music
Mastodon Tap Tool Producer David Bottrill for New Album
Mastodon are working with Tool producer David Bottrill on their upcoming eighth studio album. The band confirmed Bottrill’s involvement with a not-so-subtle Instagram post from the West End Sound studio in Atlanta. Fans were quick to point out Bottrill commanding the mixing board in the picture, with guitarist Bill Kelliher in the foreground. Bottrill since confirmed that he’s producing the record. The producer shared the original image on his official Instagram, with the caption, “@mastodonrocks. We have been keeping this one quiet for a while. But David has been having a fantastic time in Atlanta. :)” Bottrill is an alt-metal stalwart, producing such masterpieces as Tool’s 1996 opus Ænima, in addition to the live album Salival and 2001’s Lateralus. His other credits include work wi...
HAIM Rework “Christmas Wrapping” Into a 2020 Hanukkah Song: Watch
Tonight is the eighth and final night of Hanukkah, so HAIM are stepping up to the plate to serenade its end with “Christmas Wrapping 2020”, a new song they released this afternoon. It’s a rework of The Waitresses’s 1981 holiday classic to be about Hanukkah, COVID-19, and all the chaos that ensued this year. The Grammy-nominated sisters unveiled the track on social media alongside a message for their fans. “HAPPY HANUKKAH!!” they tweeted. “Presenting our FIRST EVER holiday song: Christmas Wrapping 2020 (All I Want for Christmas is a Vaccine) 🔯🎄We hope this song helps you get through the holiday season.” As expected, “Christmas Wrapping 2020” is a clever spin on the holiday radio staple. Over a slinky bass line by Thundercat and production courtesy of Ariel Rechtshaid, HAIM g...
Man, It’s a Hot One: Carlos Santana Launches His Own Coffee Company
Carlos Santana, ten-time Grammy-winning guitarist, global rock star, and… coffee connoisseur? It’s true: the legendary musician has officially launched his own coffee company, and man, it’s a hot one. Simply named The Carlos Santana Coffee Company, the new venture promises to offer “premium, fresh-roasted coffee produced from the finest quality beans around the world, hand-crafted to awaken both your heart and mind.” The products are made in collaboration with the Icon Global Coffee Company and “their 90-year-old fourth generation importer, roaster and packaging company.” All of the various coffee offerings are said to be inspired by Santana’s extensive discography, and many are even named after his recordings. There’s a dark roast blend called “Oye Como Va”, in honor of the Tito Puente cl...
Nicole Atkins, Erika Wennerstrom, Neon Dreams to Play Sound Mind’s Rhythm & Reset Livestream: Watch
Heartless Bastards’ Erika Wennerstrom ( photo by Charlie Pearce), Nicole Atkins (photo by Ben Kaye), and Neon Dreams As if the holiday season wasn’t already stressful enough, this is still 2020, when everything bad is doubled. That’s why Sound Mind Live is offering some respite and promoting community self-care with their livestream benefit event Rhythm & Reset. Taking place Thursday, December 17th at 8:00 p.m. ET, Rhythm & Reset will feature artists performing intimate sets while also speaking out about their own experience with mental health. Nicole Atkins, Heartless Bastards’ Erika Wennerstrom, and Neon Dreams are all set to appear. In addition, the artists will join a panel of mental health experts to share tips for self-care and resources for coping with isolation as we ...
Kamaiyah Opens Up on Her Own Terms with No Explanations: Review
The Lowdown: Since 2016’s A Good Night in the Ghetto and her inclusion in the coveted 2017 XXL Freshman Class, Kamaiyah has been one of rap’s most consistent and exciting players. The Oakland-born and -raised rapper has hyphy written all over her music as part of the Bay Area’s highly influential scene, one that has birthed some of the most iconic gangster rap and party anthems. Kamaiyah exists in between the “hard” and the hyphy, taking the infectious, cocky grooves of Mac Dre and Too $hort into a new age for a wider audience without yielding to current trends. After departing from Interscope Records due to release disputes, the Bay Area star used 2020 to release multiple projects, No Explanations being the third. Despite a quiet release, due in part to the end of the year lull, Kamaiyah ...
Older Gentleman Delivers Amazing Cover of Slipknot’s “Snuff”: Watch
YouTube singer-songwriter Frank Watkinson might seem like an unlikely Slipknot fan for his age. Yet, his thoughtful cover of the band’s 2008 track “Snuff” proves that Watkinson knows at least one of the band’s songs to its core. The already slow track is rendered even more emotionally direct through the simple combo of Watkinson’s powerful voice and an acoustic guitar. Sitting in his living room, he delivers a rendition worthy of an actual concert audience. The clip originates from August but made the rounds over the past couple days (via Metal Injection). While the original track is a ballad by Slipknot standards, Watkinson strips the song even further to its bare chords and sentiment, harnessing a simplicity that genuinely conveys the song’s intended message and atmosphere. Watkinson’s c...
David Bowie’s Unreleased Covers of John Lennon and Bob Dylan Will Finally Be Unearthed for 74th Birthday
Even beyond the grave, David Bowie continues to gift us new music. On January 8th, what would have been his 74th birthday, two previously unreleased covers will be made available to the public for the very first time. The first is Bowie’s take on “Mother”, the 1970 track from John Lennon. This cover was originally recorded in 1998 with the Thin White Duke’s longtime producer Tony Visconti. It was supposed to appear on a Lennon tribute collection, but the release never came to fruition. Meanwhile, the second offering is a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Tryin’ to Get to Heaven”, taken from his 1997 Grammy-winning album Time Out of Mind. Bowie also recorded his reimagining in 1998 while working on his live album LiveAndWell.com that came out the following year. Editors’ Picks The new Bowie cover...
Florence Welch Shares Gorgeous Cover of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”: Stream
The holiday season is well underway, and Florence Welch is celebrating by lending her voice to a Christmas classic. As part of The Stars Come Out to Sing for Christmas, an annual charity event by Nordoff-Robbins, the Florence and the Machine singer shared a gorgeous cover of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, which you can hear below. For her rendition, Welch stayed true to the original, singing gently over a bare piano melody that’s slightly faster than Judy Garland’s 1944 version. Of course, the power in her cover comes from her extraordinary vocal range. Instead of flaunting her skills, Welch takes a subtle approach, singing the iconic falsettos with graceful dexterity and charming casualness. Thankfully, Welch’s performance was captured live in a beautiful video that sets the sc...
As I Lay Dying Singer Tim Lambesis Hospitalized with Burns to 25% of His Body
As I Lay Dying singer Tim Lambesis is in the hospital after a bonfire accident left him with burns to 25% of his body. The controversial metal vocalist, who notoriously served time for attempting to hire a hitman to murder his estranged wife, posted about his condition Wednesday (December 16th) on Instagram. The metalcore singer shared a photo of himself in the hospital, fully bandaged but with a smile on his face as he was about to undergo a procedure to remove dead skin. Along with the picture, Lambesis offered details about the incident and his road to recovery: “Keep your head up no matter what! I’m doing the best I can to make a thumbs up on my way to surgery (in about 30 minutes). I apologize to my friends that I have not had the time to fill in yet on what happened. The entire gas c...
Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin Cover The Knack’s “Frustrated”: Watch
It’s night seven of Hanukkah, and Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin are still going strong with their covers song series. Over eight crazy nights, the Foo Fighters frontman and Grammy-winning producer are tackling a different song by a prominent Jewish musician. For entry number seven, they’re tackling The Knack’s “Frustrated”. “Tonight we’re featuring 4 nice Jewish boys whose biggest hit was a song about a nice Jewish girl… ‘My Shalom-a’ or something like that,” Grohl and Kurstin wrote in a tweet posted to Foo Fighters’ Twitter. “We’re huge fans of New Wave (as well as the ‘old wave’ that came after Moses parted the Red Sea) so we are psyched to present…The Knack! Previously, the duo paid tribute to Jewish greats like the Beastie Boys (“Sabotage”), Drake (“Hotline Bling”), Mountain (“Missi...
Rick James Biographical Series in the Works
Rick James has one of the craziest life stories in music history, and now a TV show is in the works to tell it. Universal Studio Group’s UCP is developing a limited series called Super Freak that will detail the late soul icon’s music career and myriad legal issues. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio is describing the series “a funkadelic mix of music biopic and true crime” that will trace the singer’s come-up in the ’60s, the “Super Freak” years of the ’80s, and his mid-90s comeback that was derailed by kidnapping and assault charges and a debilitating crack addiction. Randy McKinnon (author of Notes From a Young Black Chef and screenwriter for Netflix’s Grand Army) has been tapped to write and co- executive produce the series alongside a host of other EP’s. Am...
Creed Singer Scott Stapp to Play Frank Sinatra in Ronald Reagan Biopic
Scott Stapp (via “My Sacrifice” video), Frank Sinatra (via Nothing But the Best album cover) We’ve been inundated with some unforeseeable headlines in 2020, and here’s one more before the year ends: Creed singer Scott Stapp is playing Frank Sinatra in an upcoming biopic on Ronald Reagan. Yes, the rock vocalist is portraying the legendary crooner in the movie Reagan, starring Dennis Quaid as the 40th president of the United States. Stapp already filmed the role, telling Billboard, “Sinatra in performance mode was an exercise in restraint. He had this steely, stylish swagger and his sheer presence commanded a room. I was excited to join the cast and blown away by the on-set attention to detail, style, and overall production.” His performance as Sinatra comes during a scene in whi...
