Bloc Party Announce Surprise New Album "Intimacy" Due August 21st

Surprise! Bloc Party have joined Radiohead and the Raconteurs as bands that sneak attack fans with a new album (presumably to avoid leaks — the band's last effort, A Weekend in the City, hit the Net four months before its release date). Intimacy is the name of BP's third album, and it's available for pre-order right now at the band's Website; downloads will be delivered on August 21st. Physical copies of the album, which aren't due in stores until October 28th, will feature some tracks that are different from those on the digital release. Fans who pre-order the disc now, however, will receive a download of the digital version for free. Intimacy was produced by both Paul Epworth and Jacknife Lee, and including current single "Mercury," the download's track list numbers 10 songs.

Intimacy Track List
1. "Ares"
2. "Mercury"
3. "Halo"
4. "Biko"
5. "Trojan Horse"
6. "Signs"
7. "One Month Off"
8. "Zephyrus"
9. "Better Than Heaven"
10. "Ion Square"

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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