Norah Jones‘ Danger Mouse-produced fifth studio release doesn’t debut until May 1, but you can preview …Little Broken Hearts right now. The 12-track album, featuring the gently rolling first single “Happy Pills“, applies a sunny singer-songwriter sound to its melancholy lyrics — that title isn’t for nothing — which is a reinvention, but not a total departure for the Come Away With Me songstress. Head over to NPR to listen now.

Norah Jones’ time with Danger Mouse in the studio on “Happy Pills” must have involved a lot of chillaxin’, as the tune — from the jazzy songbird’s upcoming album Little Broken Hearts (out May 1) — is a lethargic but lovely lark of a song. Watch the coral-and-beige-colored lyric video for Norah’s new single below.

Norah Jones – “Happy Pills” (Lyric video)

[Via EW Music Mix]

Norah Jones takes it easy and breezy on “Happy Pills”, a sunny, languid tune off her new album Little Broken Hearts. The song (as well as the entire LP) was co-written and produced by Danger Mouse, the non-Cee Lo half of Gnarls Barkley. Take one heck of a chill pill by listening to the song below.

Norah Jones feat. Danger Mouse — “Happy Pills”

Little Broken Hearts will be released on May 1. Check out the track listing:

1. Good Morning
2. Say Goodbye
3. Little Broken Hearts
4. She’s 22
5. Take It Back
6. After the Fall
7. 4 Broken Hearts
8. Travelin’ On
9. Out On the Road
10. Happy Pills
11. Miriam
12. All a Dream

Following the success of the Black Keys’ current chart mainstay El Camino, Danger Mouse is next handling production chores on Norah Jones’ fifth LP Little Broken Hearts (due out this spring). Along with Jack White, Grammy winner Jones lent her pipes to Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi’s 2011 concept album ROME. A press release notes that the tracks for Little Broken Hearts were recorded in the fall, and Danger Mouse shares co-writing and production credits on all of them. Jones will be hitting theaters, ampitheatres and festivals on a full-fledged tour later this year.

The Danger Mouse/Sparklehorse/David Lynch/boldface names of indie rock collaboration Dark Night Of The Soul–one of many blackness-themed albums on this year’s release docket–will have its packaging, which includes a book of Lynch photographs inspired by the music with in, covering a blank CD, thanks to some unfinished legal business between the producer and EMI:

“Danger Mouse’s new project Dark Night Of The Soul consists of an album length piece of music by Danger Mouse, Sparklehorse and a host of guest vocalists, along with a collection of original David Lynch photography inspired by and based on the music.


The photographs, which provide a visual narrative for the music, are compiled in a limited edition, hand numbered 100+ page book which will now come with a blank, recordable CD-R. All copies will be clearly labeled: ‘For Legal Reasons, enclosed CD-R contains no music. Use it as you will.’


Due to an ongoing dispute with EMI, Danger Mouse is unable to release the recorded music for Dark Night Of The Soul without fear of being sued by EMI.


Danger Mouse remains hugely proud of Dark Night Of The Soul and hopes that people lucky enough to hear the music, by whatever means, are as excited by it as he is.”

Dark Night leaked last week, so one would think that the idea of packaging the pretty book with the blank CD was a hint that “by whatever means” actually equals “by being an intrepid Google type,” or just “reading along with the NPR stream.”


Dark Night Of The Soul Store [Official site]
UPDATE: Dark Night Of The Soul To Be Released As A Blank CDR Due To Legal Reasons [Tripwire]

We are now less than seven days out from the 2009 Grammy Awards, the most important night in music that few people truly care about. We wanted to do something to pay tribute to this great institution that, once a year, reminds us that long past their prime artists are still making records people enjoy. And so, Idolator is proud to announce the 2009 Grammy Awards Awards, recognizing the most Grammy-esque things the Grammys have done in the past year.

The first category recognizes one of the most enduring legacies the Grammies has given us: categories which, from their conception to their honorees, make us weep for the future of music as an artform. Ladies and gentlemen, your nominees for Most Soul-Crushing Category:

Best Rock Album

Earns its stripes this year by not just hitting the “out-of-touch” thing dead-on, but actively awarding mediocrity by nominating a lackluster Coldplay album, a boring Kings of Leon album, and a phoned-in Kid Rock album that was most notable for the way its digital merchandising strategy paid off. Rock and roll will never die, y’all.

Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical

Not just because it includes will.i.am! We also have the Johnny K, who produced three of the most loathsome rock albums of the year (Staind, Plain White Ts, 3 Doors Down); Danger Mouse in a year when he accomplished nothing of import; and Nigel Godrich, who got nominated just for In Rainbows. And will.i.am.

Best Surround Sound Album

Because apparently Ringo Starr made a surround sound album.

Best Classical Contemporary Composition

Despite the exceedingly broad inclusion criteria—”For a contemporary classical composition composed within the last 25 years, and released for the first time during the Eligibility Year”—the nomination committee still managed to give a nod to “Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems Of Bob Dylan.”

And The Envelope, Please: This year’s winner has to be Producer Of The Year, if only because of its (relative) strength in previous Grammy years. Not to mention will.i.am.

The 51st Annual Grammy Nominations [Grammy.com]
2009 Grammy Nominees

From time to time, we round up the all-important, all-summarizing last sentences of the biggest new-music reviews. This time around, we look at the critical reaction to Beck’s rush-released collaboration with Danger Mouse, Modern Guilt, which hits stores tomorrow.

• “With its off-the-cuff cover, brevity, and ramshackle feel, Modern Guilt comes off like Beck’s attempt to outrun those songwriting complications. But the reluctance to break with his own conventions is still evident. The album ends with a look ahead: ‘I don’t know where I’ve been, but I know where I’m going/ To that volcano/ I don’t want to fall in, though/ Just want to warm my bones on that fire a while.’ It’s a cautious prophesy–maybe too cautious.” [Pitchfork]
• “‘Chemtrails,’ the prettily trippy first single, flirts with Aquarian Age rapture even as the flowers woven into the singer’s golden locks wilt in the harsh light of a damaged ozone layer (‘That’s where we’ll be when we die in the slipstream/We’ll climb in a hole in the sky’). And when Beck sings, as he does on the thumping, percussive ‘Soul of a Man,’ ‘Beat my bones against the wall/Staring down an empty hall/Deep down in a hollow log/Coming home like a letter bomb,’ Burton makes the ultimate endgame sound like a party you’d still want to be invited to–one that even Beck might enjoy, despite himself.” [EW]
• “The first half is first-rate Beck, particularly the way the hymn-like melody of ‘Chemtrails’ morphs into a chaotic finale. But the latter half of the disc sounds half-finished, as ‘Soul of a Man’ pounds a pedestrian blues riff into tedium and ‘Replica’ dabbles awkwardly in the mid-’90s British dance music known as drums-and-bass. As entrancing as Modern Guilt sounds, its slap-dash songwriting makes it an inconsistent listen.” [Chicago Tribune]
• “Modern Guilt feels like a vanity project: there is no attempt to reach out, none of the classic pop singles Beck has been revered for, just 10 inward-looking, unlovable tracks. ‘Orphans’ is a clever rewrite of Free’s ‘Wishing Well,’ and ‘Chemtrails’ is muzzy shoegazing. Perhaps this is a good time to say goodbye.” [Guardian]

ARTIST: Beck
TITLE: “Chemtrails”
WEB DEBUT: May 19, 2008

ONE-LISTEN VERDICT: The first taste of Beck’s upcoming album with Danger Mouse, Modern Guilt, “leaked” via semi-official channels today, and if you’d told me that “Chem Trails” was a collaboration between Rod Argent and the Beta Band, I would have 100% believed you. But hey, Midnite Vultures is my favorite Beck album so I’m obviously in the minority when it comes to his fanbase. Folks might eat this snoozy Odessey & Oracle stuff up.

WHERE TO FIND IT: Beck’s official site.

MTV is reporting that the new Beck album may be stealth dropped, Raconteurs-style, sometime within the next month or so. The album would be the second Danger Mouse-produced album of 2008 to be rushed into release to avoid extended periods of leakage. (Sorry I made that sound more gross than necessary.) [MTV]

MTV is reporting that the new Beck album may be stealth dropped, Raconteurs-style, sometime within the next month or so. The album would be the second Danger Mouse-produced album of 2008 to be rushed into release to avoid extended periods of leakage. (Sorry I made that sound more gross than necessary.) [MTV]

MTV is reporting that the new Beck album may be stealth dropped, Raconteurs-style, sometime within the next month or so. The album would be the second Danger Mouse-produced album of 2008 to be rushed into release to avoid extended periods of leakage. (Sorry I made that sound more gross than necessary.) [MTV]

In Gnarls Barkley news, Danger Mouse is set to work with acclaimed producer/songwriter Van Dyke Parks and John Cale on a forthcoming album, so maybe the next Cee-Lo single will feature beats by Mo Tucker and Joanna Newsom? You know he’s totally got the same taste in hats. [NME]

The Black Keys, the blues-rock/country-punk/hyphenated-something duo from Ohio, have agreed to let Danger Mouse ride the faders on their 2008 album. Well, he may have finally found a group (other than Sparklehorse) whose fidelity choices might fit the muted sketches and scribbles that he’s now a beloved pop phenomenon for, but I bet the drums still sound like damp feathers slapping together. Meanwhile, the Killers were conveniently in the studio with Lou Reed at precisely the moment MTV came calling for an interview. Perhaps this means Lou will now grow a weasely little moustache and/or develop a penchant for ugly cowboy togs and Brandon will take up tai chi and/or develop a penchant for heroin? Both of ‘em already have a history of combative, incomprehensible interviews, at least.

Danger Mouse Joins Forces With Black Keys [NME]
Killers Talk About Two New LPs, Duet With Loud Reed [MTV]

- Lil’ Kim is reportedly demanding nearly $1 million and an assortment of gifts as compensation for appearing on Celebrity Big Brother in the UK. Warms the heart to know that there are still celebrities out there who won’t just do these reality shows for exposure, doesn’t it? [Metro]
- The baby-boomer disposable income watch continues: A signed copy of Meet The Beatles has been sold at auction for $115,000. [USA Today]
- Danger Mouse is going to head up a “producers’ collective” of anonymous knob-twiddlers who will all be represented by Adult Swim-drawn cartoons. Please excuse us for thinking that this idea sounds kind of like a creepy Livejournal community. [Billboard]

We’ve been hearing that Danger Mouse, the impresario behind galactic overlords Gnarls Barkley, may be trying to collaborate with the Black Keys–and we also heard that Ike Turner was involved. We may be totally wrong on this, and no Danger Mouse/Black Keys reps returned our e-mails (can anybody out there confirm or deny our tip?) but we figured we’d post about it, if only to give us an excuse to ask our readers what, exactly, a Mouse/Keys/Turner project should be called. Crunk Factory? ProudMaryFreakness? Post your ideas in the comments.

Danger Mouse – Change Clothes [MP3, link expired]
Black Keys – Grown So Ugly [MP3, link expired]