Following a month or so of cryptic, John Hillcoat-directed teaser videos, Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Martyn Casey, and Jim Sclavunos of Grinderman have finally dropped the first single off their bluntly titled second album, Grinderman 2. In addition to the Murder Ballads-meets-“No Pussy Blues” A-side, “Heathen Child,” the quartet revealed that a revamped B-side (“Super Heathen Child”) featuring King Crimson’s Robert Fripp will appear on the flip side of the forthcoming 12” vinyl release. The digital version comes bundled with another non-LP track, “Star Charmer.”

I first heard a radio rip of this jam a week ago, and it’s been slaying me ever since. Stream “Heathen Child” below (via Pitchfork):

As it turns out, that John Hillcoat-directed teaser video starring a wolf on the prowl was also the set of Grinderman’s album art photo shoot: “HERE COME THE WOLFMAN,” the band declared today before announcing details to their second album, Grinderman 2. In addition to the album cover (above) and tracklist (below), Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Martyn Casey, and Jim Sclavunos also dropped a new animated teaser video — this time with a bit more music.

Back in April, I mentioned that a tribute concert for the late Kate McGarrigle at the Richard Thompson-curated Meltdown Festival would feature performances by her children, Rufus and Martha Wainwright, Lisa Hannigan, Emmylou Harris, Teddy Thompson, her sister Anna, and many more. What we didn’t know at the time was that Nick Cave was set to stop by, as well.

As Telegraph notes, the Cave/McGarrigle connection isn’t entirely out of the blue as the McGarrigle sisters once performed on Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ 2001 album No More Shall We Part. Fortunately, decent-quality footage from Sunday’s show has hit the Web, including Cave’s duet cover of “Blues In D” with Jenni Muldaur, Martha Wainwright, Cave, Anna McGarrigle, and Lily Lanken singing “Mother Mother,” and Hannigan’s stunning performance of “Tell My Sister.” Check out the clips below:

In less than a week, Cee-Lo Green has dropped three notable new jams: “Georgia,” the first single off his forthcoming solo album, The Lady Killer, “What Part of Forever” from the Twilight: Eclipse OST, and now “Night Train,” the eighth track off the “Stray Bullets” mixtape the Gnarls Barkley singer uploaded last weekend.

So what makes “Night Train” stand out among the 14-track mix? According to SoulCulture, Green not only enlisted a sample of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ “Red Right Hand” for the track, but he also reunited with the famous rap group he co-founded: Goodie Mob. We don’t mention mixtapes often around here, but when you bring the likes of Nick Cave or Radiohead into the mix, I’m all ears. Give it a spin below:

As previously reported at the very end of last year, Rowland S. Howard, the vastly influential guitarist from the Birthday Party, the Boys Next Door, and collaborator with the likes of Henry Rollins, Lydia Lunch, and many more, passed away at the age of 50 while waiting for a liver transplant amid his fight against cancer. Now, just three months later, what looks to be a wonderful documentary about the Howard’s troubled life, influence, and legacy is on the way.

Given Howard’s estimable discography, it comes as no surprise that a handful of very famous past collaborators have offered interviews for the film, Rowland S. Howard - Autoluminescent, including Rollins Lunch, Thurston Moore, Mick Harvey, Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner, and of course, the man who described Howard as “Australia’s most unique, gifted and uncompromising guitarist,” Nick Cave.

Further details about screenings or a release date for Autoluminescent are unknown at this time, but we will post an update as soon as they’re available. In the meantime, you can’t miss the over 6-minute trailer below (via Pedestrian):

Jason Hammel and Kori Gardner of Mates of State are only in the beginning stages of prepping for their sixth LP, but fans of the husband-and-wife duo will have at least 10 carefully-chosen cover tunes to enjoy during the wait. Mates of State announced today that The Covers Mixtape, a 10-track album featuring ambitious versions of songs by the likes of Nick Cave, the Mars Volta, Daniel Johnston, Vashti Bunyan, Girls, Tom Waits, Death Cab For Cutie, and more, will hit shelves this summer.

In fact, it was this covers project that “jumpstart[ed] the creation of the next Mates of State record,” the band said in a press release (via CoS). “When we were finished, we couldn’t wait to write our own songs again…”

Check out the full tracklist, and stream/download their cover of Girls’ “Laura” below:

The odds of any ad campaign or “Trustmark” actually putting a dent into illegal file-sharing are awfully slim in my book, but we’ll give it up to Music Matters for making some entertaining (and relatively informative) videos regardless. In their new campaign, the music industry collective hopes to boost public understanding on the value of music with animated, über-abridged documentaries about the lives and influence of Nick Cave, Kate Bush, Sigur Rós, the Jam, Louis Armstrong, Blind Willie Johnson, Fron Choir, and John Martyn.

Any kind of PSA involving musicians is a precarious proposition, but these clips are fun, soundtracked well, and, most importantly, succinct. Music Matters will be screening them in schools shortly, but the rest of us can check out Nick Cave’s here, Kate Bush’s here, and the rest thataway.