First Neon Bible Single!

The first single, Black Mirror, from the Arcade Fire's upcoming album, Neon Bible, is now streaming from their site. The songs a little bit fuzzy, but at least we can finally hear what it sounds like. And damn, does it sound good. I wasn't a massive fan of Funeral, but this is an awesome song. It sounds a lot like Funeral, but with a harder edge. So go, now! Listen to it!



Black Mirror (Stream)

Brandon Flowers Re-affirms His Idiocy

The Killers, in yet another dumb move, have turned down a collaboration with Ghostface Killah. Ghostface said he wanted to combine his vocals with the Killers music, but the Killers declined his offer.



How does this bit of news strike me? As a very, very stupid move on the Killers part. Right now, Ghostface Killah is a goldmine and a critics baby. He can do very little wrong right now. After the fiasco that was Sam's Town, the Killers could use any positive publicity they can muster, and a collaboration with Ghostface Killah definitely would have counted as positive. The Killers might as well go live in a cave and help Flowers groom his mustache garden now, 'cause it'll be damn near impossible to recover from all that 2006 threw at them.

Yo La Tengo Announces New EP

Yesterday, Yo La Tengo announced that they would release an iTunes exclusive EP on January 9th. The Yo La Tengo Live Session EP will be composed of four tracks, with two tracks from their last album, I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass, a cover of Arthur Lee's Luci Baines, and a mysterious track entitled El Es Gay, which I'm guessing is a B-side to I Am Not Afraid . . .

Albarns Massive Ego Really Pissing Me Off

First, the news comes that there's no hope for a Blur reunion, because Graham Coxon and Damon Albarn can't get along with each other long enough to record a song. Now, Albarn's started mouthing off about his old rival. In Uncut, Albarn ridicules Jarvis Cocker's infamous Michael Jackson stage crash (which was, ahem, ten years ago), Jarvis's music, and his "odd ideas about reality". Here's a bit of the article, via NME:


-I've always had a problem with Jarvis' stance on that, I found it
really disturbing when he pulled his pants down in front of Michael
Jackson, that just seemed totally wrong. If someone is sick, he's not
open to ridicule.

-The world is not full of cunts; we have a collective responsibility not to slag people off and instead try to understand them.

-He's got some very odd ideas about reality.




Cunts Are Still Running The World.mp3

Shins Annouce Tour

On February 8, at Minneapolis' First Avenue Club, the Shins will kick off their new tour, in support of their forthcoming album, Wincing The Night Away, due out on January 23. Sub Pop says this is only the first leg of the tour, so expect the second leg to appear soon.

NME Still As Confused As Ever

Apparently, this is news:


Lily Allen's dog returned (NME)


Later today, NME is expected to interview Justin Timberlake's hamster.

Rhymes Released On Bail

This morning, Busta Rhymes was released on bail, set at $3,000 yesterday, when Rhymes turned himself in for assault. He allegedly beat his driver on December 26th, after the driver forgot to get Rhymes the new Jay-Z album for Christmas, after Rhymes had repeatedly dropped hints that he wanted it.

Thermals announce tour dates

The Thermals, one my favorite bands from last year, has just announced a rather short tour of the US, beginning in Seattle on February 21 and ending on March 7 in Visalia, California, holding a total of seven shows. It should also be noted that The Thermals are working on their next album, and are expected to debut new material on this tour.

Cocker Goes On Rampage In Taxi: Narrowly Misses Pedestrians

I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't lead you in with titles like that. Anyhow, Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker has just released a video of Don't Let Him Waste Your Time, from his excellent solo debut from last fall, Jarvis. The video finds Cocker giving advice to a woman he picks up in a taxi, and driving that taxi whenever he gets a minute. It's a decent video, with a good song, and pretty good direction. See for yourself.




B+

A perfectly above average video.

Arrest Yourself

Hot Chip has just released a new video, of Arrest Yourself, from last years The Warning. Frankly, I'm surprised that they chose this song, of all their choices. I expected No Fit State to be their next single. Nonetheless, the video is pure Hot Chip. Enjoy



Arrest Yourself (Hot Chip Official Site)


A-

The video itself is very smart and creative, and fits the song brilliantly. Unfortunately, the song itself isn't as good as the video.

Another Rapper Arrested

Are you as tired of hearing about rappers getting arrested as I am? Hell, at least it gives me something to post. So, Busta Rhymes was arrested last night in Manhattan, when he turned himself in to the police. He's being charged with third-degree assault for allegedly beating his ex-driver. This is just the latest of Rhymes' crimes. Last month, a machete was found in his vehicle (seriously, what the hell?!) for which he was charged, and offered a plea bargain of six months jail time, to which he refused. Also, it's believed that he witnessed the unsolved murder of his bodyguard earlier last year.


You know, just once I'd like to see a pop star get arrested for something like this. John Mayer, maybe? Plus, if anyone knows who the hell carries a machete around in their car, I'm all ears.

Dashboard by Modest Mouse

Need inspiration to listen to Good News For People Who Love Bad News for the thousandth time? Probably not but here you go anyway: Dashboard the single from Modest Mouse's new album We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank.

Dashboard (Stream)

About Those Shiny Objects

What, the giant album covers didn't distract you enough from the fact that I only did a top five list? Well, how about these rare Yeah Yeah Yeah's songs, including an oh so sweet Bjork cover? Yeah, I thought so.


Our Time (Acoustic).mp3

Sealings.mp3

Cheated Hearts (Acoustic).mp3

Hyperballad.mp3



Still not enough? Okay, fine, I promise I'll post a bit tomorrow on More Fish, Ghostface Killah's new album.

At Least I Had The Smarts To Dry It

So, my one reader, you're probably wondering what happened to top 20 list. Well, lucky you, I finished. And then I sent it through the washer. So . . . yeah, I'm going to give you the top 5, and then distract you with shiny objects. Sound fair? Sure it does!





#5
Hell Hath No Fury by Clipse






#4
Fox Confessor Brings The Flood by Neko Case







#3
Fishscale by Ghostface Killah







#2
Show Your Bones by Yeah Yeah Yeah's



#1
Destroyer's Rubies by Destroyer








And there you have it! My top five for 2006! Obviously, I think they're all great choices, so check them out if you haven't already!