Odds & Ends: Arcade Fire, Wale, Postal Service & More

Arcade Fire is selling its studio/converted church, Wale is teaming up with Jerry Seinfeld on his next album, The Postal Service teases fans about its 2013 plans, and Wilko Johnson books a set of farewell concerts.

Producer Jimmy Tamborello and Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard are apparently once again working together as The Postal Service. The electropop duo’s website has been updated with a homepage that simply reads “The Postal Service 2013.”

Photo: James P. Hendershot
Firefly Music Festival, Dover International Speedway, Dover, Del.

Earlier this month indie blog Brooklyn Vegan started the rumor rumblings with a post featuring a picture of the two members along with a headline stating “Postal Service reunion in the works.” The item included one particularly interesting tag – Coachella.

The band’s debut and only album, 2003’s Give Up, is reportedly being reissued.

Arcade Fire alerted fans to a new real estate opportunity with a tweet Jan. 18 saying, “Anybody want to buy a church?” The tweet included a link to the listing for the church the band converted into a studio in Farnham, Quebec.

Priced at $325,000, the listing describes the building as the “perfect location for an artist’s studio, a place of worship, a cultural, community or other organization.” The building includes a kitchen, dining room, three bedrooms, common room, two bathrooms, laundry room, storage room and mechanical room.

Photo: John Davisson
Bridge School Benefit, Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, Calif.

The band recorded 2007’s Neon Bible and 2010’s The Suburbs at the studio. Pitchfork points out that in October drummer Jeremy Gara told Ottawa radio station CKCU 93.1 Arcade Fire was forced to record its upcoming album in a new space because the roof of the Farnham studio collapsed.  

Wale’s next project will feature the talents of none other than Jerry Seinfeld. The rapper has been a longtime fan of the comedian. In 2008 Wale put out “The Mixtape About Nothing,” inspired by the show about nothing. According to Rolling Stone, the album includes dialogue samples from “Seinfeld” and even a cameo from Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Seinfeld described the collaboration in a video posted on YouTube by WaleFanBoy.

“Well, Wale called me, came to my show,” Seinfeld said. “We hung out a little bit. He wanted me to do something with him. I didn’t understand it. But he did. And then I kind of liked the guy, I dug the guy. I listened to the music, I liked the music. So, I said, ‘All right, I’ll do it.’ Even though I didn’t know what I was going to do.”

Finally, Wilko Johnson has booked a few farewell dates in the U.K. for March. The guitarist and founding member of Dr. Feelgood revealed earlier this month that he has been diagnosed with terminal pancreas cancer and will not be undergoing chemotherapy.

The shows are scheduled March 6 at London’s Koko, March 7 in Bilston at The Robin 2, March 8 in Holmfirth at the Picturedrome, March 9 at the O2 Academy Glasgow and March 10 at London’s Koko. Tickets are on sale now.