Following the May 6th digital release of his new single, “Teardrop,” Swedish folk-singer José González announced that he has signed on to play four major music festivals including Bonaroo and Austin City Limits.

The New Zealand post-punks Die! Die! Die! have added several new tour dates to their blistering schedule before leaving in early June for a string of European dates. The added shows (see below) will take the band up the Pacific Northwest and across the border for two Canadian dates where they will be backed by Detroit garage rockers, the Von Bondies.

“G-Men! Money Line. G-Men! Money Line.”- Brooklyn Resident yelling to no one in particular the day before the Superbowl XLII.

I watch Manning get sacked and my heart stops. But then, inexplicably, he isn’t. He runs free, away from the pocket and throws an almost-spiral to the middle of the field. The confidence on that ball means a reception. So my heart stops again when I see Rodney Harrison jump up, grab Tyree’s left hand and reach for but miss the right, which is pinning the ball to the receiver’s helmet. Inexplicably, Tyree, with Harrison attached, falls 8 feet out of the air, hits the ground, and still has one hand and one helmet on the ball. Jim screams, “He caught it with his BRAIN!”

Slug (of Atmosphere) Interview, Part I

After an extended absence from the music scene, Del the Funky Homosapien is back in full force. With a 2008’s critically acclaimed Eleventh Hour (Def Jux) under his belt, the indie rap veteran will be hitting the road again this summer. From May to September, he’ll be taking his live antics across the map to some of the biggest music festivals today.

The pilot season is dead. Long live the pilot season.

In the last issue of ALARM, I offered a list of shows to tide you over during the desolate months of the writers’ strike. Hopefully you found something to treat your TV fix, but now it’s back to business. The writers and producers have resolved their differences, and settled on an absurdly intricate deal that involves fractions of pennies worth of compensation for the digital exploitation of television shows. As the scribes of Hollywood return to their laptops, we’ll see many of our favorite shows return for what remains of this season. Hopefully for the networks, writers, and producers, audiences will return as well.

Atmosphere, “You”, Conan O’Brien, 5.21.08

Also look for Atmosphere as the musical guest on FUEL TV’s “The Daily Habit” this week. They will be doing two songs acoustic, “Guarantees” off When Life Gives You Lemons… and “Not Another Day” off the new Sad Clown Bad Spring 12. This will air Friday May 23rd at 3pmEST, 6pmPST and again at 6pmEST, 9pmPST. It then will re-air twice the following Monday May 26th at 8:30amEST, 11:30amPST and finally at 11:30amEST, 2:30pmPST.

California-based artists Deedee Cheriel and Louise Bonnet unveiled their joint exhibit, New Works, May 17th at Subliminal Projects. The exhibition showcases both artists’ work to encompass Cheriel‘s bold human/animal hybrids with Bonnet’s whimsical deadpan characters. Though both artists retain their trademark inspirations, the exhibit represents a new direction for both artists. For these works, Bonnet has moved away from black and white in favor of creating colorful planes through the use of gouache on paper, while Cheriel combines haphazard drips, quirky patterns and bold-gestured marks to create new works. New Works will be exhibited at Subliminal Projects through June 13th.

Tuesday May 20th, Cave In frontman, Stove Bredsky (a.k.a. Steve Brodsky) released his solo album, abtly entitled The Black Ribbon Award. After recording in 2007 with his then side project, Pet Genius, Bredsky returned to his familiar one-man band format to record the eighteen melancholy tracks that make up Black Ribbon. The songs were originally written in the 90s while Bredsky was still fronting the now on hiatus Cave In. For Bredsky Black Ribbon is ostensibly a familiar return to the melodic riffs and post-punk melodies that trademark both his original work and that with Cave In. The Black Ribbon Award is available to stream on Hydra Head Record’s website or for purchase on CD.

On July 8th, Sacramento-based hardcore/thrash four piece, Trash Talk, will issue their self-titled/self-released debut full-length, which they recorded with producer Steve Albini (Nirvana, The Pixies, Neurosis) in only two days. You might think that sounds extreme…and you’d be right. With grinding guitars and gut-wrenching screaming, the intensity is enough to knock the wind out you. Since 2005, Trash Talk have toured relentlessly, and there’s no intention of quitting anytime soon. After playing a handful of U.S. shows, they’ll embark on a mini European tour before coming back stateside for more dates. They’ll be joined by such peers as The Carrier, The Mongoloids, Cold World and Iron Age.

The liner notes in British duo Guapo’s latest effort Elixirs give shout-outs to everyone from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to a murdered hero of Norse poetry to a 17th-century German Jesuit scholar. Among others. This is some pretty heady, psychedelic shit right here. Dark, jazzy, and progressive are terms that describe Guapo’s haunting, mostly instrumental sound.