New Music
Joni Mitchell Shares Archival Release Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963-1967): Stream
Legendary songwriter Joni Mitchell has cracked open the vault to reveal Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963-1967), an archival project featuring unreleased music. Stream it in full below via Apple Music and Spotify. Vol. 1 is the first entry in the folk artist’s recently launched Joni Mitchell Archives series. Consisting of five CDs, the inaugural release includes Mitchell’s earliest-known recording, a 1963 in-studio radio performance for CFQC AM in her hometown of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and her first-ever demo, “Day After Day”. There are also early versions of songs like “Michael From Mountains” and “I Had a King”, a 1965 mini set for Let’s Sing Out on CBC TV, and her rare Neil Young cover of “Sugar Mountain”, as well as 1967 New York City home demos of “Free Darling”, “Mr. Junk”, “...
Tom Morello Releases Comandante EP Featuring Eddie Van Halen Tribute and Slash Collaboration: Stream
Tom Morello has just dropped a new EP dubbed Comandante. The five-song effort features a tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen, a collaboration with Slash, and a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child”. The Rage Against the Machine guitarist calls the song “Secretariat” an Eddie Van Halen tribute, and it’s easy to hear why. The guitar track features some intricate scaling reminiscent of Van Halen’s instrumental classic “Eruption”. Morello does battle with Slash on the song “Interstate 80”, and even promoted the track on Twitter with a side-by-side video of the two guitar greats performing the song next to their Guitar Hero avatars. The EP leads off with Morello’s take on the Hendrix classic “Voodoo Child”, while the tracks “Suburban Guerrilla” and “Cato Stedman & Neptune Frost” close out ...
Paris Jackson Releases Debut Solo Single “Let Down”: Stream
Paris Jackson, the only daughter of Michael Jackson, has unveiled her debut solo single. What’s more, Jackson will release her first full-length album, Wilted, on November 13th through Republic Records. Entitled “Let Down”, the single was written by Paris herself and produced by Manchester Orchestra’s Andy Hull. The accompanying visuals were produced by Eli Roth and directed by Meredith Alloway, and are said to be a nod to legendary fashion designer Alexander McQueen. “I feel so many emotions. I’m excited, I’m nervous, mostly grateful and happy,” Paris says in a statement discussing the song’s release. “The freedom to create, not being told what to sing and how to sing it, what to write; it’s awesome. It’s a gift, it’s a blessing.” Earlier this year, Jackson and former partner, Gabrie...
Vin Diesel Still Doing the Music Thing on Second Dance Single “Days Are Gone”: Stream
Last month, Vin Diesel made his music debut with a single called “Feel Like I Do”. The tropical house track saw the Fast & Furious star trade in his tough guy exterior for something a little more relaxed and vacation-ready. Proving the song wasn’t just a one-time fluke, Diesel is back now with a second offering, “Days Are Gone”. Not to be confused with that very good HAIM album, today’s single continues to scream “DJ Dom Toretto in a Hawaiian shirt”. Like its predecessor, “Days Are Gone” is out through Palm Tree Records, the label co-founded by Kygo, who has all but mastered the tropical house genre for island-hopping millennials. It was also co-written by Diesel, Kygo collaborator Petey Martin, and Noah McBeth (a.k.a. NoMBe). Stream it down below. “Something about 2020 led me to this ...
Superchunk Share Halloween Single “There’s a Ghost”, Cover Sisters of Mercy: Stream
Superchunk have returned with “There’s a Ghost”, their first new music in two years. As an extra Halloween treat, the single is paired with a cover of The Sisters of Mercy’s “Alice”. The band’s first original song since 2018’s “Our Work Is Done” and that same year’s What a Time to Be Alive, “There’s a Ghost” is a bopping punk track built on mirrored acoustic and crunchy electric guitar riffs. It taps into the paranoia of 2020 perfectly, as frontman Mac McCaughan wrestles with being trapped inside alone for far too long. “Now its the end of the season and the last of our supplies/So check your fingernails/ Burning through the calendars and E strings/ Oh yeah, we’re breaking all the scales,” he sings. “I didn’t write a song for probably the first six months of the lockdown,” said McCaughan i...
Lil Durk Drops New Song “Stay Down” Featuring Young Thug and 6LACK: Stream
Lil Durk has dropped his new song “Stay Down” featuring a hook from 6LACK and a guest verse from Young Thug. This is the second single from Durk’s forthcoming album The Voice. Produced by Metro Boomin and DY Krazy, “Stay Down” is all about priorities. Specifically, Durkio prioritizes sex and lots of money. With the aid of auto-tune, he raps “Only five star shit, ain’t no thots with us/ Chanel round shades like binoculars/ Diamond nose ring, they think Pac with us.” He’s got punchlines about The Proud Family (“I gave you every Penny like Oscar”), and shows off some non-English vocabulary to prove that women of other cultures and faiths are more than welcome in his bed. But the Chicago native’s line about going “from Harold’s Chicken to eating lobster,” is unlikely to win him many ...
Stabbing Westward Release Surprise Hallowed Hymns Covers EP: Stream
Industrial rock vets Stabbing Westward have surprise released a new four-song covers EP, Hallowed Hymns. The band also confirmed that its anticipated fifth full-length album, Wasteland, has been pushed to 2021. The new EP arrives just in time for Halloween and takes on a gothy set of tracks including two mixes of The Cure’s “Burn” (made famous in The Crow); Ministry’s anthem to the goth-industrial lifestyle, “(Every Day Is) Halloween”; and Echo & the Bunnymen’s classic “The Killing Moon”. “We picked these three tracks because, for us, they represent the feeling of Halloween and they were very important songs during our early musical stages,” Stabbing Westward singer Christopher Hall said in a press release. “If there were ever two bands that I would say most influenced Walter [Flakus] ...
Smashing Pumpkins Drop New Songs “Wyttch” and “Ramona”: Stream
We’re officially less than a month away from Smashing Pumpkins’ new double album, CYR. Following the release of “Anno Satana” and “Birch Grove” a few weeks ago, the Billy Corgan-led outfit is now sharing another pair of teaser songs in “Wyttch” and “Ramona”. “Wyttch” finds the Pumpkins revisiting some of their more ominous musical territories, filled with crunchy and searing guitars. The track comes just in time for the spooky Halloween weekend. The alt-rockers take a mellower approach on “Ramona”, however. Corgan here drops his snarl in favor of a softer vocal delivery, and a coating of ’80s synths give the song a light, glassy sheen. Stream both new singles below. “Ramona” also comes with a Linda Strawberry-directed music video that stars founding Pumpkins members Corgan, James Iha,...
David Lee Roth Dedicates Previously Unreleased Song to Eddie Van Halen: Stream
David Lee Roth has unveiled a previously unreleased song called “Somewhere Over the Rainbow Bar and Grill” in dedication to his late bandmate Eddie Van Halen. The track was recorded several years ago with guitarist John 5 as part of a full album’s worth of material that was shelved. The song features John 5 on acoustic guitar as DLR reflects on his pre-fame days on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, California. A still graphic accompanying the YouTube clip contains the words “Hey Ed, I’m gonna miss ya … See you on the other side.” Previously, Roth shared a photo of himself with Eddie Van Halen on Twitter, along with the caption, ‘What a long great trip it’s been.” Around six years ago, Roth and John 5 co-wrote and recorded an entire album, but it never saw the light of day. Last year, Roth pro...
Saves the Day Cover Misfits Songs “Some Kinda Hate” and “Where Eagles Dare”: Stream
Just in time for the spooky season, Saves the Day have covered two Misfits songs, “Some Kinda Hate” and “Where Eagles Dare”. These new renditions appear on a split EP they recorded with Senses Fail titled Through Being Ghoul, which is indeed a play on Saves the Day’s iconic Through Being Cool album from 1999. (The band’s press photo seen above is also a nostalgic throwback.) “Some Kinda Hate”, taken from the Misfits’ 1985 Legacy of Brutality compilation, and 1979’s “Where Eagles Dare” are both given new life here with full band instrumentation and modern production. If you’re wondering whether Saves the Day frontman Chris Conley could adequately capture Glenn Danzig’s signature vocal growls, fear not: he imbues the two tracks with a healthy mix of emo and punk weirdo. It’s an appropri...
Tegan and Sara Share New Holiday Song “Make You Mine This Season”: Stream
Tegan and Sara have released their first song of 2020. Titled “Make You Mine This Season”, it’s a holiday tune that’s set to appear on the soundtrack for Clea DuVall’s new Hulu film Happiest Season. An upbeat but aching synthpop number, it hears the two Quin sisters pining after “the only girl I’ve got on my list.” “I chase the feeling, ’cause you’ve got me dreaming,” they sing. “I could make you mine, make you mine this season.” The track’s heartache falls in line with the premise of DuVall’s upcoming queer Christmas movie. Per the film’s synopsis, “a young woman plans to propose marriage to her girlfriend while attending her family’s annual holiday party. At the party, she realizes her girlfriend hasn’t come out to her conservative parents yet.” Editors’ Picks Stream “Make You Mine...
Ministry Unveil (Everyday Is) Halloween – The Lost Mixes EP: Stream
Ministry have unearthed two unheard mixes of their goth classic “(Everyday Is) Halloween” and two previously unreleased early tracks just in time for October 31st. The (Everyday Is) Halloween – The Lost Mixes EP is available now on digital platforms with a 12″ vinyl release slated for November 20th. The titular “(Everyday Is) Halloween” is perhaps Ministry’s most beloved song from their early, pre-heavy era. The band’s output on Wax Trax Records skewed more toward gothic dance rock, and “Halloween” served as the ultimate anthem for that scene with its proud declaration of self-acceptance. Ministry didn’t perform the song for more than 30 years, until they were joined onstage in Los Angeles by Dave Navarro for an acoustic version in December 2018. They’ve since played the tune a handful of ...
