If you ever tried imagining where Albert Hammond, Jr. rests his pretty little head at night, wonder no more. Today you have a chance to get a first-hand look at the private quarters of The Strokes guitarist. Albert’s two-bedroom East Village apartment has newly re-emerged on the real estate market, on sale for the low low asking price of $899,000.

The co-op pad at 141 East 3rd Street was originally listed for $1.199 million last August, but the buyer dropped out. The apartment was listed again at $999,000, but vanished from real estate sites by January. According to the NY Post, Albert bought the place in 2005 for $770,000.

With the lone exception of three strategically placed guitars in the foyer, living room, and bedroom as well as a stack of records in the living area, nothing in the photos of the apartment screams “rock musician living quarters.” In fact, the pictures reveal that the 1,200 square foot abode to be nearly obsessive compulsively clean. It’s partly due to some minor restaging by someone… looks as though Albert’s makeshift recording studio has appropriately been converted into a bedroom scene for the opening:

Before:

After:

Continue reading ‘Albert Hammond Jr. Slept Here–and You Can Too!’ »

Remember hearing about the project that The Strokes‘ frontman Julian Casablancas was working on for the Danger Mouse/Sparklehorse new collaborative album, Dark Night of the Soul? Well it appears as though the song, “Little Girl,” along with the rest of the album was accidentally leaked in an audio stream on the web last night by the UK Chrysalis Music Group’s official blog. Whoops!

Although the album is no longer available to stream, some enterprising young folks were quick to snap up the audio…so get a listen of Julian’s vocals on “Little Girl” right below:

What do you think of the new ditty?
Continue reading ‘Julian Casablancas Sings “Little Girl” for Danger Mouse/ Sparklehorse Project’ »

Currently my Gmail account is at 97% full–I know that seems humanly impossible, but it’s true.

So I’m taking some time this weekend to go through and delete some of the old stuff I have on the account, and I came across some things that I thought some of you might enjoy.

Check it out:

Sept 24, 2004: Scans of a Sondre Lerche interview in Interview magazine.

October 11, 2004: An image of Julian Casablancas taken at the Ramones Tribute gig at Irving Plaza.

Continue reading ‘Random Photos/Emails I Found In My Gmail Account’ »

Guess which Strokes member is currently taking in the sounds of The Rakes and The Dig at the Bowery Ballroom right this minute? Word is he’s looking well fit and is there with his lady love…

It’s starting to feel like 2004 all over again!

Read about the show over at Music Snobbery.

Lots of Strokes-related news this past week:

1. According to Rolling Stone Magazine’s The Smoking Section, Julian, Fab, Nick, Nikolai, and Albert are all in New York City, hard at work on their fourth album. Julian reveals the band has already created three new songs after three weeks into their rehearsal, and that the band’s new method of dealing with conflicts is paying off. . “We didn’t used to be honest — there would always be mini-feuds over stupid shit,” says Julian. “Now, if Nick and Fab or anyone are saying they like it fast or slow, we’ll talk about it, as opposed to saying, ‘Well, I never liked you sister.’”

What about the sound of the new work? Julian cites the ‘70s, Thin Lizzy, and Elvis Costello as influences.

2. More news, this year’s Dylan Fest (coincidentally sponsored by RS’s The Smoking Section) features some Strokes band members and close friends. Expect to see Fabrizio Moretti and Nikolai Fraiture to do their takes on some classics, as well as their buddies Adam Green, The Pierces, Matt Romano (of Albert Hammond Jr. Band and Little Joy), and the Mooney Suzuki. Tickets are $10 and are now on sale. [Brooklyn Vegan]

3. According to the NME, promotional posters for the new collaborative album between Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse (called Dark Night of the Soul) reveal that at least one song will feature a contribution from Julian Casablancas. Other artists featured on the disc include James Mercer of The Shins, Iggy Pop, Suzanne Vega, and The Flaming Lips.

4. And in the gossip column, Fab was recently spotted by the New York Press at the new speakeasy bar on Avenue A with a pizza shop entrance, Cabin Down Below (owned by Johnny T, Jesse Malin and Matt Romano, and named after the Tom Petty song) with pals Devendra Banhart and Kirsten Dunst.

Ok, ladies. So we lost newly married Ryan Adams, but it looks like the dating world has gained back another New York-based musician.

According to New York Magazine’s Jada Yuan, the romance between Albert Hammond Jr. and model Agyness Deyn has officially ended.

The couple in happier, more photoshoot-y times.

Yuan reports that it was soon after posing for a Valentine’s Day Vogue pictorial that they started drifting apart.

According to the article the two remain friends.

SOURCE: NY Mag

In honor of Valentine’s Day (tomorrow), I present you a story that has been out for a little bit, but will perhaps inspire some romanticism in your life… Recently Albert Hammond Jr. and his lady love, model Agyness Deyn, posed for a fashion spread in Vogue magazine (you know, like you do).

Check out some of the glamorous pictures below:

For those that are a little less inclined to appreciate the gooey nature of the spread, a bit of conflicting news. Although it is stated in the Vogue piece that Al and Aggy are engaged, a more recent NY Magazine interview with Agyness reveals something a bit different.
Continue reading ‘Agyness Deyn and Albert Hammond Jr. Pose for Vogue’ »

If you’ve been anywhere near a TV in the last week, you probably are already aware that SNL’s Andy Samberg’s film/comedy group, The Lonely Island, have spawned a new full-length album called Incredibad which dropped today (Feb 10).

However, what you might not have realized is that a very familiar sounding voice is guesting on one song called “Boombox”–that’s right The Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas.

Julian teamed up with Andy on the West Coast this summer to do this humorous send up describing the transformation of a stuffy country club, a drab and homeless NYC, and a nursing home into a bumpin’ dancefest at the arrival of a magical boombox.

Listen to the whole track on Stereogum or play the video below:

Lyrics below the jump
Continue reading ‘Julian Casablancas Gets His “Boombox” on with Lonely Island’ »

A couple weeks ago Dazed Digital did a quick little Q&A with Fabrizio Moretti of Little Joy (and drummer of The Strokes) which they’ve published on their site today.

Image from Dazed Digital.com

When asked about new news about The Strokes, Fab replied:

We’re back in the studio from February and we’re gonna start working on new songs. I love those guys, and I’m really proud of the music we’ve made and excited for the future of The Strokes. So that’s what I’ve got on for 2009!

No huge secrets revealed in the interview, just some basic talk about how the tour is going (“well” but “exhausting”), the musical inspirations of Little Joy (Motown, Bob Marley, Nina Simone), and the differences between recording for Little Joy and recording for the Strokes (“It was a humbling and honest experience. We made do with what we had…”).

Fab also talks about his mood behind the sometimes forlorn subject matter of the Little Joy songs, declaring that many of them were “born of real heartbreak,” and as the interview took place on January 20th, he expresses his excitement over the inauguration of Barack Obama.

RELATED: My review of Little Joy at Mercury Lounge, NYC.

Here’s your chance to win one of three autographed copies of Nickel Eye’s “Brandy of the Damned” b/w “Back from Exile” 7-inch single. Each record is autographed by Nickel Eye front man, Nikolai Fraiture (aka- bassist from The Strokes).

Just correctly send the answer to the following Nikolai trivia question by 11:59PM on January 19th to contest @ themodernage.org and you could be a winner! Winners will be chosen at random.

QUESTION: What was the name of the short film that Nikolai released in 2008?

As I’ve mentioned before, Nickel Eye’s debut album, The Time of the Assassins, will be released on January 27, 2009 on Rykodisc.

Nickel Eye is currently on tour, and local NYC-ers will have the opporutnity to check the band (backed by members of the British group South) this Friday at Webster Hall.

Tour dates below:
Continue reading ‘Win a Nickel Eye 7-inch Single Autographed by Nikolai Fraiture’ »