My Chemical Toilet

The Hype Machine goes up for sale, attracts rumoured bid from Viacom

Strictly speaking, this isn't music news as such. But, if true, it'll have an impact on a fair number of music fans. Rumours are floating about that music aggregator The Hype Machine is to be sold for in the region of $10m to - depending on who you believe - Viacom or, er, someone else.

The Hype Machine aggregates MP3s posted by innumerable music blogs and collects them together so that you, the reader/listener, can enjoy them from one place. You can create and constantly update your own list of favourites (you can seen mine over there on the right), and keep track of what your favourite blogs are posting.

So what would happen to the site if it was bought out by a fairly sizable media conglomeration?

Nine Inch Nails release The Slip online for free

If you're a fan of NIN you'll know about this already; and if you're a bit indifferent to them it's a perfect way to see if they can win you over. Nine Inch Nails have made a new album, The Slip, available for free on that there world wide web.

If you head to the official Nine Inch Nails website you'll be able to download the new album in a variety of digital formats. Coming just a couple of months after the online release of their last album, Ghosts I-IV, you might think Trent the Reznor is being a bit previous with this new release. Well, if you think you can improve on the tracks contained on The Slip, you can also remix them all.

Coldplay to give away music, performances in exchange for your love

Clearly SHAKEN by the recent finding that they're the dullest band on the planet, Coldplay are launching an all-out offensive aimed at winning/retaining the love of you, the ~~illegally downloading~~ record-buying public.

Good news for anyone who actually likes scrawly-handed Martin and his mates, then. They'll be playing a free show at Brixton Academy on 16th June, and another at Madison Square Garden on 23rd June. If you head over to Coldplay.com now-ish you should be able to find details of how to obtain tickets.

And that's not all.

We7.com and Sony BMG bring free (ad-supported) music to your ears

As the scrum for a piece of the digital music pie (hmm, pie) continues, it's become clear in the last couple of weeks that Sony BMG are keen to steal a march on their major label rivals.

Last week came the announcement of their deal with Nokia, which will provide subscription-based music to mobile phone users. And today it's been revealed that they've signed up with We7.com to provide over 500,000 tracks to listen to for free.

What's the catch? Well, this is a streamed service, so while you will be able to download content from the site, there won't be quite as many to choose from. What's the other catch? Advertising.

Lily Allen posts demos up online

Lily Allen has been a bit busy doing stuff away from music for a while, so fans will be pleased to hear that she's actually been busy in the studio cutting demos for her new album. If you're wondering if it's anything like her debut, then instead of scratching your head, why not see for yourself?

Lily's posted a pair of demos online, to give us all an idea of how her new material is shaping-up. On first listen, it sounds as good as the first LP, but different. 'I Don't Know' and 'I Could Say' available to listen on her MySpace, admitting the tracks are far from finished. "They are just at a demo stage so don't be too hard on them", she explained, two years after first making her name via the social networking site. I'll probably swap some others around and play you stuff as I do it in the studio, like I did last time round", said Lily. The new tracks are less cartoony than previous, but have a clicky 808 drum to keep you dancing types happy. Click here if you want a listen.

[via Yahoo!]

Gnarls Barkley give new album away for free... backwards

Gnarls Barkley are giving away their new album for free. Oh no! Not another buncha do-gooders! Hang on! Hold fire son. Y'see, they aren't just giving away a new album, but rather, giving away their last album, The Odd Couple, but with a twist. Y'see, you can download this new/old album for nuthin' because it's backward. No. I don't mean hillbilly backward. Or someone from Chester. I mean literally backward.

Cee-Lo Green and Danger Mouse have just released elpuoC ddO ehT, which, as I'm pretty sure you're clever enough to notice, is 'The Odd Couple' but in reverse. The whole thing is fulla backward beats, basslines and vocals, which may sound crap after a while, but downloading some crude software should enable you to reverse the reverse and have yourself a nice forward-sounding LP. I've no idea whether it's different from the normal release... you'll just have to find out yourselves. Click here to download

[via ElectricRoulette]

Under The Covers: Constantines and Feist make "Islands In The Stream" a non-guilty pleasure

I don't think Dolly Parton's oeuvre has featured much on the ol' Toilet. I can semi-remedy that now by pointing you do a delicious cover of her megasmash duet with Kenny Rogers, "Islands In The Stream".

Now, I know this song is cheesier than a house made of Edam, but I've always liked it. And now, thanks to some people called the Constantines teaming up with Feist, I can say so and appear somewhat hip. I don't think I need to add any more really - just click here and hope it's still up for your listening pleasure.

[via Lycanthropy]

Portishead to preview Third online before release

The world is going Portishead mad at the moment. No wonder really seeing as it was 300 years since their last release. Suffice to say, I've been stupidly giddy about hearing their new album. Well, good news for those that have been getting worked up like me as the group are to release their new album online before it hits the high street.

As from next Monday, April 21st, all 11 tracks from 'Third' will be available from 21 April on Last.fm. It will be free to listen to the tracks online, but users will have to pay to download the tunes to their computer or digital music player.

Simian Mobile Disco, Carl Craig, Cadence Weapon feature on The End's free downloadable compilation

Good news, fans of the doofdoof! By which I mean dance music, of course. The End, the legendary London club, is making you a lovely little downloadable compilation every month.

The club - now likely to become even more legendary thanks to the closure of places like Canvas and The Cross - begins its Recommends series this month. On the first playlist you'll find acts including funktelligent young Candian rapper Cadence Weapon, ravey mentalists Simian Mobile Disco, SMD/Wiseguys spin-off The Black Ghosts and - here's that word again - legendary DJ/producer Carl Craig.

Ladytron's new single "Black Cat" is menacing digital heaven

Electronic pop is going through a bit of a boom at the moment with ver kidz gettin' down and dirty with The Knife and all the Ed Banger rekkids. Oft overlooked are the wonderful Ladytron who have a new single coming out by the name of 'Black Cat'... and guess what? You can hear it for free!

Radiohead, The Thermals and Liars feature on Pitchfork.tv's first week

Pitchfork.tv, the online video arm of leading/infuriating music site Pitchfork, launched this week. Wired magazine's preview was pretty effusive in its praise of the new site, claiming: "Any fan of a band featured in one of the sessions will be compelled to watch... Rather than criticizing bands, the site attempts to capture them at their finest."

Many people will be waiting to knock Pitchfork.tv, but they're going to have a tough job. It's a pretty impressive set-up, even if I suspect the novelty of being able to watch music video in a frame larger the standard little YouTube box is part of the initial novelty. Nonetheless, with their brand likely to pull in some decent acts , Pitchfork.tv is ideally placed to follow its namesake website as a prime go-to location for indie-rock hipsters.

Click over for a look at what you can expect.

Fergie's "Fergalicious" becomes nerdy's "Mathmaticious"

Following last week's peek at the SEO rapper comes another geek rapper extraordinaire. This kid - or "kiddynerdzoid", as Tech Digest put it - is a 14 year-old Maths student who has decided to recreate Fergie's "Fergalicious" with a mathematical theme. The result is "Mathmaticious", and is a further example of what can happen if you don't force your child to get a Saturday job.

Check it out over the page - lyrical bombs include:

I'm Mathmaticious (Mathmaticious)
It makes me so ambitious
My answers are judicious
Calculator never glitches

Listen to Foals' debut album Antidotes for free (without risking arrest)

Jerky Oxford yelpers Foals are one of 2008's many tips for the top. I've not warmed to them myself, as it all seems a tad clinical - although having said that, repeated exposure to "Cassius" has caused it to grow on me. Nevertheless, I'm not convinced I'd want to own their debut album Antidotes.

Fortunately, I - and you, oh yes - can listen to the album for zilch because it's streaming for exactly that price over at MuchMusic. No anti-piracy assassins will shoot you in the ear in the dead of night for taking advantage of this offer, neither. And if they do you are fully within your rights to write your MP.

Listen to Foals' Antidotes at MuchMusic by clicking here

[via Pop Candy]

Soulwax remix The Rolling Stones and divide opinion

Get ready to have opinion split straight down the middle. The Rolling Stones' classic LP track from Let It Bleed, 'You Can't Always Get What You Want', has been remixed by Soulwax. Yep. It's classic rock with bibs and bobs. The track is for the soundtrack for new flick, 21. David Sardy, the score composer, used the original initially, but felt it was out of sync with the rest of the soundtrack, which features Rihanna and LCD Soundsystem.

You'll find yourself a link to hear the track over the page...

MySpace, Sony BMG, Universal and Warner do something monumental/impenetrable

I've got a brain, but sometimes press releases make me doubt the fact. I've had two in the last half-hour from different people, about the same thing - MySpace joining forces with Sony BMG, Universal and Warner to create a new company, MySpace Music. All highly groundbreaking, no doubt. What does it mean in practical terms, I wonder? Well, it means:

The product vision for MySpace Music is to build on the existing traffic, credibility, and popularity of the MySpace Music platform (http://www.music.myspace.com) by creating a fully integrated 360 degree global music solution.

Cool! I think. What else?

Rivers Cuomo's grandparents are still on dial-up. Also, could you write him a song please?

Not so long ago, in a post about Bon Jovi using their fans' video-making talents as a way to create content for their live show, I rather flippantly stated:

"Mark my words: within a decade your favourite pop star will be hectoring you to record their next flipping album for them."

Well, we're nearly there folks! Rivers Cuomo, frontman of Weezer and sometime songwriting genius, is asking you to help him write a new tune. He's doing it all through his YouTube page named, heartstring-tuggingly, "RiversCuomoAlone".

Smashing Pumpkins almost promise never to release another record

Ooh, so close. Tech Digest reported yesterday that Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlain have been floating the possibility of not releasing albums anymore, preferring to focus on promoting individual tracks in an internet-y kind of way.

"We want to keep things vital and keep things viable... music has in many ways just become an advertisement for your tour, I don't think we will make records again", said drummer Chamberlain.

I think I might speak for many fans of the Pumpkins' glory days when I request that we get this in writing. Please, no more lacklustre albums?

[via Tech Digest]

Muxtape: because we still refuse to believe mixtapes are dead

Muxtape is the latest attempt by the 21st century to try and recall that quintessentially 20th century artifact, the mixtape (or at least the nostalgic aesthetics attached to it). We've had USB sticks in tape-like packaging, and now we have a site that allows you to upload tracks to create your own, er, "muxtape".

Is it that different from something like Finetune, which allows you to create streaming playlists from a huge database of tracks? Well, the very fact that you can upload your own stuff makes it different. As does the fact that the playlists seem to be limited to 12 songs - which is a lot fewer than any mixtape I ever made, and, to be honest, makes me wonder if the effort of uploading tracks is totally worth it.

Free album envy: Trent Reznor poo-poos Radiohead's efforts

"My free album is better than your free album." "No it isn't." "Yes it is..." etc. That's right, NiN fans, Trent Reznor is the bestest at giving stuff away for free. The Nine Inch Nailer (that sounds dodgy - apologies) has hit out at Radiohead for only making a low-quality version of In Rainbows. Of course, he's not all angry, as he's impressed with the decision to let people pay as little/much as they wanted for it, but he wasn't all that impressed by the horrendous digital compression on all the tracks... let alone the lack of artwork.

Reznor says, "What they did was a cool thing. But if you look at what they did, though, it was very much a bait and switch to get you to pay for a MySpace-quality stream. There's nothing wrong with that - I but don't see that as a big revolution (that) they're kinda getting credit for. What they did right - they surprised the world with a new record, and it was available digitally first. What they did wrong - by making it such a low-quality thing, not even including artwork... to me that feels insincere."

You know the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas? What's been happening at Austin's SXSW Festival which is happening in Austin, Texas?

There's been a fair bit of chatter recently about the fact that, as newspapers gradually move onto the web, the art of headline-writing is undergoing a pretty big change. It has to; keywords are what it's about when it comes to article headlines on the web. No keywords, no hits.

Having said that, is it not just another challenge to come up with amusing and / or imaginative headlines incorporating search engine-friendly keywords? Whatever, it's a challenge NME don't appear to be interested in. As a certain music / media / everything festival has just kicked off across the pond, let's have a looksee at the SXSW-related headlines on their site, shall we?

- REM's Michael Stipe pays tribute to Heath Ledger at SXSW

- The Duke Spirit wrap up KCRW showcase at SXSW

- Daryl Hall lets his hair down at SXSW

- The Ting Tings play rousing SXSW set in Austin pool hall

- Katie White and Jules De Martino draw a big crowd in Texas

- SXSW: The Kills play second gig of the day

- Sons And Daughters rock Antone's at SXSW

- Lightspeed Champion reveals SXSW Playboy party plans

- Ra Ra Riot perform album teaser at SXSW

- The Kills attract buzz-band crowd at SXSW

- Van Morrison bans drinking during SXSW show

- The Cool Kids play 'on the fly' SXSW show

- SXSW: Holy Fuck induce mass dancing in tiny venue

- REM, Van Morrison and The Kills to launch SXSW nightime

- The Raveonettes draw massive crowd at SXSW

- Does It Offend You, Yeah? make suprise collaboration at SXSW

- The Whip pop their US cherry at SXSW

- White Denim get things sweaty at SXSW 2008

- A Place to Bury Strangers kick off SXSW day one

- The Spinto Band and The Raveonettes to start SXSW 2008

- REM, Van Morrison, The Raveonettes at SXSW

A quick listen to a couple of the leaked tracks from Portishead's Third

As is the way these days, tracks from Portishead's long-awaited forthcoming third album - helpfully entitled Third - have begun appearing online. I've had a wee listen to a couple of the tracks, and here are my verdicts, should you give a hot damn. Click on the links to listen yourself, although who knows how long they'll stay up.

"The Rip": This is Portishead in "unsmokey" mode. A plucked guitar and Beth's echoing vocals for the first couple of minutes make you wonder if they've gone all folky like, before a synth and beats kick in. The lyric "white horses will take me away" suggests Beth has been indulging in some equestrianism in her downtime, which is nice. The second half of the track is not a million miles away from Radiohead in their more electro moments. All in all, rather pleasing.

Click over for some "Silence".

Free music from Foo Fighters, Mark Ronson and more? Really? Can I keep it?

OK. Record companies just don't know what to do with themselves. They're all sat around scared stiff, hands-a-trembling and pointing at photographs of computers and saying "That. That. It's killing us! What about my coke habit?!" Well, Sony think they have the answer.

The back catalogues of bands and artists on Sony, which include Mark Ronson, The Hoosiers and Foo Fighters, are to be made available to listen to free on the We7 website. The site offers music downloads free of charge, with each track preceded by a short advert, which generates revenue instead of fans paying for downloads. The adverts disappear from each piece music 30 days from the download date. So it is going to stop people pinching stuff with BitTorrent and the like?

Pop Heaven: Clip of new Annie track "Girlfriend" appears on MySpace

A few years back, I proclaimed to a table of utterly uninterested friends that Annie was going to be a massive popstar within twelve months. I am glad the friends weren't really listening, because I was just about as wrong as it's possible to be.

However, Annie did get a fair amount of blog loving, and her track "Heartbeat" from debut album Anniemal even got Pitchfork's Single Of The Year award for 2004. Basically, since then everyone who tipped her the first time around has been waiting for to come back and prove them right.

And now she is back-ish. A clip of the song "Girlfriend" has surfaced on her MySpace, and it's a pleasing dose of Richard X-produced electro-pop topped by Annie's typically fragile falsetto. Good to hear she hasn't become a baritone over the last few years, then.

Go here to give the clip a listen - with an album slated for April more stuff should surface soon...

[via Popjustice]

"Grown-up gigging" pioneers All The Rage launch online community, monthly showcase

My eyes creak. My knees have gone grey. My bones smell of mothballs. OK, so it's not that bad (yet), but I am ageing. So are you, youngster. Oh sure, right now it's all neon hoodies and high-maintenance hairstyles, but just you wait. But hey, it's not all that bad.

Why, there are even folk out there who are creating gig-going experiences just for people unlucky enough to be outside the ABC1 demographic. You must have heard the buzz-phrase "gigging for grown-ups" by now? What? You were too busy going out and having a life? Well, that's just lovely for you.

All The Rage are the industry leaders in all this stuff, offering gigs for folk who would rather nibble a canape than swig lager from a plazzy glass. Hey, stop sniggering. They're a valuable market.

All The Rage have now launched an online music community called The Rage, allowing members special priviliges like discounted gig tickets, access to members-only goodies on the website and - oh yes - a free CD. Remember those?

Pitchfork.tv: now you'll know what you should be wearing as well as listening to

Leading indie brainwashers (I kid, I kid) Pitchfork are all set to launch Pitchfork.tv next month. First thought: will their verbal output be as impenetrable as their written content?

Stereogum have a pretty impressive list of details regarding the type of stuff you can expect to feast your eyes and ears on when the channel hits your monitor. It looks like we're talking full-length concerts, documentaries, classic live footage, interviews, unique collaborations...

SongTapper: a fun way to not Google song lyrics

You know when you hear a song in a pub / club / restaurant / STD clinic / needle exchange, and you don't know what it's called? In bygone days you were stuffed. You had to ask actual people if they knew what it was called, and this would entail you trying to sing the melody to them, and then their ears would start bleeding, and then they'd tell you they never wanted to speak to you again. Disastrous.

Thanks to modern technology, these awkward scenarios are thankfully a thing of the past. It's never been easier to find out the name of a song. All you need to do is Google some of the lyrics, after all. Or play a burst of the song to Shazam, perhaps. And now there's a new, fun and not very good way to discover the name of that elusive track - SongTapper!

Madonna's "Four Minutes To Save The World" leaks online

Oopsy. Madonna's new single, a collaboration with Justin Timberlake produced by Timbaland, has leaked online. Obviously that means listening to it is a legally shady thing to do, so I definitely haven't. Also, it means I'm not going to tell you where you can hear it.

*cough*Click here*cough*

New Mariah Carey single - "Touch My Body"

Let there be no doubt that Mariah Carey is rather fond of sexy sex. Her new single, a clip of which has landed on the internet, is rather lyrically raunchy.

"Put me on the floor, wrestle me around," she says in "Touch My Body". Imagine! If this snippet puts you in mind of dull R&B; pantathons worry not, however - the tune is actually quite a sweet, poppy confection and you won't feel like you have to be naked and covered in strawberries to enjoy it. Bravo. If you choose to do that, of course, that's up to you.

Listen to a wee bit of "Touch My Body" at Mazza Cazza'a MySpace

Want summer to come sooner? Then you need Sunny Day Sets Fire in your life!

Do you like your indie to really jangle? I'm not talking about the jangle of a corpse rattling a chain, but rather, the sun-kissed jingle and jangle of a classic Teenage Fanclub LP. If that's the case, you need to prick an ear up for Sunny Day Sets Fire.

SDSF (I'm only abbreviating because I'm insanely lazy) serve up lush psychedelic sunshine pop that doesn't really sound like anyone from the sixties, but rather, takes a fistful of the sixties spirit and dries it like a tomato in the sun. The group have a new single out called "End Of The Road" / "Lack Of View" (it's one of those old-fashioned double A-sides that are sadly missing from the world) which is taken from the band’s hotly tipped debut cut, Summer Palace. Pass the cream... boy gonna tan!

You wanna know something about the band? Like it's going to enhance your listening experience? Man, these records stand up for themselves... but hey, I won't short-change you. SDSF have five members all hailing from four different countries with two singles and an EP under their belt in the past two years. Multi-instrumentalists Mauro and Onyee met while working as ushers at a London cinema... the ball was in motion...

Iron and Wine giving away downloads of live shows - how kind!

Toilet faves (hang on... that don't sound too good) Iron and Wine (aka Sam Beam) are two things. Incredibly and brilliantly hirsute, talented and generous (hang on... that's three... but I wanted to do some more brackets). Other than the studio released LPs and EP with Calexico, Sam Beam is now giving away music to everyone... for free!

Not sure whether to believe the Vampire Weekend hype? Listen to the album for free then

I think I've banged on about this band quite enough, as have a lot of folk over the last few months. Now the album is out, and you may be wondering if it can possibly live up to the praise Vampire Weekend have had festooned upon their preppy asses.

In which case I'd recommend you go to MuchMusic.com, where you'll be able to listen to it for the grand price of zero pounds. The price is the same in dollars as well, which is a rarity. Baht, too.

For what it's worth, my favetoid tracks are new single "A-Punk", the slow-building "Oxford Comma" and the closing "The Kids Don' Stand A Chance".

Listen to Vampire Weekend's Vampire Weekend at MuchMusic.com

New Gnarls Barkley tune: "Run"

I think I might be the only person on the planet who didn't go crazy for, er, "Crazy". I thought it was OK, but I never really understood what it had that made it such a worldwide smash.

Anyway, now Cee-Lo and Baron Greenback or whatever he's called are back - and me likey "Run" a lot morey. This is all-out soul-stomping brilliance in my humble opinion. If you like Motown or Stax, or anything that recalls vintage soul music, you should give it a listen. Go here to do that.

What's your opinion on "Run"? Vote on our poll over at Polls Boutique.

Watch MTV from back when it was new and big-haired

How's this for a mash-up of past and present? Some soul has uploaded three whole hours of gen-u-ine MTV from 1983 for your enjoyment / amusement / boredom onto Google Video. This is from the days when MTV had actual presenters (or "VJs"), and showed actual music videos rather than The Hills 24/7. Kansas! Huey Lewis! Awkward links! Lousy commercials! It's all right here.

Anyway, if you have an hour and a half to spare - and who doesn't? - check out the first half below. You can see the second half here, if the novelty hasn't worn off after ninety minutes.

[via Torr]

Under The Covers bonanza: Of Montreal's live cover versions

I am shamefully late to the Of Montreal party, but thanks to my more-hip-than-I colleagues I was introduced to their delightful latest album Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer. And if you think that title's a tad bombastic, check out some of the track names: "Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse"? "The Past Is A Grotesque Animal"?

One of the highlights of an Of Montreal show (I'm told) is their choice of cover version(s). They've done tons of them over the years - and now you can check them all out thanks to the blog You Ain't No Picasso. Prince, The Beatles, Bowie, The Who... Sugarhill Gang?! They all get the OM treatment. Head over to You Ain't No Picasso for a looksie.

[via The Rawking Refuses To Stop!]

Listen to Hot Chip's new album Made In The Dark for free

As you'll know if you've heard their amazing new single "Ready For The Floor", Hot Chip show no sign of losing their touch. But their new album isn't out until next week! That's far too long to wait.

Fortunately, Clash Music can allow you to listen to the whole thing online for nowt pence. How kind of them. I would recommend you go and do just that immediately. If you don't have time to listen to the whole thing I would recommend checking out the opening track "Out At The Pictures", "Touch Too Much" and "Wrestlers".

Listen to Made In The Dark at ClashMusic.com

Categories

RSS Feeds

Get the Mailout

Important Stuff

Credits

Editor

With:

Design By

Published By

Shiny Media Sites

Shiny Lifestyle

Shiny Tech

Shiny Sport

Shiny Fashion