Soundtracked: Music, News and More Week of July 22

No, I wasn’t at the San Diego Comic-Con, but yes, I am pumped for the future Superman/Batman movie that is presumably inspired by Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Now that that’s been taken care of, let’s get into it.

LISTEN:

A B-Side from Arctic Monkey’s upcoming album AM entitled “2013” appeared briefly on YouTube this week before being taken down by BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited. Thankfully I was able to scour the interwebs and find a posting of it on SoundCloud. The track is indicative of their recently matured sound, which falls somewhere between classic hard rock and psychedelic, but I don’t think it’s as smooth as their previously released singles from AM, including “Do I Wanna Know?”and “R U Mine?”

The chorus may tout almost cringe worthy lyrics such as “You screwed the pooch now face it,” but Ariel Pink and Jorge Elbrecht’s “Hang on to Life” is a lush pop cadenza with buttery smooth vocals and swirling guitar and synth. Jury’s still out on the phone call concerning women trouble that was thrown in the middle of the track though.

Shoegaze is alive and well in Yuck’s newest single, “Rebirth,” which will be featured on their currently untitled, unscheduled sophomore album. It may be a bit more polished than their previous offerings, but its spacey, lo-fi leanings are as inviting as ever.

WATCH:

Girl Talk wasted no time capitalizing on some of this year’s biggest releases, remixing Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” with Michael Jackson’s “Remember The Time” and Kanye’s “Black Skinhead” with Marilyn Manson’s “The Beautiful People.” Check out these brief clips of each remix from a recent show in North Carolina:

 

READ:

With the controversial acquittal of George Zimmerman continuing to dominate national conversation, many members of the musical community have stepped up and publicly voiced their opinions.

Stevie Wonder took a few minutes out of his concert in Quebec to announce his refusal to perform in Florida until its Stand Your Ground law is abolished. He punctuated his vow by adding to his boycott any state or region in the world that also enforces the law.

In his concert in Ireland, Bruce Springsteen dedicated his song “American Skin (41 shots),” which was originally written in response to a tragic shooting of a young, unarmed man by NYPD officers in 1999, to Trayvon Martin.

But of the spectrum of responses to this hotly debated case, I find Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (drummer frontman for The Roots) and his Facebook post turned essay among the most compelling. His humor and earnestness really drive home an anecdote that parallels his complex, post-verdict feelings and vulnerabilities.

Not all news was somber this past week, however, and we can take a slight reprieve in the fact that James Murphy believes Arcade Fire’s next album is “really fucking epic” and that Wayne Coyne released a comic book entitled “The Sun Is Sick” at the San Diego Comic-Con.

RANDOM NOSTALGIA:

If Adam West isn’t next in line for the cowl, who do you think is?

by Justin Davis