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Eight Albums in, The Gorillaz Universe Is Still Expanding
Damon Albarn keeps examining the intersection of technology and art through the prism of a virtual band, and it keeps working. Eight Albums in, The Gorillaz Universe Is Still Expanding Cady Siregar
Every Yo La Tengo Album Ranked From Worst to Best
This article was originally published in 2013 and has been updated. Welcome to Dissected, where we disassemble a band’s catalog, a director’s filmography, or some other critical pop-culture collection in the abstract. It’s exact science by way of a few beers. This time, we sort through the best and worst of Hoboken, New Jersey’s trio of Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley, and James McNew. On April 30, 1982, Lester Bangs overdosed and died, and took the ‘70s with him. The next day, in Hoboken, New Jersey, an obscure music writer named Ira Kaplan and a former child voiceover actress named Georgia Hubley performed together before an audience for the first time. Eventually, the pair became a band. They adopted a name after the Spanish phrase for “I have it.” Mets fans might recognize as the phrase o...
R.E.M.’s 20 Best Songs
This article was originally published in 2017, but we’re dusting it off for Michael Stipe’s birthday on January 4th. If you’re at all like me, you probably associate certain bands with specific moods. In other words, you turn to these bands when they fit your state of mind, match how your day went, or just seem to sound how you feel. R.E.M. has never been one of those bands for me, though. No matter my mood, mindset, or emotion, there’s an R.E.M. album or sound that suits me. “I have lived a full life,” Michael Stipe once sang, and I think that’s how we felt about the band when they parted ways in 2011. To look back at their catalog then or now is to see a band that have lived a full life — and life to the fullest — leaving few stones of the band experience unflipped or unskipped. Advertis...
Every Pearl Jam Album Ranked From Worst to Best
This article originally ran in 2016 and has since been updated; we’re dusting it off for Eddie Vedder’s birthday on December 23rd. “Fuck.” That was the only word Michael Roffman texted me late Monday night. As I shrugged off sleep to try and figure out what exactly that meant, the rest of his message came through: “Tonight’s set was so much better.” I stopped getting dressed and sank back into bed. I knew what he was upset about. No apocalypse, no emergency, just a Pearl Jam setlist that he liked better than the one we got two nights earlier at Wrigley Field. I clicked on the setlist link, scanned down, and texted back: “Oh fuck…” Advertisement In words barely more eloquent than those, we spent the next hour, on and off, bemoaning that we had covered the wrong show — like two spoiled brats...
The Story Behind Nirvana’s Era-Defining Anthem “Smells Like Teen Spirit” as Told by Producer Butch Vig
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | YouTube | RSS Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is much more than a song. It was — and remains — one of music’s defining moments of the modern era and continues to find itself on virtually every all-time “best of” lists. (Same goes for the album it comes from, Nevermind, which ranked Top 10 on Consequence’s Greatest Albums of All Time list.) When released in 1991, “Spirit” transformed more than our airwaves — it transformed culture and society itself as it blasted onto the scene and thrust grunge into the mainstream. Those relentless drums that open the track, so loudly played by David Grohl that no mics were n...
From Glass Animals to Imagine Dragons, What’s Your Favorite Long-Running Hot 100 Hit? Vote!
Glass Animals‘ “Heat Waves” set a new record this week as the longest-running hit in the history of the Billboard Hot 100. On the chart dated Oct. 22, the No. 1 hit officially surpassed The Weeknd‘s “Blinding Lights” by spending 91 weeks on the tally. And now that Dave Bayley and his bandmates are the reigning record holders thanks to the remarkable, slow-burning success of their single, we want to know which longtime Hot 100 hit is your favorite. Of the never-ending cascade of songs that have gone up and down the all-genre tally since its inception in 1958, only 10 have spent at least 68 weeks on the chart — including hits by Imagine Dragons, AWOLNATION, Dua Lipa and more. Do you prefer “Heat Waves” over “Blinding Lights”? Which gets your blood pumping more: Dan Reynold’s ferocious delive...
Song of the Week: Fiona Apple Reads Tolkien Poetry on “Where the Shadows Lie”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Fiona Apple makes a fantastical return with “Where the Shadows Lie.” The music of Fiona Apple has a way of making itself feel suspended in time. From the straightforward, piano-heavy compositions of her 1996 debut Tidal to the raucous, ramshackle qualities of 2020’s Fetch the Bolt Cutters, the iconic musician might’ve been a spokesperson of turn-of-the-century doom — but her sound is void of a specific era. Really, it’s a trait that Apple shares with the Lord of the Rings franchise...
Willow Teases Second ‘SNL’ Appearance in a Year: ‘S——g My Pants Slightly’
Willow looked ahead to her upcoming performance as musical guest on Saturday Night Live in a new interview on Monday (Oct. 3). “I’m honestly really, really surprised that I’m going to be on SNL twice in one year, five months apart,” she told Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe. “That’s crazy. I’m really excited. I’m nervous obviously, because being with Camila [Cabello], really, really good friend of mine. There’s that feeling of comfortability there where you can look across the stage and be like, ‘Girl, we’re in this together. We’re doing this.’ I’m not baring my soul alone on the stage. But now it’s going to be me baring my soul alone on the stage, and I’m just so grateful and so excited, but also s——g my pants slightly.” As she mentioned, the Hollywood progeny’s first turn in Stud...
Björk Is as Vibrant as Ever on the Moving, Earthy Fossora
Aside from her unmatched ability to constantly and successfully reinvent herself, one of Björk’s greatest qualities is her deft, poignant interrogations on the complex ties between humanity and nature. On her previous album, 2017’s lovely Utopia, the Icelandic experimental pop singer envisioned a world beyond ours, contrasting ethereal imagery and feather-light production with her growing concerns about the environment and her lingering grief around her divorce. Fossora — the followup to Utopia and her 10th overall record, out Friday (September 30th) — finds Björk coming back down to Earth, surveying the decay of our natural world and meditating on its debilitating effect on our own relationships. We don’t take care of our planet, Björk seems to suggest, because we fail to take care o...
Lollapalooza 2022 Day Three Recap and Photos: J. Cole, Turnstile, Dashboard Confessional & More
Day three of Lollapalooza 2022 took place on Saturday, July 30th, with more incredible acts taking the stages at Grant Park. Headlined by J. Cole, the day saw acts like Big Sean, Turnstile, Wallows, and Dashboard Confessional rock the crowd. Also performing on Saturday were the likes of Fletcher, Alexander 23, and Meet Me @ The Altar. Advertisement If you missed all the action, you can relive it vicariously through our extensive Lollapalooza day three photo gallery below. Revisit our recaps from day one and day two, and stay tuned for our full coverage of the remainder of the festival. Advertisement [flexi-common-toolbar] [flexi-form class=”flexi_form_style” title=”Submit to Flexi” name=”my_form” ajax=”true”][flexi-form-tag type=”post_t...
SASAMI Gives Tender Performance of “Call Me Home” on Colbert: Watch
SASAMI stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s series Late Show Me Music on Friday, July 29th to play “Call Me Home,” a standout cut from her excellent sophomore album, Squeeze. During the performance, our February Artist of the Month emotionally ran through the ’90s throwback with arms outstretched while channeling the acoustic-driven sound of artists like Sheryl Crow. When SASAMI sings “I want you to know you’re not alone,” there’s conviction in her voice that lets you know she means every single word. Since dropping Squeeze, one of the best albums of 2022, SASAMI has gone on tour with HAIM and teamed up with Ty Segall and Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis for a new version of “Tried to Understand.” Advertisement Revisit her breakdown of the process behind Squeeze here and c...
Lollapalooza 2022 Day One Recap and Photos: Lil Baby, Tove Lo, & More
Day one of Lollapalooza 2022 (Thursday, July 28th) is in the books! We were there to catch all the action of the Chicago festival’s opening day. Blessed with clear weather, Lollapalooza kicked off with a day of strong sets, from the “tiny fonts” to the headliners. Before Metallica brought the house down, stand out sets came by way of Lil Baby, Sam Fender, Tove Lo, Jazmine Sullivan, and more. Other acts, like country up-and-comer Zach Brown, TikTok rocker Petey, and rapper Maxo Kream, reminded attendees that the strength of this year’s lineup came by way of its genre diversity. Day one also featured festival favorites like 100 gets, Still Woozy, Caroline Polachek, and Remi Wolf. Advertisement The crowds brought an excited energy, giving life to the longstanding, legendary festival. With thr...
