Perennial American indie/folk-ers the Silver Jews will mark June 17th with the release of their sixth full-length record, Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea. David Berman is up to his usual tricks, spurting imaginative poetry that wraps beauty and sorrow around the everyday doldrums (”Suffering Jukebox”) , waxing whimsical fantasies (”Candy Jail”), as well as spinning good and long yarns (”San Francisco B.C.”). Berman’s wife Cassie is featured prominently on Lookout…, lending an undeniable female warmth to the feel of the record. The Joos are even touring for the occasion, with a current stint in Europe.

Tom Waits apparently held a “press conference” the other day regarding an upcoming tour by answering questions emitting from a record player in a room full of empty chairs. All that could be made from the announcements was an acronym using the first letter of each city on the excursion: “PEHDTSCKJMBA.” I’m going to guess that the first stop is Petaluma, but who knows—Tom Waits can pretty much do whatever he wants anyhow.

Cool Kids, who you can check out above live at The Red Bull House in Ausin during SXSW, are set to release their debut EP on Chocolate Industries later this month:

Chicago-based hip-hop duo The Cool Kids are set to release their debut EP on Chocolate Industries on May 20th exclusively on iTunes, and June 10th on CD and other digital outlets. Heralded by Rolling Stone and many others as an artist to watch in 2008, The Cool Kids have recently toured Europe and Australia as well as selling out shows nationwide. This spring and summer finds them doing spot dates in America, hitting Europe again June 14-July 14, rocking Lollapalooza and appearing on many of the dates on the Rock the Bells tour.

The band will also be on tour this summer in the US and Europe, dates after the jump, as per custom

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Personally, Spoon has never really done it for me. But any band with a former member of the Get Up Kids (in Spoon’s case, bassist Rob Pope ) is a band I will support. And besides, Spoon stacks cred like Visa. Here’s the release:

Following on a standing-room-only U.S. tour that culminated in the Don’t You Evah EP entering Billboard’s singles sales chart at #1, Britt Daniel, Jim Eno, Eric Harvey and Rob Pope-collectively known as Spoon-have confirmed their final live engagements of 2008.
This last run of Spoon shows will be preceded by a May 3 Britt Daniel solo performance at the Belly Up in Solana Beach CA. From there, the full band will be headlining the KNRK Pet Aid Benefit in Troutdale OR, playing their biggest ever New York show July 15 at Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, appearing at the Mile High and Pitchfork festivals, making their debut at the Hollywood Bowl September 20 supporting Beck, and concluding with a three-night residency at the Fillmore Theater in San Francisco-the last dates of the tour and first Spoon SF headline engagement since the July 2007 release of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. Tickets for the Fillmore shows go on sale to the general public May 11. These dates will mark the close of more than a year’s worth of touring in support of Spoon’s sixth full-length studio album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, which was Spoon’s first Top 10 album and most acclaimed release of their career.

Tour dates after the fold BAATCH

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After commissioning a study last year that found the majority of the carbon footprint of a major rock tour is created by showgoers traveling to and from the show (download the report here), Radiohead are asking fans coming out for their summer US tour to consider alternative means of transportation. Here’s the press release:

On the eve of their 2008 tour, which begins this Monday in West Palm Beach FL, Radiohead are appealing to fans to think about how they travel to and from shows.

Last year, the band commissioned carbon footprint analysts Best Foot Forward to calculate the carbon generated on their two previous US tours. The report showed that fans’ travel to and from the shows accounted for the greatest proportion of the CO2 generated during each tour, something now widely accepted across the industry.

Following the report’s recommendations, Radiohead are encouraging fans to consider public transport where available, or increased carpooling for shows outside city centers. Gig goers can compare the CO2 generated by different methods of transport by visiting an online calculator on Radiohead’s website. Some of the venues have also helped by offering incentives to fans coming by public transport or in a full car.

After the tour, the band will invite ticket holders to submit information on their methods of travel so further research can be done on carbon emissions and methods to reduce them.

Radiohead’s production team will also be posting information on how the band are trying to reduce their own carbon emissions on tour without compromising the quality of the shows.

For more info, go here, and for the tour dates, take the JUMPPPPPPPP

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When I woke up this morning, it was to the Leonard Cohen ballad “Suzanne.” No, not on my stereo, but stuck inexplicably in my head. Perhaps “inexplicably” isn’t the right word — the song is just a thing of beauty, lyrically descriptive, mood-setting and without flaw. It just gets in there sometimes, you know? Then, just now, while on a coffee run I listened to a street performer sing “Hey That’s No Way To Say Goodbye.” KISMET! That means it’s a Leonard Cohen day….and me without my black turtleneck.

Here’s a clip of Leonard Cohen performing “Suzanne” from the isle of Wight Festival in 1970.

Having never seen Cohen perform live, I am really looking forward to his upcoming tour…and, of course, hoping he announces some US dates.

From the official Leonard Cohen site:

Immediately following his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel tonight, Leonard Cohen announced his world tour, marking a return to the live arena after 15 years. He is scheduled to open in Toronto on June 6 and 7, the city that gave birth to his career as a recording and literary artist, and then play Europe in the remainder of June, July, August and early September.

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