Alternative Rock
Gorillaz Unveil Video for “The Lost Chord” Featuring Leee John: Watch
Few artists have made better use of 2020 than Gorillaz have. The virtual band released an album and an almanac, performed special livestream sets, dropped vinyl figurines, and visualized their Song Machine series with nine “episodes” (read: music videos). Today, they’re putting a bow on their busy year by sharing Song Machine’s season 1 finale: a music video — err, episode — for their song “The Lost Chord” featuring Leee John. For this one, the gang — 2D, Murdoc, Noodle, and Russel — return to Plastic Beach, the setting of their 2010 album. Unfortunately, their visit is short-lived, as a sea monster portrayed by Leee John emerges from the depths of the ocean and destroys Gorillaz’s former seaside home. Take in Jamie Hewlett’s full visual experience below. Perceptive fan...
Jenny Lewis and Bill Murray Share Cover of Drake’s “Laugh Now Cry Later”: Watch
Well, here’s the strangest gift to ever pop out of an advent calendar. Jenny Lewis and Bill Murray have shared a live-from-home cover of Drake’s “Laugh Now Cry Later”. Seemingly delivered to capture the quarantine vibes of Christmas 2020, Lewis and Murray’s rendition of the Lil Durk-featuring track is downtempo dirge. The former sings as she plucks a heavy bass line, while the On the Rocks actor shuffles out a sloppy drum phrase. “It’s almost christmas!” Lewis wrote in the Instagram post sharing the video. “laugh now cry later.” Check out the duo’s Drake cover below. The Xmas treat is something of a reunion for the pair, who last got in the holiday spirit together for 2015’s A Very Murray Christmas special. Editors’ Picks Lewis also recently reunited with The Postal Service for a fun...
Cage the Elephant Announce Virtual Concert
Cage the Elephant have announced a special virtual concert, marking their first live performance since early spring. The livestream will see the full band play an electric set from the iconic Blackbird Studio in Nashville, Tennessee. The event is part of a Winter Benefit for Bread & Roses, a non-profit arts organization that produces free entertainment and live music for Bay Area children, teens, adults, and elders who don’t have the ability to easily experience the uplifting power of the arts in any other way. As such, the evening will consist of music, fundraising, and celebration to honor the organization’s essential work. The Winter Benefit concert will be broadcast on January 30th at 8:00 p.m. EST via Nugs.net and tickets are now on sale. Check out the poster for the special ...
Dean & Britta and Sonic Boom Cover John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War is Over)”: Stream
Earlier this week, Alanis Morissette festively covered the timeless John Lennon single “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Now, Dean & Britta, the musical duo comprised of Galaxie 500’s Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips, have put their own spin on the holiday classic in collaboration with English producer Sonic Boom. Additionally, Sonic Boom has released his own song dedicated to the season. Jingling bells rattle throughout the warm and faithful rendition of “Happy Xmas”. But there’s also an echoing effect draped over the entire cover, giving it an almost trippy wall-of-sound sensation. According to a statement, Sonic Boom, a.k.a. Pete Kemper of Spacemen 3, came up with the idea for this version and mixed it himself at New Atlantis Studios in Portugal. As for Sonic Boo...
The Voidz and Dua Lipa Perform, Paul McCartney Guests on Fallon: Watch
Thursday night was a busy one over on The Tonight Show, as Jimmy Fallon welcomed Paul McCartney, The Voidz, and Dua Lipa. Each musician was there in a different capacity, with Macca serving as the featured interview. The Beatle discussed his new album, McCartney III, which came together while he was locked down with the family of his eldest daughter, Mary. “I’d have a drink before dinner… and the kids are running around. And once one of them would say, ‘What’d you do at the studio today?’ And I’d say, ‘Ah,’” the legendary artist recalled. “Pull my phone out, get the little boom box going, and I’d play it to them. So they got a preview of the whole album a day at a time. It made it kind of more fun, really. It was like I was just making it for them.” He also touched briefly on a...
Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin Cover Elastica’s “Connection”: Watch
Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin are continuing their eight nights of service to prominent Jewish musicians. For the sixth installment of their Hanukkah Sessions songs series, the Foo Fighters frontman and Grammy-winning producer have covered Elastica’s Britpop classic “Connection”. “From Brit Milot to Britpop…here’s one of the coolest tracks from the 90’s….sung by the very cool…and Jewish…Justine Frischmann…ELASTICA!” wrote the duo in a tweet posted to Foo Fighters’ Twitter account. Previously, the duo paid tribute to Jewish greats like the Beastie Boys (“Sabotage”), Drake (“Hotline Bling”), Mountain (“Mississippi Queen”), Peaches (“Fuck the Pain Away”), and Bob Dylan (“Rainy Day Women #12 & 35”). This run of covers will likely be the last chunk of Grohl-related content of 2020, but there’...
Vicky Cornell: All Unreleased Soundgarden Music Will “See the Light of Day”
Vicky Cornell has stated that all of her late husband Chris Cornell’s unreleased music — including the Soundgarden songs he was working on before his death — will “see the light of day.” She made the confident declaration even though the rights to the unreleased Soundgarden tracks have been the subject of a legal dispute between Vicky and the surviving members of the band. While speaking about the surprise new Chris Cornell covers album, No One Sings Like You Anymore, Vicky was asked by USA Today if more of Chris’ music would be released posthumously. “Yes. All of Chris’ music, including Soundgarden, will see the light of day because there’s nothing in the world that lifts me most than sharing Chris’ gifts, having people speak his name, and having his music out there,” she responded. “He’s...
Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin Cover Bob Dylan’s “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35”: Watch
As is Hanukkah tradition, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and Grammy-winning producer Greg Kurstin have been gifting fans something new each night of the Festival of Lights. But instead of offering jewelry or candy, the dynamic duo’s Hanukkah Sessions song series sees the pair covering eight different prominent Jewish musicians. Thus far, they’ve tackled Beastie Boys (“Sabotage”), Drake (“Hotline Bling”), Mountain (“Mississippi Queen”), and Peaches (“Fuck the Pain Away”). Now, for night five of Hanukkah, Grohl and Kurstin have put their own spin on “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35”, the opening track to Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde. “So now everybody must get stoned (not in the Law of Moses sense) as we put some blood on this track: Rainy Day Women 12&35 by ...
Gorillaz Bring the Song Machine to Life with a Multimedia Extravaganza: Review
Editor’s Note: This review is of Performance 2 of Gorillaz’s Song Machine Live, which aired on December 12th at 7:00 p.m. ET. Setting the Stage: If there’s one thing that Gorillaz are known for, it’s irresistibly creative fusions of music and visuals. From the very beginning, they’ve ensured that their videos, concerts, web content, and assorted paraphernalia provided a characteristically cartoonish spectacle to match the flamboyant edge of their tunes. Their latest multimodal project, Song Machine, is the best example yet of that fusion, as it mixed episodic webisodes with an almanac, a proper LP — this year’s Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez — and more. Really, all that was missing were live performances — that is, until now. This past weekend, the group teamed up with LIVENo...
Lin-Manuel Miranda Sings Pearl Jam’s “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town”: Watch
Later this week, Lin-Manuel Miranda will join Pearl Jam in conversation for a virtual fundraiser centered around the Georgia Senate runoff. To promote the event, the Hamilton creator took to Twitter to sing the alternative rockers’ Vs. cut “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town”. “Elderly Composer Behind The Keyboard In A Messy Office,” Miranda joked in the post sharing his brief rendition. “(I’m so sorry @PearlJam, you play it so much better, see you Wednesday night.)” He also twisted the last phrase of the chorus to show his excitement for the upcoming fundraiser. Watch the clip below. Hosted by Wayne Brady, the “Art and Activism” livestream aims to raise money and awareness for the Georgia runoff election, which will determine the balance of Senate for the first half of Presi...
Taylor Swift’s evermore Continues the Personal Fable Begun on folklore: Review
The Lowdown: Once again, Taylor Swift was lying when she told us there was “not a lot going on at the moment.” Once again, she’s dropped a carefully curated collection of songs unraveling both her extremely public exterior and deeply personal interior life. And once again, it’s an album that acts as a remarkable exercise in lyricism. It’s not just a worthy follow-up to July’s folklore; it’s a mirror, a companion, and a bookend. Taylor had a few more things to say. The fable wasn’t finished yet. Like folklore, evermore was announced hours before release, framed as a “sister” project to the summer album that gave us the latest reinvention of Taylor Swift and successfully cemented her, even in many previously unconvinced eyes, as one of the strongest songwriters working today. evermore picks ...
The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne on the Band’s Space Bubble Shows: “It’s Safer Than Going to the Grocery Store”
As our Annual Report continues, we’ll be taking several looks at how live music changed in a year where most of the world was in lockdown. Today, we share our conversation with Wayne Coyne about his current plans for space bubble shows. A year ago, no one could have predicted that a trip to the grocery store could be life-threatening and dangerous. But here we are at a time where buying vegetables can be anxiety-inducing and unsafe. Concerts mostly apply, as well, but Flaming Lips vocalist Wayne Coyne devised a way to transform live music into a safe process. Coyne is no stranger to performing in what he calls a space bubble. He’s famous for rolling out into crowds, but the thought of putting the entire band and audience in their own respective bubbles was a thought that came to him at the...
