, FR; Grand Rex

Carried forth in great shopping carts down the aisles of bargain-basement retail shopping, and ripping through the bottom of your overstuffed brown-paper parcels of capitalist compliance:

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones - The Hidden Land (Columbia)
Dream Brother: The Songs of Tim and Jeff Buckley - Various Artists (Ryko)
Fields of the Nephilim - Mourning Sun (SPV)
High Violets - To Where You Are (Reverb)
KCUF - Modern Primitive Punk (Corporate Punishment)
Of Montreal - Deflated Chim, Foals Slightly Flower Sibylline Res (Polyvinyl)
Warren Zevon - Reconsider Me: The Love Songs Of Warren Zevon (Artemis)
Train - For Me It's You (Sony)
Sweeny Todd - 2005 Broadway Revival Cast (Nonesuch)

Kludge Says: Slow week, eh? It's quite alright with us. Some of Kludge's NYC factions are still recovering from limping to the finishing line during this past weekend's spectacular Idiotarod. Looking at a list of releases that doesn't make our heads hurt any more is a-okay with us. Though it should be noted that this week's Warren Zevon album has already won 35 Grammys; we're still checking, but Kludge is pretty sure that's a record.

All kidding aside, the top-notch release o' the week might surprise you: Sweeney Todd. Not only is the 2005 Broadway revival still digging out from the heaps of praise showered upon it, but the updated take on Stephen Sondheims 1975 satire find the cast and orchestra to be one and the same. That's right, the Broadway cast sings and performs every track on the recording, and on-stage. Impressive to say the least! So, this week, Kludge warms up a delicious meat pie in honor of 42nd Street. Which is at least one street we didn't run down while strapped to a shopping cart on Saturday.

The Flaming Lips will at long last release At War with the Mystics on April 4, 2006 on Warner Bros. The album has been hotly anticipated following the critical and commercial success of the Lips' 2002 effort, Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, and digital single "The W.A.N.D." has been avalable at iTunes Music Store for the past week. Hell, "Mr. Ambulance Man" even made its way onto The Wedding Crashers' soundtrack. And while we might not have the tracks for you to listen to, we can at least tell you what they're called:

1. The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song
2. Free Radicals
3. The Sound of Failure/It's Dark... Is It Always This Dark??
4. My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion
5. Vein Of Stars
6. The Wizard Turns On...
7. It Overtakes Me/The Stars Are So Big, I Am So Small... Do I Stand a Chance?
8. Mr. Ambulance Driver
9. Haven't Got A Clue
10. The W.A.N.D.
11. Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung
12. Goin' On

Still curious? Try listening to "The W.A.N.D." here, or here, or even here.

According to Reuters, the digital music industry recorded sales of $1.1 billion in 2005. And while revenues from those sales are still falling, Reuters reports that $1.1 billion is still a whole lot of money.

It's a pretty even split, about 60-40%, between online music services like iTunes Music Store and mobile phone "ringtune" sites, this according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, and those digital sales considered within the entire music industry's now comprise 6% of the industry's total sales. It may not seem like much, but it worth noting that digital music sales were a "virtually nothing" percent in 2004.

It seems that RIAA lawsuits have been leading the pirates ashore. Napster almost doubled its 1.5 million subscribers in 2004 to 2.8 million in 2005. Of course, that's nothing compared to the estimate put together by investment group Piper Jaffray that claims Apple has sold almost 1.4 billion songs alone via it's iTunes Music Store.

Think people will really ever pay for their music? Um... yup.

The nominees are out for Spin Magazine's Band of the Year. Arranged in a 32-band bracket a la NCAA madness, you'll find the acts divided up into such categories as Brit Rock, Underground, Indie, and All-Ages. You'll find such acts as Bloc Party, The Oranges Band, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and Smoosh. And while you won't find more conspicuous acts like Bright Eyes, Death Cab, or New Pornographers, we have to hand it to Spin on a list well-done. Not because the list is an exercise in obscurity, but because Spin only nominated bands previously featured as Band of the Day on its site. Those bands might be further from the radar's epicenter, sure, but they've already earned their keep.

The five-week tournament is starting now, so stop by Spin to check out the nominees, listen to some samples, and get your vote on.