“Levitating” remix featuring Missy Elliott, Dua Lipa, The Blessed Madonna, and Madonna Already one of our favorite albums of the year, Future Nostalgia had us up off the quarantine couch and bopping around in our pjs. But Dua Lipa isn’t quite done partying to that record — she’s actually just getting started. Later this month, the pop star will release a new remix album, Club Future Nostalgia, that will bring the original LP further into nightlife rotation. To tease this forthcoming project, Lipa is sharing a rework of “Levitating”, and it features some folks who pretty much grew up on the dance floor: Madonna, Missy Elliott, and The Blessed Madonna, the house/techno producer formerly known as The Black Madonna. Given this star-studded assemblage, it’s no wonder the new ve...
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 New Sounds playlist. Today’s world feels a bit like the wild, wild west, doesn’t it? The more we get used to our new normal, the less it all makes sense. Between the pandemic, the much-needed Black Lives Matter protests, the upcoming election, and social distancing, this summer has been a lot, to say the least. Luckily for us, we got a slight reprieve from the madness this week from Orville Peck via his brand-new EP, Show Pony. The six-song collection from the mysterious country singer includes our Song of the Week, “Legends Never Die”, a duet with one country legend that’s hard not to recognize: Shania Twain. “Legends Never Die” is a timeless, classic...
Prolific rockers Oh Sees will continue to stay prolific this summer — just under yet another different name. As revealed last month, the group has recorded a new album credited to the moniker Osees. This forthcoming effort, titled Protean Threat, is due out next month and is being previewed now with “If I Had My Way”. While previous lead single “Dreary Nonsense” was an aggressive and punchy punk listen, today’s offering leans more into the laid-back, hazy energy of the season. There are bold, punctuating guitars here and there, but overall the track rolls along at a steady, garage rock pace as frontman John Dwyer barks out a list of existential questions: “Everybody look up!Are you in love?Are you free?Are you alive?Are you evil?Are you all alone?Are you testing it out?Are you flying solo?...
Orville Peck has finally dropped his new Show Pony EP. The effort was originally due out earlier this year, but Peck postponed the release so as not to distract from the Black Lives Matter protests. The six-track project is highlighted by a so-called “dream come true” duet with country legend Shania Twain, aptly titled “Legends Never Die”. There’s also a cover of the Bobbie Gentry classic “Fancy”, as well as early original singles “Summertime” and “No Glory in the West”. Show Pony is Peck’s second-ever project following last year’s Pony debut album, which earned the masked alt-country star widespread critical acclaim. It also comes a month after his cover of Bronski Beat’s “Smalltown Boy”, released in honor of Pride month. Editors’ Picks Stream Show Pony below via Apple Music an...
When a movie’s called Bill & Ted Face the Music, you have to imagine its soundtrack is going to have some most excellent tunes. Today brings the official announcement of the Bill & Ted 3 OST, heralded by Weezer’s contribution, “Beginning of the End (Wyld Stallyns Edit)”. With the film now due in theaters and on video-on-demand on August 28th, the companion album is set to land the same day. In addition to Weezer, the collection features new music from Mastodon (who contribute a song called “Rufus Lives”), FIDLAR, Cold War Kids, Lamb of God, Big Black Delta, and Culture Wars. There are also two tracks from Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted’s (Keanu Reeves) very non-heinous band Wyld Stallyns. They perform the title track with Animals as Leaders and Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, ...
This October marks the arrival of Shiver, the new solo album from Jónsi. His first such effort in 10 years, the album been teased thus far with the songs “Exhale” and “Swill”. Now, a third single, “Cannibal”, is being shared by the Sigur Rós frontman. A collaboration with Liz Fraser of the Cocteau Twins, the track unfurls like an airy, almost dreamlike spell. The Icelandic artist’s otherworldly vocals move in tandem with Fraser’s like swirling smoke, before eventually floating off into the ether. While the ambient moments here recall Jónsi’s work with Sigur Rós, there are also plenty of new sounds welcomed into the fold — namely bright and striking synths courtesy of futurist pop producer and PC Music founder A. G. Cook. “When Sigur Rós was starting, we were always compared ...
Legendary UK gothic punk act The Damned have announced a new EP, The Rockfield Files. In advance of the release, the band has unveiled a video for the single “Keep ‘Em Alive”. For the new effort, The Damned returned to Rockfield studios, where they recorded their early 1980s LPs The Black Album and Strawberries, as well as the Friday 13th EP. The Rockfield Files will arrive on October 16th, containing four new songs, including “Keep ‘Em Alive.” The lineup on the EP, which was recorded in 2019, includes classic members David Vanian, Captain Sensible, and Paul Gray, as well as Monty Oxymoron on keyboards and Andrew “Pinch” Pinching on drums. Pinch has since left the band, having played his final gig with The Damned on Halloween of last year. The songs were produced by Tom Dalgety, who w...
Billie Eilish, The Chicks, Maggie Rogers, Stephen Stills, and John Legend are among the artists set to perform at next week’s Democratic National Convention. The mostly virtual event takes place August 17th-20th, airing nightly between 9:00 and 11:00 p.m. ET. Other confirmed musical acts include Leon Bridges, Common, Jennifer Hudson, Billy Porter, and Prince Royce. “In just three days, we will kick off a Democratic National Convention that will look and feel very different than past conventions. It will truly be a convention across America, and these incredible artists will help us tell the story of where we are as a country today under Donald Trump’s failed leadership, and the promise of what we can and should be with Joe Biden as president,” said Stephanie Cutter, 2020 Democrat...
Although Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP” may already be the song of the summer, it’s caused some predictable controversy amongst those with more conservative tastes. Everyone from congressional candidates to Tiger King stars have taken issue with the track, which begs the question: Is this yet another example of women — particularly Black women — facing a different level of public scrutiny? Exploring that thesis on The Daily Show on Thursday night, Margo Price recontextualized “WAP” as a beautiful country song. Would it be any less “offensive”? Price’s cover came as host Trevor Noah and remote correspondent Dulce Sloan examined the media’s sexist reaction to Kamala Harris being selected as presumptive democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s running mate. While arguing that...
Anderson .Paak’s prolific summer continues today with “Cut Em In”, a new collaborative single with Rick Ross. Produced by veteran beatmaker Hit-Boy, the track is about paying back the buddies who supported you when you were at your lowest. “Sometimes you need a friend/ Not the ones that just show up and don’t put nothin’ in/ You know the ones that lend a hand and wanna see you win/ When you come up on a lick, make sure you cut ’em in,” .Paak advises while at the mic. The R&B artist also later drops a shout-out to mentor Dr. Dre, who helped launch his some career years ago. A number of bars throughout “Cut Em In” also emphasize the importance of knowing your own worth, such as this one from Ricky Rozay: “Distinctive destinations, all I wanna see/ Oceans from residences, it’s three ...
Tomorrow, August 15th, would have been Nipsey Hussle‘s 35th birthday. In honor of that day, Snoop Dogg has released a moving tribute song to the fallen rapper, “Nipsey Blue”. Before he was killed on March 31st, 2019, Nipsey built his reputation off of scorching g-funk mixtapes, community activism, a sharp entrepreneurial spirit, and one excellent album: 2018’s Victory Lap. Throughout his career, Snoop didn’t just co-sign Nipsey, he took the younger rapper under his wing. In a 2010 interview with Complex, Nipsey spoke about the profound influence of the Doggfather. “Snoop didn’t ask me to sign to him, ask for no percentage, ask for no cut, and he more or less just took his visibility and his celebrity and co-signed and spoke real highly of me as opposed to being like “Oh, fuck this you...