DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HAS NEVER BEEN SO SEXY

The Kills just released a video for “Last Day of Magic” off the album of the year, Midnight Boom. It’s all about hurting the one you love.



The Kills are better than Santogold. Better than No Age. Better than Tokyo Police Club. Better than Mariah Carey. Better than anything else you’re probably listening to right now. And Alison Mosshart is probably better looking than your girlfriend. And your sister.

The Kills [Official] [MySpace]

Album of the Year [Official]

LOVE IN THIS CLUB

New MSTRKRFT remix. For Usher. “Love In This Club,” a song I’ve yet to hear the original version of. Of course I’m going to post it.

[MP3] Usher: Love In This Club (MSTRKRFT Remix) (right-click to download)

WE ARE CLOUDS, WE ARE WHISPERS

A Thousand Shark’s Teeth is on it’s way. If you’re anything like me, you’re pretty excited.

Before the new full-length album from My Brightest Diamond hits store shelves on June 17, you can check out the first single, “Inside A Boy,” a non-album track, “I Had A Pearl,” along with a remix of “Black and Costaud” and “Inside A Boy,” all of which are available on iTunes, nicely packaged in one EP.

Be sure to pre-order your copy of A Thousand Shark’s Teeth over at Athmatic Kitty in either CD or LP format. When you do, you’ll also receive a bonus EP including all this goodness:

Apples (Alternate Version)
Bass Player (Alternate Version)
To Pluto’s Moon (Alternate Version)
If I Were Queen (Alternate Version)
The Diamond (Alternate Version)
Music Box (Non-album Track)

That’s like half of the album presented in an alternate manner. Reminds me of those remastered jazz albums on Blue Note that include all the alternate takes. What, no one else? I guess I’m a nerd.

Shara Worden and company are hitting the road to support the album. Sadly for me, I’ll be unable to catch any of the shows but you can see her here:

05.20.08 Hotel Café, Los Angeles, CA
05.21.08 Hotel Café, Los Angeles, CA
05.23.08 Montalvo Arts Center, Saratoga, CA
05.24.08 The Independent, San Francisco, CA
05.27.08 Primavera Sound, Barcelona, Spain
06.09.08 Other Music (Instore), New York, NY
06.14.08 Hultsfred Festival, Hultsfred, Sweden
06.17.08 Blender Theatre at Gramercy, NYC, NY
06.20.08 Berklee Performance Center, Boston, MA
06-27.08 Le Rock dans tous ses Etats, Evreux, France

If you need any further incentive to pre-order the album and catch My Brightest Diamond live, this should do it:

[MP3] My Brightest Diamond: Inside A Boy (right-click to download)

My Brightest Diamond [Official] [MySpace]

SOMETHING FOR ALL OF US

Ever wanted to watch Broken Social Scene co-founder Brendan Canning watch a soccer match while ignoring a phone call? Me neither. But you can.

Broken Social Scene Presents Brendan Canning: Something For All Of Us... [Official]

Just like Kevin Drew last year, Canning is releasing his “solo” debut under the Broken Social Scene Presents... banner. Follow the link above and you can view the tracklisting and press release talking all about the album. Something For All Of Us is scheduled for a July 22 release date, the first single is called “Hit The Wall.”

[MP3] Broken Social Scene Presents Brendan Canning: “Hit The Wall” (right-click to download)

DON’T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB

Despite what you may have read on your favorite music blog, She & Him, the collaboration between actress Zooey Deschanel and singer/songwriter M. Ward is a giant bag of suck. I dare you to try and get past the third song without wanting to kick a small child in the head. It’s impossible. If you can you’re either a.) a really good liar; or b.) a much more tolerant person than myself. I think the only reason anyone claims to like She & Him (could your name be any less creative?) is because Deschanel is cute as a button and no one wants to hurt her feelings.

She & Him [Official]

I don’t know if I even need to mention this but actress Emmy Rossum’s album, Inside Out, is also an abomination of sound. It’s music, ahem, for people who like their Imogen Heap watered down and unmemorable. Oh, you didn’t know Emmy Rossum released an album? You don’t even know who Emmy Rossum is? That’s okay, you really shouldn’t. She hasn’t been in anything good - or much of anything, for that matter - since 2004’s Phantom of the Opera. She bangs someone high up at Geffen Records (hence, her album) and is attractive so at least she has that going for her.

Emmy Rossum [Official]

All that being said, perhaps the starlet who takes the crown for Worst Attempt At Making Music is none other than (drum roll please) Scarlett Johansson. I’ve had the misfortune of listening to her forthcoming album, Anywhere I Lay My Head, in it’s entirety and it is, for lack of a better word combination: super shitty. Of course, I have an “advance copy” of the album, and at first I didn’t think it was real. While listening to the second track, “Town With No Cheer,” I told myself, This is fake, that’s obviously a man singing. Guess what, kids? I was wrong, I was listening to the real deal.

I don’t know how much you know about this album but Anywhere I Lay My Head is a collection of random Tom Waits gems “interpreted” by Ms. Johansson. I had no idea the word “interpretation” was synonymous with “abortion” until now. This album is nauseatingly bad. The music is boring, and every song sounds the same or worse than the one before it. Some people thought having David Bowie on a couple tracks was a sign that this thing was going to be okay. Now it’s more of a reminder that Bowie hasn’t put out a solid album since 1983.

Don’t buy this album. I don’t even recommend stealing it. You’re better off listening to Ashlee Simpson. Or Hannah Montana. I’m not even kidding. Johansson should forget the music career and stick to doing what she does best: looking hot. I never thought I’d say this but I miss the days when Johansson was having sex with Benicio Del Toro in elevators at the Oscars.

Update: I’ pretty sure I'd rather listen to the music in the video below, which I found on One D At A Time, than listen to Johansson’s album again. Seriously.

THE SLIP

It’s official: Trent Reznor is the new Ryan Adams.

The new Nine Inch Nails album, The Slip, is now available for download on nin.com FOR FREE. This is the second time in three months Reznor has released a Nine Inch Nails album. Physical copies will be released in July.

[Nine Inch Nails: The Slip]

You can download The Slip in a number of formats including: high-quality MP3, FLAC or M4A lossless audio, or in 24/96 WAVE for people with high-end sound systems. All versions also come with a PDF booklet and album art.

I was speculating all weekend about what the new single, “Discipline,” entailed. I got my answer a lot sooner than expected. Exciting times.

PARENTS JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND

I think the underlying message of this video is, much as they are bad at fighting wars, the French are bad at raising children. Rather than keep them in school and off tobacco products, they let them roam the streets like wild animals, touching breasts and stealing old ladies purses.

It’s either that or: you can do whatever you want in France because the police don’t carry guns. Or maybe the message is: roll up your window when waiting at a stop light, otherwise a lawless Parisian youth will drop kick you in the face.

Whatever you decide to take away from this video I think we can all agree on one thing: that giant Justice cross is pretty sweet.

Justice: Stress

ANTHR MSTRKRFT PST

No, it’s not Tila Tequila. It’s Ayumi Hamasaki, Japan’s “Empress of Pop.”

While searching in vain for MSTRKRFT's remix of Usher’s “Love In This Club” I came across this ALP remix for Hamasaki’s song, “Beautiful Fighters.” While I’ve never heard Hamasaki’s music, the remix is classic MSTRKRFT. Very “Street Justice,” only in a language I don’t understand.

[MP3] Ayumi Hamasaki: Beautiful Fighters (ALP MSTRKRFT Remix) (right-click to download)

NOTHING MATTERS TO ME, NOTHING MATTERS AS MUCH

As you may or may not know (or care) Jeordie White, otherwise known as Twiggy Ramirez, has reunited with Marilyn Manson so he won’t be with Nine Inch Nail’s on their upcoming tour. But it’s not all bad news: Robin Finck, the guitar player from The Downward Spiral and the Fragility tours has re-connected with Trent, along with Alessandro Cortini and Josh Freese, which for Fan Boy #1 over here is fucking awesome.

I’ll be catching Nine Inch Nails in Seattle, WA at the Key Arena. Where will you see them?

[Nine Inch Nails Tour Dates]

As if the Ghosts I-IV project and the new Nine Inch Nails tour / line-up weren’t awesome enough, Trent has also released a new single, “Discipline”, on the band’s site, for the price of your e-mail address. Now I guess the excitement is, are we really going to get a new Nine Inch Nails album this soon? Is Trent Reznor the new Ryan Adams?

[Get “Discipline” here]

Finally, Reznor is touring with a slew of interesting artists on the upcoming tour including Crystal Castles, Deerhunter, Does It Offend You, Yeah? and more. Part of the reason I’m heading up to Seattle is for the NIN / Crystal Castles combo which promises to be delightfully noisy, if nothing else.

Crystal Castles: Courtship Dating

[MP3] Crystal Castles: Courtship Dating (right-click to download)

HOLDING YOU OVER UNTIL...WHENEVER

Since I’ve been neglecting this poor excuse for a music blog, here’s new SebastiAn. It’s probably hot. I haven’t listened to it yet but it’s SebastiAn so, you know, shake your ass.

[MP3] SebastiAn: Motor (right-click to download)