Ghostly International and Adult Swim put together a free compilation available for download on Adult Swim called Ghostly Swim. I’m really digging the whole sound but Dabrye’s Temper is extra dope in my mind.

Ghostly Swim Website
Ghostly International Website
Adult Swim Website
Press Release

Ol’ Trent is at it again. Pop on over to NIN.com and snag yourself a free, exclusive track from one of the most progressive-thinking bands in the current mediascape!

Wanna check out the song before you download it? Experience a little try before you don’t even gotta buy?  Then, dear reader, it would behoove thee to watch this Youtube video:

NIN Discipline

Today is my 25th birthday, which means I was born in 1983 and I was born female. This also means that I was one of the screaming, obsessed, and devoted fans to the New Kids on the Block in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Sure, I was young but I was in love.

Imagine my birthday surprise when twenty years after the release of their multiplatinum album, “Hangin’ Tough,” the band has announced that they will be reuniting. All original members of the band will be included: Donny Wahlberg, Joey McIntyre, brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight and Danny Wood. This isn’t just a “nostalgia tour,” they say and have been recording all new music. Most of which was written by band member, Donny Wahlberg with the help of bandmates Joey McIntyre and Jordan Knight.

The teeny bopper in me is thrilled! The older, feminist, anti-mainstream personality in me wants to protest, but whatever. JONATHON IS LIKE SOOOOO CUTE!

But for some reason when thinking of the song “The Right Stuff,” I can’t help but sing Weird Al Yankovic’s version, “The White Stuff.”

“You’ve got the white stuff, baaaaby. In the middle of an Oreo!”

Looks like my favorite Aussie electro pop band is finally releasing their sophomore album, In Ghost Colors, next week (April 8th).

If you haven’t heard Bright Like Neon Love go and get it now, you will not be disappointed. Their first single off the new album, Lights and Music, is available for listening on their MySpace.

In addition to that the Joakim remix of Night on FIre (which will be on the new album) is available for free when you sign up for the Modular Records newsletter and they have a mixed set they made called So Cosmic available on their blog.

Official Website/Blog
MySpace
Modular Records
Wikipedia

I know I just spoke about Ladytron performing at The Social but what I didn’t know was it’s to support their new album, Velocifero.

I got my newsletter and they gave me their first song, Black Cat, for free which I will now share with you all.

Direct Link

Here’s a full tour schedule. I get to see them twice (Orlando and Bonaroo).
First European live dates of 2008

30 Apr 2008 Academy 3 UK, Manchester
1 May 2008 Vooriut Belgium, Gent
2 May 2008 Paris France La Maroquinerie
3 May 2008 Paradiso Netherlands, Amsterdam
5 May 2008 Postbahnhof Germany, Berlin
6 May 2008 Backstage Germany, Munich
7 May 2008 Magazzini Generali Italy, Milano
9 May 2008 Forward Festival Spain, Madrid
3 May 2008 Paradiso Netherlands, Amsterdam
5 May 2008 Postbahnhof Germany, Berlin
6 May 2008 Backstage Germany, Munich
7 May 2008 Magazzini Generali Italy, Milano
9 May 2008 Forward Festival Spain, Madrid
10 May 2008 Forward Festival Spain, Valencia
13 May 2008 Oran Mor UK, Glasgow
14 May 2008 Digital UK, Newcastle
15 May 2008 Astoria UK, London
16 May 2008 Tripod Ireland, Dublin

North America Tour Spring/Summer 08

05/20 tue Edmonton, AB , The Starlite Room
05/21 wed Calgary, AB , The Warehouse
05/23 fri Vancouver, BC , Commodore Ballroom
05/24 sat Seattle, WA , Showbox
05/25 sun Portland, OR , Wonder Ballroom
05/27 tue San Francisco, CA , Fillmore
05/29 thu Los Angeles, CA , Henry Fonda
05/30 fri Los Angeles, CA , Henry Fonda
05/31 sat San Diego, CA , The Belly Up
06/02 mo Salt Lake City, UT , In The Venue
06/03 tue Denver, CO , The Gothic
06/05 thu Dallas, TX , Palladium Ballroom
06/06 fri Austin, TX , Stubbs
06/07 sat Houston, TX , Meridian
06/08 sun New Orleans, LA , House Of Blues
06/10 tue Orlando, FL , Club Firestone
06/11 wed Tampa, FL , Czar
06/12 thu Miami, FL , Studio A
06/13 fri Atlanta, GA , Variety Playhouse
06/15 sun Manchester, TN , Bonaroo Festival
06/16 mo St. Louis, MO , The Pageant
06/17 tue Chicago, IL , Vic Theater
06/18 wed Detroit, MI , St. Andrews Hall
06/25 wed New York, NY , Terminal 5
06/26 thu Philadelphia, PA , Theater of Living Arts
06/27 fri Baltimore, MD , Sonar
06/28 sat Washington, DC , 9:30 Club
06/30 mo Boston, MA , Paradise
07/02 wed Montreal, PQ , Metropolis
07/03 thu Quebec City, PQ , Theatre Imperial de Quebec
07/04 fri Toronto, ON , Harbourfront Centre

Ladytron Site
iTunes
MySpace
The first photo is from when I went and saw them in 2006. More in my Flickr set.

According to a CNN article published on Monday, March 24, 2008, singer Corinne Bailey Rae’s husband, Jason Rae, was found dead on Saturday. Upon examination of the body, the cause of death was inconclusive and police were awaiting a toxicology report. Several articles since then, however, suspect a drug overdose.

Jason was a Scottish-born musician that played the saxophone with the funk group, Haggis Horns that played as a back up band for Amy Winehouse, Mark Ronson as well as Corinne herself.

I personally have never heard of Haggis Horns, but I have definitely heard of Corinne Bailey Rae and I love her music. So, I suppose I could have heard of Haggis Horns if they were ever playing on a track that I was particularly digging. My heart goes out to Corinne in this time of loss and hope that it turns out to be something beyond a drug overdose. It seems that is happening all too often lately.
If you haven’t heard of Corinne Bailey Rae, I suggest you check her out.

I’d Like To - Corinne Bailey Rae

Buy from iTunes

New Nine Inch Nails record available for download RIGHT NOW!

ghosts.nin.com — NIN surprises us with an unexpected self-released album: almost 2 hours / 36 instrumental tracks described as “music for daydreams.” Available as a $5 download, or a FREE album-length download, as well as a variety of physical configurations. The new business model done right?

All above text ripped from Digg…and I’ve yet to give it a listen myself.  Still, imminently relevant to The Beatswamp and, honestly, the music industry in general.  Trent Reznor’s proclination towards digital downloading has been well documented, and he seems to be putting his money where his maw is…quite literally.  His music helped get me through my teens; I’m a staunch supporter of his efforts…so I’ll definitely be dropping him a cool five bones once I get some extra scratch.  If you’ve ever enjoyed a NiN song, I highly recommend you do the same.  We are all in the midst of a reinvention of how we snag music, and make no mistake:  participation is key.  Do yourself a favor and pony up.

While ‘quasi-Hair Bands’ may go beyond the purview of The Beat Swamp, I feel this is worth sharing. If you haven’t heard, Journey recently got back together, sans lead singer Steve Perry. In their search for a replacement front man, they discovered an amazing cover artist on The YouTubes. A Filipino musician, Arnel Pineda, had gone through a number of local bands but was also famous for covering songs from the likes of Journey, Survivor, and Aerosmith. Pineda was flown to San Francisco, and after a two day audition was announced as the new lead singer for Journey. Below is the first appearance of Pineda with the band at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival in Chile, on February 21, 2008.

Journey will be performing 2 March concerts in Las Vegas. They begin their world tour in Europe, May through June, hitting US shores in July and touring through September.

This is a triumph!

I’m making a note here…huge success.

We here at The Beatswamp absolutely friggin’ adore the video game Rock Band. So much so, in fact, that this past weekend was the first instance in a collection of back-to-back (to back!) fortnights that we haven’t spent at Gilbert C Gator’s house engaging in blissful congregation around his television, murdering various songs as we do so. No game since Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo has attracted the near-totality of our friends in the same gaming endeavor…I’d bet dollars to donuts that some of you out there have a congruent experience with the game. A few weeks back I was trying to convince Monkey On A Keyboard to come play it with us, and I used the term “Epic Moment Engine”, and I still believe that to be the case. Without getting too deeply into the Harmonix downloadable content business model, let’s get to the reason for my exhuberance:

GLaDOS - Portal - Still Alive.mp3

Portal is also a great game, maybe Valve’s best in my opinion…though I’d probably receive some contention on that point. Regardless, the marriage of these two properties makes my inner-giblets jiggle with a heretofore unparalleled fierceness. It’s only gonna be 0.99 cents! I can’t wait until it becomes available!

I found this over at Joystiq…there’s a video there of Jonathan Coulton (the song’s original writer) and some prominent people from the tech community playing the song in front of a large crowd at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall. Good times.

Ah, look at me still talking when there’s Science to do. I need to get ready for work.

Purchase this album on iTunes!