I’m back! Sort of… I’m at least stationary for the moment, and that’s something, right? I spent last week in another whirlwind – first it was off to San Francisco where I played at Dim Mak’s “Obey The Kitty” night. Then I presented at Macworld, both on the Techgirlz panel and for my own talk, “Online Tools For The Independent Musician.” If you want to download that presentation by the way, read on below. Then it was off to Aspen for the X Games and quality time with the Red Bull family, including DJs Tina T, 12th Planet, Mick Boogie and Tony Arzadon. Now I’ve finally landed in L.A. in prep for shooting the “Diplo Hates You” video…whew. The stories I could tell you from the past few days are crazy, hilarious and very WTF, from having a thirty minute talk with Sinbad on house music and DJing, to Patron shots with Reggie Bush, to Harvard Bass making a surprise appearance at my Vessel gig. Make sure you’re along for the ride by following me on Twitter and Facebook! Now time to get all Ron Burgundy on your butts.

The remix competition for “Diplo Hates You” has ended and we received 114 submissions ranging from moombahton to electro and techno! The winners will be announced on February 2nd and there are two scheduled release dates in February – one for the original and one for the winning remixes. The video for “Diplo Hates You” shoots Wednesday, February 1st in L.A. LISTEN TO THE “DIPLO HATES YOU” REMIX SUBMISSIONS

I spoke at Macworld last Friday, an all Mac-based conference held in San Francisco. The topic of my talk was “Online Tools For The Independent Musician” and got great reviews both by attendees and conference organizers. The presentation as well as an extended written version of the talk are now both available to download and covers sites like Artistdata and Fanbridge as well as tips for enhancing your Twitter and Facebook profiles. DOWNLOAD THE PRESENTATION HERE

I expect one big collective SMH here – Simon Cowell is developing a new show, which will search for the ‘world’s greatest DJ.’ Simon calls DJs the ‘new rock stars’ and says the show will capture the phenomenon. It is still untitled, but will operate much like The X Factor. He has clarified that he will not be judging the competition – his role is solely in developing the series along with Sony Pictures Television and Jada Pinkett-Smith/Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment.

I’m writing about this just for personal reasons, but I’m hoping some of you are excited as well – THERE IS A NEW FIONA APPLE ALBUM COMING. Interest was recently piqued when Epic Records CEO L.A. Reid tweeted that a new album was coming within a few weeks. That might not be true, but it will happen in 2012 according to an Epic Records spokeswoman.

Lana Del Rey’s “Born to Die” album has now been reviewed by the masses and the outlook is generally positive. The Chicago Tribune gave it two out of four stars while MTV News called it ‘epic’ and ‘dramatic’. Amid all of the buzz, Del Rey has also purchased the rights to her 2010 debut album, “Lizzy Grant aka Lana Del Rey” and says she will release it “maybe in late summer.” The album had originally been signed to an independent label that couldn’t fund the release. LISTEN TO “PUT ME IN A MOVIE” FROM LANA DEL REY’S FIRST ALBUM

The RIAA has issued a statement regarding their shutdown of file sharing website Megaupload.com. Titled “Why Closing Megaupload Matters”, the post mentions data that shows sales of digital files rising after Limewire’s shutdown in 2010. Other file sharing sites are taking preventative measures and have either stopped using U.S. servers, allowing public sharing or, in some instances, shut down completely. READ THE RIAA’S ENTIRE POST

“Shut Up And Play The Hits,” the documentary following the 24 hours prior to LCD’s last show together at Madison Square Garden, recently debuted at Sundance. Fans are now asking, what about the actual performance? The four hour show was on Youtube briefly before being taken down, but now it has been revealed in a post screening interview for SUAPTH that it will formally be released on its own. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW