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Hasn't Jacko been in financial trouble for years now? Guardian reports that, arrears be damned, MJ's partnership company Sony/ATV purchased the publishing entity Famous Music for $370 million from Viacom via auction yesterday. (Imagine that auctioneer: "SOLD to the ma...woma...person raising the gloved hand.")

So to the Beatles, add Björk, Beck, and other artists that don't fit this alliterative scheme to Michael's personal stash of song rights. Experts say the most valuable catalogue controlled by Famouse Music is that of Marshall Mathers. A Sony/ATV exec says Famous Music is a "world-class asset filled with evergreen songs that people know and love," but we wouldn't put it past the Freak Of Pop to orchestrate this whole thing just to own Slim after this bit of hair-flaming fun.

Even after diving into her beef with Clive, we harbored lingering suspicion that the BMG brawl was manufactured for press attention. Of course the Davis diss during the Idol finalé finally set us straight, so here's a chance for you to be Clive and prematurely assess the newest Decemberist's forthcoming LP. AOL Music's got snippets of My December up for streaming; take a listen to "Sober" (which is about "three months," we think), "Maybe" (about being stubborn), and "Can I Have A Kiss" (guess). Strap on your favorite pair of absurd, tinted glasses and get clicking. Preferably in a bungalow.

Graphic designers, skip the links and see below.

So, this video of Marilyn talking vajayjay fashion finally clears up whether or not he and Lohan ever got intimate during those hang-out sessions that enraged Dita. But it only adds fuel to the fire(crotch) as to whether Manson is more or less desperate for attention than rehab-bound Lindsay. The way he's gesticulating, doesn't he seem like a goth Cojo?

Yes, Stephen Cojocaru reference. (via TMZ)

I've been meaning to mention this for a while. Our colleague Matthew Perpetua over at Fluxblog has been writing a great R.E.M. blog, where he analyzes and critiques R.E.M., one song at a time. He's very insightful, but he also writes from a personal perspective, making each song seem fresh as you read about them.

This, for example, is what he says about "Sweetness Follows," one of my favorite R.E.M. songs:

"The guitar feedback is the most emotive element in the song. The part threatens to break out into a solo during the bridge, but it chokes on its own emotion like a person fighting to hold back their tears. Peter Buck’s performance is subtle but exceptionally moving, and lends a gentle complexity to a song that might be nothing more than a cloying tear-jerker in less capable hands."

The great thing about the blog is that he gives every song equal attention, so he dissects "Airportman" (Wednesday's song) with as much care as, say, "The One I Love" (in which he explains why you don't want that track played at your wedding).

Give the site a read, even if you're not an R.E.M. fan. The comments sections are especially insightful.

Gameboy/Gamegirl messaged asking me to post this up on Mix Tape Sunday. But I says Tranterco deserves his own day of the week. If you’ve been paying attention then you already know Tranter as part of Gameboy/Gamegirl — or if you’re really down then you know him as one of the Streetparty crew.

Tranterco just completed his mix for Opulent Magazine. Cop it there or mirrored in one piece down below.

Tranterco’s Opulent Magazine Favela Rock Mix #10 (mp3)

Tracklisting (more…)

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The Damned - Neat Neat Neat (Peel Session 11/30/76).


There's still a reason to buy cd's. It's obviously not for everyone all the time, including me. But sometimes, something comes along that will remind you what you love about the physical medium. This package for the 30th Aniversary of The Damned's "Damned Damned Damned" is one of those perfect examples. A package like this virtually commands you to sit down and get deep into the music, the art, the time and place. Along with the original album (produced by Nick Lowe), you've got two discs that give you such a rich picture of where this exciting band was at such an exciting time. Take out the liner notes, listen to three albums worth of tracks and argue about whether this is the first punk LP or not.

The track here is from The Damned's first Peel Session in November of '76 and the cocky punk swagger is in full effect. The whole session is great, with Dave Vanian at one point yelling "Eat your heart out John Peel!", just really capturing the punky mood and feeling of what it must have been like to be them at that time. Would you have had the balls to say that to Peel when your band had only been together for a few months?

The liner notes tell their story in first person with testimonials from the band. This is one of those rare reissues that serves both as a great introduction for the casual fan AND an essentail resource for the true believer.

On top of the orginal raw and bloody album, and the 76 Peel session, there's another Peel session and two concerts, including their first ever. The sound is about you would expect for the first concert ever played by The Damned, but the energy level is enough to make up for what it lacks in clarity (which is what punk's all about anyway, right?).

Here’s some proof that we’re not all glow sticks and pom poms over here at BIGSTEREO. Misha’s Teardrop Sweetheart recently landed on my desk and woah, totally excited by this album. Teardrop Sweetheart is the most perfect Summer pop album… totally timeless and delicious indie pop that you’ll find yourself humming along with while chowing down on ice cream cones at the beach. I promise — or at least that’s how my Summer is gonna be.

With its bittersweet lyrics and an easy to like melody, “Weatherbees” is a great example of Misha’s perfect pop.

Misha - “Weatherbees” (mp3)

Teardrop Sweetheart is up on iTunes and eMusic as a pre-release. Grab it before all your friends do.

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Figured we'd wait a day for you to process and enjoy Sufjan's awesome, shockin' raw tune "In The Words Of The Governor" -- just 'cause it took us at least that long to stop listening (obsessively) -- before rounding up some of the other Soofy stuff going on around the web. For one, Sounds Familyre is offering up a vinyl reissue of Seven Swans, including a 7" with two previously unreleased songs from the sessions. More info about that here. And here's a song from Seven Swans that was previously released from the sessions, but MP3s are fun so there ya go.

Sufjan Stevens - "Sister" (MP3)

And elsewhere, the masters of putting indie artists in awkward positions and making it all look and sound beautiful (i.e. La Blogothèque) lured Sufjan on to a windy roof in Cincinnati during the MusicNOW festival (where, incidentally, Mr. Stevens showed off some new tunes), and the man with the banjo chose to cover the Innocence Mission's lovely "The Lakes Of Canada."

Haa, remember when he used to play the banjo? By the way, does anybody remember Polvo? 'Cause Soof does.

Deadbeat - Refund Me feat. Bubbz

I love me some good techno, and I love me some good dub music. Fortunate for me then to come across Deadbeat, one of many projects helmed by Montreal-based Scott Monteith. He also works with Stephen Beaupré (who I wrote about last year) as Crackhaus, and has participated in "Atlantic Waves", an improvised network music performance with Monolake.

His biography goes on and on about his genre-defying sound, but it seems more like he works in a couple of fairly well-defined genres in parallel. On his new album, Journeyman's Annual, Monteith goes way deep into the realms of minimal techno and dub styles, and produces something akin to that 'dubstep' genre the kids in the UK are into (but that hasn't really broken out too much over here in the US).

I put on the CD when I got it and immediately knew I should feature it here on MFR, because it doesn't really sound like anything else, and if you are curious about music the way I am, hopefully you will give this a chance. The album features a handful of contributions by Monteith's friends and associates, including vocal tracks by Moral Undulations, Jah Cutta, and this one with Bubbz. The opening track also features strings by Sophie Trudeau, a fellow Montrealer and former member of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and A Silver Mount Zion. Oh, and as a bonus track, the CD includes the Deadbeat remix of Saul Williams' song "Black Stacey", which is dark but excellent stuff.

Journeyman's Annual comes out in early June on Germany's ~scape, the label headed by fellow electronic dub-head, Stefan Betke aka Pole. Once it comes out (June 19th according to my records), you'll be able to buy it directly from the ~scape Shop, or via our friends at Forced Exposure. Recommended.

Now that the Gossip are all big and famous (in the UK anyway), having only one vid for their hit "Listen Up" just won't do. Beth stayed mostly in the bedroom on the first one, but this time she's dancing on bars and inviting a couple of her gender-bending friends for support. This is what a year and a friendship with Kate Moss will do to you.

If after seeing that, your wildest dreams are to see Beth Ditto nude on the cover of NME ... well, take the jump to see that dreams really do come true.