Photo: Harvey/WireImage

• Peter Gabriel’s first new album in seven years will be an orchestral spring 2010 “song swap” called Scratch My Back where he and other big-name collaborators reinterpret each others’ songs, according to the Guardian. His collaborator John Metcalfe wouldn’t name names or confirm the validity of a leaked track list that includes Radiohead, Arcade Fire and David Bowie on it.

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In an attempt to tap into the digital-music market dominated by iTunes, Google today unveiled a new song-searching system that will allow users to quickly stream a free track using LaLa or MySpace Music. Both Google and the record business hope the simple-to-use form of music search dissuades users from typing in, say, “Beyoncé” and “torrent” and turning up thousands of illegal song-download results. “The best way to address that [torrent-searching] situation is to provide a really great and comprehensive and fast, excellent music service,” says R.J. Pittman, a product management director at Google. “We really feel the way is to make it much better for people — and that’s going to have a positive impact on music industry.”

With the new system, Google users will find a large “play” button at the top of the results page when they search for an artist, song or album. They’ll also get one free stream, as well as “buy” links to LaLa, MySpace, Rhapsody, Pandora, iMeem and others. “Millions and millions of consumers search for music every day — they’re trying to get to music the best way they know how. And the best way they know how is Google,” says Geoff Ralston, LaLa’s chief executive officer. “ITunes is a great program, but it’s big and it’s heavy and it’s slow. You don’t live in iTunes all the time.”

Still, while the new Google service is likely to be more convenient for customers, David Pakman, a venture capitalist and former eMusic CEO, believes it is unlikely to generate any more income for LaLa, MySpace or the major record labels who provide the content. He says Google searchers probably won’t jump from streaming a song for free to actually buying tracks via LaLa. “Getting access to streaming music isn’t really that hard,” he says. “The problem is there’s just no business around it.”

One advantage for Google is the search giant didn’t have to make deals directly with the labels to get the music — they simply let LaLa and MySpace, who already have such deals, lay the groundwork. Labels, contending with another 20 percent drop in CD sales this year, according to Nielsen Soundscan, have been more aggressive recently to remake themselves in the digital age. “They have been supportive [of the Google deal],” LaLa’s Ralston says. “They understand there’s a new world out there.”

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The Strokes have reportedly run into a “disagreement” while working on new tracks for their fourth album, the follow-up to 2006’s First Impressions of Earth. Frontman Julian Casablancas gave a progress report to the U.K.’s Sun (via the Quietus), in which he admitted the paper there’s a lack of consensus between the bandmembers as to whether “the songs are ready.”

“I’m somewhere in the middle,” Casablancas said of the Strokes’ creative rift. “The problem is getting us together. We’re scattered everywhere, and apart from when we’re rehearsing we don’t see each other. We’re not like people who go to the movies together. It’s weird with the band, a band is actually a great way to ruin a friendship.”

Thankfully for Strokes fans, the hiatus after First Impressions has led to a surge of Strokes side and solo projects, and as Rolling Stone previously reported, Casablancas will release his debut solo album Phrazes for the Young on November 3rd. While the standard release of Phrazes drops next Tuesday, Pitchfork reports that a box set edition of the album will drop December 18th. Why wait? Well, for $89 you’ll receive the album on both CD and vinyl, a DVD of Casablancas performing the songs acoustic, an additional CD of demos and B-sides, posters, a 48-page book with Julian’s signature and much more ephemera.

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Eminem’s “Taking My Ball,” the new track featured on Slim Shady’s DJ Hero Renegade greatest-hits compilation, leaked October 16th after making its debut on Eminem’s Sirius satellite radio station Shade45. As Rolling Stone reported, “Taking My Ball” is a leftover from the Relapse sessions, and it’s essentially a less controversial version of that album’s scathing celeb-basher “We Made You.” The song was cut in 2008, yet on “Taking My Ball” Eminem makes stale pop culture references to Tara Reid, Mischa Barton and feeding Rosie O’Donnell McDonald’s while watching The Sopranos. Listen to it over at Nah Right.

While no firm details regarding Relapse 2 have been announced yet, it seems unlikely that “Taking My Ball” will appear on the Eminem’s sequel to his May 2009 album. Em had previously told his Shade45 that Relapse 2 will be more “emotionally driven” than its predecessor, and “Taking the Ball” sports the immature, antagonist tone of Relapse’s non-serial-killing, non-drug-addled lighter side.

As RS reported, “Taking My Ball” is the lone unreleased track off the DJ Hero Renegade comp, a collection of deep album cuts and rarities that will accompany the Renegade Edition of the upcoming DJ Hero music video game. Jay-Z’s own Renegade collection, more of a greatest hits comp than a scattering of obscure tracks, will also be included with the special version of the game.

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