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Suzanne Vega on Lou Reed: “His Artistry Was Always Something I Aspired to Myself”
Kyle Meredith With… Suzanne Vega Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Suzanne Vega connects with Kyle Meredith about her new live album, An Evening of New York Stories and Songs. Recorded in the legendary Cafe Carlile, the new set of songs paint a fading picture of the Big Apple — her longtime home. Together, the two discuss the loss of famous rooms across the city, coming up in the ’80s folk scene, and how her relationship with the metropolis has evolved over the years. Vega also talks about the darker side of community that led to the passing of her brother and how nostalgia reveals the ghosts left behind, one of which includes her friend Lou Reed. Kyle Meredith With… is an inte...
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...
Gorillaz Announce New Song with The Cure’s Robert Smith
Gorillaz have The Cure for your quarantine blues. For the sixth installment of the Song Machine series, the venerable virtual rockers have announced a new single featuring the Godfather of Goth, Robert Smith. No release date has been set and few details are known. But the band left a few tantalizing bread crumbs on Twitter. They wrote, “Coming up on Song Machine… It’s @RobertSmith.” This was followed by a spaceship emoji, as well as the instructions to “Follow your nearest Song Machine NOW!” That cartoon rocket seems more significant combined with the accompanying promotional pic. It features the cartoon band dressed as astronauts and exploring a rocky orb in space. Looming in the distance is the Earth, and looming close by is Robert Smith, looking like the dark side of the moon ...
Nick Cave Announces Idiot Prayer Live Album
Nick Cave has announced a physical release for his recent one-off solo piano performance called Idiot Prayer. It will be available digitally and on CD and vinyl beginning November 20th. Additionally, the film will screen in select theaters globally on November 5th. Idiot Prayer was recorded at London’s Alexandra Palace in June 2020 as the UK slowly emerged from lockdown, and “was conceived as a reaction to the confinement and Isolation of the preceding months,” a press release notes. The 22-song set included material ranging from early Bad Seeds and Grinderman through Cave’s most recent album, Ghosteen. The film first premiered in July as a one-off paid livestream. The forthcoming physical release will include four unaired performances, and be pressed on double vinyl. Pre-orders for t...
Julia Stone Reveals New Song “Unreal”, Produced by St. Vincent: Stream
St. Vincent (photo by Ben Kaye) and Julia Stone (photo by Brooke Ashley Barone) Julia Stone returned this past July with her first solo single in eight years, “Break”, produced by St. Vincent. It turns out there’s quite a lot more to come from this pair, as a “greater body of work” is eventually coming down the line, according a statement. As another preview of this larger collaborative project, Stone and St. Vincent are now sharing a new track called “Unreal”. Not unlike her previous offering, Stone again sidelines her folk roots here, leaning further into synthpop territory. It’s a new look for the veteran Australian songwriter, but one that works in much the same way acts such as Sylvan Esso have built electronic music using the foundation of folk stylings. According to Stone, this late...
R.E.M., Hayley Williams, Phoebe Bridgers, Angel Olsen, More Contribute to New Voters’ Rights Compilation
Michael Stipe, Phoebe Bridgers and Hayley Williams, photos by Olof Grind and Ben Kaye A who’s who of indie rock royalty are contributing to a new charity compilation benefiting voters’ rights ahead of the 2020 election. Aptly titled Good Music to Avert the Collapse of American Democracy, the 40-track album collects previously unreleased recordings from the likes of R.E.M., Hayley Williams, Phoebe Bridgers, Angel Olsen, The National’s Matt Berninger, Jamila Woods, Rostam, Flume, Weyes Blood, and more. Notable entries including Williams’ cover of Broadcast’s “Colour Me”; Berninger’s rendition of The Cure’s “In Between Days”; an in-the-works collaboration between Ben Gibbard and Tycho; demos from Bridgers, Sharon Van Etten, King Tuff, and Tegan and Sara; an unearthed Beverly Glenn-Copeland so...
Chicano Batman on Challenging Heritage: “American Culture is Very Ahistorical”
Kyle Meredith With… Chicano Batman Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Chicano Batman vocalist Bardo Martinez catches up with Kyle Meredith to discuss their new album, Invisible People. Martinez also digresses on larger topics such as being Latino during the Black Lives Matter era, challenging racial identifiers, immigration, and geographical privilege. Martinez also discusses the importance and impact that Daniel Quinn’s book Ishmael has had not only on his outlook, but also the lyrics for the new record and his love of Black music. Kyle Meredith With… is an interview series in which WFPK’s Kyle Meredith speaks to a wide breadth of musicians. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday,...
David Bowie’s The Man Who Sold the World to Be Reissued Under Original Title
Parophlone Records will re-release David Bowie’s 1970 album, The Man Who Sold the World, under its original title and with new artwork. Bowie originally intend to call his third studio album Metrobolist, a homage to Fritz Lang’s 1927 film of the same name. However, for its US release, Mercury Records retitled the album as The Man Who Sold the World without Bowie’s consultation. The forthcoming reissue will be released under the name Metrobolist and with artwork from Mike Weller, the artist who created the album’s original animated artwork. The cover’s gate-fold sleeve also features unseen images from Keith MacMillan’s “dress” shoot at Haddon Hall that later covered the UK release of the album as well as subsequent reissues (seen above). As for the music, the majority of the album has ...
Josh Boone Developing Biopic on The Replacements
Here’s something left of the dial: Josh Boone is working on a biopic about The Replacements. In a new interview with Games Radar, The New Mutants and The Stand writer-director confirmed he’s moving from Mid-World to Minneapolis. “When we were shooting The New Mutants, I started working on, with [co-writer] Knate [Lee], we started working on an adaptation of Bob Mehr’s New York Times bestseller Trouble Boys, about the band The Replacements,” Boone shared. Hey, say what you will about the idea, but at least Boone is working from the right source material. Mehr’s 2016 novel is not only a bible for self-respecting ‘Mats fans, but one of the greatest rock and roll biographies of all time. Seriously. Give it a read. Based on Boone’s comments, it sounds like the project is pretty far along. He go...
Björk’s Icelandic Concert Series Pushed Back to 2021
Coronavirus cases have begun to creep back up in Iceland, forcing Björk to push back her planned live concert series. Via Stereogum, the performances at Reykjavík’s Harpa Hall will now take place in January and February of 2021. The original concert announcements were born of unbridled optimism and national pride. Early in the pandemic, Iceland drew rave reviews for their aggressive response to the threat of COVID-19. Through intense social cooperation, and with the protection of their island home, it seemed as if the Scandinavian country had found a recipe for coronavirus success. As the government eased restrictions, the Icelandic Queen herself announced a four-concert run at Harpa Hall, originally set to begin on August 9th. But by the end of July, coronavirus c...
Ani DiFranco on Capital Punishment, Working with Inmates, and the Prison Music Project
Kyle Meredith With… Ani DiFranco Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Ani DiFranco speaks with Kyle Meredith about her collaboration with the Prison Music Project on Long Time Gone. DiFranco takes us through her team up with Zoe Boekbinder, who brought in songs from inmates incarcerated within New Folsom Prison, and how it’s set to be adapted into a stage play. The legendary musician and activist also weighs in on capital punishment, citizen journalism, her hopes for Joe Biden, and the importance of voting in November’s election. Kyle Meredith With… is an interview series in which WFPK’s Kyle Meredith speaks to a wide breadth of musicians. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Mere...
The Smashing Pumpkins Share Two New Songs “Cyr” and “The Colour of Love”: Stream
The Smashing Pumpkins have returned. The first of their five mysterious countdowns has reached its end, and the Chicago rockers have unveiled two new singles: “Cyr” and “The Colour of Love”. The tracks are presumably off their forthcoming double album. “Cyr” is a dance anthem that sounds like Adore meets ABBA, while “The Colour of Love” brings to mind all the midnight anthems within 2000’s Machina. Both hearken back to Billy Corgan’s salad days, back when he worshipped The Cure on FM radio. The two tracks bode well for the highly anticipated follow-up to 2018’s Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1. It also speaks to the more focused and conceptual nature that Corgan had described to the Tennessean earlier this year: “It’s probably a wider swath of music,” Corgan explained at the time. “The last ...
