The Streets Announce 2009 Winter UK Journey

All dates are as follows:

1.22 - Academy, Liverpool
1.23 - Engine Shed, Lincoln
1.25 - Olympia, Dublin
1.27 - Corn Exchange, Cambridge
1.28 - Dome, Brighton
1.29 - Brixton Academy, London

Visit The Streets on MySpace.

MP3: The Streets - Dry Your Eyes

Mike Skinner Blogs About Madonna Gig

The Streets frontman had this to say on today's official blog post: *I went to see Madonna last night. I have to say, even though the leotards have deeply upset me in recent years, that lady can jump. Now I am pretty healthy on stage. I bounce and box a bit, but despite how fun it appears, a good solid crowd surf on a decent sized throng is knackering. It's a bit like wrestling, it looks a bit wussy, but when you get locked into tense bodily antagonism and it lasts for more than a minute or so it's fucking draining as fuck. Anyway, Madonna. Me and Johnny often argue over who has burnt the most amount of calories on stage but I don't think either of us burn it like Mrs. Lock Stock and two camp ducks backing her up.*

Visit The Streets on MySpace.

Watch 'Everything Is Borrowed' here.

MP3: The Streets - Dry Your Eyes

The Streets Unleash New Video

Enjoy the title track to Everything Is Borrowed below. MP3 at bottom of post.


MP3: The Streets - Dry Your Eyes

New Streets Album Cover: Love It Or Hate It?

Everything Is Borrowed is out mid September. Watch 'The Escapist' here. MP3 at bottom.

MP3: The Streets - Dry Your Eyes

The Streets Debut New Video

Enjoy 'The Escapist' below. View all upcoming UK tour dates here. MP3 at bottom.


MP3: The Streets - Dry Your Eyes

The Streets Announce UK Tour

Catch some shenanigans at:

Oct 4 Barrowlands: Glasgow
Oct 5 Academy: Manchester
Oct 6 Plug: Sheffield
Oct 9 Academy: Birmingham
Oct 10 Academy: Newcastle
Oct 11 Academy: Oxford
Oct 13 Guildhall: Southampton
Oct 14 53 Degrees: Preston
Oct 16 UEA: Norwich
Oct 17 Academy: Bristol
Oct 18 Rock City: Nottingham
Oct 19 Academy: Leeds

Visit The Streets on MySpace.

Read Mike Skinner's reaction to In Rainbows here.

MP3: The Streets - Dry Your Eyes

The World Of B-Sides & Rarities, #441

The Streets - Weak Become Heroes (M!G!H! Mix)

Rewinding back to 2002's Original Pirate Material.

Visit My! Gay! Husband! on MySpace.

Check out the collective's take on Feist's '1 2 3 4' here.

MP3: The Streets - Weak Become Heroes (M!G!H! Mix)

Streets Frontman Responds To Radiohead's 'Rainbows'

NME declares: *Mike Skinner has poked fun at Radiohead's radical invitation for fans to decide how much they wish to pay for their new album. The Streets star is currently planning to sell merchandise relating to his hit online videoblog 'Beat Stevie', which sees Skinner and his cohorts filming each other backstage at shows. However, he insists that, unlike Radiohead and their flexible approach to the price of 'In Rainbows', he refuses to "go all 1968" when it comes to pricing up the items. Writing on his blog, Skinner said: "We will soon be selling 'Beat Stevie' T-shirts! I haven't gone all 1968 though, we won't be asking for people to decide what price they'd like to pay. They will be reassuringly expensive."* Download The Streets' 'Dry Your Eyes' at bottom.

MP3: The Streets - Dry Your Eyes

Mike Skinner Explains Woes Of Upcoming Streets Album

Here's what The Streets frontman had to say regarding his fourth proper full-length, via MySpace blog entry: "Making an album when you're quite well known is a bit stressful... I've had to accept this week that because my album isn't quite right yet it won't be coming out this year.

I think I've got the makings of a great record, but I've been working so hard on it my head is spinning at the end of every day and when I wake up each morning the first thing I feel is panic.

I've decided to try to get some distance from it while we do this Scotland tour, Get Loaded (In The Park) and Ibiza. This also means I'll maintain my tidy pattern of releasing an album in 2002, 2004, 2006 and, now, 2008."

MP3: The Streets - Fit But You Know It

Is Mike Skinner The New Arcade Fire?

Or is Explosions In The Sky the new Arcade Fire?

You tell us.

In a recent post on his MySpace page, The Streets (aka Mikey Skinner) tells us that his next album will include flutes, harps, violins, trumpets and pianos! Additionally, this time around the lyrics will come first, before the beats.

This can only mean one of two things - The next Streets album will be absolutely massive or a total flop.

No release date for this new project has been set just yet but Mike hopes to finish it up before the end of the year...

More info here!

MP3: The Streets - Fit But You Know It

Mike Skinner Almost Died Today.

No, I'm not shitting you.

Direct from his MySpace blog posted a few minutes ago: I swear to God I almost died today. No jokes. We were on the pirate ship-style thing at the fair and as I got on, the bar came down into my lap but I stopped it going too far so it wouldn't hurt me.

Then when it swung over the top it stopped upside down and I started slipping out of my fuckin seat. I FUCKIN BRICKED MYSELF.

My whole body weight was being supported by my head and arms upside down with the whole fair below me. I looked at my manager next to me who was securely fastened in his seat and my hands started to heavily sweat as I felt my head buckle with the full weight of my body in the bars suspended upside fucking down hundreds of feet in the air like a fucked up action film. I am never going on a fairground ride in my life again...

INSANE! We're glad he's OK and living to tell about it.

Doherty & Skinner Collaborate Yet Again

Via ContactMusic: Troubled rocker PETE DOHERTY has hailed his recent collaboration with hip-hop star MIKE SKINNER and his group THE STREETS "better than rehab". The BABYSHAMBLES frontman worked with Skinner on drugs track PRANGIN' OUT earlier this year (06), and was so inspired by the subject he even added a frank verse of his own. Doherty brands the combined effort one of the most therapeutic experiences of his life, coming after court convictions for drug possession and several stints in an exclusive London rehab centre. He says, "It was better drugs counselling than a month in The Priory. It's probably true. "And it was a cracking tune as well.

Oh man. Does this track have any potential? Awful awful title.

MP3s: The Streets - Can't Con An Honest John + Babyshambles - Fuck Forever

Review: The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living

This month saw the release of Mike Skinner’s third album, The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living, still under the moniker The Streets. Instead of talking about life as a working class Briton, on the new album Mike raps about fame and the pressures of starting his own label. As with his second release, A Grand Don’t Come for Free, The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living is also a concept album, with nearly all of the songs chronicling his rise to stardom. On the first single, ‘When You Wasn’t Famous’, Mike tells us what it’s like to pull a pop-star, as opposed to a fan, and how he is still shocked to see that like everyone else, famous people have vices too -“my whole life I’d never thought I’d see a pop star smoke crack.” The song ‘Hotel Expressionism’ details the art of wrecking a hotel room and in ‘Two Nations’ Mike reveals what it’s like to tour America, “I keep having to say that I’m only joking in New York when I have to buy fags on the road.”

I received this new cd in the mail last week and since then, I cannot stop listening to it. Every time I flip on the ipod, or pop on cd in the car, it is The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living. Skinner’s insistent beats coupled with his mockney cockney begs listen after listen, if not to just figure out what he is saying. By far the stand out track is the first single, ’When you wasn’t famous.’ The song’s backing beat makes it a worthy dance track and lyrically it gives his audience a great look at the surprising by products of fame. I have found myself on more than one occasion playing this song over again and dancing along. Additionally, I really enjoy ‘Never went to church’ in which Mike talks about losing his father and the effect this had on him mentally. It is a good juxtaposition against his other frivolously themed tracks about doing prang (mixture of crack and coke), and conning barmen; ‘Never went to church’ comes off as honest and poignant. A third album pick would have to be ‘Prangin out.’ It is the perfect opening track; it sets the tone for what you know will be a drug filled and frank discussion about a boy’s rise to fame.

I cannot gush about every track though. I find ‘Can’t con an honest john’ monotonous and ‘Memento mori’ skippable as I am barely able to tolerate the strange way Skinner says “mori”. On a whole though, I think this album is a brilliant follow-up to Skinner’s past two successes. I have heard mumblings about it being over-produced but I disagree. Skinner produced the album himself and its polished completeness is a sign that Skinner is becoming a more deft producer, able to bring his message across clearer with stronger songs. It's f*cking book.

Check out 'Never went to church' here (thanks to Stereogum)
and
'When you wasn't famous' here (thanks to Who Needs Radio)

Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living: Drops today in the US of A

In honour of The Streets new album hitting stores today, Vice Recordings are releasing a video commentary of Mike Skinner talking about each track. You can watch the commentary about the first track, 'Prangin Out', here. Music for Robots and Lemon-Red are posting a new commentary everyday, starting yesterday. Fortunately, they aren't on the same schedule so there are now 5 commentaries available.

Download:
'The Hardest Way to Make a Living'
'Momento Mori'
'War of the Sexes'
'All Goes Out the Window'

I really like this whole song commentary thing. Pretty fun. If you don't have the album yet, you can stream the entire thing on The Streets' MySpace. You can download the song 'When you wasn't famous' here. Neiles Life, has some more tracks for downloading as well.

I also definitely recommend heading to The Streets' site to read Mike's blog. In the latest he talks about his favourite flavour jelly bellies and on the 13th, he wrote about foosball strategies.