music
AI Software Creates “New” Nirvana Song “Drowned in the Sun”
The recently launched Lost Tapes of the 27 Club project uses AI software to create songs in the style of musicians who died at the age of 27. One of the featured tracks is called “Drowned in the Sun”, and it comes pretty close to replicating a Nirvana song written by Kurt Cobain himself. Stream it below. With opening guitars starting out restrained before reaching a crescendo on the chorus, the track is reminiscent of Nirvana’s signature hit, “Come as You Are”. Its chorus sounds like something Cobain might have written, too, with lyrics like, “I don’t care/ I feel as one, drowned in the sun.” As explained in a Rolling Stone feature, Google’s AI program Magenta was used to analyze the pioneering grunge band’s music and create the instrumental track. An artificial neural network was then use...
BLACKPINK’s Rosé Mourns the End of a Relationship in “Gone” Video: Watch
Last month, BLACKPINK member Rosé dropped a new solo single called “Gone” about the difficulties of moving on after a relationship comes to an end. Now, she’s back with a moving music video that captures that emotional turmoil in real time. Watch it below. In the clip, Rosé wakes up on the bathroom floor where it appears she fell asleep crying. She begins to recount a number of happy memories from her past, including a room filled with gorgeous flowers, laughter-filled dinners, and long conversations over the phone, all of which were presumably spent with her ex by her side. Slowly throughout, these scenes are spliced with footage of Rosé attempting to nurse her broken heart in the present while she looks gutted to do so. The visual is equal parts tragic and uplifting, and Rosé sells each ...
Red Fang Announce New Album Arrows, Share Video for Title Track: Stream
Portland heavy rockers Red Fang have announced their fifth studio album, Arrows, arriving June 2nd. The band has also shared a comedic music video for the title track. The highly anticipated album comes after a five-year gap following 2016’s Only Ghosts. Thankfully, it appears the wait was worth it. The groovy “Arrows” is a ripper, retaining the signature Red Fang sound: undeniable heaviness that’s not quite stoner metal and not full-on sludge, either. And there’s enough underlying melody to attract fans of non-metal music. “Wow! We are so excited to finally release this record to the world!” vocalist/bassist Aaron Beam exclaimed in a press release. “We finished the album way back in December 2019 and then… something happened that is not worth discussing.” He added that making the record “...
The Kid Laroi Knows The Value Of Collaboration
Does The Kid Laroi‘s “Without You” sound like Sia? Maybe, maybe not. But what’s important is how Sia may have inspired its creation. “My friend Omer came through with his guitar,” The Kid Laroi explains, “and I was like, ‘Play something that you think Sia would sing over.'” Before long, Omer — that’s Omer Fedi, by the way, the 21-year-old guitar prodigy who’s helped shape standout hits from Machine Gun Kelly and Iann Dior, and recently helped Lil Nas X conquer the world with work on “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” — strummed the chords that became “Without You.” What Fedi and The Kid Laroi accomplished on that track is notable because it’s effectively a power ballad, buoyed by the 17-year-old&#...
Justin Bieber Finds New Meaning In Life On Surprise EP Freedom.
Just a little more than two weeks after the release of his sixth album Justice, Justin Bieber shocked fans over the weekend with the release of a brand new EP titled Freedom. Dropped on Easter (April 4), the six-track gospel-infused EP sees Bieber embark on a soul-searching journey to better understand himself and his past through the lens of his religious beliefs. Each song on the EP features collaborations with multiple artists including Beam, Pink Sweat$, and Tori Kelly. Bieber announced the surprise release on social media by sharing the album’s cover art — a screenshot of the Notes app with the title spelled out — followed by a caption that read: “freedom on all platforms.” Freedom on all platforms https://t.co/k9a33Pb2Gu pic.twitter.com/BkAqqaKJRZ — Justin Bi...
M.I.A. to Sell Digital Artwork as NFT
Over the past few months, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) have taken off as a popular way for rich artists to get even richer and for everyday people to label themselves art connoisseurs. Everyone from Elon Musk to that viral Fleetwood Mac skateboarder have made hundreds of thousands by selling NFTs lately, and now M.I.A. wants to join in on the fun. As we’ve previously reported, NFTs are one-of-a-kind artworks that exist on a cryptocurrency blockchain. While exact replicas of an NFT may be widely distributed on the internet, the NFT itself is a limited edition virtual property that can be bought, held, or sold. For example, Kings of Leon released NFT packages that featured their new album When You See Yourself a few weeks ago. While anyone can listen to the record for free online, only select ...
JayWood Signs to Captured Tracks, Shares Title Track From New EP Some Days: Stream
Under the name JayWood, the artist born Jeremy Haywood-Smith makes slinky indie-psych with notes of jazz and funk. Now, he’s announced his signing to the Brooklyn-based tastemakers Captured Tracks, and he’s shared the title-track from his new EP Some Days. The Winnipeg songwriter has been putting out music for over half-a-decade now, including a full-length album in 2019 called Time. According to a press release, Haywood-Smith wrote and self-recorded the songs on Some Days back in 2015, but now he’s gone back and completely redone them for his Captured Tracks debut. The project’s title-track is a brisk indie-psych track with twirling guitar leads, a groove-driven rhythm section, and Haywood-Smith’s dreamy croon swooning above it all. It’s a song that fans of both Crumb ...
Topaz Jones Unveils Album Release Date, Shares “D.I.A.L.”: Stream
Back in February, Topaz Jones announced that his sophomore album was on the horizon by dropping a single called “Herringbone”. Now, the rapper has officially unveiled the record’s release date alongside another preview track called “D.I.A.L.”. Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma is due to arrive in the world on April 23rd. It’s the New Jersey artist’s sophomore album, following his widely-regarded 2016 debut Arcade. Like many artists these days, Jones is choosing to keep many of the record’s details (tracklist, artwork, potential guest features, etc.) under wraps until we get closer to its street date, but at least he’s giving us a taste of what it’ll sound like. Whereas “Herringbone” saw Jones channeling College Dropout-era Kanye over a luscious jazz-rap instrumental, “D.I.A.L.” feels m...
Consequence’s Under the Tracks on Vans’ Channel 66 Goes Skate Punk on New Episode
Consequence’s bi-weekly livestream program Under the Tracks rides back to Vans’ Channel 66 on April 5th. This week, Host NNAMDÏ welcomes guests Pete Wilson of Pete Wilson & The Rooks and Cafe Racer to carve out the history of Chicago’s skate music scene. Each artist will put together a unique 45-minute DJ set that drops in on the punk, hardcore, and garage sounds that have soundtracked The Second City’s skate culture throughout the decades. A visual artist in addition to being the vocalist and guitarist for The Rooks, Pete Wilson brings the sublime sensibilities of recent videos like “Look at the Skull in My Face” to his group’s experimental rock sounds. Together with his fellow bandmates drummer Corin and bassist Kevo, his group’s focus on the weird and overlooked align...
R.I.P. “B.B.” Dickerson, War Co-Founder and Bassist Dead at 71
Morris “B.B.” Dickerson, co-founding member, co-vocalist, and bassist of War, has died at the age of 71. According to Billboard, Dickerson passed away Friday (April 2nd) following a long, undisclosed illness. War’s origins date back to the late 1960s, when Dickerson and several other future members of War served as the backing band for football player Deacon Jones. After record producer Jerry Goldstein caught the band in concert, he linked them up with former Animals singer Eric Burdon — and the rest was history. Burdon and War released their debut album, Eric Burdon Declares “War”, in April 1970. It peaked at No. 18 on US albums chart, due in large part to the hit single, “Spill the Wine”, which peaked at No. 3 on the singles chart. The group’s sophomore double album, The Black-Man’s...
DMX in “Vegetative State” Following Drug Overdose and Heart Attack
DMX is in a “vegetative state” having suffered “lung and brain failure,” according to his former manager, Nakia Walker. Walker told Buzzfeed News that DMX’s condition has not improved since he was initially hospitalized on Friday following a drug overdose and heart attack. “We’re just praying and waiting,” Walker said. “Praying and waiting.” The 50-year-old rapper is currently in the ICU at a hospital in White Plains, New York. His family will host a prayer vigil outside of the hospital on Monday evening at 5:00 pm local time. DMX is best known for his platinum-selling albums It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot and … And Then There Was X, which contained signature hits like “Get at Me Dog”, “What’s My Name?”, and “Party Up (Up in Here)”. He also appeared in feature films like Bel...
St. Vincent Goes Back to 1973 NYC with Retro SNL Performance: Watch
St. Vincent performs on SNL St. Vincent delivered her first public performance in support of Daddy’s Home with a late-night appearance on Saturday Night Live. It was an appropriate venue for Annie Clark to debut material from her upcoming full-length, given that the album was heavily inspired by early 1970s New York City. “I would say it’s the sound of being down and out Downtown in New York, 1973. Glamour that hasn’t slept for three days,” she previously explained in an interview. In keeping with that aesthetic, Clark went full retro for her two-song SNL set. Lead single “Pay Your Way In Pain” saw St. Vinny perform in a chic full-body jumpsuit, singing into an old-school microphone. When she later returned to the stage to play her latest song, “The Melting of the Sun”, she was draped in a...
