As if the story of the famed Manchester post-punk prodigies Joy Division couldn’t get any more depressing, the BBC reported today that the grave marker of lead singer Ian Curtis was stolen from Macclesfield Cemetery sometime within the past twenty-four hours.

The marker, a small brick engraved with “IAN CURTIS, 18-5-80″ and “LOVE WILL TEAR US APART” had spent the last twenty-eight years undisturbed by fans and admirers. However, with a recent surge in Joy Division-themed products and films—Anton Corbjin’s biopic Controland Grant Gee’s documentary Joy Division—there is speculation the theft may have been fueled by this new-found public interest.

Cheer up, Ian. It’s nothing to kill yourself over.

Oh, wait…

If you were as unlucky as us during Coachella and missed Hot Chip’s performance, wipe away those regret-filled tears, because everyone’s favorite British electropoppers have graced their fans with a second slew of tour dates in support of their newest album, Made in the Dark.

The tour kicks off with two (!!!) performances at Los Angeles’ Wiltern Theatre in late September. (Let’s just hope the band doesn’t get all wishy-washy on us again.)

For those of you who were too busy looking for your friends to watch Hot Chip at Coachella, this video of the band performing “Ready for the Floor” should hold you over until September—or make you more upset that you missed the band. (We’re just talking about ourselves here, really.)

Hot Chip Fall 2008 Tour Dates:
09-21 Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern
09-22 Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern
09-23 Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theater
09-25 Dallas, TX - Palladium Ballroom
09-26 Austin, TX - Zilker Park (Austin City Limits Festival)
09-28 Chicago, IL - Metro
09-29 Chicago, IL - Metro
09-30 Toronto, Ontario - Koolhaus
10-01 Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis
10-03 New York, NY - Terminal 5
10-04 New York, NY - Terminal 5
10-05 Philadelphia, PA - The Trocadero
10-07 Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live
10-08 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
10-09 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
10-23 Southampton, England - Guildhall
10-24 Cardiff, Wales - University
10-25 Liverpool, England - Carling Academy
10-26 Leeds, England - Carling Academy
10-28 Sheffield, England - Carling Academy
10-29 Birmingham, England - Carling Academy
10-30 Cambridge, England - Corn Exchange
11-01 Manchester, England - Apollo
11-02 Glasgow, Scotland - Carling Academy
11-03 Leicester, England - University
11-05 Brighton, England - Dome
11-06 London, England - Brixton Academy
11-07 London, England - Brixton Academy

After a noted absence from the Los Angeles area, Brazillian girl-fronted dance poppers Cansei de Ser Sexy—or, more simply, CSS—have announced plans to return to Southern California on their North American and European tour this upcoming fall.

Despite the unexpected departure of bassist Ira Trevisan in early April, CSS has signed on to play numerous summer festivals, including the inaugural installment of All Points West. The band is also slated to release their sophomore effort, Donkey, on Sub Pop records July 22.

Can’t wait that long? Good news—you can listen to the first single off Donkey, “Rat is Dead (Rage)”, below.

Tickets for the Los Angeles dates have not gone on sale as of yet, but stay tuned to the SketchyTown Concert Calendar for updates.

CSS Tour Dates, Summer/Fall 2008
 05-09 Brittany, France - Art Rock Fstival
05-23 Warsaw, Poland - Freshsounds Fest
05-25 Northampton, England - Gatecrasher Fest
05-26 Newcastle, England - Evolution Festival
05-31 London, England - Roehampton England
06-04 Montreaux, Switzerland - Montreaux Jazz Festival
06-05 Belfort, France - Les Eurockeennes
06-06-07 Frankfurt, Germany - Rock in Park Festival
06-07-08 Loch Ness, Scotland - RockNess
06-13 London, England - Rise Festival
06-19 Barcelona, Spain - Summercase Festival
06-20 Madrid, Spain - Summercase Festival
06-25 Mt. Fuji, Japan - Fuji Rock Festival
07-18 Madrid, Spain - Summercase Festival
07-19 Barcelona, Spain - Summercase Festival
07-30 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
07-31 Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall
08-01 Chicago, IL - Grant Park (Lollapalooza)
08-04 Montreal, Quebec - Osheaga Festival
08-05 Toronto, Ontario - Kool Haus
08-08 Jersey City, NJ - All Points West Festival
08-09 Worcester, MA - The Palladium
08-10 Atlantic City, NJ - House of Blues
09-05-07 Isle of Wight, England - Bestival
09-14 Morrison, CO - Monolith Festival
09-15 Salt Lake City, UT - In the Venue
09-17 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom
09-19 Portland, OR - Roseland Theater
09-22 Los Angeles, CA - Mayan Theatre
09-23 Los Angeles, CA - Mayan Theatre
09-25 Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theater
09-26 Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Festival

Well, well, well—what did we tell you? As previously reported on SketchyTown, iconic shoegazers My Bloody Valentine have added a slew of tour stops across the United States as a part of their reunion festivities, including TWO nights at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.

Tickets for the Los Angeles shows go onsale this weekend through TicketBastard.

My Bloody Valentine 2008 Tour Dates
06-20 London, England - The Roundhouse
06-21 London, England - The Roundhouse
06-22 London, England - The Roundhouse
06-23 London, England - The Roundhouse
06-24 London, England - The Roundhouse
06-28 Manchester, England - Apollo
06-29 Manchester, England - Apollo
07-02 Glasgow, Scotland - Barrowland
07-03 Glasgow, Scotland - Barrowland
07-03-06 Roskilde, Denmark - Roskilde Festival
07-09 Paris, France - Zenith
07-17-20 Benicàssim, Spain - Festival Internacional de Benicàssim
07-25 Naeba, Japan - Fuji Rock Festival
08-08 Oslo, Norway - Øya Festival
09-05 Isle of Wight, England - Bestival
09-19-21 Monticello, NY - Kutshers Country Club (ATP New York)
09-22 New York, NY - Roseland
09-23 New York, NY - Roseland
09-25 Toronto, Ontario - Ricoh
09-27 Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
09-30 San Francisco, CA - The Concourse
10-01 Los Angeles, CA - Santa Monica Civic
10-02 Los Angeles, CA - Santa Monica Civic

While everyone was partying on the polo fields at this past weekend’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, a very reliable sourcein the concert world revealed that iconic shoegazers My Bloody Valentine will bring their reunion tour to the West Coast this fall.

MBV will play the famed Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in September in support of the band’s rumored new album and reunion publicity.

The band is already slated to play a slew of summer dates throughout Europe, as well as All Tomorrow’s Parties in New York.

Tickets will go on sale for the show in the next few weeks. Stay tuned for more information, and remember—you heard it in SketchyTown first!

If this is the real deal, it doesn’t look pretty, folks…

We’re going to have to think REAL hard to make it through the Kraftwerk and Animal Collective conflict.

Friday, April 25th

Saturday, April 26th

Sunday, April 27th

This has “shittastic” written all over it.

The number of media-touted “buzz bands” playing this weekend’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is astounding; once tragically hip underground groups known only by self-proclaimed hipster scum now pepper the lineup like silver sedans on the 110 freeway. Quite possibly the most anticipated performance by one of these rising bands comes from Ivy League prepsters Vampire Weekend.

One of the most ironically-named bands currently exploding across the airwaves, Vampire Weekend shatters its unfitting moniker’s connotations (Hot Topic and eyeliner, anyone?) with an arsenal of treble-heavy guitars, Afro-influenced drum beats, and soothing synth hooks. To top it all off, the band sings of yacht clubs, Cape Cod, and the “woes” of privileged Northeastern living—all while sporting a snazzy, snobtastic wardrobe.

After releasing their self-titled debut earlier this year, Vampire Weekend has skyrocketed to the top of the indiepop heap with a handful of TV appearances, magazine covers, and hit music videos. But, as all discerning music fans know, only time can tell if the band’s success and acclaim will carry past their well-timed first release.

While you get a feel for Vampire Weekend’s sound by listening to “Mansard Roof,” pull out your Keds, polos, and plaid shorts—Vampire Weekend is making East Coast snobbery cool again.

It’s one thing when our perception of the 1980s comes from professional, over-zealous music videos. But when a home-grown, self-made video masterpiece comes to our attention, the result is a magical mix of cheese factor and all-around awesomeness.

The now defunct Eta Delta chapter of the Chi Phi fraternity at the University of Southern California performed a totally 80stastic song in hopes of luring potential pledges into their acid wash-infused ranks—and then filmed it. Somehow, the film wiggled its way onto YouTube for our own personal enjoyment.

Filmed in March of 1988 (KittKat would not be born for two more months!) the pseudo music video features a collection of the most fratastic individuals dancing around, singing the praises of Everclear and The Row. (There’s even a special appearance by the 9-0, circa 1988. Check it out in all it’s sketchy glory!)

The best part about the video, though, is its blatant 1980s editing, complete with pixelization, inverted colors, and shaky camera moves. But it’s not enough to talk about it…Just watch and be amazed.

Super-hip guys and girls of the world, we here in SketchyTown are pleased to present the new and improved SketchyTown!!!

SketchyTown 2.0 BETA takes SketchyTown to a whole new level, hitting categories of sketchtasticness never before reached…until now.

Check out our new frontpage, contact list, and logo! We even have an online storewhich will soon begin selling SketchyTown merchandise and products from featured clients and vendors.

As always, our concert calendar keeps filling up with reminders of awesome shows passing through Los Angeles in the coming weeks. Check daily for updates!

In the next 24 hours, the famed SketchyTown blog will explode with posts unseen in the past few weeks due to our extensive remastering of our humble little neighborhood.

So have fun, snoop around, and stay sketchy!

In the world of the music festival, the acts billed toward the end of any lineup tend to get overlooked, pushed aside, and forgotten by the average concert attendee. For next weekend’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, a handful of the festival’s smaller acts might succumb to the same fate billed against major acts like Prince, Kraftwerk, and the like. However, for the few music lovers who try and explore all performers in a given weekend, Coachella delivers an unimaginable smorgasbord of underground, practically unknown acts that those who know were to look might find several entertaining musical gems.

For the hipster electropop crowd, French performer Yelle takes the part of one such unfortunately lower-billed act. Blending infinite girltastic hooks with an array of infinite stereotypical French upbeat electronic backing tracks, Yelle’s music defines the new emerging genre of ‘French Electrogirl’ to absolute perfection.

Her debut album, Pop-Up, mixes Yelle’s distinctly cute-infused singing voice and her sassy French rapping skills with an unlikely subject matter. Using her adorable appearance as a guise, Yelle darts around her musical soundscape ruminating about men with small penises, ‘girl power,’ and everything else in between. The result is, quite frankly, awesometastic.

To top it all off, Yelle’s video singles operate as perfect manifestations of her musical pursuits. Whether they feature brightly colored backgrounds serving as the canvas for a variety of adorable graphics or outfits so glittery and vibrant they rival the reflective power of an aluminum roof, each video does exactly what all good music videos should.

Before Yelle takes the stage during Coachella’s jam-packed Saturday, listen to her song, “Ce Jeu” off of Pop-Up, below.