SOUND BITES

Upon compiling my list of nominees for Year in Rock, I always come across a handful of bands I'd somehow missed the boat on from earlier in the year, hurriedly familiarize myself with said bands and, in some cases, throw them into an open spot on the list.  Sometimes, that throw-in turns out being the band I go beyond merely liking and fall ass over teakettle in love with.  It happened most memorably with Mastodon in 2004; I picked up Leviathan on a whim and ended up rethinking metal's entire hierarchy.  The reason I tell you this is because in October, I fell ass over teakettle in love with Dead Sara. So, how the hell did they not make the cut for Year in Rock 2011?

News broke this morning about White Stripes/Raconteurs/Dead Weather brain trust Jack White's first proper solo album getting released in April, followed by word that its first single would appear "very soon".  White held true to his word, even in our warp-speed everything-always-now times, as we've already got a taste of Love Interruption for your streaming pleasure.  It's never a bad thing when a song starts off reminding you of Dusty Springfield's Son of a Preacher Man , and Love Interruption did that for me, so kudos. Judging from the lyrics, it sounds like Jack wants love to do some pretty heinous things.  Anyway, the album is called Blunderbuss and will be unleashed via Third Man/Columbia on April 24.

The last we heard of Red Fang, they'd made the most out of a paltry video budget for Wires , one of 2011's best clips.  Clearly, the label liked the results and cut them another check, as evidenced by the new video for Hank Is Dead .  Yet another standout track from their monstrous Murder the Mountains album, the video for Hank Is Dead sadly lacks in gallons of milk exploding.  But it makes up for it with an uncomfortable shower scene, one of the best paper airplane odyssies you'll ever see, and some bitchin' air guitar.  Enjoy (loudly): Murder the Mountains is out now on Relapse, and will rock you in the face.

Apparently, I didn't wait long enough into the day to post new videos, or I'd have led off with the amazing new Wilco video for Dawned On Me .  The video is mind-blowing for a number of reasons, not the least of which being the fact that Wilco haven't released an official video for a single in thirteen years.  It's also a full-blown collab between the band and King Features, creators of the eternally endearing Popeye.  The end result is a truly great music video, as you can plainly see: Compounding the head-exploding awesomeness is the Wilco brand spinach which, according to the image on this website , is "coming soon".  Not that I feel the burning desire to instantly spurt ginormous forearms, but you have to admit it'd be hellacool to have a can of. For those so inclined to pick up the album Dawned On Me comes from, The Whole Love is Wilco's 8th album and is out now on dBpm Records.

I don't like going over a week without posting something, so I promise I'll try harder and hope to appease you with a trio of new videos.  First up is Dry Bone Valley , the new single by Mastodon.  The video's sort of neat, but a little repetitive.  It's got neat animation, but it sort of repeats.  Don't get me wrong, I like it, it's just sort of repetitive.  And yet, I can't watch it on repeat.  Hmmm. We also have a new musical commercial for Red Hot Chili Peppers' third official I'm With You single Look Around , which features each member performing in seperate rooms amid items from their personal collection.  Which explains the Sesame Street mobile and car-shaped bed in new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer's room.  I keeed, I keeed. Finally, the cool, gritty, ball-smashing new animated video for Lamb of God's Ghost Walking , first single from the just-released Resolution album.  No explanation necessary, just know that your balls will b...

A couple of years back, Brit rockers Band of Skulls started their slow ascent with the release of debut album Baby Darling Doll Face Honey .  It took a while, but lead single I Know What I Am eventually became a hit on the strength of its insistent hook and the public's slow realization that the White Stripes were really, truly over. Now, Band of Skulls finally return with their new album, Sweet Sour , on February 21.  I say "finally" because they've been promoting it with videos and single releases since October.  The Devil Takes Care of His Own was actually a moderate hit in Canada, paving the way for releases of the sultry and scorching title track to radio and another brand new video for Bruises , which sees the band get their Radiohead and Big Lebowski on.

Here's a sketch featuring Eddie Vedder (in animated and actual human form) from a recent episode of IFC's hilarious Portlandia, which stars longtime friend of Eddie (and former member of hopefully-reuinting soon Sleater-Kinney) Carrie Brownstein, and some guy who used to be on Mad TV or something (I kid, it's lovable SNL'er Fred Armisen).  No more talking, watch this:

Congratulations, Walk Off the Earth!  This new viral hit of yours is so unique, refreshing and thrilling that you straight up stole that song from Gotye.  Although, in all fairness, Gotye straight up stole that title from Elliott Smith, so...

From the time he stepped out as bassist for Propagandhi and formed the Weakerthans, John K. Samson has been steadily building a reputation for being a quality songwriter and witty lyricist.  Indeed, the Weakerthans' last two albums (2003's breakthrough Reconstruction Site and 2007's more polished Reunion Tour ) are among the last decade's most enjoyable and intelligent rock platters.  The frustrating part about being a fan of Samson's work is just how it takes to get more of it.  Sure, there are other bands that take a long time between records, but I'm not about to let Tool off the hook for their sluggish pace anytime soon.  With a measly two albums released in the last nine years (and five since the last), one can understand how hotly anticipated a new Weakerthans album has been. Well, we're probably not getting that this year, although Samson has finally amassed enough songs to release his first official solo album.  Although, if we're splittin...

Well, that didn't take long. After a dry spell in rock music news and a new release schedule that started to resemble a dystopian wasteland, 2012 has gotten off to a rather hasty start in the form of a pair of new single premieres. Shinedown released Bully  as a single today alongside word that their fourth album Amaryllis will be released on March 27, and saw fit to declare on their official website, "This is going to be the 2012 anthem! All bullies beware!" Now, I don't want to start 2012 on a downer, but this isn't really a great sign of things to come if this is the one you're calling "the 2012 anthem".  It's standard radio fare, a drop of dogshit in the landfill of generic rock garbage that's stunk up the airwaves in recent years.  Shinedown aren't this bad; over the course of their first three albums, they've amassed a good following and a handful of stellar tracks that rock hard without dumbing it down.  This is trite, ...