What's New in Music
Looks like it's over between Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore, the alt-rock power couple of Sonic Youth. With the future of the band uncertain, a number of artists, young and old, have already stepped forward to fill the void. Let's listen in.
Dreaming of M83
French electronic act M83's sixth album, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, hits stores tomorrow. It's phenomenal, and ambitious – a double album with an appearance from our girl Zola Jesus. Audio for the single "Midnight City" is above, but the video can be seen here (be warned: it takes forever to load and will probably crash your browser). And you can stream the whole record at... hmm, Urban Outfitters.
Tom Waits Is Leaking
If you're a fan of Tom Waits (and if not, who are you?) and can't wait until Oct. 21 for his 17th studio album Bad As Me, then head over to his website and subscribe to his mailing list, and you'll get an access code that will let you hear it all. If that's too much work, well, we don't know what to tell you. Above, the album's lead single and title track.
Presenting Coldplay and Rihanna's Awful Collaboration
If you thought the idea of "Coldplay ft. Rihanna" sounded bad on paper, you were right! "Princess Of China" from the band's forthcoming Mylo Xyloto album leaked today, and it's a sweeping, anthemic pop/rock/R&B mess.
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks (and Jack Black) Know What The Senator Wants
Indie rock founding father Stephen Malkmus issues a healthy dose of policitcal cynicism with "Senator." The video is like a dark version of The Ides of March, with Jack Black and Gary Cole in the George Clooney and Ryan Gosling roles, respectively. Except that Clooney doesn't have a drug/cattle-prod habit in the film. This is from the Pavement frontman's fifth album with the Jicks, the Beck-produced Mirror Traffic, out now.
Catcall Will Not Rule Out The Possibility That We Are Satellites
But there's also a chance that we are meteors, the Australian electro singer speculates on "Satellites," the sublimely catchy first single from Catcall's debut, The Warmest Place, out early next year.
Justin Bieber Wishes You a Merry October
The singer's schedule is so crazy, this year, Justin is celebrating the holiday season two and a half months early LOL. No, but seriously, this is just a case of his record company doing a bit of advance tween brainwashing in anticipation of his new album, Under The Mistletoe, which will be released the day after Halloween. Oh, and look, Zooey Deschanel and that creepy guy she's in a band with (who obviously has a crush on her) are also doing a Christmas album.
Fun at the Beach With Chelsea Wolfe
We won't lie, this video by Chelsea Wolfe is kind of terrifying, so if you nightmare easily, probably best to step away from the computer right now, tip-toeing backwards, slowly, with your palms at chest level. But if you don't, then watch as the California doom-folk artist leads a dark ritual that involves veils, snakes, blindfolded men, and a group of women encircling a beach-side fire. "Mer" is from her second album, which came out in August and is called this: Ἀποκάλυψις.
Azealia Banks and the Mystery of "212"
So, here's something: the plan was to talk about 20-year-old Harlem rapper Azealia Banks, and how she's the Next Big Thing, because she can double-time rap like a Miami bass rapper and cover Interpol with equal charisma, and then we were going to post the great video for her best song, the Internet hit "212" above and rave about that, too. But someone does not want you to hear "212," so the video keeps getting taken down—even from obscure Russian YouTube, RuTube! According to this website, it's because of some dispute between Azealia and the song's producer, one Lazy Jay. Why you gotta be like that, Lazy Jay? Huh? Well, anyhow, go over to Pitchfork and listen to it. Azealia, if you're out there, why not explain to everyone what's happening with "212" on your Twitter?