Splendour In The Grass Rumours 2.0

There's already been a few whispers as to which bands might play Byron Bay's Splendour In The Grass - the music festival that this year will be held at Woodford in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland (but every year prior has been at Belongil Fields in Byron Bay). One particularly reliable whisperer has mentioned the following acts as virtual lock ins:

The Pixies
The Strokes
Florence & The Machine
Smashing Pumpkins
Hot Chip
Mumford & Sons
LCD Soundsystem
Bat For Lashes

An intriguing list there's no doubt about that, but is there any truth to these rumours - thereby making them 'trumours'? We've analysed as much of the available data and studied the stats in order to come up with the most plausible odds for whether these names represent a legit lineup leak.

The Pixies

For: Last year Black Francis told NME that the Pixies would return to the studio to make their fifth album in 2010. "New Release" is often synonymous with "World Tour".
Against: They are playing in Australia at the moment so it's unlikely they would come back so soon. And they hate each other.
Odds: A major long shot at 100-1

The Strokes

For: They are about to finish recording their new album which means touring the new material. Australia is a likely destination because they love it here and they've never played Splendour.
Against: The Strokes also love Japan and might play Fuji Rock - which falls on the same weekend as Splendour.
Odds: Fab loves it. Julian loves it. They're a good bet at 7-1.

Florence & The Machine

For: She just killed it at Laneway and all her side shows were sellouts - the demand for mo Flo is strong. She's also doing a heap of Euro festivals in the middle of the year and her calendar is oddly blank over the Splendour weekend dates (30 July - 1 August 2010). Coincidence?
Against: Too soon to bother with the 15 hour flight from UK to here.
Odds: Decent at 10-1.

Smashing Pumpkins

For: Billy Corgan is a weird and unpredictable man so you just never know. A Greatest Hits-style Pumpkins set could be totally epic though...
Against: Billy Corgan is a weird and unpredictable man - i.e. he might be too busy being in love with Jessica Simpson.
Odds: Another long shot at 99-1.

Hot Chip

hot-chip

For: They should drop in to Oz to tour their latest album. Plus they've played Splendour before and killed.
Against: They have already been confirmed for Fuji Rock so they'll be in the right hemisphere, although that might also mean the cross over will be impossible and they won't be able to get here in time for Splendour.
Odds: 2-1. We are totally feeling Hot Chip for the first announcement.

LCD Soundsystem

For: They've got their new record coming out and already announced a world tour - without the Splendour weekend dates filled yet. They're confirmed for Fuji Rock too and there's no way Murphy would leave us out of the tour.
Against: Same issue as Hot Chip - the cross over time might make it impossible.
Odds: Nothing's impossible. Let's dance: 5-1 odds.

Bat For Lashes

For: Nothing specific. Pedestrian staff members just thinks Natasha Khan is totally hot. She also has never performed live in Australia as far as we know, and is currently "Not Available" for an Australian tour in 2010 suggesting she might already be locked in to an exclusive with a particular festival or promoter.
Against: She might be weirded out by desperate Aussie fan-bros and avoid.
Odds: We'll put the odds that Bat For Lashes to play Splendour at 20-1. The chance that any Pedestrian staff members will get to pants her? Not good.

RIP Malcolm

Malcom McLaren, the British entrepreneur and musician who's best known as the founder and ex-manager of the Sex Pistols, died Thursday morning. According to the Independent, the 64-year-old had been battling cancer.

The London native originally got involved in the music business through fashion, starting a clothing store in the city with his partner, Vivienne Westwood. After meeting the New York Dolls on a trip to the US in the early '70s, McLaren supplied the androgynous punk group with stagewear. After that modest success, his return to London in the middle of the decade changed his life permanently.

The clothing shop, now known as Sex, focused on bondage and S&M fashion and became central to the fledgling punk scene. Through acquaintances, McLaren began managing the Strand, a band that would eventually become the Sex Pistols. The band's lineup was cemented in 1975 when McLaren's friend and future Clash manager Bernie Rhodes spotted John Lydon. Intrigued by his fashion sense -- he sported green hair and a torn Pink Floyd shirt with "I hate" written above the band's name -- they had him audition for the band, creating Johnny Rotten.

The Sex Pistols released 1977's 'God Save the Queen' during Queen Elizabeth II's 25th anniversary celebration (aka Silver Jubilee) and to mark the occasion, McLaren planned for the band to perform the single on a boat outside Parliament. The ship was raided, McLaren was arrested and the legend of the Pistols grew, though it would be less than a year before they broke up.

In the following years, McLaren launched a career as a singer, releasing the hip-hop-influenced album 'Duck Rock' in 1983, with the songs 'Buffalo Gals' and 'Double Dutch' both reaching the Top 10 on the UK charts. Around this time, another McLaren-founded band, New Wave act Bow Wow Wow, had a hit with their cover of the '60s pop song 'I Want Candy.' In later years, McLaren collaborated with rappers like KRS-One and had several of his songs sampled by popular artists, including Mariah Carey and Eminem.

"He had been suffering from cancer for some time, but recently had been full of health, which then rapidly deteriorated," his spokesman, Les Molloy, told the Independent. "He died in New York this morning. We are expecting his body to be brought back to London and buried in Highgate Cemetery."

"For me, Malc was always entertaining, and I hope you remember that," Rotten said in a statement. "Above all else he was an entertainer and I will miss him, and so should you."

Splendour In The Grass Headliner Rumours

THE Splendour In The Grass line-up lotto game is in full tilt and if only half the bets are true, it's shaping up to be the hottest winter festival yet.

The Strokes seem all but confirmed as one of the headliners of the three-day event, which has had to move to Woodford this year thanks to the northern NSW NIMBYs stopping it from taking up residence at the purpose-built Yelgun site.

Other acts mooted for the 2010 event, which kicks off on July 30, include Scissor Sisters, Florence And The Machine, Hot Chip, LCD Soundsystem, Jet, Mumford And Sons, The Middle East and Angus And Julia Stone.

A surprise late addition and potential headliner is the Pixies, who have a one-off concert in New Zealand on August 3 which has the bloggers speculating that they will stop into Woodford first.