The Bulletin: Arts & Culture Roundup | 18 October

75 YEARS OF SUPERMAN
Look! Up there, in the sky! Is it a bird? Is it a plane? It's... Superman! This year, the Man of Steel turns 75. Luckily, the Last Son of Krypton seems remarkably to be as immune to the aging process as he is to bullets - the idea of a septuganerian superhero flying through the air with a zimmer frame might, perhaps, stretch credibility even more than eternal youth, near-invulnerability, heat vision and the power of flight. Not to mention the fact that nobody ever clocks the fact he is Clark Kent...

To celebrate three-quarters of a century of the man in the blue tights and red pants, filmmakers Zack Snyder and Bruce Timm have made a short documentary exploring his origins, and the many faces and costume changes he has gone through over the decades.

The film premiered last week at the New York Comic-Con. The iconic animated short takes you from the very first cover of Action Comics #1 right up to his latest incarnation as a building-punching demigod in Snyder's Man of Steel. If you're not as up on your Supes-related history as you could be, and this film only serves to confuse, check out Den of Geek's handy guide to the various stages of Superman's life depicted in the short. 

BEN WHEATLEY TO DIRECT DOCTOR WHO
Fandom has responded well to the news that Peter Capaldi, ascended master of profanity, is to take over the role of Doctor Who after the departure of Matt Smith in the forthcoming 50th anniversary special. It seems that the geek legions, who have long been expressing rumblings of discontent over Smith's run, have confidence that Capaldi, in conjunction with show runner Steven Moffat, can reviatlise the series, and perhaps steer it away from the kid-friendly, action figure-oriented snooze-fest which it has become. 

This week, the chances of the new Who shaping up to be an absolute stonker were greatly increased by the announcement that Ben Wheatley, director of Kill List and Sightseers, has been hired to direct the first two episodes. The Metro also has some tantalising on-set photos from the upcoming anniversary special, featuring Matt Smith and David Tennant alongside John Hurt.

Scant details are available about what the new episodes might feature, in terms of plot, villains and aliens, but given that many (if not all) of Wheatley's films contain strong supernatural and psychedelic undercurrents, its fair to say that we expect some excellent high weirdness.

Wheatley spoke to Screendaily, saying: "I am very excited and honoured to be asked to direct the first two episodes of the new series of Doctor Who. I’ve been a fan since childhood - Tom Baker is my Doctor if you are asking. I’ve been watching the current run of Doctor Who with my son and have discovered it all over again. The work that has been done is amazing. I’m really looking forward to working with Peter Capaldi and finding out where Steven Moffat is planning to take the new Doctor."

We're excited. Are you with us? Or is it for weans? Tell us in the comments below!

NEW VIDEOS: PRINCE, ATOMS FOR PEACE, BRITISH SEA POWER, JAMES BLAKE & CHANCE THE RAPPER, OM UNIT, DOOKOOM, THE SPOOK SCHOOL
Prince dropped a new video this week - His Royal Purpleness got 18 year-old dancer Danielle Curiel (who also stars) to direct the clip for his new track, which, somewhat predictably, is about grabbing some pre-work nookie and making good use of morning wood. 

The latest track by experimental supergroup Atoms For Peace to get the video treatment is album opener Before Your Very Eyes. In the video, a claymation Thom Yorke attempts to free himself from a plasticene desert. 

British Sea Power have a new video out this week - it features a polar bear on an alcohol-fuelled jolly, possibly a relation of the bear on the cover of latest album Machineries of Joy. 

Neo-soul crooner James Blake has teamed up with hip-hop upstart Chance The Rapper - the remix of Life Round Here was unveiled a while back, and now it has a spanking new black and white video. 

London producer Om Unit has a new video up - it's a space-themed psychedelic excursion, featuring a track from his much-anticipated debut album Threads, due out 28 Oct. 

Dookoom are Die Antwoord affiliates, bringing dark-edged South African hip-hop to the world with their new video for Kak Stirvy. It's taken from their self-titled debut album, out now.

Finally, Edinburgh indie up-and-comers The Spook School have unveiled their video for I'll be Honest, taken from forthcoming debut album Dress Up. The band play Glasgow's Glad Cafe on 19 Oct.

DAVID BYRNE & NIGEL GODRICH BLAST SPOTIFY
Yet more artists have spoken out to criticise streaming site Spotify this week - first of all, David Byrne slammed them in an eloquent op-ed piece for The Guardian, outlining the ways in which collusion between Spotify and maor record labels has served to rob artists of revenue. After pointing out that Daft Punk's Get Lucky, perhaps this year's biggest track, would have earned the group a meagre $26,000 for over 1 million plays on the site, Byrne goes on to attack Spotify for selling off equity in its business to the labels it colludes with. 

"Musicians are increasingly suspicious of the money and equity changing hands between these services and record labels – both money and equity has been exchanged based on content and assets that artists produced but seem to have no say over," writes Byrne. "Spotify gave $500m in advances to major labels in the US for the right to license their catalogues. That was an 'advance' against income – so theoretically it's not the labels' money to pocket. Another chunk of change is soon to follow. The labels also got equity; so they are now partners and shareholders in Spotify, which is valued at around $3bn. That income from equity, when and if the service goes public, does not have to be shared with the artists. It seems obvious that some people are making a lot of money on this deal, while the artists have been left with meagre scraps."

Then Nigel Godrich, who has already pulled songs by his band Ultraísta and Atoms For Peace from the site, and is an outspoken critic of streaming services, joined in with another salvo on his Tumblr page, hitting out at Spotify, and also at Google. 

"Free information is the blood in Google's veins," Godrich writes. "By ignoring copyrights and tacitly turning a blind eye to piracy Google has become one of the richest corporations on the planet. Conservative estimates value it at around 200 billion dollars. Google ignores international boundaries and local tax laws. The content which it makes available - movies, tv, music and books - generate virtually nothing back to the people who made the work, but they continue to feed and build Google's revenues."

He goes on to renew his attack on Spotify, specifically for its increasing dominance in the subscription streaming market: "If Spotify reaches its goal of gaining a definitive hold on the new delivery system then another precedent will be set and the idea that recorded music is practically worthless will become normal. This has already started happening."

What are your thoughts on Spotify, streaming, and the way revenue is generated for artists by these services? Let us know in the comments below. 

NEW MUSIC: SNOOP DOGG X DAMFUNK, EMINEM, CUT COPY X SPIRITUALIZED, TOY
Snoop Dogg has announces a new alias and project - under the name Snoopzilla, he will unite with producer Dâm-Funk for an album entitled 7 Days of Funk, inspired by the likes of Rick James and Bootsy Collins. "We're the babies of the Mothershship," Snoop told XLR8R. "I’ve had funk influences in my music my whole career. Dâm-Funk is cold. He’s keeping the funk alive and I knew I had to get down with him." The planned album will be Snoop's first appearance on legendary hip-hop label Stones Throw.

Eminem has revealed a new track from his forthcoming The Marshall Mathers LP2, engaging with the oft-entertaining, dick-measuring hip-hop trope of seeing who can pretend to have the biggest ego, calling his new track Rap God. Watch out Kanye, he's after your croissants...

Cut Copy's new album is out on 5 Nov, and this week they unveiled a remix of the title track by psychedelic indie legends Spiritualized, featuring new vocals from Jason Pierce. It's rather sublime. 

Finally, psych-rockers TOY release their self-titled debut before the end of the year, and the band have treated us all to an advance preview of lead single Jon The Dots, out 9 Dec.

WES ANDERSON RETURNS WITH THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
One of The Skinny's favourite directors returns soon - we just had to share the trailer for the new Wes Anderson movie The Grand Budapest Hotel. It stars a typically eclectic cast including it-girl of the moment Saoirse Ronan, Ralph Fiennes, Ed Norton, Willem Dafoe, Jude Law, Owen Wilson and even Anderson regular (and all-round legend) Bill 'fucking' Murray. The list goes on... Anyway, we're psyched for this one.

BOILER ROOM: CHVRCHES
Last but not least, synth-pop sensations CHVRCHES followed up their fantastic homecoming gigs with an appearance in The Boiler Room, performing tracks from their debut album The Bones of What You Believe (reviewed here). You can read our epic CHVRCHES interview here. Watch the performance in full here.