A Few Words On Karen O

The other day here at HAD headquarters, we were discussing the lovely rock and roll goodness that makes up the loveliness that is Ms. Karen O. Over the course of the discussion, it became known that about half of us had seen the above video, and the other half had not. Suffice it to say we are now all educated, and you should be too. Checkit.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Fox Theater Presale This Morning At Ten

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are out and about supporting their latest, It's Blitz!, and that includes two nights at Oakland's Fox Theater on September 9th and 10th. Granted, the venue is general admission, so snagging a spot on the floor probably won't be that much of a challenge. Still, there's no reason not to take advantage of a presale when it falls in your lap, and this morning it's done just that.

Another Planet Entertainment will be hosting the show, and as such they've decided on a presale for this morning at 10. The password is "foxy", and both shows go presale simultaneously. Click here to take your pick, and good luck!

mp3: Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll (James Iha Remix)

New Yeah Yeah Yeahs Video: "Heads Will Roll"

If you like your Karen O wrapped in plastic, being upstaged by a Michael Jackson immitating werewolf, then this is just the Yeah Yeah Yeahs video for you. No, we're not kidding.

That being said, we dig the tune enough to make the bizarro video tolerable. Click above to watch.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Played SNL - Video

Out and about to promote their new record It's Blitz!, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs stopped in at Saturday Night Live, and pretty much nailed it. While we weren't quite as enthralled as we were by Phoenix's performance last week, it was still a completely solid performance. The band played their latest single, "Zero", as well as the now classic "Maps". Performance wise, both were immaculate, but we have to admit that we were kind if surprised (and a bit bummed) that Karen O didn't go a little more batshit crazy up in that piece. Still, you can't argue with the tunage being completely solid, and SNL batting a solid two for two in April thus far. Total win.

Elsewhere On The Interwebs: Karen O, Malkmus, U2, Arcade Fire

We were doing our morning perusal of the interwebs, and stumbled upon a few choice items we thought might catch your interest. If you're so inclined:

• The New York Times interviews Karen O
• A Stephen Malkmus interview at Pitchfork that slipped by us in February
• Pitchfork.tv interviews U2
• The Arcade Fire documentary Miroir Noir - one week only!

Check those out, we'll see you Monday!

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Mark Album Release With Remix and New Vid

The buildup to the physical release of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs new record It's Blitz! has been steadily building over the past few weeks. Well yesterday the album dropped in stores, and along with it came forth the latest batch of hype-building materials from the YYY camp. To be frank, we'd typically be disinclined to buy into this sort of thing, but the record is just so damn good that we can't help ourselves.

First up is the third in the band's mysterious "Snakesweat" videos. Again, we have no idea what these videos mean, or what they're trying to say, but they're just weird enough to peak our interest. In this installment, Karen O takes on the role of "Black Widow" - you can check out the weirdness above.

In addition to the vid, MSTRKRFT has also done a remix of the first single, "Zero". You can stream the remix over at imeem if you're so inclined. To be frank, it's kind of a throwaway if you ask us. It's somewhat interesting, but at the end of the day just ends up feeling artificially clubby. Put differently, we're partial to the original.

And really, that's what it's all about, right? The record? We're guessing you've already managed to get your hands on a copy, but if not do yourself the favor today. Those damn kids in the Yeah Yeah Yeahs just never seem to disappoint.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Drop It's Blitz Album Stream, Video Goodness

We've been following the buildup to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' latest It's Blitz (which drops today), and we keep liking what we see (and hear) more and more. This week's entry into the album-hype department is a video for the single "Zero", and a full stream of the new record.

The video (above) is definitely aping heavily on 80's influences (much like the band's new sound), and what's more it's filmed (at least partially) right here in San Francisco! The video opens on Market Street outside of the Golden-Voiceified Warfield, and there are more than a couple of scenes with recognizable alleys and street corners.

The album stream, meanwhile, was over at the band's myspace page. We say "was" because it only streamed for one day: March 7th, when we were conspicuously out-of-touch. (More on that later.) That being said, the album is now most certainly out and about - if you can just find a way in your pretty little heads to dream up where you might find it.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Release Another Bizarro Promo Video: "The Philosopher"

Okay, we think we get where they're going with this: Nick was "The Scientist", and now Brian's "The Philosopher" (see above). What shall Karen be, we wonder?

Still, that being said, we still don't really "get" it. If someone at the Yeah Yeah Yeahs camp could explain to us what german-accent-narrated MacBook movies with strange themes have to do with their sick new record It's Blitz, we'd be very much appreciative.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Continue Album Release Hype With Weirdo Videos

No, we can't really tell you what this means, or even really what it is. Suffice it to say that an abstract black and white video with German accented narration is the latest offering from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on the road to their new album. Here's the best we can do: Germans like synths, the new record has synths, make video with German narrator? Exactly. See? No idea. Anyone? Bueller?

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Ramp Up For Record Release, Stream Single "Zero"

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs' imminent record release of It's Blitz! is certainly no secret: the album drops on April 14th, and the band is hitting multiple summer festivals (with more US dates on the way) in its support. However, up until now, we hadn't heard anything off the new record. The first single, "Zero", drops next week on iTunes, but apparently the band has decided to offer up a bit of a taster, and the track is now streaming on imeem.

To our ears, the track is pretty classic Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but with a new significantly more synthy twist. We'd love to play it snarky and say that the band is coming on a bit late to the synthpop bandwagon, but the fact of the matter is that this track is completely killer, and we've been listening to it on repeat for about the last hour. Karen O's vocals are in top form, and the band does a bang up job at delivering a solid dose of balls-to-the-wall rock and roll. Have a listen.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Summer 2009 Dates
Apr 19 2009 Coachella Indio, California
Apr 29 2009 Paradiso Amsterdam
Apr 30 2009 Bataclan Paris
May 2 2009 Polsslag Festival Hasselt
May 3 2009 Live Music Hall Cologne
May 4 2009 Magazzini Generali Milan
May 6 2009 Columbiahalle Berlin
May 8 2009 Debaser Medis Stockholm
May 23 2009 Sasquatch Festival QUINCY, Washington
Jun 12 2009 Bonnaroo Manchester, Tennessee
Jul 10 2009 T In The Park Kinross, Scotland
Jul 11 2009 Oxegen Festival Punchestown, Dublin

NASA Readies For Takeoff, New Album, Show At Mezzanine

We have to admit that albums in the "producers round up their favorite artists and release a record that features one artist on each track" category tend to be ones that we avoid. That being said, what we're hearing out of the N.A.S.A. camp is really too good to ignore. The duo consists of DJ's Squeak E. Clean and DJ Zegon, and is apparently their attempt at unifying important artists from North and South America (hence the acronym, N.A.S.A.).

Their new record, The Spirit Of Apollo, drops next week and features an artist lineup that boggles the mind. It includes David Byrne, Karen O, Seu Jorge, MIA, Santogold, Ol' Dirty Bastard, RZA, Del The Funky Homosapien among many, many others. It's a veritable indie/hiphop dance record dream list and the first track we've heard ("Whachadoin?", below) is totally fantastic. What's more, the band will be touring in support of the record and dropping in at Mezzanine on Februrary 28th. Tickets are on-sale now.

N.A.S.A. Spring 2009 Tour
Feb 11 2009 Social Club Paris, Ile-de-France
Feb 12 2009 Old Room @ Melkweg Amsterdam, Noord-Holland
Feb 13 2009 Les Generiques Festival @ La Vapeur Dijon, Bourgogne
Feb 14 2009 Petrol Antwerp, Antwerp
Feb 26 2009 Casbah San Diego, California
Feb 28 2009 Mezzanine San Francisco, California
Mar 2 2009 Holocene Portland, Oregon
Mar 3 2009 Nectar Lounge Seattle, Washington
Mar 6 2009 Triple Rock Social Club Minneapolis, Minnesota
Mar 7 2009 The Abbey Pub Chicago, Illinois
Mar 9 2009 El Mocambo Toronto, Ontario
Mar 10 2009 La Sala Rossa Montreal, Quebec
Mar 11 2009 Harper’s Ferry Boston, Massachusetts
Mar 12 2009 Le Poisson Rouge New York, New York
Mar 13 2009 Barbary Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 14 2009 Rock & Roll Hotel NE, Washington DC
Apr 17 2009 Coachella Indio, California

mp3: NASA - Whachadoin? (feat. Spank Rock, M.I.A., Santo Gold, & Nick Zinner)