“Born Free” has proven controversial already, largely due to its graphic nudity and limb-exploding violence. But where it proves truly incisive and genius is in how it plays on societal prejudices against redheads.

In advance of what will inevitably be one of the albums of the year, the Arcade Fire leaked this week the first single from their upcoming album The Suburbs, due in early August. The surprise is the b-side, “Month of May.”

A hoveled apartment complex gets raided: scenes of crack smoking, fatty fornication, and relentless brutality by somesuch security force. Within a sea of carrot-topped and supposed ne’er-do-wells is an/our anti-hero, one FAS-afflicted scowl you could confidently diagnose with ODD. A group of ginger freedom fighters sporting red kaffiyehs hoot and holler, ineffectual. As a short film the video is completely engrossing, a perfect storm of car crash sad, odd, and violent, filmed beautifully and expensively. Something’s happening, right?

Via Twitter, Mad Decent majordomo/superstar DJ Diplo kinda slammed the new video for Rihanna’s “Rude Boy” as a rip-off of his homey M.I.A’s “Boyz” clip (comparing the two, he does kinda have a point, but decide for yourself). Then, adding humor to injury, the dance-music merry prankster tweeted a download link to his new, irreverent remix of “Rude Boy” just a few hours later. It’s just amazing what that there Interweb can do!

N.A.S.A. – the collective headed up by Squeak E. Clean (aka Sam Spiegel, aka Spike Jonze’s brother) and DJ Zegon (aka Brazilian spinner Zé Gonzáles) – brought together an intergalactic cast of crew members to make The Spirit Of Apollo, their genre-hopping debut album that came out earlier this year…