Prefix

Amanda Palmer, Dresden Dolls: Amanda Palmer Tweets Naked Pictures of Herself

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:52:15 -0400

The longer Twitter exists, the more apparent it is that having a space where celebrities can make lasting, internet-permanent decisions in less than a few minutes, is an incredibly valuable thing.

Though obviously a lot more premediated than her celebrity Twittering counterparts, Amanda Palmer tweeted thusly yesterday:

use these nekkid AFP post-sharpie-twit-frenzy-photos to mock up a rolling stone cover. http://bit.ly/afpnekkid - post results.

With a link to about 25 nude photos of Palmer covered in Sharpie, doing various poses. I mean, it's Amanda Palmer, and if you see her live there's about a 20% chance she'll take off her shirt just due to general immodesty, but this still raises an eyebrow or two.

To see the Rolling Stone covers fans have come up with, click here.

[The Daily Swarm]

Cass McCombs: "You Saved My Life" (Video)

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:07:01 -0400

Cass McCombs' video for "You Saved My Life" is a surprisingly compelling piece of slow-motion melodrama, played out by McCombs' back at some kind of street fair, and between two silhouetted people dancing in a room with a really cool light display. Explaining the song, McCombs said, "When you save someone's life, they are forever indebted to you. They become your slave, owing their life to you. Slaves that harbor resentment will usually make an attempt at escape." That's real talk McCombs, real talk.

Catacombs is out now on Domino, the video for "You Saved My Life" was directed by Eric Fensler.

Julie Doiron: "Consolation Prize" (Video)

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:45:28 -0400

The idea of a consolation prize is maybe one of those tropes that's a little bit overused in music, especially where relationships are concerned, but the way this Julie Doiron track from I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day crunches through that particular drama, it feels reasonably fresh. The video does it justice too, with a pretty weird but neat narrative about evil dentists and grotesquely toothy zombies.

[Stereogum]

Calvin Harris: "Ready for the Weekend" (Video)

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:25:35 -0400

Producer and occasional pop star Calvin Harris' videos are always babe-laden affairs, in which Harris' own appearance is usually little more than incidental. The artist's newest clip for his forthcoming album's title track, "Ready for the Weekend," is no different. Harris appears in and manipulates some weird portholes that might also be LPs, and some inexplicable babes hop around and just generally look good. It's certainly not the worst marketing in the world.

The Breeders: The Breeders Tour in August with Times New Viking, Whispertown 2000 Supporting

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:11:35 -0400

This past April, the Breeders released a little EP, the four-song Fate to Fatal, and better late the never, this August the band's going on a North American tour in support of the release. Between the band's European dates and Kim Deal's dates with the Pixies, this is your only chance to see the Breeders this year, so fans shouldn't sleep on it.

The Breeders dates:

08.05 Newport, KY: Southgate House *

08.06 Indianapolis, IN: The Vogue*

08.07 St. Louis, MO: Blueberry Hill*
08.08 Lawrence, KS: Bottleneck*
08.09 Omaha, NE: Showdown*
08.11 Minneapolis, MN: Fine Line Music Cafe ^
08.12 Madison, WI: Majestic Theatre ^
08.13 Chicago, IL: Metro^

08.14 Pontiac, MI: Crofoot Ballroom^

08.15 Toronto, ON: Lee's Place ^
08.17 Boston, MA: Paradise Ballroom^
08.18 New York, NY: Bowery Ballroom^
08.19 New York, NY: Bowery Ballroom^
08.21 Washington, DC: Black Cat^
08.22 Pittsburgh, PA: Diesel Club Lounge^
08.23 Columbus, OH: Newport Music Hall^

Lady GaGa: Lady Gaga Talks Rilke, Inspiration, Masks at Malta Press Conference

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:36:39 -0400

The culture carnivores across the pond at Popjustice already thought up a pretty solid analogy for Lady Gaga's bizarre behavior, that she's "living Madonna's career on fast-forward," but as apt as that is, it discounts the fact that Madonna was never as wholly inscrutable as Gaga's been from the outset, and it doesn't tell us if she's going to be totally burned out by 2012, or if she's going to achieve some kind of frightening pop transcendence sometime in the near future. Only time will tell.

Holy Ghost: "I Will Come Back" (Classixx Acapulco Nights Remix) (MP3)

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:23:12 -0400

Normally, extra names for remixes just seem excessive and indulgent, but "Acapulco Nights" so accurately describes all of the balearic goodness (yes, I know Acapulco isn't a Balearic island) that Classixx caresses into this remix, that it's excusable in this instance. The weather in the northern part of the U.S. seems to be temperamental as to whether or not it's actually summer, but there's enough beach in this track for you and the immediate area. [Discobelle]

Bow Wow: Bow Wow Tweeting Cries for Help?

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:27:28 -0400

Recently, Bow Wow seemed fairly happy with the idea of parlaying this whole glamorous music thing into a glamorous acting career, but it looks like that enthusiasm is on the wane -- at least if you believe a tweet Bossip posted from the former lil' rapper:

Man I be gettn bored wit life. I wish I neva did and seen err thang so soon. I have nuffn to look forward 2. I’m down more than I am happy.

In a dark place!

goodbye

That exclamation mark after such a grim sentiment strikes me as kind of insouciant, but I'm no shrink so I'll just stick with the facts and mention that there have been a few downers in Bow Wow's life lately. There was the public dissing by Angela Simmons, the open lamenting of his relationship with his father, and a general shakiness in his career trajectory lately. Maybe he was just having an off day, but telling your fans you're "bored wit[h] life" is never a good sign. At any rate, the rapper must've later rethought his emotional openness: Bossip reports that the tweet has now been erased. [Bossip]

Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions: Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions return with Through the Devil Softly

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:19:53 -0400

Some of the best things in life take time. We may be used to constant updates, endless tours, and myriad releases from our favorite artists, but there are still some visionaries out there who stand apart from it all, working on their own time. It could be said that one of these latter artists is Hope Sandoval, the frontwoman of 90's alternative luminaries Mazzy Star (who themselves have taken their time, slowly working on the followup to Along My Swan from 1996).

While Mazzy Star was slowing down around 2000, Hope Sandoval teamed up with Colm Ó Cíosóig of the similarly dormant My Bloody Valentine to form Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions. Their debut, Bavarian Fruit Bread, is a profound record of folky, psychedlic longing, a perfect blend of lush percussive backdrops and minimal string arrangments with breezy, introverted guitar folk, led by Sandoval's wispy, passionate voice. That this record appeared in 2001 is incredible for its feeling of timelessness.

Now, 8 years later, with minimal output in between (save a slew of collaborations with The Jesus & Mary Chain, Air, The Chemical Brothers, Massive Attack, Bert Jansch, and others), Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions return with the much anticipated follow up record, due out on September 1, via Nettwerk. It is called Through the Devil Softly, and you can already listen to a track from it called "Blanchard."

The Runaways: Lita Ford Wants No Part of Runaways Biopic

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:54:36 -0400

Glam-girl-rock-pioneer cum hair-metal-bequeather-of-Kiss-Me-Deadly Lita Ford wants you to know that she is not happy with the folks behind that upcoming Runaways movie, and she's particularly not down with Joan Jett. Ford says Jett's manager offered her a mere $1,000 to get onboard with the film, an offer so low that -- surprise! -- Ford essentially considered it an insult not worth dignifying with an answer.

"I thought that was pretty disgusting," Ford said in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine. "We never even replied."

Anyone who's even remotely followed the very differing lives of each former Runaway knows relations have been shaky for some time -- arguably, since the band was still together -- but this latest rift ratchets up the tension just the slightest bit further. And Ford, apparently, won't be healing any wounds by checking out the Jett-produced biopic:

"I just want people to know that I have nothing to do with that film," she said.

The new film -- titled (what else?) Cherry Bomb -- is set to be released in 2010. Twilight star Kristen Stewart is attached to play Jett, Dakota Fanning takes on the role of Cherie Currie, and Ford will be portrayed by relative newcomer Alessandra Torresani. [Contact Music]