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Via Stereogum:

At Berlin

Totally not Canadian experimental electronic duo Boards of Canada debuted a new video on a wall in Tokyo’s Jinnan Shibuya-ku junction yesterday. It was pretty much what you’d expect. Via Fact Magazine:

Update: New Boards of Canada video playing. The music sounds like

The Daily Swarm would like to congratulate Vampire Weekend for having their third album Modern Vampires of the City debut at number one on the US Album Chart. This is the first time a band signed to an independent label has had two albums go to number one. (Provided you’re willing to define “independent” in a liberal enough way that XL counts.) Here’s the press release.

Vampire Weekend’s Modern Vampires Of The City has entered the U.S. album chart at #1, selling nearly 135,000 copies since its May 14 release on XL Recordings.

This is the second time Vampire Weekend has achieved such an historic feat: Its sophomore album Contra also debuted at #1 in 2010, making this the first time an independent rock band has entered at #1 with two consecutive releases.

Modern Vampires Of The City also shatters the previous record for first week vinyl sales, moving nearly 10,000 units on vinyl alone and debuting at #1 on the Soundscan Vinyl Charts. Additionally, the band charted #1 at Indie, Alternative, Digital and of course the top 200.

Man, a Steve Buscemi co-sign will do wonders.

The Daily Swarm would like to congratulate Vampire Weekend for having their third album Modern Vampires of the City debut at number one on the US Album Chart. This is the first time a band signed to an independent label has had two albums go to number one. (Provided you’re willing to define “independent” in a liberal enough way that XL counts.) Here’s the press release.

Vampire Weekend’s Modern Vampires Of The City has entered the U.S. album chart at #1, selling nearly 135,000 copies since its May 14 release on XL Recordings.

This is the second time Vampire Weekend has achieved such an historic feat: Its sophomore album Contra also debuted at #1 in 2010, making this the first time an independent rock band has entered at #1 with two consecutive releases.

Modern Vampires Of The City also shatters the previous record for first week vinyl sales, moving nearly 10,000 units on vinyl alone and debuting at #1 on the Soundscan Vinyl Charts. Additionally, the band charted #1 at Indie, Alternative, Digital and of course the top 200.

Man, a Steve Buscemi co-sign will do wonders.

Via XLR8R:

It may be hard to believe, but the past three years have seen a surprising return to service for the humble 12” record. The format which DJ culture was essentially built from is enjoying something of an in-vogue moment, as vinyl sales have reportedly risen to a 16-year highpoint of $177 million. Exactly why this has happened now is difficult to say, but it’s hard not to see the renewed popularity in the recent glut of limited-edition, vinyl-oriented dance-music labels. While this is undoubtedly a good thing, it also brings a variety of latent issues to the surface. To better explore those concerns, XLR8R went looking for the opinions of a variety of people who hold the almighty 12” dear.

Brooklyn-based rap Wunderkind Joey Bada$$ got his 200,000th Twitter follower today. He celebrated by announcing the release date for Summer Knights, the upcoming EP from his Pro Era collective. Via Exclaim:

Earlier this month, he tweeted that a new Pro Era group EP called Summer Knights would drop sometime next month. After passing the 200,000-follower milestone on his account earlier today (May 22), though, the Beast Coast MC revealed a solid street date of June 12.

“Eye should drop a track today :D in celebration of this 200k mark… but fuck it, eye’ll just make this announcement. My 'Summer Knights Ep’ drops June 12th. good day,” he wrote.

Amazing!

Via The Hairpin:

1. Beyoncé has 11 more nickels than quarters. How many coins does she have if the total value of her coins is $2.65?

2. Beyoncé is 31 years old. Four years from now, she will be 10 years older than five times Blue Ivy’s age. How old is Blue Ivy’s secret surrogate mom?

Last week, a woman came forward saying ’90s rapper Tim Dog had faked his own death the avoid debt repayment. (Dog supposedly died back in February, and had been convicted of scamming the woman out of $32,000 in an online dating scam.)

Now, a Mississippi prosecutor has issued an arrest warrant for Dog, real name Timothy Blair. Via Pitchfork:

“I need proof,” Jubera told WREG. “I need a death certificate showing that he’s dead because as far as I’m concerned, he’s alive.” Apparently, Jubera was swayed by the arguments of a woman named Esther Pilgrim, who, last week, accused Tim Dog (born Timothy Blair) of faking his own death to avoid paying her tens of thousands of dollars. Pilgrim was one of many women the rapper defrauded through an online dating scheme. (He was charged with grand larceny.)

If Blair is, indeed, alive, his case will go down as an example of how easily misinformation can spread in the age of the rapid-fire online news cycle. Virtually all of the original reports of the rapper’s death— including Pitchfork’s— can be connected to a story by The Source that can no longer be found at its original link. No original reports of his death that we have found indicated where he died or how his death was discovered.

Jailed Pussy Riot member Maria Alekhina has gone on hunger strike after a judge refused to let her attend her own parole hearing in person. Via Consequence of Sound:

Alekhina refused to take part in the hearing via video-link, saying it violated her rights. She also asked for the judge and prosecutor to be replaced.

A new hearing has been scheduled for tomorrow (May 23rd). However, Alekhina