NKOTBSB?! Mind. Blown. So NKOTB were a bit before my time, well I mean I knew girls who were obsessed with them, but at the time I was more of a Green Day girl (Dookie was one of my first albums, totes had the poster hanging up over my bed and everything; man I was a cool 8 year old…), however I was all about BSB (“I Want It That Way”, “Quit Playing Games With My Heart”?! Oh I could die. Such tunes!) so part of me is totally excited about this collaboration of ex-boyband heartthrobs. And their first single is undeniably catchy. This insanity drops May 24th.

My boyfriend constantly teases me about how much I’m on the website Buzzfeed, but I’m sorry, any website that continually posts videos of adorable animals doing insanely adorable things (like, red panda’s trying to open doors, for instance), umm yeah I’m gonna be checking that thing like every 5 minutes. Anyway, had it not been for my Buzzfeed obsession, I would have missed this gem: check out 10 year old Connie Talbot doing a seriously impressive cover of Adele’s “Someone Like You”; have lost track of how many times I’ve watched /listened to this. This adorable little kiddiwink is incredibly talented.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikQqcFF2t_E

Rome is the 5-years-in-the-making collaborative project between Danger Mouse and Italian composer Daniele Luppi (with special guest stars Jack White and Norah Jones) which will finally be released May 17 through Capitol Records. After listening to “Black” (with Norah Jones) I’m already in love with this album. Can’t wait to get my paws on it. Check out the trailer and stream “Black” below.

Remember that Katy Perry featuring Kanye song, “E.T.” that I mentioned a while back? The one that sounds like tATu’s “All The Things She Said”? Well the video came out this week and it’s…. interesting, to say the least. I don’t know, I feel bad, but Katy Perry just really bothers me, and I don’t have a legitimate reason for her to; it’s not as if she’s done anything to me personally, she just irks me the wrong way. (Sorry Katy.) Maybe it’s because I feel like she’s trying too hard all the time? Or maybe because after a while her songs secretly grow on me and I kind of hate that I love them / embarrassed to admit that? Hmmm… Anyway, the cinematic video’s below. As I said, it’s… interesting.

My brother (and I’m sure many others) will be stoked about this: Justice have finally released the long-awaited single, “Civilization”, of their upcoming album (which still doesn’t have a release date). Took me a few listens but I’m liking it. Listen below.

Justice “Civilization” High Quality by 1077 The End

The video for the Fleet Foxes “Grown Ocean” is pretty much exactly what you’d expect from these Seattle hipsters: grainy documentary style footage, men with beards, lots of shots of the sky, obligatory studio/ songwriting / standing in the street holding a guitar scenes, etc. It fits the song quite nicely and I like it.

I love The National even though they sometimes make me cry. (Although, let’s be honest, I love a good cry.) Here’s the video for their song for the upcoming film, Win Win, entitled “Think You Can Wait”. My only complaint with this is the laughter tracks and dialogue from the film interspersed with the song. Reminds me of the Bruce Springsteen song for Jerry Maguire “Secret Garden” with all the cheesy lines from the film thrown in. I don’t understand why editors do that when all it does is take away from the song.

This looks to be really cool (and yet another reason I wish I was going to Coachella): The Creators Project has teamed up with VICE Magazine and “commissioned several artistic collaborations between some of today’s foremost musical and creative talents. Their task was to conceive of new audiovisual experiences to enhance and re-imagine musical performance, creating new ways of interacting with and enjoying the musical art form.” Read more about the project here and watch the trailer for the installation from J. Spaceman (of Spiritualized) and filmmaker Jonathan Glazer below.

That’s it for this week; have a great weekend!

Peace, love and Red Bull.

Mandy

The Florida Room is located underneath the Delano lobby. It’s got low, mostly mirrored ceilings, and on a night like tonight, it’s standing room only. Ladies are dressed to the nines and guys have ditched the t-shirts for button-downs, vests and jackets. Shortly after 1am (I think), DJ Zen Freeman took to the decks with some deep, deep house and tech. The crowd was into it, but not many people were actually dancing. Just a lot of milling about. But after about an hour, he started ramping up the hits. Duck Sauce’s “Barbara Streisand,” Daft Punk’s “One More Time,” a remix of Justice’s “D.A.N.C.E.,” and of course the requisite “Sex On Fire” remix.

By the time the Killers’ “Mr. Brightside” made it into the play list, I was convinced he was priming the crowd for Oakenfold’s arrival. What started as a slow and steady build turned into a full-on dance locomotive. As high-energy sets go, it might have been the most varied and anthemic (yet tasteful) collection of choons I’d hear up to that point. It was just a matter of time until Oakey took the decks. Zen Freeman was setting them up nice. Oakenfold could have blown on the crowd and knocked them over. Except he didn’t blow on the crowd. He didn’t even plug in, at least not to my knowledge. Chatter around the room was that he was “in the building” but had been delayed. I ended up cashing out at 3:30am, after posting up in a prime spot since midnight to get a glimpse of the man himself. But if I’m being honest, my moment of Zen was just fine.

As I’m writing this, there’s still no official word on what exactly happened to Oakey last night. Some say he finally went on at 4am. Others say he was a no-show, possibly getting held up at the Soho Beach House where he had an earlier event. And still others said, “Paul who? I don’t really remember anything after that second bottle of Veuve Clicquot. Have you seen my shoes?”

Word by Rich Thomas. Photos by Graham John Bell.

Every week, China Shop talks to a music blogger who is taking part in the new global music community.

They call it blog house for a reason. Okay, no one really calls it blog house anymore, but back when they did call it blog house, Asian Dan was more than just another clearing house for illicit electro remixes. Whether hanging out with A-Trak, or scooping the entire internet on the infamous Justice rejected Fabric mix, Asian Dan is always our first stop to see where dance music is headed next.

Name: Daniel de Lara
Age: 23
Location: NYC
Website(s): www.asianmandan.com / http://www.colt-rane.com

How long have you been blogging?
Asian Dan: 3 years

What do you look for when deciding what to post?
Asian Dan: I look for quality music that has substance, great production, and/or a great hook – it all depends on what I am feeling at the moment. I always like to be caught off guard.

How do you think blogging has helped the music scene? Has it hurt it at all?
Asian Dan: It did help a lot a few years ago but now it is a lot of the same since the music blogosphere has become so saturated with so much of the same content, copy and paste a press release with a link for a free mp3. Which then molds how producers and bands create music – literally making blog suitable music which often only lasts a week or so. I feel like something is going to happen soon that will revitalize the web and the music industry.

Who are the five most bloggable artists out there right now and why?
Asian Dan: Jai Paul - Throwback quality beats and production that will just make you dance.

Emil & Friends - Songwriting with substance with amazing hooks meets interesting production techniques.

Ali Love – Synth pop done right, nostalgic yet forward thinking.

Shuttle – Epic apocalyptic bass music.

Penguin Prison – Pure POP magic.

What’s the best thing you ever posted?
Asian Dan: Asian Dan Presents Jean Nipon’s “No Sex Last Nite” Minimix (link)

Invent the ultimate blog headline:
Asian Dan: “From da Blog to da masses” or “You are what you tweet”

Today’s bloggin best…

- Alex Chilton tribute to take place at SXSW tomorrow. NME

- Hot Chip, Justice and Trent Reznor remix U2 on vinyl. Artificial Horizon

- Buy Perry Farrell’s Venice Beach House for $1.6 Million. Huffington Post

- The Black Keys played a new Danger Mouse produced song on the BBC. URB

- Spike Jonez debuted a new short film online (if you can get the Flash site to work). I’m Here

During Coachella 09, the french electro artists from Ed Banger Records (Justice, Busy P, So Me, Medhi, Fafi, Gaspard, Sebastian, Kavinsky, etc) descended upon LA with their new clothing brand, Cool Cats, first ever pop up store in the US at De La Barracuda on Melrose in Mid City. On Monday, April 20th, 2009 A.C. (After Coachella), the social chameleons of the LA scene journeyed through the heavily trafficked LA arteries to an afternoon of relaxation in fashion and friendship with drinks provided by Red Bull, Belvedere IX and Colt 45s, and the side act of guest DJ sets from Medhi, So Me, , Sebastian, and Busy P (On his Birthday!) From the fashion side, limited edition presses of their apparel were on sale to grab up for all the trend setters to take back to their boroughs of the city and dawn on Tuesday. Surprise surprise: appearances from Guy Manuel of Daft Punk, Digitalism, Artist Darren Romanelli, Editor Jamie O’Shea, Photographer Lionel DeLuy (who for the fun of it, set up a photo booth for the day) and more. The result, a celebration of french music and fashion in LA. A good time had by all…

Some Cool Blog Recaps:
http://barracudashop.com/blog/?m=200904 (Halfway down the page)
http://youtellconcerts.com/?p=323
http://migueld.thelechuga.com/2009/04/23/cool-cats-barracuda/
http://www.findinternettv.com/Video,item,167620017.aspx
http://trashageyo.blogspot.com/2009/04/cool-cats-pop-up-store.html

Words by Josh Greenberg, Photos by Zoetica Ebb