music
Don Lifted Shares New Single “Lost in Orion”: Stream
Memphis artist Don Lifted has signed to Fat Possum Records and shared a new single called “Lost in Orion”. It’s his first new music since 2019, and it’s a fascinating blend of genres that feels both fresh and familiar. As Don Lifted, songwriter born Lawrence Matthews has been putting out music since 2013. According to his Bandcamp, he dropped three volumes of The December LP series within a one-year-period, and then he followed those with two other albums that are currently on streaming services, 2016’s Alero and 2018’s Contour. Although the former of those two albums predated Frank Ocean’s 2016 opus by a month, Matthews is planted firmly within the Blond(e) school of music. Contour and the handful of singles he released that same year meld together ...
Wolf Parade’s Spencer Krug Announces New Album Fading Graffiti, Shares Title Track: Stream
Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade has announced his new album, Fading Graffiti. Due out on April 16th as the first release on his own Pronounced Kroog label, the LP marks Krug’s first album under his own name. He previously released several solo projects as Moonface and Sunset Rubdown. Spanning 10 songs, Fading Graffiti reimagines piano ballads originally posted on Krug’s Patreon page, which was used to help fund the creation of the album. Aided by a full band, the tracks were recontextualized as indie rock songs. “It’s kind of neat the way these songs transformed,” Krug told Stereogum in a new interview. “The piano versions were more fussy and intricate, because that’s how I end up writing on piano. I had an urge to simplify them a little bit, because I could hear some mellow soft-rock numbers ...
Rob Zombie, Korn, Staind, and More Announced for July 2021 US Rock Festivals
Organizers of two major US rock festivals are counting on a relative return to normal this summer, officially announcing the lineups for Wisconsin’s Rock Fest and Michigan’s Upheaval Festival today (March 31st). Rob Zombie, Korn, Staind, and Chevelle are among the bands set to play both fests, while the bigger Rock Fest will also feature Limp Bizkit, Snoop Dogg, Danzig, and more — provided that the events are able to go off as scheduled. Rock Fest in Cadott, Wisconsin is a long-running annual event, while Upheaval in Grand Rapids, Michigan was supposed to stage its inaugural festival last year. Both were called off in 2020 due to the pandemic, so the 2021 lineups are fairly similar to the ones that were set for last year. The big difference is that Disturbed has dropped off both events and...
Don’t Let The ‘Montero’ Controversy Distract From Lil Nas X’s Superior Musicality
By Da’Shan Smith First thing’s first: “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” is another bona fide banger from Lil Nas X. Now, let’s briefly address the controversy surrounding the song’s music video. Gay Black artist slides down a pole to hell after being sentenced for a steamy makeout session with an alien snake? Check. That artist happens to be wearing androgynous costumes, colorful wigs, skintight latex, and manicured acrylics? Check. After arriving in hell, said artist gives Satan a scandalous lap dance? Check. Right-wing pundits suspecting the gay agenda and sacrilegious ideology are plaguing the mainstream and, therefore, negatively influencing children? Check. Check. Check. The music video for “Montero” is a textbook media spectacle. It’s already following the “WAP” effect, where Ca...
Tame Impala Announce “Innerspeaker Live From Wave House” Livestream
Last year, Tame Impala rang in the 10th anniversary of their debut album, Innerspeaker, by rolling out a limited-edition box set. It looks like those celebrations won’t stop anytime soon either, because Kevin Partner and co. have just announced a special livestream event featuring a full performance of the album. The concert, titled “Innerspeaker Live From Wave House”, will go down on Wednesday, April 21st via streaming platform Moment House. For those not in the know, Wave House isn’t a real venue. It’s the name of the studio where frontman Kevin Parker recorded the album a decade ago. Expect the audio to be perfect and the views to be even better; Wave House is a four-hour drive from Tame Impala’s hometown of Perth, Australia and has a scenic view of the Indian Ocean waves. Tickets for t...
81355 Announce Debut Album This Time I’ll Be of Use, Share “Capstone”: Stream
81355 (pronounced “Bless”) is an Indianapolis rap trio signed to 37d03d, the label co-founded by Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon and The National’s Aaron and Bryce Dessner. Today, the group announced their debut album, This Time I’ll Be of Use, which is slated for release on May 28th. 81355 is comprised of Sirius Blvck, Oreo Jones, and David Adamson. According to a press release, This Time I’ll Be of Use finds the rappers “reflecting on Black struggle in the pandemic-ridden and democracy faltering landscape” while grappling with “hard-wired truths and imagines alternate realities with better futures while meshing mystical, somber and danceable elements throughout.” As a preview of the album, 81355 shared the opening track, “Capstone”. Over a spaced-out beat, the MCs demonstrate their lyrical...
Queen Latifah’s Anthem “U.N.I.T.Y.” Still Spells Out a Critical Message About Women’s Rights
Editor’s Note: As Women’s History Month draws to a close, arts critic Okla Jones looks back at the indelible legacy of Queen Latifah and the long-lasting influence her anthem “U.N.I.T.Y.” had on women’s rights, especially in the hip-hop world. The contributions of women to the arts have often been overlooked throughout history. In music (specifically hip-hop), the female artist has been held to an unfair critical standard. The industry requires women to be both talented and desirable, only to allow them to be negated by public opinion if they come across as overtly “sexy” or if their content doesn’t fit some status quo. For quite some time, the music business has served as a microcosm for society’s treatment of women overall: including the verbal and physical abuse, lack of appreciat...
Ex-Misfits Singer Michale Graves Is a Potential Witness in a Capitol Insurrection Case After Joining the Proud Boys
Former Misfits singer Michale Graves is a potential witness in a possible Capitol insurrection trial after joining the Proud Boys last year. According to Reuters, Graves (real name Michael Emanuel) was in Washington, D.C. on January 6th — the day of the riot — to play a private concert organized by a group called “Latinos for Trump” on the request of a fellow Proud Boys member. Graves told Reuters that he didn’t think the Proud Boys were capable of participating in the attack that left five people dead, including a D.C. police officer. “These guys have a hard time getting an order together for McDonalds,” Graves said of the Proud Boys in the new interview. One of the defendants charged with the insurrection conspiracy and prominent Proud Boy member Ethan “Rufio” Nordean said in a court fil...
POND Throw a Dance-Punk Party on New Single “Pink Lunettes”: Stream
POND are back. The Australian psych-rock weirdos have just released “Pink Lunettes”, their first new song in two years, along with a hazy, lo-fi music video. Stream it below. “Pink Lunettes” takes an unexpected twist compared to the band’s 2019 album Tasmania. Over relentless drumming and retro synth swells, POND do their best to get your blood pumping with hectic dance-punk that brings to mind LCD Soundsystem mixed with Suicide. It’s chaotic and manic, but it suits POND well, and they don’t lose their stride at any point across the track’s four-minute-long runtime. That feeling is all the more drawn out in the song’s music video, too. Directed by Jamie Terry, the clip peppers purple strobe lights around frontman Nick Allbrook as he sings along, karaoke-style, to the lyrics sprawled across...
Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie and Savages’ Jehnny Beth Announce Collaborative Album, Share Single: Stream
Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream and Jehnny Beth of Savages have announced a new collaborative album called Utopian Ashes. The project is due out July 2nd via Third Man Records, but today they’re sharing its lead single “Remember We Were Lovers”. There’s a 22-year age gap between the alt-rock icon and the post-punk frontwoman, but the two were introduced through an institution from yet another generation: Suicide. The pair met when they both asked to perform with the now-defunct synth-punk legends at the Barbican Conservatory in 2015, and the following year Beth ended up joining Primal Scream for a live duet of Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood’s “Some Velvet Morning.” The two hit it off and started writing a record together in 2017 alongside Beth’s close collaborator Johnny Hostile and...
Patti Smith Launches Substack Newsletter Featuring Her First Serial
Patti Smith has launched a newsletter on Substack called The reader is my notebook, in which she will share weekly pieces featuring written thoughts, poetry, and music. Paid subscribers will also receive access to her first serial, titled The Melting. While revealing she has written in hidden stacks of notebooks since the age of 12, Smith explained her motivation for the project. In the first newsletter, she wrote, “Now, in the time of the pandemic, isolated from family, friends, and fellow workers, we are reinventing our processes. Through Substack I plan to form an inter-connective body of work for a responsive community. Each week I will post my weekly ruminations, shards of poetry, music, and musings on whatever subject finds its way from thought to pen, news of the mind, pieces o...
Ariana Grande Joins The Voice As Coach, Replacing Nick Jonas
Ariana Grande is joining NBC’s The Voice as one of the coaches for Season 21, which kicks off this fall. She is taking over Nick Jonas’ spot, joining Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, and Blake Shelton as the American singing competition’s coaches. “I’m so honored and excited to join The Voice family! I have been a huge fan of the show for such a long time,” Grande said in a statement. “I can’t wait to go head-to-head with the incredible coaches, get to know these new artists, and help to take their craft to the next level.” Past Voice coaches include Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, Pharrell, Gwen Stefani, and Alicia Keys, while artists like Taylor Swift, Mary J. Blige, and Missy Elliott have played advisory roles. Grande is coming off a Best Pop Duo/Group Performance Grammys win for...
