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Depeche Mode Unveil "Fragile Tension" Music Video

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:50:00 -0800

The latest music video from Depeche Mode’s Songs of the Universe was just uploaded to YouTube, and the band have gone from a somewhat NSFW video of a guy with a freakishly long tongue cleaning out his girlfriend’s pores to a trippy show that’s a psychedelic treat at best and a dated screensaver at worst.

Watch below or here, as Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, and Andrew Fletcher flop around outer space in the form of bits of light or fireworks or stars or something. There’s also a human-shaped fire being that would have fit in well in the scariest movie of all time, The Last Unicorn.

Even if you don’t dig the video, “Fragile Tension” is a pretty cool song and Gahan’s voice even has flashes of a young Robert Smith during the hook.

Green Day Musical Cast to Release "21 Guns" Single, Appear in Music Video

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:31:00 -0800

While producers for Green Day’s American Idiot musical are busy plotting the transition from Berkeley to Broadway, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong has joined the cast as a producer in the studio to record a new version of 21st Century Breakdown single “21 Guns.”

As TheaterMania reports, not only will the cast release the single digitally later this month “through all digital retailers,” but cast members, including star John Gallagher, Jr., Matt Caplan, Michael Esper, Mary Faber, and more are set to appear in a music video for Green Day’s original version of the same song.

No specific release date for the single has been announced, but in the meantime, check out the cast in action in the trailer here or have a look at Rolling Stone’s list of the actors’ resumes and sample YouTube performances here.

Watch: Jason Segel Plays Original Song w/ The Swell Season

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:40:00 -0800

Forgetting Sarah Marshall was a pretty funny movie and all, but it was actor Jason Segel’s hilarious original song “Dracula’s Lament” that truly brought the house down, IMO. Thankfully, that Segel-penned piece was only the beginning of what’s looking to be a long and fruitful musical comedy career because his “Wonkey Eyed Girl” performance also brought the lulz on Craig Ferguson and now he’s collaborated with Oscar-winning duo the Swell Season.

Segel joined Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová, and company on the Wiltern Theater stage in LA last night, singing a tune he wrote during a drink-fueled meeting between Segel, actor Paul Rudd, and Hansard prior to the show. Watch here or below as Segel serenades the audience about his desire to “use [his] celebrity status to make love to a Swell Season fan tonight.”

Not sold yet? Here’s another sample lyric: “Remember when I showed my penis in Forgetting Sarah Marshall? Well there were no special effects, no no special effects, so if you like what you saw, well that’s exactly what I’m working with.” Enjoy!

U2 & Lionsgate Court Oscar Nod for New Song: "Winter"

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:18:00 -0800

The “Best Original Song” portion at the Academy Awards is one of the annual Hollywood award show’s weirder categories. Most years I have no idea who is even nominated until the live broadcast when the host introduces Sting, Randy Newman, or whoever’s pretending to have written a song inspired by a film they likely haven’t seen in full that year. But then Three Six Mafia wins a gold statue, indie singer/songwriters Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová upset three nods for Enchanted, or Elliott Smith shows up to play “Miss Misery” dressed all in white, and they’ve grabbed my attention again.

In order to stir up some hope that next year’s broadcast will include a similar event, we’ll be posting from time to time on a few interesting possible nominees that come across the radar, starting with U2:

The Wrap reports that Lionsgate Films are plotting a big Oscar campaign for Brothers, a drama starring Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Tobey Maguire, and U2 have penned a song for the Academy’s consideration. “Winter,” a tune that is also supposedly included on Songs of Ascent, the forthcoming sister album to No Line on the Horizon, can be streamed here or embedded below.

What do you think? Will an Oscar be joining Bono, the Edge, Larry, and Adam’s respective Grammy collections? The Playlist doesn’t think so, but Bono’s foray into spoken word at 3:47 makes for some damn good Oscar bait if you ask us.

Interpol Prep New Album for Early 2010

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:39:00 -0800

Truth be told, I’ve been hunting for news like this for weeks now, scouring the Interwebs for new signs of life from Interpol—aside from Paul Banks’ slightly underwhelming pseudo solo album and Carlos D’s film career, of course. And just when the most that I could hope for was a speculative “?” post (Arcade Fire one was a hit, right?), drummer Sam Fogarino dropped the “new record” bomb on Paste (via CoS). Boom:

“The new record falls back towards the first,” Fogarino told Justin Jacobs. “In trying to move forward, there was an unspoken realization that you can’t let go of your sonic-defining tag.”

The good news: Interpol’s upcoming 4th LP is due out in early 2010 and it’s a throwback to their breakthrough Turn On the Bright Lights. There is one unsettling new bit about Courtney Love showing up in the studio, but no worries! She simply yelled, “And he was a fucking shrimp farmer!” and walked out. No credit cards were exchanged or anything.

For more deets go thataway.

Anvil & It Might Get Loud Left Off Oscar Short List

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:36:00 -0800

This isn’t too surprising, but it is a disappointment for those of us hoping to watch Steve “Lips” Kudlow crash the Oscars red carpet. Anvil! The Story of Anvil and It Might Get Loud, Jack White, the Edge, and Jimmy Page’s jam session-turned-film, have both been left off the Oscar short list for Best Documentary, /Film reports.

Even though director Davis Guggenheim won an Academy Award for Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and It Might Get Loud will likely be joining the canon of great music documentaries, it never really screamed “Oscar” to me. I did honestly think Anvil had a shot for a nomination at least, but, as /Film’s Peter Sciretta notes, “the Academy obviously doesn’t like Rock music.”

The good news, however, is that one music documentary has made the list. Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman’s Soundtrack for a Revolution, a film about the music of the American civil rights movement, featuring performances by the Roots, Richie Havens, Blind Boys of Alabama, TV on the Radio, Anthony Hamilton, and more, could still be nominated.

Meanwhile, Anvil did land a cameo appearance in Michel Gondry’s upcoming Green Hornet film, so it doesn’t look like their post-documentary fame has hit the high water mark just yet.

Yusuf Islam, aka Cat Stevens, Blogs About 'Moonshadow' Musical Debut

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:55:00 -0800

Yusuf Islam, formerly Cat Stevens, kicked off his first tour in 33 years on Sunday and numerous sources are reporting that the gig did not go smoothly. As the Irish Times notes, Islam’s first set of new and old songs at Dublin’s O2 arena went well, but the second act, which consisted of an abridged version of his new musical Moonshadow where actors performed and sang a number of his most beloved songs (“Wild World, “Father and Son,” etc.) had to be cut short.

“[A]ngry sections of the audience walked out, shouted out, booed, whistled, slow-handclapped,” writes Tony Clayton-Lea, while some sites are claiming an audience member shouted, “we are bored.”

I’m not going to claim that I understand why famous musicians are infatuated with musicals these days, but to Islam’s credit, he took the negative crowd reaction humbly by stopping the musical and quipping “Now I know how [Bob] Dylan felt.”

Though he did save face with a more traditional set, Islam took also to his blog to defend himself, reflect on his career, and reassure ticket holders that changes are being made to the production:

I must admit, it was something I’d never experienced for most of my musical career – apart from Greece perhaps, where I stormed off stage because of the half empty halls back at the end of the 1976 Majikat Tour. One thing is clear: many of the fans didn’t know much about the Moonshadow section – and some thought I wasn’t coming back on stage. That can easily be fixed with a free program for the night and me personally informing the audience of what’s going to happen.

And in a brilliant line that could be used to address many of the non-troversies from his storied career: “I didn’t go through my life, altering my pattern of behaviour, building my faith and getting close to Divine consciousness without making serious changes to the way I do things.”

Yeah, we heart Cat Stevens ‘round here. I mean… Yusuf Islam.

Watch: Charlotte Gainsbourg Feat. Beck - "Heaven Can Wait"

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:37:00 -0800

Charlotte Gainsbourg and company sure know how to stir up some hype for her forthcoming album IRM, which is produced, co-written, and mixed by Beck. First, they dropped the title track for free (in exchange for an email address), then came a preview of the first single “Heaven Can Wait” via YouTube, and now the video premiere to the latter track, directed by the man behind Supergrass’ “Bad Blood” video, Keith Schofield.

Watch here or embedded below, as Beck and Gainsbourg provide the soundtrack to slow motion scenes of people buying guns, people breakdancing, a guy bathing in cereal, and a bunch of other dreamlike situations.

Actually, the cop tackling a man in a SpongeBob Squarepants Halloween costume is more like a nightmare to me, but if I can enjoy Dylan’s night terror of a “Must Be Santa” video, then this one works too, I suppose:

Tom Waits, Jim James, Pete Seeger & More on Preservation Hall Benefit Comp

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:45:00 -0800

As previously reported, Tom Waits was in New Orleans, LA recently recording a benefit track for and with the legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band, as well as a song for the next volume of Anti’s sea shanty series. Well, now we have the former track’s name, a stellar list of collaborators for the upcoming album, and a not so surprising release date.

According to PR Newswire, Waits collaborated on the song “Tootie Ma Is a Big Fine Thing”, the earliest known recorded Mardi Gras song (abstract version from MMW and John Scofield here), for Preservation, a benefit album due out on Feb. 16 of next year, aka Fat Tuesday.

That would’ve been enough for a minor news update on the project, but check out some of the other artists contributing to the album:

Andrew Bird, Terence Blanchard, Pete Seeger, Dr. John, Blind Boys of Alabama, Brandi Carlile, Cory Chisel, Ani DiFranco, Steve Earle, Merle Haggard, Richie Havens, Jason Isbell, Jim James, Angelique Kidjo, Amy LaVere, Anita Briem, Del McCoury, Bobby McFerrin, Buddy Miller, Paolo Nutini.

Sure, we’re thrilled about Bird and James, as they’ve been hanging out in our feed of late, but Dr. John, Pete Seeger, and the legendary Merle freakin’ Haggard too? Now that’s exciting. Okay, we’re definitely ready for ‘10 now…

Free MP3 or WAV: Beach House - "Norway"

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:26:00 -0800

I’m a bit embarrassed to admit this in the company of music writing colleagues, but I didn’t warm up to Beach House right away. Sure, it’s hard to hate on Victoria Legrand’s haunting vocals or the duo’s modest drum machine-driven rhythm section, but perhaps I was just an impatient listener, always waiting around for some imaginary payoff. It all clicked, however, at the 1:36 mark of their fabulous new track “Norway” from their new album Teen Dream.

“Don’t wait,” Legrand sings, before sounding out the “ai” six more times, à la Ronnie Spector’s opening hook in “Be My Baby” and “Baby, I Love You.” Perhaps it was that “classic girl-group pop” connection—that P4K’s Amy Phillips also noted—which finally calmed me down enough to enjoy Beach House’s dreamy grooves and take Legrand’s advice: “Don’t wait.”

Go hear it for yourselves: in a generous move, Sub Pop and Beach House are offering “Norway” as a free MP3 download here and a 41MB WAV here.

Lou Reed, Doug Yule, & Moe Tucker, Live from the NYPL

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:49:00 -0800

News like this sure makes me wish I lived back on the East Coast: The surviving lineup behind not only two of my favorite Velvet Underground songs, but two of my favorite songs of all time, “Candy Says” and “Pale Blue Eyes,” are set to reunite for a discussion at the New York Public Library on Dec. 8.

According to the NYPL’s site (via Billboard), former Velvet Underground members Lou Reed, Doug Yule, and Maureen “Moe” Tucker will join Rolling Stone’s David Fricke for the chat at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building in NYC. The good news for those of us unable to attend is that the event is part of the same “Live from the NYPL” series that Ryan Adams and Mary-Louise Parker took part in earlier this fall, which means a downloadable MP3 and/or video will likely be posted afterward.

It’s too bad they couldn’t get John Cale to attend as well, but I suppose he’s more of a MoMA man. To pick up general admission tickets head thataway fast.

Ben Gibbard, Fleet Foxes, & More On GIVE Seattle Comp

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:18:00 -0800

We’ve been sitting on this bit for a few days now, but the album officially went up for sale only hours ago, so let’s spread the word: Caffé Vita, a coffee shop with four locations in Seattle and one in Olympia, WA, is releasing a compilation album with over 30 Seattle-based artists to benefit Arts Corp and numerous food banks.

For $7, you get the following tracks, plus six more songs (see below) that are still being recorded and will be emailed at a later date.

Among the to be recorded/released batch are contributions from Death Cab’s Ben Gibbard, Pedro the Lion’s David Bazan, the Dutchess and The Duke, the Long Winters, Throw Me The Statue, and Unnatural Helpers. The song title of Gibbard’s track has not been officially announced, but Sound On The Sound reports that it will be a cover of Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon,” which he has performed live on numerous occasions.

Looks like an awesome compilation for a great cause, so go buy it here.

Watch: 'Crazy Heart' Trailer (Score by T Bone Burnett)

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:14:00 -0800

We’re going to jump aboard the hype train for a spell here, as the trailer to the new Jeff Bridges-starring, T Bone Burnett-scored film Crazy Heart just dropped (via the Playlist) and the Oscar buzz comparisons to Mickey Rourke’s turn in The Wrestler are starting to ring vehemently true.

T Bone Burnett, the über producer behind Alison Krauss and Robert Plant’s Raising Sand, the Walk the Line, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and Big Lebowski soundtracks, Elvis Costello’s King of America, and a slew of other brilliant records, co-wrote, co-produced, and wrote the score to this film. Need we say more? Yes, I suppose so…

Here’s The Wrap’s Steve Pond on Burnett’s songs:

you can trace the character’s career in them. Here’s the rough, bluesy material with which he launched his career. Here’s the insanely catchy hit that put him on the map, the albatross he willingly dangles around his neck every night. Here’s the poppier tune that got him airplay once upon a time.

And here, finally, in the form of the haunting Burnett/Bingham song “The Weary Kind,” is the frank ballad of loss that Bad Blake wouldn’t have had the insight to write earlier in his career.

Check out some audio clips of the latter song in the trailer here or embedded below. It sounds to me like Bruce Springsteen’s Golden Globe-winning, Oscar-snubbed song “The Wrestler” was turned into an entire movie. Still no sign of a “one-legged dog,” but we’re not complaining:

Moop Jaw Prep Christian Joy Documentary, Peaches Video

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:07:00 -0800

Even if you’ve never heard her name—yet you still pick up a glossy rock mag every so often—you’ve seen her work. Christian Joy, designer for Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman Karen O (and recently of the Klaxons), is now the subject of an upcoming documentary all about the spandex-loving Queen of Rock Sewing Machine. Well, she’s at least a runner-up for the regal position.

The documentary was shot by Rhett Wade-Ferrell of artist collective Moop Jaw; other members of the group are Warran Wright, Antuong Nguyen, and Ryan Frazer. Wade-Ferrell tells Pedestrian.tv that the collective is also “developing a collaboration with Christian Joy for a series of art films in which she will do all of the art direction so its going to be pretty mental to see her costume ideas translate into an entire world.”

I’m not surprised that Joy is planning to dabble more in the world of film: check out her Where the Wild Things Are costume collection.

Speaking of pretty mental stuff and interesting costume ideas, Moop Jaw’s Antuong Nguyen recently directed a video for Peaches’ “Mommy Complex” to be released by the end of 2009. Wade-Ferrell: “He basically set up a scene where she was able to run amok and she just looked AMAZING! A Madonna for the underground.”

Check out a still from the Christian Joy documentary and more from Pedestrian.tv’s awesome interview with Wade-Ferrell here.

Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Jolie Holland, & More On E.C. Ball Memorial Album

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:25:00 -0800

You may have never heard of Estil Cortez Ball and his wife, Orna, but people living among the Blue Ridge Mountains between the 1950s and mid-1970s are likely familiar with their brand of what Root Hog or Die’s Nathan Salsburg describes as “not just hymns or country gospel — traditional, borrowed, or of their own devising – but play-party songs, blues, ballads, self-composed comic numbers and E.C.’s sui generis guitar instrumentals.”

Ball died back in 1978, but the legacy and influence of his Friendly Gospel Singers has lived on among fans of Appalachian music. Now the Tompkins Square Label is releasing Face A Frowning World: An E.C. Ball Memorial Album, an album featuring traditional country gospel songs and a few Ball originals sung by New Mexico’s The Handsome Family, fiddler/singer Rayna Gellert, ex-Mekons drummer (also: Sadies, Old 97’s collaborator) Jon Langford, Catherine Irwin, Jolie Holland, and—my favorite living songwriter—Bonnie “Prince” Billy.

Nathan Salsburg curated, performed, and wrote an eloquent intro to the album, which will benefit the Blue Ridge Institute, a non-profit started in the 1970s “to document, interpret, and present the folk heritage of the Blue Ridge region.”

I highly suggest you head thataway for Salsburg’s writeup, descriptive track list, and free MP3 downloads for most of the original recordings.

Win Figurines or Signed Guitar in Wilco Haiku Contest

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:59:00 -0800

So the Weezer Snuggie sold out in only a matter of days, but Wilco’s limited edition mini figurines are still available. Perhaps they need to lower the $49.94 asking price or invest in one of those WTF, blog bait infomercials. Either way (as Tweedy would say), the band will be unloading a few sets of figurines and a signed Gibson SG guitar in a haiku contest announced recently on their site.

Here are the deets:

To enter the contest, write a Wilco-themed Haiku and submit it either via Twitter and include the tag #wilcohaiku in your tweet or email it to us at haiku@wilcoworld.net

The Grand Prize is a Gibson SG (courtesy of our friends at Gibson) signed by the whole band.

Three First Place winners will receive a set of the WILCO UniPo figures, plus the Limited Edition Wilco 6-incher UniPo

Five Second Place winners will receive a copy of WILCO (the album) on vinyl in a Wilco tote.

The deadline is the day after Thanksgiving, aka Black Friday, so be sure to work your Wilco (the haiku) magic before the tryptophan sets in. And as a reference, I suggest the best Wilco lyric database on the web: A Sea Black with Ink.

Jack White to Produce Wanda "Queen of Rockabilly" Jackson

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:09:00 -0800

When Jack White produced and performed on Loretta Lynn’s brilliant Van Lear Rose album, he not only proved that his skills as an exuberant frontman could be just as affecting from outside the spotlight, but he also showed the world that a 70-something-year-old country music legend could still rock out as hard as the Guitar Center generation. Well, a lot has happened since then (White’s started two more bands, a record label, a studio, etc.) and now Jack’s found another living legend to work with.

NewOK’s Gene Triplett recently spoke to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Wanda Jackson, aka the Queen of Rockabilly, while she was en route to Nashville to begin work on an album produced by the man behind Third Man himself.

“They had a super album, but he didn’t have her do anything different, you know,” said Jackson, 72, of White’s Grammy-winning album with Loretta Lynn. “She just did her little Loretta Lynn songs. But he told me he’s gonna stretch me some, so we’ll see. We’ll talk later.”

According to Triplett, the pair are planning to release a digital single before tackling a full LP, which will be Jackson’s first album since Heart Trouble, a record that included collaborations with Dave Alvin, The Cramps, ex-Stray Cat Lee Rocker, and others.

Jarvis Cocker Accepts His Honorary Doctorate

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:56:00 -0800

You may now call Jarvis Cocker Dr. Cocker. The singer, radio show host, and animated banjo strummer received an honorary doctorate from his hometown’s Sheffield Hallam University, where he studied briefly when the school was then Sheffield Polytechnic, reports the BBC.

“I’m called a doctor now. Don’t worry, I won’t open a surgery,” Cocker said in his acceptance speech. “But I guess if you are a songwriter maybe I could have some kind of musical surgery. If you had a song with a swollen chorus, or a varicose verse, or if you need a little bit of help I could try and heal your song for you.”

It’s about time Cocker got an honorary degree, I say, ‘cause he’s been dressing like a college professor for years. Still, I think I’d rather get a lecture from Johnny Marr.

U2 Fined $53K for Breaking Noise Limits at Dublin Concert

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:33:00 -0800

Either U2 have the biggest stack of bills piling up or they’re the only band getting press about this sort of thing, but another financial woe has hit the arena-packing foursome: Ireland’s Herald reports that Bono, Edge, Larry, and Adam are responsible for a €36,000 fine after allegedly breaking noise limit restrictions at their recent 3-night stand at Dublin’s Croke Park Stadium.

I’ve always wondered how they measure such things: is there a guy holding a decible meter up in residential neighborhoods while Bono yells “Uno, dos, tres, catorce!”? Either way, the Dublin City Council claims U2 “were responsible for 12 breaches over the three nights of the concerts, with a €3,000 penalty applying each time.”

Something tells me the folks at Croke Park have it out for U2, as earlier this year the band were forced to pay a partial fee for post-concert grass damages. I’ll tell ya, you show up with a giant claw that’s visible from space and people think you’re just made of money!

"Serge Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life" Gets a Trailer

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:37:00 -0800

The trailer to Nowhere Boy, an upcoming film about John Lennon’s adolescence, didn’t make us feel any better about the hit or miss musician biopic genre, but a French-language trailer for Joann Sfar’s new Serge Gainsbourg film just hit the web and it looks fairly promising.

The Playlist reports that Serge Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life (“Vie Héroïque”) was originally rumored to include digitally animated sequences by Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth team, but the trailer suggests those plans were possibly scrapped in favor of a more straightforward, life-spanning biopic. The cast includes the late Lucy Gordon as Jane Birkin, supermodel Laetitia Casta as Brigitte Bardot, and—in what looks to be a stunning performance—Eric Elmosnino as Gainsbourg.

On a side note, Feist and Jane Birkin collaborator Gonzales also appears in the film as Elmosnino’s piano-playing body double.

Watch the trailer here or below and check out a “making of” music doc featuring Gonzales here.