Madonna has managed to keep most details about her still-untitled follow-up to 2005’s Confessions on a Dance Floor (due April 29th) under wraps, but Rolling Stone got an early listen to five tracks today and some behind-the-scenes info from producer Nate “Danja” Hills.

Fans who worried that Madonna might be losing inspiration as she approaches fifty need not be concerned. The new album takes a few steps away from the hyper-polished future disco of Confessions toward a more urban-oriented, thumpy funk, featuring production by Timbaland and Pharrell, as well as collaborations with Justin Timberlake. Danja says he worked on the album in London, and that Madonna indicated “she just wanted uptempo, dance, club [sounds] and everything to have a hip-hop underlining.” He adds that Madonna was easy-going and frequently in the studio putting in long hours alongside himself, Timbaland and Timberlake: “She would come in and sit in her chair in the corner and just vibe with us.”

The record’s first single is “4 Minutes to Save the World,” the track Timbaland partially debuted during a Philadelphia Christmas concert in December. (more…)

For anyone longing for the days when low-fi Soul Train space funk ruled the airwaves, Snoop Dogg’s “Sensual Seduction” provided a welcome salve. While Snoop’s ninth album Ego Trippin’ isn’t a solid hour of vocoder-aided sex jams, as Rock Daily learned in an exclusive listening session, it’s something much more. Clearly run down by the traditional hip-hop tropes and traditions, Snoop has made Trippin’ into a veritable buffet of twentieth century radio goodness, throwing back to scenes with which he’s never been involved. In between Roger Troutman-esque funk bangers like “Snoop Dogg Is Out” and “Life of the Party” are forays into the Dirty South (”Ridin’ in My Chevy”), celestial gospel (”Can’t Say Goodbye”) and at least one song that sounds like a B-side from Prince’s 1999 (”Cool”). Perhaps most impressively, there’s a phenomenal country-rap tune called “Johnny Cash” (a collaboration with Everlast) whose chorus (”Get my money/Buy my medicine”) channels rail-riding bluesmen. Produced by Snoop in collaboration with Teddy Riley and DJ Quik (a collective they refer to as “QDT”), Ego Trippin’ will reveal all sides of Snoop Dogg: the father, the party animal, the savvy industry veteran and the OG.

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[Photo: Getty]

The Ravonettes’ Sune Rose Wagner isn’t cryptic about the theme of his band’s new album Lust Lust Lust. “All the songs are about lust,” he says simply of the February 19th album, which is the band’s first with Vice Records (they recently parted ways with Columbia). Fans can expect a few more changes, too: Wagner programmed all the bass and drum parts himself, and he says the band has embraced their more cinematic interests, with Andy Warhol, photographer William Eggleston and filmmaker David Lynch among Lust Lust Lust’s primary influences.

Lynch is the clear inspiration for opener “Aly, Walk With Me,” where fuzzed-out distortion, always the Raveonettes’ most potent weapon, sounds more explosive and refined than before. Vocalist Sharin Foo coos about the most scintillating of the deadly sins on “Black Satin” and “You Want the Candy,” backed by the band’s trademark wall of buzz. “We’re one of the few bands that get away with having really nice harmonies but also more abrasive sounds,” notes Wagner. (more…)

The new Gnarls Barkley disc won’t be released until April, but we got the chance to hear a few new cuts early. The verdict: Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse have produced another album of super-catchy tunes that veer between retro-soul shakedowns, tricked-out psychedelic rock and trunk-rattling hip-hop. While nothing sounds as indelible as “Crazy,” the first two tracks that the pair are considering for a lead single are pretty ace: one is a funked-up organ groove complemented by French horns, a chorus of “la la la”s and Cee-Lo crooning in his throaty rasp, “Here it comes/Say it loud!” The other track, which we’re told is the duo’s favorite, is drastically different: a sinister ballad featuring intricately strummed acoustic guitar chords. Cee-Lo’s mood turns dark as he repeats over and over, “Who’s gonna save my soul?/I know I’m out of control.” It’s a stylish, spooky take on Robert Johnson’s delta blues—and even that suits them just fine.

[Photo: Getty]

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The Whigs’ Mission Control, their new batch of dusty, sun-soaked indie rock, won’t be available until next week, but you can listen to the entire album via exclusive Rhapsody stream here. For more on the latest new and under-the-radar bands like the Whigs, be sure to check out Rolling Stone’s Breaking Blog.

Good news for fans of ass-kicking Australian bands: Wolfmother are hard at work on a new album. According to singer Andrew Stockdale, the band is looking to release the as-yet-untitled album early next year. “It’s kind of cinematic, and it’s kind of epic,” Stockdale says of the new disc. “But there’s also this fully aggressive side that’s undeniably explosive.” Wolfmother have yet to select a producer, but Stockdale says they have about ten songs ready to go, including a track called “Back Home,” which is one of the singer-guitarist’s favorites. “Other bands are like, ‘Yeah, we wrote sixty songs and edited it down to this,’ ” says Stockdale, who’s been writing both at his new house in Brisbane and while vacationing in Byron Bay. “We spend a lot of time on each song, crafting it, changing the key, changing the arrangement, and so on. We don’t like to write thousands of songs.”

Foxy Brown is in solitary confinement at Rikers Island, but her husky voice took over Chung King Studios in downtown Manhattan last night: “I still make the front-page news if I just sneeze!” Foxy, who’s serving a year in prison for violating her probation (with seventy-six days in solitary for fighting), sets a fierce tone on “Rumors of Fox” from Brooklyn’s Don Diva (Koch/Black Hand) with the brazen braggadocio fans have been waiting six years for.

Though she’s been in the hole since October 23rd — twenty-three hours a day, with one hour outside the cell for physical activity — Foxy’s still actively involved with the release of Don Diva (set to hit stores on February 5th), changing the album art and answering fan mail from inside. The label considers the street album a prelude to her long-awaited Black Roses. Don Diva, recorded before Brown was sentenced, encompasses Foxy’s experiences over the past few years: the physical altercations, court dates, tabloid talk, going deaf, undergoing surgery, regaining her hearing. “It’s about everything she went through,” Mixtape MC and Black Hand labelmate Grafh explains. “It’s gonna be the biggest comeback since Mimi.”

The first few tracks sound like Grafh might be right. The insistent New York anthem “We Don’t Surrender” is made for bumping full blast in grimy clubs and trucks. “We’re On Fire” features Mavado’s guttural chanting while Foxy raps in patois and reminds us that she’s the “same bitch since before rap.” (more…)

Late last year Bruce Springsteen invited producer Brendan O’Brien up to his New Jersey house to play him a batch of new songs he had been working on. “It was kind of surreal,” says O’Brien, who previously worked with Springsteen on 2002’s The Rising and 2005’s Devils and Dust. “We literally sat in his living room, he hands me a book of lyrics and he played me the songs on the guitar.” O’Brien then had the unenviable task of telling Bruce which songs worked, and which ones didn’t. “He gauges peoples reactions and I have to be as honest with him as I can,” O’Brien says. “Some of them had a certain voice that seemed to fit all together – and some didn’t have that same voice – so we decided which ones to pursue.” The songs that survived were taken down to Atlanta’s Southern Tracks Studios this March by O’Brien, Springsteen and the E Street Band. The resulting album, Magic, was recorded in eight weeks, and will be released on October 2nd.

The lead single will be “Radio Nowhere,” which O’Brien says changed very little from the version Springsteen played him at his house last year. “It’s a pretty straight-ahead rocker,” O’Brien says. “The most straightforward song I’ve heard him do in years.” “Long Walk Home,” which Springsteen debuted on tour last year with the Seeger Sessions Band, is an emotionally uplifting ballad that invokes 2002’s “My City In Ruins.” “That’s one of my favorite songs that he’s done in a long time,” says O’Brien. “It’s mournful, but also hopeful. It has very introspective verses and then he opens up lyrically as the song progresses. It hits me in a real great spot.” O’Brien describes the song “Living In The Future” as a “throwback to ‘Hungry Heart,’ an R&B thing.” (more…)

“I have the most interesting record,” rapper-producer Maya “M.I.A” Arulpragasam told us recently. Now that Rock Daily had a chance to check out Kala (due August 12), we totally agree. For starters, the one Timbaland-produced cut (”Come Around”) is the most conventional track on the album. There are also bird calls, Indian drummers, rapping Aboriginal children and eerie glitch-and-grind beats that’d make Thom Yorke puke with envy. With M.I.A. spitting catchy rhymes and id-channeling reveries, the overall sound is something like a inimitable female MC collaborating with robots and ghosts in a jungle — thickly detailed electro-rap both primal and futuristic. We’re still partial to “Bird Flu” and “Boyz” (two killer cuts available on Hype Machine) but some other standouts pushed our pleasure buttons: disco rump-shaker “Jimmy,” “Paper Planes” and “Mango Pickle Down River,” on which a group of teenage Aboriginals called the Wilcannia Mob drop hook-filled raps over a creepy slo-mo groove. (more…)

This afternoon, Black Eyed Peas mastermind Will.i.am stopped by the RS offices with his iPod Nano to preview some of the hot cuts from his September release, Songs About Girls. Will says there’s a narrative flow to the record: Boy meets girl. Boy gets girl. Boy goes to strip club. Boy gets caught cheating. Girl leaves. Boy and girl somehow get back together. The cut “Donkey,” is a ridiculous club joint featuring Snoop Dogg; we’ll let you figure where that one fits in the timeline.
But wait, there’s more. (more…)

Interpol’s new album, Our Love To Admire, doesn’t hit stores till July 10th, but Rock Daily recently scored an advance copy. Basically, it sounds like Interpol were let loose in Arcade Fire’s church/studio; the band uses everything from strings to a chorus to handclaps in a daring attempt to trick out their moody post-punk sound. Here’s a quick track-by-track preview:

1. “Pioneer to the Falls” This theatrical opening track showcases Interpol’s new love for swooping strings and chilled-out piano.

2. ROCK DAILY PICK: “No I In Threesome” An awesome, apocalypse-heralding track with still more warm, friendly piano.
(more…)

As both Whiskeytown frontman and solo artist, Ryan Adams has been helping damaged lovers fill breakup/makeup mix tapes for more than a decade. While prolific to the point of compulsion nothing he’s done has rivaled his classic solo debut, 2000’s uniformly gorgeous Heartbreaker…until now. The punk troubadour’s new album Easy Tiger – which is playing in our mail room, in our editors’ cars, and may soon be piped in via loudspeaker to the restrooms around here – has us thinking Adams may finally transcend his perpetual next big thing status. If you haven’t already heard the messy, chaotic jam “Goodnight Rose,” which opens the album check it out here. It gives way to the elegiac “Two,” which has Adams lamenting “it takes two when it used to take one” between sincere if roguish apologies for not being a better man. Other great tracks include the churning, almost violent ode to self-destruction, “Halloween Head,” the traditional folk ballad “Pearls On a String,” and “These Girls,” a spare confessional that would fit perfectly next to “Sylvia Plath” on Gold or “Call Me On Your Way Back Home” on Heartbreaker. Easy Tiger seems to prove that Adams — having for years indulged his jones for Grateful Dead-inspired jam band impersonation (and other dubious cravings) — is once again as in touch with the delicate tragedies of life and love as he’s ever been.

U2’s one and only guitarist the Edge spoke to our Evan Serpick about the latest fund-raising initiative of his Music Rising organization. On April 21st, top-notch music memorabilia from John Lennon’s glasses to Janis Joplin’s love letters to Elvis Presley’s recording contract will go on the block at New York’s Hard Rock Cafe, with proceeds going to aid musicians affected by the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. “I’ve been amazed at how generous people have been,” says the guitarist, who created the fund in 2005 with Bob Ezrin and Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz. He knows whereof he speaks: He’ll be putting own cream 1975 Gibson Les Paul (which he bought during the Joshua Tree sessions in New York and has played on every U2 tour since Achtung Baby) up for sale. “It was one of those guitars that had songs in it. It’s a very well-used, well-loved instrument. I’ll miss it.”

The guitarist also confirms that U2 are in the midst of recording a new album. “We’re working on new songs and getting lost in the music,” he says. “I don’t think we’re going to try and think too much about what we’re going to do with it yet, we’re just going to do a lot of writing and just see what gives. We’re giving ourselves the luxury of just working on the songs. There’s some amazing things coming through.” He calls the material the group’s been working on with producer Rick Rubin “fascinating stuff.” When asked whether the band will team up again with longtime collaborators Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, he merely laughs: “You might be surprised how quickly that happens.”

• Jack White talked to our Brian Hiatt about the new White Stripes album, Icky Thump, out this June. The disc, recorded at Blackbird Studio in Nashville, “does not sound like any of the other record — it’s very heavy,” White tells us. Other points of departure: White has replaced his trademark bass with splashes of slide-guitar, Hammond organ and even some “mariachi trumpets” on one track. In addition to the usual moonshine mixture of country, blues and rock, White says he dabbled in “surf-slash-speed-metal” on the album’s most outre song, “Little Cream Soda.” Full tracklist after the jump.
• In shocking rock news, someone from U2 has decided to perform a charitable act! No seriously, this is kinda cool: The Edge is donating his favorite guitar ever — the 1975 Gibson Les Paul the rocker has been playing for ages — to an auction benefiting Music Rising. “I wanted to give something really significant that would really mean a lot for me to give,” the guitarist reportedly said. “It deserved something that I would miss.”
• Gene Simmons has apparently made it very clear that he’s really not interested in participating in a reunion of Kiss’ original lineup. “I personally don’t want to,” he reportedly said. “I love Ace and Peter, always have, and because of my tough love thing I’ve never been shy about saying they’ve been drug addicts and alcoholics, and they’ve destroyed themselves.” Ouch.
• Prepare for an onslaught of TV show soundtrack-type releases. Alexandra Patsavas, the music supervisor behind The O.C. and Grey’s Anatomy (ie, she’s the person single handedly responsible for shaping the musical taste of millions of Americans) has announced she will form her own record label, Chop Shop Records, under Warner’s umbrella.

(more…)

American Idol hopefuls, we present you with a step-by-step guide on how to rule, featuring nineteen-year-old wunder-diva Joss Stone. Miss Stone — she of British talent-show-defying success and recently pinkified hair — stopped by our offices recently to talk about her brand new album, Introducing Joss Stone (out March 20th). Why’d she call it that? Well, watch our exclusive interview and find out. Oh, and while you’re at it, check out Joss in action performing new material at the intimate NYC venue Bowery Ballroom. Happy effing birthday.