music
Coachella 2020 Officially Canceled
Goldenvoice, the production company behind Coachella, has confirmed the festival’s cancelation for 2020. Initially, organizers had postponed the two-weekend music festival from April to October 2020 with the hope that live music would be back up and running by the fall. However, on Wednesday, local health officials in Indio, California canceled both Coachella and its sister festival, Stagecoach, citing concerns that COVID-19 could worsen in the fall. In a statement released Thursday, Goldenvoice said, “This is not the future that any of us hoped to confront, but our main focus remains the well-being of our fans, staff, artists, desert partners and everyone involved in the festival.” As of now, Coachella is slated to return over two weekends next April, but those plans appear...
H.E.R. Honors George Floyd With ‘Painful’ New Song ‘I Can’t Breathe’
Nearly six years after Eric Garner uttered his last words, “I can’t breathe,” while being choked to death by New York City policeman Daniel Pantaleo — and sparked by the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin during which Floyd repeated those same, harrowing words — the phrase has returned as a rallying cry for protesters around the world calling for an end to police brutality and systemic racism against the Black community. As demonstrations continued, after many celebrities have leveraged their platforms to support activists on the ground, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter H.E.R. joined the conversation, honoring the painful words that propelled a passionate and necessary movement with an emotional performance. On Wednesday (June 10...
BTS Announce New Album Map of the Soul : 7 ~ The Journey ~
BTS can’t stop, won’t stop… even during a global pandemic. On the heels of their participating in the Obamas’ “Dear Class of 2020” digital graduation event, during which the k-pop group gave a commencement speech and headlined the afterparty, BTS has announced a new album. Map of the Soul : 7 ~ The Journey ~ marks BTS’s first Japanese album in over two years. It’ll be released digitally on July 14th with a physical release to follow in the U.S. on August 7th. The Journey expands on the tracklist of BTS’s most recent Korean album, Map of the Soul : 7, which was released back in February. Included on the new album are two original songs, “Stay Gold” and “Rasen no Meikyuu -DNA Kagaku Sousa-“, as well as newly recorded versions of “ON”, “Black Swan”, “Make It Right”, and “Dionysus” in Japanese...
Harlem Rapper Emma Lee Sparks a Revolution on New Song “Hugo Pinell (MOSH)”: Stream
As protests against racism, police brutality, and white supremacy continue to sweep the nation, Emma Lee’s rallying new single “Hugo Pinell (MOSH)” could not have come at a better time. On the track, the Uganda-born, New York-raised rapper sparks a revolution, inviting others to join her in overthrowing oppressors of all kinds. “No matter what they did/ I wouldn’t quit/ Now we got a like-minded mosh pit/ We got an army full of tactics/ And the strike is all ready like a matchstick,” says Lee with conviction. “It’s on you to decide, but choosing nothing is the same thing as choosing sides,” adds Lee, echoing current sentiments that silence can be equated to violence and complicity. The entire boils over during the chorus, where Lee powerfully declares, “We alive, organize, let’s MOSH when y...
R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe Officially Releases “No Time for Love Like Now”: Stream
Back in March, former R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe shared a demo of a new song titled “No Time For Love Like Now”. Made in collaboration with Big Red Machine — aka The National’s Aaron Dessner and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon — the studio version of the song has now been released, complete with a stylish music video. This time around, Stipe is fully immersed in Dessner and Vernon’s soundscapes, giving his vocals a more ethereal quality. There’s depth to the sound now, which isn’t too surprising given that Stipe was literally singing over their recording in the OG demo. While Aaron produced the track, his brother and National bandmate, Bryce Dessner, actually orchestrated it. As for Vernon’s part, he supplied electric guitar, clearly channeling his inner Peter Buck. In an interview w...
Hip-Hop Supergroup Spillage Village Return with New Single “End of Daze”: Stream
Spillage Village, a supergroup featuring EarthGang, J.I.D. and 6LACK, are back with their first single since 2017. Titled “End of Daze”, it’s taken from their upcoming album due out this summer. Rounded out by Mereba, JurdanBryant, Hollywood JB, and Benji, the Atlanta-based Spillage Village penned the new song entirely during quarantine. As the title suggests, much of the lyrics reflect on the apocalyptic-nature of this pandemic era; the track also happens to be a timely offering given the protests taking over the streets of America. “It’s the end of days, end of times/ My oh my, up in a blaze, you can’t hide/ Why oh why, all the kids afraid, mama cries,” goes the chorus. “God packed his bags and said bye bye/ God packed her bags and said bye bye.” Today’s cut was recorded at J. Cole’s Dre...
Osheaga Festival 2020 Postponed Due to Coronavirus
Osheaga Festival 2020 has officially been postponed until next summer due to the coronavirus. This year would’ve marked the Montreal event’s 15th anniversary. “Unfortunately this year, given the circumstances, we have no choice but to postpone the long-awaited 15th edition of the festival to next summer, July 30 – August 1, 2021,” read a statement from the event’s organizers. Foo Fighters, Kendrick Lamar, and Lizzo were originally tapped as headliners for the 2020 installment, which was scheduled for this July. Kraftwerk, Vampire Weekend, Bon Iver, BROCKHAMPTON, Charli XCX, Caribou, Nick Murphy, and Rex Orange County were also slated to perform, as were Brittany Howard, Tove Lo, slowthai, Phoebe Bridgers, and Soccer Mommy. Organizers are “currently working” to book as many of those sa...
Petition Launched to Replace Statue of Robert E. Lee with GWAR’s Oderus Urungus in Richmond, Virginia
Amid the protests taking place in the wake of George Floyd’s death while in police custody, some long-standing statues are not fairing very well. Now, a new petition calls for a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia, to be replaced with one of late GWAR leader Oderus Urungus. In recent days, statues of Christopher Columbus have been toppled and beheaded in Richmond and Boston, respectively, with protesters citing the explorer’s involvement in the genocide of Native Americans. In England, a statue of known slave-trader Edward Colston was destroyed and thrown into a river, and in Belgium, a statue of King Leopold II was removed because of his oppressive rule over the Congo. As Metal Injection reports, onetime GWAR dancer / backup vocalist Slymenstra Hymen (aka Dan...
Shamir Basks in Independence on New Song “On My Own”: Stream
Earlier this year, Shamir dropped a mini-album called Cataclysm. Now, he’s back with a poppy new song called “On My Own”. The track is the lead single from an upcoming album that will supposedly be his most accessible since his 2015 debut, Ratchet. After emerging as a glitzy disco and dance-pop artist on XL Recordings, Shamir became disillusioned with mainstream stardom and retreated to making lo-fi, insular indie rock for many years. “On My Own” isn’t a return to the glossy club music of Ratchet, but it is the most outwardly catchy and upbeat song he’s released in a long time. Over peppy drums, a sprightly bassline, and guitar riffs that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Cherry Glazerr LP, the Philly-based songwriter sings defiantly about regaining independence after a breakup. Conven...
André 3000 Selling Shirts Based on His Jumpsuits to Benefit Movement for Black Lives
André 3000 has reemerged. No, not with a new verse or track, but with new merch. The Outkast members is selling shirts specifically to benefit Movement for Black Lives. The long-sleeved black T-shirts are based on the jumpsuits 3 Stacks wore during OutKast’s 2014 reunion tour. Each one is emboldened with one of 13 phrases André 3000 wore across his chest during that anniversary trek, along with a “Not 4 Sale” tag printed on the left sleeve. (Why 13? André isn’t known for doing things haphazardly, so one has to wonder if it’s a reference to the 13th Amendment.) Designs include “across cultures, darker people suffer most. why?”, “can one rest in peace & violence?”, “narcissistic americans.”, “obviously oblivious.”, “which type of stereo are you?”, and the direct “breathe.” The collection...
2021 Rock am Ring and Rock im Park Festivals: System of a Down, Green Day, and Volbeat to Headline
The massive twin festivals Rock am Ring and Rock im Park in Germany were among the major events canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, organizers have announced the initial details of the 2021 fests, with planned 2020 headliners System of a Down, Green Day, and Volbeat all agreeing to sign on for next year’s events. Rock am Ring and Rock im Park were set to celebrate their 35th and 25th anniversaries, respectively, this year. In addition to System of a Down, Green Day, and Volbeat, the 2020 lineups would have also featured Deftones, Korn, Disturbed, Weezer, The Offspring, and many more acts. As of now, only the three headliners are confirmed, with the rest of the 2021 artists yet to be announced. Rock am Ring and Rock im Park will take place concurrently on the weekend of June 11th-13...
Ice Cube Posting Anti-Semitic and Russian Propaganda on Twitter
Since the murder of George Floyd spurred a nationwide uprising of police brutality protests, Ice Cube’s music, specifically N.W.A.’s “Fuck Tha Police”, has felt extremely on-point. His tweets, on the other hand, have not: the veteran rapper and actor has been uploading images promoting anti-Semitic and Russian propaganda. On June 6th, Ice Cube tweeted an image of a mural that was removed from a wall in London’s East End for being anti-Semitic. The picture features a handful of caricatured Jewish businessmen playing a game of Monopoly on top of a table that sits on the backs of black men. The image itself contains the words, “All we have to do is stand up and their little game is over.” Earlier today, he shared a picture of a black cube in the center of the Jewish Star of David. The pu...
