Shara Worden -- Outsiders expert -- has a new video for the dreamy A Thousand Shark's Teeth track "From The Top Of The World." I have no idea what is going on in it. It's like a fairy tale made of green screens and papier-mâché, with a side of "Tonight, Tonight" and a crazy gold faced mustache guy in the clouds who's inappropriately fixated on Shara's arm. Oh and the whole thing takes place on her chest? Sure why not.

If "Shackler's Revenge" didn't slake your thirst for the heroes of yesterdecade, here's another shot. As they've made unavoidably clear, Death Magnetic Metallica is all about bringing it back to the classic era. Clocking in at 7:56, you'd think this was the track to make good on that. And you'd be right! For the last three minutes. And if "bringing it back" means "rewriting old songs." At 5:00 "The Day That Never Comes" becomes the last half of "One." (Literally.) Before that, it's "Unforgiven" meets "Fade To Black." (But not really as good as that. James says: "Love is a four letter word / You're in this prison." We say: Ooph, James said that.) Kirk still shreds. In a sentence: new Metallica is derivative of old Metallica. But what did you expect. Hear it at MySpace. (They're also streaming that live version of ""Cyanide.")

You'll often come across references to Cornelius when people talk up Shugo Tokumaru. At first blush it may seem lazy -- both artists come to us from Japan, see -- but it isn't for lack of imagination. Actually it's on account of imagination, on both artists' part, for the way they deal with and digest Western pop idioms. Tokumaru's third album Exit is getting Stateside release this fall (it's out in Japan), which is good news for people who like good music. The 28 year old plays every note, sings in Japanese, and has a breezy easiness in being totally inventive. "Green Rain" is our track for your sampling, just another instance of Shug's taking familiar touchstones (the Beatles are all over this one) into more eclectic and fantastical spaces. (Toy marching band? Willy Wonka candy coated dream factory? You tell me.)

With the crazy digital animation we're seeing in videos, this Clyde Peterson-directed clip for the first from Jeff Hanson's new Kill Rock Stars record is charmingly old school. Old school as in elementary school: "If Only I Knew" is nothing but stop-motion construction-paper cutouts of the birds and the bees and Jeff coming to grips with a shitty Dear John letter. Fortunately for him, birds happen to be great at weaving uplifting banjo-flecked ditties out of torn up Dear John letters. Later the words of his ex become food for hatchlings, which is possibly a deep statement on the circle of life and love, or probably just a tidy way to end the video.

Mike Skinner's feeling philosophical these days. Along the lines of "The Escapist," which had Mike getting help from a choir while walking the streets, taking in trees, rain, stones and sand while pondering life's fleeting moments, "Everything Is Borrowed" has him getting existential over similarly tear-jerky beats: "I came to this world with nothing, and I'll leave with nothing but love. Everything else is just borrowed." Something tells me he'll be pouring less vodka in his fans' throats on this tour. Listen at MySpace. (Thanks, P4K)

Everything Is Borrowed is out 9/15 in the UK via 679.

Chapter 2 of The Stand-Ins Sessions -- Okkervil River's publicity project inviting friends to cover their great new album -- comes courtesy of David Vandervelde (whose own work we just revisited the other day). As the Will Sheff & A.C. Newman take on "Lost Coastlines" suggested, this is going to unfold sequentially, and so today's offering is the second proper song from the new album, "Singer Songwriter." Warning: Will doesn't contribute to this one, and neither does anyone with working knowledge of light metering.

Three days ago Bloc Party dropped a little surprise with their plans for a new album. Three days later, it's out. If "Mercury" didn't quite shock your monkey, don't give up. This is being typed as Intimacy is getting its first spin, and so it is the prematurest of evaluations, but for the most part it's sounding better than the last.

Guns N' Roses's new single surfaced online last week and was quickly scrubbed from YouTube. But now it's back! For now. As we learned earlier this summer, "Shackler's Revenge" (GN'R's first official release since "Oh My God" in '99) will be included on Rock Band 2, out next month. Message board chatter suggests it was penned by Buckethead (Axl's former axeman has a song called "Shackler"). The demonic vocals and industrial/metal guitar assault suggest a Marilyn Manson track gone worse. Consider with the other Chinese Democracy leaks and you should be getting a sense of what the album (which Axl began work on in 1964) might sound like, and whether it'll be worth a trip to Wal-Mart. Above is the alleged "Shackler's Revenge" artwork, according to Blabbermouth.

I know what you read that as and no, this is not a Craig Wedren Remixes TV On The Radio post. The Dead Science are a Seattle-based avant rock trio, set to put out an LP based strictly on obscure comic book and Wu-Tang Clan references, which is a thing avant rock trios do. They'll probably remind you more of Xiu Xiu than Wu-Tang Forever, but the Dead Science are dead serious about this Wu-Tang thing. "Make Mine Marvel," a track from their forthcoming Villanaire LP, is full of straight up rips of verses from Forever's "Triumph." The version we're focusing on, though, is the Craig Dub Plate Mix, so named for the helping hand of Shudder master Craig Wedren, spiking the beats and rearranging things to give 'em a full on eerie intonation. Singer Sam Mickens is definitely from the Jamie Stewart school of singing, but when you hear him flip up into head voice while things get noisy and knotty behind him, it's not hard to see why someone like Mr. Wedren would be drawn to it.

Yep you better believe I copied and pasted that song title. Anyone that's seen Sigur Rós this year, or has had access to the internet and a tendency to visit music related websites such as this one, will recognize the Sigur attire in this video as the band's go to uniform (with the exception of drummer Orri Páll Dýrason, who is playing the part of King). This means that the "Inni" vid features 100% more clothing than the last video for a Sigur Rós song. Sorry about that.

This week's Drop comes from Texas indie rockers Centro-matic. The previously unreleased wintry tune was produced by the band and Matt Pence during sessions for double-LP Dual Hawks, which is composed of half Centro-matic songs and half South San Gabriel songs. Both bands are led by songwriter Will Johnson, who answered our questions about wrapping gifts and donning gay apparel while giving us a listen to Centro-matic's "Christmas 83 (Make Fun Of My Sweaters)." Put your ears on it here.

Also ... got a valid passport? Interested in beautiful music and people? This week we're giving one entrant (and a guest of their choosing) a flight and tickets to the annual Iceland Airwaves festival.

Jennifer O'Connor's just your average singing/songwriting type, getting called up to cover Dylan at Lincoln Center here, knocking out an album with producer John Agnello in 12 days there. Her new album Here With Me's out this week via Matador, and on its first official video, director Zacarias Bezunartea plays out the tune full of relationship stalemates with the relatable stress, and mental and spatial chess, of sitting stranded in the kitchen with the one that's always in your mind but never really there. And this is Brooklyn, so don't say that "she could always just live alone." Do you know how high rent is here?

Mr. Byrne's Everything That Happens... LP collab with Eno is rather great and all, but this one's about the legendary Head's other love (no, not that one or that one or that one). As you've probably seen if you live in NYC, the guy likes to bike. He also to park his bike. And he's proving it all with a series of bike racks of his design, strategically installed all over the city (shaped like a $ at Wall St., like a heel outside Bergdorf's, etc.). See the full collection and location info at NY Times' City Room blog. (To complete the relevant link set: this is what David hears and sees when he's riding a bike.)

Guillemots are all about branding. Much like the red-hued video for "Get Over It," there's lots of red in the video for "Kriss Kross" (the album's called Red, bingo). The dark-to-light kriss-krossing track came packing a typewriter riff and general prime-time-criminal-drama vibe as a free download a ways back. In its video form, it comes packing super saturated effects, oversized shades, and Fyfe looking like a bit like Jamie Lidell.

After the shitty weekend that was, Bradford's back to the blog to take responsibility for the Mediafire mishap, apologize for his reaction, and otherwise explain his mindset in a feel good, must-read post if you are a fan of the man and/or his work and/or the cessation of bad vibes. Check it at deerhuntertheband.blogspot.com. (Also note: the photo he posted is a reference to -- and more peaceful version of -- the original. Whether you're a Mediafire hacker or an artist seeking accord, sometimes one finger is all it takes.)

FYI Microcastle is now available for purchase at iTunes. Just bought it.

It's been a year and a half since Dan Rossen and his longtime songwriting partner Fred Nicolaus dropped us a demo of "No One Does It Like You" as a tease to the duo's first Department Of Eagles album since their years-old debut Whitey And The Moon UK. It wasn't that D.O.E.'s next album was then imminent, per se, but I also don't think things weren't supposed to take quite this long to launch -- you can probably blame that on Grizzly Bear's nonstop activity and various offers they could not refuse. Anyway the time has finally come, or it least it will come in about six weeks, when In Ear Park makes its way out on 4AD. We heard the title track earlier this summer, and now it's the album version of what logically must-be-the-album's-best-song because-it-is-really-good, "No One Does It Like You."

Dave Matthews Band saxophonist LeRoi Moore, who played with the group since its inception in 1991, died today. He was 46. The musician was recently readmitted to the hospital for injuries stemming from a June 30th ATV accident on his farm outside Charlottesville. The band is still scheduled to play the Staples Center in Los Angeles tonight (Bela Fleck saxophonist Jeff Coffin has been filling in) according to TMZ, which has a statement from the band. [Photo via d-m-b.us.]

A slab of Ssion is always a great way to the end the day, so let's get into it. Ssion man Cody Critcheloe remains busy: He took a director's credit on Tilly & The Wall's Beat Control," gave his mom a punk makeover in "Ah-Ma," and later hit us with the trashy radness of "Day Job." And yet none of that prepared me for Cody's latest directorial effort, this time for Fools Gold track "A Wolves Eye," which he describes as "David Lynch-meets-Jean Paul Gaultier with a little big of Gregg Araki and the scent of Jean Paul Gaultier (that's the cologne I wear)." Incredibly, after watching it that all makes sense! The video is set to a version of the song that's slowed, compliments of J.A.M., which makes for icy synths and dark beats that fit the fireside ritualism and druid sleaze sorta perfectly. I wouldn't say this is NSFW, but we posted it late because, maybe you'll just get less questions if you watch it from home.

Your Tuesday afternoon just got 100% more great. "Golden Age" is the first listen from TV On The Radio's forthcoming return from Cookie Mountain, titled Dear Science, (comma included, thinking its epistolary). It will probably make you dance. Don't be fooled by the dry tones on the "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" bass groovy intro, things do open up -- not quite in the same way they perfected last time out, it's a slightly modified mix coming from Sitek: horns and strings, synths and handclaps, polyrhythm in the pulse, vocals melting all over the horizon. Tunde (Oops, it's Kyp) is pitching "a golden age, coming around." (I definitely hear Celebration's Katrina Ford in there, too.) Pretty triumphant, guys. Have a listen at tvontheradio.com. Yes, that is Kyp shirtless and afroless.

Dear Science, is, out, 9/23, via, Interscope. Here's your cover:

There's been a few developments in the world of YACHT since last we checked in. For one: YACHT is now a full-time duo, with the addition of one Claire L. Evans (to see the pair in action, watch them answer our lame Texas Trivia questions). For another: A few months ago YACHT recorded "Summer Song," an aural love letter to tourmates LCD Soundsystem. James Murphy was so touched by the track's appropriation of the DFA-banger vibe, his label decided not only to put out the single as part of a four-track EP, but to sign team YACHT for their next album release. That is one powerful song, and so here it gets powerful visual accompaniment. It is filmed by Portland director Judah Switzer, and it captures the making of the worst music video ever. But in a good way.

Syracuse's Barsuk signees Ra Ra Riot recently swarmed their hometown in hopes to find a nice attic to film some songs. Apparently their personal attics weren't big enough, because the troupe, along with directors Taryn Gould and Emily Kowalcyzk, went door to door, knocking and asking, looking for a space that could house a band with their sprawl, finally convincing "a summer student that digs music" to let them set up shop and set some stuff to tape. Watching them fall over themselves to the giddy synth pop of "Too Too Too Fast" reminds me of live sets from similarly sized contemporaries and collectives like Le Loup and Los Campesinos!, except here we get to see it in multi-camera angles. And for free.

Jack Black took a break from terrorizing red carpets with silliness and blanket Tropic Thunder promotion to join Queens Of The Stone Age the other night, at L.A.'s Music Box at Henry Fonda Theatre, in memory of cancer victim and QOTSA collaborator Natasha Shneider. In exchange for the tickets (which benefited the Natasha Schneider Memorial Fund), the sold out crowd was treated to lots of Queens songs, a performance from PJ Harvey, and a Tenacious D + Matt Cameron + Stone Age cover of Cream's "I Feel Free." Queens and Matt take instrumentals, Jack and Kyle are on vocal and interpretive dance duty.

Yesterday Bloc Party announced that you'd have to wait just three days to hear their forthcoming third album. If that is too long for you, and you are on the internet so it's fair to assume it is, you can hear a new single right now. As for sounds: The band promised that the new album would recall "fan favourites" like "Helicopter," "Banquet," and "So Here We Are," although on first pass "Trojan Horse"'s stomp and buzz-saw guitar hit a bit more like "The Prayer" than it does the Silent stuff. Have a listen at MySpace.

Intimacy is out digitally 8/21 worldwide. Physical units shall be released in the UK on 10/27 via Wichita, and 10/28 in the US via Atlantic.

As far as strategies for sustained relevance go, Noel Gallagher's chronic case of verbal diarrhea is cheap and obvious. But occasionally the shit talking stench is so bad, we try but we can't help but talk about it. This other strategy, the one that involves releasing new music or whatever, feels practically novel in their hands. And you know what it's actually going pretty OK for them right now. "Falling Down" was different sounding and cool, and "The Shock Of The Lightning" is the shock of the nobody in its Oasis-y Oasisness. However the more we hear it, the more its Oasisosity has become palatable. Good, even. It's a good Oasis song. And the video is a good Oasis video. We sorta see the band performing, through screensaver and Hot Rocks effects, while superimposed flowers bloom and human history marches and images of love's magical mystery pop and shake and trip you out.

Okkervil River's kicking off a new series of performances, to be added over time to their YouTube channel, featuring songs from the prematurely approved The Stand Ins as performed by various guests you've probably heard of. The first album track to get the Stand In Sessions treatment is the excellent "Lost Coastlines," with New Pornographer A.C. Newman Standing In for the Shearwater-bound Jonathan Meiburg. The song itself is occupied with Jon and Will's fork in the road (although maybe not as much as "On Tour With Zykos"), Meiburg and Sheff taking turns singing their sides of the seafaring metaphors. In this version, though, A.C. sings the Will part and Will sings the Jonathan part. Which is smart. You don't want to force Carl to step into some awkward emotional shoes and recreate weird relationship dynamics so early in the game. Plus this allows Will to try things from Meiburg's side ("we sail out on orders from him" is a good moment) and, more awesomely/awkwardly, his baritone.

I've always thought of "Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Pt. 2" as the moment Jim James introduced the Omnichord to a disco beat. From now on I will think of it as a great soundtrack to my fantasies of seeing a Where The Wild Things Are feature film. Video producers The Mixtape Club tell Subterranean the classic Maurice Sendak book (and leaked footage of the troubled Spike Jonze-directed film adaptation) were an inspiration point for this new video, and they note a few more on their site ("BBC's Planet Earth, foliage plucked from the streets of New York City, and the work of Russian animator Yuri Norstein"). Does this mean a Where The Wild Things Are film release is any closer to reality? No. But it's a cool video.

It's been awhile since Bloc Party reminded everyone how good Gang Of Four were, with their highly impressive debut Silent Alarm. Since then the band has served to remind everyone how good Silent Alarm was, with A Weekend In The City and etc. But all that might change in just three days. According to the press release:

Bloc Party's third album, 'Intimacy' will be available August 21. It can be pre-ordered now via the band's website: http://www.blocparty.com.

The album will also be available as a CD which will be delivered from October 27 and feature additional songs. Anyone pre-ordering the CD will also receive the digital album from August 21...

The album produced by Paul Epworth (Silent Alarm) and Jacknife Lee (A Weekend in the City) was recorded in Kent and London. Some songs are Bloc Party at their most wildly experimental, while other tracks are simply classic Bloc Party, fitting in seamlessly amongst fan-favourites 'Helicopter', 'Banquet' and 'So Here We Are'.

They know which songs the fans like. This is encouraging. The first single ... not as much. Fingers crossed! There's a tour coming -- dates are here.

Last we checked in with the odds on the Mercury Prize, Estelle was a long shot at 10:1. Now she's at 20:1. This is because the odds makers are listening too much to the Kanye-guesting "American Boy" and not enough to the Cee-Lo-guesting "Please Please (Love Me)." While the contempo-pop flavored/Green Card baiting "American Boy" felt sorta canned and standard (I know it was a hit, but that had less to do with the quality and more to do with the Feat. Kanye), Estelle really shines (album title pun) here as an old soul revivalist.