ChordStrike

Norah Jones Remixes by Beck, Beastie Boys, Santigold

Norah Jones has been working for quite some time on cultivating a bit of an edge--a difficult undertaking for a woman with a honey-sweet voice who took the music industry by soft, cuddly storm in 2002 with one of the mellowest albums ever recorded.

The Norah of today is more complex. She plays the guitar. She's laid down vocals on a Q-tip track. Her soft, loopy hair has been jettisoned in favor of a shorter style. And most recently, she's enlisted the most unlikely producers to remix tracks from her latest album, The Fall: the Beastie Boys, Santigold, and Beck.

Pitchfork has the scoop:

First up: the Beastie Boys' Ad-Rock and Mike D, whose "NYC remix" of "That's What I Said" turns Jones' original into something resembling dubstep. It's pretty weird! You can hear it over on RCRD LBL. Also, Santigold and Snotty have turned the Jones track "Chasing Pirates" into downbeat electro; Stereogum has that one. And Artist Direct has another remix of "Chasing Pirates", this one from Droogs, a collective that includes Beck.

Check out the remixes and let us know what you think. Is this a brave new direction for Norah, or should she stick to the knitting?

--Courtney Powell

Whoah There, Adam Lambert

Adam Lambert has broken free of his Idol chains, and last night at the American Music Awards he unleashed his new, sexed-up image during a performance of the title track from For Your Entertainment (which is out today, incidentally). Dancers on leashes, dancers getting their heads pushed into Mr Lambert's apparently not-so-private parts, Adam snogging a band member... The video is certainly turning some heads.

It's not quite Christina Aguilera debuting the "Dirrty" video, since we knew all along that Adam wasn't of the safe and sweet school of pop thought, but I'd say he did manage to pull out a bit of a shocker - particularly when he grabbed the keyboard player and somewhat forcibly made out with him (talk about band members going above and beyond the call of duty).

Unfortunately the video has already been yanked from YouTube, but The Huffington Post has close-ups of all the highlights (or worst offenses, depending on your perspective). Here's one:

What do you think -- next Madonna or next has-been?

-- Courtney Powell

Hip Hop Putin Don't Stop

If you follow the movements of certain international politicians, you may have noticed that Vladimir Putin has been polishing his image of late, as evidenced by some widely-distributed photos of the Russian prime minister in recent months. We've now seen this rugged man of the people shirtless with gun, shirtless on horseback, fishing shirtless, and of course flexing on his own Judo DVD.

Last week, Putin covered his famous pecs with a turtleneck and appeared at a hip-hop show to warn his younger countrymen about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. At a music contest aired on Russia's Muz TV, the prime minister stood stiffly between his nation's young b-boys and b-girls, and as they danced and swayed around him, he clapped off-beat and looked somewhat uncomfortable. After the rappers performed, ABC News reports that Putin shared some thoughts about hip-hop culture:

“Street rap may be a little bit rough but it contains social meaning, raising social problems. Graffiti has become a real elegant art, break dance is something special. It is really a promotion of a healthy lifestyle. It is hard to imagine break dance being combined with alcohol or drugs."

Watch the Reuters video of the event below.

-- Courtney Powell

Say it Loud, I'm a Geek and I'm Proud

Favorite quote: "I'd rather raise nerds than raise gangstas."

-- Courtney Powell

Steven Tyler quits Aerosmith by Internet Post

As we reported on August, 2009 has not been kind to members of Aerosmith. Steven Tyler fell offstage on tour in August and cracked his collarbone, resulting in the cancellation of a pile of tour dates. We heard rumors at the time that Tyler would latch onto any excuse to cancel gigs, and it appears now that there may have been truth to such statements. Because according to the Las Vegas Sun, quoting Joe Perry, Steven Tyler Has Quit Aerosmith. By Internet post, it seems.

From the article:

“Steven quit as far as I can tell,” Perry said from his Boston home. “I don’t know anymore than you do about it. I got off the plane two nights ago. I saw online that Steven said that he was going to leave the band. I don’t know for how long, indefinitely or whatever. Other than that, I don’t know.”

Read more at the Las Vegas Sun.

--Courtney Powell

Them Crooked Vultures Album Out November 17

Them Crooked Vultures have been together for almost four years, but the supergroup has never released an album. That, my friends, is about to change. On November 17, the band releases its first studio collaboration: the self-titled Them Crooked Vultures. Want it on your doorstep on November 17? Pre-order the album from Amazon.com and get it delivered on release day.

Check the lineup of veteran rockers:

Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana), drums
Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal), guitar and vocals
John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), bass and keys
Alain Johannes (Eleven, Queens of the Stone Age), guitar

Listen to "New Fang," the first single from the album:

This is going to be good.

-- Courtney Powell

Dead and Raking it In

Some celebrities are so hot they just keep on earning, even years after they leave this mortal coil. British newspaper The Guardian pays tribute to these retail powerhouses this week with a list of the top-earning dead celebrities of 2009.

Leading the ranks of musicians generating cash by the ton from the grave is, unsurprisingly, Michael Jackson - third overall among his celebrity peers. The King of Pop has a musician from another age close on his heels in the number four position: Elvis Presley. Rounding out the list for Team Music are John Lennon in the seventh slot (with the Beatles Remastered to thank, no doubt) and Jimi Hendrix in eleventh.

See the whole list at the Guardian's web site.Which other artists would you have expected to see on the list?

-- Courtney Powell

One for the Wu-Tang Wish List

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The RZA
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Michael Moore

--Courtney Powell

Beck's Record Club

Beck's new thing is covering entire albums. Have you heard? He gets a group of band members and other acquaintances together and they go through a whole iconic album and create cover versions of each track on that album, all in just one day.

The first work to be dissected and reassembled was The Velvet Underground & Nico, re-imagined by members of Beck's past tour bands and a few other friends, including actor Giovanni Ribisi.

Project number two is now in the works, which means you'll find a new cover from Songs of Leonard Cohen on Beck's site each week, courtesy of Beck, Devendra Banhart, Ben, Andrew and Will from MGMT, Andrew from Wolfmother, Binki from Little Joy, and Beck's touring band members Brian Lebarton and Bram Inscore.

Too many cooks in the kitchen? Check out a track from each "Music Club," as Beck is calling them, and decide for yourself.

"Femme Fatale" from The Velvet Underground & Nico

"Suzanne" from Songs of Leonard Cohen

See and hear more at http://www.beck.com/record_club.

--Courtney Powell

Annie Doesn't Like Your Band

Have you ever dated someone and thought everything was going swimmingly until the moment they showed you their poetry, or played you the track they'd just finished, or invited you to see their band play? You know the feeling. You try to pretend it doesn't matter. You don't want to be snobbish. People have different tastes. It's no big deal. So... you act like you like it, maybe. You say it's "nice," or "interesting."

Not so with Norwegian tech-pop queen Annie. On 2004's Anniemal, she sang about chewing boys up and spitting them out on the devastatingly catchy "Chewing Gum." On the first single from her forthcoming November 2009 release, Don't Stop, she demonstrates how to break the news that, well...

And just to make up for the audio-only nature of the above video, here's another little something to chew on...