The Bulletin: Arts & Culture News | 20 March

R.I.P. JASON MOLINA
Jason Molina, the alt.country artist behind bands Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co., passed away this Saturday, aged just 39. His death was attributed to liver failure caused by excessive alcohol consumption. The prolific singer-songwriter recorded his most acclaimed album, Magnolia Electric Co., with Steve Albini in 2000, featuring a band which included Alasdair Roberts, and members of Arab Strap – thereafter, his band went by the same name as the album. Albini paid tribute to the songwriter on the Electrical Audio forum, saying: "I loved hearing Jason Molina sing. He was a genius at turning a phrase and making it into something more than the words in it... Jason was a unique talent and I will miss him. My heart goes out to all his friends and family, all of you I've met have been good people who did well by Jason."

THE KNIFE ISSUE MANIFESTO
As Swedish electronic duo The Knife prepare to release their eagerly-anticipated new album Shaking The Habitual, they have prepared a surprise for members of the press: a page-long manifesto written by journalist and blogger Jess Arndt, issued along with press copies of their new material. You can read the full manifesto here, but here are some highlights – it includes some fantastic agit-prop statements such as “We have a bellyache, a big stink, a major grouse or two with manufactured knowledge,” and “We don’t believe in metaphors.” The manifesto also addresses issues such as GM crops and Monsanto, the ‘DNA’ of warehouse party dancefloors, and making your own instruments. 

WATCH: NINE INCH NAILS LIVE DOCUMENTARY, FEATURING DAVID BOWIE & MARILYN MANSON
Shortly after announcing their plans to tour, and their headline appearances at the Reading and Leeds Festivals, Nine Inch Nails have unveiled a new documentary from their 1994 to 1996 tour, under the Self Destruct banner. The video features some big-name guests joining the band on stage, including Marilyn Manson and David Bowie. The footage was previously only available as part of the Closure video, released in 1997. 

FESTIVAL WATCH: MORE GLASTO TICKETS ON SALE, PUKKELPOP, FLOW, FARMFEST, TRUCK FEST, WILLOWMAN, HEBCELT
Registration for tickets to Glastonbury Festival (26-30 Jun) re-opened on Monday – if you want tickets to the mother of all UK Summer festivals, register your details at the Glastonbury site before 20 April. Despite several rumours flying around about this year's headliners, the lineup is still a closely-guarded secret, with the only acts confirmed so far being Nas, Disclosure, Hot Natured, David Rodigan, Sub Focus, AlunaGeorge, Eats Everything and a handful of others.

Another grand old dame of the festival circuit is Pukkelpop (15-17 Aug) in Belgium. The first act confirmed for this festival veteran are Eminem, The xx, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, The Prodigy, Nine Inch Nails, Slayer, Deftones, Fall Out Boy, TNGHT, Baauer, Fucked Up, Polica, Mount Kimbie, CHVRCHES, Franz Ferdinand, The Knife, Alabama Shakes, Foals, and Bat For Lashes, with more to be confirmed. Tickets go on sale on 27 Mar.

Flow Festival (7-11 Aug) in Helsinki has added a few big names too – they welcome Bat For Lashes, Hudson Mohawke, Azealia Banks and Julia Holter to their lineup, which is headed up by Kraftwerk and The Knife. Details and tickets here.

OFF Festival (2-4 Aug) in Katowice, Poland has a strong lineup this year – their first acts announced for 2013 are Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Girls Against Boys, The Haxan Cloak, Mykki Blanco, Skalpel and Goat. Details and tickets here.

This year's Farmfestival (26-27 Jul), set in rural Somerset, has confirmed Black Strobe (a UK festival exclusive) alongside Gramme, The Lovely Eggs, Thumpers, Luke Unabomber and Chicken Lips. Details and tickets here.

Truck Fest (19-20 Jul) in Oxford have added headliners Spiritualized to their bill, alongside further new additions The Joy Formidable, Treetop Flyers and We Are The Ocean. Details and tickets here.

One of north England's smaller festivals, Willowman (20-23 Jun) features headliners The Orb, New Model Army and The Wonder Stuff, along with an acoustic tent, boutique food stalls and 'glamping.' Details and tickets here.

Set on the beautiful island of Lewis, HebCelt (17-20 Jul) have announced details of their annual competition, which sees up-and-coming folk musicians given the chance to play the main stage, alongside this year's headliners Van Morrison and Capercailie. To enter, artists need to prepare a promotional pack in electronic format that includes links to three good quality recordings of their music, at least one high resolution photograph and a biography. They can also include links to a live performance. Submissions should be sent by email by 5pm on 12 Apr to office@hebceltfest.comand marked 'HebCelt New Talent Submissions.' Details and festival tickets here.

NEW VIDEOS: DOPE BODY, VAMPIRE WEEKEND, ALTAR OF PLAGUES
Dope Body's new offering Leather Head is our Single of the Month in March, as reviewed by the Deftones' Chino Moreno and Frank Delgado. Read their round-up of the March singles here. The video for the track is below.

Vampire Weekend are back, with their third album Modern Vampires Of The City due out on 6 May. They have unveiled two tracks from the album, and although the clips below are not 'official' music videos, at least the band have provided some interesting imagery, in the form of a lyric video for Step, and slow-motion footage of a burning car for Diane Young.

Finally, experimental black metal artist James Kelly's Altar of Plagues project (he is also known as Tri-Angle records' dub/shoegaze miserablist WIFE) have released a stunning new video. The track is taken from Teethed Glory and Infamy, the new album due out on 30 Apr. 

NEW MUSIC: RUSTIE, DINOSAUR JR., J.D. TWITCH X CARMEN VILLAIN, SAVAGES
Scottish bassbin-botherer Rustie's new 12" is out this week – we previously featured Slasherzz in the Bulletin, now we can play you the flip, Triadzz.

Dinosaur Jr. are gearing up for the festival seasons with appearances at Primavera and a host of other shindigs. The band contributed this hybrid remix / cover version of Entertainment, by Phoenix, to the band's Soundcloud this week.

Optimo's JD Twitch unveiled a new remix this week, a reworking of a track from the forthcoming album by model-turned-songwriter Carmen Villain. Villain's album Sleeper is out on 27 Apr.

Finally, post-punk outfit Savages have made the track She Will, from forthcoming album Silence Yourself, due out 6 May, available on YouTube. The band play Glasgow's SWG3 on 2 May, before heading to Liverpool Sound City for a slot on 3 May.

ON TOUR: MODEST MOUSE, JURASSIC 5, KT TUNSTALL
A brief round-up of tour news: experimental heroes Modest Mouse are returning to the UK, with a date at Academy 2 in Manchester on 16 Jul (unfortunately no Scottish dates this time). Re-formed silver age hip-hop legends Jurassic 5 are coming to the O2 Academy in Glasgow on 10 Jun, reuniting the original line-up of  Chali 2na, Akil, Zaakir, Mark 7even and disc jockeys DJ Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist. And finally, KT Tunstall has a new album out soon – Invisible Empire / Crescent Moon drops on 10 Jun, and Tunstall will be performing cuts from it at an intimate gig at Glasgow's Òran Mór on 19 Jun. 

TRAILERS: A RESURRECTION, STARBUCK
First-time director Matt Orlando's debut feature A Resurrection tells the story of a young man who is covinced his dead brother is coming back from the grave for revenge, after being brutally murdered. It looks slick, stylish and edge-of-your-seat scary.

Well-received French Canadian comedy Starbuck, made in 2011, finally gets a UK release this spring, telling the tale of a sperm donor who finds out he has spawned over 500 children.