Matador At 21 Delivers Epic Lineup

If there's one indie label that could possibly be construed as "major", it'd have to be Matador. Not only were they the leaders of the indie movement in the early 90's, but they also have amassed an unparalleled lineup of both current artists and alumni, to the point of almost singularly defining an era in music.

Given that, we weren't exactly shocked (although frankly, quite pleased) to see that the label's annual "Matador At..." anniversary party will feature a bulletproof selection of their very best. Read along with us on this one kids: a reunited Pavement, the always lovely Sonic Youth, Belle & Sebastian, and a (what?!?!) seemingly reunited Guided By Voices. And those are just the headliners.

Former Matador signees Spoon will also be in attendance, along with Matador's long time kings of cool Yo La Tengo, and a vast selection of the label's current roster: Girls, Kurt Vile, Ted Leo, and Cold Cave, to name a few.

Needless to say, we are incredibly stoked for the event, which takes place October 1st-3rd of this year. While we're not exactly sure why it's in Las Vegas (Cheap flights and hotels? Rock stars like to gamble?) We will say that this fest is looking like the "it" spot for the fall. If you need some inspiration, it might be exactly the thing your looking for. Yum.

Sonic Youth Ramps Up For Album Release And Summer Tour, Fox Theater In August

This summer Sonic Youth is getting ready for a deluge of activity, all surrounding their first studio record in three years, the eternal. The record is the band's first since their signing to Matador Records, and as such has managed to garner the "Buy Early Get Now" treatment that the label has gotten rolling over the past few years. In addition to the usual early access/bonus tracks excitement, this BEGN promotion also includes a live exclusive vinyl release, and the ability to snag presale tickets for the band's summer tour.

The tour itself spans just over a month, and manages to touch down in just about every corner of the US. This includes the final night of the tour, which will be a stop in Oakland at the Fox Theater on August 2nd. The tour will no doubt feature heavily from the new record, and while we haven't heard the whole thing, we like what we've gotten a taste of.

Matador's released "Sacred Trickster" to the internets, and to our ears it's quite at home in Sonic Youth's extensive catalog of hard rocking dischord. That being said, it's also a pretty nicely accessible track - we'd almost say it's reminiscent of Dirty in it's straight ahead rock sensibility. Clocking in at just over two minutes, it's a solid dose of Kim Gordon fronted chunky riffage. Check it out for yourself below.

mp3: Sonic Youth - Sacred Trickster

Sonic Youth Summer 2009 Dates
June 28th – Chicago, IL – Vic Theater
June 29th – Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre
July 2nd – Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory
July 3rd – New York, NY – United Palace Theatre
July 6th – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
July 8th – Richmond, VA – The National
July 10th – Knoxville, TN – Bijou Theater
July 11th – Nashville, TN – War Memorial
July 12th – Birmingham, AL – Sloss Furnaces
July 13th – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
July 15th – Dallas, TX – House of Blues
July 16th – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s
July 18th – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater
July 20th – Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall
July 21st – Minneapolis, MN – First Ave
July 23rd – Boise, ID – Knitting Factory
July 25th – Seattle, WA – Capitol Hill Block Party
July 28th – Portland, OR – Roseland Ballroom
July 30th – Salt Lake City, UT – Twilight Music Fest
July 31st – Denver, CO – Ogden Theater
August 2nd – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater

Jay Reatard: Interview, Deerhunter Cover

We mentioned a while back that Matador's fuzz-rocker in residence, Jay Reatard, will be at the Independent on January 25th. The show's been a long time coming, and frankly, we're champing (Yes, champing. Look it up.) at the bit to check out the band in a live setting.

In the meantime, we've been enjoying Reatard's release Matador Singles 2008, and in particular held a certain fascination with his cover of Deerhunter's "Flourescent Grey". The track, from the EP of the same title, is one of Deerhunter's more accessible tracks, so it fits in well with Reatard's fuzzy take on easy to dig pop songs. The rest of the disc is a treat as well: if you don't have it, we highly recommend picking it up.

What's more, while you're enjoying the record you can also hopefully get a bit of insight to just who exactly Jay Reatard is. The Onion AV Club has a great, relatively lengthy interview with the man himself. Check it out now....

Tickets for Jay Reatard at the Independent are on sale now.

mp3: Jay Reatard - Flourescent Grey (Deerhunter cover. YouSendIt, click through)