Jackson Free Press

Early Man - Matador Records has the privilege of announcing the signing of New
York's EARLY MAN to a worldwide, long-term recording contract.

The duo of Mike Conte (guitar, vocals) and Adam Bennati (drums) have
laid waste to the clubs of NYC in recent months with an intricate, high
velocity metal attack that's as elemental as it is physically punishing.
These guys are no slouches in the modern anthem department, either, as
their forthcoming CD EP for Baltimore's Monitor shall reveal.

In the weeks ahead, Early Man will be playing the Slint-curated ATP in
Camber Sands, England, hitting Austin, TX for South By Southwest, and
following that with a full US tour. Their debut album for Matador
(produced by Chavez' Matt Sweeney) is tentatively scheduled for Autumn 2005.

http://www.earlymanarmy.com

The New Pornographers - Carl Newman writes:

"We're hard at work on our new album, which should be in the hands of
Matador by mid-March, and in the hands of real people sometime in late
summer. Maybe September? I don't know. If it was up to me it would come
out two weeks after we finished it, but that's just not how it's done.

"We've become fascinated by the ability of the ebow and baritone guitar
to sound kind of like a cello. This fixes the problem of wanting cello,
but not wanting a cello player in your band. They take up way too much
room. We can also get that Creation bowed guitar sound without bowing
the guitar, and looking like a guitar-bowing idiot.

"Dan's been coming around alot and recording with us, more than on
Electric Version, so that's cool. This album will have the Jackie sequel,
"Jackie, Dressed In Cobras", for those of you that always wondered where
Jackie's life took her/him. Neko's gonna come and sing, Nora's gonna
come and sing, and my long lost niece is gonna come and sing with us too.
Not because she's my niece, but because she's really good. I want a lot
of singers. I think it will be good.

"Various unintentional influences have crept into our work, some of
which are quickly removed: The Moody Blues, Tubeway Army, Wings, always
Wings, never The Beatles, Eno of course, you can't play ebow without
sounding like Eno, Modern English, middle period post-Gabriel Genesis, The
Stranglers, the vocal inflections on "Dreadlock Holiday" remain a
steady influence, we're still trying to find a way to insert some dub/white
reggae in the mix, just as an intellectual exercise, to see if we can
do it without being dropped from the label. I know it sounds awful but
it will all work out."

SXSW:

There's nothing we love more than a sprawling trade fair disguised as a
music festival (except for possibly a sprawling music festival
disguised as a trade fair). As such, Matador is chuffed-to-bits to present the
following lineup at this year's South By Southwest:

Stephen Malkmus
Pretty Girls Make Graves
Laura Cantell
Dead Meadow
and special guests

Friday, March 18, The Parish, 214 E. 6th St. Austin, TX.

At the moment, we don't have ticket details for this event, but suffice
to say that Freedom Isn't Free, and neither is this concert.

In addition, it is looking likely that Laura Cantrell, Dead Meadow,
and Early Man will be making other appearances around Austin that week.
Details to follow.

Interpol

the activity surrounding Interpol's recent comings and goings as been
so tumultuous, we're tempted to make an analogy to a catastrophic
natural disaster of biblical proportions. Tempted, but not willing to go all
the way, of course.

In December, 'Antics' was certified as a Silver Disc in the UK (50,000
sales). In a customary showing of overconfidence, we've opted for the
cheapest, ugliest plaque in the shop, knowing that we'll just have to
do the whole thing over again when the album goes Gold. "Evil" recently
became Interpol's first Top 20 single in the UK, and the band are on
the brink of selling out two night's at the Brixton Academy in April.

Currently playing in Japan for the first time in ages, Interpol
performed "Evil" on "The Late Show With David Letterman" last week to
considerable acclaim (for one thing, Michael Powell resigned a few days later)
and will grace the Tiffany Network's "Who The Heck Is Craig Ferguson?"
(also known as "As Long As He's Not Craig Kilborn, Who Cares?") program
on February 16.

Blonde Redhead have long since been confirmed as Interpol's support act
for the February US tour; a second batch of East Coast dates starting
in March will feature Q And Not U.

In the rarified air of "breaking news", Interpol have added a 2nd night
at New York's Radio City Music Hall (March 2) to their soon-to-sold-out
March 1 date.

Dead Meadow

We're scrambling like Michael Vick to let you, the educated public know
that Dead Meadow's forthcoming "Feathers' CD/LP , is an enthralling,
expansive work that adds new colors to the sonic pallette of America's
heaviest guitar band. Prior to their SXSW appearance, Dead Meadow will
be touring Europe with And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, with a
full North American schedule planned for April.

Pretty Girls Make Graves:

As the band nears completion on their eagerly awaited 3rd album, the
following US dates are now confirmed:

January 20- Seattle @ The Showbox
January 26-Vancouver @ Mesa Luna
January 28-Seattle @ Husky Union Building
January 30-Tacoma @ Hell's Kitchen

March 9-Eugene, OR @ Wow Hall
March 10-Stanford, CA @ Stanford University/Cresge Hall
March 11-Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey
March 12-San Diego, CA @ Ground Control
March 13-Las Vegas, NV @ Jillian's of Las Vegas
March 15-Phoenix, AZ @ Mason Jar
March 16-Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
March 18- The Parish, Austin TX
March 19-San Antonio, TX @ The Sanctuary
March 20-El Paso, TX @ T-Lounge
March 22-Tucson, AZ @ Hotel Congress
March 23- Anaheim, CA @ Chain Reaction
March 24-Bakersfield, CA @ Jerry's Pizza
March 25-San Francisco, CA @ Café Dunord
March 26-San Francisco, CA @ Café Dunord
March 27-Portland, OR @ Bossanova

In April, Pretty Girls Make Graves are off to the UK for the following
shows in support of Bloc Party.

April 13/14 - Astoria, London
April 15 - Barrowlands, Glasgow
April 17 - Academy, Manchester.

Guided By Voices

Travelers from all over the globe (and Illinois) rang in 2005 and rang
out the career of Guided By Voices, this past New Year's Eve at
Chicago's Metro. For those of us who weren't there, the tears flowed fast and
furious, though perhaps that had something to do with being maced by
one of the neighbors.

Life goes on, however, and GBV's recent appearance on PBS' "Austin City
Limits" (which aired last weekend) was even more documentary evidence
that the rock universe is a poorer place without this great band.

GBV guitarist extraordinaire Doug Gillard has a solo appearance planned
for SXSW on March 19 at the lovely Friends nightclub, playing alongside
Chris Brokaw, fellow Ohioans Moviola and Sally Crewe & The Sudden
Moves.

Seachange -

Armed with a tall stack of new songs, Seachange have recently entered
the studio with producer Tony Doogan (Mogwai, Hefner, Belle & Sebastian)
to begin work on their 2nd album. About Doogan, singer Dan Eastop
reports that "he did mention that we may well see his 'bits' before the 5
weeks are out, which i am rather hoping doesn't happen."

Matador At 15 Winners Announced

To see the winning photos, go here:

http://www.matadorrecords.com/contests/matador_at_fifteen.html

We thank you all for allowing us to exploit your difficult adolescence.

Cornelius

Not a ton of news from Keigo's camp at present except to say he's
working on a remix for Bloc Party and (more importantly) has been recording
every day for his forthcoming full-length album. The new Cornelius
website is not quite finished, but to paraphrase Orson Welles shilling for
Paul Mason, "we will sell no wine before its time." Or launch a
website. You get the idea.

Matmos

Martin and Drew have confirmed their participation in the Slint-curated
edition of All Tomorrow's Parties, taking place at the Pontin's Holiday
Camp, Camber Sands, Rye UK from February 26-28, followed on March 19 by
a headlining show at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall. Around this time,
Matmos' long out-of-print "California Rhinoplasty" EP will be reissued
as a digital only release through the UK version of the iTunes Music
Store and other online outlets.

Matador @ MySpace

We read in the New York Times this week that Friendster is soooo 2003
and MySpace is very much a 2004 phenomena. So in keeping with slavish
attempts to keep with with cultural movements that peaked 6 MONTHS AGO,
you can now become a Friend Of Matador by going to
http://www.myspace.com/matadorrecords

And just so there's no mistake, we do not discriminate; unattractive
women are eligible, as are men who look like they could beat someone up.
Just because no such persons have signed up yet doesn't mean they
aren't out there! We do however, reserve the right to reject for arbitrary
reasons (ie. bands we don't know or like trying to drive traffic to
their pages).

Mission Of Burma

after two nights of astonishing performances at New York's Bowery
Ballroom earlier this month, Mission of Burma return to the West Coast for
the following shows :

2/22/05 - The Troubador, Los Angeles, CA
2/23/05 - Bimbo's 365, San Francisco, CA

and in deference to those Burma fans who stand up for their right to
sit down, the band are headlining the Somerville Theatre on April 29.

Matador Alumnae Alert

Former Helium guitar/vocalist and ridiculously talented solo artist
Mary Timony has a new album coming late in '05 from Lookout Records.

listening habits of the well-connected:

Early Man

Music:
1. Manowar - Hail to England
2. Children of Bodom (I'm willing to overlook the keyboard situations)
3. Teeth of the Hydra (Ohio Metal, Bitches...)
4. Lamb of God
5. Piero Piccioni - 'Colporovente' Soundtrack (sick!)
6. Sir Lord Baltimore - Kingdom Come
7. Deep Purple - In Rock
8. Slade - Sladest
9. Gary Glitter - Touch Me
10. Blitzkrieg - Buried Alive EP

Books (I've never seen Adam read a book in my life, but he came
through...)
1. Marianne Faithful Biography
2. Flowers of Evil - Charles Baudelaire
3. Ham on Rye - Bukowski
4. Music Law - 2nd Edition
5. A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking
6. Breakfast of Champions - Kurt Vonnegut
7. Anything by John Fante
8. Choose your own ending books
9. 1000 Chairs - Charlotte & Peter Fiell - TASCHEN
10. The Holy Bible

Food
We have survived over the past couple of years on a steady diet of
falafels, grilled cheese sandwiches, greeks salads, two boots slices,
eggplant parmasian, fake beef jerky, real beef jerky, microwave popcorn,
whatever falls out of a vending machine when you shake it enough, and
cheap vietnamese sandwiches.

Life
Figuring out how to get to Governor's Island (WTF????)

James Vyner, Seachange

too many people #### rice up. This is how to cook it perfectly:

measure out your rice in fluid ounces. add seasoning.
boil the kettle
put some oil in a flat pan and heat it
put the rice in the pan and stir until each grain is covered with oil
add the boiling water using the following measurements:
5 fluid ounces of rice to 9 fluid ounces of water
10 rice to 18 water
15 rice to 27 water
etc.
lower the heat to the minimum available.
stir once.
put the lid on.
DO NOT TOUCH for 15 minutes.
take off the heat. remove the lid. put a teatowel over the top for ten
minutes
fluff with a fork and serve
your rice is perfect. you are welcome.
bassout./

Adam Carroll, Beggars Group

Top ten for those in the know:

Ironhead rocker boxes
single-cable throttle
S&S Super E
drags with baffles
Avon Roadrunner and Venom
additional rake chop job
Fairbanks-Morse magneto
blue-stitched flames
kick-only
FTW

Sujan Hong, Beggars Group

The Coctails - Popcorn Box Set
Low - The Great Destroyer
The Cookies - The Complete Cookies
Goodbye Chunky Rice - Craig Thompson
Bacon of the Month Club
Alma brunch
The onion rings at Red Mill
Salish Lodge
Kleenex anti-viral tissues

Jeremy P. Goldstein, Beggars Group

10 things worth mentioning from January

The magic of Turnbull reds.
Kaiser Chiefs - "I Predict A Riot" - Universal
The return of 24
Embrace - Out Of Nothing - Lava/Atlantic
Tasty Italian in the N-Y-C: Il Buco, Lavagna, Il Bagatto
Queens Of The Stone Age - "Little Sister" - Interscope
The french fries at Les Enfants Terribles
Graham Coxon - Happiness In Magazines - Astralwerks
Warm jackets and gloves
Gratitude - "Drive Away" - Lava/Atlantic

Phillip Laslett, Beggars Group

Don't really have any info that the public would would find that
interesting I afraid. Although I did find out that the old school Nokia
phones are indestructible and can actually survive being put through a 40
degree wash and spin cycle when left in a trouser pocket... the screen
does flicker a bit now and the ring is a bit buggered but the damn
thing's still going.

I can however let you know what my personal list of favorite recordings
for 2004 were:

(In no order of preference)
1. Le Savy Fav - Inches
2. Madvillain - Madvillainy
3. Hot Snakes - Audit in Progress
4. These Arms are Snakes - Oxeneers...
5. Old Man Gloom - Christmas
6. Joanna Newsom - Milk Eyed Mender
7. Envy - A Dead and Sinking story (not a 2004 album but I only got it
last year)

Jennifer Lannchart, Beggars Group

#1 change for me in '05 was turning 30. I'm diggin' it so far!

-Along w/ turning 30 came my birthday dinner(s), where I had by far,
the
BEST eating experience of my LIFE @ Jewel Bako. OMG was it AMAZING.
Second runner up was Dinosaur BBQ in Harlem. You don't fee l like
you're in
the city & the BBQ is smokin'!

-Can't get enough of the new M.I.A. Record...So HOT

Miwa Okumura, Beggars Group

-Early Man (3 song cd)
-Double D and Steinski: Lesson One, Lesson Two, Lesson Three
-M.I.A./Diplo: Piracy Funds Terrorism, Volume 1
-Edvard Grieg with pianst Mikhail Poetnev: Lyric Pieces
-Pink Floyd: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

Matt Harmon, Beggars Group

New Scandinavian Cooking -completely genius Norwegian outdoor cooking
show on public television. In a recent episode, Andreas Viestad calls a
monkfish he's about to cook diabolical and refers to Pomegranates as
"Pom-grenades" without an ounce of irony.

Paul Rand: Modernist Design (by Franc Nunoo-Quarcoo) - absolutely
essential book on one of the twentieth centuries greatest designers with
essays, tributes, interviews and nearly 200 pages of color design work..
Including book covers, film posters and some of the most classic logo
designs like ABC, UPS (the old one), IBM and even ENRON.

Listening pile:
Cass Mccombs "PREfection" (Monitor)
M. Ward "Transistor Radio" (Merge)
Dead Meadow "Feathers" (Matador)
Samara Lubelski "The Fleeting Sky" (Social Registry)
Lozninger demos
Six Organs of Admittance "School of the Flower" (Drag City)
XTC "Go 2" (Virgin)

Alan English, Matador Records

Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (Saddle Creek)
Magnolia Electric Co - Trials and Errors (Secretly Canadian)
Camera Obscura - Underachievers Please Try Harder (Elefant)
Hood - Outside Closer (Domino)
Howling Hex - All-Night Fox (Drag City)

Laurent Rossi, Beggars Group

MUSIC:

1/ M.WARD "Transistor Radio"
2/ POP WILL EAT ITSELF reformation gigs in London, Jan 24th / Jan 25th
3/ THE MUSIC MACHINE first gig in Paris in 34 years, last November.
Magic!
4/ THE NATIONAL "Alligator" - album release in April
5/ BRIGHT EYES - the two albums released on Jan 24th
6/ MERCURY REV - new album released on Jan 24th
7/ TV ON THE RADIO - still the greatest! Almost a year old in my
personnal
chart
8/ DEVENDRA BANHART - "Nino Rojo"
9/ APPLE "An Apple A Day" - bootleg vinyl reissue, which is really
lookin'
like an original Page One... Still not the original copy of this 1969
nugget, but works well as a placebo. A dream almost came true.
10/ JOHNY CASH "Unearthed boxset" - a bit as TVOTR, it's so deep that I
still don't see the end...

FOOD:

1/ Foie Gras de canard mi-cuit
2/ Foie Gras de canard au torchon
3/ Foie Gras de canard poêlé
4/ Foie Gras de canard cru, au vinaigre balsamique
5/ Foie Gras de canard en terrine, chutney d'oignons
6/ Foie Gras de canard en terrine, chutney de figues
7/ Marbré de foie gras de canard aux pommes
8/ Marbré de foie gras aux légumes
9/ Foie gras d'oie mi-cuit
10/ Tournedos Rossini (beef filet cooked with a slice of duck foie
gras)

PLEASURES OF LIFE:

1/ My wife, who still also my best friend
2/ The new Doc Martens Chelsea Boots, with leather soles
3/ Still only 48 months of Bush's regime, then it will be hopefully
over
4/ The Ben Sherman's George Best limited edition clothes
5/ Matador is now 15 years old, 4AD is now 25, XL is now 10... And
still
running and growing.
6/ I finally cleaned my flat last week, which is a real satisfaction
7/ I decided to clean my flat again at least one more time during the
forthcoming decade, to feel again this great satisfaction. A pretty
exciting
goal in life.
8/ No one still know who were Spandau Ballet. And that's cool.
9/ Bon Jovi is dead, isn't he ?
10/ London still the best city in the world for shopping

Dave Martin, Matador Records

1. Dean Carter Call Of The Wild CD Big Beat
2. Bassholes S/T CD Dead Canary Records
3. Bassholes Broke Chamber Music (Singles Collection) CD Secret Keeper
Records
4. Pittsburgh Steelers
5. Faces Strawberry Pop 70-71 bootleg CD
6. Miminokoto 3 Siwa Records
7. Gibson Brothers - Everything
8. Yura Yura Teikoku - a bunch of LPs and EPs
9. A Frames Black Forest Sup Pop
10. LSD March Shindara Jigoku LP Siwa Records

Patrick Amory, Matador Records

1. Wilhelm Furtwangler and Edwin Fischer - Beethoven, Piano Concerto
No. 5 (EMI ALP mono LP)
2. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Gerald Moore - Schubert, Winterreise
(EMI ALP mono LP and 1/2)
3. Antoni Soler - Complete Quintets (Edigsa 4 LP stereo box)
4. Ferenc Fricsay with Fischer-Dieskau, Haefliger, Surinac et. al. -
Mozart, Don Giovanni (DG tulip stereo 3 LP box)
5. Isolde Ahlgrimm on pedal harpsichord - Bach, The Art of Fugue (Ex
Libris stereo double LP)
6. Clara Haskil - Schubert Sonata in B-major opus postumus/Mozart
Sonata No. 10 (Philips maroon minigroove mono LP)
7. Clara Haskil with Ferenc Fricsay - Mozart, Piano Concertos Nos. 19
and 27 (DG tulip "Alle Hersteller" mono LP)
8. Sonia Anschutz - Bach, Klavierbuchlein fur Wilhelm Friedmann (Iramac
stereo LP)
9. Annie Fischer with Ferenc Fricsay - Beethoven, Piano Concerto No.
3/Mozart, 2 Rondos (DG tulip mono LP)
10. Christian Ferras and Pierre Barbizet - Beethoven, "Kreutzer" Sonata
(Concert Hall stereo LP)
11. Paul Makanowitzky and Noel Lee - Beethoven, "Kreutzer" Sonata
(Lumen red label mono LP)
12. Jaap Schroeder, Gustav Leonhardt, Concerto Amsterdam - Telemann,
Tafelmusik Part I (Telefunken gold/black stereo double LP)
13. Lili Kraus and Willi Boskovksy - Mozart, Sonata No. 28 for piano
and violin (Discophiles Francais mono 7")
14. Emil Gilels - Scarlatti and Shostakovich Sonatas for piano
(pre-Melodiya Dolgoigrayushaya DR2 mono LP)
15. Karl Ristenpart and Pierre Pierlot - Haydn, Concerto for oboe
(Discophiles Francais mono 10" LP)
16. Magda Tagliaferro - Piano works by Albeniz, Granados, De Falla,
Villa-Lobos (Trianon mono LP)

Gerard Cosloy

Tower Recordings - The Galaxies Incredible Sensual Transmission Field
Of The Tower Recordings (Communion)
Kelly Clarkson - "Since U Been Gone" (if you can get over the
similarities to "Obstacle 1", this is quite an achievement in song doctor land)
The Hidden Hand - Mother, Teacher, Destroyer (Southern Lord)
Styrofoam - Nothing's Lost (Morr Music)
International Submarine Band - Safe At Home (Sundazed)
Green Day - "American Idiot" (if you can get over the similarities to
the Avengers' "The American In Me", this is quite an achievement in
rewriting an Avengers song).
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Shake The Sheets (Lookout)
Todd Barry - Falling Off The Bone (Comedy Central)
Julie Dorion - Goodnight Nobody (Jagjaguwar)
Pedro The Lion - Stations EP (iTunes)

**********

The Double

Matador Records is proud to announce the signing of New York's THE
DOUBLE to a worldwide, multi-album recording deal.

The Double approach rock songwriting with a diverse vocabulary and
instrumentation that layers vocal harmony and heavy distorted keyboards
onto a disorienting yet exacting array of percussive sounds. Their 2002
debut 'Loose Crochet' (54/40 Or Fight), recorded as a duo, introduced
their curious blend of home-style American musics and noisy rhythmic
experimentation, but it was last year's 'Palm Fronds' (Catsup Plate) - their
first as a quartet - that confirmed the depth of their idiosyncrasy and
allure, with simplified song structures and a broader instrumental
palette. Undeniably virtuosic, THE DOUBLE also embrace improvisation and
human error, which gives their songs their vulnerability and heart.

MP3s are available at: http://www.thedoublethedouble.com

Past notices for 'Palm Fronds':

"An album whose beauty is so completely overpowering that it made me
wonder whether I didn't need to just get with the program and start
taking antidepressants like everybody else. Not many songs make me feel like
The Song has much of a future; some of these ones do, and that's the
highest praise I know how to give." - John Darnielle, Last Plane To
Jarkata

"The varied swath of music categorized as noise tends to bank on its
ties to the sublime: the ability to induce bewilderment, stupefaction,
and awe that traverses fear. But for the Brooklyn-based foursome the
Double, noise-metallic clacks and supersonic crackles, crumpling guitars
and disappearing vocals-is an accessory that sweetly disorders melody, a
union that entreats and welcomes rather than confuses and commandeers.
" - Devon Powers, Village Voice

"One of the most intriguing bands bubbling up downtown, The Double's
live show trades gauziness for harder and more direct rock, but
prog-minded shifts and waves of weird instrumentation keep things raw and off
center" - The Onion

Upcoming shows:

Feb 4 - Mighty Robot, Metropolitan & Kent, Brooklyn (with the Occasion,
Soliders Of Fortune and Soft Sox)
Feb 5 - (noon) exhibition of Mary Ping's new collect ion, Avery Fisher
Hall (Grand Promenade), Lincoln Center, NY
Feb 25 - Swathmore College, Swathmore PA
Feb 26 - Black Cat, Washington DC
Feb 27 - Supreme Imperial Performance, Baltimore MD
Feb 28 - Knitting Factory, NY NY
March 2 - Higher Ground, Winooski, VT
March 4 - The Green Room, Providence RI
March 5 - Middle East, Cambridge, MA
(2/25-3/5 with Ratatat)
March 18 - The Parish, Austin, TX (SXSW show with Stephen Malkmus,
Pretty Girls Make Graves, Laura Cantrell, Dead Meadow)

Stephen Malkmus

On May 24, Matador will be releasing the 3rd post-Pavement album from
Stephen Malkmus, 'Face The Truth', on the every popular compact disc and
phonograph long player configurations. 'Face The Truth', Stephen's
first bona fide solo recording, captures our favorite singer-songwriter at
the height of his creative powers. We can say with total confidence
that some of SM's wittiest moments to date are found on this album, along
with many of his most heartfelt. An album of staggering lyrical and
musical range, 'Face The Truth' is unlikey to be supported by heavy
touring (what with Stephen's pending dad-to-be status), but selected US
dates are planned, along with a headlining appearance at Matador's SXSW
event (March 18, The Parish, Austin).

the track listing is as follows:

1. Invisible Bodies
2. Baby C'mon
3. Horslip
4. Mmmmm...
5. Loud Cloud Crowd
6. No More Shoes
7. Mama
8. Malediction
9. Pencil Rot
10. It Kills
11. I've Hardly Been

Matador Records
http://www.matadorrecords.com