FN News Roundup: April 25, 2012

It's Wednesday! It's Hump Day! It's Administrative Professionals Day! And my cousin Drew's 22nd Birfday! Wow, what else could possibly be happening today?! Oh, right. This:

• Flip-flopper Damon "I-do-what-I-want" Albarn is keeping hope alive by saying that future projects with Blur and the Gorillaz have not been ruled out. You'll just have to control those blue-balls, everyone, and wait and see what happens (NME).

• In yellow-truck news, Jack White's Third Man Records Rolling Record Store is coming to the NYC tomorrow and giving out 5 pairs of tickets to this Friday's show at Webster Hall! Follow this shizz on Twitter (@ThirdManRRS) to keep track of their locations throughout the day (BroolynVegan).  

Watch: Gorillaz / James Murphy / Andre 3000 -- "DoYaThing" (Official Video)

You've heard the single version - hell, you may have even heard the epic 13-minute long version - and now the official video for the Gorillaz / James Murphy / Andre 3000 Converse collab track "DoYaThing" is out now. Check it out below in all its weird, half-real half-animated glory!

Download The New Gorillaz / James Murphy / Andre 3000 Collab Track "DoYaThing" From Converse

As we reported, the latest iteration of Converse's "3 Artists, 1 Track" series is a collaboration between a dream team of FN favorites: Damon Albarn's animated hooligan band Gorillaz, LCD Soundsystem mastermind James Murphy, and Andre 3000 of ATL's finest, OutKast. The track is called "DoYaThing," and is now available on Converse's website for your streaming and downloading pleasure.

Check it out over here, and don't say we didn't warn you that Andre's contribution will knock your head clean off your shoulders. You can also pick up some limited edition Chuck Taylors Gorillaz sneakers while you're at it. Enjoy!

New Converse Song To Feature Gorillaz, James Murphy, & Andre 3000

This is the kind of news that makes me a proud wearer of Chucks. Converse's ongoing "Three Artists, One Song" series has produced original songs featuring team-ups of artists as far ranging as Kid Cudi, Best Coast, Soulja Boy, Hot Chip, and New Order's Bernard Sumner. And as Pitchfork reports, the next song in the series is set to feature the best and weirdest artist partnership yet.

"DoYaThing," set for release on Converse's website on February 23, will feature Damon Albarn's most beloved non-Blur project Gorillaz throwing down with former LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy and OutKast's own Andre 3000. Gorillaz posted the above artwork on their Facebook today, and I've gotta say I'm loving the cartoon versions of Murphy and Andre 3000 right off the bat.

We'll post up the track as soon as it's available, and in the meantime you can stream Gorillaz's announcement of the collaboration below.

Photos/Review: De La Soul @ Indig02 (London, UK)

De La Soul @ Indig02 (London, UK) - December 4, 2011

Photos & Review: Rhona (Wiglet Bill) Aquilina

Warming up the crowd Sunday evening for De La Soul are the rock/hip hop collaboration from South West London, Clement Marfo & the Frontline. The outfit has recently been signed to Warner and have been touring in support of the likes of Florence & the Machine and Example. I must admit that they weren’t really my cup of tea, but they were enthusiastic and full of energy and warmed the room up nicely.

But the truth is that De La Soul don’t really need anyone to warm their crowd up for them because they are masters at it. Plugs 1, 2 & 3 hit the stage and within seconds the crowd were serenading them, chanting "De la, de la, de laaaaa." When Posdnuos addressed the balcony, “I know we got seats up there, but stand the fuck up!” the crowd were happy to oblige and remained on their feet and dancing for the whole show.

De La Soul ripped through classics like "Oooh!," "Potholes In My Lawn," "Stakes is High," "Ego Trippin," "Saturdays," "Magic Number" and "Me Myself & I." The band confessed that sometimes they look at each other and say "we have to do this shit again… same songs, same fucking routine," but thanked the crowd for their enthusiasm adding that this is what makes it all worthwhile.

Mase took time to survey the audience from the stage, calling for the twenty-somethings to raise their hands and continuing up through the 30’s and 40’s. He was delighted to find there were some fifty-somethings in the audience and proclaimed “That’s it, that’s what hip hop is, it’s for everyone!”

Needless-to-say, the multifarious crowd were united in an excellent night of call & response and hand bouncing.

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Two nights before their headlining performance at Indig02, De La Soul made a surprise appearance with Damon Albarn during a special Gorillaz Sound System event at the 100 Club in London. Read more about that over at Being & Nothingness. Below, check out some more photos from the Indig02 performance, as well as some YouTube videos...

Damon Albarn Visiting The Congo, Recording An Album

Completely accurate photo evidence of Albarn's Congo trip.

'90s Britpop icon Damon Albarn is likely the busiest musician on Earth, working with the cartoon band Gorillaz, creating an opera about Elizabethan astrologer/spy Dr. John Dee, and doing a whole slew of other things that don't involve the words "Blur" and "NYC reunion show." And, as our friends at Some Kind of Awesome report, he's somehow crammed another project into his schedule.

Albarn will be headed to the Congo as part of a new initiative by Oxfam to record a new album in the span of a week. He'll be leading a team of producers and musicians, collectively called DRC Music (@DRCMusic on Twitter) and consisting of Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Dan The Automator, Jneiro Jarel, Richard Russell, Actress, Marc Antoine, Jo Gunton and Kwes. The goal of the album is to help bring additional attention to the continuing humanitarian issues in the country due to years of internal conflict.

A great goal and one you should support, for sure, but we couldn't resist doing stupid MS Paint photos of him in the 1995 classic movie Congo. And because we haven't done a contest in awhile, head over to our Facebook page and "Like" this post (or, more accurately, the post we tell you to Like) to win a copy of Congo on DVD and a Fucking Nostalgic mixtape!

Damon Albarn hints at Blur shows in the US (Fuck Yes)

When Blur reunited back in 2008, to great acclaim I might add, it was quite brief and limited to performances in Europe and even those were mainly festivals. Fans in the US were unfortunately left out of the fun, but it appears that may not be permanent. Speaking to the UK's Guardian, mainly about his upcoming theater show Dr Dee: An English Opera, Blur frontman (and Gorillaz mastermind) Damon Albarn suggests that Blur shows in the US are a possibility. When asked if new songs are on the way, he's on record giving a mumbled "don't know."

Albarn is also currently working on a largely instrumental album with a band that features himself, drummer Tony Allen (who worked with him on the Good, the Bad, and the Queen), and Flea (of, um, the Red Hot Chili Peppers!), that as of right now has no official name. No release date is set for that record, but Dr Dee: An English Opera premieres at the Manchester International Festival from July 1-9.

Personal note to Mr. Albarn: Please, please, please play with Blur in New York City. Thanks!

Below, check out Damon playing a song from Dr. Dee entitled "Apple Carts" and also some videos of Blur's performance at Glastonbury 2009...