While You Were Sleeping, Ms Lauryn Hill Returned

New Lauryn Hill Song:

Last month, it came to light that Lauryn Hill, who we haven’t seen much of since 2001’s MTV Unplugged No. 2.0, would be avoiding serious tax evasion charges thanks to a $1 million record deal with Sony — if she managed to deliver the songs on time. Hill, who hasn’t payed tax on $1.8 million earned between 2005 and 2007, was given until May 6 — today — to find the $504 000 she still owes, putting a pretty epic amount of stress on the singer to write and record the five songs Sony requires of her (which will be followed by a full album).

But, she made it. Here’s the first track: an unrelenting, rapid-fire indictment of the state of humanity, which was released with a disclaimer via her Tumblr:

“Here is a link to a piece that I was ‘required’ to release immediately, by virtue of the impending legal deadline. I love being able to reach people directly, but in an ideal scenario, I would not have to rush the release of new music… but the message is still there. In light of Wednesday’s tragic loss (of former label mate Chris Kelly), I am even more pressed to YELL this to a multitude that may not understand the cost of allowing today’s unhealthy paradigms to remain unchecked!” (via Pitchfork, Billboard)

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Here’s J.J. Abrams And Simon Pegg Talking About Star Trek Wars:

Simon Pegg plays Scotty in the new Star Trek Into Darkness films, which were directed by J.J. Abrams. Here, Abrams talks to him about how different it is working on Star Trek, of which he was never a fan, compared to helming the upcoming Star Wars film — which he’s coming at after “pre-loving” the originals.

The clip was doing the rounds on May the 4th because, you know, nerdz. (via Hollywood Reporter)

New Vampire Weekend Song:

What even are “lyric videos”? What do they achieve, and why do they exist? Why is the footage behind the lyrics always so obscure, never related to the song’s content, and mostly in slow motion? Is the footage filmed exclusively for the clip? Does the band itself choose it? If not, who does, and why?

These are some of the questions you can ask while you’re listening to ‘Ya Hey’, the latest track off Vampire Weekend’s great-sounding but poorly-named next album, Modern Vampires of the City. It’s due out next week.

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That Pesky Syrian Electronic Army Is Back:

E! News, the latest victim in what’s becoming regular Twitter hacking from the Syrian Electronic Army, was broken into on Sunday morning, forcing it to shut down for a few hours before resuming business as usual. Lolz.

These guys! No word yet on how the attack has affected the Dow Jones.

Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch: