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July
31, 1998
The
forthcoming BELLE AND SEBASTIAN full-length has a title
now, The Boy with the Arab Strap...we expect to get
a lot of flack for this, but it was entirely the band's decision.
We gave them SEVERAL options for titles and this one was the
one they chose. (Stop, Look, Run On; Can't Fight
the Cat Power; or Go Buy the New Solex Record didn't
have the right ring). Also of note: Belle and Sebastian will
be auctioning off a copy of Tigermilk (signed by all
eight members of the band) for the Infectious Diseases Unit
at Gartnavel Hospital in Glasgow. Details of the auction,
which will be help on August 8, are here
on the band's website.
Still no title for the long-awaited debut full-length from
THE FOR CARNATION but the record is indeed nearing
completion. We should have a guestimated release date shortly...
The new JSBX album is called Acme, (other possible
titles: Brownie's, Arlene's Grocery, etc.) is
due out some time in October, and we don't know anything more
than that...BARBARA MANNING will have a next full-length
out on Communion in October. Recorded in New Zealand, the
LP/CD is titled Barbara Manning In New Zealand.
Lyle reports that Matador will soon relaunch the Matador Duo
series, featuring two back-catalog titles each on one overpriced
CD. (Who says Geffen has all the clever marketing ideas?)
Can't wait to hear that Bunny Brains/Liquor Giants disc...
because we here at Matador don't know the MEANING of genre....
which reminds me, a couple of spoil sports have been making
cynical remarks about our "new direction," and betrayal of
postindustrial indie to cash in on robot rock. This is simply
NOT TRUE. Matador has been working with the techno/electronica
scene since the birth of the ska revival. Ask Kris Gillespie!
Also in Matador news, a new office dress code has been announced:
cargo shorts for the boys, capri pants for the ladies. "We
are not jumping on the capri bandwagon," said fashion police/label
manager Patrick Amory, "We've been wearing them since the
ska revival."
Adds Christina Zafiris, Director of Marketing,
"I was wearing them way before Mary Tyler Moore on the Dick
Van Dyke show was!"
Plus also too: Matt Sweeney of CHAVEZ answers
your questions.

July
24, 1998
Big
news this week: Matador is proud to announce we'll be releasing
BOARDS OF CANADA's Music
Has a Right to Children in North America. The Boards are
the Scotland-based duo of Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin, who've
been recording in one form or another since 1983. The full
history and a discography is right here. And there's also
a pleasantly straightforward web page and an
interview (in French!) c/o the Virgin Megastore site.
We've licensed the rights to their double LP/CD Music Has
the Right to Children from Warp and Skam. Our version
will have a bonus track, "Happy Cycling," a John Peel session,
and it'll be hitting stores September 8... the same day, incidentally,
as BURGER/INK's Las Vegas CD, mentioned here
briefly a couple weeks ago. We'll have more bio info from
Mike Ink (whose work on Warp, Mille Plateaux, Chain Reaction,
Force Inks. and others some of you should be familiar with)
and Jorg Burger up soon. And sound clips, too. The works!
Big news this week part II: We just got confirmation this
week that Liz Phair will be on on David Letterman the day
after whitechocolatespaceegg comes out. That be Wednesday,
August 12. (Hope that doesn't this mean I'll have to miss
FANatic.) Until then, we've added a new Liz
page to the website, with info about the upcoming netcast
July 21, her bio, pictures, etc.
The new Silkworm album Blueblood came out on Touch
and Go and no one has given me a copy!!! Well, we've got some
new dates for them on our tour
dates page.
New links: an Arab Strap
article from New Musical Express.
Offsite: A more or less official Tobin
Sprout site.
Chavez answers coming next week!

July
31, 1998
LIZ
PHAIR people: mark you calendars for July 21. That's when
we'll be streaming the upcoming album, whitechocolatespaceegg,
in its entirty for a full 24 hours. Beginning at noon that
Tuesday and continuing thru noon the next day, you can listen
to the album via RealAudio here on our site. Check back later
for the link.
What's up with the return of the Matador bulletin board? We're
working on it. End of the month, hopefully. We'll keep you
posted.
New stuff on the site: An interview with Peter
Visser of Bettie Serveert, courtesy of Sally Tomato zine.
An interview with Guitar
Wolf from Index Magazine, and Pavement
vs. Andy Richter from an old issue of Raygun.
And now, just in time for the weekend, from the man from Yo
La Tengo:
JAMES
McNEW'S SUMMER MOVIE PREVIEW
Godzilla - nah
X-Files: Fight The Future - yes
Doctor Doolittle - i am so there
I Got The Hookup - probably not
Six Days Seven Nights - nope
Bulworth - nope
Last Days of Disco - no
Zorro - no
The Truman Show - nope
Hope Floats - nope
The Horse Whisperer - no!
The Perfect Murder - nope
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - undecided
Armageddon - nope
Dirty Work - nah
Almost Heroes - will watch on cable
Saving Private Ryan - no way
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