Martina Topley Bird: New Album, Touring with Massive Attack

In 1995, an amazing album called Maxinquaye was released. 15 years later, Martina Topley Bird - who has a number of solo albums already - will release her latest effort, Some Place Simple, out Oct. 26. Right before that, she'll play Beacon Theater with Massive Attack and Thievery Corporation on Oct. 21 and Oct. 22. Talk about a big lineup!

Youtube: Tricky (ft. Martina Topley Bird) - Overcome

MP3: Martina Topley Bird - Baby Blue (Badgerbrown Remix)

Mergers and Acquisitions: Ulrich Schnauss Joins Engineers

River to River, Summer '08, an amazing time for live music

Pitchfork says Ulrich Schnauss, whom I saw under two very different settings ages ago, has joined Engineers, a British band that I think didn't even have a Wikipedia page back in 2005. Since then, they've had a couple members leave, but "Home" is now the theme song for Big Love. Go figure.

Not entirely sure what this means for Schnauss' solo work, but considering he's collaborated a bunch with other bands in the past, I'm sure we haven't seen the last of his own stuff.

Engineers have a new album, In Prise of More, out Sept. 27.

Lil Wayne Gets Prison Perks

Elizabeth Dwoskin (who usually writes about more serious stuff) reports that Lil Wayne is receiving preferential treatment at Rikers Island. Wayne is getting various perks like pizza and his guests get separate cars for their visits. It's not quite as earth-shattering as the police tapes that the Voice leaked, but this still isn't a great mark for the cops.

[Sound of the City via Prefix]

Susan Boyle To Sing For Pope

Photo: Union Jack News

Susan Boyle's staggering performance of "I Dreamed A Dream" on British television catapulted her to be an internet and record-selling phenomenon, and she'll be performing for Pope Benedict XVI when he conducts mass in Glasgow. The BBC has a short video interview.

But let's remember that she isn't the first great female Scottish singer.

Youtube: The Delgados - Coming In From The Cold

Laurie Anderson's "Delusion" Coming to BAM

Photo: Ritnit

The Brooklyn Paper chatted with Laurie Anderson about her new exhibit, "Delusion," a play at the Brooklyn Academy of Music that runs during the end of the month. Besides being married to Lou Reed, Anderson is pretty well known for her song "O Superman," which I'd almost describe as the dark cousin of "I Feel Love." Incidentally, Booka Shade and M.A.N.D.Y. did a bottom-heavy electro rework of the track, which sees a decent amount of play at shows.

I always seem to make it over to BAM when it's either closed or at capacity, but I'm really going to try to get there at some point this fall. It's undoubtedly one of the best cultural centers that our lovely borough has to offer.

Michael Jackson's Mother Sues Promoter AEG Live

Various news agencies reported this morning that Katherine Jackson, mother of Michael Jackson, has filed a lawsuit against AEG Live, the concert promoter that was handling the star's upcoming tour at the time of his death (also known as the big concert company that isn't Live Nation/Ticketmaster). The suit blames AEG for mismanaging Jackson's health and blames AEG for selecting Jackson's doctor at the time, Conrad Murray, who wasn't part of this suit, but has been already charged with involuntary manslaughter.

It's a pretty nasty development for what is one of music's great tragedies. The timing of the suit seems a bit late, 15 months after the Jackson's death, but it definitely encapsulates the truly sad state of his health last year. "Jackson was freezing cold" just days before his death and "confused, easily frightened, unable to remember, obsessive, and disoriented" in the months before.

I can't really see AEG settling with Katherine Jackson, but will either side have the stomach to take this in court? Hopefully such drama is avoidable.

Update: AEG is, unsurprisingly, denying the charges.

Punching Out: Fujiya & Miyagi Become Dolls

New Fujiya & Miyagi track from their next album, Ventriloquizzing. [Pitchfork]

Carl Craig touring the world, New York in November. [Beatportal]

Bloomberg reports Bloomberg wants to ban smoking in parks. [Bloomberg]

Former Creation Records head Alan McGree talks about upcoming documentary. [Clash via chromewaves]

Ninja Tune giving away a box set. [Resident Advisor]

Music today from GummiHz - "Under the Sun."

James Murphy Spinning At Hudson Hotel, Too

Just spotted on LCD Soundsystem's Twitter: Frontman James Murphy will be spinning at the Hudson Hotel tonight, another DJ set to attend. The hotel's at 356 West 58th Street, right off Columbus Circle, which isn't exactly an indie location, but it should be fun. DFA labelmates Justin Miller and DJ Kaos will be sharing the decks, and judging by a previous listing in Time Out New York, it'll run from 9 pm to midnight and (hopefully) be free.

Youtube: LCD Soundsystem - Tribulations

Update: Sound of the City has pictures and a writeup.

Martinez Brothers Playing Halcyon Tonight

Photo: Last.fm

A scan of Resident Advisor's event listings shows that the Martinez Brothers, who were profiled twice last year in the Times, will be playing at DUMBO's Halycon record store tonight at 7 pm. The live DJ set, part of a series called the Bandwagon, will also be streamed on dailysession. There will be similar sets every Wednesday, and future guests include local DJs and promoters Taimur and Fahad from Blkmarket Membership and Wolf + Lamb.

I haven't heard the Bros. play, but they've apparently done both Pacha, Watergate and PS1's Warm Up, which are huge. The event series is a great concept, and it's good to see electronic music get some love in New York.

Youtube: The Martinez Brothers

The MuseBox and Magnum PR Merge

Word in our inbox that music publicity firms Magnum PR and the MuseBox have merged, combining two pretty big rosters. Magnum reps the Radio Dept., who are great, and Savoir Adore, who were wonderful at the Seaport over the summer. The MuseBox has been making some noise with the The Dø, who played a couple shows in New York.

I actually did my first internship way back in the summer of '07 at the MuseBox, back when they were sharing office space with Spin, and they've got some nice folks there.

It's pretty uncommon, at least in my experience, to see mergers between firms - it's definitely not uncommon to see individual publicists switch places, but less common to see full companies come together. (The new, combined company will continue to use the MuseBox title.)

I know publicists sometimes get bad raps, but our lives as reporters (or just bloggers) are definitely better off with them. Best of luck to the new venture!

Yeah Yeah Yeahs played Don Hill's

Photo: PropertyShark

I wasn't there, but the Observer just posted an item about the Yeah Yeah Yeah's gig last night at Don Hill's, not to be confused with Spike Hill. Reporter Nate Freeman said that "the place was impenetrable all the way through, nearly double the size of any crowd we've seen at the place yet. Word has gotten around." Probably word came from here, and the venue has also hosted a number of high profile bands for Fashion Week, including Courtney Love, Iggy Pop and Crystal Castles.

So, that got me curious on how big the place was, and after a PropertyShark perusal of the place, I found that it's 2,948 square feet (in comparison, Bowery Ballroom is 4,500). Landlord Ponte Equities has some construction work planned for 2 Renwick Street, which is just a half-block from Don Hill's, but progress has stalled, according to Curbed.

Still seems like an unusual place to host such big names, but the west side has gotten pretty interesting. I'll have to keep my eye on it for future shows.

Punching Out: Toro Y Moi Does Daytrotter

My friend Andy, who interned with me at Astralwerks a couple years back, is now the drummer for the chillwave-making Toro Y Moi. That band just stopped by the excellent Daytrotter for a live set. Link to that, and more stuff from around the Web, below.

Toro Y Moi: Daytrotter Session [Daytrotter]

Booka Shade touring, playing Music Hall on Oct. 26. [BrooklynVegan]

New Pornographers shunned by Christian college [Pitchfork]

The new Rock Band will actually teach you Guitar. [Kotaku]

Photos from the Jay-Z / Eminem extravanganza, second night is tonight. [BrooklynVegan]

Today's track is Gabriel Ananda - "Coconut Blues" from the EP of the same name.