The members of this musical trifecta all happen to be turning 50 this year. Weird to think, isn’t it? Not that long ago they were all on top of their game as well as the music charts.

Madonna hasn’t been fun in years, has she? And let’s face facts - she could *never* sing. That’s not why you bought the records. You bought them because it was fun, and you watched because she could dance and seemingly acted on impulse. But at some point, Madonna started to think she was an ‘artist’, and impulse turned into calculation. Even her mini-me, Britney, has imploded. At least Michael has Justin Timberlake, who despite that awful collaboration with Madonna seems to be doing just fine. Michael himself, on the other hand, is god-knows-where, having surgeons doing god-knows-what to his face.

Really, isn’t Prince the only one that’s come out more or less on top? He still commands impressive audiences, has a fair amount of respect from critics and fans alike, and is willing to branch out creatively (covering Radiohead at Coachella) as well as showing some business acumen (giving away his new CD with the Sunday newspaper for a bundle of cash consideration). He’s the only one that started out an artist and remains an artist (for me), and seems to have found the proper balance between that and MJ’s penchant for bizarre behavior as well as Madonna’s self-absorption.

So kudos to you, Prince. You’ve found the secret to staying relevant without going completely insane or driving us there. Happy belated half-a-century.

MP3: Ladytron - Seventeen (Soulwax Remix)
MP3: David Bowie - All The Young Dudes
MP3: The Who - My Generation

- Sean

Norway’s no. 1 pop vixen Annie is set to release the follow-up to her debut album, Anniemal. We’ve already gotten a taste of her sophomore effort with the tongue in cheek single “I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me”, but judging from the complete tracklist Don’t Stop might have some softer sides to it as well:

01 My Love Is Better
02 I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me
03 Sweet
04 Loco
05 Bad Times
06 I Can’t Let Go
07 Marie Cherie
08 When the Night
09 Heaven and Hell
10 What Do You Want (The Breakfast Song)
11 Take You Home
12 Songs Remind Me of You

Personally I wasn’t too impressed with this lead single, but then again “Chewing Gum” never fell into my liking either (the first off her debut) but I found plenty of tracks to like on that album anyway.

Don’t Stop will be out October 6th, but you can pre-order it now at hmv.com.

MP3: “I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me (Get Shakes Remix)”

- Cecilia

Bloc Party’s third album, ‘Intimacy’ will be available August 21. It can be pre-ordered now via the band’s website: http://www.blocparty.com.

The album will also be available as a CD which will be delivered from October 27 and feature additional songs. Anyone pre-ordering the CD will also receive the digital album from August 21.

Bloc Party alerted fans to ‘Intimacy’s existence, as well as their ability to purchase the record instantly, when they hosted their first ever web chat on August 18. The album follows on from the release of their hit single ‘Mercury’ released on 11 August.

The album produced by Paul Epworth (Silent Alarm) and Jacknife Lee (A Weekend in the City) was recorded in Kent and London. Some songs are Bloc Party at their most wildly experimental, while other tracks are simply classic Bloc Party, fitting in seamlessly amongst fan-favourites ‘Helicopter’, ‘Banquet’ and ‘So Here We Are’.

Bloc Party recently played a run of sold-out American shows and are due to play Reading and Leeds Festival this weekend and headline the Hydroconnect Festival on August 30.

August
23 - Reading Festival, Reading
24 - Leeds Festival, Leeds
30 - Hydroconnect Festival, Scotland

The track listing for Intimacy:

01. Ares
02. Mercury
03. Halo
04. Biko
05. Trojan Horse
06. Signs
07. One Month Off
08. Zephyrus
09. Better Than Heaven
10. Ion Square

MP3: Bloc Party - I Still Remember

- Mark

Music fans are being given the chance to see one of the world’s hottest rock/dance act - Soulwax - at a free and exclusive My Space Secret Show this Friday (August 22) in an undisclosed London Venue.

Soulwax will follow in the footsteps of other big acts who have performed at these exclusive events, including Primal Scream, The Gossip, Babyshambles and most recently Enter Shikari.

From today, users are invited to visit www.myspace.com/secretshowsuk where they will be given instructions on how to get a sought after place at this free gig.

The Secret Show is a surprise addition to the band’s European tour, who kicked off in April with the London premier of their film ‘PArt of The Weekend Never Dies’. The movie documents their experiences during 120 of their gigs and include appearances from other big acts such as Klaxons, Justice and Erol Alkan.

They will be supported at the MySpace Secret Show by electro DJ Riton.

MP3: Soulwax - E Talking (Nite Version)

- Mark

The new album from XX Teens, Welcome to Goon Island, should be hitting store shelves Stateside on September 30. The album will be released via our friends at Mute.

The Teens are 5 British art school students who set out to create interesting and expansive rock with a limited set of tools - the result of their efforts is a collection of artrock and punk-fueled tracks. The band has already received a significant amount of press attention: NME single of the week (”Onkawara”), a slot in the NME’s tracks of 2007 list (”Darlin’”) and the cover of Artrocker (August 2008).

Download: XX Teens - “Darlin’”

The new full-length from Okkervil River will be released on September 9 (October 13th in the UK) via Jagjaguwar. The Stand Ins will feature 11 songs, including “Lost Coastlines” which features a duet with Sheff and recently departed Shearwater member Jonathan Meiburg.

Those who were fans of their critically-acclaimed effort The Stage Names will be elated to find that this release is essentially part two of that release. Will Sheff explains,”We had so many songs we were excited about that we briefly threw around the idea of just putting out a double record. Instead, we decided to take a group of songs that fit with each other and turn that into The Stage Names, setting the rest aside for a future release, a The Stage Names sequel.”

“Sheff sings like he’s on fire but writes like a novelist, reeling off memorable images with an ease that belies his craftsmanship.” - Harp

Download: Okkervil River - “Lost Coastlines”

Photo: Keira Vallejo

From the itchy trigger finger department: We get a significant amount of e-mail daily from bands seeking publicity. It’s flattering, but it’s grown to the point that I reply to each with a request for a press kit and promo. Today, I made the mistake of deleting the information that was sent from London’s tapetheradio before listening. This lot is good, folks! The bio is all dick if the music isn’t listenable, right?

Here’s the only bit of info I could find about the band (from their Myspace page): we live in our studio on a farmyard next to a creek in deptford. pete the dwarf fixes the ttr wheels and ken the mechanic listens to us through the walls and tells us what’s good and bad. we have put all our trust in them. we are tapetheradio.

Catch the band on tour opening for Athlete:
Sep 10 - Esquires Club - Bedford
Sep 11 - The Forum - Tunbridge Wells
Sep 12 - The Hertford Marquee - Hertford
Sep 13 - West End Centre - Aldershot
Sep 14 - Colchester Arts Centre - Colchester

Download: tapetheradio - “The Duke”
Download: tapetheradio - “Save A Life”

At first I thought this was the band that The Pains of Being Pure At Heart had mentioned in their interview with Kip, but then I realized *that* was Ringo Deathstar. So apparently, plays on Ringo Starr’s name are really popular with bands right now.

Gringo Star hail from Atlanta, GA. The band consist of brothers Nick and Pete Furgiuele, along with Pete DeLorenzo and Matt McCalvin. They make good, old-fashioned rock n’ roll, and damned if I can’t avoid the obvious comparisons between lead singer Pete’s voice and that of Kinks frontman Ray Davies.

That’s not to say these lads are mere knockoffs of better days gone by. I think of it more like the first time I heard the Libertines - it sounded familiar yet new, and I instantly knew it had something that had been missing from rock music for a while.

The band’s debut, All Y’All will be released via My Anxious Mouth Records this fall.

TOURDATES (More TBA):
08/22 - Head On The Door - Montgomery, AL
09/14 - SCAD Party - Savannah, GA
10/03 - Star Bar - Atlanta, GA
10/04 - Star Bar - Atlanta, GA
10/10 - Sticky Fingers - Little Rock, AR
10/12 - Off Broadway - St. Louis, MO
10/13 - Day Trotter Session - Rock Springs, IL
10/14 - Beat Kitchen - Chicago, IL
10/15 - Southgate House - Covington, KY
10/18 - Chameleon Club - Lancaster, PA
10/19 - BAR - New Haven, CT
10/25 - JJs Bohemia - Chattanooga, TN

- Sean

The tenth album from Matthew Sweet will be able on August 26th. The effort is titled Sunshine Lies. While I don’t have mp3s from the new opus to share, those who like to hear a bit of it are in luck…click here to stream three tracks.

Sweet’s first release on new label Shout! Factory has rejuvenated him a bit: “Now, I feel really free when I work,” he says, not trying to hide his elation. “It’s easy and I have a good time. This record has come together in a way that it feels like this special little trip with some magic in it—moments where, to me, it gets crazy-great.”

Tracklisting:
Time Machine
Room To Rock
Byrdgirl
Flying
Feel Fear
Let’s Love
Sunshine Lies
Pleasure Is Mine
Daisychain
Sunrise Eyes
Around You Now
Burn Through Love
Back Of My Mind

Download: Matthew Sweet - “Sick Of Myself”

Another lineup I’d love to see, another tour skipping Arizona! Curse you tour gods!

Yes, We Are Scientists (read my interview with Keith Murray here) are joining Kings of Leon for a 23-date US fall tour. WAS are still supporting their sophmore album Brain Thrust Mastery, while the Kings will supporting their 4th LP, Only By The Night (to be released on September 23rd).

In the meantime, the boys are out supporting R.E.M. in Italy, Germany, Lithuania, and Spain (funny pairing, eh?). Those dates can be found here.

The duo have also been busy making a video for their latest single, ‘Impatience’. You can watch a behind-the-scenes on the making of the video here.

MP3: We Are Scientists - Chick Lit (Arctic Monkeys Remix)

TOURDATES:
Sat-Oct-11 Las Vegas, NV The Joint /Hard Rock Hotel
Sun-Oct-12 San Diego, CA House Of Blues
Wed-Oct-15 Los Angeles, CA Nokia Theatre
Fri-Oct-17 San Francisco, CA The Warfield
Sat-Oct-18 San Francisco, CA The Warfield
Mon-Oct-20 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre
Tue-Oct-21 Portland, OR Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Thu-Oct-23 Denver, CO The Fillmore
Sat-Oct-25 Austin, TX Austin Music Hall
Sun-Oct-26 Oklahoma City, OK Bricktown Ballroom
Tue-Oct-28 Houston, TX Verizon Wireless Theater
Wed-Oct-29 Dallas, TX The Palladium Ballroom
Fri-Oct-31 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom
Sat-Nov-01 Minneapolis, MN Orpheum Theatre
Mon-Nov-03 St Louis, MO The Pageant
Wed-Nov-05 Milwaukee, WI Eagles Ballroom
Fri-Nov-07 Toronto, ON Kool Haus
Sat-Nov-08 Detroit, MI The Fillmore
Mon-Nov-10 Washington, DC DAR Constitution Hall
Thu-Nov-13 Boston, MA Orpheum
Sat-Nov-15 Philadelphia, PA The Electric Factory
Tue-Nov-18 Atlanta, GA Tabernacle
Wed-Nov-19 Nashville, TN Nashville Municipal Auditorium

- Sean