The Future of The Shins

New band members, new label, new songs and a film score are what's in the future for The Shins, an indie band from New Mexico.  The band hit the road in early May and will be touring the rest of the month.  

Former bassist Marty Crandall and drummer Jesse Sandoval were recently replaced with Fruit Bats' bassist Ron Lewis and Modest Mouse drummer John Plummer.  The new members learned the current set just a few weeks before tour and will be working on the follow up for the 2007 album Wincing The Night Away.  

Along with new members, there are new songs on the way.  Lead singer and guitarist James Mercer said he's written 30 songs since the last album, but only two of these are currently being played live.  Mercer said, "There seems to be less dwelling on lack of confidence about things and more affirmative feelings in the songs."  

Mercer has also been getting involved with other types of media as well.  He teamed up with Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock to score the film 180 Degrees South, a documentary about climbing and surfing culture.  The songwriters spent a few weeks backpacking in Chile with the filmmakers before starting the writing process.  

Read more about what's new with The Shins from Billboard.  

Below is a very interesting music video of "Turn on Me" from the album Wincing Away the Night.  The video is from their MySpace.  

The Shins - Turn On Me

Taking Back Sunday is "New Again"

Anyone who has heard a new single from the band Taking Back Sunday will notice some changes.  These changes go right along with the title of the new album, New Again, which will be released on June 2.  

This change in style was obviously intentional.  Frontman Adam Lazarra said, "The music behind it is unlike anything we've ever done before."  And guitarist Matt Fazzi told MTV News that he feels the band is really taking a step forward in every aspect.  

Here is a commercial the band made for their new album and upcoming tour. 

The band kicked off their national tour last week in their hometown in New York.  They played lots of old songs for their die-hard fans and played a pretty loose set.  Then they took the stage at the Bamboozle Festival in New Jersey for a crowd of over 40,000.  To read more about this tour kick off check out this article from newsday.com.  

Daft Punk writes scores for upcoming films

Thomas Bangalter, half of the robotic duo Daft Punk, provided the score for French director Gasper Noe's latest film.  The film is titled Enter the Void, and is scheduled to be released at the Cannes Film Festival on May 22. 

Bangalter also provided the daunting score for Noe's 2002 film Irreversible, and with Enter the Void's plot involving ghosts and death, this score is destined to be just as creepy.  Read more about Bangalter's involvement in the film at Pitchfork. 

In other Daft Punk news, the duo is set to write the soundtrack for the Disney movie Tron 2.0.  That film is set to debut in 2011.  According to the UK-based New Musical Express, Jeff Bridges will return for his role and will be directed by Joseph Kosinski.  

 

M.I.A. asks for Oprah's help

Sri Lankan music diva, M.I.A. earned a spot on this year's TIME 100 list of the most influential people on earth.  This is quite impressive considering Oprah Winfrey also made this list. 

These two really influential people met at the TIME 100 gala last Tuesday to talk about some serious issues.  M.I.A. feels like they made a real connection.  According to Pitchfork, She is asking Oprah to do something about the civil wars that are going on in Sri Lanka.  

M.I.A. wrote in her MySpace blog, "OPRAH CAN YOU DO SOMETHING BOUT THESE CAMPS PLEEEEEEASE!"  

It is crazy to think that renegade global musician M.I.A. would be working hand in hand with the Queen of America, Oprah.  To find out more about this civil war against the Tamils in Sri Lanka, check out this article from Channel 4 news.  

GaGa for A Special Lady.

This last April disco queen Lady Gaga took the stage on "American Idol."  The performance was a big step for Lady Gaga in mainstream music.  

Her appearance on the show was very colorful and unlike anything the "Idol" stage has seen before.  She wore a zippered eye patch and a silver leotard.  

"I'm really very grateful more than anything," Lady Gaga told MTV News about the "American Idol" performance, "I mean, I've been working hard, and I've never given up."  Read more about her idol performance in this MTV News article.  Also in that article is a video of an interview with the "Poker Face" singer.  

Besides her recent appearance on television, Gaga's music is making it big within the music industry.  Just recently Chamillionaire has made his own unofficial remix of "Poker Face," and Kid Cudi, Common and Kanye West are using her vocals to make a new cut.  Hear more about this collaboration in this article from MTV News.  

Listen to Lady Gaga on MySpace.   

Bob Dylan: New album, artwork, and collaborations

Together Through Life is the name of Bob Dylan's new album.  It was released on April 28th and received 4 out of 5 stars from Rolling Stone magazine's David Fricke.  Fricke said the album "is a mixed bag of this decade's Dylan - impulsive, caustic, sentimental, long done with the contrived details of contemporary record-making."  Read a more detailed review from Fricke.    

Much of the hype surrounding Together Through Life is because of the collaboration with Robert Hunter.  Dylan collaborated with Grateful Dead's lyricist Hunter on 10 tracks of the new album.  "We could probably write a hundred together if we thought it was important or the right reasons were there," said Dylan about working with Hunter in a recent interview with Rolling Stone.  Read more about the duo here.  

Dylan was on the cover on this week's Rolling Stone and has a feature article that includes more about Hunter, more interviews, and a look into his past cover stories.  

Besides reading about his new album, I stumbled upon some artwork that was done by Dylan.  Rolling Stone has a great photo slide show of some of his artwork.  Check it out, they are very interesting.  

Free Coldplay album? Yes, please!

In light of these economic struggles, on their summer tour Coldplay will be giving away a free live album with every ticket purchase.  The band said, "This album is a thank-you to our fans."

The exclusive album is titled LeftRightLeftRightLeft and includes nine live tracks of songs from all of their previous albums.  Coldplay will also make these tracks available for download during their tour from their official website.  

After announcing this special offer the band said, "Playing live is what we love.  This album is a thank-you to our fans- the people who gives us a reason to do it and the people who make it happen."

Here is a list of bands that are hopping on and off the tour with Coldplay this summer:

• Pete Yorn (May 15-June 4)
• Snow Patrol (June 5-21)
• Amadou & Mariam (July 10-24)
• Elbow (July 25-August 9)
• Howling Bells (May 15-21)
• Kitty Daisy & Lewis (July 25-August 9)

For a complete list of tour dates and locations check this article from MTV News.