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Florence + the Machine Drop 2nd ‘Ceremonials’ Cut

October 4, 2011 in Music News, Otaku News

Just in time for your Halloween-party preparations, Florence Welch attends a mask-heavy gathering in the video for “Shake It Out,” the second song to emerge from Florence + the Machine’s upcoming second album. Watch the clip below.

While the video doesn’t have the clearest plot, it does depict Florence Welch dancing with masked, formally attired men, a visual that sparks comparisons to the posh orgy of Stanley Kubrick’s film Eyes Wide Shut, but a bacchanal does not break out. Instead, a white-dressed Welch escapes to the woods, while a red-dressed one parties inside with some seriously creepy people. “I’m damned if I do, and I’m damned if I don’t,” she sings.

“Shake It Out” and previously unveiled track “What the Water Gave Me” are slated to appear on Ceremonials, the follow-up to last year’s Lungs. Both songs are surging pop tunes that put lush, gospel-tinged arrangements beneath Welch’s powerhouse voice.

Ceremonials is scheduled for U.S. release on November 1 via Universal Republic. The album was recorded at London’s famed Abbey Road Studios with producer Paul Epworth, who oversaw Lungs‘ “Cosmic Love” and “Blinding” in addition to his work on hits by the likes of Adele and Bloc Party.

The masquerade scene in the video isn’t Welch’s first encounter with the dark side. In a SPIN profile earlier this year, Welch, one of our Best Artists of 2010, cops to breaking into a cemetery.

WATCH: Florence and the Machine, “Shake It Out”

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My Favorite Things: Soulja Boy

September 29, 2011 in Music News, Otaku News

This week: Soulja Boy, the 21-year-old Atlanta rapper — yes, the guy behind the dance Natalie Portman loves — who is bringing Southern hip-hop into the next generation. His Respect My Hustle drops later this year.

Tupac, "Keep Ya Head Up"

FAVORITE SONG:
"Keep Ya Head Up" by Tupac. That song is inspirational. When I was 10 years old my mom used to play Tupac while she cleaned the house. I remember rapping over that song when it came on. Those are some great memories.

FAVORITE ALBUM:
All Eyez On Me by Tupac. Tupac was on some other shit when he made that album. He was so far ahead of other rappers. That album is one of the biggest selling in hip-hop along with Biggie’s Life After Death, Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP, and 50 Cent’s Get Rich Or Die Tryin’. I hope one day I can put out an album that sells 10 million copies. Tupac is incredibly inspiring as a person and musician.

FAVORITE NEW ARTIST:
Diggy Simmons. Diggy has put out consistent quality material. I like the Copy, Paste record he did. I’m also impressed by the moves he is making outside of music, like his shoe line. I’m looking forward to what he’ll come with next.

FAVORITE WAY TO PASS TIME ON THE ROAD:
Playing video games. I don’t travel anywhere without the PS3 and XBox. There’s nothing better to do on long bus trips while on tour. My favorite games right now are Skate 3 and Gears Of War 3.

FAVORITE MANTRA/QUOTE/PIECE OF ADVICE:
"To Be Or Not To Be." To me it represents having no fear in whatever you do in life. It says if you’re going to pursue something you go at it with everything you got. When I decide what type of music I’m going to create in the studio, I think about that saying and what I’ll be representing. If I’m going to make music for the streets or the clubs or whatever, I go at it with 110 percent.


Click to enlarge

The Social Network scene

FAVORITE PLACE TO ESCAPE:
Tokyo, Japan.  When I was in Japan on tour in 2010, I felt like I was 30 years into the future. I love technology and they are so advanced with their phones, computers, everything. I think they had the iPhone way before we did in the US. I love gadgets, games, social media and I try to stay ahead on all that stuff, but they get it all first.

FAVORITE TV SHOW:
Death Note. It’s a Japanese show about a High School student with a supernatural notebook, and anyone he puts in the notebook ends up dying. It’s dope.

FAVORITE MOVIE:
The Social Network. I love anything about new media and ways to socially connect and market yourself digitally. I thought that movie was incredible and did a good job explaining the evolution of Facebook.

FAVORITE FOOD:
Chili cheese fries. I can’t explain why I like them other than they just taste so damn good. My favorite ones are at Steak N’ Shake, a food chain in the south.

FAVORITE BOOK:
The Art Of War by Sun Tzu. I enjoyed learning about different strategies that you can apply to success. A great book to reference for the music business.

WATCH: Soulja Boy Tell’em, "Mean Mug" (feat. 50 Cent)

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Foo Fighters, MGMT to Cover Pink Floyd on ‘Fallon’

September 24, 2011 in Music News, Otaku News

Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, MGMT, the Shins, and Dierks Bentley are set to appear on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon next week, as part of the show’s tribute to Pink Floyd.

According to Billboard, the Shins will start the honors Monday with their version of "Breathe" from The Dark Side of the Moon. On Tuesday, Pink Floyd singer-bassist Roger Waters will join Foo Fighters to cover The Wall‘s "In the Flesh." MGMT will follow on Wednesday with "Lucifer Sam," off The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, and country star Dierks Bentley will perform the title track from Wish You Were Here on Thursday, before Pearl Jam finish off the week Friday with The Wall‘s "Mother."

Jimmy Fallon, who will interview Waters and fellow Pink Floyd member Nick Mason early in the week, has hosted tributes to musicians before. Green Day were among artists paying their respects to the Rolling Stones on the show last year. Lauryn Hill, Chris Cornell, and others helped Fallon honor Bob Marley this spring.

On September 26, Pink Floyd will kick off a huge reissues series with a six-disc box set edition of Dark Side of the Moon. Deluxe versions of Wish You Were Here (out November 7) and The Wall (February 27, 2012) will follow, along with a best-of collection titled A Foot in the Door (November 7).

Check out fan-shot footage of Pink Floyd’s London reunion show below.

WATCH: Pink Floyd, "Comfortably Numb"

WATCH:

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Big Boi Rallying for Death Row Inmate Troy Davis

September 21, 2011 in Music News, Otaku News

Big Boi is taking to the streets on behalf of Troy Davis, who is facing execution tonight in Georgia. In a Twitter message this morning, the OutKast rapper called for a rally at the prison in Jackson, GA — 40 miles outside of Atlanta — at 4 P.M. EST, writing, "Time to be seen!!!!!"

Davis is scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection at 7 P.M. EST, after Georgia’s board of pardons rejected a last-minute clemency request yesterday. The 42-year-old Davis, convicted for the 1989 murder of off-duty police officer Mark MacPhall, has been set for execution three times before, only to receive reprieves at the 11th hour.

His case has attracted a wide range of supporters, from former President Jimmy Carter to Pope Benedict XVI. Advocates for clemency point to shifting witness testimony, suggestions of police misconduct, and reports from other witnesses that someone else admitted to the killing. Prosecutors and MacPhail’s family members have long maintained support for Davis’ guilty verdict.

Big Boi, an Atlanta resident, has been tweeting up a frenzy about the planned execution. "We don’t need a trending topic, we need boots on the ground," he said this morning. He also posted OutKast’s Aquemini jam "Liberation" on his website, along with protest-themed songs by performers from Bob Marley to Linkin Park.

Some other artists are backing Big Boi’s efforts. Diddy asked his Twitter followers this morning to call U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. New York indie-poppers the Drums said it isn’t too late to e-mail the Georgia parole board. Others voicing their support include the Roots’ ?uestlove and Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah.

As CBS News and the Associated Press report, Davis’ supporters are now resorting to extraordinary measures to stop the execution. That includes asking for a lie-detector test, encouraging prison workers to skip work, and even contemplating a plea to the White House for a potential pardon. The AP reports that defense attorneys have drafted another appeal to a local judge.

Davis was convicting of shooting MacPhail to death outside a Burger King restaurant while the off-duty police officer was trying to save a homeless man who was being beaten. The only physical evidence linking Davis to the murder consisted of bullet casings that were connected to an earlier Davis conviction. Defense lawyers say seven of nine key witnesses from Davis’ trial have since recanted all or part of their testimony.

WATCH: OutKast (feat. Cee-Lo, Erykah Badu, and Big Rube), "Liberation"

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New Yelawolf Video Features Lil Jon, Mud Wrestling

September 20, 2011 in Music News, Otaku News

This Alabama rapper has been turning heads for his vividly rendered, dexterously rhymed stories of blue-collar Southern life. The first video from Yelawolf’s October 25 debut album Radioactive transfers those impressive skills to pop radio’s favorite setting — that mythical pleasure dome known as The Club — and shows that the MC born Michael Wayne Atha can wallow in his own id as naturally as anybody. Watch it here (via Nah Right).

"Hard White (Up in the Club)" is a booming, arena-ready showcase for the syllable-hopping flow that earned Yelawolf a spot on Eminem’s Shady Records roster. Crunk godfather Lil Jon bellows the raucous hook while Yela dissects the V.I.P. section as savagely as he has previously analyzed the trailer park, all the while repping his "redneck" background: "My limbs are covered in tattoos, and my roots, they run deep," he roars.

The video is equally shameless. Yela raps furiously in front of a towering shelf full of liquor bottles, while a pair of bikini-clad women wrestle in a kiddie pool filled with mud. Lil Jon is there punctuating the hedonism, while desserts are thrown, shots are poured, and the backing track’s central vocal snippet drones like Lil Wayne’s "A Milli." Says Yela: "Still don’t give a fuck." He gives just enough.

The video was directed by Motion Family, whose previous work includes videos for Big K.R.I.T., Killer Mike, Wiz Khalifa, T.I., Big Boi, Gucci Mane, B.O.B., and others.

"I’ve got a few inspirational records, records for people to stay motivated," Yelawolf told SPIN about the tracks on his new album. "Not giving up, the American tale, using my blue-collar experiences, you know? I want to be a voice for those people and not get all ‘poppin’ bottles in the V.I.P. or some shit." It’s fair to say "Hard White" successfully bridges that difference.

Yelawolf, who broke out with 2010′s Trunk Muzik mixtape, also told SPIN some of his favorite things earlier this year.

WATCH: Yelawolf (feat. Lil Jon), "Hard White (Up in the Club)"

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WATCH: Girls Frontman Finds His Dream Babe

September 20, 2011 in Music News, Otaku News

Girls frontman Christopher Owens has a taste for the finer things in life, like beautiful women and classic American cars, and he reminds us yet again in his band’s new video for "Honey Bunny." Watch below [via The New York Times].

Directed by Girls bassist J.R. White, the two-and-a-half-minute clip shows Owens searching for his dream girl on the streets of his hometown San Francisco. He frolics around the streets in a half-shirt, and later steals a silver Corvette (remember, Owens loves sexy vintage cars) before finally spotting his blonde vixen (who is actually his real-life girlfriend). "I know you’re out there / You might be right around the corner / You’ll be the girl that I love," Owens sings on the ’50s-style rock’n'roll track, from Girls’ sophomore album Father, Son, Holy Ghost.

Owens and White chatted with The New York Times about "Honey Bunny" and its video. "I wrote [the song] on my birthday in 2009, on my Mom’s front porch singing into my cellphone," explains Owens. "It’s a song about making a conscious decision not to give up on love or hope or happiness."

"It was an obvious choice to have Christopher’s girlfriend be the co-star," says White. "Chris is not an actor, and including her was a conscious effort on my part to make him feel as comfortable as possible. I knew the video would depend tremendously on his performance to the camera.
"

Adds Owens, "The girl is very special and important in my life. She represents the girl that I’m looking for in the song."

WATCH: Girls, "Honey Bunny"

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Arcade Fire Win Canada’s Top Music Prize

September 20, 2011 in Music News, Otaku News

Arcade Fire took home the 2011 Polaris Music Prize last night for third album The Suburbs. The Montreal collective beat out nine other nominees for the honor, given to the best Canadian album of the year, including iconoclastic indie-rock wordsmith Destroyer, enigmatic R&B act the Weeknd, hypnotic electro-pop trio Austra, and dream-pop sirens Braids.

Past winners have included punk maximalists Fucked Up for 2009′s The Chemistry of Common Life, genre-hopping auteur Caribou for 2008′s Andorra, and former Arcade Fire string arranger Owen Pallett’s Final Fantasy for 2006′s He Poos Clouds.

The Polaris victory adds to Arcade Fire’s impressively full trophy cabinet for The Suburbs, which landed at No. 3 on SPIN’s Best Albums of 2010 list. The album previously won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, and received similar honors from the Juno Awards (a Canadian equivalent to the Grammys). The Brit awards, Britain’s answer to the Grammys, named The Suburbs the Best International Album.

Arcade Fire released a deluxe edition of The Suburbs in August. The expanded edition includes two new tracks — “Culture War” and the David Byrne team-up “Speaking in Tongues” — plus extended versions of “Wasted Hours” and other songs.

WATCH: Arcade Fire Wins 2011 Polaris Music Prize (via CBC)

WATCH: Arcade Fire, “The Suburbs”

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Paramore’s Hayley Williams Duets With Taylor Swift

September 20, 2011 in Music News, Otaku News

There’s more to Music City than country. Paramore singer Hayley Williams joined her pal Taylor Swift on stage to sing the pop-punk band’s 2008 hit "That’s What You Get" during Swift’s concert in Nashville Friday night. Watch a fan video below (via EW).

"Well, the thing about Nashville, one of the amazing things about it, is that there’s so many friends here," Swift said, introducing the song. "My friend Hayley has this band called Paramore." With that, Williams strode out to lead Swift and her band through a pogoing rendition of the riotous Riot! cut. The crowd, as you’ll hear, went wild.

As EW notes, on her tour for last year’s Speak Now, Swift has been covering songs by local artists: Eminem’s "Lose Yourself" in Detroit, Bon Jovi’s "Livin’ on a Prayer" in New Jersey, and so on. Paramore, who come from nearby Franklin, TN, was Swift’s pick Friday night.

Paramore aren’t the only former SPIN cover subjects to receive the Swift cover treatment. Earlier this year, she performed Mumford & Sons‘ "White Blank Page," off their 2009 debut Sigh No More, for BBC Radio 1.

As for Williams’ group, Paramore recently celebrated the 15th anniversary of their record label, Fueled by Ramen, in New York City. The show featured a debut of aggressive new song "Renegade," one of the first new tunes form the group since the departure last December of founding members Josh and Zac Farro.

WATCH:Taylor Swift and Paramore’s Hayley Williams, "That’s What You Get"

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Foo Fighters Protest Hate-Filled Church Group

September 19, 2011 in Music News, Otaku News

A religious group known for picketing U.S. soldiers’ funerals got a taste of its own medicine on Friday afternoon. The Foo Fighters stood atop a flatbed before their Kansas City show that night and sardonically treated the protesters from Westboro Baptist Church to a live performance, in a counter-protest of the Topeka, KS-based church’s anti-gay views. (via NBC Action News)

Dressed in trucker costumes from their recent “Hot Buns” video, the band members hit back at the protesters with a message of tolerance and American pride. “Land of the free, home of the brave,” frontman Dave Grohl declared at the end of the song, in an exaggerated drawl. “I don’t care if you’re black or white or purple or green, whether you’re Pennsylvanian or Transylvanian, Lady Gaga or Lady Antebellum. It takes all kinds.”

The Foo Fighters posted additional video of the counter-protest on their website, receiving more than 400,000 views over the weekend. The band kicked off a 27-date North American tour earlier last week in St. Paul, MN, in support of latest studio album Wasting Light. The “Hot Buns” song itself is a twangy country spoof with goofy lyrics about “hot man muffins,” in the grand faux-trucker tradition of mid-1990s Blur B-side “Rednecks.”

In addition to military funerals, the Westboro church has also picketed funerals of well-known figures, such as that of Elizabeth Edwards, the late wife of former presidential candidate John Edwards. Missouri and other states have passed laws trying to limit the church’s protests, but have been repeatedly overruled by the Supreme Court on free-speech grounds.

WATCH: Foo Fighters, “Keep It Clean (Hot Buns)”

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New ODB Box Set Includes Food Stamp Replica

September 17, 2011 in Music News, Otaku News

Wu-Tang Clan fans can now walk around with their own Ol’ Dirty Bastard food stamp card. ODB’s Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version, is returning as a box set on November 22 via boutique imprint Get On Down, the label has announced.

The box set will included a remastered version of the late Wu-Tang member’s gold-selling 1995 solo debut album, plus a 12-track bonus disc featuring various remixes, a cappellas, and instrumentals. The reissue also comes with a poster, additional artwork, extensive liner notes, and a billfold wallet, where buyers can display a laminated reproduction of the ODB food stamp card depicted in the album’s cover art, according to Get On Down.

You can pre-order ODB’s Return to the Chambers: The Dirty Version Wallet Box Set at UndergroundHipHop.com. Get On Down promises more information on its website.

According to Okayplayer, which reportedly got its hands on the box set, the tracklist features previously 12″-only tracks such as “Brooklyn Zoo (Lord Digga Remix).”



ODB’s Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version

WATCH: Ol’ Dirty Bastard, “Brooklyn Zoo (Lord Digga Remix)”

WATCH: Ol’ Dirty Bastard getting his food stamps

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