music
BTS Perform “Dynamite” at MusiCares’ Music on a Mission Concert: Watch
BTS helped kick off this weekend’s Grammy festivities with a rousing performance at MusiCares’ Music on a Mission virtual benefit concert. Appearing remotely from the Peace Hall at Kyung Hee University in Seoul, South Korea, our 2020 Band of the Year performed their Grammy-nominated song “Dynamite”. Notably, the performance featured Jungkook on drums. Watch the replay below. In lieu of its traditional Grammy “Person of the Year” kick-off concert, MusiCares held Friday night’s Music on a Mission benefit to raise proceeds for members of the music industry severely impacted by the pandemic. Other performers included HAIM, Jhené Aiko, H.E.R., and John Legend. The concert is available to replay through March 19th via MusiCares’ website. BTS are also slated to perform during Sunday’s G...
Thundercat Teams with Ace Hashimoto on New Song “VAPORWAVES”: Stream
Chicago-born producer and singer Ace Hashimoto has recruited fellow multi-hyphenate Thundercat for his new song “VAPORWAVES”. Stream it below. The breezy track has a funky bassline and features Hashimoto and Thundercat contemplating the meaning of life. “After the end of the world, when it’s all said and done,” Hashimoto sings. “There’s no sign of life, but somehow life will still carry on / Could it mean our existence not grand as we thought?” Hashimoto originally released “VAPORWAVES” earlier this week as an exclusive on his Patreon page, and warned fans it would only be available on YouTube “for a limited time only.” In a lengthy update, the musician shared his inspiration for the song. “This song is about existential crisis and I believe it was that concept that led me to feeling free ...
Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac Receiving Cassette Reissues
Tapehead City is celebrating Death Row Records’s 30th birthday in the most ’90s way possible. The popular cassette retailer is giving Death Row albums by Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac their very first cassette reissues since the decade they were originally released in. The collection will include four seminal projects that every hip-hop head will know: Dr. Dre’s The Chronic, Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle, 2Pac’s All Eyez On Me, and his follow-up The Don Killuminati (The 7 Day Theory). Like vinyl, tapes present a fun opportunity for labels to choose colors that match the artwork and mood of the albums themselves, and Tapehead chose hues that are unique to these special releases. The Chronic will be available in “chronic” green, “up in smoke” smoke tint, and “standard” white with b...
School Teacher Goes Viral for Awesome Korn Version of the Alphabet Song: Watch
A metal-loving school teacher has reinvented the alphabet song, and he’s blowing up TikTok in the process. Nick Harrison’s aggro version of the ABCs, set to Korn’s “Coming Undone”, even got the attention of the pioneering nu-metal band’s singer, Jonathan Davis. Harrison, who goes by the TikTok handle MrProfessor318, titled his video “My audition for School of Rock 2,” and it features the educator going full-on headbanger from A to Z. The loud lesson in literacy has earned Harrison more than 130,000 likes as of this posting. Davis shared the clip on his Instagram Stories, and Harrison acknowledged the Korn singer’s shout out in follow-up TikToks. “When Jonathan Davis, the lead singer of Korn, of course, posts your video to his Instagram story — I can’t even talk, man!,” the teacher exclaime...
20 Years Ago, Opeth Unleashed the Progressive Death Metal Masterpiece Blackwater Park
Despite being an exceptional concept album, Opeth’s fourth album, 1999’s Still Life, failed to garner enough industry attention to fully reward the amount of hard work and hope they’d been put into it. Even so, their recent signing with Peaceville Records and increased touring opportunities meant that mastermind Mikael Åkerfeldt and company still felt hopeful that their big break was just over the horizon. Luckily, that turned out to be true, as 2001’s Blackwater Park was not just a major steppingstone for the Swedish troupe, but also a huge leap forward for extreme metal as a whole. Part of the reason for why was that Opeth was forced to leave Peaceville and move to Music for Nations / Koch, resulting in an expansion of distribution and promotional prospects. At first, Åkerfeldt was unhap...
Eyehategod’s A History of Nomadic Behavior Delivers a Fresh Batch of Potent Sludge: Review
The Lowdown: Few myths have been beaten into the ground as badly as the adage that rock ‘n’ roll is supposed to represent danger. Within metal specifically, cultivating a dark aura is so par for the course that it’s actually one of the safest routes artists can take. Nevertheless, when the New Orleans sludgecore outfit Eyehategod roared their way to prominence in the ‘90s with albums like In the Name of Suffering and Dopesick, the woefulness that pervaded their music came from a genuine place. Where the majority of their peers tended toward exaggerated expressions of anger, Eyehategod’s forays into addiction, mental illness, and despair didn’t come across as an affectation, but as a raw glimpse into the human condition that cut all the way to the bone. Eyehategod didn’t need to draw from t...
The Pioneering Women of Philly Soul
Fifty years ago, the sound of Philly Soul was born out of the legendary Philadelphia International Records. With the talents of The O’Jays, Patti LaBelle, Teddy Pendergrass, The Three Degrees, McFadden & Whitehead, and others, the label rewrote the standards of soul music by blending in R&B, funk, and doo-wop with massive orchestral arrangements. To celebrate all P.I.R. contributed to the world of music, we’re giving away a Best of Philadelphia International Records prize pack, which includes vinyl, turntables, and headphones. Click here for more information on these prizes and how to enter this exclusive giveaway. The face of soul music as we know it might have been completely different if not for the ambition and drive of a Columbia imprint, once housed in the vacant offices of C...
Purity Ring Announce Fall 2021 Tour Dates, Share “sinew” Video: Watch
With President Biden determined to get the majority of American adults vaccinated by summer, bands are earnestly beginning to look forward to the return of live music. Purity Ring are the latest to announce 2021 tour dates, which they’ve shared alongside the video for their track “sinew”. The song comes from WOMB, the synth-pop duo’s first album in five years that was released just before the pandemic struck. Directed by Toby Stretch, the clip brings back the abstract graphics and costumes that featured in the “stardew” music video, continuing the enigmatic story of the domed bicyclist and their sun-headed sidecar companion. Check out the “sinew” visuals ahead. The clip is sure to get fans hyped for more of Purity Ring’s crystalline sounds, and the band hopes to share them in person again ...
Bop Shop: Songs From St. Vincent, Chika, Rosé, And More
It’s here! Finally! With her debut single, “On the Ground,” Blackpink‘s Rosé taps into her acoustic roots, but with a modern, edgy twist, perfectly balancing her two worlds. Sonically gorgeous, Rosé challenges herself on this seemingly personal anthem about the ramifications of fame, love lost, and the realization that being humble and present is the most important thing, and that “everything [she] needs is on the ground.” Accompanied by an ultra-glam music video filled with luscious florals, beautiful looks (are we surprised?), and fireworks lighting up the sky, Rosé makes her presence known, proving that she can stand out among any industry competitor. For a solo project as highly anticipated as this one, Rosé does not disappoint. Blackpink is — and I cannot stress this enoug...
Di’Ja – My Baby
Check out this brand new tune from Di’Ja – My Baby Seasoned songstress, Di’Ja comes back with another tune and this time she goes romantic with the title “My Baby”. Di’Ja is still signed to Mavin records where she got her footing in the music industry after Don Jazzy provided a smooth sailing ship. She got her start in 2002 but fame found her in 2008, and then signing unto the Mavins in 2014 sealed the deal for the spotlight to shine brightly on her. She’s been on the scene ever since dropping hit jams, one after the other. She returns back to the game this year with a romantic tune even as she remains the biggest female music star from the Northern part of the country. This tune is set to make you feel good about love as she reignites her sensational vocals right on it. Listen and enjoy D...
Alternate Sounds ft. DJ Big N – AfroBeat 2021 Mixtape
Check out this brand new Alternate Sounds ft. DJ Big N – AfroBeat 2021 Mixtape. Alternate Sounds teams up with DJ Big N to drop this live session mixtape on Afrobeats. Revered as the best band in Africa, Alternate sounds have an unparallel reach when it comes to doing live sessions of songs. Their talented instrumentalist can make a live performance of any song and remake it to the awe of its original producer. And then comes DJ Big N, the official disc jockey of the Mavins Empire who has mastered the act of mixing, joining forces with talented team. Alternate Sounds have been compiling their live sessions of hit songs and presenting them as mixtapes over the years. On this one, it’s the best of Afrobeat jams that are the rave of the moment that they invested their time and resources along...
The Horrors Release New EP Lout: Stream
After four long years with no new music, The Horrors have just released their highly anticipated new EP, Lout. Stream it below via Apple Music and Spotify. Lout is the first record The Horrors have put out since their 2017 studio album V. On the new EP, the indie punk rockers embrace a darker, industrial metal sound with ominous hooks (“Lout”), gritty bass (“Org”), and some unrelenting drumming (“Whiplash”). It’s a welcome sound that they sport well, and allegedly it came pretty naturally to the band. “There’s something about it which feels like a return to a heavier sound but really it’s a million miles away from anything we’ve done,” said keyboardist Tom Furse in a statement. “Keeping the sound aggressive and the beats heavy was a central tenet, everything seemed to fall around that.” “I...
