music
High on Fire’s Matt Pike Announces Head on a Pike Illustrated Lyrics Book
High on Fire frontman Matt Pike has announced a new illustrated lyrics book, Head on a Pike: The Illustrated Lyrics of Matt Pike. It arrives in bookstores November 9th. The tome collects lyrics and poetry spanning Pike’s years as a member of Sleep and as the principal songwriter in High on Fire. “When I started singing, it changed the way I had to write music,” Pike told the Chicago Tribune’s Steve Knopper via the book’s press release. “I started realizing I was a natural at it. I was always a good creative writer, but words started coming to me immediately — when I get one line, fast, I start getting (full songs) down…lots of them will be metaphoric. I get really complicated when I start writing — my brain goes two different ways.” Related Video Accompanying Pike’s words are brand ne...
CHVRCHES Drop Robert Smith Remix of “How Not to Drown”: Stream
Last month, CHVRCHES released their latest single, “How Not to Drown” featuring Robert Smith, and now they’ve shared a special new version of the track remixed by The Cure frontman himself. The remix draws the single out, transforming singer Lauren Mayberry’s vocals into an echoing, atmospheric refrain before Smith once again takes over for the second verse. “I’m writing a chapter on what to do after they dig you up/ On what to do after you grew to hate what you used to love/ That was the first time I knew/ They were out for blood/ And they would have your guts,” he sings before harmonizing over Mayberry on the chorus. In an all-caps statement, Smith said he wanted this remix to “FOCUS ON SOME OF THE SUNKEN ELEMENTS IN THE BRILLIANT ALBUM MIX, TO CONJURE UP AN IRRESISTIBLE MIDNIGHT SEA, WI...
Unknown Mortal Orchestra Share Soulful New Single “Weekend Run”: Stream
Psych-rock outfit Unknown Mortal Orchestra return today with “Weekend Run”, their first new music of the year. “Weekend Run” is an ode to the off days that rescue us from the week’s mundanities. “When the weekend comes/ Yeah, we’ll be lost in love,” bandleader Ruban Nielson sings. The five-minute track encompasses’s Nielson’s affinity for soul and disco music, backed by a chugging bassline and a danceable beat. Along with the song, UMO have shared an accompanying music video, which aptly feels like a flashback to the 1970s. Filmed by Amanda Hugenquist, it depicts Nielson going about ordinary daily activities like playing video games and making breakfast. “At the end of the day I don’t take for granted that I have the perfect job,” Nielson said in a press release. “I truly work to...
Jay-Z Commissions Reasonable Doubt NFT at Sotheby’s for 25th Anniversary
JAY-Z has commissioned a non-fungible token to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his 1996 debut album Reasonable Doubt. Created by Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary artist Derrick Adams, the NFT is titled Heir to the Throne and is being auctioned off at Sotheby’s. (Via Pitchfork.) Opening bids for the NFT start at $1,000, with the auction set to close on July 2nd. A portion of proceeds from the sale will go directly to the rapper’s eponymous charitable organization, the Shawn Carter Foundation, whose mission is to “help individuals facing socio-economic hardships further their education at post secondary institutions.” “It’s fitting that JAY-Z’s pioneering lyrical brilliance is commemorated through the iconic vision of acclaimed artist Derrick Adams in a bold new medium,” said Cassandra H...
Morrissey, Blondie, Bauhaus & DEVO to Play Rescheduled Cruel World Fest in May 2022
Goldenvoice has rescheduled Cruel World, its celebration of new wave, post-punk, goth, and 80’s alt-rock. The festival, which will be headlined by Morrissey, Bauhaus, Blondie, and DEVO, will now take place on May 14th, 2022 at Brookside at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Update: Due to overwhelming demand, a second date has been added for May 15th. Cruel World was originally supposed to take place in May 2020, but was postponed indefinitely due to the pandemic. Fortunately, many of the acts originally booked to play the festival will appear at the rescheduled date. Other notable acts include Echo & The Bunnymen, The Psychedelic Furs, Violent Femmes, The English Beat, Public Image LTD., The Damned, Cold Cave, The Church, TR/ST, Soft Kill, and Drab Majesty, among others. Rela...
Mining Metal: Take Over and Destroy, Avtotheism, Boss Keloid, Code, Pharaoh, Siderean, Witch Cross, Witch Vomit
Mining Metal is a monthly column from Heavy Consequence writers Joseph Schafer and Langdon Hickman. The focus is on noteworthy new music emerging from the non-mainstream metal scene, highlighting releases from small and independent labels — or even releases from unsigned acts. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many anticipated that a year or more without touring would prompt musicians to create a surplus of material to be released afterward. Now that America’s becoming increasingly vaccinated, that prediction looks to be panning out. Not only are there a slew of spectacular releases on the horizon (and I don’t just mean Carcass, though their new song “Kelly’s Meat Emporium” is a must-listen), but many of them come from bands that never broke up but also haven’t been particularly active, eith...
Foo Fighters Unveil Mark Ronson’s “Re-Version” of “Making A Fire”: Stream
Foo Fighters have released a brand new version of their latest single “Making A Fire”, reimagined by Mark Ronson. On the remix, the superproducer enlists members of numerous bands — including Antibalas, the Budos Band, the Dap-Kings, El Michels Affair, La Buya, Menahan Street Band, the Tedeschi Trucks Band, and Tuatara to provide instrumentation for frontman Dave Grohl’s wailing vocal performance. “Are you afraid of the dark?/ I know a place we can start/ But if this is our last time/ Make up your mind/ I’ve waited a lifetime to live/ It’s time to ignite/ I’m making a fire,” he intones over backing vocals by a quartet that includes his 15-year-old daughter Violet Grohl. Related Video Stream the Foo Fighters’ “Making a Fire (Mark Ronson Re-Version)” after the jump. While the orig...
RZA Announces New Album RZA vs. Bobby Digital, Shares “Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater”: Stream
RZA has shared a new single called “Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater”. It’s the first preview of the Wu-Tang Clan member’s forthcoming album, RZA vs. Bobby Digital, a dual-persona project due out August 6th. The track — as well as the entire album — was produced exclusively by DJ Scratch, allowing RZA’s instantly-recognizable MCing to take the forefront. “Lyrically the hip-hop part of me had a chance to re-emerge during quarantine,” RZA said in a statement. “Giving Scratch the reins as a producer and me taking the reins as an MC, that’s what frees me up creatively and lets me play more with lyrical gags and lyrical flows because I don’t have to be focused on everything. [Scratch] delivered tracks that resonated and brought me back to a sound that I felt was missing. For me it was really ...
Song of the Week: Miley Cyrus and Friends Take on Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, a murderer’s row of stars cover Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters.” This year marks three decades since Metallica released their self-titled album, remembered as The Black Album, and Miley Cyrus, the reigning queen of rock covers and collabs, isn’t letting the anniversary pass without some acknowledgement. With the help of quite a few impressive friends — WATT, Elton John, Yo-Yo Ma, Robert Trujillo, and Chad Smith — Miley has honored the original track with a sweeping arrangement that shows off her characteristically killer vocals...
Rotimi – What To Do
Here’s a brand-new single coming from Rotimi – What To Do. Nigerian-American actor, Rotimi who also doubles as a singer is out with a new tune which he titles “What To Do”. This is coming as his second single for the year and he toes the R&B pathway on this one delving further into his stronger elements in music. He drops the sound off the staples of Fronto Music Group where he’s signed unto with production credits going to Hitmaka and Gary Fountaine. The singer and actor is the boyfriend to sensational female singer Vanessa Mdee from Tanzania who stands as one of the most prodigious female singers from Africa. It’s a beautiful soul and you are going to enjoy it coming from a star actor who’s in love with a star singer. Listen and enjoy Rotimi – What To Do below. [embedded content] You...
Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Is Still On The Right Track, 10 Years Later
I treated the release of Lady Gaga’s Born This Way as ceremoniously as any teen girl without her driver’s license could: by begging my mom to drive me to the mall to buy a physical copy. The record came out on May 23, 2011, the day before my fifteenth birthday. The timing was a cosmic coincidence, but if I closed my eyes, I could almost convince myself that the CD was a birthday gift from Mother Monster herself. I’d hardly admitted I was queer to myself, let alone to anybody else. I carried a giant backpack stuffed with textbooks every day, but it was my identity that weighed on me as I walked through my high school. At the time, I viewed my sexual orientation as an inescapable curse that would alienate me from my friends and family. Like Gaga herself, I was born into a family of Italian-A...
Doja Cat’s Planet Her Has a Song For Every Mood
A year ago, after the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, Doja Cat told us what to expect from a new album. Each new song would have “its own ‘personality,’” she said, and it wouldn’t be “perfectly consistent.” “We have some dancehall stuff on there, some Afrobeat stuff, some funk, house. I’m trying to cover all bases,” she said. Now, we know what she meant. Her newest album, Planet Her, is out today (June 25). Discovered by Kemosabe Records and RCA Records through SoundCloud at age 17, Doja released her first studio album, Amala, in 2018, though it didn’t quite pick up speed until her viral meme hit “Mooo!” took off and helped subsequent singles “Candy” and “Juicy” travel as well. She fully became a star with 2019’s Hot Pink, especially when lead single “Say So” topped the ...
