The Good
New MGMT song, gratis!
MGMT
For those who got MGMT fever listening to their vocals on Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness,” the wait is (almost) over. Today MGMT released the first track off their upcoming surfer pop album, Congratulations. This one is called “Flash Delirium” and it is available FREE FOR DOWNLOAD on the band’s Web site. Dance, little children, dance.
The Bad
Sparklehorse’s Mark Linkous takes own life
Mark Linkous
The music industry lost another world-weary hero this week. First Vic Chesnutt, and now Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse— a frequent Chesnutt collaborator. Linkous reportedly died from a self-inflicted stab wound outside a friend’s home in Tennessee. As Sparklehorse, Linkous released 4 studio albums (with a 5th on the way), toured with Radiohead and collaborated with the likes of Tom Waits, PJ Harvey and, most recently, Danger Mouse. The duo was entrenched in a legal dispute with Danger Mouse’s record label, EMI, for the rights to release their album Dark Night of the Soul but recently reached an agreement.
On a personal note, I interviewed Linkous after the release of his stunning 2001 album, It’s a Wonderful Life, at his farm in Virginia, and found the man behind the musical genius to be a quiet, gentle soul who entertained all my fumbling questions with grace and kindness. R.I.P., Mark.
The Ugly
Bieber rips off Raaaaaaaandy?
Justin Bieber
Could it be true? Through his alter ego, Raaaaaaaandy (yeah, that’s 8 a’s), Comedian Aziz Ansari has accused Justin Bieber of ripping off his song “Baby, Baby” in the teen idol’s current hit, “Baby.” According to the re-enactment footage, Bieber stole the music and lyrics after pistol whipping poor Raaaaaaaandy in the studio. That’s so Bieber! Check out the Funny Or Die clip here.
Miscellany
• Wayne Coyne wants Justin Timberlake for new Flaming Lips movie
• D’Angelo goes to the clink for soliciting sex
• T.I. back with new track, “I’m Back”
• Lil Wayne gets sentenced (finally) to a year in jail
• Eminem & Lil Wayne video for “Drop the World”
• Jay Z documentary in the works
• Mary J. Blige gets the led out with more Zeppelin covers
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past couple of months you’ve probably noticed the “latest craze” in pop music. The harmonizing boy bands and sugary pop stars bound to go bad of the’90s and solo acts, like Justin Timberlake and Beyoncé, of the early ’00s need to make way for today’s electro-pop wonders with their club-worthy beats and robotic, auto-tuned vocals. Now, Jay-Z may have declared death to auto-tune, but let’s face it, it’s here to stay. With bands like Owl City and Cobra Starship topping the charts, and T-Pain’s auto-tune iPhone app that puts the power of the voice-altering device in the palm of your hand, there is no way to escape the buzz. And we all know resistance is futile so maybe the best way to deal with it is to embrace it. 
January 1, 2010 signaled the beginning of a new year, a new decade and, for movie fans, another step closer to the release dates of several highly anticipated films. This year many artists are making their mark on the big screen by contributing their music to movie soundtracks in ways that both are completely expected and a bit of a surprise.
