WTF. (via Brian)

1961 The Paris Sisters: “I Love How You Love Me”
1963 The Ronettes: “Be My Baby”
1979 Gary Numan: “Cars”
1980 Young Marble Giants: Colossal Youth
1983 New Order: “Blue Monday”
1989 Chris Knox: “Not Given Lightly”
1994 Saint Etienne: “Like a Motorway”
1995 Pulp: Different Class
1997 White Town: “Your Woman”

Full list

Great to see Mr. Knox on the list, among others.

One of my favorite people on the planet, Tom Waits, is releasing a limited edition, hand-numbered 78 RPM record to benefit the Preservation Hall Junior Jazz & Heritage Brass Band. Waits has collaborated with the aforementioned, elaborately named jazz ensemble to record “Tootie Ma Was A Big Fine Thing” and “Corrine Died On The Battlefield,” which were originally recorded in 1947 by Danny Barker. The songs also happen to be the earliest recorded examples of Mardi Gras Indian chants. Since not so many of us have victrolas just lying around, Preservation Hall is also releasing a 78 player to go with the record on November 19, 2010. There will be only 504 copies of the 78 and the record player made, so start stocking your PayPal account now because this stuff will invariably end up on eBay for exorbitant prices.

Gorillaz rolled into the Ed Sullivan Theater yesterday to play “Rhinestone Eyes” (can’t get enough of that keyboard line in the chorus) for The Late Show with David Letterman. The audience was then treated to a bonus 45 minute set that CBS was kind enough to post on its website for your enjoyment:

Tim Kasher told Spinner that his new single “Cold Love” (off his debut solo record The Game of Monogamy) is about “how routine sex can become in relationships.” The video takes this germ to farcical comedic levels, as Kasher and his girlfriend punk each other in increasingly gross ways. I spent the entire video trying to figure out who plays his girlfriend because she looked so familiar. I failed, so I turned to Google. It’s Molly Parker, whom you may remember from Deadwood or the much-too-short-lived Swingtown. I discovered her connection to Kasher at IMDb. Parker is starring in the film adaptation of Kasher’s first screenplay entitled Help Wanted Nights (which is also the title of the fourth record by Kasher’s side-show away from Cursive, The Good Life).

Steve Albini says seemingly outrageous things in interviews, but he never comes across as glib or unprepared. The guy means what he says, and he’s actually thought about his opinions before giving them. He’s one of the most uncompromising musicians I’ve ever admired. Sure, he can sound like an asshole, but he makes sense. Most of the headlines about his recent Q&A with GQ focus on the lashes he gives Sonic Youth for signing to a major label, but they’re just the simple example in a much bigger picture. His over-arching point gets lost in the supposed “controversy” of his remarks, which is in regard to mainstream culture as a whole: