music
Pearl Jam’s Legendary MTV Unplugged Live Album Finally Available on Streaming Services: Stream
Today marks the 30th anniversary of Pearl Jam’s very first concert, something they are celebrating with a vinyl reissue and the first-ever CD release of their classic MTV Unplugged set. Both formats are out as of today, though unsurprisingly, the LP version is long sold out. But thankfully, there’s yet another way to hear the beloved album. In a surprise move, Pearl Jam’s MTV Unplugged has been released on streaming services for the very first time. You can listen to it right now via Spotify and Apple Music below. Captured on March 16th, 1992, the seven-song Unplugged session saw Pearl Jam playing acoustic versions of material from their Ten debut. Also included is the track “State of Love and Trust”, originally released on the Singles soundtrack. Over the years, these recordings have...
Bring Me the Horizon Unveil New Song “Teardrops”: Stream
Bring Me the Horizon have unleashed another new song from their upcoming EP, Post Human: Survival Horror. The latest single, “Teardrops”, is accompanied by a music video that finds frontman Oli Sykes in an underwater struggle. “Teardrops” follows recent singles “Parasite Eve” and “Obey”, as well as last year’s “Ludens”, which all appear on the nine-song EP, due October 30th. Sykes has high praise fo “Teardrops”, ranking it among the UK band’s top tracks. “It is my favorite song off the record,” he said in a press release. “I’m so excited to get this single out, it feels like a classic Bring Me the Horizon tune but without it feeling like anything we’ve done before. I feel like ‘Teardrops’ is some of the best work we’ve ever done, musically and lyrically as whole.” Editors’ Picks As p...
Elton John Gets His Own Barbie Doll
Just in time for the holidays, Elton John has launched his very own Barbie doll. In a collaboration with Mattel, The Rocket Man himself has decked out the beloved children’s toy with his signature getup: tinted glasses, a purple bowler hat, bomber jacket, platform boots, and flared jeans emblazoned with his initials. More than a great children’s gift, the doll doubles as a commemorative token for the 45-year celebration of his iconic 1975 Dodgers Stadium performance, which was a high-point in the 2019 film Rocketman. An image of John hunched over the piano in his sparkling Dodgers uniform is pictured on the doll’s box, which is also decked out in 3D stars. In a quote published in Rolling Stone, John revealed how excited he was to carry out a collaboration with this storied pop cu...
Aftershock 2021 Lineup: Metallica, My Chemical Romance, Limp Bizkit, Mastodon, Rancid, Gojira, and More
Metallica (photo by Amy Price), My Chemical Romance (photo by David Brendan Hall) Aftershock Festival has unveiled its 2021 lineup, and it’s stacked with metal and punk heavyweights. Metallica, My Chemical Romance, Limp Bizkit, Mastodon, Rancid, Gojira, and more are on the four-day bill. It was previously announced that Metallica and MCR would headline the 2020 edition of Aftershock. When that fest was canceled due to the pandemic, it was revealed that both bands would be back for the 2021 edition. Now, the rest of the lineup has been announced. The festival will take place October 7th through 10th at Discovery Park in Sacramento, California, with metal titans Metallica headlining the Friday and Sunday lineups by playing unique sets on each night. Reunited emo heroes My Chemical Romance wi...
Dale Crover (Melvins) Announces New Solo Album Rat-A-Tat-Tat!, Shares “Tougher”: Stream
Melvins drummer Dale Crover will release his sophomore solo album, Rat-A-Tat-Tat!, on January 15th via Joyful Noise. Along with announcing the new LP, Crover has shared the lead single, “Tougher”, which showcases the stickman’s guitar skills. Crover has often been the background collaborator and drummer for the projects of others, whether it be Kurt Cobain’s earliest home recordings as Fecal Matter, drumming for Mexico stoner band Low Flying Hawks, or his long-held position in the Melvins. That said, Crover has plenty of great musical ideas beyond his fantastic percussion. It’s actually a shame we haven’t heard more from solo Crover. His 1992 EP as part of the Melvins’ KISS-style solo releases might be the strongest of the bunch, but he didn’t follow it up until 2016’s Skins EP and the 201...
The Weeknd Literally Loses His Head in New Video for “Too Late”: Watch
The Weeknd has literally lost his head in the gory new music video for the After Hours cut “Too Late”. As it happens, the artist born Abel Tesfaye isn’t the only character in “Too Late” who suffers from neck-connectivity issues. Then there are the female protagonists — err, antagonists? — who begin the video driving home from a rousing session of plastic surgery. They spend all their time wearing elaborate face bandages (and little else) so it’s almost as if they, too, are missing their craniums. The plot developments are disturbingly raunchy, extremely graphic, and almost certainly NSFW. Altogether, watching “Too Late” is like an R&B twist on Washington Irving; call it The Headless Hoes, Man. The video was directed by Cliqua, and you can check it out below. The Weeknd c...
Blackstarkids’s Future-Facing Nostalgia Is A Living Mood Board
By Gabriel Aikins When it comes to how the human brain works, nostalgia is one of the most powerful forces. The movies and shows we watch, the video games we play, and the music we listen to in youth will always hold a special place in our minds, and inevitably spring back up in pop culture. Think Billie Eilish sampling The Office on When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? or Ariana Grande recreating iconic early 2000 rom-coms for the “Thank U, Next” video. Nostalgia isn’t just a backward-facing experience, though. Those memories and works of art can be used as building blocks to influence and create new experiences and new art. There are few who know this better than Kansas City’s Blackstarkids. Taking the media they loved growing up in the 2000s and combining it with their formidable so...
Bruce Springsteen Talks E Street Band, New Album, and Favorite Bob Dylan Songs on Colbert: Watch
Bruce Springsteen is just one day away from releasing his new album, Letter to You. Ahead of its release, the Boss appeared on Wednesday night’s Late Show with Stephen Colbert to talk about the inspiration behind the record, putting it out during a pandemic, and his favorite Bob Dylan songs, among other topics. After joking about not being able to take Letter to You on the road (“I do a lot of work in front of my bedroom mirror with the tennis racket… I go for three hours, just like the show”), Springsteen spoke extensively about its creation. He said the album only took seven days to write and four to record, and was largely inspired by the loss of his old friend George Theiss, the last surviving member of Springsteen’s original band, The Castiles. “I guess being the last guy in...
Jeff Tweedy’s Love Is the King Conquers Anger and Fear with Happiness: Review
The Lowdown: Who in 2020, a year defined almost exclusively by fear, hate and unprecedented political division, has the nerve to release a record called Love Is the King? That might sound a little too optimistic for Jeff Tweedy, but while the Wilco frontman doesn’t always paint a rosy picture in his songs, he knows how to offer calm reassurance in dark times. Few songwriters possess such an acute ability to make sense of the craziness around them, and if Tweedy’s latest solo endeavor proves anything, it’s that sometimes that’s good enough. [embedded content] The Good: There was a time when recording a record amid such social or personal turmoil would have sent Tweedy down the path toward artful rancor. But Love Is the King is the latest in what has been a string of relatively calm releases...
Buzz, Buzz, Lily Allen Launches Her Own Sex Toy
With the live music industry shuttered fo the foreseeable future, artists are relying more than ever on the revenue of merch. In addition to your standard T-shirts and hoodies, we’ve seen some artists get creative with their own lines of CBD products (Sigur Rós), body pillows (Travis Scott), and yes, even Crocs (Post Malone). Lily Allen, too, has been thinking outside of the box merchandise-wise by thinking more about her bedroom activities: the London musician has just launched her own sex toy. A collaboration with German company Womanizer, the sex toy is a fancy pink vibrator called Liberty. Along with guaranteeing good ol’ pleasure, as its name suggests, the product is also meant to break down the societal barriers surrounding the subjects of female masturbation and sex positi...
Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood Release Cover of “Shallow”: Stream
In an answer to the prayers of classic country music fans everywhere, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood have released a studio version of their “Shallow” cover. The husband-and-wife country duo first performed the A Star Is Born hit during a Facebook livestream early in the pandemic. They reprised their rendition as part of their Garth and Trish Live! special on CBS back in April. Now, they’ve finally taken the track into the studio, recording it for Brooks’ forthcoming new album, FUN. Oddly, the track is officially credited as “‘Shallow’ (the duet with Trisha Yearwood)”, as if the female vocal parts are a “featured” aspect and not the main attraction. Either way, Yearwood knocks Lady Gaga’s high notes out of the stadium in this faithful recreation of the blockbuster 2018 single. “From the ...
Shygirl Announces New Alias EP, Shares SOPHIE-produced “Slime”: Stream
Shygirl has announced a new EP titled Alias. With a November 20th release date just around the corner, she’s also dropped her latest single, “Slime”. Shygirl is one of the most interesting musicians to emerge from the British club scene in recent years. The artist also known as Blane Muise straddles the worlds of electronica and hip-hop, with quirky, sly lyricism complemented by absolutely banging beats. She first made waves with the 2018 EP Cruel Practice, and now seems poised for a breakout. The upcoming Alias is meant to bring together the different parts of her personality, as “Slime” demonstrates. Produced by SOPHIE, Kai Winston, and Sega Bodega, “Slime” seems at first blush to involve a back-and-forth exchange between a cocky horndog and a badass boss bitch. The reveal, as you’ve alr...
