Nylon Blogs

Our girl crush on Marion Cotillard is huge–but turns out, David Bowie has one on her, too.

The music legend just released a new music video for the track “The Next Day,” and it features the French actress as, from what we can tell, some kind of freak show mix between Mary Magdalene and Jesus. Even as she has blood spurting out of her hands, Cotillard manages to look amazing. All those Dior commercials have clearly trained her well. (That and, you know, her Oscar-wining roles.)

The actress is joined by Gary Oldman and the entire music video is shot by Floria Sigismondi (who also directed The Runaways), so it’s practically a mini-movie. But don’t my word for it–watch it above, and then let us know your interpretation of “The Next Day.” –REBECCA WILLA DAVIS

We’ve been updating you on the regular as tracks from The Great Gatsby leaked–from Beyonce and Andre 3000 taking on Amy Winehouse, to Emeli Sande in turn covering Beyonce, to a new track from The xx–but starting today you can get it all in one place.

That’s right, the soundtrack comes out today. You can order your copy here–or, if you’re very un-Gatsby and can’t wait for something you want, you can stream the entire soundtrack right here. Check it out below, give it a listen, then let us know which track is your favorite–and if it makes you more or less excited to see the film. –REBECCA WILLA DAVIS

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We’ve seen some weird videos from Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but their new one just might be the strangest.

It’s for “Mosquito,” the title track off of their new album, and the B. Shimbe Shim-directed track can best be summarized as: hand, mosquito, kid.

We won’t tell you whether or not it will end in splat, but we do want to hear what you think. Love the song but hate the video? Hate the song but love the album? Love it all? Yeah yeah yeah? Let us know in the commentes! –REBECCA WILLA DAVIS

We know Vampire Weekend are known for their esoteric references and Ivy League education, but if you ever really wanted to study the lyrics to their new single “Ya Hey” (or just want to spend the weekend karaoke-ing to their music), you’re in luck: The band’s released a lyric video for it.

The track, off of their upcoming Modern Vampires of the City (out May 14, start counting down), features lots of bottles of champagne, views of the Chrysler building at night, and a group of people in togas.

Which is basically our idea of a good Friday night. Watch it–learn it, love it–above. –REBECCA WILLA DAVIS

I know I don’t need to ask if you rememember Taylor Hanson (we both know you still have his poster taped/framed above your bed). The lover-boy, middle child of the Hanson trio just turned thirty, and he’s got a new album (with his bros, duh) coming out this summer–which means he’s got two major reasons to celebrate. But before he parties it up, we figured he needed a slap of reality. Yup, you guessed it–it’s time for a round of BOY MEETS WORLD. -ALI HOFFMAN

THE NEWS: Beyonce and Andre 3000 covered Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black” for The Great Gatsby Soundtrack
Taylor’s View: “People feel like it is too soon to cover an Amy Winehouse song? Well, you know, honestly I think it’s probably too much thought going into that subject. I think you’ve got Beyonce, who’s good at what she does. Andre 3000 is great at what he does. Amy Winehouse was loved. And, hey, you’ve got a great song. I personally don’t don’t have any issue with that.”

THE NEWS: FDA Approves Over-the-Counter Plan B Morning-After Pill for Women 15 and Older
Taylor’s View: ”I think access to birth control in that age group is an issue that goes way beyond whether you can go in and get a pill at 15. I see it as a technicality of a much bigger conversation. Ultimately people and their choices go back to things like family and the choices you’re making at that age. What does that say about our culture that we are making that available for such young people?”Bo

THE NEWS: iPhone users considering trading in their cells for Samsung’s new Galaxy S4
Taylor’s View: ”I do have an iPhone. I have had many iPhone(s). Mac has won over and over by creating really high quality products and being the first to really make things attainable to people. Apple’s pitfall is having the ego that simply being Apple people are going to consume their product. So they’ve got some competition? That’s a good thing. That’s how great stuff gets created. We need an iPhone that can make a pop tart. That is my answer.”

THE NEWS: Monkeys Are Adept at Picking Up Social Cues, Research Shows
Taylor’s View: “This is my favorite question so far. Monkeys, yeah, you need to learn to branch out and don’t go with the crowd. I think monkeys need a pep-talk, and they need to find their own path. Where is the monkey leadership? Don’t be like a crab. Be different.”

You already knew that Tyler Blackburn is into music—he chronicled his trip to Coachella for us, plus we caught him shopping for records. But if you’re anything like us, you’ve been wondering just which bands get the Pretty Little Liars star excited.

So we went ahead and asked him! Here is Blackburn’s playlist featuring his top 10 songs of all-time. Turn up the volume and press play.

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We love Marina and the Diamonds. We love Charli XCX. We love that they’re touring together.

And now, we love that they worked on a track together–and it’s a free download! The song, called “Just Desserts,” celebrates heartbreak revenge with a dark, pop-tinged backing track. The takeaway is, hands down, don’t mess with either musician.

Hear what we mean right here–listen to the track above, or download it below. –REBECCA WILLA DAVIS

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Sometime “chill” music is synonymous for depressing, sleepy tunes that leave you feeling bored–or, worse, bummed out.

And then there’s Golden Youth, the new duo making sweet and somewhat soothing music that’s perfect for those times when you actually want to hear your thoughts. Plus, if you listen closely, you might hear the rare sound of a celeste or even a vibraphone. Kind of amazing.

The band’s debut album Quiet Frame; Wild Light drops on May 28th. In the mean time take a listen of our premiere of “We are Alive” below and let us know what you think! -ALI HOFFMAN

If you wish life was one big scene out of Dirty Dancing–or maybe Hairspray–you’ll love Shannon and the Clams.

The Bay Area band play winking retro-tinged rock fronted by the aforementioned Shannon, a bad-ass broad who you may know from Hunx and His Punx. Her voice, which can go from soulful to snarling in a five second span, carries the band far beyond mere nostalgia.

You can hear it on their upcoming album, Dreams in the Rat House, which comes out on Hardly Art on May 21 (pre-order here!), but while you wait we’ve got the premiere of the band’s new single “Into a Dream.”

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I’m not embarrassed to admit that Lou Doillon is my personal hair icon–whenever I go to my salon, I’ve always got a printed out photo of the French It Girl in tow, so my stylist can remember exactly how I want my tresses to look (shaggy but with a bit of curl, with just-long-enough bangs).

But I might have another reason to love her, and it has to do with Doillon’s music: The daughter of Jane Birkin put out a debut album, called Places, last fall and it’s finally getting released stateside this June (pre-order here). While you wait, check out the US premiere of the music video for her lead single “Devil or Angel”–and if you pause it every few seconds to take a screengrab for future salon visits, well, I can’t blame you. –REBECCA WILLA DAVIS