Mathew Jonson is mostly known for his fresh, slightly-mental take on minimal techno (see such slamming singles as “Decompression” and “Return of the Zombie Bikers”) and the carefully-curated roster of Wagon Repair, a Vancouver-based label he helped launch in 2004. Jonson didn’t get his start hand-crafting beats, however; his music background actually begins with his stint as a jazz drummer. Well, a jazz drummer that picked up an MPC and basic synth/drum machine skills at a really young age, eventually forming impromptu groups with such local Canadian artists as keyboardist Danuel Tate and fellow programmer/DJ Tyger Dhula. Both of which round out Cobblestone Jazz, the jazz/techno trio Jonson’s currently touring a few U.S. cities with. (They bless the immaculate sound system of Cielo in New York City tonight, and hit L.A.’s King Kong club tomorrow.)

We were wondering what to expect from such an unprecedented M_nus-meets-Montreux setup, so Jonson answered a slew of questions via E-mail. For starters, he had this to say about Cobblestone Jazz’s sound, “It’s not really about techno or jazz; it’s about the music itself. If it has a groove, then thats what is important. We’re not trying to play any specific style.”

To understand what he really means be sure to check out the double 23 Seconds disc on !K7 Records right now. Now, onto our interrogation …

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THE MOLDY PEACHES: No, really, who’s got the crack?

If you’re like us and figured “Anyone Else But You” was written as a spit-swapping duet between the Moldy Peaches back when they still liked one another, the following Kimya Dawson clarification might shock you:

“Me and Adam Green wrote this song while sitting on a bench in Tomkins Square Park,” Dawson explains in an e-mail to S/T headquarters. “We didn’t write it about each other. We both had other imaginary people in mind. Like our dream best friend/dates.

She continues, “We used to call our crushes hippies. We would wander around NYC in the cold all night long ‘looking for hippies.’ I guess this is kind of what we would have sang to our hippies if we ever found them. We didn’t find hippies back then. But the song’s still nice. I am 9 years older than Adam so he was still kind of kid back then. It would have been gross if we were singing to each other. It is cute to see Juno and Bleeker sing it to each other though. It feels right. It’s a song for awkward kids. We’re old hags now. Pass the torch.”

Wow. We now blame the media for placing the Peaches on an indefinite hiatus. (You know, all that ‘anti-folk’ nonsense way back when?) In related news, Green’s latest solo LP, Sixes & Sevens, is out on March 18 through Rough Trade, and it’s way better than that whole Juno thing with the forced cool kid dialog and low Michael Cera quotient.

MP3s and some awkward videos (including the duo’s recent View ‘reunion’) after the jump …

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THE UNDERGROUND GOURMETS

By Andrew Parks

Mike Patton’s only been in New York City for four days, yet he’s already written and recorded an entire album with avant-jazz architect John Zorn and his former Mr. Bungle bandmate Trevor Dunn.

“It’s a three-act rock opera with a mystical alchemy vibe,” says Patton of Six Litanies for Heliogabalus, which is described as “a startling blend of Metal, Contemporary Classical, Jazz and Medieval Music” on Zorn’s Web site. “Wait ‘til you see the artwork.”

Anyone who’s followed Patton’s career since his Faith No More days—believe it or not, they broke up a decade ago—knows the 40 year old is impossible to keep track of. In fact, one of the only ‘accessible’ projects Patton’s released in recent years was his long-delayed labor of love, Peeping Tom—a twisted pop project featuring a mail-order catalog of familiar (Norah Jones, Massive Attack, Kool Keith) and fringe (Kid Koala, Dub Trio, the Anticon. collective) faces. Now that he’s toured the hell out of that record, we’re hearing rumblings of yet another collaboration with Dan “the Automator” Nakamura, quite possibly the quirkiest producer to ever come out of the Bay area (see Dr. Octagon, Gorillaz, Handsome Boy Modeling School). Aside from a track (”Mojo,” also featuring Rahzel) on Peeping Tom, the duo best known for their faux Gainsbourg disc, Lovage: Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By. According to Wikipedia—not the greatest source, we know, but it’s all we’ve got—Automator and Patton may have a similar project up next. Described as “strange and bizarre R&B” (not, you know, raw fish coated in olive oil), Crudo has already announced an appearance at this year’s Sasquatch! festival.

self-titled locked ourselves in an office with Patton and a patched-in Automator (he was cruising through the streets of San Fran at the time) before whiffs of Crudo were caught by the ‘net, but the following exclusive Q&A gives quite a few hints as to its direction and, more importantly, the kind of beautiful friendship that’s characterized their on-again/off-again career together.

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KAREN O behaving herself as usual

• The Verve has announced a handful of U.S. shows.
• Converse is celebrating its 100th anniversary with Karen O, Billie Joe Armstrong and a bunch of dead dudes.
• Lou Reed, Justin Timberlake and more are handing out Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductions this year.
• Michael Jackson is on the cusp of losing his Neverland Ranch.
• The New York Philharmonic played to a packed house in South Korea earlier this week.
• A certain O.C. star has been charged with D.U.I.
• Lil’ Wayne has blamed himself for all those recent drug/weapon arrests of his.
• The Writers Guild of America has officially approved its new deal.
• A ridiculous collection of modern art has been snagged by the UK.
• Bobby Brown has agreed to a community service sentence for cocaine possession.
• Paul McCartney’s final divorce deal will be revealed on March 17.
• My Chemical Romance’s frontman has been accused of plagiarism.
• Perez Hilton is in talks with Warner Music Group for an A&R gig.
• Madonna’s wrapped another record.
• Cosmo Baker has finished a massive posse cut mix.
• My Brightest Diamond’s second LP is on the way.
• The video quality is crappy, but here’s a clip of Slayer’s Kerry King guesting with Marilyn Manson.
• Pamela Anderson is asking for another divorce after just two months with Paris Hilton’s ex.
• Prince has to undergo “secret hip surgery.”
• Mmmmm….French synth-wave.
• Old people are swooning over the recent Eric Clapton/Steve Winwood reunion.
• Bret Michaels and Warrant are on board for another hair metal fest.
• The Justice League of America movie is back on and set for a 2009 release.

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As is always the case with new Jamie Lidell albums, we’re still trying to wrap our heads around the glitch-free soul of Jim. Due out through Warp at the tail end of April, this could be the album that brings Lidell a blue-eyed audience that doesn’t know the first thing about Squarepusher or Aphex Twin, let alone Lidell’s sordid past in Super_Collider. If that happens, great; Lidell is one of the greatest boundary-pushers of our time, after all. And if Jim doesn’t start to stick with us anytime soon, we can always look forward to more remixes like the following exclusive Lidell just released to his mailing list.

MP3: Jamie Lidell, “Figured Me Out (LA Garage Mix)”

Also be sure to check out the freshly-baked video clip after the jump …

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ERYKAH BADU: Steve Jobs’ new homegirl

By Aaron Richter

As you all certainly know by now, new releases hit record-store shelves and digital-download services each Tuesday. So every week self-titled presents a new release you’d be stupid not to own (Buy It), one worth checking out if you’re the curious type (Burn It) and something you might have heard about but probably should avoid (Skip It). Simple, ain’t it?
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THE VELVET UNDERGROUND: Nico plays not-so-nice 

• A kinda-awesome unreleased Velvet Underground cut has  emerged on a new bootleg.
• This year’s Sasquatch! Festival has snagged the Cure, the Flaming Lips and R.E.M., making it a possible Coachella killer for Jack Johnson haters.
• TONY recently spent some quality time backstage with Stephin Merritt.
• So this is why David Bowie got mixed up with Scarlett Johansson.
• A Brooklyn-based activist has filed a $5 billion-dollar suit against Jay-Z and Bruce Ratner over their proposed New Jersey Nets project.
• ThinkFilm has picked up the distro rights to Ellen Page’s pre-Juno film, The Tracey Fragments. (Bonus: Broken Social Scene composed the score and contributed tracks to the indie-tacular soundtrack.)
• This past weekend’s SNL episode—the one hosted by the ever-amazing Tina Fey—earned the show’s highest ratings in two years.
• Project Runway’s auf’d Sweet P got her revenge last night by live blogging the Oscars’ red carpet (including Heidi Klum!).
• Twenty questions; Mike Doughty; go!
• SxSW has finally announced its schedule. Fresh off last year’s unofficial party crackdown, some people are really not happy with this year’s direction.
• Noel Gallagher is selling his Ibiza home … because of James Blunt.
• Mates of State have completed their latest disc.
• Are you one of those ‘hip parents?’ Here’s a Devendra doll to buy your kid then.
• A Ronnie Wood painting is up for sale this week. (He’s the Rolling Stones guy that isn’ Mick or Keith.)
• Nick Cave still scares us despite the fact that he just turned 50.
• Legendary reggae producer Joe Gibbs has died of a heart attack at 65.
• Donna Summer is mounting a comeback just in time to show those space disco cats how it’s done.
• An Alice in Chains biopic is on the way.
• The Raveonettes are full of Lust Lust Lust.
• Klaxons are close to finishing their next album.

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BRADFORD COX: Screaming life

Text/Photos by Andrew Parks

“When you’re almost pushing 40,” said Honey Owens, Atlas Sound’s bassist and the wounded bird behind Valet, “You kinda have to let it all hang out sometimes.”

No kidding. Much to the delight of a modest Music Hall of Williamsburg crowd Sunday night, Bradford Cox’s solo band (featuring Owens, Adam Forkner of White Rainbow, Brian Foote of Nudge, and drummer Stephanie Macksey) emerged for a topless encore—yes, even Owens, who quickly wrapped herself in a makeshift black shawl. The move wasn’t shocking so much as appropriate, since it reflected the relaxed vibe of the group’s entire set. While Atlas Sound’s debut, Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel, is a dank, damp ambient pop affair, its songs took on a sprawling, ramshackle quality live, made all the more intimate by Cox’s between-song banter. (Forkner—who performed an astounding, loop-and-drone-doused solo set earlier on—volleyed one-liners and quirky nonsense at the towering frontman all night. Seriously, get these two a comedy show stat.)

This being the band’s second week of shows ever, they were a bit off at times—often bleeding well into the red thanks to Forkner’s guitar heroics—but some songs were absolutely transcendent due to Owen’s wobbly bass lines, Forkner and Cox’s criss-crossing chords, and Foote’s constant knob-twiddling. Macksey kept the rhythm section in step as well, but let’s be honest here: most of the songs were so noisy they drowned out any drum beats. Except for a trifecta of abbreviated, endearingly sloppy covers, including Blue Öyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper,” the Breeders’ “Last Splash,” and the Grateful Dead’s “Operator.”

Yes, they played the Grateful Dead. Photos after the jump kids …

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THE BLACK CROWES: Scarier than ‘The Birds’

The Black Crowes have lashed out at Maxim for publishing a two-and-a-half star review of Warpaint, their first studio record in seven years. Not because they simply didn’t like it; because they only heard one song (”Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution”). According to a press release from the band’s reps, advance copies of the album haven’t been released, a fact Maxim itself has confirmed. And their defense for slamming their disc? The ‘review’ was an “educated guess preview.”

“Maxim’s actions seem to completely lack journalistic integrity and intentionally mislead their readership,” Black Crowes manager Pete Angelus said in a statement. “In an email correspondence, Maxim went on to state, ‘Of course, we always prefer to (sic) hearing music, but sometimes there are big albums that we don’t want to ignore that aren’t available to hear, which is what happened with the Crowes. It’s either an educated guess preview or no coverage at all, so in this case we chose the former.’”

Angelus added, “It speaks directly to the lack of the publication’s credibility. In my opinion, it’s a disgrace to the arts, journalism, critics, the publication itself and the public. What’s next—Maxim’s concert reviews of shows they never attended, book reviews of books never read and film reviews of films never seen?”

Story by Rebecca Wiener

Photos by Travis Huggett

Everything about Natasha Khan, it seems, is a delicate balance of opposites. “My writing relies on equal parts civilization and wilderness,” says the 27-year-old musician as we sit in a slender triangle of green space at the center of a busy SoHo intersection in Manhattan. Casually gorgeous yet sharply deliberate, Khan emerged in 2007 as the creative force behind Bat for Lashes and one of last year’s most promising debuts, Fur and Gold.

Growing up, the artist spent summers in Pakistan with her father, part of the prominent Khan line of wealthy squash players. “It was a very barbaric place in some ways,” she recalls of stays in her father’s native country. “There were animals being killed in the streets and religious symbols and rituals everywhere.” The rest of the year, she lived with her mom in England’s pastoral Hertfordshire. “My mother and all her friends were real ladies,” says Khan. Always painting or drawing or inventing stories, the young artist constantly traveled between worlds, finding escape in classic ’80s fantasy films such as E.T., Labyrinth and The Goonies. She now lives by the sea in Brighton, England, when not on the road performing.

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