The Bulletin: Arts & Culture News | 19 December

NEW MUSIC FROM ALICE IN CHAINS, DAMIEN JURADO, SOLE & WHITE HEATH
Veteran Seattle metallers Alice In Chains follow up their respectable 2009 studio return Black Gives Way to Blue with the announcement of a new album for Spring next year. The band have just released the video for a new song, Hollow, the images for which were crowdsourced from their fans via Twitter. See and hear the results below.

Lo-fi folk-rocker Damien Jurado has added his name to the considerable list of musicians offering special Christmas songs to their fans this year. he has written and recorded Kalla Hus to celebrate the festive season. His album Maraqopa was a landmark release for the singer-songwriter, his second collaboration with producer Richard Swift. An interview with Jurado about the making of Maraqopa can be viewed here. Watch the video for Kalla Hus below.

Yet more Xmas action, this time from Edinburgh indie-rock combo White Heath. Their seasonal ditty can be downloaded free of charge from the band's Soundcloud page. Entitled Oh Come With Me, it's a woozy, string-enhanced ballad from the band, and was originally written by singer Sean Watson's great-grandfather, Anndy Stewart, the host of the White Heather Club, the legendary Scottish BBC variety show. Stream the song below.

On a less seasonal note, veteran alt.rap phenomenon Sole has released a new song, in reaction to the school shootings which took place last week. The track, entitled Gun Control, is an exploration of the issues raised by the tragedy, and opens with the hook from Woke Up This Morning by Alabama 3, the theme song to The Sopranos. Rather than taking a black-and-white, pro or anti-gun stance, Sole uses the song as a platform for discussing the complex debate around gun laws in the USA.

"The situation in our country is a lot deeper then just to propose less guns," Sole writes in an email to his fans announcing the song. "First of all, you're not gonna un-invent the gun, its part of our DNA. So those proposing that only our violent police force and army should be the only ones with guns are not only fighting a losing battle, but they are wrong. If this was about guns, you'd be able to come up with a mathematic equation that one could apply to predict massacres every nation, but this only really happens here. Switzerland actually has a higher rate of gun ownership then the US per household, but far less murders by guns. So whether or not people want to ban or restrict guns, it's not going to address what is at the root of these attacks." Listen to the track and download it for free below.

MOGWAI'S SOUNDTRACK FOR LES REVENANTS GETS DIGITAL RELEASE
After shooting down our suggestion that they might collaborate with Susan Boyle for a festive cover of Little Drummer Boy on Twitter last week (but leaving the door open nonetheless), Mogwai revealed their Christmas surprise to be the digital release of their score for French TV series Les Revenants (Ghosts). The band are planning a limited edition 10" vinyl release for 28 Jan on their Rock Action label. The 4-track EP is available now via iTunes. Liisten to the song Wizard Motor from the EP below. Speaking to The Quietus about the project in November, Mogwai's John Cummings described the music as: "Calmly unsettling."

MYTH OF THE STARVING ARTIST: NOT A MYTH
Following on from James Kelman's announcment, detailed in a previous Bulletin, that he only earns £15,000 a year for his work, a new report has been released by the Scottish Artists Union which alleges that the majority (around 70%) of professional visual artists living and working in Scotland earn less than £5,000 a year (about £100 a week). The Scotsman reports that without working partners to support them, and without tax credits, the majority of artists wouyld be unable to survive - which raises significant questions about the way we fund, support and pay artists. It also begs the question: why do we pay arts administrators so much, but artists so little? Andrew Dixon, who recently resigned his post as director of Creative Scotland, will be paid £60,000 (six months salary) after he steps down over the row about Creative Scotland's management of it's £83 million budget. According to Scottish Enterprise, over 60,000 people are employed in the arts and entertainment industry in Scotland. Just 7% of those surveyed by the SAU earn more than £25,000 a year.

FRANK OCEAN MAY NEVER RELEASE ANOTHER ALBUM
Frank Ocean's Channel Orange album topped the prestigious 2012 end-of-year 'poll of polls' conducted by HMV, which aggregates the album charts of music magazines and journalists, beating off competition from White Stripes frontman Jack White. But in a recent interview with The Guardian, Ocean warned that Channel Orange may be his last album. The rapper, whose decision to come out as a gay man was one of the most significant moments in the musical culture of 2012, said: "I might not make another album. I might just write a novel next."

It seems as though ocean was merely toying with the interviewer, and his fans - later in the interview he states: "I don't intend to stop making music. This isn't a faux retirement. It's no bullshit. I was just making music yesterday. But I do think – it would be fucking legendary if I just made Channel Orange last year, then put out a best-selling novel next year, then, you know, designed an arena in Stockholm in 2014!" Seminal hip-hop, novels, architecture - is there anything beyond this renaissance man? If his plans do come to fruition, Ocean could end up being as ubiquitous as Olympic torch-bearer, Apple pimp and "talent" show judge Will-i-am... We'd certainly rather read a Frank Ocean novel than watch another Will-i-am commercial. (Those hoping that Will-i-am will retire and stop signing sponsorship deals in 2013 are more than likely to be disappointed.)

SEAN PENN SAYS HOLLYWOOOD ACTORS ARE 'INSTRUMENTS OF A CONSUMERIST MOSH-PIT'
In an interview with Esquire Magazine, former Hollywood badboy turned indie film maverick and Oscar-botherer Sean Penn unleashes a wonderfully sweary rant against his fellow actors, branding them "instruments of a consumerist mosh-pit." He goes on to pour scorn on actors who accept sponsorship deals, saying: "I do think that in general the standard of aspiration is low, very low. And mostly they're just doing a bunch of monkey-fuck-rat movies... I blame them just as much as I do the business. I know everybody wants to make some money, everybody's got a modeling contract, everybody's selling jewelry and perfume. I'm blinded by it." 

XMAS PRESENTS FROM 4AD
Each year, 4AD releases a free compilation of the highlights from its releases in the past 12 months. 2012 has been a remarkable year for the label, with Canadian avant-garde electro-pop pioneer Grimes kicking ass and taking names across music industry 'top ten' lists, and with significant releases from fellow Canucks Purity Ring, underground rap star Spaceghost Purrp, art-punkers Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, the magisterial electro-soul of Twin Shadow, and veteran rocker David Byrne, who released a collaboration with St Vincent. Stream the compilation below, and enter your email address to receive a free download.

THE SKINNY'S SPOTIFY GUIDE TO THE ALBUMS OF 2012
By now you'll have checked out The Skinny's very own end-of-year list, detailing our favourite albums and artists from 2012. As a special added bonus, our dedicated team of music-hounds have compiled this handy, 100-track 'cheat sheet' to guide you through some of the highlights of those albums - you can stream it below on Spotify. The list includes Liars, Human Don't Be Angry, Laurel Halo, Frightened Rabbit, Twin Shadow, Two Fingers, Deftones and a whole host of other well-kent faces from the pages of The Skinny. Enjoy!