Will you watch? Sunday night is football night in America, says Al. But also it marks the Silver Anniversary of MTV's Video Music Awards, and despite last year's masterful display of waning cultural relevance, there may be reasons still to tune in that don't relate strictly to masochism and/or self-hatred. Like, there's Kanye's show-closing performance of the new single "Love Lockdown." (You are entitled to think he's forgiven MTV for hating black people, although I suggest you think he understands the promotional opportunity this affords his new single, which just happens to be going on sale the next day.)

There will also be a Britney Spears opening segment! I was wrong yesterday, though: She will not be performing, just doing something "fun and unexpected." This diminishes the show's imminent train wreckability. I'm not sure if that makes it more or less watchable. Other stuff that'll make it more (or, less) watchable includes Kid Rock and Lil Wayne together at last, Katy Perry covering "Like A Virgin," and performances from Rihanna, T.I. (Feat. Rihanna), T-Pain, Lupe, Paramore, the Ting Tings, the Jonas Bros. You can be sure Russell Brand will be sexually inappropriate and pretty British as host, if that's your spot of tea. And if the awards themselves are more your thing, sorry: the bands you like already won what they're going to win. But in case you will/are forced to watch anyway, here's a scorecard so you can play along at home, followed by a drinking game suggestion to make the time go by, and a very special message from Lou Reed:

<img src="http://stereogum.com/img/thumbnails/posts/deerhoof-video-the_tears_of_music_and_love.jpg" width="210" border="1" alt="thumbnail: New Deerhoof Live Video - "The Tears And Music Of Love"" align="right">

Technically Deerhoof's first Offend Maggie single was the "Fresh Born" sheet music, but you get to hear the band themselves in this clip of the album's opening jam in Tokyo this past June. it's a taut song, Greg Saunier pounding away on the drums, per usual, while the guitarists synchronize themselves and work as an angular (but crunchy) rhythmic backdrop for Satomi's bass and vocalizations. "Let's go, let's go, let's go, green valley..."

<img src="http://stereogum.com/img/esau-fader.jpg" width="210" border="1" alt="thumbnail: Esau Mwamwaya Reworks "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa"" align="right">

Mwamwaya will soon release a collab LP with Radioclit, featuring the likes of M.I.A., Santogold, and Ezra and the Vampires. Hear the Malawian's appropriation of Vampire Weekend's Afro-pop appropriation by heading to MySpace. While you're there, listen to everything on the page -- it's good. (via GvsB)

<img src="http://stereogum.com/img/last_shadow_puppets-my_mistakes-video.jpg" width="210" border="1" alt="thumbnail: New Last Shadow Puppets Video - "My Mistakes Were Made For You"" align="right">

Mercury Prize voters: Alex Turner has a worthy project called the Last Shadow Puppets that is up for your consideration, and in case you forgot, here is a Richard Ayoade-directed video to help refresh your recollection. Here the Arctic heartthrob and his fellow Puppeteer Miles Kane of the Rascals move about a bit more than during the mod-era TV-show "Standing Next To Me," talking midnight strolls through dense fog and along winding roads, meeting up in a gazebo to sing about mistakes and admire each others' leather jackets.

<img src="http://stereogum.com/img/thumbnails/posts/zach_hill-video-stoic_logic.jpg" width="210" border="1" alt="thumbnail: New Zach Hill Video - "Stoic Logic" (Featuring No Age)" align="right">

Zach Hills brings a lot to Marnie Stern's This Is It.... On his own recent solo album The Astrological Straits, he in turn benefits from the help of his friends, including Stern (and Les Claypool, the Deftones' Chino Moreno, No Age, the Flying Luttenbacher's Jonathon Hicshke, an Rx Bandit, a Hella mate, etc). Much like the kinetic, kaleidoscopic Play-Doh/cactus-filled "Hindsight Is Nowhere" clip, this over-the-top "Stoic Logic" color explosion hits like a visual sugar rush. There are a couple major differences between this and the last one, though.

<img src="http://stereogum.com/img/thumbnails/posts/kaiser_chiefs_video-never_miss_a_beat.jpg" width="210" border="1" alt="thumbnail: New Kaiser Chiefs Video - "Never Miss A Beat"" align="right">

In "Never Miss A Beat" we're we're told "it's cool to know nothing." Except how to coordinate your outfits for properly dividing into flashy masked and mimed gangs. The video for the Kaiser Chiefs' Mark Ronson-produced anthem finds the youths of today dressed like birds, box heads, and even Steve Erkel, scaring the local constable, making the locals close shop early, and encouraging KC to rock out in the midst of it. It comes with a very Michael Jackson-esque ending. Not in the creepy pajama and wheelchair sense.

I know this will shock your lightning, but said Opinion is rather negative. Since blasting Radiohead is currently en vogue, and three makes a trend, here's this bit via Details:

They're [Radiohead] middle-class boys worrying about pushing an envelope somewhere, and all that carbon footprint and all that bollocks. Every time there's a polar bear on his tiptoes on an ice cube in the middle of the Antarctic, you know whose fault that is? Rock stars'. That's their fault. Any time there's food running out somewhere-- 'Let's do a gig. That'll sort it out. Let's do a big fucking gig. Let's fly everybody in from all over the world and pontificate to poor people about how they should be saving the planet.' Go fucking kiss my ass. It's very easy to just say, 'We're going to become difficult now and challenge our audience.' I like my audience. They paid for my swimming pool. I'm not fucking challenging anybody.

Certainly not the first time he's gone after Radiohead, but I think ultimately Noel's still sore about that "Wonderwall" piss take from years back. In more surprising Oasis Have An Opinion news, Mr. Gallagher likes something: Ryan Adams. (It's mutual.)

The last peep we got out of Andrew Bird was some literal whistling as part of Final Fantasy's Toronto-based St. Kitts Orchestra on the second of Owen Pallet's forthcoming EPs, Plays To Please. Bird played a number of festivals this spring and summer, though, most recently at Outside Lands at the end of August. During those sets, he previewed tracks from the unreleased Armchair Apocrypha followup, A Non-Animal. For instance, the percussive "Master Swarm" from 8/24 at the aforementioned Outside Lands in Golden Gate Park, SF.

<img src="http://stereogum.com/img/bss-lot-nyu.jpg" width="210" border="1" alt="thumbnail: Broken Social Scene And Land Of Talk Join For "7/4 (Shoreline)" At NYU" align="right">

Well not all of Land Of Talk -- and as is generally the case, not all of Broken Social Scene. Last minute distractions kept me from hitting the Mystery Concert semester kickoff party at NYU (featuring BSS, Pattern Is Movement, and the French Kicks) last night, but Pop Tarts Suck Toasted made it to the Kimmel Center, armed with video equipment and the good fortune of seeing LoT's Lizzie Powell fill in for the usual lineup of BSS ladies on "7/4 (Shoreline)." Kevin Drew starts by saying the only reason they're playing the song is because Lizzie is in the building, and based on this performance (and her citizenship), she fits the Scene pretty seamlessly. Mic issues aside.

Because as we've noted, it is rather awesome. Listen at MySpace. The album's out 9/9 via Sub Pop.