Caught in the Net: Glasses raised for a milestone birthday

Philip Glass

On Tuesday Philip Glass celebrated his 75th birthday. We'll be hearing from the esteemed US composer this year at events to mark his birthday around the world, including several in Britain.

Tuesday's milestone was toasted with a performance of his newest symphony, Symphony No 9, at Carnegie Hall in New York and the release of that work on iTunes – itunes.com/ philipglass. More neo-romantic than minimalist, the piece was recorded by the Bruckner Orchester Linz and conducted by long-time Glass collaborator Dennis Russell Davies.

Back in action at the Super Bowl

MIA is having a busy few days. On Monday, the rapper's new single, "Bad Girls", premiered; hear it at miauk.com. It was released online around the world on Tuesday. The track, an early version of which appeared on her "Vicky Leekx" mixtape in 2010, offers a return to a more melodic electro-rap style in contrast to the cacophonous experimentation of her divisive third album, 2010's MAYA. On Sunday, she will perform alongside Nicki Minaj at Madonna's half-time show for the Super Bowl in Indianapolis. Today sees the premiere of a video for "Bad Girls" directed by Romain Gavras, the man behind MIA's ginger-genocide clip for "Born Free". The video will appear on the newly launched YouTube channel of Noisey.com (Vice's music website) at youtube.com/noisey.

Bubblegum pop of a pleasing flavour

The throwaway two-and-a-half-minute song is one of the great pleasures of music so it's always nice to happen across a fine new addition to the canon. Katy Goodman is one third of garage-pop band the Vivian Girls and also operates in the side project La Sera. The latter provides a new album in March; the first offering from the record, "Please Be My Third Eye", is a lovely, brief injection of surf-pop melodies, jangly guitars and lilting vocals. Find the MP3 at bit.ly/xSMgR6. The video chimes with the tones, opening with someone blowing bubblegum – vimeo.com/35523853. Enjoy.

New music just a Stones Throw away

The indie hip-hop label Stones Throw has kicked off an online subscription service. Partnering with start-up music platform drip.fm, the label behind the likes of J Dilla and Aloe Blacc will offer up every new release from its roster to subscribers for $10 a month. Users sign up at drip.fm/ stonesthrow, then get albums, EPs and singles delivered to their inbox. Such endeavours are flawed, I think – voracious music fans will be faced with too many labels they'd like to subscribe to, while casual music fans will find it too much of a commitment – but it's good to see labels trying out different methods to reach fans.

l.ryan@independent.co.uk