Neutral Milk Hotel frontman Jeff Mangum went mostly off the grid for over a decade following the 1998 release of In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, a move that may have made him even more of a legendary figure in the music scene, even if that wasn't the outcome he was going for. The mysterious musician would pop up now and again at his friend's shows over those years, eventually easing himself back into the public eye with his own smaller shows. Then last month he played at Town Hall. Mangum was noticeably uncomfortable in the venue, asking the house lights to be turned on and for the audience to sing along, in an effort to make the experience "more human." So it was somewhat surprising that he's going back on the road, announcing new tour dates. more ›

Last night, the Occupy Wall Street protesters received something even better than a Radiohead concert (sorry, Thom): a 32-minute surprise set by Jeff Mangum. At around 10 p.m. last night Mangum, donning one of his trademark sweaters, arrived unannounced—after finishing his first song, he told the crowd: “I’m here to serve you. What do you want to hear?” Here's what he delivered: more ›

Late last month it was announced that the All Tomorrow's Parties festival would move from Kutsher’s Country Club to Asbury Park, NJ. The big names coming out of hiding for this year's fest were also announced: Jeff Mangum, of Neutral Milk Hotel, and Portishead. Today, the festival organizers have announced that, on top of performing at their U.S. fest, Mangum will be "curating one of the two festival weekends of their December festivities at Butlins, Minehead." Closer to home, it was announced that he would be doing a short tour this fall (including one NYC date at Town Hall). The tour dates are below—but expect an LCD Soundsystem-esque disaster when those the tickets go on sale. And for those who don't know who Jeff Mangum is (because... you know), just press play: more ›

The mysterious Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel has seemed perfectly happy living off the grid, or at least under the radar—but over the past couple of years he's been coming out of hiding to perform secret (and not so secret) shows. The latest was this past Saturday night, when he played a 10-song set in a loft in Bushwick for 75 people. And as if the sting of not being amongst the lucky few in attendance wasn't painful enough, Pitchfork reports that the setlist went something like this: Oh Comely > In the Aeroplane Over the Sea > Gardenhead > Engine > Ghost > King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1 > Song Against Sex > Naomi > Two Headed Boy > Two Headed Boy Pt. 2 (some audio can be heard here). more ›

Julian Koster, member of the Elephant 6 Collective, former member of the legendary Neutral Milk Hotel and current leader of The Music Tapes, will be playing in Central Park tonight to his two stuffed animals. An acorn will be your ticket in, and there are plenty of other instructions that should keep you busy up until show time, which is 10:46 p.m. (not a moment sooner). This is a rain date for a previously scheduled show--read the original details here and updates here. Give a listen to Music Tapes album then head up to the mouth of the American Museum of Natural History. UPDATE: Looks like we received a bad tip and this show actually appears to have happened last year, our apologies! Looks like the rain would have stopped it anyway. [via Hard to Find a Friend] more ›

Brand New didn't have to be at CMJ this year. The band doesn't have a new album coming out, they headline shows at Hammerstein Ballroom and have sold millions of records. So why did Jesse and Vin stay behind to play an acoustic set at Mercury Lounge? They wanted to support their good friends in local indie band Aeroplane Pageant, who were playing a showcase after them Tuesday night. A noble gesture, no doubt. The duo played a handful of stripped down gems off their three albums to a CMJ crowd that may not have normally given these guys a listen. A bold move, capped with a risky but impressive Neutral Milk Hotel cover, these guy likely made a few new fans that night. (pic via The Syndicate's flickr) more ›

Of Montreal more ›

This week Snowden is coming up to our little city all the way from Atlanta. Last time they were here they dazzled us with their complex prog-rock, beautifully tragic textured vocals and of course their Southern charm. We at Gothamist wanted to know more about this band (comprised of David Payne - guitar, bass // Chandler Rentz - drums, vocals // Corinne Lee - guitar, bass, keys // Jordan Jeffares - guitar, keys, vocals) so we asked Jordan and Dave some hard hitting questions... more ›

Natalia Paruz, The SawLady more ›

Lindsay Robertson more ›