Lotus Flower | Radiohead

Radiohead bring forward the release date of their new album The King of Limbs by a day and release the first video from the album.  Cue - Thom Yorke dancing. 

Icky Thump (Live Under The Great Northern Lights) | The White Stripes

Today it was announced the White Stripes are splitting up following a 2 year hiatus in which Jack has pursued other musical projects, Dead Weather, Raconteurs and his Third Man Records label.  They ended their statement with:

“The White Stripes do not belong to Meg and Jack anymore. The White Stripes belong to you now and you can do with it whatever you want. The beauty of art and music is that it can last forever if people want it to. Thank you for sharing this experience. Your involvement will never be lost on us and we are truly grateful.”

Lets hope Meg forms a great new band and Jack carries on with his obscure side projects.

L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. | Noah & The Whale

L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. is the lead single from NATW 3rd Album ‘Last Night on Earth’ it sees a move away from the band’s 2009 melancholic ‘break-up’ album ‘First Days of Spring’.  ‘Last Night on Earth’ is being touted as an album of story songs and if L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. is anything to go by there will be some interesting stories.

The album is due March 7th.  You can learn more and hear another track ‘Wild Thing’ here.

“Hypno Switch” by The Black Rabbits.

By way of Orlando, Florida (my hometown), The Black Rabbits are an indie-rock band based in Asheville, North Carolina. In the interests of full disclosure, I know the two guys in the band (singer/guitarist Jetson Black and drummer Skyler Black [yes, they’re brothers]) from my days in high school.

But anyway, The Black Rabbits are one of those bands that are becoming seemingly rarer and rarer — playing their own instruments, writing their own songs, and sounding ridiculously catchy all the same. In these days of autotuning and overproduction, it’s nice to see that there is still a place for rock ‘n roll.

Buttercups | Fran Healy

The new video for the lead single from Travis frontman, Fran Healy’s new solo album ‘Wreckorder’.  
The video’s tongue in cheek humour matches the song perfectly, the sheep is a nice touch too.

“A City on Fire” - Fightstar

I thought I was being so “cool” back in middle school when I started shunning pop music and listening to rock, alt rock, etc (I feel more open-minded these days), but then suddenly out of nowhere I became a complete and unabashed fan of pop-punk band Busted. Then… they broke up, due to Charlie Simpson’s increasing discontent of the pop music scene and feeling creatively and musically unfulfilled. (Yes, it was that dramatic.)

Any animosity that I feel towards Charlie for the breaking up of Busted is, well, kind of pretend, because I actually… really, really like Fightstar, the band he left them for. I’ve been a Fightstar fan ever since their formation back in 2003 and I honestly think they’ve got real talent. I’d say they’re one of my favorites. Plus, Charlie seems happy now.

Charlie’s size and energy really seems to bring an almost intimidating presence to Fightstar’s performances, and his distinctive voice is perfect for Fightstar’s style. I also love how much of a contrast Alex Westaway’s lighter voice (which is briefly featured in this song) brings to the lead vocals. This video was directed by bassist Dan Haigh, which I think adds a nice personal touch to this band’s work, and we can’t forget the amazing drumming by Omar Abidi. Enjoy!

“Maybe” by Ingrid Michaelson

Ingrid Michaelson is always giving people cute but well-written songs about love and heartbreak, which is sometimes exactly what you need. Though I would say her latest album Everybody is my least favorite out of the three she has released, it still contains some real gems, “Maybe” being one of them.

Like many of Michaelson’s songs, “Maybe” is a bittersweet tune about love and loss. Though the situation she describes is really sad, the overall tone of the song is optimistic. Everything is about reaching for a brighter future in spite of today’s challenges. The sincerity of the songwriting makes it easy to believe it is autobiographical. The music video itself is artistically interesting, with the dripping paints and paper effects. Also, on a girly side note, her outfit is absolutely adorable. However, the art does not distract from the track’s narrative, which should be what a music video showcases.

For more information about Ingrid Michaelson, go here.

Tighten Up | The Black Keys

Tighten Up was the first single that was release from Brothers, their latest album.  The video see’s Dan Auerbach & Patrick Carney take their kids to the park where a fight to impress a mother and her child breaks out. 
The Black Keys aren’t affraid to add a little humour to their music’s heavy blues rock driven sound and this video mirrors their style perfectly .

Great song, great video.