If you’ve got some time, please read this new interview with Peaches for OUT Magazine.

I was quite surprised to discover how articulate and interesting Peaches truly is. She’s plenty to say regarding her music, her genre, and her fans (of all orientations), and even manages to namedrop Madonna and Grace Jones! Some of the highlights:

Do you find it strange or annoying that you have so many big name fans — Madonna, Britney Spears — raving about you and still you’ve never really been accepted by the mainstream?
I’m sort of the like the pioneer. The pioneer is always on the ground and everybody pushes off from that point. Personally, I like it this way. I don’t really want to be Madonna or Britney Spears. I really don’t want to be them. I’m happy they’re them and I’m not. I know that in the past and throughout the years a lot of people, even record labels, have told their musicians to be like me — a little bit, but not too much. I feel like I’m lucky because no one tells me what to do.

One of the most radical things on the new album though is this one little line that’s in “Trick or Treat” where you say, “lick my crow’s feet.” I feel like the idea of aging and sexuality –
You can look at Madonna in that way right? She’s 50. It’s controversial for people. Maybe they love it or maybe they think, “Give it up! You’re so old!” There are so many strong women who have so much influence on mainstream culture at this point, there’s no denying them getting older and still being a part of it. It used to be people making fun of older women and men dressing as them. It’s a whole new combination of ageists and the way we view age. There is the whole other side where people are insane about their Botox and stuff like that.

There’s something even more taboo about the idea of a woman not just growing old — gracefully or not — but also still holding onto her sexuality and being seen or presented as a sexual being.
Grace Jones. She’s an amazing example with her little ass sticking out at 60 and doing these fucking amazing and really hardcore shows. I don’t know if you’ve seen her new show but it’s fantastic and it’s not slick. It’s real.

Oh yeah, and she’s Jewish! Or was raised Jewish, anyway. The news only disappoints me, personally…just where are all songs with Yiddish double entendres? “Goys Wanna Be Her”? “Kvetch The Pain Away”? “I Don’t Give A…Feh!”? SHE’S SITTING ON A GOLD MINE HERE.

Clearly she’s got some work to do.

In just four days (Friday!), Girls Aloud will kick off their Out Of Control Tour in Manchester.

Thanks to reports from DigitalSpy and The Sun, we know quite a bit of what will be on display during the tour–in fact, we know almost everything about the damn show:

TEN tracks from Out Of Control, including:
“The Promise” (set to open and close each show)
“Untouchable” (from wires a la Dancing On Ice)
“Love Is The Key”
“Rolling Back The Rivers In Time”
“Turn To Stone”
“Miss You Bow Wow”
“Fix Me Up” (a raunchy twirl-about on stripper poles [?!])
“The Loving Kind” (in individual boxes, a la the video)

At least TWO tracks from Tangled Up:
“Call The Shots”
“Sexy! No, No, No”

A medley of “Greatest Hits” from their back catalogue, including:
“Jump”
“The Show”
“Can’t Speak French”

and most glee-tastic of all…
A cover of B‘s “Womanizer,” during which the girls will don their skin-tight PVC finest and dish out the punishment on their male dancers.

I’m loving the set-list…it’s utterly massive! I can’t believe it. The girls covering Britney? Getting to hear “Call The Shots” live once more? Nicola on a stripper pole?

I refuse to believe it until I see it.

I’ve been doing a lot of commuting these days–driving, mainly. And somewhere in between Twittering with Tila Tequila, eating cheese sandwiches, and keeping my feet positioned at 10 and 2 on the steering wheel, I find that sometimes I simply do not have the time to negotiate a playlist swap mid-travel. It’s like, helloooo…I’m inconvenienced over here!

Luckily, Kaskade has seemingly heard of my plight and provided an answer for those of us folks in it for the long haul: The Grand.

With his new album, Kaskade has unleashed a wealth of clever club cuts and dancefloor re-rubs from artists like Pnau, Mischa Daniels, and Tommy Trash, as well as favorites from his last effort Strobelite Seduction like “Move For Me,” “Step One Two,” and “Angel On My Shoulder.”
It’s a moody and engaging set as Kaskade is want to provide; a brilliant compromise of breathy, aerial vocals and crafted beats that catapult his work into a state of euphoria. Don’t believe me? If the Plumb track doesn’t have you crying at the discotheque, you’ve been reading the wrong blog.

Not only are the individual songs gorgeous, the album itself moves together as one seamless mix that refuses to break until its final moments. This is true, heaven-sent trance at its finest, and you’d be an absolute fool not to invest in this one.

LOCK IN!

DL: Pnau – With You Forever (Dirty South Remix)
DL: Plumb – In My Arms (Kaskade Extended Mix)

To purchase The Grand or hear more from Kaskade, click below!

—
Now if only my other summer dance anthem would leak in rich HQ form.
When love takes over, yeah-ee-ah…

Passing along this message to all you Boston-based Muusers out there,

In case you’ve not yet heard, Depeche Mode is releasing their latest album, Sounds of the Universe on April 21. To help ring in the celebration, Capitol Records is holding an exclusive listening session at Paradise Lounge later tomorrow (April 20) from 6-8 PM. Apparently they’ll be giving out Depeche goodies, so do attend if you can!

Like many of my fellow Muusers, I’m still in the process of sitting shiva following the loss of one of the greater, if not the greatest, faux lesbian moody dance-pop girl duo’s of our generation: t.A.T.u.

Here now is the footage from the girls’ final single “Snegopady” from Happy Smiles.

Clever bits: Starting the video off at the end of “220.”
Sucky bits: Everything else.

With this final go, t.A.T.u. have exacted perhaps the worst offense of all pop videos. Nope, not a greatest hits montage. Not recycled concert footage. Not even a slowly rotating picture tribute in the style of a 14-year-old YouTube fan video…

CGI.

Now, I don’t even mind the notion of “killing” off the girls–they are t.A.T.u. after all, and there is that slightly dark undertone throughout their music. But to do so in the style of Grand Theft Auto?

They’re not even in this damn video!

Ugh, this is so “Viva Forever” of them.

It’s almost that time again…Record Store Day!

This Saturday, April 18, is National Record Store Day, a celebration of all things independently record store-ish. Whether you’re in the mood for a 7″, a 12″, or even that elusive 3″, chances are your local record shop’s packin’ the goods for you.

Please, please head over to the official event website to see a full listing of all the delicious, exclusive releases set to debut for this special day across the nation from artists including Depeche Mode, Regina Spektor, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. In addition, make sure you locate the stores closest to you, as dozens of artists are going to be playing LIVE in celebration!

Go ahead…snag an LP or two for yourself. It’s a piece of art, for God’s sake!

First of all: The above? A DSquared promotional shot from the “Sweet Dreams” interlude. Stunning!

But back onto the business…

Could this be the greatest “If U Seek Amy” mix yet?

Quite possibly. Dan McKie effectively kills “Amy” with his club mix, a seven and a half minute kicker featuring Ms. Spears echoing those hallowed words on repeat above monster mix of raving synths and a stompy bass line. Make sure you hold out until the four minute mark, when the song takes a brief foray into the territory of Darude‘s “Sandstorm.”

It’s not perfect (and is in fact more a dub than anything else), but it’s still miles better than slapping a bass behind the song and labeling it a remix.

DL: Britney Spears – If U Seek Amy (Dan McKie Unofficial Club Mix)

And if you haven’t already, click below to order “If U Seek Amy” NOW!

Phew!! The contest for the BoA DVD’s is now OVER.

If you’ve won, you’ve got an e-mail from me waiting for you in your mailbox. My sincerest apologies if you weren’t chosen, but don’t worry–this isn’t the last you’ll see of a BoA related giveaway! Yes, there’s more coming, so make sure to check back for more on that!

In the meantime…guess what just came out?!

FINALLY.

The video for “I Did It For Love” has arrived…and it’s FEROCIOUS.

Honestly, this is one of the top notch video releases of ’09 so far. Sleek, stylish, and modern without trying too hard (though I could do without some of the bling flashes that litter the first half of the video), this is exactly what BoA brings to the industry with every one of her releases. And how incredibly beautiful does she look? WORK!

The long and short of it: Britney Spears‘ “Stronger” meets Janet Jackson choreography all doused in a little bit of liquid from TLC‘s “Waterfalls.”

Apologies for such a vapid review, but what else can I say? It’s fierce, fab, and flawless. Now order the album already! Click below to order NOW!