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For anyone who hasn’t already heard, those crazy English folks over at Radiohead, have been holding a contest on Aniboom, where artists and filmmakers alike can submit homemade music videos to songs off of In Rainbows. The videos were then rated  by members of Aniboom and 10 semifinalists were chosen. Followed by slimming down those 10 to a lucky 5 finalists. The winner would then receive $10,000 to spend on creating a high quality production of their film or animation. Of course, Radiohead being the quirky bunch they are, decided to choose 4 of the 5 finalists and give away $40,000 total, (Sorry 5th guy). You can browse through all of the submissions or just check out the 4 finalist’s videos.

After letting the cat out of the bag just 3 days ago. Everyone’s favorite Post-punk revivalists, have released their 3rd album, titled Intimacy. Produced by Silent Alarm’s Paul Epworth, and A Weekend In the City’s Jacknife Lee, the album plays out much like you would expect it to, taking the band’s signature riffing from Silent Alarm mixing it up with A.W.I.T.C’s more dramatic, and atmospheric tone. Going into this album, having only heard their new single, Mercury, (Yes, that is the same voice modifier that Young Buck used), I had low expectations but it ends up being a minor stain on the album as a whole. The band has said that Intimacy is their most experimental effort while still giving the fans the Classic Bloc that they have come to know and love. Although the album doesn’t take any huge steps with their newest effort, it will definitely leave you satisfied. You can download or order the album Here. Enjoy.

Randy Newman came out with a new studio album this past week, his first in nine years. It was worth the wait. I first heard Randy when I saw Toy Story back in the first grade. I didn’t know who he was at the time but the music stuck with me and I really discovered his music only a few years ago.

Like his previous albums, Harps and Angels has that trademark Randy Newman sound: a beauty and sentimentality of the music, combined with sharp wit, observations, and satire in the lyrics. The styles of music range from showtunes, Dixieland jazz, country, and just some of the most beautiful bluesy piano music I’ve heard. There’s great storytelling in the lyrics, along with personal observations and situations, and commentary on America. Almost the songs are good, many great. The only clunker is A Piece of the Pie, it’s a really hectic and disorienting song, but I guess it goes along with the lyrics. Anyway, this album is highly recommended. Go buy it! A breakdown of the songs after the jump.

There are a few really cool new albums I’ve been listening to lately that I want to share with you. They’re all kind of in the “electronic” genre but it’s hard to place. The first is the debut album by French house duo Justice, called “†”. The sound is probably closest to Daft Punk, but it’s more down and dirty. But what I especially like is the variations. Let There Be Light has a really cool chord progression, hard and loud like the first song. About two thirds of the way through the song, however, it the instrumentation changes direction and it becomes hopeful, like the sun coming out from behind the clouds. All the tracks are just so catchy and unexpected, and all the tracks are connected to each other, like Dark Side of the Moon. I love that in an album. Another stand out track is The Party. It has a wonderful chord progression, slowly adding layers and variations, and the whole time has the sing-song voice of guest star Uffie rapping, just floating over the music. It’s so unbelievably catchy, especially the refrain. Listen to “The Party”

I’m usually not one to just post a video and say watch it, but this is an exception. The above is the music video for City Lights by Sleeping Beauty, a Swedish indie band. The conceptual creativity of City Lights is just staggering. And it has great production values to boot. Please enjoy this as much as I did.

I’ll be back later on this week with a more formal article.

I recently came across a band called The Happy Dog that I’ve come to like a lot. They’re currently unsigned and they just released their first album online. According to the band, “it was recorded in a barn, a living room, a garage, and a bar.” The music itself is pretty varied: there’s a mix electric blues, pop, even funk and reggae. The songs have very catchy melodies and great harmonies. They remind me of The Beatles. Check them out on their MySpace.

If there are two things in this life of mine that I love, its free stuff, and music. When you put the two together they just seem to complement eachother so well. Stereogum currently has a cover album of Björk’s “Post” on their website which can be downloaded in its entirety for free. You can find that here.

The album contains every track off the original album, redone by an All-Star lineup including Liars, Dirty Projectors, High Places, No Age, and many more (8 more to be exact). As is the case with any of Stereogum’s cover albums, it shares very little with the original work besides lyrics, and the most elemental characteristics.

So go give it a listen while it’s hot.

Little Boots is from Blackpool, England.
Little Boots is a female.
Little Boots has only released a single.
Little Boots is named after the Roman emperor, Caligula (which, roughly translated, means…)
Little Boots keeps a YouTube diary, where she does covers every few Mondays and some piano-noodling.

Finally, Little Boots one official song, “Stuck on Repeat”, is awesome. The song’s beginning recalls Vitalic rough Moog synthesizers, threatening mind-numbing repetition for the songs 6 minutes, but then her voice breaks through the fuzz. When I first heard the song, I was convinced that this was a remix of some Madonna or Kylie Minogue song, and I mean that in a flattering way.  ”Stuck on Repeat” sounds like a dirty Madonna dance song, with an emphasis on the dirty. This is too hard for Madonna to touch, even if Ali-G was in her music video.

So, in mathematical form: Vitalic + Madonna - overproduction =  Little Boots. Little Boots full album drops later this year with production help from members of indie rockers’ The Birds and the Bees as well as Hot Chip. If this is any indication, it should be something special.

If you haven’t already heard, Gnarls Barkley came out with a new album on Tuesday. It’s called The Odd Couple, a reference to the classic 1968 movie. It’s a fitting title for the two man crew of Gnarls Barkley, made up of Danger Mouse and Cee Lo.  As I’ve written before in my picks for the best recent albums, you guys know I’m a big fan of Danger Mouse’s Jay-Z/Beatles mash-up project The Grey Album. Well, Danger Mouse brings the same level of innovation to The Odd Couple, creating a terrific funky/rock/soul soundscape to swing to. My favorite song is “Going On,” featuring forceful organ cords in the background, with catchy electric guitar riffs and soulful singing and rapping. I’m digging the cover art, too. Here’s an interesting fact: in an interview, Danger Mouse compared himself to the film director Woody Allen. He said he wants to make personal, instantly recognizable music, just like a film auteur like Woody Allen makes personal and recognizable films. He’s striving to apply the film auteur theory to his music, so it’s no surprise that he’s one of the most innovative people in the music business today.

Get the full album on iTunes.

Bob Dylan recently said, “I don’t know anybody who’s made a record that sounds decent in the past 20 years, really.” I’m actually inclined to agree with him to a large extent. With artists known as “Flo Rida” and “Soulja Boy Tell’em” topping the charts, it really does seem like music is in a period of decline. Last century we had Elvis, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and countless others who pushed the boundaries of music. But is there anything as special today as Beethoven’s music was 200 years ago? Will any music from today have that kind of lasting appeal?

Only if the music does something new, if it sounds like nothing before it. First came classical, then jazz, then rock and roll, progressing into rock. Today it seems there are a million genres and bands playing, but what is truly revolutionary? What’s the next step?

I believe the next step is toward electronic music. Some of the best music coming out today is electronic. And just like music turned primarily toward electric guitars and basses last century, it will become increasingly electronic influenced in this new century. It has diversity of sound and complexity that most bands aren’t even coming near. I will now list a few artists and songs that I think are pushing the boundaries of music.