MySpace in talks to launch music subscription service
By Annapocalypse on Apr 19 2010
Now that even your grandma has left MySpace to join Facebook, it seems that the bigwigs at MySpace are busy scheming up ways to become relevant again. It makes total sense then that they are thinking about launching a music subscription service, because we all know how much people love paying for music! At the MIPTV conference in Cannes, News Corporation’s digital boss, Jonathan Miller, mentioned that MySpace is “more likely than less likely” to launch a subscription service. And if it does happen, Miller believes it will happen this year.
• MySpace: http://www.facebook.com
Last.fm is outsourcing its on-demand streaming to Spotify, MOG, and others; “Scrobble” still not recognized as word in Webster’s English Dictionary
By Max Sebela on Apr 19 2010
Last.fm announced in a blog post that they will be shutting down their on-demand streaming service. Instead, they will be linking individual songs for streaming through a variety of partners. Spotify (for everyone outside of America), MOG (for all us lowly Yanks), and Hypemachine (for everyone; hype around the globe) will now power their MP3 streams, while Last.fm will change its focus to being primarily a music recommendation service. Last.fm writes:
Consistent with how people have used Last.fm since the early days, engagement with features like user profiles and personalised radio stations has remained much higher than usage of on-demand playback. We feel strongly that we can better fulfill our core mission by instead connecting our users to services in the ecosystem that, unlike us, focus primarily on a jukebox-in-the-sky streaming experience.
That’s all fine and good, but what about my play counts? How will the world know that I still stand behind Travis Morrison’s decisions on All Y’all, and listened to it seven times this week on MOG? Luckily, Last.fm is only partnering with services that already “scrobble.” Meaning that if you stream a song off Hypemachine while logged into your Last.fm account, Hypemachine will report that play to your Last.fm account. Absolutely scrobbulous!
Last.fm is also partnering with VEVO for video streaming, which also scrobbles. And Last.fm radio will remain unchanged.
Meanwhile, adding “scrobble” to the dictionary would create a great new way to bingo in games of Scrabble. Plus they half-rhyme. C’mon, Webster. Everybody’s scrobbling these days.
• Last.fm: http://www.last.fm
Tokyo Police Club reveal details for Champ
By Annapocalypse on Apr 19 2010
Since releasing their debut album, Elephant Shell, in 2008 on Saddle Creek, Tokyo Police Club have exploded from buzz band to household name (they played the Coachella main-stage on Saturday). Although they recently split from Saddle Creek, they’ve signed on to Mom+Pop Records for their next album, Champ, which is due out on June 8. Check out the tracklisting below:
01. Favourite Food
02. Favourite Color
03. Breakneck Speed
04. Boots of Danger (Wait Up)
05. Bambi
06. End of a Spark
07. Hands Reversed
08. Gone
09. Big Difference
10. Not Sick
11. Frankenstein
And hear their new songs live this summer:
04.22.10 - Fairbanks, Alaska - University of Alaska
04.27.10 - Millvale, PA - Mr. Small’s Theater
04.28.10 - Columbus, OH - Skully’s (Private Jack Daniels show)
05.29.10 - Neustrelitz, Germany - Immergut Festival
05.30.10 - Hamburg, Germany - Uebel Und Gefaehrlich
05.31.10 - Berlin, Germany - Lido
06.01.10 - Koln, Germany - Luxor
06.02.10 - Munich, Germany - 59:1
06.04.10 - Amsterdam, Holland - Paradiso
06.05.10 - Brussels, Belgium - Botanique/Witloof Bar
06.07.10 - Manchester, UK - The Ruby Lounge
06.08.10 - London, UL - Scala
06.09.10 - Atlanta, GA - The Tabernacle &
06.11.10 - Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo &
06.12.10 - Orlando, FL - Club At Firestone &
06.13.10 - Miami Beach, FL - The Fillmore &
06.14.10 - Tampa, FL - The Ritz Ybor &
06.16.10 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues &
06.17.10 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live &
06.18.10 - Austin, TX - Stubb’s &
06.19.10 - Austin, TX - Stubb’s &
06.21.10 - Dallas, TX - Palladium Ballroom &
06.23.10 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant &
06.25.10 - Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre &
06.27.10 - Philadelphia, PA - Mann Center &
06.29.10 - Brooklyn, NY - Prospect Park Bandshell &
06.30.10 - New York, NY - Governor’s Island &
& Passion Pit
• Tokyo Police Club: http://www.tokyopoliceclub.com
• Mom+Pop Records: http://www.momandpoprecords.com
RIP: Devon Clifford, drummer of You Say Party! We Say Die!
By Shane Mack on Apr 18 2010
From Spinner:
You Say Party! We Say Die! drummer Devon Clifford collapsed onstage during a Friday night concert in Vancouver and passed away early Sunday morning.
After Clifford fell during the concert, lead singer Becky Ninkovic asked audience members to call 911, and soon after midnight paramedics arrived and Clifford was rushed to the emergency room. The show came at the tail end of a long North American tour and the dance-rock band, hailing from the Vancouver suburb of Abbottsford, were planning to kick off their tour of Europe on April 26.
Clifford reportedly suffered a brain hemorrhage and after having emergency neurosurgery at 3AM, he was on full life support for about a day before passing away at age 30 early Sunday.
• You Say Party! We Say Die!: http://myspace.com/yousaypartywesaydie
• Paper Bag Records: http://paperbagrecords.com
[Photo: Todd Duym]
Oneohtrix Point Never news bonanza! New album Returnal in June, multichannel art piece, tourdates, and eternal vow to top the TMT year-end list
By E. Nagurney on Apr 16 2010
Last year, Oneohtrix Point Never (a.k.a. Daniel Lopatin) put out a record of (pretty awesome) futuristic synthesizer music called Zones Without People. A lot of people really liked Zones Without People; in fact, some even said it was their fourth favorite record of 2009. While honored, Lopatin feels a little slighted by the mere fourth-place finish. In a (completely fictional) interview with me (again, I’ve never talked to the man), Lopatin had the following to say (I am making this up): “Animal Collective? Shmanimal Collective! Dirty Projectors? More like Smelly Projectors That Nobody Likes Because They Smell Bad. sunn 0)))? Excuse me, I think you mean Sunn :(.” Harsh words. (Go here if you want to see actual words from the guy.)
Anyway, to take a shot at this year’s coveted Tiny Mix Tapes Crown, Lopatin’s putting out a new record called Returnal on June 18 via Editions Mego. And if you’re really pumped about the idea of new Oneohtrix Point Never, Edition Mego’s site states that pre-order copies will ship out late May, making you the first kid on your block to own Returnal. The eight-song album’s tracklist can be seen below.
Aside from making Returnal, Lopatin has evidently been quite busy as of late. The man has created a multichannel piece for Anne Hilde Neset’s Sonic Tank exhibit at Tou Scene in Stavanger, Norway. The piece is called “The Martinettis Bring Home A Desiring Machine,” which runs for about 30 minutes and is comprised completely of material from a Mac Performa infomercial. On his site, Lopatin says he’ll never actually see the thing himself and urges you, if you’re in the Stavanger area, to “be his avatar.” So, go ahead, be his avatar. While we’re on the subject of Mr. Lopatin’s recent creations, he’s also made a video for oOoOO’s song “Seaww,” which can be viewed over at EMOTION.
Lastly, Oneohtrix Point Never is going on tour over the next few months. Joining Mr. Lopatin on his synthesizer journeys will be fairly like-minded folks like Emeralds and Tomutonttu. Many of the dates for the Oneohtrix/Tomutonttu tour do not yet have a venue listed, but let it be known that, if you live in any of the cities listed, those two are playing, well, somewhere in your town. Be on the lookout.
Returnal tracklist:
01. Nil Admirari
02. Describing Bodies
03. Stress Waves
04. Returnal
05. Pelham Island Road
06. Where Does Time Go
07. Ouroboros
08. Preyouandi
Oneeohtrix Point Never dates:
04.18.10 - Madrid, Spain - La Casa Encendida &
04.22.10 - Barcelona, Spain - Obra Social Cajamadrid &
04.23.10 - Virgo, Spain - Festival Sinsal
04.24.10 - Lisbon, Portugal - ZDB &
05.27.10 - Brighton, UK - Venue pending ^
05.28.10 - Nottingham, UK - Venue pending ^
05.29.10 - Glasgow, UK - Venue pending^
05.30.10 - Leeds, UK - Venue pending ^
05.31.10 - London, UK - Cargo ^
06.02.10 - Paris, France - La Geode (Vilette Sonique Festival)
& Emeralds
^ Tomonttu
• Oneohtrix Point Never: http://www.pointnever.com
• Editions Mego: http://www.editionsmego.com
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