Music News: Jimmy Dean Dies; New Pixies Tour Dates; Corin Tucker to Release Solo Album; More

Above: Frank Black and The Pixies are performing their classic "Doolittle" album live on tour again this September. Photo: Simon Fernandez.

Bonnaroo has ended and the cleanup has begun in Manchester, Tennessee, but the music world keeps turning. Some stories that are new and of interest:

* Country Hall of Famer Jimmy Dean dies: the songwriter best known for the song "Big Bad John," and later for the brand of sausage that bears his name, passed away on June 13th. He was 81. In addition to his singing, songwriting, and performing, he also was a TV pioneer, and his 1960s who brought country music to a wider audience.

* The Pixies announce new "Doolittle" tour dates: After their successful tour last Fall playing the full "Doolittle" album in honor of its 20th anniversary, the Pixies are doing it again with 11 dates this September. The tour will visit Philadelphia, Nashville, Atlanta, Kansas City, Tulsa, Dallas, Houston, Austin, Mesa, Las Vegas, and San Diego.

* Sleater-Kinney's Corin Tucker readies solo album & tour: She took four years off of music to be a mom, but Corin Tucker is planning a return to music with a group called The Corin Tucker Band. The so-far-untitled album (on S-K's old label, Kill Rock Stars) has an Oct. 5 release date, and Tucker plans five live shows not too far from her home or Portland, Oregon.

* KCRW offers World Cup music playlist: You don't have to be a soccer/football fan to enjoy this fun world music playlist. It features one streaming tune representing each country in the 32-team World Cup draw, handily arranged by tournament grouping. You'll find BLK JKS (South Africa), Jorge Drexler (Uruguay), Fela Kuti (Nigeria), and Quadron (Denmark).

The Pixies Celebrate 20th Anniversary of "Doolittle" with a Tour

Here's something that will make a rock-music lover feel old: it's been 20 years since the release of "Doolittle," the landmark album by The Pixies. To celebrate the occasion, The Pixies are hitting the road for a special tour to play the entire "Doolittle" album live. Frank Black, Kim Deal, Joey Santiago, and David Lovering will be playing a series of dates in October to play all the tracks on "Doolittle," and the setlist will include B-sides and other tracks related to the album.

"Doolittle" was the classic disc that gave us some of the most well-known Pixies tunes, such as "Debaser," "Wave of Mutilation," and "Here Comes Your Man," and others.

Tickets for the "Doolittle" tour are on sale now. Here are the tour dates so far (none in the U.S. yet, unfortunately):

OCTOBER
Thursday 1st - Olympia, Dublin, Ireland
Friday 2nd - Olympia, Dublin, Ireland
Sunday 4th - SECC, Glasgow, Scotland
Tuesday 6th - Brixton Academy, London, England
Wednesday 7th - Brixton Academy, London, England
Thursday 8th - Brixton Academy, London, England
Friday 9th - Brixton Academy, London, England
Sunday 11th - Jahrhunderhalle, Frankfurt, Germany
Tuesday 13th - Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Wednesday 14th - Forest National, Brussels, Belgium
Thursday 15th - Zenith, Paris, France

The Pixies are looking to keep busy in other ways, according to the fan-run site FrankBlack.net, which says that Black is also looking to hire out The Pixies to score movies. “The band needs to work with a film director. Quentin Tarantino or someone like that," the site says. "It’d be like, ‘Make some music for our film, you guys be the sound of the film.'”

Meanwhile, Pixies leader Frank Black is a busy man on the road as always, touring with his own solo shows (under the name Black Francis) and with his act Grand Duchy. He'll be doing a series of dates throughout the Midwest and Eastern U.S. until early August. You can find Black Francis tour dates on the FrankBlack.net Web site.

A Great Source for Free Music from The Pixies, Frank Black, and More

Some of the best Web sites about rock musicians have been put together by fans, and these days fans are applying their passion to podcasting. If you're a fan of punk pioneers The Pixies or their leader Frank Black (who has also called himself Black Francis and Francis Black at various times), you'll want to listen to the FrankBlack.net podcast.

Created and run by two Frank Black fans (one in New Jersey, one in Canada), this twice-a-month podcast has for a year now been offering a knowledgable collection of music and information about Black's musical output. It includes full-length selections--free and legal--from his work with the Pixies, his solo career, and his work with Frank Black and the Catholics.

Each episode runs from a half hour to 45 minutes.

Besides the album tracks that may be familiar to Frank Black fans, the podcast features B-sides, unreleased tracks, live performances, and more. Among other things, you'll find:
* live cuts that sometimes differ quite a bit from their original studio versions
* rarities from Frank Black's library that haven't seen the light of day (or the light of a CD player, or whatever the appropriate analogy would be)
* the hosts' choice of underrated songs that deserve more attention
* cover versions culled from tribute albums and elsewhere
* "Frank Black to Back"--alternate versions of songs, played next to each other for comparison
* guest interviews and songs from Frank Black collaborators and others associated with various Black projects

So the FrankBlack.net podcast is a good resource for both longtime fans and for new listeners.

The hosts joke around a bit but never lose site of the focus on Black and his music, so the banter is never annoying. These guys are dedicated fans first and foremost, and their goal is to expose listeners to the genius of Black.

Besides the podcast, the folks at FrankBlack.net run a fan Web site that includes extensive forums, news, tour updates, and more. The site and podcast are great resources for diehard fans and anyone looking to get into the vast output of Black in his various musical incarnations.