My Chemical Romance have resurfaced from their extended break to release a video for their cover of Bob Dylan’s song “Desolation Row,” to be featured in the upcoming Watchmen movie.

The band announced the pending release on their blog yesterday, along with a link to a 30-second preview.  The full version is now available to download on iTunes for $1.99.

The song is a radical reworking of Dylan’s nine-minute-plus ballad, trimmed to a lean three minutes and given an aggressive, punk-style makeover that hearkens back to MCR’s I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love days.

Arriving at the sound was no accident, as Gerard Way told MTV News: “[It's] punk but not in a modern punk sense. We really went for that Sex Pistols-type sound . . .  In fact, when we did the guitars, we brought in Marshall heads and ’50s Les Paul customs. So basically, relative things set up as the Pistols to get that sound. And the mixing was done accordingly as well. It’s very distorted and it’s very trashy.”

As for the video, Gerard is back in his pale complexioned, red-rimmed eyed glory, looking again to the band’s past.  The entire band is outfitted in gritty punk style, with leather and studs abounding among reds, blacks, and whites and dirty denim.  Guitarist Frank Iero sports a tattered Union Jack on his jacket, another subtle nod to the obvious.

The punk homages don’t stop there, with Iero also rocking a Misfits-inspired hairdo, and even the ever carefully coiffed Mikey Way thrashing his mane into a mess that Sid Vicious could be proud of.

Glimpses of drummer Bob Bryar’s bloody mouth, guitarist Ray Toro’s equally bloody nose, and Gerard Way’s black eye and bandaged brow give a sinister vibe to the already gritty affair — foreshadowing for the video’s chaotic conclusion that set many a fangirl’s heart a flutter.

Despite Gerard and Mikey Way working on their respective comic books, Frank Iero touring with side project Leathermouth, and the others working on their own projects, it’s obvious that My Chemical Romance still have their amazing chemistry.  It’s a small comfort to see that commercial success, marriage, and family haven’t diminished My Chemical Romance’s ambition, or perhaps more importantly their dark sense of humor and flair for the dramatic.

U2 fans (including yours truly) were treated to a one-two punch of their much-missed Irish heroes Sunday and today.

On January 18, HBO broadcast the We Are One Inaugural Celebration, featuring such diverse performers as Beyonce, Usher, Jon Bon Jovi, and U2.

“What a thrill for four Irish boys . . . to honor you, sir.”

U2 have played to some magnificent backdrops–Slane Castle and Red Rocks among them–and the Lincoln Memorial was a fitting location for a moving rendition of “Pride (In The Name of Love).”  You could hear the emotion and the weight of the moment on Bono’s voice, and despite the bitter cold, every member of the band was beaming.  From there, the band segued into the soaring, hopeful “City of Blinding Lights,” which Bono dedicated to the man of the hour, President-elect Barack Obama.  A few creative lyrical changes only made the song more perfect for the moment.

Some have derided the Irishmen’s presence at the most American of celebrations, but I would argue no band has more faithfully and interestedly chronicled the American political and cultural experience of the past quarter-century like U2.  It’s most appropriate that they be present for this unprecedented time of change and rebirth.

If you missed the show, you can catch one of the rebroadcasts on HBO, or hbo.com.  Also, check out this YouTube video of U2’s performance.

Get On Your Boots

U2 followed their spectacular reemergence into the musical spotlight by releasing the first single from their forthcoming album, No Line On The Horizon, online.

You can listen to “Get On Your Boots” (and read the lyrics) for free at U2.com.

Apparently, Barack Obama’s Inauguration.

It’s been three months since Amanda Palmer’s blog about the future of the Dresden Dolls, where she described the issues the Dolls were experiencing and the reasons why partner/drummer Brian Viglione had said the band was “over.”

Despite the relish with which she has embraced her solo project and tour, it is obvious that the separation has been a painful one for Amanda.  She mentions seeing him at shows with the excitement of a kid sister getting a visit from big brother.  The joy with which she talked about playing with Brian on New Year’s Eve was palpable.

I think Amanda is just as excited about this  “reunion” as the most fervent Dolls fans.  Perhaps even more so.  Regardless, it’ll be great to see how the time apart has affected both Brian’s and Amanda’s onstage chemistry, and where (if anywhere) the Dolls will go from there.  Will they continue to move in their separate directions?  Or, will they not be able to stay away from each other?

I’m a big fan of electronic, experimental, and especially dance-rock music.  Because many of my favorite bands that fall in this genre don’t get a great deal of mainstream exposure, I count on recommendations from fellow music fans or services like Last.fm to find new music.

Two bands who have consistently come highly recommended for people with similar musical tastes to my own are MGMT and Cut Copy.  So, I decided to sample each band’s album and try to expand my horizons.

MGMT

MGMT’s album Oracular Spectacular starts out with the mellow single “Time To Pretend.” The sounds are lush and layered, with a 70s-pop vibe, almost Pink-Floyd-like.  The record chills even further with “Weekend Wars,” with the vocals evoking John Lennon.  As I sampled through the record, I kept waiting for something a bit more up-tempo, lest I fall asleep (or go out in search of some special brownies to complement the sound), but the closest  Oracular Spectacular ever comes is the Hustle-tempo “Electric Feel” and the head-bopping “Kids,” with its catchy synth hook.

Sounding like Arcade Fire with a little more of an electro bent, I can see why MGMT are indie darlings right now.  Quality musicianship aside, it certainly wasn’t what I was looking for, or expecting when I was recommended them as a fan of dance-rock and electro-pop.  This trippy duo is just a little too…  whoa, man….

Cut Copy

Greeted by a similar fluttery synth opening when I hit play on Cut Copy’s album In Ghost Colours, I feared I was going to go 0 for 2 in my quest for a new band to really get behind.  I was pleasantly surprised when opening track “Feel The Love” picked up a poppy background beat, the tempo a toe-tapping buoy for a sound every bit as lush and layered as that of MGMT.  The songs flow from one to another, something that appeals to me and is more common with dance-rock albums.  The dreamy little synth-effect interludes (“We Fight For Diamonds,” “Voices In Quartz,” “Silver Thoughts”) give the flow a bit of variety and help with the tempo changes.  Cut Copy approaches MGMT’s laid-back vibe on “Strangers In The Wind,” but they avoid getting too mired in the psychadelic haze, and halfway through the song the dance beat is back.

The music has an obvious club influence and wonderful flow.  It was easy for me to listen to this album straight through, rather than with MGMT’s, where I felt like I was slogging through, struggling to stay awake.  The 80s New Wave influences are everywhere, especially on single “Hearts on Fire,” which has New Order written all over it.

And the winner is…

Cut Copy’s In Ghost Colours.

These two albums and bands have far less in common than I would have believed upon having them recommended to me, and Cut Copy appeals to me more as a fan of new wave music.  MGMT feel like they get lost in all that sound — a little too meandering for me.  If anything, this is a prime example of how “Other Bands You Might Be Interested In…” can be like night and day.

In a letter to their fans posted this weekend, Innerpartysystem (my favorite discovery of 2008) wrote about the difficulties they’ve experienced getting exposure for the video to their single “Don’t Stop.”  The line, apparently, is that the video is too edgy, or too visually intense.  So, a bit reluctantly, the band remade the video.

Never ones to quietly bend over and just take what they’re given (someone must have misplaced the ball gags from the original video), Innerpartysystem have still managed to include plenty of subtly disturbing imagery.  They’ve even brought their creepy newscasters back to take in the new show, complete with quasi-Johnny Carson.

With the brutally overwhelming social commentary cut or at least softened, there is now room for the band to be showcased front and center.  While I know the guys have an aversion to pin-up superstardom — hence the obscuring shadow and backlighting — people like to see what they’re buying (or buying into).  A face makes it easier for the masses to relate to music that is a bit more challenging than your usual pop fare; it gives them something to connect with, an investment, something to keep them hooked while everything else sinks in.  It’s not always so much about selling the band’s image as it is making that personal connection.  This is why bands can make or break themselves live.

This is also where I think Innerpartysystem does themselves a great favor, because their live show adds hot blood and a pounding heartbeat to the already intense electronic beats and grinding guitars, which gives the music a dimension that isn’t possible on a recording.  The performance footage of the band in the new video gives a peek at that live show intensity, however, and adds a level of immediacy that wasn’t in the original video, which had a more cerebral and detached feel.

Innerpartysystem has had a banner year, coming up from obscurity to making a noticeable dent in both the UK and US music scenes.  I know it was a difficult decision to revisit the single and video they used to establish a baseline for what their band is about.  I think it was the right decision, though.  After capturing the attention of the music industry and fans of intelligent, provocative music and visuals, this reworking gives the band a chance to broaden their appeal and continue to develop new opportunities to get out their music and message.  It’s not a matter of redoing something that wasn’t done right the first time; it’s expanding and enhancing what’s already been done to take it to the next level.

Innerpartysystem are ready.

I’ve had so many interesting experiences I want to blog about that I decided to take a break in the middle of the week to look back on years past.  In January, I’m going to highlight my best music experiences of 2008.

It’s only fitting to kick off this series by writing about my favorite musical discovery of the past year.

This is entertainment/Lies are entertainment

I was introduced to Innerpartysystem at Kill Hannah’s 2007 New Heart for Xmas V fan show, before getting to know them properly during the summer of 2008 when they rejoined Kill Hannah as a support act on the Hope for the Hopeless tour.  The first impression is indelible.  The wall of lights onstage begins to flash, slave to a beat that builds into an aggressive dance explosion, four black silhouettes writhing with their instruments in the foreground.  The songs flow from one to the other, giving the audience no time to catch their breath and leaving little room for banter or any other filler.  The audience is left wondering if they just saw a band play or a night of chemical-fueled excess pass before them onstage.

Nothing’s too excessive/When you’ve got nothing left

The music is rock-driven electronic dance, with witty and provocative lyrics that both revel in and revile today’s fame-driven culture.  They explore the edgier side of human nature: obsessive love, the excess of the party and club scene found thriving in major cities, disillusionment.  The beats are relentless, with refrains that have the whole audience jumping, hands in the air, screaming along.  In addition to the intense live show, Innerpartysystem has engaged their love of all things visual with disturbingly engrossing promotional videos, as well as vaguely sinister music videos to Don’t Stop and Die Tonight, Live Forever.  They strive to engage all the senses with their work.

We’re all here ‘cos we’ve lost control

The aggressive stage show and lyrics belie four laid-back and friendly guys.  It only takes a few minutes of talking with vocalist Patrick, drummer Jared, keyboardist Jesse and guitarist Kris to realize that these are four intelligent men who have seen and lived a great deal.  They are keenly perceptive and intensely creative, yet absolutely unassuming.  It’s refreshing in a genre full of “musicians” armed with only a laptop and a sense of entitlement.  I think that genuineness translates and makes their themes and presentation accessible to a wide audience, rather than the generic pretentiousness that is all too common in dance-rock.

I will surround your heart with lies/’Til the end

Innerpartysystem were on tour for much of 2008, both in Europe and at home.  They were featured all over television and they were nominated to be featured as part of Yahoo’s “Who’s Next.”  They were also in a Spin magazine contest where they re-enacted a scene from “The Big Lebowski,” which had me wondering what these four Wunderkinder couldn’t do.  2009 looks to be an even bigger year for them.  They are hitting the ground running with a small warm-up tour of the northeastern US before heading back to Europe.  There is also talk of them playing this year’s Warped tour.  Check out their winter tour dates, and if you can’t make it to see them live (which you should, just to experience their mind-melting cover of Joy Division’s “Transmission”), be sure to spend some time on their YouTube Channel.  Their debut EP, The Download EP is a must-buy, and their self-titled full-length album is amazing as well.

Innerpartysystem are one of the increasingly rare perfect storms of talent, ambition, strong work ethic, and fierce belief in a vision of what music should be.  They put every ounce of their effort toward that vision, and it is an all-encompassing experience for the senses, whether live or on disk.