music
Kanye West Wants to Create a Christian Version of TikTok
For reasons totally unrelated to the sabotaging of his campaign rally earlier this year, Donald Trump is threatening to ban TikTok in the US. He’s given the Chinese-owned company till September 15th to sell its US operations to an American company or else face a nationwide ban. However, his good buddy Kanye West is proposing an alternate path: turn TikTok into a Christian-friendly video service. The 2020 presidential candidate (?) proposed the prospective rebrand via Twitter on Monday, claiming the concept came to him as some sort of spiritual revelation. “A VISION JUST CAME TO ME… JESUS TOK I WAS WATCHING TIK TOK WITH MY DAUGHTER AND AS A CHRISTIAN FATHER I WAS DISTURBED BY A LOT OF THE CONTENT BUT I COMPLETELY LOVED THE TECHNOLOGY,” he wrote. In order to maintain the smart tech while lim...
Two Men Charged with Murder of Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay
18 years after the death of Run-DMC DJ Jam Master Jay, two men have been charged in connection with his murder. Federal prosecutors will announce the indictments of Ronald Washington, 56, and Karl Jordan, Jr., 36, during a press conference set for 2:30 p.m. ET on Monday. Washington is already in a federal prison serving time for robbery, while Jordan was arrested on Sunday. Both men are charged with murder while engaged in drug trafficking, according to The New York Times. More details are expected to be revealed during the press conference, but it’s believed Jay Master Jay was financing drug-trafficking operation involving Washington and Jordan. “There was a beef — it didn’t go as planned,” an official told The Times. Editors’ Picks Born Jason Mizell, Jam Master Jay w...
Orville Peck’s Subversive Sound: Cruising, Cowboys, And Country
A lonesome highway exit on a cool, black night. Orange lights blur in the rear-view mirror of an 18-wheel rig. His hands on the wheel, your hand in his lap. A romance as transient as a truck stop. That’s the image the mysterious masked singer Orville Peck conjures on “Drive Me Crazy,” a piano-led ballad dusted with the neo-country star’s reverberating, whiskey baritone, divulging a fantasy of two wanderers who find each other — and passion — on the road. “It’s a trucker love song,” Peck describes, with a laugh. The track, he explains, was written while on a national tour following the March 2019 release of his debut album, Pony. The somber, self-produced breakout collection featured the up-tempo “Turn to Hate” and the hypnotic “Dead of Night.” His lyrics wove decadent tales of outlaw...
Miley Cyrus Returns To The VMAs For Debut Performance Of ‘Midnight Sky’
Must be something in the water, because Miley Cyrus is back to deliver another iconic performance at the VMAs! The singer has a rich history at the VMAs, including her turn as a host in 2015, as well as her breathtaking rendition of “Slide Away” at last year’s show. On August 30, the global superstar will make her live debut of “Midnight Sky,” her latest single which dropped just a few days prior. Cyrus’s directional music video for “Mother’s Daughter,” which was inspired by the radical feminist group Femen, is also nominated for Best Art Direction and Best Editing. This year’s thrilling squad of performers includes Lady Gaga — set to bring her Chromatica album to life — along with BTS, who will take the stage to mark the TV ...
The Cribs Announce New Album Night Network, Share “Running Into You”: Stream
The Cribs have announced their new album, Night Network. It’s set for arrival November 13th, 2020 through Sonic Blew/[PIAS]. The forthcoming record serves as their eighth overall and follow-up to 2017’s 24-7 Rock Star Shit. More importantly, it marks the return of a British band that almost called it quits after an exhausting business matter involving their management. According to a statement, immediately following the release of their previous record, The Cribs parted way with their UK representation. This led to what they described as a “legal morass” that left them unable to record or release new music for 18 months. For a group that’s steadily put out records for the last 15 years, such a hold-up was disruptive to say the least. “At one point we were actually so disillusioned with wha...
Dolly Parton Backs Black Lives Matter: “Do We Think Our Little White Asses Are the Only Ones That Matter?”
Dolly Parton has once again reminded us why we should all aspire to be more like Dolly Parton. In a new Billboard cover story, the country legend shared her support for Black Lives Matter and the recent uprisings against police brutality and white supremacy. She also spoke candidly about her own mortality and the importance of drawing up a will. On the topic of BLM, the 74-year-old proved that she’s definitely aligned with the times and fully onboard with the protests that have carried on since George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police. “I understand people having to make themselves known and felt and seen,” said Parton. “And of course, Black lives matter. Do we think our little white asses are the only ones that matter? No!” The Queen of Nashville has officially spoken...
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard Share New Song “Some of Us”: Stream
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard are back to doing what they do best: releasing staggering amounts of music. The latest offering is “Some of Us”, and it comes with a nightmare-inducing music video. You’d think the Aussie rockers had been watching Lovecraft Country judging from the lyrics. Stu Mackenzie sings of “Ancient tombs like sand-filled wombs,” to reflect upon the passage of “untold aeons.” Guitars match Mackenzie note-for-note, sounding for all the world like a demon chorus engaged in a psych-rock sing-a-long. According to a statement on social media, “Some of Us” was written earlier this year. The band said, “This Cookie penned, Stu sung song came together early this year as the world was slowly descending into madness, but before it was truly on fire. Can’t wait to show y’a...
Whitney Unveil New Covers Album Candid: Stream
Midwestern indie rockers Whitney have returned with a new covers album called Candid. Stream it in its entirety below via Apple Music or Spotify. Out via Secretly Canadian, the 10-track collection finds Whitney tackling originals by David Byrne and Brian Eno (“Strange Overtones”), Kelela (“Bank Head”), and Damien Jurado (“A.M. A.M.”). The album also includes the group’s rendition SWV’s “Rain” and a collaboration with Waxahatchee on the John Denver classic “Take Me Home, Country Roads”. In a statement about their choice in covers, drummer and singer Julien Ehrlich explained, “This could’ve been as simple as saying we really love these songs and we love our bandmates and making a covers record just felt right, but it truly became an exploration into how we can evolve as a band going for...
The Killers Premiere New Single “Dying Breed”: Stream
The Killers are just about one week away from the release of highly anticipated album Imploding the Mirage. In anticipation, they’ve shared a new single called “Dying Breed”. According to an interview with Rolling Stone, the track is a collaboration with producer Flood, who’d previously worked on The Killers’ Sam’s Town. As frontman Brandon Flowers explained, Flood helped to give the song “an industrial vibe.” He added, “What I love about Flood is he doesn’t have a problem x-ing something out if he doesn’t like it. What he did with it was a lot more stark than what we would have done, but it kept the spirit of the song. It has a heart to it that really grabs you.” Editors’ Picks Stream The Killers’ “Dying Breed” below, which follows early singles “My Own Soul’s Warning...
Bruce Springsteens Calls Lana Del Rey “One of the Best Songwriters in the Country”
Bruce Springsteen (photo by Ben Kaye) and Lana Del Rey (photo by David Brendan Hall) Bruce Springsteen has had Lana Del Rey all over his playlists for years now, but his fandom has just reached new heights. In a recent broadcast on SiriusXM, The Boss called the Norman Fucking Rockwell! mastermind “one of the best songwriters in the country.” Springsteen’s comments came during the latest episode of his ongoing From His Home to Yours SiriusXM series, as Stereogum points out. During the radio show, he played Del Rey’s own 2012 song “American”, which notably name-drops Springsteen. “Springsteen is the king, don’t you think/ I was like, hell yeah that guy can sing,” the track’s lyrics read. “She’s, uh, name checking some guy from New Jersey in there. I’m not sure who,” The Boss joked ...
Elvis Costello Details New Album Hey Clockface, Shares “We Are All Cowards Now”: Stream
Elvis Costello has announced his 31st (!) studio album, Hey Clockface. The follow-up to 2018’s Look Now arrives October 30th, and Costello is heralding the news with his latest single, “We Are All Cowards Now”. Hey Clockface is a trans-Atlantic undertaking, with recording taking place in Helsinki, Paris, and New York, three cities which became integral plot points in the album’s story. At Helsinki’s Suomenlinnan Studios, Costello wrote and recorded the first three singles, “We Are All Cowards Now” and early previews “Hetty O’Hara Confidential” and “No Flag”. Immediately afterward, the veteran songwriter visited France for a weekend session at Les Studios Saint Germain. He played with a new ensemble dubbed Le Quintette Saint Germain, led by his old pal and longtime Attraction member St...
Seether Premiere Powerful Video for Heavy New Song “Beg”: Watch
Seether are getting set to release their new album, Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum, and the band has teamed up with Heavy Consequence to premiere the video for the crushing new song “Beg”. The track is one of the heaviest songs Seether have ever released, with frontman Shaun Morgan delivering a thunderous scream of “Beg motherf**ker” in the chorus. It’s an intense track that’s made even more powerful by its compelling music video. The animated clip portrays a young girl who grows up to exact revenge on her childhood abuser. It was directed by Turkish video-maker Mertcan Mertbilek. “This is our second collaboration with Mertcan, and I wanted to get his interpretation of the lyrics,” Morgan tells us. “I sketched a rough idea and he ran with it to create a video that I think is powerful and provoc...
