music
Visa Fees for Foreign Artists Touring the US to Nearly Double
It just got a lot more expensive for independent foreign artists to tour in the United States. According to the Federal Register, the daily journal of the American government, the US Department of Homeland Security has doubled the cost of visa fees for international artists starting this October. The fee increases impact visa types frequently used by musicians to enter the US: the P visa, which can be used for performers entering a competition or any family members of the performer; and the O visa, which is for individuals who possess “extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics.” The filing fees for P visas now stands at $695, while the cost of O visas is $705 — a 53% increase from it former cost of $460, notes NME. Additionally, the visa application wai...
Rush’s Geddy Lee Confirms He’s Alive After Trending on Twitter
The year 2020 has been so rough that anytime a celebrity trends on Twitter, people assume the worst. So, when Geddy Lee’s name went viral over the past 24 hours, some fans assumed something tragic had happened to the Rush legend. Thankfully, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer reports that he is alive and well. Rush’s official Twitter account had to assure fans that the beloved prog-rock icon is okay, issuing a statement from Lee that read, “Even I gulped when I saw I was trending on Twitter, but I asked my dogs and apparently I’m a bit boring but otherwise fine.” As for why Geddy Lee was trending in the first place, all signs point to a cardboard cutout of the singer-bassist placed in the stands behind home plate at Toronto Blue Jays games this season. The team has been playing home games i...
BTS and BLACKPINK Make K-Pop History on Billboard Charts
BTS and BLACKPINK have made history on the Billboard charts… again. Thanks to their newest singles, “Dynamite” and “Ice Cream” respectively, both K-pop groups have just scored their their highest chart numbers to date. Last week, BTS landed their first-ever No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart with “Dynamite”. It also marked the first time an all-South Korean act had nabbed that spot. Fast forward to today and “Dynamite” has yet to be dethroned, which essentially doubles the impact of those coveted accolades. Mind you, it held that title over the competitive Labor Day Weekend (!) with 17.5 million US streams (which was down 49% from last week) and 182,000 downloads sold (which dropped 31%). And then there’s BLACKPINK, who scored a career-best rank this week as well. “Ice Cream”, thei...
Janelle Monáe Is Triumphant On New Rallying Cry ‘Turntables’
Janelle Monáe is back, and she’s turning the tables. On Tuesday (September 8), the multi-hyphenate shared an empowering new song called “Turntables,” a rousing call to change that will feature on the soundtrack of new Amazon documentary All In: The Fight for Democracy. The film centers around voter suppression and prominently features Stacey Abrams; as a result, “Turntable,” too, goes all in, with Monáe using the song’s lyrics as a platform. “I’m kicking out the old regime / Liberation, elevation, education,” she says. “America, you a lie / But the whole world ’bout to testify.” Over a soulful, minimal backbeat, Monáe packs a ton of uplifting talk of the winds of change into just under three minutes: “Burning dow...
Judas Priest Announce 50th Anniversary Photo Book
Judas Priest are commemorating their 50th anniversary in style with a 648-page coffee table photo book. Titled Judas Priest – 50 Heavy Metal Years, the title is available in four editions and available for pre-order starting September 11th. The book is a true testament to Judas Priests’ half-century run as one of the most influential and visually captivating metal bands of all-time. The photography was curated by David Silver, Ross Halfin, and Jayne Andrews and features “unseen, unpublished photographs” by Ross Halfin, Neil Zlozower, Mark Weiss, Fin Costello, Oliver Halfin, and more. The photographs will be linked by an accompanying history of the band written by Mark Blake, allowing the book to work as a photo documentary of sorts. “I’ve photographed Judas Priest from 1978 until now and o...
Homeboy Sandman and Quelle Chris Announce New Album Don’t Feed the Monster, Share “Trauma”: Stream
Queens rapper Homeboy Sandman has announced a new album, Don’t Feed the Monster, produced entirely by Detroit’s own Quelle Chris. The collaborative effort is expected to arrive October 16th via Mello Music Group. The upcoming hip-hop project consists of 15 tracks, and features one lone vocal contribution from Quelle Chris himself. According to a statement, the full-length represents a “turning point” for the two artists, who used this new music to help process and better understand their own personal struggles and complex emotions. “I was having a hard time and this record saved me,” Homeboy Sandman remarked in a statement. “Thank Quelle and thank God and shout to Gabor Maté.” Praising his friend and colleague, Quelle Chris said that Homeboy Sandman “finds balance in using his words t...
Celebrate Peanuts’ 70th Anniversary with New Vinyl of A Charlie Brown Christmas
In our house, the period from November 1st to January 2nd is affectionately known as Vince Guaraldi Trio Season. Guaraldi’s iconic jazz score to A Charlie Brown Christmas celebrates its 55th anniversary this year, even as the Peanuts comic strip marks 70 years of existence. Craft Recordings is heralding these nice round numbers with a special one-time vinyl pressing of A Charlie Brown Christmas, available September 25th. This first Charlie Brown soundtrack is already one of the best-selling jazz album in history, trailing only Miles Davis and Kind of Blue. It’s been released in multiple forms over the years, and the big draw of the new edition is the not-quite-3D lenticular album cover. Featuring a classic illustration by Charles Schulz, the artwork shows Charlie, Lucy, and ...
New Order Unveil New Song “Be a Rebel”: Stream
Since dropping their excellent album Music Complete in 2015, New Order have been zoned in on special reissues like their upcoming Power, Corruption, & Lies box set instead of recording new music. But that changes today with the release of “Be a Rebel”, a brand new single and their first original music in five years. “Be a Rebel” was originally planned to be released during New Order’s autumn tour, but the band had to postpone those dates due to the ongoing coronavirus. They’ve decided to share the track digitally anyway to uplift listeners. It’ll receive a physical release on 12-inch vinyl and CD with remixes at a later date as well. “In tough times we wanted to reach out with a new song,” said Bernard Sumner in a statement. “We can’t play live for a while, but music is still something...
Fender Announces New Billie Eilish Signature Ukulele
Every big star started out small, and that’s more true of Billie Eilish than most. As a budding musician, the first instrument she learned to play was not a guitar, but its diminutive cousin the ukulele. Now the “Bad Guy” singer has partnered with Fender to release the Billie Eilish Signature Ukulele, available as of today. Like Eilish’s wardrobe, the design is both playful and lux. The colors are matte black and gold, with Eilish’s famous “blohsh” person slouching across the front. The top and bottom are both made of sapele, while chords are held against a walnut fingerboard with white dot inlays. The technically-inclined will be interested to note Nichole hardware and a Fishman Kula preamp that allows the ukulele to be plugged in. It retails for $299.99, and can be purchased through the ...
Olamide – Eru MP3 Download
Check out this brand new tune from Olamide – Eru out now! YBNL honcho Olamide unleashes a new track ‘Eru‘ his first single in the past couple of months. The rapper and singer will be dropping a new album soon and this is the first track off that project. It has been quite a little while since Olamide dropped an album, his last project was the ‘999’ EP which was released in February. The new single from Olamide would definitely top music charts as the king returns actively to releasing his own music. He also has a new song coming featuring Omah Lay. Listen, enjoy Olamide – ‘Eru’ below. Download coming soon Share this: You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet B...
Electronic Music Duo Autechre Announce New Album SIGN
Veteran electronic music outfit Autechre are set to return with a new album this fall. Dubbed SIGN, it’s due out October 16th through longtime label Warp Records. The forthcoming effort follows the duo’s NTS Sessions, a collection of music broadcast during Autechre’s NTS Radio residency in 2018, as well as elseq 1-5 from 2016, a record comprised of five 50-minute segments. Per a statement, with a running time just a little over an hour, SIGN marks the British group’s first standard-length album since Exai from way back in 2013. SIGN contains a total of 11 songs. Among them are titles such as “M4 Lema”, “Metaz form8”, “gr4”, and “psin AM”, all seemingly strange and nonsensical, as is usually the case for Autechre’s Rob Brown and Sean Booth. Editors’ Picks Further album details are sti...
Micachu and the Shapes Change Name, Announce New Album: Stream
Micachu and the Shapes, the noisy indie-pop band led by Under the Skin composer Mica Levi, are back. They have renamed the group Good Sad Happy Bad — taken from their 2015 full-length of the same name — and have announced a new album called Shades. It’s due out October 16th via French label Textile Records. Shades is Good Sad Happy Bad’s fifth studio album to date and their first new music since releasing the Taz and May Vids EP in 2016. According to the record label, Good Sad Happy Bad have shuffled their musical duties on the 12-track full-length, with Raisa Khan taking on lead vocals, Levi playing playing guitar and electronics, Marc Pell on drums, and CJ Calderwood contributing vocals, saxophone, and recorder. To coincide with today’s announcement, Good Sad Happy Bad have also sha...
