The A.V. Club - Music

Music: Newswire: Danzig says he was asked to play Wolverine, wouldn't have done it "as gay" as Hugh Jackman

Fri, 25 May 2012 13:45:00 -0500

There had been rumors around for years that Danzig was once approached to audition for the part of Wolverine in the X-Men movies, despite the fact that he's not really an actor, but all of that seemed a little dubious at best until LA Weekly asked him about it in an interview that ran this week. In it, Danzig says he was, in fact, approached—for what that's worth—but that he's glad he didn't do it because the movie was terrible. He has apparently not seem X2. The real classic Dan-zinger comes when the reporter ...

Music: This Was Pop: May 26, 2012

Fri, 25 May 2012 12:00:00 -0500

A.V. Club writers Genevieve Koski and Steven Hyden have decided to explore the Billboard charts every month in search of the good, the bad, and the ugly of contemporary pop music in all its forms. Today, they take a look at the rock songs chart for May 26, 2012. Linkin Park, “Burn It Down” (No. 1) Genevieve: We here at This Was Pop Industries decided to take a break from the Hot 100 this week to take a look at what’s happening with its angry little brother, the Rock Songs chart. Steven, you tend to like these little ...

Music: For Our Consideration: Reconsidering Codeine, a ’90s band frozen in time

Fri, 25 May 2012 10:00:00 -0500

A lot has changed since Codeine broke up in 1994, not long after the release of its second full-length, The White Birch. Similar groups like Low, Red House Painters, Bedhead, and Seam helped popularize an indie-rock subgenre dubbed “slowcore,” though none of them embraced the term. Codeine didn’t embrace it, either. Then again, Codeine barely even embraced itself. Singer-bassist Stephen Immerwahr and guitarist John Engle have had little to say about the trio’s legacy, and they haven’t made any notable music since. The group’s two drummers have had the most enduring musical careers after leaving Codeine ...

Music: AVQ&A: Best experiences with ephemeral art

Fri, 25 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Welcome back to AVQ&A, where we throw out a question for discussion among the staff and readers. Consider this a prompt to compare notes on your interface with pop culture, to reveal your embarrassing tastes and experiences, and to ponder how our diverse lives all led us to convene here together. Got a question you’d like us and the readers to answer? E-mail us at avcqa@theonion.com. What’s the best song, movie, play, etc. that you are sure you’ll never see again? I don’t mean that in the “there will never be anything like ...

Music: Playlisted: King Tuff

Thu, 24 May 2012 23:55:00 -0500

We get a lot of records sent to us here at The A.V. Club. Fortunately, we end up liking some of them. In Playlisted, we share our latest recommendations. Album: King Tuff by King Tuff (out May 29 on Sub Pop) Press play if you like: Free Energy and re-creations of ’70s glam rock; off-kilter garage-pop outfits; slapdash, distortion-heavy indie rock. Some background: King Tuff is Vermont native Kyle Thomas, better known as the frontman of Happy Birthday and vocalist for J. Mascis’ band Witch. His 2008 debut as King Tuff, Was Dead, revealed a natural preference for garage ...

Music: Newswire: Former LFO member doesn't think it’s fly when girls stop by Florida clinic for an abortion

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:50:00 -0500

At one time, former LFO member Brad Fischetti had a lot to say about girls, especially ones in the summer. He liked it when they wore Abercrombie And Fitch and thought they had it “going on” when they would “shake and wiggle to a hip-hop song.” Apparently he doesn’t like it when that wiggling results in unwanted pregnancy, however, as he’s now taken it upon himself to hang out and live-tweet outside Florida abortion clinics all day. Both Buzzfeed and Jezebel are on the story, which involves Fischetti spending hours upon hours praying, taking photos, and yelling at ...

Music: Newswire: Updated: RIAA never really claimed Limewire owed it $72 trillion—that's "trillion" with a "T"

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:30:00 -0500

The legal case between LimeWire and the RIAA has been going on for some time now, but it wasn't until recently that the RIAA really put a figure on the amount of damages they think they're owed by the now-defunct filesharing service—and it's a doozy. According to documents recently filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the RIAA was asking for damages of about $72 trillion dollars, a figure that the judge in the case said is "absurd." Judge Kimba Wood wrote in a recent decision that, "An award ...

Music: Newswire: Hey Chicago, we want to hang out on your deck again

Thu, 24 May 2012 15:20:00 -0500

Hey Chicago, do you remember last year when we released seven videos under the Undercover: Summer Break banner? You don't? They're right here. Well, we're launching Summer Break again this year, and we need some cool outdoor locations to film at. Last year we had the deck at Tribune Tower, a boat out on the lake, and some awesome roof decks. Do you have the ideal place for us to film an Undercover in the next month or two? Please e-mail us and describe what you've got. No idea too big or too small. Send a ...

Music: Newswire: Bobby Womack is now cancer free

Thu, 24 May 2012 11:23:00 -0500

This is the kind of news we love reporting: R&B legend Bobby Womack has successfully undergone treatment for colon cancer, according to a post on his Facebook page. Womack was diagnosed with the disease back in March, but a tumor that was recently removed ended up being cancer free. Womack will release his new album, The Bravest Man In The Universe, on June 12. [via Pitchfork]

Music: Reasonable Discussions: #34: A Little Deeper Into The Bee Gees Listening Experience

Thu, 24 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Steve Hyden and Keith Phipps remember The Bee Gees’ Robin Gibb through the music the tremulous-voiced singer made with and without brothers Barry and Maurice. If you only know the brothers Gibb as the grinning, white-suit-and-chest-hair embodiments of the disco era, Steve and Keith have some paisley-printed and ambitious-yet-flawed surprises for you from the band’s early days. Related stuff: R.I.P. Robin Gibb Direct your comments to discussions@avclub.com, or leave us a voicemail at 314-AVCLUB0. Subscribe to Reasonable Discussions iTunes FeedBurner

Music: Newswire: Beck releasing new single on Jack White's Third Man Records

Wed, 23 May 2012 13:40:00 -0500

Everyone wants to make a record with Jack White, apparently. First, his record label, Third Man Records, released singles by Stephen Colbert, Reggie Watts, John C. Reilly, and Conan O'Brien, among others. Now he's wrangled a one-off 7-inch from Beck. "I Just Started Hating Some People Today"/"Blue Randy" will be released May 28 via ThirdManRecords.com, iTunes, and at fine retailers nationwide, including the Third Man Records store in Nashville. The vast majority of the records will be on plain black vinyl, though an extremely limited run of about 100 tri-color seven-inches will be available at Randy ...

Music: Newswire: Donna Summer, Prince, Bo Diddley, Love and others added to the National Recording Registry

Wed, 23 May 2012 12:20:00 -0500

A week after the death of Donna Summer, the singer has joined the performers who work has been judged “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and preserved in the archives of the Library Of Congress, as part of the United States National Recording Registry. Every year since 2006, the Registry board has added 25 selections to its collection; Summer made it in via her Giorgio Moroder-produced 1977 disco smash “I Feel Love.” This year’s typically diverse list includes recordings by Lillian Russell (“Come Down Ma Evenin Star”), Ruth Etting (“Ten Cents A Dance”), Stan Kenton (“Artistry In Rhythm:), the interracial ...

Music: Newswire: Damon Albarn walks out on Blur recording sessions, is "kinda a shit" to the rest of the band

Wed, 23 May 2012 12:10:00 -0500

Damon Albarn has long been considered a musical mastermind, what with his work with Blur, Gorillaz, and a myriad of other projects. After reportedly walking out on Blur's latest recording session, though, he might just have earned a reputation as a bit of an a-hole. William Orbit, who's producing Blur's new, long-awaited record, tweeted recently that "Blur could have been good. But Damon, brilliant and talented tho he is, is kinda a shit to the rest of Blur." When asked about that by NME, Orbit said that Albarn had just up and halted the band's recording ...

Music: My World Of Flops: Bonfire Of The Vanity Projects Case File #16: Give My Regards To Broad Street and Magical Mystery Tour

Wed, 23 May 2012 10:00:00 -0500

Imagine, for a moment, that you are Paul McCartney. Everywhere you go you create a frenzy of excitement and exhilaration. If you choose to escape your coterie of handlers and flunkies and head down to the local Starbucks for a latte, the barista who serves you will probably never forget the minute and a half she was blessed to spend in your presence. She might forget birthdays and anniversaries and the names and genders of her illegitimate children (this is one debauched, forgetful barista we’re talking about), but she’ll never, and I mean never forget the time she ...

Music: Newswire: Hear "Speed The Collapse" from Metric's new album Synthetica

Wed, 23 May 2012 09:11:00 -0500

On June 12, Metric will release its new album, Synthetica. We already posted a stream of the track "Youth Without Youth"; now we have another new song from the record, "Speed The Collapse." Check it out below.

Music: Interview: Garbage's Shirley Manson on getting the band back together and kissing major labels goodbye

Wed, 23 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

It’s been seven years—in present pop-cultural terms, an eternity—since Garbage last graced the airwaves with its slick, sultry pop songs. Given the long break and the reported estrangement between the band members, it seemed like the group had checked out permanently. But after singer Shirley Manson had to scrap plans for a solo album due to disagreements with her record label, and the cancellation of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles cut her fledgling acting career short, she ended up back in touch with the band’s other members—grunge producer and drummer Butch Vig, and studio pals ...

Music: Newswire: Beastie Boys fans trying to get New York park named after Adam Yauch

Tue, 22 May 2012 15:51:00 -0500

While the numerous homages that have poured in since the death of Adam "MCA" Yauch have been lovely and all, a more lasting tribute is currently being lobbied for in New York, where Brooklyn residents have launched a campaign to have a local park renamed in Yauch's honor. Billboard calls attention to this Facebook petition seeking to transform Brooklyn Heights' Squibb Park—already undergoing renovations to become a skateboarding facility—into Adam Yauch Park, which would then be located near another park named for fellow songwriter and former Brooklyn resident Harry Chapin. Unfortunately, while it would be a nice ...

Music: Newswire: Today in music videos: Reggie Watts and Terence Stamp star in Hot Chip's "Night And Day"

Tue, 22 May 2012 13:50:00 -0500

Terence Stamp, Reggie Watts, and a supermodel walk into a bar. Well, not so much a bar as a weird spaceship set featuring a giant egg and a bunch of dancers wearing full-length hoodie dresses. That whole mess of weirdness somehow manages to come together in Hot Chip's new video for "Night And Day," which was directed by British actor, comedian, writer, and sometimes director Peter Serafinowicz. He also directed the group's video for "I Feel Better" back in 2010. Check it out below.

Music: Newswire: New Yeasayer album, Fragrant World, due August 21

Tue, 22 May 2012 10:54:00 -0500

On August 21, Yeasayer will release its third album, Fragrant World. The follow-up to 2010's critically acclaimed Odd Blood (which landed at No. 19 on The A.V. Club best albums list that year), Fragrant World was produced by the band and has been described as "something much weirder and darker" than its poppy predecessor. You can find out for yourself by downloading the song "Henrietta" here. Check out the track listing below. 1. Fingers Never Bleed 2. Longevity 3. Blue Paper 4. Henrietta 5. Devil and the Deed 6. No Bones 7. Reagan's Skeleton 8. Demon Road ...

Music: Newswire: Hear "Make It Known" from Foxygen's debut EP, Take The Kids Off Broadway, out July 24 on Jagjaguwar

Tue, 22 May 2012 10:02:00 -0500

One of the more interesting debut releases of the year is Take The Kids Off Broadway, the first EP by bi-coastal rock duo Foxygen. The record (the first of two planned Foxygen releases this year) was created by Sam France and Jonathan Rado, two 22-year-old classic-rock fans who have tried to cram references to every single song they have ever loved into Broadway's seven mind-bending tracks. The best way to describe the album is to imagine playing three different radio stations at the same time—Broadway is simultaneously catchy and obscure, carefully composed and freewheeling, confusing and thrilling, like ...