Music news, album reviews and release dates, updated frequently

British Sea Power
February 12th is the US release date for the band’s third LP, “Do You Like Rock Music?” UK fans can pick it up beginning January 14th.

The Charlatans
The UK band have announced that their next album, “You Cross My Path,” will be available as a free download on the band’s own website and on the site Xfm. Although the album won’t be ready until next year, the first single will be available (for free) beginning October 22nd.

Deerhoof
The experimental indie-rockers have made an entire album of live tracks and rarities available for free download on its website.

Eve
The singer’s next album, “Here I Am,” which has already been delayed several times, has been pushed back once again, from October 16th to an unspecified date in 2008.

Mars Volta
The release of the band’s next album has been pushed back into next year. “Bedlam in Goliath” will now arrive in stores on January 29th.

Radiohead
As previously reported here and elsewhere, “In Rainbows” arrives next week (via the band’s website) in two formats: a download-only version, for which you can name your own prices, and an approximately $80 “discbox” version that includes a bonus disc and a ton of extra materials. For those of you who want a physical version but don’t want to pay the high cost of the deluxe edition, word comes today that a conventional CD of the album will be released in early 2008.

Full release calendar

Pitchfork has some very surprising details on the next Radiohead album, which, contrary to earlier reports and rumors, will be released on October 10th, rather than next year. The highlights:

1. The album is titled “In Rainbows.”
2. Radiohead still do not have a record label or contract. As a result, they are self-releasing the album via their website, which will be the only place to purchase it.
3. If you want a download-only version of the album, you can obtain it from the Radiohead site for as much (or as little) money as you want to pay for it.
4. A special “discbox” edition comes with lots of extras, including a second disc with eight additional new tracks, a vinyl version of both discs, artwork, and more. That version will run you £40, or approximately $80.

Official Radiohead site

Battles
How to follow the extremely well-reviewed LP “Mirrored”? Why, with an EP, of course. The six-track “Tonto+” will include remixes from The Field and Four Tet and a bonus DVD.

Mary J. Blige
The singer drops “Growing Pains” on November 27th. It is the follow-up to her huge 2005 hit “The Breakthrough.”

Stephen Malkmus
The former Pavement leader will release his fourth solo album in March, according to label Matador Records.

Mates Of State
The duo is about halfway through recording its next album, which it plans to release early next year. Billboard has details…

Mudvayne
The rockers will release “By The People, For The People” on November 27th.

Radiohead
It looks like March 2008 will be the month that the band’s next album finally arrives. Details about the album, such as they are, have been trickling out of Radiohead HQ via a series of coded messages posted on the band’s website. The latest message, “March Wax,” has been interpreted as a hint about the release date, although it could also be a command intended for anthropomorphic candles.

To Rococo Rot
The electronica act’s first release in three years will be the six-song EP “ABC123,” due in the UK on October 22nd on Domino.

Full release calendar

It’s official: this week’s Billboard album sales chart has Kanye West’s “Graduation” in first place, selling a stunning 957,000 copies in its debut week and in the process scoring the 15th highest weekly sales total since 1991 and the biggest debut of the year. As we all know, 50 Cent had threatened to retire if his own “Curtis” failed to outsell Kanye (it didn’t, coming in second with 691,000 units sold). No word yet out of his camp as to 50’s next move, but we recommend golf.

One of the last remaining big-name holdouts (along with the Beatles) to making their songs available digitally, Radiohead has finally committed to selling their back catalog online–sort of. The bad news: consumers will only be able to purchase entire albums, rather than individual tracks; in addition, the albums will not be sold through iTunes (and in fact will only be sold through UK website 7digital.com). The good news: US buyers can indeed purchase the Radiohead material from 7digital (at about $14 per album), and the tracks are being sold as DRM-free MP3 files.

Speaking of downloading music, perhaps illegal downloading wouldn’t be so prevalent if legal downloading weren’t so undesirable. Case in point: the new website SpiralFrog.com, which launched Monday. While all downloads on the Universal Music Group-sanctioned site are technically free, users must jump through numerous hoops in order to obtain and listen to the songs. To download songs, users must sit through advertising (the source of the site’s revenue). To prevent their songs from being locked up, users must complete a detailed registration form and login at least once each month. In addition, downloaded tracks cannot be burned onto a CD or transferred to an iPod. And did we mention it’s not compatible with Macs at all?

Bjork
Although it isn’t definite, it is looking like the singer will release her second album of 2007 before the year is up. This one will be a live album, which was recorded just a few weeks ago.

Blind Melon
After a dozen years, the band has re-formed with new vocalist Travis Warren replacing the late Shannon Hoon, and has recorded a new album. No release date has been set.

Bottomless Pit
The new band featuring Silkworm members Tim Midgett and Andy Cohen will release their debut, “Hammer of the Gods,” on November 6th. Here’s a sample:

Bottomless Pit: The Cardinal Movements

Death Cab For Cutie
The Ben Gibbard-led band is set to head into the recording studio later this month to record the follow-up to 2005’s “Plans.” A release is expected in the spring.

Fiery Furnaces
Pitchfork reports that the brother-sister duo have already written another album (in addition to “Widow City,” due October 9th), called “Back to Begamo.” No word yet on a release date.

Maxwell
The R&B singer is finally getting close to releasing his long-in-the-works album “Black Summer’s Night,” which was originally announced in 2006, as he has posted some new music on his MySpace page. The disc is now expected to surface in 2008.

No Age
The Los Angeles duo has signed to Sub Pop, and are already in the studio working on their debut for their new label, which is expected in spring 2008.

Oslo
“The Rise and Fall of Love and Hate,” co-produced by Interpol’s Sam Fogarino, will be released October 9th. Here’s a sample:

Oslo: The Rise and Fall of Love and Hate

Radiohead
No, there’s no release date yet for the band’s eagerly-awaited (if not impatiently-awaited) follow-up to “Hail To The Thief,” but guitarist Jonny Greenwood has told Paste Magazine that recording of the album is finally completed. All that’s left is for the band to secure a new record deal. Speaking of Greenwood, he’ll also be providing the score to the upcoming Paul Thomas Anderson movie “There Will Be Blood.”

Full release calendar

Angels and Airwaves
“I-Empire,” the second album from the post-blink-182 project for Tom Delonge, will arrive October 23rd.

Dillinger Escape Plan
The math-rock outfit–which has recently undergone some personnel changes–announced that its next release, “Ire Works,” will be out on November 13th.

Havoc
September 18 will see the release of “The Kush,” the very first solo release for the Mobb Deep rapper.

Little Name
“How To Swim And Live” arrives in US record stores on October 23rd. It marks the debut for the solo project for Liverpool multi-instrumentalist Lee Barker.

Radiohead
No, it’s not good news: The band’s long-awaited follow-up to “Hail To The Thief” now looks like it won’t arrive until 2008.

Saturday Looks Good To Me
October 23 will see the release of “Fill Up The Room,” the fourth album–and K Records debut–for the indie band.

She Wants Revenge
The California electronic-rock duo’s second release, “This Is Forever,” will be released October 9th.

Full release calendar

Singer Lily Allen was banned from entering the United States by US customs officials who apparently mistook her for Amy Winehouse. Okay, that last part isn’t true, but she did have her visa revoked and was temporarily held (and strip-searched) at Los Angeles International Airport, an incident that may be related to her arrest in London in the spring after clashing with a photographer. A planned American tour next month may be in jeopardy, although her manager claims everything is fine and that the singer still has her visa.

Supermodel Kate Moss can add “songwriter” to her CV. Apparently, she helped write one of the tracks on Babyshambles‘ upcoming sophomore release… while in bed with that band’s Pete Doherty. Isn’t that what you do in bed?

The head of Philadelphia band Espers is launching his own record label, in affiliation with Drag City. Greg Weeks’ Language of Stone will release albums by artists Orion Rigel Dommisse and Mountain Home next month.

Busta Rhymes is being sued by a “fan” who was allegedly assaulted by the rapper after a show last year. It is just one of several legal issues pending for Rhymes.

An acclaimed orchestral work by Radiohead member Johnny Greenwood will get its US debut in January in New York.

The MTV Video Music Award nominations have been announced, with Justin Timberlake and Beyonce leading all contenders with seven nominations each. One pleasant surprise: “D.A.N.C.E.,” from Justice’s “Cross” album, is one of six contenders for Video of the Year, and deservedly so. Peter Bjorn and John also picked up a nomination for Best New Artist, while the White Stripes were nominated for Best Group. The award show will be broadcast live on September 9th.

Justice: D.A.N.C.E.
from the recent release “Cross”

Attendees at the recent “B96 Summerbash” in Illinois were treated to an adult-themed goodie bag filled with X-rated items such as an adult store catalog and coupons for sexual favors. The problem? With a lineup that included Hilary Duff, Rihanna, and Akon, it wasn’t exactly an adult crowd. The company responsible for the handouts claims that its staff mistakenly took the wrong bags to the concert, since they looked identical to the intended gifts (which certainly must have included lollipops and unicorn stickers).

Would you like to own a pair of glasses once worn by John Lennon? You have until the end of the month to place your bid on memorabilia auction site 991.com. Although the bids are not publicly viewable, Gigwise reports that the current high offer may be near $1.5 million. Of course, your vision insurance will pay for the first $100 or so of that.

Could Jay-Z and Beyonce soon team with Apple to start a new record label? Who knows, given that all we have now are rumors, rumors, rumors.

We have many more news items after the jump… READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE »

No news is too small as we roundup the day’s events from the music world, including word of an innovative new way to share illegal music, an alternative “OK Computer,” and the latest buzz on Madonna’s guitar-playing and Shaun Ryder’s smoking habit. READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE »