We say goodbye … Last week, we said goodbye to the last surviving founding member of The Ramones: drummer Tommy Ramone. He was 65 and had been battling cancer. If you know anything about The Ramones, there really is nothing left to say, other than we’ll always have the music. RIP Tommy and a safe journey to the worlds beyond. EDITOR’S NOTE: As of press time, it was also announced that legendary blues guitarist Johnny Winter passed away at the age of 70. We bid you a kind farewell, sir. Rest in peace.Dream of the streamIt’s finally here, y’all. Well, not here exactly, but you can now stream La Roux’ new record Trouble in Paradise. Though the record doesn’t come out till next week, this’ll at least give you an opportunity to decide whether you wanna drop some coin for it. Happy listening! And since we’re on the topic of album streamage, why not check out White Fence’s The Recently Found Innocent over at NPR. Assuming you can’t wait for it to drop on the 22nd.Audio/VisualIf there’s a fun video out there right now, Jenny Lewis’ visual for “Just One of the Guys” takes the cake. The single comes off her latest solo record (The Voyager), which hits stores on July 29. What makes the video so good are probably the dude-bro performances by such notable actresses as Kristen Stewart (Panic Room), Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables) and Brie Larson (Short Term 12 (!)). Donning men’s tracksuits and mustaches, it’s pretty laughable and great. Have a looksie below.Stuart Murdoch’s long-in-the-works film (God Help the Girl) is finally getting its release date. Oh, and the official motion picture soundtrack too. The film hits movie theaters in the US on Sept. 5, and the soundtrack will be available in stores on Sept. 2, which isn’t too far off. The Belle and Sebastian singer-songwriter wrote and directed the movie after some hefty crowd-funding and whatnot. Most of us already know that he’s a great musician, but what of his prowess as a filmmaker? We’ll soon find out. You can listen to a cut from the soundtrack below. PS: The film also stars Emily Browning (of Sucker Punch and Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events), who sings the aforementioned track.What is a world without “Weird Al” Yankovic parodying the obsessions of his modern compatriots. If it wasn’t Nirvana, it was Lady Gaga; nothing really seems to be off limits for Mr. Al. Now he’s decided to take on Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” with a song called “Word Crimes,” which aims to teach people how to use proper grammar. The song comes off his latest record (Mandatory Fun), which is out now. But have a listen of the track below. You can also head here to see his parody of Pharrell’s “Happy” or here to see his parody of Lorde’s “Royals.”Good news for good news loversSince you can’t really find music shows on MTV anymore (unless you have weird cable channels that give you MTV 2, 3, 4, 5 …), there’s little in the way of seeing interactions between various musicians on cable television. To remedy that, VH1 has come out with a new series (“SoundClash”) that puts various artists on stage together to give it more of a music festival feel. The first episode airs on July 23 and has performances from Fall Out Boy, T.I. and London Grammar. You can head to Stereogum to view those performances now. How’s that for a special preview?I first heard of Vashti Bunyan from interviews with Devendra Banhart, in which he listed her as a major influence. That was during my “freak folk” phase. Singer-songwriter Bunyan released her first album in 1970 and waited 35 years to come out with her second offering. And now, the third album approaches. Titled Heartleap, that will see the light of day in October, but you can take a listen to the record’s opening track (“Across the Water”) below. Enjoy!Talk about coming together: Over 700 independent record labels have gathered to form the “Fair Digital Deals Declaration,” which seeks to make a more cohesive and transparent policy in regards to how they deal with their artists. There are five stipulations, one of which is to support artists who oppose unauthorized uses of their music. Another stipulation is to clearly explain downloading and streaming revenues to musicians. Some labels who are taking part are Domino, Drag City, Sub-Pop, Epitaph and Saddle Creek. Head over to Billboard to read more about that.‘Member how I told yous guys that Jordan Knight (of New Kids on the Block) and Nick Carter (of Backstreet Boys) were becoming a dynamic duo (Nick & Knight)? That’s still true. In fact, they’ve put out their debut single “One More Time.” Their self-titled album doesn’t hit stores until Sept. 2, but I’m sure they wanted their single to gain traction, what with it being somewhat of a summer jam and all. Listen to the ditty below.Attention: The first official Beatle’s film in 44 years is about to commence! Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard (you know … from “Happy Days”) is gonna direct a documentary about the band’s touring years from 1960 to 1966. The surviving members and spouses of the late members have all signed off on it, so you know it’s going to be fairly legit. The filmmakers are also looking for live footage of The Beatles, so who knows? Your footage could make it into the film. Head to Consequence of Sound to read more ’bout it.
Rooster Roundabout: This Week’s Music Highlights
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