Will Bryant reports:
Due to continued manufacturing difficulties with the packaging, Björk's intricate Family Tree box set has been pushed back once again, to November 4th. Pitchfork has obtained the tracklist for the six-disc set, which includes a special alternate version of Björk's Greatest Hits collection, with the Icelandic impresario's own picks instead of the fan-selected tracklist that will be available separately. As previously reported, the other five discs are 3" CD singles exploring various developments in Björk's career from her earliest compositions as a teenage music student, to unreleased post-Sugarcubes working tracks, to lush orchestrations of more current material. Tracklist: Disc one: "Strings 1"

01 Unravel
02 Cover Me
03 Possibly Maybe
04 Anchor Song
05 Hunter

Disc two: "Strings 2"

01 All Neon Like
02 I've Seen It All
03 Bachelorette
04 Play Dead

Disc three: "Roots 1"

01 Sidasta Eg
02 Gloria
03 Fuglar
04 Ammaeli
05 Mamma

Disc four: "Roots 2"

01 Immature
02 Cover Me (Other)
03 Generous Palmstroke
04 Jóga (Strings & Vocal)
05 Mother Heroic

Disc five: "Greatest Hits" [as selected by Björk herself]

01 Venus as a Boy
02 Hyperballad
03 You've Been Flirting Again
04 Isobel
05 Jóga
06 Unravel
07 Bachelorette
08 All Is Full of Love
09 Scatterheart
10 I've Seen It All
11 Pagan Poetry
12 It's Not Up to You

Disc six: "Beats"

01 The Modern Things
02 Karvel
03 I Go Humble
04 Nature Is Ancient

Björk's Greatest Hits package is now postponed until November 4th as well, with two recently announced DVDs to follow. Live at the Royal Opera House features a complete live performance from December 2001 with the usual cast of characters (Matmos, harpist Zeena Parkins, strings and a choir) and is due November 18th. Tracklist:

01 Frosti
02 Overture
03 All Is Full Of Love
04 Aurora
05 Undo
06 Generous Palmstroke
07 An Echo, A Stain
08 Hidden Place
09 Cocoon
10 Unison
11 Harm Of Will
12 It's Not Up To You
13 Pagan Poetry
14 Possibly Maybe
15 Isobel
16 Hyperballad
17 Human Behaviour
18 Jóga
19 It's In Our Hands

Finally, fans will be able to score a freshly expanded edition of Björk's video collection, Volumen, with clips from Vespertine, the video for the previously unreleased "It's In Our Hands," and animated clips set to old-school B-side "My Snare" and Family Tree's "Nature Is Ancient." The set should be available in time for Christmas, with a projected December 2nd release date, but you never know-- they might want to package it in a glow-in-the-dark translucent bumblebee, so maybe you better jot that one down in pencil.

.: Pitchfork Review: Björk: Vespertine
.: Pitchfork News: Björk Compilations Pushed to October
.: Pitchfork News: Björk Lets Fans Pick Hits, Compiles Box Set
.: Björk: http://www.bjork.com

Ray Suzuki reports:
Despite the success of 24 Hour Party People and the rising popularity of Peter Hook-weaned acts like Interpol, New Order fans just can't get any props in the U.S., where a new best-of collection, live DVD, and box set are not scheduled for domestic release. However, if you're twitchin' to get that Shep Pettibone twelve-inch mix of "Bizarre Love Triangle", you'll be able to if you just step ever so slightly over our border to the north. I'm talkin' about Canada, kids! So at least the imports will be cheap. The best-of set, Here To Stay (which actually does include the Pettibone remix and five other vintage twelve-inch extensions), is due October 29th in Canada. Tracklist:

01 Ceremony
02 Blue Monday (original 12" mix)
03 Confusion (Arthur Baker 12" mix)
04 Thieves Like Us
05 Perfect Kiss (original 12" mix)
06 Shellshock
07 Bizarre Love Triangle (Shep Pettibone 12" mix)
08 True Faith (original 12-inch mix)
09 Touched by the Hand of God (original 12" mix)
10 Crystal
11 60MPH
12 Here to Stay

The box set, titled IV, is due November 12th and the Live at Finsbury Park DVD on November 19th, but again, you'll have to smuggle them in from our hockey-lovin' neighbors to the north.

New Order are currently in the studio working on a follow-up to last year's passable comeback project Get Ready, but in the meantime they have assembled a mix CD titled Back To Mine (which actually will be released in the U.S. November 5th). The DJ-style mix includes some obvious choices (Primal Scream, Roxy Music, "Venus In Furs") amid more current raves (Doves, Plunderphonics fave Missy Elliott), detours left (Captain Beefheart, Can) and the simply inexplicable (Cat Stevens?!?). Sorry New Order: no Shep Pettibone, no justice. Tracklist:

01 Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band "Big Eyed Beans From Venus"
02 Primal Scream "Higher Than the Sun"
03 Missy Elliott "The Rain" (Supa Dupa Fly)
04 The Velvet Underground "Venus in Furs"
05 Doves "M62 Song"
06 Roxy Music "In Every Dream Home a Heartache"
07 Cat Stevens "Was Dog a Doughnut?"
08 Mantronix "Bassline"
09 The Groundhogs "Cherry Red"
10 Joey Beltram "Energy Flash"
11 Donna Summer "I Feel Love" (Patrick Cowley mix)
12 Can "Mushroom"
13 Rhythm Is Rhythm "The Dance"
14 Giorgio Vs Talla 2XLC "E=MC2"

.: Pitchfork News: New Order: Get Ready
.: New Order: http://www.neworderonline.com

Will Bryant reports:
Darla Records has announced a February 15th release date for the sophomore album from The California Oranges, the ultra-poppy alter-egos of Holiday Flyer's usually pensive John Conley and Verna Brock. Oranges & Pineapples will come hot on the heels of another Holiday Flyer side project, The Sinking Ships, whose debut album Out Of Key Harmony is now due November 5th from Darla. The Sinking Ships are essentially the California Oranges with the minor substitution of John's sister Katie on lead vocals. The California Oranges debuted in 2000 with a self-titled pop-rock juggernaut featuring odes to rollerskating, John Hughes movies, workin' for the weekend, and the guilty pleasures of Olivia Newton-John. And hell yeah they've been mellow: Holiday Flyer released its most recent collection of Galaxie 500-meets-Elephant 6 jangle, I Hope, last year on Darla. There's a hidden track on the disc if you somehow smuggle it into a commercial CD jukebox (you'll have to remove that factory-installed Doors or Van Morrison best-of first) and request selection #B-17.

.: Pitchfork News: HolidayFlyer Crew Joins Sinking Ships
.: Holiday Flyer: http://www.holidayflyer.com
.: Darla: http://www.darla.com

Ray Suzuki reports:
Emotastic Omaha five-piece Cursive are returning to the road this month with "a newly completed record, a slew of tour dates, and some brand new scars," according to the fine folks at Saddle Creek. Cursive had to cancel planned tours of the U.S. and Japan earlier this summer when frontman Tim Kasher suffered a collapsed lung. Apparently, the recovery gave both Kasher and the band a second wind (pun way intended), as the group recorded a new album during their downtime. The Ugly Organ will hit shelves in February/March 2003, Saddle Creek reports, but shiddle-dee-dee, you can see the Cursive lads for yourself all this month, including a few dates on the railin'-against-suicide Plea For Peace tour and the Creek's CMJ showcase November 2nd with labelmates Bright Eyes, Azure Ray, Desaparecidos, Rilo Kiley, Now It's Overhead, and The Good Life. Tour dates:

10-03 Chicago, IL - Fireside Bowl (w/ The Ghost)
10-04 Detroit, MI - St. Andrews Hall
10-05 St. Louis, MO - Mississippi Nights *
10-06 Kansas City, KS - Beaumont Club *
10-07 Boulder, CO - Glenn Miller Ballroom *
10-09 Chico, CA - Chico State University *
10-10 San Francisco, CA - Slim's *
10-11 Petaluma, CA - Phoenix Theatre (w/ The Velvet Teen)
10-12 Los Angeles, CA - The Palace +
10-13 Pomona, CA - Glass House +
10-14 San Diego, CA - Canes Ballroom +
10-15 Phoenix, AZ - Club Rio +
10-16 El Paso, TX - Club H +
10-18 Dallas, TX - Gypsy Tea Room +
10-19 Austin, TX - Emo's +
10-20 Houston, TX - International Ballroom +
10-21 New Orleans, LA - House of Blues +
10-22 Lake Buena Vista, FL - House of Blues +
10-23 St. Petersburgh, FL - Jannus Landing +
10-24 West Palm Beacg, FL - Coral Sky Ampitheatre +
10-25 Jacksonville, FL - DV8 +
10-26 Atlanta, GA - Masquerade +
11-02 New York, NY - Irving Plaza (Saddle Creek CMJ Showcase)

* with Thursday, Engine Down
+ with Thursday, Poison The Well

.: Pitchfork Review: Cursive: Domestica
.: Pitchfork News: Cursive Singer Hospitalized, Tour Cancelled
.: Cursive: http://www.cursivearmy.com
.: Saddle Creek: http://www.saddle-creek.com