Nigerian singer Mr. Eazi is one of afrobeats‘ most visible ambassadors: He’s been featured on a pair of Top Twenty hits in the U.K., worked multiple times with Major Lazer and opened tour dates for J Balvin. But despite his gift for international collaboration,one of the most affecting tracks on …
Read More »Inside Weezer's Set List Science
Rivers Cuomo is at his home studio in Southern California when he picks up the phone on a recent afternoon. “That’s where I am, all day, every day,” says the Weezer frontman, 48. “Always working on songs, and now computer programming, too.” The songs are for Weezer’s latest self-titled LP, …
Read More »New Jersey Could Have Recreational Weed by January
Update: The marijuana legalization bill passed out of committee today. It is heading to the full legislature for a vote. With any luck, the Garden State will getting a whole lot greener in 2019. This week, New Jersey lawmakers are set to discuss a bill that would legalize recreational marijuana …
Read More »Jack White's Euphoric Nashville Homecoming Concert Won't Be Forgotten
Jack White took my phone and locked it in a bag. To be fair, it was actually Yondr, a company that specializes in phone-free experiences, like White’s homecoming concert on Tuesday night at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. But the no-technology, no-distractions edict was clearly the famously analog musician’s idea. And a …
Read More »The Kinks' 'Village Green' Is Certified Gold, Half a Century Later
Just over 50 years since the landmark album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society came out, it’s been certified gold in the U.K. The award means that the LP has sold more than 100,000 copies in the band’s native country.It’s still uncertified in the United States, where it …
Read More »'Spinal Tap,' 'Reality Bites' Reunions Highlight 2019 Tribeca Film Festival
A full-band reunion of the This Is Spinal Tap cast and a 25th anniversary celebration of Reality Bites will headline the special programming at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival, which runs from April 24th to May 5th. This Is Spinal Tap stars and creators Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer …
Read More »See Mariah Carey Perform 'The Distance,' Talk 'Glitter' Justice on 'Fallon'
Mariah Carey visited The Tonight Show Friday, the same day her new album Caution arrived, to perform “The Distance” and discuss the Glitter resurgence with Jimmy Fallon. To celebrate the release of her 15th studio album, Carey delivered a show-stopping rendition of “The Distance” alongside the single’s featured guest Ty …
Read More »Hear Paul McCartney's Piano-Only Home Recording of John Lennon-Inspired Song 'Dear Friend'
Paul McCartney has shared his unreleased home-recorded demo for Wings‘ John Lennon-inspired Wild Life closer “Dear Friend.” The unearthed, piano-and-vocals-only rendition, as well as its newly remastered studio version, feature on the upcoming reissue of the 1971 LP, due out December 7th. “With ‘Dear Friend’, that’s sort of me talking …
Read More »Review: Smashing Pumpkins' 'Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun' is Infinite, Sad
Twenty-five years later, the earth is still reeling from the spectacle of Smashing Pumpkins’ early Nineties triumph, a keening feedback-drenched rainbow that melded dream-pop gauze and arena rock bluster, Joy Division emotions and Cheap Trick aspirations. Generations of zeros-turned-heroes followed after 1993’s Technicolor guitar-army bubblegumSiamese Dream, 1995’s bloated but pointed …
Read More »Inside the 46-Year Journey to Bring Aretha Franklin's 'Amazing Grace' Doc to Life
In 1990, Alan Elliott was a newly hired A&R man at Atlantic Records when he took a get-acquainted meeting with one of the label’s Mount Rushmore figures, producer Jerry Wexler. Wexler’s days with Aretha Franklin soon came up. “He said to me, ‘You heard Amazing Grace, right?’” recalls Elliott, referring …
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