music
Neil Young Returns to His Hometown to Play “Comes a Time” in an Empty Theater: Watch
Coronavirus may be keeping people apart from their relatives this holiday season, but that didn’t stop Neil Young from finding a socially distanced way to tap into his own family nostalgia. Young recently returned to his childhood hometown of Omemee, Ontario to film a special performance of “Come a Time” to an empty Coronation Hall, the venue where he spent numerous evenings with his parents as a boy. The clip, which clocks in just under four minutes, sees Young walking onstage to a completely empty Coronation Hall. The tiny venue looks regal yet worn without people populating the space, especially when Young sits in a chair onstage front and center. With some papers scattered on the floor and a few microphones positioned at his height, Young begins playing his heartfelt 1978 classic with ...
Ariana Grande And Dalton Gomez Are Engaged: ‘Forever N Then Some’
Ariana Grande is switching up the positions again — this time, as a bride-to-be. On Sunday (December 20), the 27-year-old singer took to Instagram to share the news that she had become engaged to her boyfriend, now fiancé, Dalton Gomez after less than a year of dating. “Forever n then some,” she captioned a carousel of five photos, which included snapshots of the couple cuddling as well as close-ups of a massive diamond-and-pearl engagement ring. Following the announcement, the couple received a wave of well-wishes from friends, family, and fans alike. “YAYYYYYY!!!!” Hailey Bieber commented on Grande’s post. “So happy for you guys!!” “I am so excited to welcome Dalton Gomez into our family!” Joan Grande, the pop star’s mother, wrote on Twitter. “Ariana, I ...
Burial Unleashes New 12-Minute Song “Chemz”: Stream
Just weeks after collaborating with music titans Thom Yorke and Four Tet, enigmatic producer Burial has returned with a solo song all his own. And it’s got a whopping 12-minute (!) runtime. Titled “Chemz”, the sprawling cut is a nonstop rave of the UK garage variety. And like a DJ set condensed into a bite-sized bit, it has its distinct movements: there’s the hyperactive start; the melodic wave that builds to a classic breakbeat; and the all-in dramatic end, where Burial cranks things up to techno-raging levels. A press statement on Bandcamp succinctly describes “Chemz” as “hooky, rushy and loved up – both an unhinged premonition of unleashed post-pandemic joy and a demonic flashback to past ecstasies in a hardcore style perfected in the UK.” For those who’ve tuned into the producer’s work...
Mac DeMarco Shares Mellow Cover of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”: Stream
Christmas is just four days away, which means Mac DeMarco is back to fulfill his annual tradition of covering holiday songs. This year, the Canadian jizz jazzer has shared his take on Judy Garland’s classic “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, which you can stream below. The original version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is a wistful, tender track about holding on to hope despite being stuck in a tragic place. It always hits home, but this year it feels especially relevant during the pandemic. In DeMarco’s hands, though, the song takes a more laid-back approach, stretching Garland’s original words into a hazy, mellow rumination over a stringy trip-hop-like trance. DeMarco shared his cover alongside a lo-fi music video. In the clip, the Here Comes the Cowboy singer c...
Iggy Pop Releases COVID-19 Rocker “Dirty Little Virus”: Stream
I’m happy to report that not all 70-plus white male classic rockers are COVID-19 deniers. Iggy Pop is back with a new song inspired by the novel coronavirus, and unlike Eric Clapton and Van Morrison’s recent anti-lockdown collaboration, Pop’s “Dirty Little Virus” accurately reflects the severity of the pandemic — even if the lyrics are, times, quite painful. “COVID-19 is on the scene,” Pop sings to open the song. “Grandfather’s dead. Got Trump instead.” Later he croons, “She’s only 19, but she can kill ya. She ain’t my type, but it is what it is.” In a video accompanying the song’s release, Pop explained that he was “moved to write a direct lyric, not something too emotional or deep, more like journalism. Who, what, where, where… I left out the why, because that gets too complex. But...
Congress Allocates $15 Billion to Independent Theaters and Concert Venues As Part of New Relief Package
The United States Congress has agreed to a new bipartisan coronavirus relief package that allocates $15 billion in funding to independent movie theaters and concerts venues. According to USA Today’s Nicholas Wu, the relief package incorporates the Save Our Stages Act. First introduced by Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota over the summer, the act calls for six months of financial support to “keep venues afloat, pay employees, and preserve a critical economic sector for communities across America.” Under the original proposal, venues would be provided grants accounting for either 45% of a business’ operation costs from the previous year or $12 million in total — whichever is the lesser amount. Venues would then be allowed to use that money to pa...
U2’s Bono and The Edge Perform “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” On Irish TV: Watch
During a normal Christmas season, Glen Hansard and a gaggle of other Irish musicians would busk in the street to raise money for Ireland’s homeless population. This year, in order to abide by social distancing guidelines, the fundraiser was turned into an indoor livestream affair, and U2‘s Bono and The Edge showed up to keep the Christmas spirit intact. The duo performed a beautiful acoustic rendition of the Darlene Love staple “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” on Ireland’s Late Late Show. The U2 bandmates were joined on stage by Hansard, Philip Powell, violinist Vivienne Long and the Heyday Choir (via the IIrish Times). U2 released a recorded version of the cover way back in 1987, but seeing it performed in front of shimmering lights and ornate Christmas trees gives it a...
Rammstein’s Till Lindemann Sells “Tilldo” Vibrators and “Golden Shower” Wine
Rammstein singer Till Lindemann has opened his own online merch shop, dubbed Doctor Dick, and let’s just say it has a wide variety of handy products. Among the items are a custom “Tilldo” vibrator and a “Golden Shower” wine. Anyone who has seen Rammstein in concert knows that erotica plays a big part in their stage show. What other bands feature a giant dildo that explodes white foam onto the audience? Or have actually had two members (including Till) arrested for simulating sex with each other onstage? Earlier this year, Lindemann’s eponymous side project even unveiled a full-on pornographic music video for the song “Platz Ein”. So, none of the things you see for sale at the singer’s new merch store should come as any shock, but you still may want to think twice about shopping at Doctor D...
Taylor Swift Sets Record for Shortest Gap Between No. 1 Albums
Taylor Swift has another record to her name. Her latest surprise release, evermore, debuted this week at No. 1 — just four months and 18 days after its sister album, folklore, opened atop the same list on August 8th. As Billboard notes, that’s the shortest gap between new No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 chart by a woman since they began tracking data in March 1956. Additionally, with folklore still sitting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, Swift becomes the first female artist to have two albums concurrently in the top three since 1963. evermore marks Swift’s eighth No. 1 album of her career overall. Only two other female artists have more No. 1 albums to their name: Barbara Streisand (11) and Madonna (nine). The all-time record holder for the most No. 1 album is The Beatles (19), while JAY...
Dua Lipa Performs Future Nostalgia Songs on Saturday Night Live: Watch
Dua Lipa served as the musical guest for Saturday Night Live’s Christmas episode. The UK pop singer supported her brilliant sophomore album, Future Nostalgia, with choreographed performances of “Levitating” and “Don’t Start Now”. Additionally, she appeared in a sketch alongside host Kristen Wiig about U.S.O. performers during World War 2. Watch it all below. Future Nostalgia was our fifth favorite album and “Don’t Start Now” was our ninth favorite song of 2020. Earlier this month, Dua Lipa further supported the album’s release with her first-ever NPR Tiny Desk concert. She also recently appeared on The Tonight Show and joined Jimmy Fallon for a duet of “Christmas Is All Around Me”. [embedded content] [embedded content] [embedded content] Related You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are ...
Barack Obama Shares His 30 Favorite Songs of 2020
After revealing the films and TV shows he binged throughout 2020, former president Barack Obama has now revealed what he’s been listening to. As has become tradition, Obama, with the help of his youngest daughter Sasha, has put together a list of his favorite songs from the last 12 months. Included among Obama’s 30-song playlist are Phoebe Bridgers’ “Kyoto” and Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé’s “Savage” remix — both of which made our own list. Also present are Waxahatchee’s “Can’t Do Much”, Dua Lipa’s ‘Levitating” featuring DaBaby, Bruce Springsteen’s “Ghosts”, Bob Dylan’s ‘Goodbye Jimmy Reed”, Jeff Tweedy’s “Love is the King”, and J. Cole’s “The Climb Back”. Other selections include Travis Scott’s “Franchise” featuring M.I.A. and Young Thug, Lido Pimienta’s “Nada”, Bad Bunny’s “La Difícil...
Lil Wayne Drops Off No Ceilings 3 Deluxe Edition: Stream
Hip-hop fans have received an early Christmas present courtesy of good ol’ St. Nick Lil Wayne. Less than a month after dropping his No Ceilings 3 mixtape, the rapper has unboxed a deluxe edition “B Side” version featuring 14 new songs. Stream it below via YouTube or DatPiff. As with its predecessor, this effort is “hosted” by DJ Khaled and comes with multiple star-studded collaborations. Big Sean appears on the opening track “Tyler Herro”, named after the Miami Heat’s impressive young guard. Meanwhile, Rich the Kid pops in on “Throat Baby”, and 2 Chainz lends a few verses to “Hit Different”. Euro and Lil Twist also appear on the effort. If each track sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because they all incorporate, sample, or remix other songs in some way. “Tyler Herro”, for insta...
