It's official: Confirming rampant rumors, shoegaze pioneers My Bloody Valentine have reunited and will release a new album -- before year's end! How is that possible? Only because it's not entirely new, according to an interview with MBV mainstay Kevin Shields set to air Monday (Nov. 12) on VBS.tv's Soft Focus. The forthcoming record will contain material recorded by Shields and guitarist/vocalist Belinda Butcher over a decade ago, some material from even earlier in the '90s, and "a little bit of new stuff," Shields says. "It sounds like what we sounded like -- different, but not radically different. People will go, 'Yeah, it sounds like My Bloody Valentine.'" Thanks, Kevin, for being so specifically unspecific. [Via thedailyswarm.com]

My Bloody Valentine

Meanwhile, the band's much-speculated performance at Coachella 2008 remains unconfirmed.

Black Lips Detail 'Let It Be' Role

It appears the rabble rousers of Atlanta's flower punk quartet Black Lips are getting serious about their role as fictional band the Renegades in the forthcoming film Let It Be, going as far as signing up for a few pointers from the professionals: "We're going to start going to acting school," guitarist Ian St. Pe told NME.com. But it's not exactly like the band is stretching too much for their role. "We're called the Renegades, which was actually the name of our band before we called ourselves Black Lips," said frontman Cole Alexander. "People don't know that. It's kind of a little joke."

Vincent Gallo, Hole's Eric Erlandson Form RRIICCEE, Tour

Another day, another project for actor, film director, musician, and renowned New York scenester Vincent Gallo, who has now joined forces with former Hole axeman Eric Erlandson as RRIICCEE, a totally improvisational act set to embark on 17-date tour of North America. Kicking off Dec. 1 in Tucson, AZ, the newfound duo will hit cities like Austin, Atlanta, Washington, DC, and Gallo's hometown of Buffalo, NY, as well as West Coast outposts like Portland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. What does "totally improvisational" mean? "A jam is a disorganized version of the most ordinary cliche habits," Gallo told the SF Guardian earlier this year. "That's the furthest thing from what we're doing... It's more a gesture of composing and performing at the same time."

RRIICCEE tour dates:

12/1, Tucson, AZ (Solar Culture)
12/3, Austin, TX (Alamo Drafthouse)
12/5, Atlanta, GA (Eyedrum Gallery)
12/7, New York, NY (Green Room @ 45 Bleecker)
12/8, Washington, DC (Rock N’ Roll Hotel)
12/9, Philadelphia, PA (Johnny Brendas)
12/10, TBA
12/11, Buffalo, NY (Soundlab)
12/12, Montreal, Quebec (Club Lambi)
12/13, Toronto, Ontario (Music Gallery)
12/14, TBA
12/15, Chicago, IL (Schubas)
12/16, Kansas City, MO (Record Bar)
12/17, Denver, CO (The Walnut Room)
12/19, Portland, OR (Mission Theater)
12/21, San Francisco, CA (Red Devil Lounge)
12/22, Los Angeles, CA (Rec Center Studios)