Just had to get that upgrade? There is a lake in China filled with the toxic, radioactive sludge that is the byproduct of your new smartphone.

"Santa's elves" work for a pittance mass fabricating your useless holiday trinkets.

A few weeks ago, we posted Lauryn Hill's latest track “Consumerism.” Now, Ms. Hill has made a lyric video available via the interwebz. If you're anything like me (and like to learn the lyrics of songs), you may need to hit replay a few times. This one's a doozy.

So … you know Black Francis … the front man of Pixies … yeah, that one … well, apparently, he's got another project in mind. A project that will take the form of a graphic novel, titled The Good Inn. The novel, which will be illustrated by Steven Appleby, is described as “a fantastical piece of illustrated fiction based on a yet-to-be-written soundtrack to a movie that doesn't yet exist.” The book is scheduled to be published in the UK in May of 2014, so you still got time to save the dough.

It was announced a few weeks back that The Velvet Underground's fantastic White Light/White Heat was getting a 3-disc reissue, which hits stores on Dec. 10, to commemorate its 45th anniversary. Now, a recording of a 19-minute live version of the track “Sister Ray,” which was performed at The Gymnasium in 1967, has become available online. You can listen to that below.

I do believe it's time for the album streamage to commence. Well, it's always that time because there's always something coming out. But now, you can stream Snoopzilla and Dam Funk's collaboration (7 Days of Funk) over at NPR. Mind you, it’s only available for the next week. And you can also stream R. Kelly's latest album, Black Panties (for real?), at VIBE.

Primal Scream released the so-so More Light earlier this year, and now they've come out with a video for the track “Goodbye Johnny.” The sometimes black-and-white, sometimes color vid is as underwhelming as the album, but who am I to criticize? You can view the video below.

Drum roll please … the lineup for Austin Psych Fest has been revealed. And this one's got some good stuff. From Black Lips to Primal Scream to The Black Angels to The Zombies to The Horrors and more, it should be a formidable celebration of aural magic. The festival happens May 2 – 4, 2014, and weekend passes will run you about $127. Not too bad. Head over to Consequence of Sound for the full lineup and more info.

I'm sure most people couldn't have predicted how huge Lorde would get, but I'm kind of happy to encounter a pop singer who actually has something to say. And so are a lot of other people because apparently the release of her new video (for the track “Team”) caused Vevo to crash. Not bad, Lorde. Not bad.

Just in case you're curious as to how Jay Z would rank his own albums.

So who wants to see Joan Jett and the Blackhearts play their classic track “Bad Reputation”? We do! The band played the track in their Guitar Center Sessions performance, which airs on DirecTV tonight at 9pm EST. But you can view them performing the track below.

I like Devendra Banhart's quirkiness. It fits not only the style of music he creates, but often the visuals that go along with it. (Did I mention he's a talented artist who does most of his album artwork?) In keeping with that mentality, Banhart has released a video for the track “Taurobolium.” The animated video, titled “Mondo Taurobolium,” also features Rose McGowan, as she and Banhart (appearing as ducks), venture through a psychedelic City of Angels. You can view the video here.

I know that I've mentioned the Coen brothers upcoming flick, Inside Llewyn Davis, because of its major folky soundtrack. I also mentioned that there would be a concert special for the film (back in September), and now a video has surfaced of Jack White performing his awesome track “We're Going To Be Friends.” The concert, titled Another Day, Another Time is scheduled to air on Showtime on Dec. 13, but this video should tide you over.

Now that Lauryn Hill is a free woman (after having spent a little under three months in prison for tax evasion), she can get back to work! And Hill has wasted no time: She just released a new track, titled “Consumerism.” Her fast rhyming moves over a scattered beat … and a lot of ism's get thrown around, but hey, it's Lauryn Hill, man. Also, the track is said to be the first part of a collection titled Letters From Exile. Judging from this, I'm sure the second part will be interesting.

David Byrne (of Talking Heads fame) has written an editorial piece in which he asserts that economic inequality in New York has stunted creative culture.

Fiona Apple played a new song at a show in Portland, Ore., right before she asked a heckler to leave for allegedly telling her to “get healthy.” The sound quality isn't great considering it was recorded from a live show, but it's good to hear something new from what I consider one of our generation's most elusive and genius minds. You can also hear her duet with Blake Mills, titled “Tipple,” over at Consequence of Sound.

Don't you just love it when music awards season hits? Or at least a portion of it. For interested parties, the nominees for the 2013 American Music Awards have been announced. And the musical line-up for the 2013 Soul Train Awards has also been made public by the folks over at Billboard.

It seems that David Byrne isn't the only one who wanted to write about his artistic pursuits this past week. Madonna wrote an essay for Harper's Bazaar about her early work and her so-called “daring.” In the essay she talks about her expectations vs. the reality of moving to New York, being raped at knifepoint, her marriages and more.

I pretty much stopped paying attention to Interpol after Turn On The Bright Lights, and after hearing that Paul Banks had attempted a rap album earlier this year (Everybody on My Dick Like They Supposed To Be), that further cemented my disinterest. But now, Banks is collaborating with RZA (of Wu-Tang Clan) on a record, which they've been recording for the past six months. This should be interesting.

I'm sure them little monsters are jumping for joy this week. Lady Gaga revealed not only the cover art for her new album, ARTPOP, but she also shared the tracklist and a new track, “Aura.” She released the track as a lyric video, which also contains clips and pieces of the Robert Rodriguez flick Machete Kills. You can see that below.

A lot of people know Questlove from his work with The Roots. A lot of people see him every night on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.” A lot of people may not know who Questlove is, and for those who don't, there's always time. But now Questlove has written a book, titled Soul Train: The Music, Dance, and Style of a Generation, which hits shelves on Oct. 22. Thanks for the astute warning, man.

I first encountered Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings while wandering Austin City Limits in search of water or whiskey or my friends who had wandered away. They were playing lively funk, and Jones' voice was magnetic. Now Jones and company have shared a new video for their track “Retreat!” from their forthcoming album Give The People What They Want. The album doesn't come out 'til January, but you can listen to this snazzy track until that fateful day arrives.

I mentioned a few weeks back that Pixies had come out with a new release (EP-1). They've been slowly making the rounds on network television appearances, and now they've shared a video for their track “Andro Queen.” The video is directed by Ondi Timoner (Dig).