Music News: The Cliks, Heavy Rotation, Katy Perry, Courtney Love, ABBA, R.E.M.

MODERN TONIC

The editors of Modern Tonic present a weekly music update here on Towleroad. The rest of the week, they scan the pop-culture landscape for movie, TV, book and Web recommendations in their daily email.

NEW AND WORTH CHECKING OUT:

Toronto trio The Cliks — that’s a combo of ‘clit’ and ‘cock’ — have everything it takes to be rock’s next  great band. Pounding tunes, sing-a-long choruses and transman Lucas Silveira — that’s the band’s female-to-male transgender front-person. On their third release, Dirty King, produced by Sylvia Massey (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tool), The Cliks wrench thrilling Guitar Hero-worthy songs from gender rebellion (“Not Your Boy”) and bad relationships (“Haunted”). Silveira stutters through the slutty surf-rock title track (and first single) “Dirty King.” And the crunchy gender-f**k “Love Gun” would melt the face-paint off of all four members of Kiss.

Check out their sultry brand of rock fireworks with our FREE DOWNLOAD of album-highlight “Red and Blue.”

In the affecting new collection of essays Heavy Rotation: Twenty Writers on the Albums That Changed Their Lives (out today), various writers delve into the albums that rocked their worlds. Among them are a few LGBT authors who share their personal experiences: Clifford Chase on The B-52s’ self-titled debut, Stacey D’Erasmo on Kate Bush’s The Sensual World, Colm Toibin on Joni Mitchell’s Blue, and Peter Terzian (also the book’s editor) on Miaow’s unreleased album Priceless Innuendo.

Other writers revisit Eurythmics’ Savage (written by Daniel Handler, Lemony Snicket’s alter ego), Talking Heads’ Remain in Light, and the Hedwig and the Angry Inch soundtrack.

MUSIC NEWS:

EMI has served Australian clothing designer Katie Perry with a cease-and-desist order to stop her from using her own name; apparently they believe its too similar to that of their superstar artist Katy Perry, born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson.

Courtney Love is reviving the name of former band Hole for her forthcoming album, due late '09/early '10, though she will be the only person on the album who was in the band. 

  Moby's New York vegan cafe, Teany, has been destroyed in a fire. No one was hurt, and they hope to reopen in the next two months.

ABBA-esque: Benny Andersson Band's new single, "Story of a Heart," co-written by Andersson with Björn Ulvaeus and featuring Anni-Frid/Agnetha-style vocals from Helen Sjöholm, will be released in the U.K. July 6.

TODAY'S NEW RELEASES:

The South may never rise again, but it sure can be remastered and re-released. Athens, GA’s finest, R.E.M., get a Deluxe Edition release for their classic, Reckoning, including the entire CD and a bonus live set from 1984.

Big girls don’t cry, but they stomp, shriek, holler and tear up the dance floor on Gossip’s new Music For Men (available digitally only).

Having won over both the Strokes and Grey’s Anatomy, quirky Russian songstress Regina Spektror drops Far, her third major-label release.

Fresh from their U.K. debut at #1, Escala — Simon Cowell’s mini-skirted pseudo-classical quartet — release their self-titled album.

Michael Johns — the 2008 American Idol contestant unjustly voted off at #8 — is hoping for some Jennifer Hudson-like love with his new release, Hold Back My Heart.

Pick Up the Mic: The Evolution of Homohop‚ a one-of-a-kind documentary (out on DVD) recounts how a small circle of LGBT rappers carved their own niche within a market that continues to insult‚ if not ignore, them altogether.

Also released: Paulina Rubio — Gran City Pop; Shawn Colvin — Live;  Tift Merritt — Buckingham Solo (Live); Patterson Hood — Murdering Oscar (And Other Love Songs).

MUSIC VIDEOS AND CLIPS:

Simian Mobile Disco: "Audacity of Huge"
A cornucopia of literal images matches a litany of lyrical items — “Damian Hirst telephone,” “gold thong studded alligator leather” — in this goofy, electro-clash jam from the U.K. dance-master’s forthcoming Temporary Pleasure.

Misstress Barbara ftrg. Sam Roberts: "I'm Running"
Italian-born Canadian dance diva meets sexy, weathered Canuck rocker for abstract urban rendezvous in the mean streets of Montreal. From Misstress Barbara’s artist debut, I’m No Human (out now in Canada).

Pixie Lott: "Mama Do"
Before you yawn and say “Duffy clone,” check out this hand-clapping, choreography-heavy #1 U.K. single and swear you weren’t singing along from the first chorus.

The Temper Trap: "Sweet Disposition"
Bronski Beat are reborn as a space-age Aussie alt-rock quartet on this falsetto-dripping love rave — also prominently featured in (500) Days of Summer — from the band’s forthcoming debut, Conditions.

Music News: Chess, Grace Jones, Gossip, New Order, Mika, Moby

MODERN TONIC

The editors of Modern Tonic present a weekly music update here on Towleroad. The rest of the week, they scan the pop-culture landscape for movie, TV, book and Web recommendations in their daily email.

MUSIC NEWS:

Created by Tim Rice and the BBoys from ABBA (Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson), Chess is one strange shape-shifter of a theatrical production. Since its 1984 concept album debut — featuring Murray Head’s worldwide smash “One Night in Bangkok” and "I Know Him So Well," later covered by Whitney Houston and her mom — the show’s gotten more facelifts than Joan Rivers. Opening to mixed reviews, the original 1986 London production ran for three years. The 1988 New York production — entirely reconceived — closed after two months. Subsequent stagings have mixed-and-matched the plotlines.

But there has long been a rabid following of fans, many of whom declare Rice’s bastard stepchild to be one of the greatest pop-rock musicals of all time. Maybe it’s the Machiavellian Cold War plotline. Or maybe it’s the sweeping, non-stop ABBA-esque melodies. Whatever it is, you can see and hear it as it was meant to be in the new Chess in Concert, (out today on DVD and as a single- or double-CD; also airing tomorrow on PBS) which Rice calls the “official version” of the show, recorded live over two nights at London's Royal Albert Hall last May, and featuring an ace cast of Josh Groban (pictured above), Adam Pascal (Rent) and Idina Menzel (Wicked). Do we smell a Broadway revival? A boy can dream.

Hurricane warning: Grace Jones — in no danger of becoming the hardest working woman in show-biz  — is planning two U.S. shows in support of her latest album. July 27 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, and July 30 at New York’s more intimate Hammerstein Ballroom.

Stream Gossip's new album Music For Men (out digitally June 23, on CD October 6) in its entirety.

Members of New Order (Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris and Phil Cunningham), joined by Blur's Alex James, have formed a new band, Bad Lieutenant. They have already completed work on their first album.

"It's a big, huge-sounding pop record that sonically references big records from the 80s or 90s": An extensive interview with Mika, whose debut album sold 6 million copies worldwide, touches on his forthcoming follow-up album as well as his childhood and adolescence, fame and, vaguely, his sexuality and past relationships. 

Moby, whose new album Wait For Me is out June 30, talks about his distaste for his seminal album, Play. 

Listen like thieves: An international scam involving a group of criminals who created music, sold it on Amazon and iTunes, and then bought $750,000 worth of it themselves using 1,500 stolen credit cards has ended with nine arrests. The "sales" of the music online resulted in the group pocketing $300,000 in royalties paid out by the music services.

TODAY'S NEW RELEASES:

Twenty-one-year-old Dubliner Laura Izibor is here to change the landscape of Irish soul for good with her  modern mesh of '70s soul and '00s hip-hop on Let the Truth Be Told, her expressive debut.

Miss Kittin — the French electro-clash artist — sees her debut collaboration with turntablist The Hacker, First Album, re-released today with one additional 2001 track, "The Beach." "Party in My Head" — from Two, their recent follow-up joint effort  — gets a remix workout from the Paris-based Thieves Like Us. DOWNLOAD IT HERE FOR FREE.

Our favorite Canadian crooner filmed his December ’08 MSG gig last year for release on the CD/DVD combo-pack Michael Bublé Meets Madison Square Garden.

New releases also from: Spinal Tap — Back from the Dead; Trevor Horn and Friends — Slaves to the Rhythm (concert DVD); The Legends — Over and Over; Jonas Brothers — Lines, Vines and Trying Times.

MUSIC VIDEOS AND CLIPS:

PALOMA FAITH — “Stone Cold Sober”
This lively Spanish-English burlesque dancer/singer/actress (who appears in Heath Ledger’s final film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus) is a red-hot harlot in a hoop skirt on her debut video. Single out today in the U.K., album there in the fall.

AQUA — “Back to the 80s”
The Barbie-loving Danes offer up a cheese-fest of awful 80’s-ness that’s so pungent it could just turn them into a two-hit wonder. From their "Greatest Hits" out this week in Europe (no U.S./U.K. release date announced yet).

LE KID — “Mercy Mercy”
The second sing-along single from these pop-crazy Swedes features the whitest people ever at a lakeside party in 50’s swimwear.

KID BRITISH — “Our House Is Dadless”
More than just sampling, these multi-ethnic Manchester rappers re-boot Madness’ jubilant hit with industrial grit for the new millennium.

News: Wicked, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mars, Mamma Mia, Ron Paul

The NYT on the potential repeal of the 1913 Massachusetts marriage law.

The Martian landscape revealed...

Cristiano Ronaldo hits L.A. on crutches and doesn't waste any time snubbing Paris Hilton.

Ron Paul's openly gay campaign chair dies of pneumonia at 49, without health insurance: "Snyder, who served as Paul’s campaign chair, died of pneumonia on June 26 after being hospitalized for about two months and after running up medical bills exceeding $400,000, according to friends and family members, who said he did not have health insurance."

A Mamma-Mia cheat sheet.

Moscow authorities ban gay picket of Iranian embassy set for July 19: "About 30 people were due to take part, Moscow gay pride parade organizer Nikolay Alexeyev told the Interfax-Religion. He said the application was submitted last Friday in strict compliance with Russian laws, but the prefecture retorted it could not guarantee the security of those taking part in the picket. 'This is a flagrant violation of the Russian constitution and laws on public actions,' Alexeyev said."

Will the knowledge that Banksy may be bourgeois make his works less valuable?

The L.A. Times profiles Paul Colichman and his growing "gay media empire": "Five years ago, Colichman and his business partner launched Here, television's only premium gay cable network. Now, with an eye toward building their empire, they recently made a $6.5-million deal to buy the popular news magazine the Advocate, style monthly Out and other sister publications. Colichman, who also owns the gay entertainment Internet portal GayWired.com, plans to expand the online presence of his new publications once the acquisition closes. 'People say, 'Why would you buy a print publication when you're really in the television business?'' said Colichman. 'But our point of view is that everything is cross-platformed now -- we are in the content business, and to generate profit you need to be everywhere.'"

Tyson shows off his tatts.

Broadway's Wicked coming to the big screen.

Chris Evans to answer questions at San Diego's Comic-Con.

First openly gay leader of a national labor union elected: "New York based United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten has been elected to succeed Edward McElroy as President of the American Federation of Teachers...Weingarten served for 10 years as UFT head and under her tenure she negotiated a 43 percent increase in educator salaries and helped organize 28,000 home childcare workers."

Andy Dick in sex and drugs arrest.

North Carolina Family Policy Council supports bullying of LGBT kids in schools...

Pew Poll: 28% say gay marriage will affect their vote. "As it did in October 2004, gay marriage ranks lowest in importance among 16 campaign issues for the average U.S. voter; overall, 28% say gay marriage will be very important to their vote, down slightly from 32% in 2004. Far more Republicans than Democrats (19 points) rate gay marriage as very important. White evangelical Protestants (49%) place the most importance on the issue. Currently, 49% of the public opposes allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally, while 38% support gay marriage."

News: Kucinich, Friedkin, Naugle, Gyllenhaal, Lieberman, McAvoy

A second gay candidate joins race for Mayor Naugle's seat in Fort Lauderdale: "Political newcomer Earl Rynerson, owner of a tile store, joins former City Commissioner Dean Trantalis as an openly gay mayoral hopeful. Rynerson said he wants to polish the city's image, which he said was tarnished by Naugle. Naugle last summer uttered a quote that was heard across gay America: 'I use the word homosexual. Most of them aren't gay; they're unhappy.'"

Jake Gyllenhaal stumbles out in London.

Nigerian bisexual woman faces deportation from Canada, fears persecution: "She fears for her life. If she goes back with her children, she has no one there. Her family has shunned her because she is bisexual. She doesn't have any money and nowhere to go. If she's arrested [her children] will be without a mother. They'll already face extreme discrimination because they were both born out of wedlock, and in fact, Samuel has already endured a lot of harassment while growing up there."

ABBA come together for Mamma Mia premiere in Stockholm for first time in 22 years.

AUSIELLO: Producers on The New Adventures of Old Christine plan to marry off Julia Louis Dreyfus to Wanda Sykes!

The windows to Amy Winehouse's soul.

William Friedkin's The Boys in the Band to get DVD release on November 11.

Planning on picking up an iPhone 3G on Friday? Here's a map of AT&T's 3G coverage in the U.S. According to a Digg commenter, here's the code: BLUE = Full Coverage, RED/ORANGE = Decent Coverage, ORANGE = Meh Coverage, LIGHT ORANGE = Enjoy EDGE.

Church of Ireland may hold gay unions if homosexuality proven to be biologically determined: "If such comes to be shown, it will be necessary to acknowledge the full implications of that new aspect of the truth."

"Dude, look at your pants. Look at your bag. Obviously this is not your kind of place." Homophobic, or just edgy?

Details attempts to atone for past covers with James McAvoy's blue eyes.

MacBecks: Musical planned about David and Victoria Beckham...

Hagee YouTube suppression to rub off on Joe Lieberman?

East London couple turned away from wedding venue owned by Jehovah's Witness: "For the past 13 years I have been with my soul mate, I have never been discriminated against or been judged as they did to us."

Jaws: Australian town on alert after sighting of 22-foot Great White Shark in lake with outlet to the ocean.

Obama to give DNCC address at Invesco Field at Mile High. SF Chronicle on the rise of the Obamacon...

Killer of gay porn producer spilled details, sought legal advice from fellow inmate.

Honed down: Kucinich to bring single article of impeachment against George W. Bush. "Few in the House of Representatives have any intention of doing anything with the last 35 articles of impeachment Kucinich set before them last month, so the former presidential candidate appears to be lightening the load. Kucinich sent a letter to colleagues Tuesday asking them to support a single article of impeachment, to be introduced Thursday, which accuses President Bush of leading the country to war based on lies."

News: HIV Spiking, Anthrax Ineptitude, Gay Gladiator, Impure Thoughts & Papa Mia

American Gladiators' first-ever gay contestant is to die for…now let’s hope he doesn’t get himself killed.

Paying Through The Nose: New "persons of interest" in the 2001 anthrax case—inept United States government officials. Retired FBI investigator Brad Garrett is spilling the beans on the botched case, which resulted in a nice fat check ($5,825,000) for original suspect Dr. Steven Hatfill.

New York City's trans fat ban goes straight to the hips today—"baked goods, frozen foods, cannoli and doughnuts" are now forbidden to contain the cholesterol-raisers. Packaged foods are still exempt. To find out how to make comfort food without trans fats, visit NoTransFatNYC.org.

That 25-year-old Homosexual can run like the wind!

In the Bag: EBay ordered to pay $60.8 million over its fake Louis Vuittons.

Just like Ivory soap, the Jonas Brothers are only 99-44/100% pure.

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the smaller American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) are going to war, with team captains Jack Nicholson and Tom Hanks, respectively. Oh, you know George Clooney isn't sitting this one out—he's actually calling on both unions to stop "pitting artist against artist." The results of a vote will be known July 8, which will tell the tale as to whether SAG has enough support for yet another actor's strike.

Forget about Mamma—who's your daddy?

It's not the end of the world! (Unless it is.)

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, about the controversial Japanese artist, is not big in Japan, but it’s out on DVD.

A spike in new HIV diagnoses in the U.S. is concentrated among younger men and men of color.

The White House wants Osama bin Laden captured or killed before Bush leaves office. But if he's taken out right before Bush departs, how many Americans would forever believe bin Laden was kept alive all these years as a way of keeping us in line?

Go East, Young Man: Barack Obama is planning a tour of Europe and the Middle East that would likely include a pop-in on Iraq. He last visited Iraq with a congressional delegation in January of 2006.

Mamma Mia: Dominic Cooper

Entertainment Tonight recently ran a preview of this summer's forthcoming Mamma Mia film and even though it looks like it has the potential to be a trainwreck it's got a few things going for it right off the bat — ABBA, Meryl Streep singing, and the tasty Dominic Cooper (above).

Check out the preview, AFTER THE JUMP...