Pet Shop Boys Reveal 'Electric' Tracklist, Release Date & "Axis" Video

Oh, right — Pet Shop Boys have an album coming out this summer. I'd almost forgotten, since they first announced 12th LP Electric about a month-and-a-half ago. Turns out the album, which was originally slated for a June release, will now be out worldwide on July 15, via the Boys' brand new label x2 (or "times two"), through Kobalt Label Services.The first taste of the Stuart Price-produced Electric is opening track "Axis," which contains no real...

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UK Chart Roundup: Daft Punk Get Lucky, Land First #1 Single

Surprising move: Daft Punk's lead Random Access Memories single "Get Lucky" jumps up from #3 to #1 on the UK chart, marking the duo's first chart-topping single in the country. (Their previous highest entry was 2000's "One More Time," which peaked at #2.)"Get Lucky" has already hit #1 in France, Italy, Belgium, Denmark and Australia, and become the pair's first Top 20 (let alone Top 40) hit in the States. Guess it'll be one of the contenders for...

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US Chart Roundup: PSY Is A Hag

Somehow, some way, PSY's "Gentleman" video has racked up over 240,000 views on YouTube over the past two weeks, thus enabling the robotic trash jam to jump up to #5 in its second week on the Billboard Hot 100. And to give an idea as to how much that many YouTube plays outweigh actual digital sales, consider the fact that "Gentleman" is current floundering at #60 on iTunes.But screw that garbage — Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" has debuted at #19. Granted,...

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It's Texas' "The Conversation" Video

The return of Texas is one of the musical highlights of the year so far, and less than a month after realizing they had a new single called "The Conversation" out (off the band's forthcoming album of the same name, out May 20), along comes the music video.The clip plays out, naturally, like a recreation of scenes from Francis Ford Coppola's 1974 thriller The Conversation (pretty much a staple of college film classes, no?), and stars Peter Mullan,...

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UK Chart Roundup: Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" Is The Duo's First Top 10 Hit Since "One More Time"

They started out as hit-makers, took a dip in popularity with 2005's not-very-good Human After All, regained their cool sheen with 2010's Tron: Legacy soundtrack, and are now back on top. Well, almost on top.Daft Punk's comeback single "Get Lucky" was released around the globe on Friday at 12:01 a.m., and within two days racked up 50,000 paid downloads in the UK. That's enough to see the Pharrell Williams-featuring song go in at #3 on this week's...

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A Very Urgent Message About Max Martin

Don't get me wrong — I love Max Martin, and think he's basically a modern-day Beethoven. But there's something that I'm just going to take the initiative and come out and say, acting as a mouthpiece for no doubt hordes of other pop fans.First of all, above and below, you'll see photos of Max from the 2013 ASCAP Pop Awards earlier this week, where he was named Songwriter Of The Year for a third year in a row, and the sixth time overall.And below you'll...

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It's Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" (Radio Edit)

Has there been a more buzzed-about, hyped or leaked-in-pieces song in 2013 than Daft Punk's "Get Lucky," the first single off the upcoming Random Access Memories (out May 21)? The song was officially made available to purchase today, via iTunes and the Amazon MP3 store. And if you need a recap, Pharrell does the vocals, Nile Rodgers does the disco and the robots do the razzle dazzle.Enough rambling about this damn single. Here it ...

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US Chart Roundup: Pink Lands Her Fourth #1 Single With "Just Give Me A Reason"

I'm glad that Bruno Mars only had one week at #1 with "When I Was Your Man," which, quite frankly, is a one of the more sap-laden ballads in recent memory. And I'm also glad it was Pink who knocked him off the top of the Hot 100."Just Give Me A Reason" now marks Pink's fourth trip to the top of the chart, following "Lady Marmalade" (2001), "So What" (2008) and "Raise Your Glass" (2010). Maybe I should actually listen to her latest album, The Truth...

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A Daft Punk 'Random Access Memories' Roundup

In case you've missed the Daft Punk deluge over the past couple of weeks... 1. Daft Punk feat. Pharrell Williams & Nile Rodgers, "Get Lucky" (the actual full song a slick loop by some stan)2. "Get Lucky" (partial video clip shown during Saturday Night Live this past weekend)3. Creator's Project interview with Daft Punk collaborator Giorgio Moroder4. Creator's Project interview with Daft Punk collaborator Todd Edwards5. Creator's Project interview...

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PSY's "Gentleman" Video Is...

Five days after it premiered, now that I've had to properly digest the masterwork that is PSY's "Gentleman" video, I kind of feel about this trash the same way I did about "Gangnam Style": it'll never be a hit.Goes to show what I know. 117 million views later...

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Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding's "I Need Your Love" Video, For All You Calvin & Ellie Shippers

I'm not sure if Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding are actually hitting it, but they appear to be very loved up in the video for "I Need Your Love" (aka the best song on Calvin's 18 Months album). Skrillex is probably somewhere shaving his eyebrows in fury.This video makes me miss L...

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UK Chart Roundup: Ding Dong! Show Us Your Tits, Baby

The 74-year-old, 50-second-long Wizard Of Oz soundtrack tune "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead" has to settle for a #2 entry in the UK, following a campaign to get the song to the top of the chart after the death of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.It's my firm belief that if she had released at least one or two sex tapes over the years, the song would have been #1.Oh, well...The UK Top 10:1. "Need U (100%)" - Duke Dumont feat. A*M*E *2 weeks*2....

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Kelly Clarkson Is Doing A Christmas Album

Kelly Clarkson is currently recording a Christmas album, something she either mentioned herself during an online chat or Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn let out of the bag by posting the info on Facebook.Either way, great opportunity to post the above pic of Keluminescent wearing a Santa hat and looking like a possessed e...

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US Chart Roundup: Little Mix Fly With "Wings"

Bruno Mars' second Unorthodox Jukebox single, "When I Was Your Man," is now his second to top the Billboard Hot 100. It's just the type of run-of-the-mill radio fodder that whores who think they've been cheated out of love because they take cash for pussy eat up. So good for you, Bruno, for being intuitive enough to tap into that market!Elsewhere, while Justin Timberlake's "Mirrors" drops one position to #12 (I'm over it), his third solo album The...

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Last Week I Interviewed 98 Degrees, Bright Light Bright Light & Del Marquis

It was a busy first week in New Yo...

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Watch Bright Light Bright Light Perform New Song "In Your Care" Live In New York

This past Friday, I caught Bright Light Bright Light's superb first performance at Joe's Pub in New York with a full band. (Read my review of the show.) I snapped the above pics, and many more can be viewed on my Tumblr. (Are you broads following me there yet?!)One of the highlights: BLx2's (aka Rod Thomas) doing the fully-produced version of new song "In Your Care." I shot this video, which didn't turn out to be as ratchet in quality as I was expecting:Another...

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Jessie Ware's "Imagine It Was Us" Video Has Me Falling Deeper And Deeper

Jessie Ware's debut Devotion made my Best Albums list in 2012 for its original UK release. On April 15, the Gold Edition will be released in her home country, and a day later the album finally sees the light of day, officially, in the US.Tacked on to both is new single "Imagine It Was Us." Xolondon describes it this way: "The video, like the arrangement, has threads of the early 90s." I'll take it one step further and say that the visual is giving...

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UK Chart Roundup: Duke Dumont & A*M*E Thankfully Kick PJ & Duncan To The Curb

Last year's BBC Sounds Of 2013 nominee A*M*E and British DJ Duke Dumont finally break through with their joint single "Need U (100%)" — a number that doesn't sway from the current trend of retro-'90s dance/house throwbacks — which debuts at #1 in the UK this week.It's good stuff for many reasons, not the least of which is that it bumps actual '90s reheated semi-flop-turned-viral-hit "Let's Get Ready To Rhumble" by PJ & Duncan off the top of the...

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US Chart Roundup: Thank God Justin Timberlake Is Here To Erase The Memory Of Justin Bieber

Justin Timberlake's "Mirrors" has climbed to #11, making everything right in the world this week. Over on the Billboard 200 album chart, JT's The 20/20 Experience is tops for a second week, and has sold 1.29 million copies in just 14 days.The U.S. Top 10:1. "Thrift Shop" - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Wanz *6 weeks*2. "When I Was Your Man" - Bruno Mars3. "Suit & Tie" - Justin Timberlake feat. Jay-Z4. "Harlem Shake" - Baauer5. "Just Give...

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Texas Return With 'The Conversation'

To give you an idea how much I've been living under a rock these past two months, I had zero clue that Texas were back! Ageless, genderless goddess Sharleen Spiteri & Co.'s first album since 2005 is The Conversation, and it's out worldwide on May 20. Bonus: Suede/McAlmont & Butler/Duffy mastermind Bernard Butler worked on the record!Title track "The Conversation," the lead single, was made available on iTunes last week.The song's pretty rad,...

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