Shivers of love and death, the sound of other worlds; and always, the voice.

New Diamanda Galas. Available now.

Do not pass go; you need this in your lives. Having her sing both "Down So Low" and "Heaven Have Mercy" promises something truly soul-shattering, and I dig on it. The former is one of the two or three greatest songs ever, a declaration of soulful pain that can make time dilate and stop in its laser-like focus, while the latter was Piaf at her most fatalistic (those who saw La Mome/La Vie en Rose may recall it is the opening sequence of that film). For those alone, I'm psyched, and you should be too.

Family Entropy: The Ciccones.

It's just hard to even know what to think of Madonna these days. She just is- she's Madonna. She remains a fascinating businessperson and icon, even if she hasn't been much fun for the past fifteen or so years.

But the news that her brother Christopher has a tell-all book coming out has me interested, I'll not lie. I love sleazy celebrity biographies (the best one so far being J. Randy Taraborelli's Michael Jackson: The Magic and The Madness), and I derive a sick satisfaction from watching family relationships collapse amidst a flurry of faxes, press releases, and publishers' contracts.



So this new one has some excerpts in the Daily Mail today, and it's mildly juicy. While I do think Christopher Ciccone has an ax to grind, it's nice to have some evidence that the combination of Guy Ritchie and Kabbalah proved a one-two punch in the diminishing of Madonna's, well, Madonnitude.

I'll read the book, certainly. But I still think "Heartbeat," off the otherwise lackluster new record, is among the best things she's ever recorded.

And who really wins in this kind of situation, because here I am, talking about Madonna again.

International pop music interlude: Mylene Farmer (NSFW)

Now, a lot of people pay lip service to the idea that love/sex can stop our most ingrained and violent impulses- but not French diva Mylene Farmer. She's spent over twenty years making great pop music and phenomenal videos, and she's decided to put the record label's money where her ideology is.

Mylene Farmer - "Degeneration"

And all I can say is that between the new Grace Jones clip and this, it's been a staggeringly good week for classic innovative pop artists to come back strapped and bring their a-game. "Degeneration," directed by Bruno Aveillan, feels like a fusion of Madonna's "Bedtime Stories" with one event from Species and an inversion of several of the scenes from Lifeforce- only here, everybody gives instead of taking. Lots of flesh, Lots of unconventional pairings and triplings. Fun stuff. Since it contains nudity, I fear Youtube will pull it, but for the time being, I think it's okay just where it is.

Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Grace Jones.

You can imagine my surprise when I found out there was a new Grace Jones video. A timeless visual and musical stylist, La Jones hasn't had a new video since 1989's "Love on Top of Love/Killer Kiss." I had just begun to process that she had a new record deal and an album, Hurricane, coming out later this fall, when all of a sudden, thanks to the wonderful people at Popjustice, I hear about this-


Grace Jones - "Corporate Cannibal"

It's moody and weird, and I like how it takes a really cheap effect and makes it into something that feels effective and suitable for a pansexual icon like Miss Jones.