music
Dave Grohl Defends Teachers, Slams Trump’s “Foolish” School Reopening Plan
Despite a spike in COVID-19 cases around the country, Donald Trump and his administration are keen on reopening schools. The dangerous move will undoubtedly put teachers and children at risk — especially students of color, according to one former CDC director. Teachers have responded with concern, anger, and even lawsuits aimed at the government. Now, Dave Grohl, former student and the son of a teacher, has been moved to speak up in defense of educators. The Foo Fighters frontman argued on behalf of teachers in a new audio version of his True Stories Instagram series, as well as in a lengthy essay written for The Atlantic. Together with helpful insight from his mother and a former teacher, Virginia, Grohl outlined the importance of “essential worker” teachers and emphasizes the hazar...
Elon Musk Says People Will Eventually Consume Music Through Brain Chip
Headphones may soon be a thing of the past if Elon Musk has his way. The tech bro and Kanye loyalist believes his latest product, a brain chip implant, will be able to stream music directly into our brains. Neuralink, a startup recently co-founded by Musk, has been developing “computer-brain interfaces” with the intention of “helping humans keep pace with advanced artificial intelligence.” As TechCrunch further explains, the idea is to “implant gossamer-thin wires” — supposedly thinner than human hair — into a person’s brain. These would be connected to an external computer machine, but the aim is to one day make the connection between these two completely wireless. Musk first announced Neuralink last year, including details on “successful” experiments on mice and apes. He plans to reveal ...
Smino Teams with J.I.D and Kenny Beats on New Song “Baguetti”: Stream
J.I.D. (photo via artist’s Instagram/@jidsv), Smino (photo by Heather Kaplan), and Kenny Beats (photo by Aris Chatman) Three months after dropping his surprise mixtape She Already Decided, Smino is back with a new single called “Baguetti”. And this time around, the Chicago MC is joined by rising Atlanta rapper J.I.D and social media star/producer extraordinaire Kenny Beats. “Baguetti” is the sound of three artists working together with ease — not just because they so smoothly align with each other, but because the whole thing has a breezy, laid-back feel. While barely seeming to struggle for speed, the two vocalists layer lines atop of lines over Kenny Beats’ bluesy, sparse production. Speaker-vibrating bass pounds on the chorus like another vocalist, emphasizing lines likes, “I...
Baroness and Windhand Members Form New Band Darling, Unveil First Single “Baptists”: Stream
Baroness guitarist Gina Gleason, Windhand singer Dorthia Cottrell, and guitarist Leanne Martz have joined forces for a new project called Darling. The trio also shared their debut single, the haunting “Baptists”. Fans of both Baroness and Windhand should find something to like about the new song. The deep bass pulses and shimmering electric guitars recall the soft interludes and segues of Baroness’ 2019 album, Gold & Grey. Meanwhile, Cottrell recites cryptic poetry through her inimitable sultry croon. In an acoustic form, the song could have worked well on one of Cottrell’s folk-based solo work. But Gleason and Martz color out a lush soundscape, offering yet another viable sonic palette for Cottrell’s words and voice. “Baptists” will be “the first of many more to come,” according to Co...
The Avalanches Drop Two New Songs “Wherever You Go” and “Reflecting Light”: Stream
The Avalanches are keeping up the momentum for their upcoming third album, bringing us not one, but two new surprise songs. “Wherever You Go” boasts contributions by Jamie xx, Neneh Cherry, Mick Jones of The Clash, and CLYPSO, while “Reflecting Light” includes a cameo from Sananda Maitreya and a Vashti Bunyan sample. Stream both down below via their respective visualizers. “Wherever You Go” is a wild, raucous party with co-production from Jamie xx. The song includes samples from the Voyager Golden Record, which was launched into space aboard the Voyager crafts in 1977, and contains music and sounds that represent life on Earth. Cherry provides backing vocals here, while Jones and CLYPSO round out the festive instrumentation. In a statement (shared ahead as an image per the artist’s request...
Rituals of Mine Announces New Album Hype Nostalgia, Shares Futuristic Single “Free Throw”: Stream
Rituals of Mine, the solo project from experimental R&B musician and activist Terra Lopez, has announced her second full-length album: Hype Nostalgia is due out September 25th on Carpark Records. It’s the newest offering from the Los Angeles-based act since 2019’s Sleeper Hold EP, which was given the remix treatment in February 2020. As a title, Hype Nostalgia places a futuristic radiance on its difficult subject matter. Lopez recently dealt with the deaths of her father and her best friend, and poured those emotions into her songwriting, choosing instead to focus mainly on their lives. “[I wanted to] create an album that was not centered solely on grief but that carried the duality in which grief and joy could co-exist,” said Lopez on Instagram. She doesn’t shy away from playing with ...
Producer Bob Rock Finally Explains the Much-Maligned Snare Drum Sound on Metallica’s St. Anger
Metallica’s 2003 album St. Anger is often derided, due in large part to drummer Lars Ulrich’s distinctly off-putting snare drum sound. The butt of many jokes among fans and critics for years, the snare roast reached a fever pitch when one clever YouTuber replaced the snare from “Master of Puppets” with a snare sample from St. Anger, immortalizing its abrasiveness. Many other parodies followed, each replacing the snare of various songs with the way-to-tight, trebly, zero-resonance St. Anger sample. Finally, the album’s producer Bob Rock has explained the story behind the much-maligned snare sound. Not surprisingly, he essentially diverts the blame to Ulrich, who fell in love with the sound of Rock’s Plexi Ludwig snare. As Rock tells it, Metallica were jamming in their “clubhouse” in San Fra...
Woman Jumps on Stage, Coughs on Singer Clayton Gardner During Concert
On July 17th, country singer Clayton Gardner performed an outdoor concert for a small, socially-distanced audience in Las Colinas, Texas. During the show, Gardner was interrupted by a woman who jumped on stage, refused his polite requests to step back, and then apparently coughed in his face. Gardner is best known for his 2015 album Under the Lights and the song “Buy You a Drink”. Last Friday, he performed for “about 30 people,” and livestreamed the set for his fans on Facebook. Afterwards, he posted a video of his altercation with the unknown woman. As he explained, “About fifteen minutes into the show, this random lady walked around all of my gear to sneak up behind me.” Once on stage, she requested a song by another artist. In the clip, Gardner replied, “If you could do that from l...
Jeff Bridges and Breedlove Unveil New Signature Model Acoustic Guitars
Actor and musician Jeff Bridges has teamed with Breedlove for a line of new signature model acoustic guitars. The instruments are sustainably sourced and feature Bridges’ “All in This Together” motto inlayed on the fretboard. As Bridges states in the press release, the elegant acoustic guitars prove “we can build beautiful instruments to make beautiful music that will resonate for all time, and preserve the trees, the lungs of our planet, which temper our climate, replenish our fresh water and provide shelter for our wildlife. We can make our instruments with salvaged or selectively harvested wood from sustainable forests, while still protecting habitat and sustaining the local community. We can make a difference.” The Breedlove Jeff Bridges “All in This Together” premium signature model i...
Emerging Songwriter McCall Shares New Single “One Eye Open”: Stream
Rising Los Angeles songwriter McCall has shared the dreamy new single “One Eye Open”. It’s off her upcoming EP, On Self Loathing, due out sometime later this summer. McCall first began to break out with her 2019 EP Under the Reign. She specializes in what she calls “sad bops with spice,” and that certainly applies to her new offering. “One Eye Open” is fashioned around achingly personal lyrics and pared-back piano. Meanwhile, the studio effects — or her “spicy” ingredient — find McCall sounding like a kid in a candy store. The SoCal native arranges her own voice into a grand chorus, at times evoking Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek”. But she uses this technique sparingly, and as often as she builds out the top line, she demolishes it back to simplicity. She also worked a series of breaks...
Chris Cornell’s Daughter Lily Launches New IGTV Mental-Health Series in Honor of Her Late Father: Watch
The late Chris Cornell’s 20-year-old daughter Lily Cornell Silver has launched the new mental-health interview series Mind Wide Open on IGTV. The first episode premiered Monday (July 20th) to coincide with the legendary Soundgarden frontman’s birthday. “As someone who has suffered trauma and loss as well as struggled with anxiety and depression, I know how important it is to have a space to talk openly and without shame about these subjects,” said Lily in a statement. She continued, “There is so much value, especially for people in my generation, in knowing that everyone struggles with mental health at some point in their lives, despite our society’s dismissive tendencies around emotional wellbeing. It is important for me to give voice to these issues by providing information, honest conve...
UK Cassette Sales Have Doubled in 2020
In the latest proof that younger generations are just as insufferably nostalgic as Baby Boomers, cassette tape sales are on the rise. The US market has grown by as much as 35% in recent years, with over 219,000 tapes sold in 2018. But that’s nothing compared to the surge seen in the UK, where, according to the Official Charts company, sales have more than doubled in 2020. So far this year, Englanders have purchased 65,000 cassette tapes, an increase of 103% (!) compared to the same period last year. UK sales overall are on pace to top 100,000 for the first time since 2003. Cassette tapes, it should be noted, suck. It’s the second-worst audio format of the last 50 years, surpassing only the execrable 8-track, and coming in well south of the fidelity offered by CDs and vinyl. Peaking in popu...
