Maybe all that violence the US is wrapped up with in the Middle East is coming back to bite us in the arses, or maybe the industry players are fed up with a lackluster year in music. Whatever the cause, there's definitely been an increase in artist violence over the last week:
You know Matt Mehlan's ever-changing project as Skeletons & The Girl Faced Boys, and from the band's 2005 album Git. Always ready to mix things up a bit, the band has seen new members in the last year and a name change as well.
You probably know them from their photos dressed as giant eyeballs in top hats. Originally from Louisiana, The Residents, whose music is the definition of psychedelic eccentricity, moved to the Bay Area in the 70's and began incorporating SF counter culture into the dark tales of the South told in music and video format. Over their numerous releases since then the band has continued to elude fans, never giving interviews and remaining shrouded in a variety of masks, the most common of them being the top hat/eyeball variation.
AllofMP3.com, a Moscow-based site that's been branded as the world's highest-volume dealer of pirated music, just announced plans to release hundreds of thousands of albums for free.
Looks like London's favorite casio quintet Hot Chip is back on the road starting next month, supporting The Warning, their sophomore album recorded at home, distinctly different from 2004's Coming On Strong, and rooted in infectious 2-step rhythms that should translate nicely to the live setting. You'll be sorry to miss one of these exciting live sets.
The Warning is out now on DFA/Astralwerks.
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