It’s been a hectic week for this Autostraddler, so let’s get right down to business. Check out new videos from Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera, Miley Cyrus and Sean Kingston with Justin Bieber, along with lots of news and brand new music from The Books, Hailey Wojcik, Flying Lotus, and Dead Weather.
BEYONCE’S “WHY DON’T YOU LOVE ME”
Beyoncé delivers yet another stunning video for the new single from her album I Am… Sasha Fierce. It’s called “Why Don’t You Love Me” and features our favorite Destiny’s Child diva flirting with 1970s imagery. She plays “B. B. Homemaker,” the ideal housewife who transforms into a cigarette-smoking, martini-drinking hot mess (emphasis on the hot). Beyoncé co-directed the vid along with Melina Matsoukas, who worked with Rihanna on “Rude Boy.” Less dance routine and more compelling narrative, it seems Beyoncé picked up a few tips while working with Lady Gaga. Beyoncé, you are too easy to love.
What do you think about Beyoncé’s “Why Don’t You Love Me”? Watch it below, and let us know in the comments!
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MADONNA:
Madonna tells Interview Magazine:
“It’s weird. I don’t have a record deal right now with anybody. I don’t know how I’m going to get my music out the next time I make a record. I’m going to have to reinvent the wheel. For example, I do appreciate that lots of people worked long and hard putting together things like the DVD of the ‘Sticky and Sweet‘ tour that we just released, and I have seen the finished product, but I have got no idea how people are going to find out about it or how it’s going to be sold. I think I have a fan club — well, that’s what they say.” (@zimbio)
MILEY CAN’T BE TAMED
The word on the street is Miley Cyrus premiered her new music video, and it’s racy! You can see screenshots and read this video analysis from our soul sistas at Jezebel, and check it out for yourself:
CHRISTINA AGUILERA’S NEW VIDEO:
Xtina is back! This time, with a video for “Not Myself Tonight,” the lead single from her new album Bionic. The song is catchy and the vid is fun to watch, but following the earthshaking video from fellow pop star Lady Gaga‘s “Telephone,” it almost seems boring. You can read our round-up of opinions on the topic here, and watch it below if you missed our earlier post.
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BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE’S 1-DAY “TOUR”:
Canadian supergroup Broken Social Scene released Forgiveness Rock Record, their first album since 2005, last week. To celebrate, they’re embarking on a one-day “tour” of Toronto on May 9 (aka Mothers Day). They’ll be hitting up four record stores in the Toronto area, with limited tickets available with purchase of Forgiveness Rock Record at each store. So Canadians, ditch your mom (or bring her with you) for an intimate in-store performance! Get more details about this special performance at Chromewaves, and see their full tour schedule at Broken Social Scene’s MySpace.
THE KILLERS’ BRANDON FLOWERS GOES SOLO:
Brandon Flowers, lead singer for The Killers, has revealed plans to record a solo album called Flamingo. Though this sidelines another Killers tour in the near future, the Las Vegas band has no plans to call it quits. Read more about Brandon Flowers going solo at Spin.com.
NEW VIDEO WITH SEAN KINGSTON AND JUSTIN BIEBER:
In a new video for “Eenie Meenie”, Sean Kingston‘s collaboration with Justin Bieber, the two pop stars are involved in a love triangle with an indecisive lover. Get it? An “eenie meenie miney mo lover”! While this particular love triangle is highly improbable, the song fits comfortably in my list of guilty pleasures. Check out the video for “Eenie Meenie” below:
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NEW SONG FROM THE BOOKS:
Electro-folk duo The Books have been laying low since 2006, but they’ve just released a new track from their upcoming July 2010 album, The Way Out. It’s called “Beautiful People,” and it’s beautifully addicting with lush harmonies, a steady beat, and plucky electric guitars. Listen to The Books’ “Beautiful People” at The Walrus Blog.
CHELY WRIGHT COMES OUT:
After all of our speculation that country singer Shelby Lynne was the celebrity set to come out in People Magazine‘s May 5 issue, it turns out it’s Chely Wright instead. You can read the full story on Autostraddle, with scans from the People Magazine issue and other scoop from around the web, and check out some other country singers that were already out here.
APPLE KILLS LALA.COM:
This past December, Apple bought online music provider Lala.com for an undisclosed amount. Until now, we haven’t heard much since. Apple has announced it is shutting down Lala on May 31st, and all customers who have paid for unlimited streaming music will be compensated with iTunes store credit. Read more speculations about Apple shutting down Lala at the Wall Street Journal.
OZZFEST DATES ANNOUNCED:
Metal and hard rock fans, rejoice! Ozzfest is back in full force after taking a year off in 2009. Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Halford (openly gay frontman of Judas Priest), and Mötley Crüe will be headlining a six-date tour of North America. Tickets go on sale May 22. See the full tour schedule for Ozzfest at the official festival website.
MRS. DANVERS:
Read Corey’s Audiostraddle interview with all-girl band Mrs. Danvers. They’re queer and ready to make it big in 2010!
HAILEY WOJCIK:
Remember when Audiostraddle gave away tickets to Hailey Wojcik‘s show in NYC? If you missed out, get another dose of Wojcik in her new video on the making of her record Diorama on Vimeo. And yes, there are real dioramas involved.
NEW MUSIC:
Flying Lotus: If you want to hear electronic music like it’s never been done before, check out the new jazz-inspired Cosmogramma from Steve Ellison aka Flying Lotus at NPR Music.
Dead Weather: You can also hear a sneak-preview of the Dead Weather’s new album, Sea of Cowards, at NPR. The supergroup consists of Jack White, Alison Mosshart of The Kills, and Dean Fertita and Jack Lawrence, both from The Raconteurs and Queens of the Stone Age.
For the life of me, i cannot remember to listen to the Dead Weather. Argh!
Here’s a link to the Miley video on E: http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b179357_exclusive_miley_cyrus_cant_be_tamed.html
Loved Beyoncé’s video :) it is amazing
The Miley video is on E! Online:
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/miley_cyrus/index.html
I was just coming to post that Miley link. I do not like the song but the video is not bad.
NEGATIVE Beyonce. Maybe I would love you if you weren;t so full of yourself. Once again Beyonce gives us her same old tired video recipe…Mediocre song, lots of outfits, wigs, makeup, no point or substance. P.S. No you do not have an ass
I cannot get the J Bieber video to work but that’s fine. I have managed to not hear or see more than 25 secs of J Bieber song. I don;t want to taint good luck.
I don’t get the whole Bieber thing. Isn’t he like 12? For some reason I have an aversion to child stars… I too am lucky i not hearing even 1 second of a song from him.
holyshit my love for jbiebs has been renewed.
Beyonce video- meh
Miley video- SHE IS ONLY 17!
Xtina video- I love it/her and already had my #feelings all over the other post…
J-Beebz video- not watching.
this isn’t in this music fix but i listened to the national’s new album and it is AMAZING.
It was in the music fix last week though!
I listened to it because it was in last week’s fix, but I didn’t really warm up to it. I think I just need some more time. It’s not them, it’s me. etc.
Have you heard “Mistaken For Strangers”? I really like that song even though I’m not a fan of The National in general – maybe because it’s the most upbeat song they have.
haha, yeah, jess, I’m just behind.
I just listened to it the other day too. I love it.
Lots of ladies premiering vids (and yes, I am including JBiebs in that statement)
Beyonce-lovez it. One of her best I think.
Miley-is everyone doing the wierd-gagaish-outfits lately? Those finger things remind me of the fingers she wore on the dildo mag cover. jus sayin. I actually like the miley vid better than xtina though, and thats sad.
Re: BSS record. I’m pretty sure “last month” was just a typo, but the record actually hit shelves just yesterday. I’m listening to it now. It features a song in which you can hear the voices of Emily Haines (Metric), Leslie Feist (Feist) and Amy Millan (Stars). So cool! The whole album is a winner. While you’re at it, why not pick up “Together” by Vancouver’s The New Pornographers, which was also released yesterday. If you’re just loving the Canadian music this week, pick up Hannah Georgas’ “This is Good” which came out last week. It’s “Indie Pop Magic”.
And by the way, BSS is also playing a show or two in New York this week, so AMERICANS go ditch your moms and go to the show. Because I can totally generalize and say “Americans” when I’m only talking about a show in New York }=[ …. Ok, ok. I’ll admit I’m just a bit touchy about “Toronto”. Not that it’s a bad city, but because it’s so often treated as if it’s the centre of Canada’s cultural/economic/social universe. Sorry though. Good article. Keep up the good music fight. Yadi-yada.
I forget about release dates, because my job entails early album releases. Sorry about that! And I love ‘Together’.
No worries, just clearing it up for anyone interested.
YES, “Together” is a gem isn’t it?!
looking forward to hearing the new flying lotus and the books
you guys. you guys, i love this beyonce video so much! MsNJS you are a smart lady and I respect your opinion, but I have a lot of feelings on this video and all of them are good. Just one of the many feelings I have: I don’t think there’s a single gendered pronoun anywhere in this song. That means it is RIPE FOR LESBIAN APPROPRIATION. Also Solange wrote it. LOVE SOLANGE.
Thank you. I respect everyone’s opinion. I try to troll and be super negative. It;s all good, I am just over beyonce..well I was never really on her but anyway..
I would also like to direct you all to a really cute and very similar video by Ashanti called ‘Good Good’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM6w3_ljSwo from last year. There are gender pronouns but she still is very cute/sexy.
RE: lesbian appropriation – I have already done it! I’m totally thinking of my ex listening to this, haha.
I love love love this video and song.
I liked the Beyonce video even though it was about 5min of just her in various costumes (as per usual) however this was nostalgic and artsy. I liked it compared to her other videos, mind you the bar is not that high IMO.
Re: Beyonce’s video-She’s Foxxy Cleopatra, and that’s a whole LOTTA Grammys!
Hmm, I think I liked the Beyoncé video. I watched it slightly disconnected because I couldn’t make up my mind about whether to like it and be enthralled or…not.
I definitely loved the styling of it, and certainly the song grew on me by the end of it, but there was something, I don’t know I didn’t think I would ever say this, but perhaps there was a bit too much ass wiggling?
It sort of confused things, I couldn’t work out how any of the meanings of the characters fit together because of the regular ass wiggling/smacking intervals, and did that really fit in with the sort-of-story or was it just because she is contractually obliged to shake the booty X times per video?
Don’t get me wrong, I love bottoms, but I still can’t deal with them getting in the way of narrative.
The Miley one on the other hand, well, the story there was as unmissable as a bird plopping in your eye. I know that it’s a common trope for the young, innocent female stars to try and assert their maturity through a raunchy change of image, and it’s probably the frequency with which that happens that made me yawn a lot through this vid. Overwhelming reaction of trying too hard.
That being said, the song, if a little dull and bad-period-Britney-esque, is catchy and palatable enough that it shouldn’t drive me insane if it’s played to death on the radio.
Christina one I already saw, and the Bieber one mercifully didn’t work.
Argh, I don’t know how I managed to spout so much twaddle about a bunch of videos. It’s early. I think I’m sleep-opining.
Oh Beyonce! Y’all, I know she’s trying very hard, but… but, I… I just can’t help loving this video. Let me count the ways:
Pin curl set
Garters
Bettie Page homage proper
SHOES
Headkerchief
Whip
Cat-eye sunglasses
And omg SHOES
I’ll admit I didn’t watch the whole video because I thought it was boring BUT I am kind of a sucker for heavy eye make-up that ends up smeared. Is that weird? Yeah, probably.
Not weird at all…it was my fav part!
Not that I ever doubted it for a single second – but that video really solidified the fact that Beyonce is a perfect human.
Yes! I’m really into the song itself. It’s not a lonely woman rejected song, it’s a “I’m so damn easy to love/ maybe *you’re* just crazy / maybe *you’re* plain”
Even when it’s about rejection and loss, Beyonce is all about your own power and worth. I’m really into that. It’s not like Beyonce doesn’t sing about vulnerabilities or feeling down, but it in the end it’s about remembering your own strength.
And I’m also ok with the focus of the video being about styling, because I feel it’s all about giving all her drag queens a lot of material to work with. I can’t wait to see some of those looks reinterpreted through drag!!
The chorus is that Sean Kingston/Beiber colab is just awful.
Beyonce bores me.
What’s wrong with Miley getting a little more sexified? She’s obvs just really trying to distance herself from her Disney image. And I know people have said “But she’s only 17!” but my reaction is “Well, she is 17.” Bad parent?
X-Tina. Meh. Although I do wanna hear the Sia, Le Tigre collabs that are suppose to be on the album.
New Dead Weather. But I’m kind of craving something new from The Kills.