Tuesday, June 22nd is New York City’s mayoral primary, and The Strokes are hoping to jam their way to a better world by teasing the new song “Starting Again” in an ad for progressive candidate Maya Wiley. Throughout the election, the New York rockers have been wildin’ out for Wiley, performing their first-ever unplugged set as a fundraiser on her behalf and following that with NYC’s first full-capacity indoor concert alongside fellow Wiley backers John Mulaney, Blood Orange, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Despite these famous fans, Wiley’s candidacy has struggled to gain traction, with recent polling putting her in fourth place behind Eric Adams, Andrew Yang, and Kathryn Garcia. However, NYC’s use of ranked-choice voting means that if she is the second- or third-choice candidate f...
Joni Mitchell’s most iconic album of all time, Blue, turns 50 years old tomorrow. It’s getting a big retrospective rollout later this year to celebrate that anniversary, but Mitchell is honoring it a little early by sharing a new digital EP today. It’s called Blue 50 (Demos & Outtakes) and it includes a bunch of previously unreleased material. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify. Blue 50 (Demos & Outtakes) spans five songs that nail the magic of Blue. It includes demos of “A Case of You” and “California” that sound comparatively stripped down, and an alternate version of “River” that uses French horns. There’s also an early take of “Urge for Going” which was originally supposed to appear on Blue but didn’t come out until a 1996 greatest hits compilation (notes Stereogum). Bi...
Helado Negro has announced the new album Far In. As a preview of the October 22nd release, the artist born Roberto Carlos Lange has shared the disco-tinged single “Gemini and Leo”. The follow-up to 2019’s This Is How You Smile, Far In will be Lange’s debut album on 4AD. The 15-track effort features guest vocals by Kacy Hill, Buscabulla, and Benamin, though that’s not the only talent on display. “Gemini and Leo” boasts a bass line courtesy of Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak, Flock of Dimes), and backing vocals from Zenizen’s Opal Hoyt. The upbeat drums keep the shimmering production humming along, and it’s easy to find yourself wanting to imitate the titular protagonists. “Gemini and Leo,” Lange sings, “Dancing on the floor all night.” The song comes with an animated music video di...
AFI have announced an early 2022 US headlining tour in support of their new album Bodies. Darkwave act Cold Cave will be along for the 26-date outing. The trek kicks off on February 11th at SOMA in San Diego and hits most major U.S. markets before concluding on March 25th at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California. “So anxiously, we’ve awaited the ability to perform our eleventh record for you,” AFI vocalist Davey Havok said via a press release. “This winter, please join us in the Bodies celebration long overdue.” Related Video AFI have evolved over the years, starting out in the ’90s as a hardcore act, then delivering a string of melodic hard-rock radio hits in the early 2000s. On Bodies, the band has embraced a gothic pop sound inspired by bands like The Cure and Depeche Mode....
Deap Vally has dropped their latest EP, American Cockroach, via Cooking Vinyl Limited. Stream it below on Apple Music and Spotify. The four-track project serves as the duo’s second EP of the year (following February’s Digital Dream) and contains lead single “I Like Crime” featuring Jennie Vee of Eagles of Death Metal, as well as “Give Me a Sign”, the Ayse Hassan-assisted “Better off with Nothing”, and the title track. American Cockroach is “a collection of songs we’ve been working on for a while that run the gamut from deeply personal, to outright satire and everything in between,” the L.A-based duo said in a statement. “These are songs for the underdog, the outlaw, the defeated, for days when you feel like no one understands you or you can’t do anything right.” Related Video Check out the...
Kelsey Grammer stars as a washed-up rock star in his latest movie, The Space Between, in which he performs music written by Rivers Cuomo. Following the film’s release on digital platforms earlier this week, the soundtrack is now available to stream on Apple Music and Spotify. The story centers around Micky Adams (Grammer) as a one-time chart-topping rockstar who’s at risk of getting dropped by his record label because of the experimental albums he keeps turning in. Eventually, the label sends a young-and-hungry mailroom worker, Charlie Porter (Jackson White), to Adams’ remote beach home in order to convince him to willfully drop out of the contract. In the process, the two form an unlikely bond. Spanning 11 tracks, The Space Between soundtrack primarily features Grammer’s songs from the mo...
The official soundtrack to F9: The Fast Saga has arrived. It’s available via Atlantic Records/Universal Pictures, and you can stream it below with Apple Music or Spotify. The 14-track compilation hit digital retailers and streaming services just one week ahead of the film’s long-delayed June 25th theatrical release. It features revved-up tunes by the likes of A$AP Rocky, Juicy J, Pop Smoke, Kevin Gates, Sean Paul, and Polo G, as well as collaborations including Don Toliver, Lil Durk, and Latto (“Fast Lane”), Ty Dolla $ign, Jack Harlow and 24kGoldn (“I Won”), and NLE Choppa and Rico Nasty (“Speed It Up”). There are also solo offerings from Anitta (“Furiosa”), Lil Tecca (“Bussin Bussin”) and Jarina De Marco (“Mala”). Originally slated to hit theaters in the summer of 2020, F9’s release ...
DaBaby is back with “Ball if I Want To”, his second single in the wake of his 2020 EP My Brother’s Keeper (Long Live G). On the braggadocios track, the rapper unapologetically flexes while running through verses about chartering private jets, name-dropping family members, and boasting about his sexual prowess. “Bitch, it ain’t even my birthday/ But I can ball if I want to/ Pull up, foreign cars if I want to/ Hop out that bitch with that iron in my jumpsuit/ Just do what I say and I love you, kay?” he raps over a sparse beat and an echoing choral sample. The song also arrives with a video directed by DaBaby himself. It finds the rapper goofing off on a college campus, complete with a cheerleading squad, library parties, and a mascot of a giant baby. Watch DaBaby’s self-directed “Ball if I W...