Q: What's blacker and whiter and listened to all overer? (or: Is our Kanyes graduating?)

LEAKED: Kanye West's Graduation, which you can preorder here. A shoddy rip of the clean release surfaced last night, with the explicit, "scene" version leaking this afternoon (as reported by Calico Jak).

Kanye discussed the album Tuesday at a listening party in New York (video here, via marah). Haven't watched the clip yet, but MTV's site says he "talks with the crowd... about how rappers are the new preachers and his new album is both 'whiter' and 'blacker.'" Hopefully he also apologizes for the hideous jacket art.

Q: Cream, sugar or Mountain Goats?

A: Morning, yo. Can I interest you in the steamin' hottt new single from Aesop Rock, inexplicably featuring the Mountain Goats?

Aesop Rock
Coffee [ft. John Darnielle]
None Shall Pass, 2007

A-Rock's None Shall Pass hits stores August 28th. Preorder it today, etc. More info @ Definitive Jux.

ELSEWHERE IN HIP-HOP: Common's Finding Forever leaked last week, and it's fantastic, as expected. It could be the hip-hop album of the year — except it's produced by Kanye West, who probably hoarded the sticky-ickiest beats for his own forthcoming album. He is, after all, sort of a dick. Anyway, stay tuned.

EARLIER: Hip-hop sucks in '07? (Hint: No)

Q: Does Harry Potter burn out or fade away?

A: As first reported very early this morning on TorrentFreak, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — the most eagerly anticipated book in the history of paper — has leaked to the Internet four days ahead of its scheduled release date.

On one hand, T.A.M.S.Y. hates to ruin a surprise. On the other hand, with the cat already out of the bag, there's really no point in waiting.

SO HERE IT IS — the final page of the final chapter of the final successful book series ever. Click to enlarge:

SPOILER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course, there's no point in buying the book now, but if you need an extremely heavy paperweight, this will do.

Q: Are labels just leaking things intentionally now? (or: How did the Fiery Furnaces' "Widow City" leak already?)

A: On Tuesday, the Fiery Furnaces revealed the tracklist of their forthcoming Widow City, due Oct. 9th from Thrill Jockey, to Pitchfork Media. And now Calico Jak tells me, two days later, the album leaked already. It's very exciting and everything, but WTF?

I would already find it hard to believe the timing here was coincidental — but it's not even the first time this year the exact same thing happened (tracklist released to Pitchfork, followed immediately by album leak). It also happened with [insert band name(s) here when I have time to look it up cuz I forget].

UPDATE BECAUSE OH I REMEMBERED ONE: the Yeah Yeah Yeahs EP' Is Is, which leaked literally the day after it was first announced (on Pitchfork). I swear there were others, but maybe I'm making things up. Anyway, update forthcoming, in which I turn out to be probably wrong about everything. -- 4:45PM

It could just be that the albums are leaking immediately after bands finalize the tracklists or the mastering process or whatever — e.g., maybe Widow City didn't technically exist until this week (it was recorded in Jan.-Feb.). But I do kind of wonder — if you know your band's album is going to leak eventually anyway (and it will), why not at least try to steer the buzz that's sure to follow?

The Fiery Furnaces: Striking while the iron's hot?

I wondered the same thing back when Voxtrot's debut LP leaked, directly prior to the band's high-profile sets at SXSW. (Are you there, Ramesh? It's me, t.a.m.s.y.)

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Indie bands, and perhaps even their labels, seem to be coming around to the idea that leaks might not be so bad for business. Just this week, Stars very openly "leaked" Into the Bedroom After the War via purchasable (but delightfully DRM-free) mp3s. And a couple weeks ago, Noah Lennox (a.k.a. Panda Bear) said in a Shoutmouth interview that he was "was psyched about the fact that [Person Pitch] leaked, that it was an Internet album."

The leak did amazing things for the album. The album has sold pretty well and I don’t think it would’ve…I was hoping that it would do a little bit better than Young Prayer and in the first two weeks it has sold more than Young Prayer had. So, I feel like the leak really helped out in that respect.

I should say, though, that Animal Collective is more my job, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. That’s more where my focus is, musically speaking. So this was just like…I had a really good time doing it. At first I would give live copies of my shows to my friends and people I had a lot of respect for as musicians. So, it was all about wanting people to hear the music. That’s another reason I was psyched on the leak. I was like, “The more people that want to listen to it, the better.” And it still sold pretty well, so I can’t complain about it.

New Pornographers' frontman Carl Newman joked about leak culture in an interview circa January, saying of the then-unfinished Challengers, "We're shooting for an end of August release, which means we'll have to get it completed by the end of April so that it can leak the first week of May."

(On the other hand, Matador Records, the band's label, was reportedly much less happy-go-lucky about Challengers leak. And our friends at Touch and Go were less than psyched about the Ted Leo leak in February.)

Another thing: If the Widow City leak were premeditated, would it have been put out there so many weeks prior to the actual release date? I don't know much about marketing, but my guess here is: Not so much.

So what's the deal? Anyone know anything?

Also, could someone at Thrill Jockey at least give me permission to say that, on first listen, Widow City is totally excellent and surpasses my already high expectations?

EARLIER: Is the new New Pornos' the album of the year?

Q: Are you looking for the White Stripes' "Icky Thump" leak?

A: I only ask because there are 40 billion google million people googling it right now for some reason. As far as I know, only four tracks have leaked, and I'm not hosting any of 'em at the moment (I think maybe that's what actually caused my GooglePages to self-destruct).

Anyway, if you want to find out when the full album leaks, sign up for Calico Jak's Leaked Album Alert, etc etc.

UPDATE: Okay, now it leaked. But it comes out in two weeks, so you could also just, like, buy it. --6/6/7 8:26PM


(By the way, I need to come up with a new name for Caliko Jak. Apparently it's already taken.)

Q: Has the White Stripes' album "Icky Thump" leaked?

CALICO JAK SEZ: No. Sorr(rrrrrr)y, White Stripes fans.

UPDATE: Yes. -- 6/7/7, 5:58PM

Your recent Googling habits indicate there may be some confusion on this point, so just to clarify: Icky Thump the album, has not leaked. "Icky Thump" the song, however, has leaked — in three distinct forms:

1. The Web-ripped live version posted on Idolator last week.
2. A three-minute, 50-second edited-for-radio version, which is — like all things edited for radio — strictly for sallies and pinkos.
3. The authentic four-minute, 17-second album version, in all its glory, presented for your listening pleasure here courtesy of your friends and lovers @ The Answer May Surprise You.

The White Stripes
"Icky Thump"
Icky Thump, 2007 [mp3 expired]

UPDATE: Something called Web Sheriff just asked me to remove the song, on behalf of European continent, or something. Full C&D posted in the comments. -- [05/01/07, 2:45PM]

UPDATE #2: Never mind. I think Web Sheriff was under the impression I'd leaked the entire album. -- [05/01/07, 2:56PM]

Simply delicious.

The album hits U.S. stores on June 19th; pre-order it from Amazon today, and you might even receive it early. Hurray.

MORE ON: Getting excited about Icky Thump!
SUBSCRIBE TO: Caliko Jak's Album Leak Alert.

Q: Have you heard the new Aesop Rock track?

A: Check out "None Shall Pass," a preview of Aesop Rock's next LP — plus nine other hot tracks, c/o hip-hop label Definitive Jux — over on [adult swim]. Here's a deep-link for the lazy:

Aesop Rock
"None Shall Pass"
Definitive Swim, 2007

If you want to hear the others, you gotta check out the site.

Oh, and hey, Idolator: Björk's Volta just leaked fo' real.

Q: Is our bloggers sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy headed, feverish and resting?

A: Yeah, I'm sick. Sorry no bloggy, etc. etc. etc. If you're in the neighborhood, feel free to bring me a couple of these.

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In happier news, Calico Jak's Leaked Album Alert is like totally famous, now that it's As Seen On Idolator.

(Usually, Mr. Jak does not announce crap-quality leaks, but he made an exception for low-bit-rate Björk, because even pirates are vulnerable to peer pressure. Damn you, Denton.)


Speaking of hot leak news, Idolator also has samples of the new Elliott Smith rarities collection and (!) the White Stripes' Icky Thump.

GET EXCITED: Icky Thump drops on June 19th. Album art via The Modern Age:

LEAKED: The Bad Plus' "Prog"

VIA CALICO JAK: Prog, the forthcoming collection of originals and covers from Brooklyn's totally awesome modern jazz trio The Bad Plus, has leaked onto the Internets. The album doesn't hit stores until May 8th, but you can preorder it today via Amazon.

Track listing as follows:

1. Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Tears for Fears)
   
2. Physical Cities
   
3. Life on Mars (David Bowie)
   
4. Mint
   
5. Giant
6. Thriftstore Jewelry
7. Tom Sawyer (Rush)
   
8. This Guy's in Love With You (Burt Bacharach / Hal David)
   
9. The World Is the Same
10. 1980 World Champion
    

Here's a taste:

The Bad Plus
Everybody Wants to Rule the World

Prog, 2007

Audiophiles should note that I had to transcode the file to make it fit within my host Google's 10 MB limit. If you want to hear the song in all its unmolested glory, you'll have to buy the album.

Seriously, please support this band! Also check out These Are the Vistas, one of my favorite albums of '03 (and an All Music Guide album pick).

ALSO SEE: A Conversation with the Bad Plus, via the trio's PR team at Big Hassle.

On a unrelated, superfluous note, I used to live on the same block in Park Slope as pianist Ethan Iverson. I never actually met the dude, but if I had, I would have told him he's much better at playing piano than I am, although I can totally play the theme from Top Gun.

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REMEMBER TO: Keep apprised of the latest record leaks via Calico Jak's LEAKED Album Alert.

Q: Has the new Voxtrot album leaked yet?

A: Funny you'd ask! The eponymous debut from the much - blogged - about indie rockers just leaked tonight. I haven't heard it yet, but word on the street ranges from "it's pretty good" to "IT'S REALLY GOOD!!!"

Born by the River, a snappily designed mp3 blog, has a few tracks available for sampling. Check 'em out before the servers/lawyers explode.

Voxtrot's Ramesh Srivastava trots his vox. [photo: kathryn.]

Voxtrot — another band out of Austin — is one of those groups that the bloggy / Last.fm / rock-critic community loves, but whom the public at large (i.e., the people who still buy music) have yet to discover. Having an actual album will help change that; until now, the band's only put out EPs and 7"s.

Whether or not the leak was sanctioned by the band's management, it's great timing. The Web was already atwitter with bloggage of Voxtrot's two SXSW sets, and letting the album loose a couple months ahead of its official release will keep the buzz-ball rolling.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Voxtrot's "Your Biggest Fan" is still available here. Also, Turkmenistanian president Saparmurat Niyazov is still dead.

PURCHASE: Voxtrot's discography via Amazon.

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APOLOGIES: For the recent slow trickle of Surprising Answers^TM. I'm still trying to pull off The Big Move Elsewhere, but the road to good intentions is paved with hell. Next week should be better. Ish.