music
Win Butler Hints That Arcade Fire Have Written “Two or Three” Albums in Quarantine
Early into quarantine, Win Butler revealed that the pandemic put the breaks on the recording of Arcade Fire’s new album. The frontman said he’d instead turned to writing more, and now it looks like he’s come up with enough material for more than just one Everything Now follow-up. In a new interview on Rick Rubin’s Broken Record podcast, Butler hinted that the delay in recording may end up fortuitous for those who can’t get enough Arcade Fire. “We would’ve been getting towards wrapping up [recording a new album], I think,” he said. “So instead we just wrote two or three.” Butler explained that it usually takes the band a full year of writing before they’re ready to go into the studio. After wrapping up the Everything Now tour in 2018, they set to work on creating the follow-up. Ar...
Todd Haynes Documentary on The Velvet Underground Lands at Apple TV+
Todd Haynes has found a home for The Velvet Underground, his upcoming documentary about the legendary avant-garde rock band of the same name. According to Variety, Apple TV+ has picked up the film and the worldwide distribution rights that come along with it. The documentary aims to establish The Velvet Underground’s status as a cultural touchstone ripe with contradictions. As such, it will include never-before-seen performances, studio recordings, experimental art, and various films by their one-time manager and longtime supporter Andy Warhol. Surprisingly, The Velvet Underground is the first full-length documentary of Haynes’ career. Over the past three years, the Oscar-nominated director put ample time and care into the feature to make sure it represents the band accurately, going so fa...
Liturgy Announce New Album Origin of the Alimonies, Share “Lonely OIOION”: Stream
Liturgy have announced the release of their fifth studio album, Origin of the Alimonies, which is the soundtrack to the band’s opera of the same name. The album arrives November 20th, and Liturgy have offered up a preview with the new song “Lonely OIOION”. Origin of the Alimonies was originally announced last year alongside 2019’s excellent H.A.Q.Q.. Both albums were planned for a 2020 release, but the band’s chief songwriter and leader Hunter Hunt-Hendrix altered those plans, surprise releasing H.A.Q.Q. while holding back Origin, which had previously been performed live as a proper opera. The move worked out, giving each album the spotlight it rightfully deserves. H.A.Q.Q. was greeted with overwhelming praise for its combination of composed black metal and Hunt-Hendrix’s microtonal produc...
Lindsey Buckingham Is Also Vibin’, Records His Own “Dreams” TikTok: Watch
Like cranberry juice, the “Dreams” TikTok challenge started out sweet and then quickly ran its course. Former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham is the latest to hop on the bandwagon, sharing a 15-second video on social media. The trend was started by the slick skateboarding of Nathan Apodaca, who later received a truck full of cranberry juice from Ocean Spray for his trouble. It got new life when Mick Fleetwood joined TikTok to recreate Apodaca’s video, and then Stevie Nicks laced up her skates to get in on the fun. All the attention pushed “Dreams” onto the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first time since 1977, while making Rumors a top-ten album. In announcing his own video, Buckingham wrote that he, “Made this with my girls this weekend.” The clip opens on a...
Unreleased Notorious B.I.G. Freestyle Unveiled in (Sigh) Pepsi Commercial: Watch
Over twenty years after the murder of The Notorious B.I.G., the musical pantry is bare and fans will take any new crumbs they can get. It’s in the spirit of feeding the hungry that we offer you a previously unreleased freestyle from 1997, which has now come to light in a (sigh) Pepsi commercial. Via TMZ, Biggie laid down the lyrics in an appearance on the New York radio station Hot 97. Afterwards, it pretty much disappeared — until now. In defense of the makers of sugar water, it really is a whole entire verse about Pepsi. He raps, “Big slam, quick slam, tin can, whatever/ Whether too cold or too hot/ You got to keep Pepsi in the freezer/ I keep a 3 liter for my crew/ My girl like them diet joints too.” Ask not why Biggie Smalls keeps his soft drinks in the freezer, and instead e...
Miley Cyrus Covers Pearl Jam in Her Backyard for MTV Unplugged: Watch
Miley Cyrus has tried everything once. The teen idol who sometimes seemed to flail in the public eye has matured into a 27-year-old powerhouse of confidence and style. She knows what she’s good at, and her comfort zone is as vast as an ocean. Her current era of ’80s-inspired glam has been simultaneously thrilling and easy, throwing a spotlight on her fashion sense and rock’n’roll voice. Now, for her backyard edition of MTV Unplugged, she’s put all of her talents together for one of the most exciting pop performances of the coronavirus pandemic. Cyrus has been recording “Backyard Sessions” for the last decade, but most of those were intimate and casual. This concert was arena-ready, with light-displays that helped transform the space over time. Earlier in the day, while the sun shined brigh...
Paul McCartney Announces New Solo Album McCartney III
Paul McCartney will return on December 11th with McCartney III. The self-titled album arrives on the 50th anniversary of the former Beatles’ first solo album; like both McCartney I and its 1980 follow-up McCartney II, McCartney III is solo album in every sense, self-produced and recorded solely by McCartney, who plays every instrument. “Paul hadn’t planned to release an album in 2020, but in the isolation of ‘Rockdown,’ he soon found himself fleshing out some existing musical sketches and creating even more new ones,” a press release explains. “Before long an eclectic collection of spontaneous songs would become McCartney III: a stripped back, self-produced and, quite literally, solo work marking the opening of a new decade, in the tradition of 1970’s McCartney and 1980’s McCartney II...
Architects Announce New Album For Those That Wish to Exist, Share “Animals”: Stream
Metalcore veterans Architects will return with their ninth studio album, For Those That Wish to Exist, on February 26th. To tide fans over, the UK band has shared the lead single, “Animals”. The track showcases Architects progressive approach to metalcore, which melds idiosyncratic lyrics with beguiling songcraft. No metalcore band sounds quite like Architects, and they seem intent on keeping it that way. The hints of chugging industrial rock are a welcome addition to their sonic repertoire. For Those That Wish to Exist also features a few high-profile guest spots, including Parkway Drive singer Winston McCall, Royal Blood frontman Mike Kerr, and Biffy Clyro vocalist Simon Neil. As for the motifs behind the album, the band looked toward the modern world and its many flaws. For Those T...
Ty Dolla $ign and Post Malone Link Up on New Song “Spicy”: Stream
Ty Dolla $ign has teamed up with Post Malone for a new song called “Spicy”. The track is taken from Ty’s forthcoming guest-heavy album, Featuring Ty Dolla $ign, which also boasts contributions from Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Nicki Minaj, FKA Twigs, Anderson .Paak, Roddy Ricch, and over a dozen others. The last time Ty and Malone crossed paths was on Posty’s 2018 hit “Psycho”. This time around, the 38-year-old veteran has brought the young crooner into his world for a smooth and bouncy track that suits both of their suave rapping styles. “She my spicy lil’ mama, she let me bust her piñata,” Ty croons with a drawn-out intonation during the hook. Malone’s boo is just as sensual, as he rap-sings, “She tryna pull my pants down/ I was lightin up a stoge on my break time/ Told her ‘Babe, I got a ...
Dorian Electra, Memelord And Gender Destroyer, Will Fuck The World
By Eli Enis Where to begin? There’s the unexpected collaborations: My Agenda, the second album from experimental pop maximalist Dorian Electra, features disco legends the Village People owning the hook of a song describing gay frogs. They share space with the viral superstar Rebecca Black, who croons about converting fuckboys into simps. Then there’s the sound: a dizzying hodge-podge of dubstep thumps, black metal shrieks, and baroque keys, with surprisingly radio-ready lyrics satirizing far-right ideologies culled from the web’s darkest corners with an enigmatic blend of earnestness and absurdist humor. And, of course, there’s the artist themself. The 28-year-old musician grew up in Houston and ran with a crew that practiced martial arts on the playground and played Dungeons & Dragons...
Marika Hackman Covers Elliott Smith’s “Between the Bars”, Beyoncé’s “All Night”: Stream
Next month, English indie rocker Marika Hackman will release a new covers album featuring takes on Radiohead, Grimes, Sharon Van Etten, and more. As a preview of the simply titled Covers, Hackman is now sharing her version of the 1997 Elliott Smith song “Between the Bars” and Beyoncé highlight “All Night”. “When it comes to covers, I like to pick songs which I have been listening to obsessively for a while,” the 28-year-old Londoner noted in a statement. “It gives me a natural understanding of the music, and lets me be more innovative with how I transform it.” Hackman just might be underselling herself with the word “innovative”, as her reworks of Smith and Queen Bey are quite remarkable. And not just for their unique arrangements, but also the fact that such contrasting covers somehow exi...
Ministry Unveil New “Git Up, Get Out ‘N Vote” Video, Promote “Soundtrack to Your Election” Playlist: Stream
Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen has been an outspoken critic of the status quo in U.S. politics, as evidenced by the band’s politically charged 2018 album AmeriKKKant. Now, the band is encouraging its fans to vote in this upcoming election with a new lyric video for the 2012 song, “Git Up, Get Out ‘N Vote”. The track first appeared on Ministry’s 2012’s album, Relapse, gaining some notoriety for its outright direct message of encouraging people to vote. Atypical subject matter for most metal bands, but right in the wheelhouse for Jourgensen and company. Ministry first started its 2020 voting campaign back in July, enabling fans register to vote through the band’s website and other means. The band also created a 30-song “Soundtrack to Your Election” Spotify playlist to raise voter awareness ...
