Late yesterday, rumor spread rapidly about the possibility of a reunion from Swedish punk/post-hardcore legends Refused, who broke up in 1998 following the release of the highly influential album, The Shape of Punk to Come. Where did the rumor come from? The Refused official website stated simply, “Refused, coming soon…” which many misinterpreted as being a subtle reunion announcement. Among the hopeful rumor catalysts was BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe, who tweeted excitedly, “”This. Is. HUGE!!!!!, Refused have reformed.” Australian media outlet Triple J posted a story, as well as Punknews.org, citing an anonymous source.

As it turns out, the message on the band’s website simply refers to an upcoming reissue of The Shape of Punk to Come to be released this summer on the primarily pop-punk label Epitaph. Exclaim has the lowdown, having recently received emails from Epitaph and ex-frontman Dennis Lyxzén.

Like At the Drive-In who followed in Refused’s footsteps, the Swedish band will be content to remain defunct and remembered for their tremendous impact.

(Faster Louder, Prefix)

Conor Oberst stayed on our radar during 2009 via his work with Monsters of Folk and the Mystic Valley Band. No mistake about it, Oberst has been busy, and fans have wondered if the singer-songwriter will make time for his final moments as Bright Eyes, after announcing last year that he wanted to retire the moniker. Well, here’s some exciting news, small-scale though it may be: Bright Eyes’ home label Saddle Creek plans on reissuing the Bright Eyes/Neva Dinova collaborative split EP, One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels. It will feature at least four total tracks featuring both Nebraskan bands, and according to Saddle Creek, Oberst and Neva Dinova member Jake Bellows sing on two songs each.

The reissue will be available on March 23. Check out the Saddle Creek website for pre-order information.

One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels reissue tracklist:

01 Rollerskating*
02 Happy Accident*
03 Someone’s Love*
04 I Know You*
05 Tripped
06 Black Comedy
07 Poison
08 I’ll Be Your Friend
09 Get Back
10 Spring Cleaning

*new songs

(P4K)

Matador Records is about to make you feel extremely nostalgic. On March 9, the indie label will release a compilation of Pavement material called Quarantine the Past: The Best of Pavement.

The 23-track compilation features no new material (nothing yet, anyway), but Matador has assured that the compilation will highlight more than just the singles. The label has also decided to turn the release into a contest by having fans guess the track listing. Track one has already been given: “Gold Soundz”, which inspired the compilation’s name. It’s up to loyal Pavement lovers to guess tracks two through 23. Hop over to the Matador contest page to read the rules, restrictions, and other details. (There are some amazing prizes: First place winner gets the complete Pavement catalog on vinyl, plus airfare, hotel rooms, and tickets to see Pavement in New York City this year.)

The compilation will be released as a “mid-priced” remastered double LP/CD, so save your money. You can preorder it directly from Matador to get a 15% discount. The entire Pavement catalog will get re-issued on vinyl the same day as the compilation’s release.

Since we’re already pummeling you with Pavement news and excitement, if you have not already checked out the tour dates (which are mostly European) here they are:

03/01 Auckland, New Zealand @ Town Hall
03/04 Sydney, Australia @ Enmore Theatre
03/05 Sydney, Australia @ Enmore Theatre
03/06 Meredith, Australia @ Supernatural Amphitheatre (Golden Plains Festival)
03/07 Adelaide, Australia @ Thebarton Theatre
03/08 Perth, Australia @ Metro City
03/10 Brisbane, Australia @ Tivoli
03/12 Melbourne, Australia @ Palace Theatre
03/14 Melbourne, Australia @ Palace Theatre
04/07 Tokyo, Japan @ Studio Coast
04/08 Tokyo, Japan @ Studio Coast
04/10 Osaka, Japan @ Zepp Osaka
04/12 Nagoya, Japan @ Zepp Nagoya
05/04 Dublin, Ireland @ Tripod
05/05 Glasgow, Scotland @ Barrowland
05/07 Paris, France @ Le Zénith
05/08 Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso
05/10 London, England @ Brixton Academy
05/11 London, England @ Brixton Academy
05/12 London, England @ Brixton Academy
05/13 London, England @ Brixton Academy
05/15 Minehead, England @ All Tomorrow’s Parties
05/18 Brussels, Belgium @ Ancienne Belgique
05/19 Berlin, Germany @ Astra
05/20 Prague, Czech Republic @ Palac Akropolis
05/21 Vienna, Austria @ Arena
05/22 Munich, Germany @ Muffathalle
05/24 Rome, Italy @ Atlantico Live
05/25 Bologna, Italy @ Estragon
05/27 Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera Festival
05/29-31 Quincy, Washington @ Sasquatch! Festival
07/01-04 Roskilde, Denmark @ Roskilde Festival
09/21 New York, NY @ Central Park Summerstage
09/22 New York, NY @ Central Park Summerstage
09/23 New York, NY @ Central Park Summerstage
09/24 New York, NY @ Central Park Summerstage

It’s been such a long time since the late, great Elliott Smith has come up on the news media radar, but like a kindly spirit, his name is back to haunt us (and for good reason). The indie label Kill Rock Stars will be re-releasing Smith’s albums Roman Candle and From a Basement on the Hill and putting them in their own catalog alongside their other Smith releases (namely his self-titled album from 1995 and Either/Or). Kill Rock Stars is also providing a “new” (i.e. previously unreleased) track called “Cecilia/Amanda” to go along with the news of the reissues.

Roman Candle, Smith’s extremely raw, lo-fi debut, was originally released on Cavity Search Records and Domino Records. The posthumous album, From a Basement on the Hill (released in ’04 after Smith’s death in ’03), was originally available through ANTI- and Domino.

Larry Crane, the editor of Tape Op Magazine and Elliott Smith archivist, has re-mastered Roman Candle for the Kill Rock Stars re-release. Crane has commented that he wanted to make the album “more listenable,” and thus perhaps more inviting to people not so familiar with Elliott Smith.

The new song “Cecilia/Amanda” was recorded back in 1997 by Larry Crane, and it is supposedly a re-working of a song Smith had originally written and recorded for a band back in high school. It sounds like unbelievably mature songwriting for a high schooler, yet it radiates nostalgia and youth. Listen for yourself.

The re-issues of Roman Candle and From a Basement on the Hill are set to be released on April 6 of next year. Oh, and as if Kill Rock Stars didn’t give us a big enough surprise with that free mp3, they also have Elliot Smith’s back catalog on sale until January 4.

Record company Merge are set to release Neutral Milk Hotel’s two studio albums on 180 Gram vinyl. Both In the Aeroplane Over the Sea and On Avery Island will also come packaged with a code to download the LP’s in high quality digital files.

The cult Indie band’s influence has been increasingly recognized over recent years, and Aeroplane was already the sixth best selling vinyl of 2008, having received full marks retrospectively from AllMusic and Pitchfork.

Fronted by Jeff Mangum, the group have never officially split but haven’t released new music in over eleven years. No bonus material is bundled with the new releases.

From another glorious Beastie Boys mailing list email:

Ladies and Gentleman,

We, the band collectively known as Beastie Boys, are contacting you, in regards to our 5 point plan:

1. The reissue of “Ill Communication” is imminent.
2. A reissue of “Hello Nasty” is released on the 25th of August.
3. A club show occurs in Chicago on the 6th of August.
4. The new Beastie Boys feature length LP entitled “HOT SAUCE COMMITTEE PART 1″ is unleashed on the 15th of September. (See below for track listing*)
5. The music industry is saved.

Onsale info:

Presale starts Tuesday, June 23rd at 10am Chicago time here:

http://congresschicago.frontgatetickets.com/choose.php?c=1&lid=33456&eid=39648&tid=148440_77054&qty=1

Password: RAPPERS

Tickets go on sale to the public Friday, June 26th at 10am Chicago time via http://www.frontgatetickets.com OR with a reduced service charge in-person at Site and Sound (2125 N. Milwaukee Ave.)

Ages 17+

*Tracklisting

1. Tadlock’s Glasses
2. B-Boys In The Cut
3. Make Some Noise
4. Nonstop Disco Powerpack
5. OK
6. Too Many Rappers (featuring NAS)
7. Say It
8. The Bill Harper Collection
9. Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win (featuring Santigold)
10. Long Burn The Fire
11. Bundt Cake
12. Funky Donkey
13. Lee Majors Come Again
14. Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament
15. Pop Your Balloon
16. Crazy Ass Shit
17. Here’s A Little Something For Ya

There you have it. Hot Sauce Committee Part 1 out September 15. Note the “Part 1″, I have a feeling that since this is a wacky album it’s a play off of Mel Brook’s History of the World, Part I.

There’s oddly no official release date on the Ill Communication reissue but Amazon and other retailers are reporting a July 14 release date. As previously announced, pre-orders for the expanded, remastered multi-format Ill Communication will begin July 6, with a physical release of July 14.

And the Hello Nasty reissue was imminent of course. We’re bound to see a To the 5 Boroughs reissue by the end of the year.

Boys, you might want to look over Step #5 again.

Say what you will about EMI, but their Radiohead issues (aside from the ‘Best Of’ compilation) have been great. Radiohead’s Kid A, Amnesiac, and Hail to the Thief are getting the reissue treatment similar to that that their first three albums received earlier this year. The reissues will be made available in 2-Disc and 3-Disc sets on August 25.

Yes, the band detests the very idea of these reissues, but look at the positives.
-The reissues aren’t unnecessarily remastered to compete in the “loudness wars”
-All of the B-sides and extras are excellent
-The Canal performance has never been officially released before
-At the very least, this will expose more people to the band

The only question now is, will EMI release any more Radiohead material after this? Will they even be able to?

Reissue track listings via the ‘Fork:

Kid A (Collectors Edition)

CD1 (original album):

01 Everything in Its Right Place
02 Kid A
03 The National Anthem
04 How to Disappear Completely
05 Treefingers
06 Optimistic
07 In Limbo
08 Idioteque
09 Morning Bell
10 Motion Picture Soundtrack

CD2:

BBC Radio One Evening Session [11/15/00]:

01 Everything in Its Right Place
02 How to Disappear Completely
03 Idioteque
04 The National Anthem

Lamacq Live in Concert: Victoria Park, Warrington, England [10/02/00]:

05 Optimistic

Canal+ Studios [04/28/01]:

06 Morning Bell
07 The National Anthem
08 How to Disappear Completely
09 In Limbo
10 Idioteque
11 Everything in Its Right Place
12 Motion Picture Soundtrack

I Might Be Wrong – Live Recordings:

13 True Love Waits (Live)

Special Collectors Edition DVD

“Later… With Jools Holland: [06/09/01]:

01 The National Anthem
02 Morning Bell
03 Idioteque

Amnesiac (Collectors Edition)

CD1 (original album):

01 Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box
02 Pyramid Song
03 Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors
04 You and Whose Army?
05 I Might Be Wrong
06 Knives Out
07 Morning Bell/Amnesiac
08 Dollars & Cents
09 Hunting Bears
10 Like Spinning Plates
11 Life in a Glasshouse

CD2

“Pyramid Song” single:

01 The Amazing Sounds of Orgy
02 Trans-Atlantic Drawl
03 Fast-Track
04 Kinetic

“Knives Out” single:

05 Worrywort
06 Fog
07 Cuttooth
08 Life in a Glasshouse (Full Length Version)

Canal+ Studios [04/28/01]:

09 You and Whose Army?
10 Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box
11 Dollars and Cents
12 I Might Be Wrong
13 Knives Out
14 Pyramid Song

I Might Be Wrong – Live Recordings:

15 Like Spinning Plates (Live)

Special Collectors Edition DVD:

Music videos:

01 Pyramid Song
02 Knives Out
03 I Might Be Wrong
05 Push Pulk/Spinning Plates

“Top of the Pops” [05/25/01]:

06 Pyramid Song

“Later… With Jools Holland” [06/09/01]:

07 Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box
08 Knives Out
09 Life in a Glasshouse
10 I Might Be Wrong

“Top of the Pops” [8/17/01]:

11 Knives Out

Hail To The Thief (Collectors Edition)

CD1 (original album):

01 2 + 2 = 5
02 Sit Down. Stand Up.
03 Sail to the Moon
04 Backdrifts
05 Go to Sleep
06 Where I End and You Begin
07 We Suck Young Blood
08 The Gloaming
09 There There
10 I Will
11 A Punchup at a Wedding
12 Myxomatosis
13 Scatterbrain
14 A Wolf at the Door

CD2:

“There There” single:

01 Paperbag Writer
02 Where Bluebirds Fly

“Go to Sleep” single:

03 I Am Citizen Insane
04 Fog (Again) (Live)
05 Gagging Order
06 I Am a Wicked Child

“2+2=5″ single:

07 Remyxomatosis (Cristian Vogel RMX)
08 There There (First Demo)
09 Skttrbrain (Four Tet RMX)
10 I Will (Los Angeles Version)

“Jo Whiley Show” [05/28/03]:

11 Sail to the Moon

Com Lag:

12 2+2=5 [Live at Earls Court, London, 11/26/03]

“Zane Lowe” [12/08/03]:

13 Go to Sleep

Special Collectors Edition DVD:

Music videos:

01 There There
02 Go to Sleep
03 2 + 2 = 5
04 Sit Down. Stand Up.

05 2 + 2 = 5 (Live at Belfort Festival)

“Later… With Jools Holland” [05/27/03]

06 There There
07 Go to Sleep
08 2 + 2 = 5
09 Where I End and You Begin