QTheMusic.com

Thursday, 13 October

Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman Karen O did what no one is calling a Damon Albarn (but should be), but making the move from indie band fronting into staging an opera. Stop The Virgens opened last night at St Ann's Warehouse in New York and runs until October 22. According to reports, the work is more of song cycle than a fully plotted production, but features "virgins" who are dropped into a new world with O as a mother figure, cue sexual awareness, a "Dionysian party" and of course remorse and regret. Costumes for the show were created with Christian Joy who designs the singer's regular onstage wear.
Nytimes.com

It's a good job The Velvet Underground formed years ago, as Lou Reed and John Cale weren't exactly equal opportunity employers initially. There was "a lot of struggle with having other female members in the band, and it always had ended up as a competition between Lou and I as to who was going to get the girl," says Cale today, although Andy Warhol's introduction of singer Nico, unsettled the two bucks. "Lou and I were sort of startled," he adds. "Moe [Tucker, drummer] didn't know what to make of it. And Sterling [Morrison, guitar/bass] was harumphing . . . But, y'know, after a little bit, you got to understand Andy, and that was really pure Andy. Everybody suddenly started looking at us in a different way."
Thequietus.com

Celebrating 15 years online, NME.com have named Radiohead's Paranoid Android as the best song released in its lifetime, though it seems we've been short changed, the song could have been twice as long. "Originally it had a ten-minute organ outro, which ultimately we ditched and replaced with the rain down section," the band's Colin Greenwood tells the birthday boys and girls. "Was that the right decision? I think so, but sometimes I regret the lack of psychedelic, patchouli-soaked organ madness." Either way not bad for a song that was debuted live supporting Alanis Morissette. Arcade Fire, The Strokes, Outkast and The Killers are among the 150 songs to make the rest of the list.
NME.com

The nominees for the Association Of Independent Music's first ever awards have been announced. The likes of Adele, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, Arctic Monkeys, Vampire Weekend and more are nominated by the panel of judges (which includes a member of the Q team), while Bjork and Domino Records' Laurence Bell will be honoured at the ceremony on 10 November.
Musicindie.com

Florence And The Machine will launch new album Ceremonials (out 31 October) with one UK show this year at Hackney Theatre in London on 25 October. Tickets go on sale tomorrow.
Florenceandthemachine.net

Diplo and Switch have a new track out, Original Don - but who are they paying tribute to? The Mafia? Don King? Their old Oxbridge professors? Nah, the Don in question is of course Don Draper, Mad Men's most manly man. (via Nymag.com)
Major Lazer - Original Don by Hypetrak

Pixie Lott has told Q all about collaborating with Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Lionel Ritchie and Tinchy Stryder, plus win tickets for her Q Awards Gig on 19 October in London.
Qthemusic.com

Monsters beware, Lady Gaga's team are apparently trying to evict a fansite from Ladygaga.org for cyber squatting - or possibly that really bad photo of the singer with Cher that's in the news section...
Styleite.com

Check out a new untitled, seven minute-long Spiritualized song captured by a fan at their recent Royal Albert Hall gig. (Via Onethirtybpm.com)

Following Kanye West's visit to the Occupy Wall Street protest, Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello is set to unleash the power that brought down X-Factor on the city fatcats by performing with his band The Nightwatchmen today at noon.
Rollingstone.com

Noel Gallagher is streaming his new solo long player over at his official site until 5pm (BST) today.
Noelgallagher.com

Our current issue of Q (Q304) features 25 covers (plus two bonus front pages) as we celebrate our birthday. Each day we're giving you an exclusive extract and yesterday Red Hot Chili Peppers told us why they prefer Macca to Lennon. Plus look out for today's extract.
Qthemusic.com

Proof that Axl Rose still hasn't brought a watch after the Reading Festival debacle last year when the sound was cut to Guns'N'Roses set after they went on late... er the band went on late at Rock In Rio. The band took the stage 2.40am, but it was according to their statement it's the organisers fault for not giving them enough time to prepare properly.
Billboard.com

Listen again to Q Radio's interview with Professor Green. Danielle Perry quizzes the rapper about his forthcoming new album, his face on T-shirts and more.
PROFESSOR GREEN by Danielle Perry

"It's a Horror Show, you should come on round", is presumably how the director of Rock And Roll Ruck N Lovely recruited Pete Doherty to appear in the horror film out later this year. Or perhaps there was a more appropriate Babyshambles lyric as Mik Whitnall from the band is in it too.
The-fly.co.uk

Our presale for Frank Turner's Wembley Arena gig has started, get sorted for his Friday 13th show (13 April 2012) 24 hours before anyone else, plus check out out Q&a with the man himself.
Qthemusic.com

The Muppets are covering Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit, that is all (actually they're doing Cee Lo's Forget You and four new songs written by Flight Of The Conchords' Brett McKenzie for their next film too).
Billboard.com

Diddy had dinner with Kanye West in New York, that really is all...
People.com

Today's Track of the Day - Q Awards special - is a Miles Kane with Inhaler.

That's it for today - more tomorrow at the same time, around noon.

12:00 PM | 13/10/2011