Preview full Modest Mouse, Albert Hammond, Jr. albums

All via the magic, the wonder, the shadiness which is MySpace (ironically named social networking site, due to the lack of personal space which is respected on the mega site).

First up, the Johnny Marr (formerly of The Smiths) powered new Modest Mouse album. "We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank" hits shelves on March 20.

Then there's the debut solo set from the Strokes' Albert Hammond, Jr. More delicious retro riffs from the New York native adorn this highly acclaimed effort. "Yours to Keep" is available now.

Listen to Korn's Unplugged Performance + F11 and Modest Mouse!

MTV2 proudly presents a stripped-down, intimate performance from Jonathan Davis and company featuring special guests Amy Lee (on "Freak On A Leash") and Robert Smith of The Cure (on "Make Me Bad/In Between Days"). Other highlights include a cover of Radiohead's pre-weird era "Creep" and orchestrations by music producer Richard Gibbs. Some of the instrumentation featured in said orchestra consists of trombone, cello, glass harmonica, choir bells, and Japanese taiko drums. Be on the lookout for the television debut of the big night this Friday on MTV2. Korn MTV Unplugged hits shelves on March 6.

Listen/Watch/Share this unique experience by a band not known for their inviting warmth.

But why stop there? MTV2, in a generous double shot of new album streams, offers up the Finger Eleven effort "Them vs. You vs. Me," including the video for lead single "Paralyzer". MTV refers to this new work as dance rock (territory usually reserved for the likes of Arctic Monkeys or Franz Ferdinand), which would be an unusual but intriguing turn for the Canadian hard rockers. Judge for yourself here.

And since we're all about threesomes here at AtD (hey, who isn't?), why not rock out your day just a little bit more with the music video for Modest Mouse's "Dashboard". The first single from their highly anticipated new record, "We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank," the video was directed by Motion Theory (Matisyahu, Beck, Velvet Revolver) and the scene shows a drunken argument involving sailors. Modest Mouse's new album drops March 20.

Music Video Update, News Roundup, BlogTrax

I would like to start with an apology to Doughnutman for preempting his last post of the year. It was an unfortunate miscalculation on my part. My bad, D! Now that we're all back on track and ready to ingest this new year like a five star buffet, let's get down to business.

An update on AtD's Notable Videos of 2006: Thanks to some great feedback, the criteria for evaluating nominated videos will be modified as follows (for the original criteria check here):

1) Originality and 2) A/V Congruity will remain as they are. However, 3) Coherence is being restructured and divided into 3) Message - the idea, plot, or theme being communicated and 4) Medium - the method/style/means of communicating said message. 5) Integrity is untouched.

Any questions? Hit the comments. Meanwhile the noms have been pouring in (big thanks to Doughnutman and RyTunes for their outstanding suggestions) and it's almost time for the big ceremony. But are we missing anything? It would be a true crime and tragedy to leave a brilliant video out just because it flew under our radar. So I'm setting the deadline of 12 midnight tonight (January 3, 2007 EST) for all potentials to be in. After that the judges will use a progressive point system spread out amongst themselves to weigh out the winners and the not-so winners. (We should note that every video nominated assuredly deserves the praise and adulation that merited its recognition.) Stay tuned!

Meanwhile around the biz, there's some big time stuff going down. Here is what you might have missed:

- Humanitarian, rock star, Irishman Bono has given us some early insight into the new U2 album, tentatively expected sometime this year:

Asked by interviewer Jo Whalley if that might mean a move away from rock'n'roll, Bono replied, "We're gonna continue to be a band, but maybe the rock will have to go; maybe the rock has to get a lot harder. But whatever it is, it's not gonna stay where it is."

He went on to reveal he'd like U2 to explore compositions featuring just voice and acoustic guitar. "I would like to do a couple of tunes in that direction, with just a lot of space around the voice," he said. "I'd like to strip things down; that's something I'd be very interested in at the moment."

- The ever prolific will.I.am, fresh off of his Grammy nomination for Producer of the Year, is lending his talents to Michael Jackson's hugely anticipated new album, Billboard reports:

will.i.am tells Billboard.com he has been doing "a lot of talking on the phone, a lot of brainstorming" with Jackson so far. Their conversations, he says, involve more than just music but also figuring out how Jackson can use new technology, particularly social networking sites and download outlets, to his advantage.

But Jackson's next musical direction remains a primary concern. "Man, he still sings like a bird," will.i.am says. "He could go anywhere. I think we have a real opportunity to do something here. It's either gonna be really big or nobody's gonna care. Ain't no middle ground on this one."

- Both Rolling Stone and Stereogum report on the newly leaked Modest Mouse track "Dashboard," featuring new guitarist (ex Smiths axe-man) Johnny Marr. Check out the link for more info, including how to grab an early listen. "Dashboard" is set to appear on Modest Mouse's new album, of which there will be a preview on AtD in the near future.

- Finally, Scott Weiland rules in the possibility of an eventual STP reunion, according to his MySpace blog. No clues as to when this might happen as Weiland is busy with Velvet Revolver and the DeLeo brothers just released their first album with Filter frontman, Richard Patrick, as Army of Anyone.

And in anticipation of a more stripped down U2, I present a brand new feature here on AtD - BlogTrax. BlogTrax will be individual songs discussed here on the site that we will be providing for your listening pleasure. Of course we're not lawbreakers so there will be rules governing what can and can't be shared, and official requests to remove the songs will be adhered to. But enough of that, let's get to the goods!

U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday (live acoustic)