If you live in or will be traveling to England anytime after January 7 of 2010, you might be able to purchase your favorite classic (or new wave for that matter) album in stamp format. So there’s a cheap souvenir! Albums that look to be a part of the collection at this point include The Clash’s London Calling‘, Led Zeppelin IV, Power, Corruption & Lies by New Order, Primal Scream’s Screamadelica, Let It Bleed by The Rolling Stones and yes, A Rush of Blood To The Head by Coldplay. Good thing it wasn’t Viva La Vida, or Joe Satriani’s face would have been legally obliged one tenth of the stamp. We kid. (Via: NME)

While combing the Internet in our under last night stumbled across this great interview the Clash did with late night great Tom Snyder in the early 80s. Teddy bears are punched, the squatter lifestyle is examined, and mumbled witticisms are laced throughout. Rather than searching for “fighting babies” or “skateboarding dogs” tonight when you get home from the bar, make this part of your daily YouTube-age instead.

What is with thugs right now stealing shit from rock stars? First news of Pearl Jam’s bass player being assaulted, and now Maximo Park guitarist Duncan Lloyd is also reporting that a treasured guitar has been stolen.

The Newcastle boys are currently at the start of a sold-out UK tour as well as are celebrating the release of new full length Quicken The Heart, which is now bittersweet considering the instrument theft. The guitar, a 1979 brown and gold Gretsch Country Gent purchased from 80s pop band Belle Stars, was also previously was played by The Clash’s Joe Strummer. It is currently being sought out for reunion with Maximo Park. The band promises a “significant reward” for the guitar’s safe return (a life time supply of bowler hats, maybe?). If you have any information to the whereabouts to the stolen guitar, please e-mail maximopark[at]warprecords.com.

The Shaking Hands hail from Gainesville, one of the few oases of bearable living in the deceptively idyllic state of Florida. Sharing half of their ranks with Young Livers, the feisty foursome play fist-pumping street punk well-informed of both the close-shorn and spiky ends of the spectrum. It’s a bit of a departure for a band from Gainesville, as Hot Water Music still wields a formidable influence over the jewel of Alachua County. Punk rock super-indie No Idea Records and its companion punk rock Fall Social The Fest continue to cast a long shadow in G-Ville, but The Shaking Hands are much more from the whoa-oh end of the spectrum, and not in a cheesy MxPx sort of a way.

Cut from the same working-class cloth as Rancid and The Clash, The Shaking Hands are pissed, and not (just) in the drunk way, either. Founded in the wake of the right-wing reactionary opinions that were no doubt endemic to in Florida post 9/11, The Shaking Hands the band and The Shaking Hands the record definitely represent for the common people. Populist science is dropped all over their eponymous debut. Check out “History Does What?” for a taste of where the kids are coming from. Drop the laser and you’ll find The Shaking Hands comes out the gate swinging. “Liars Are For Punching” sets the mood nicely, but the gents play it a little close to the vest for the first five or so songs. Then things really start catching fire. Even with the slow start, all of your favorite punk rock components are here: the band is tight, the hooks are big and virtually every chorus is a sing a long. “Battling Decay” has one of the best in the lot and the breakdowns in “Breathe” and “Jackson’s Hole” are not to be sold short either. Trust me, you’ll like this.

The eleven songs on The Shaking Hands pass in under a half hour, but you get a bumper crop of whoa-oh and gang vocal parts in that time. Breakdowns and syncopated vocal parts are in full effect, tailor-making most of the tunes for PBR-fueled beardo sing-a-longs from Gainesville to San Diego. Even seeming missteps like “You Should Really Get That Looked At” and its acoustic faux-Strummer intro are pretty much exonerated by its explosive electric coda. More importantly, they walk it like they talk it. A lot of faux-politico punk franchises spew a lot of dogma, but still make time to play tours sponsored by car and soft drink companies. The Shaking Hands are coming a little bit deeper than that, even going so far as to claim that they want to make ‘music of significance’ on “I Believe This Knife Is Yours”. The Shaking Hands seem to have accomplished their goal. With their self-titled debut, these sons of the Sunshine State come correct with the music and the message.

Ok, we’re taking liberties here, because “Paper Planes” was released in 2007, but it exploded to worldwide popularity in 2008. And hell, if the Grammy’s can come calling a year late, so can we.

Officially released as a single in early 2008, “Paper Planes” is the third single from M.I.A.’s second studio album, Kala. With a main riff sampled from the song “Straight to Hell” by The Clash and its chorus lyrics taken from “Rump Shaker” by Wreckx-N-Effect, it became an international hit after appearing in the trailer for the film Pineapple Express. It became so popular that it was sampled in a song by T.I. and Jay-Z, it’s been covered in performances by Rihanna and Built To Spill, and in December the single was nominated for the Record of the Year at the 51st Grammy Awards.

M.I.A. – “Paper Planes”