Blues Rock
Tracy Chapman Makes Rare TV Appearance to Perform “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution” on Seth Meyers: Watch
Tracy Chapman very rarely makes TV appearances, but she did so Monday night to remind viewers to vote on Election Day. The 56-year-old songwriter delivered her urgent message via a stirring performance of “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution” on Seth Meyers. Watch below. “This is the most important election of our lifetime. It is imperative that everyone vote to restore our democracy,” Chapman remarked prior to the televised broadcast, her first since 2015. In his own statement about Chapman’s performance, Meyers said, “I’ve always thought Tracy Chapman’s music skips your ears and goes straight to your heart. I’m so honored and excited to have her on the show. She’s living proof you can be a great artist while also speaking out for what you believe in.” Editors’ Picks Although Chap...
George Thorogood Premieres “Bad to the Bone” from Deluxe Reissue of Live in Boston, 1982: Stream
George Thorogood and The Destroyers have been going strong for more than 40 years. And they’re going back nearly that long for a new deluxe reissue of the album Live in Boston, 1982. In advance of the release, Thorogood is teaming up with Consequence of Sound to premiere a visualizer for the deluxe edition’s previously unreleased live version of his signature tune, “Bad to the Bone”. The deluxe edition, dubbed Live in Boston, 1982: The Complete Concert, adds 12 previously unreleased songs to the original 2010 release, for a total of 27 tracks. The reissue will be available as a 4-LP 180-gram vinyl set; a 2-CD edition; and digitally beginning December 4th via Craft Recordings. A red marble vinyl release will be made available exclusively for Record Store Day’s Black Friday event on November...
Greta Van Fleet Return with Surprise New Song “My Way, Soon”: Stream
After a whirlwind start to their career, it’s been a quiet 2020 for Greta Van Fleet. Of course, the pandemic has a lot to do with that, but the rock sensations are back with a surprise new song, “My Way, Soon”. It’s been two years since Greta Van Fleet released their debut album, 2018’s Anthem of the Peaceful Army. Before that, the band exploded onto the rock scene with a pair of 2017 EPs. Starting with “Highway Tune”, the young rockers scored four straight No. 1 hits on the Mainstream Rock chart, and would go on to play sold-out shows across the world. Roughly a year ago, Greta Van Fleet released the new song “Always There” from the soundtrack to the movie A Million Little Pieces. “My Way, Soon” marks the band’s first new music since then. “My Way, Soon” continues Greta Van Fleet’s throwb...
Brittany Howard Performs “Baby” on Corden: Watch
Earlier this month, Brittany Howard was remixed by Bon Iver and EarthGang. Now, the Alabama Shakes frontman has again taken center stage — this time quite literally — with a performance on The Late Late Show with James Corden. Appearing on Tuesday night’s episode, the incomparable Howard flexed her impassioned pipes while delivering “Baby”. A pair of backup singers and a full band also accompanied her in social distanced fashion. It was a solid yet bittersweet reminder of just how darn good she is live and how much she’s sorely missed on the road. Howard later spoke to Corden about her upcoming birthday (October 2nd, mark your calendars), and how she plans to celebrate with a fishing trip. She also talked about her newest quarantine hobby — while we’ve all been baking bread, Howard se...
Birttany Howard Gets Remixed by Bon Iver and EARTHGANG: Stream
Bon Iver (photo by Graham Tolbert & Eric Carlson), Brittany Howard (photo by Bobbi Rich), and EARTHGANG (photo by Grizz) It’s been nearly a year since Brittany Howard delivered her debut solo album, Jamie. To celebrate its impending anniversary, the Alabama Shakes frontwoman has announced a new remix collection featuring a number of artists putting their own spins her music. Though a due date for the ATO Records release has yet to be revealed, two sample remixes have been shared as an early preview. The first comes from Atlanta rap duo (and former Artists of the Month) EARTHGANG. The pair add their own verses to Howard’s tale of growing up in the South, “Goat Head”, turning the song “into a bold anthem for 2020’s social justice movement,” as a press release puts it. “Songs like these h...
Bright Eyes Cover Thin Lizzy’s “Running Back”: Stream
Bright Eyes returned last week with their long-awaited comeback album, Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was. In support of the release, Conor Oberst and his crew recorded a SiriusXM Session that featured a pretty unexpected cover song: Thin Lizzy’s “Running Back”. They also appeared on CBS This Morning over the weekend. While the indie/emo rockers maintain the folkier aspects of Think Lizzy’s 1976 Jailbreak original, Oberst’s distinctly raspy growl make this “Running Back” rendition a unique one all their own. We’ve certainly missed Oberst in Bright Eyes mode like this. As for the Omaha-bred band’s appearance on CBS This Morning, they performed Down in the Weeds singles “Persona Non Grata” and “Mariana Trench”. Oberst was joined by fellow Bright Eyes mates Mike Mogis and Nathan...
Back to the Future Is Fueled by Huey Lewis and “The Power of Love”
Songs That Made Movies Classics is a feature in which we analyze how the use of a single song helped make a film a modern classic. Today, we go back in time all the way to 1985 … time circuits on. The story behind how Back to the Future got green-lit might actually be a longer and stranger journey than Marty McFly’s own adventures through time. No, the idea for the movie didn’t come to writer-producer Bob Gale while standing on his toilet trying to hang a clock. The creative jolt came when Gale found his father’s senior high school yearbook while rummaging through his parents’ basement during a visit. Intrigued by Gale’s premise, filmmaker Robert Zemeckis, yet to have a film project not flop at the box office, teamed with him in late 1980 on an initial script deal with Columbia Pictures. L...
The Raconteurs Release New EP and Documentary, Live at Electric Lady: Stream
The Raconteurs have shared a new EP and concert documentary, both called Live at Electric Lady. Stream them below via Spotify and YouTube. As the title implies, this Spotify exclusive was recorded at the iconic Electric Lady Studios in New York City. Built by Jimi Hendrix and legendary acoustician John Storyk in 1970, the studio has hosted some of the most celebrated acts of the last fifty years, including one of Jack White’s other bands, The White Stripes. This release is the first in a Spotify-sponsored series that celebrates Electric Lady’s 50th anniversary. Recorded in September of last year, the nine-track EP leans heavily on The Raconteurs’ 2019 album Help Us Stranger, including “Bored and Razed”, “Help Me Stranger”, “Only Child”, and “Sunday Driver”. The rockers also play a pai...
The Raconteurs Announce New Documentary and Live EP, Both Due Out Friday
Lockdown just got a bit easier thanks to The Raconteurs, who have announced the imminent release of a new documentary film and live EP. Both are titled Live at Electric Lady and due out this Friday, May 29th. The two projects capture The Raconteurs’ intimate concert event at Electric Lady studios, the legendary New York space where frontman Jack White and The White Stripes have previously recorded. Judging by the trailer seen below, the 60-minute doc and Spotify-exclusive live EP will feature favorites from across Raconteurs’ catalog, including some off last year’s Help Us Stranger album. The garage rockers also churn out a cover of Richard Hell and the Voidoids’ 1977 punk classic “Blank Generation” (Hell contributed to the first release from White’s Third Man Books). “Everyone who is a mu...
Fantastic Negrito Announces New Album, Rips Through “Chocolate Samurai” on Colbert: Watch
Fantastic Negrito has announced his new album Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? The follow-up to the Grammy-winning Please Don’t Be Dead arrives August 14th, and to promote it, the blues rocker ripped through a fiery performance of the lead single “Chocolate Samurai” on Colbert. Xavier Dphrepaulezz began his Late Show set alone, holding two kinds of tape — measuring and duct — and marking out six feet of distance for his band. For the concert, he wore a fuzzy bucket hat and what looked like a military uniform made out of the Bible’s coat of many colors. Fantastic Negrito has a powerful voice with an inimitable grind; he approaches the notes with the unstoppable force of a locomotive barreling down the tracks. Throughout “Chocolate Samurai” he strutted and danced, refus...
July Talk Share the Origins of New Song “Identical Love”: Stream
In our new music feature Origins, musicians give fans an inside look at the some of the inspirations behind their latest song. Today, July Talk tell us how they found their “Identical Love”. “I want to be changed/ I want to be rearranged,” go the first lines on July Talk’s new album, Pray for It. The words set the tone for the whole effort, as the Toronto rock outfit set out to find renewal in rebirth — both for themselves personally and their band’s sound. Both types of restoration are denoted in the LP’s latest single and opening track, “Identical Love”. Though known for their snarling indie rock, “Identical Love” shows July Talk operating with a gentler touch. Synths beat like a pulse in the chest of someone slowly reaching out to their lover in a profound moment of truth. A glorious sa...
