In celebration of Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes, and the release of the long-awaited film, Major Organ and the Adding Machine, many members of the famed Elephant 6 collective will come together for a variety show tour in October. Julian Koster, William Cullen Hart, Scott Spillane, Laura Carter, Eric Harris, Nesey Gallons along with The Singing Saw, the 7 Foot Tall Metronome, Static the Television and many others will host what Julian Koster describes as "a big orchestra, variety show, silly happy thing." The large gathering of Elephant 6 members will be playing the music of The Music Tapes, The Circulatory System, Scott Spillane, Gerbils, Elf Power, Olivia Tremor Control, Nana Grizol, Nesey Gallons and more.

10/09 Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
10/11 NYC @ Knitting Factory
10/12 Boston, MA @ The Church
10/14 Portland, ME @ Space Gallery
10/15 Hamden, CT @ The Space
10/16 Purchase, NY @ SUNY Purchase
10/17 Rochester, NY @ The Bug Jar
10/18 Pittsburgh, PA @ Brillobox
10/19 Columbus, OH @ Wexner Center
10/20 Pontiac, MI @ Pike Room - Crofoot
10/21 Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
10/22 Bloomington, IN @ Cinemat
10/23 Lexington, KY @ University of Kentucky
10/25 NYC @ Mercury Lounge - Merge CMJ Showcase - The Music Tapes Only

In addition, Orange Twin Records is excited to announce the imminent release of “Major Organ and the Adding Machine,” a short film by Joey Foreman and Eric Harris. Thanks to a vast assemblage effort spanning the past decade, the film is nearing completion and will premiere during the E-6 "Holiday Surprise" shows in October. The film is currently being submitted to film festivals and will be coming out as a CD/DVD set in the Fall of 2009. Accompanying the Orange Twin DVD Edition will be the expanded version of the film’s soundtrack, originally released in early 2000, that includes several unreleased bonus tracks and illuminating new liner notes by co-director Harris. The film and album stand as the consummate collaboration of the Elephant 6 collective, and feature musical and theatrical contributions from Jeff Mangum, Kevin Barnes, William Cullen Hart, Julian Koster, Andrew Rieger, Dixie Blood Moustache and all and sundry who participated in the hypercreative halcyon days of late-90’s Athens, Georgia.

Order Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes on CD, LP or digital download. Pre-orders for Julian Koster's The Singing Saw at Christmastime will be available soon.

The Broken West are hitting the road this fall in support of their new record, Now or Heaven. Now or Heaven is released on Tuesday, September 9th and that just happens to be the first date of the fall tour.

The Broken West will also bid a fond farewell to drummer, Rob McCorkindale. A new baby and other family commitments have made Rob's departure necessary, but everyone will miss him! Sean McDonald will take over the skins and join Dan, Brian, Ross and Jeff on the road this fall.

09/09/08 Denver, CO @ Hi Dive
09/10/08 Omaha, NE @ Slowdown Jr.
09/11/08 Iowa City, IA @ The Picador
09/12/08 Madison, WI @ Orpheum Side Door
09/13/08 Minneapolis, MN @ 400 Bar
09/15/08 Chicago, IL @ Schubas
09/16/08 Pontiac, MI @ Pike Room
09/17/08 Toronto @ Horseshoe Tavern
09/21/08 New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
09/21/08 Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East
09/23/08 New Haven, CT @ Cafe Nine
09/24/08 Washington, DC @ Rock N Roll Hotel
09/25/08 Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
09/26/08 Mt. Pleasant, SC @ Village Tavern
09/27/08 Nashville, TN @ The Basement
09/29/08 Memphis, TN @ Hi Tone
09/30/08 Denton, TX @ Dan's Silverleaf
10/01/08 Austin, TX @ Mohawk
10/04/08 Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland 

Preorders will begin September 8th for SCORE! Merge Records: The First 20 Years, a deluxe subscription-only box set with special artwork and packaging. Quantities will be limited to the number of subscribers who enroll between the September 8th start date and the end of 2008.

The first two volumes will kick off a series of 14 custom-curated compilations spanning our catalog, each featuring the curators' handpicked Merge selections as well as original artwork. These compilations and additional content will be delivered only to SCORE! subscribers throughout Merge's 20th anniversary year of 2009.

The curators of the first volumes will be Peter Buck of R.E.M. and Phil Morrison, director of Junebug, The Upright Citizens Brigade and numerous music videos. Curators for future volumes will include Amy Poehler, David Byrne, author Jonathan Lethem, artist Marcel Dzama, Momofuku chef David Chang and many more to be announced.

Additionally, the entire SCORE! project will benefit specific charitable causes handpicked by the curators.

Singing Saws sing all by themselves. The idea that a Human Being could play one, as one might a cello or a tuba, is a common misconception perpetuated by the saws themselves for their own amusement.

Julian Koster (The Music Tapes, Neutral Milk Hotel) is a longtime friend of the singing saws, and he, along with friend and co-encourager Nesey Gallons, was allowed to visit the singing saws at Christmastime and participate in their traditions. The result is a new holiday classic! Join The Singing Saw Symphony as they unite saws both young and old in an enchanting celebration of traditional human Christmas songs.

On October 7, 2008, we will release The Singing Saw at Christmastime on CD and LP.

Listen: “Jingle Bells” [mp3 download]
Watch: "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" [video stream]

Tracklisting:

1. The First Noel
2. Frosty The Snowman
3. Silent Night
4. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
5. Jingle Bells
6. White Christmas
7. Silver Bells
8. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
9. O' Come All Ye Faithful
10. O' Holy Night
11. O' Little Town Of Bethlehem
12. We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Conor Oberst is in stores today! Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band have been on the road for a week heralding the release of their Merge debut with a series of in-stores and intimate shows. The band will also visit Jay Leno at The Tonight Show on Wednesday, August 6th. Other guests include Jack Black and the Pillsbury Bake-Off Champ. Check your local listings.

Future in-stores include:

08/08 Nashville, TN Grimey's at 6 PM CST
08/12 New York, NY Other Music at 1 PM EST
(look for an Other Music in-store episode soon after this performance)

Listen to the new record or order your copy now.

See Conor Oberst tour dates in full.

Recorded this winter in Tepoztlán, Morales, Mexico with The Mystic Valley Band, Conor Oberst will be released in the US on August 5th on Merge Records and on August 4th in the UK/Europe on Wichita Records.

Former Merge intern, triangle rock enthusiast, and dear friend Cy Rawls has been diagnosed with brain cancer. The treatment for Cy's illness is very costly and he does not have health insurance. The local music scene is planning several benefits to raise money for Cy and his family.

On August 29th at the Cat's Cradle, Superchunk, The Rosebuds, and Birds of Avalon will play a show to benefit the Cy Rawls Benevolence Fund. Dave Bjorkback (also known as the Torch Marauder) will emcee, and Jon Wurster will say something funny. Tickets are $25 and will go on sale via the Cat's Cradle website Friday, August 1.

For more information about Cy and the benefits planned on his behalf, visit his blog.

Ivan and Kelly recorded Life Like at home in Raleigh, NC. They began by making demos and sketches of songs to entertain themselves, mostly by 4-track, and then, realizing they had a complete record's worth of songs, decided to finish the tracks, keeping most of that early recorded material intact. Then, they called in their friends and neighbors (including Portastatic's Matthew McCaughan, Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, and Ashley Stove's Jim Brantley) to lend their talents. Thus, Life Like was born.

The Rosebuds defy categorization with each new release, like creatures in a myth, shifting shape to avoid capture, or slippery catfish in a North Carolina river. Mention The Smiths and Ivan will turn his Morrissey croon into a gruff Greg Dulli growl or splash it against some reverb-laden surf guitar. Call them Southern Gothic and they'll release a dance record.

On their newest album, Life Like, The Rosebuds return to more acoustic territory, barely a year after releasing the synth-heavy dance pop of 2007's Night of the Furies. Crisp says that perhaps they needed to exorcise the anger and disillusion caused by a hard year of terrifying storms, and endless frustration over an ineffectual political state (that provided the need for the Furies metaphor in their songs) before they could move on to explore stories more closely related to their everyday life.

Life Like will be released on October 7, 2008.

Watch: "Life Like" [video download]
video by Tim Lytvinenko