Mike James & DJ Kriegs

THAT'S RIGHT! Remember that awesome 80s band that brought us the hit, "Whip It" - well they're back and coming out with a new album! I heard all about it on NPR the other day (I know I have a problem.) and learned so many interesting things about Mark Mothersbaugh, the lead singer. He is also well known for writing many of those background jingles we all subconsciously memorized - i.e. the mac vs. pc commercial, sims 2 background music, and several other commercials. Anyways, this is all fine and dandy, but I know what you are all wondering is whether they can still produce awesome hits (resembling Whip It perhaps?)??? Well, have no fear, because I am here to let you know from what I've heard, they're still pretty baller.

The new album's called Something for Everybody, and came out June 15th. Here's their single,
Fresh --


YAY!

I came across this article and wanted to share what NPR-ers are listening to so far this year. All in all it's a good list, but I am highly disappointed to see Jonsi so far down the list. Naturally, he was my #1 when I voted for my top 20. I do love NPR though.


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128167998&f=37&sc=tw&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

One of the standout feature of the multi-layered, electro-fuzz remix of Baths' "Hall" is the combination of a multitude of unconventional elements to create modern beauty. There's a lot of synthesized sound, as well as the punchy softness of bells, a choir, and other baroque pop throw-ins. It's really masterful how the whole piece comes together from such an eclectic setup. The original, a.k.a. non-remix edition of, "Hall" is part of the Los Angelian's upcoming album Cerulean which is released on July 6 2010.

Listen to "Hall (The One AM Radio Remix Feat. The Los Feliz Ladies Choir)" here:

Download "Hall (The One AM Radio Remix Feat. The Los Feliz Ladies Choir)" here for free: stereogum.com.

Someone has kindly combined two of my favorite things--Star Trek and the endless party that is Ke$ha--into one hilarious YouTube montage. The whole thing is a somewhat homoerotic portrayal of Kirk and Spock's relationship, but everything seems to work magically with the lyrics. Everyone should take a look :-)

Watch "Star Trek: Tik Tok" on YouTube.

Here's what's coming out album-wise this week:

Allstar Weekend - Suddenly
Automatic Loveletter - Truth Or Dare
Sebastian Blanck - Alibi Coast
Chamillionaire - Venom
Chemical Brothers - Further
Closed Heart Surgery - The Blue Girl Diaries [iTunes]
The Constellations - Southern Gothic
Miley Cyrus - Can't Be Tamed
Danzig - Deth Red Sabaoth
Eminem - Recovery
Derek Trucks Band - Roadsongs
Front Line Assembly - Improvised. Electronic. Device.
Macy Gray - The Sellout
Herbie Hancock - The Imagine Project
Cyndi Lauper - Memphis Blues
Kele Okereke [Bloc Party] - The Boxer
Ozzy Osbourne - Scream
Pierce The Veil - Selfish Machines
The Roots - How I Got Over
Sabbath Assembly - Restored To One
Sebastian Blanck - Alibi Coast
Semi Precious Weapons - You Love You
Sia - We Are Born
Stars - The Five Ghosts
Uncle Kracker - Happy Hour - The South River Sessions [EP]
Uffie - Sex Dreams & Denim Jeans
Dweezil Zappa - Return Of The Son Of... [Live]

From metacritic.com.

There are some songs that produce a particularly synaesthetic reaction upon listening to them--"Sea Waves" is one such song. Nice Nice are a duo of multi-instrumentalists from Portland, OR, and this ditty (available to download for free from The Guardian, yay!) evokes a colorful collage of driving beats, mixed with distant vocals and electronic accents. When I listen, it takes me to a Slumdog Millionaire image, a happiness, a rushing, a childhood escape--magical :-)

Download "Sea Waves" here for free via guardian.co.uk.

Alright everyone, it's a new week, which means tomorrow we'll have some new album releases to look forward to. Here's what's out on June 15 2010:

Laurie Anderson - Homeland
Cowboy Junkies - Renmin Park
Devo - Something For Everybody
Drake - Thank Me Later
Foals - Total Life Forever [Physical Release]
The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang
In Fear And Faith - Imperial
Light Pollution - Apparitions
Sarah McLachlan - The Laws Of Illusion
The Steve Miller Band - Bingo!
Papa Roach - To Be Loved
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Mojo
Pitbull - Armando
Rasputina - Sister Kinderhook
Robyn - Body Talk Pt. 1
Stewart - Kicks
We Are Scientists - Barbara

From metacritic.com.