Music

Lou Ottens, the Dutch inventor of the cassette tape, has died at age 94. Ottens died last Saturday, March 6, according to NRC Handelsblad. Ottens’ daughter Arine confirmed the news to WTOP. Born in 1926, Ottens first became involved with recorded music while working as head of the product development department at Dutch-based technology company

Grammy Awards season is, at last, in full swing. Delayed from its January date, the 2021 Grammy Awards take place this Sunday, March 14. As schedules are finalized, statuettes buffed, and performers prep their socially distanced stage shows, Pitchfork is here with your one-stop shop compiling everything to look out for. Keep scrolling for all

The Brooklyn-based psychedelic rock band Crumb—the quartet of Lila Ramani, Bri Aronow, Jesse Brotter, and Jonathan Gilad—have returned with a new song. “Trophy” arrives with a new music video directed by Haoyan of America and featuring animations by Truba Animation. Watch it below. The new song and video are the first taste of new music

Jimmy Fallon has a recurring segment called “Do Not Play List.” As he explains, the segment highlights “real songs from real bands that [he] think[s] you should avoid.” Fallon highlighted five tracks in his latest episode, including “Old Man on the Bridge,” the title track of King Kong’s 1991 debut, as Pitchfork contributor Marc Masters

Chika is nominated for the Best New Artist at the 2021 Grammy Awards, and, ahead of the ceremony, she’s covered a song by last year’s winner, Billie Eilish. Listen to Chika’s cover of “my future,” as well as a new version of her own song “U Should,” below. “I picked ‘my future’ by Billie Eilish

A new study from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative reveals the bleak reality for women in popular music. The report—compiled by Dr. Stacy L. Smith, Dr. Katherine Pieper, Hannah Clark, Ariana Case & Marc Choueiti—sought to “assess the gender and race/ethnicity of artists, songwriters and producers across the 800 top songs from

Following her 2020 debut, Los Angeles–based artist Helen Ballentine has announced another new Skullcrusher EP. The new release, called Storm in Summer, arrives April 9 via Secretly Canadian. The EP includes the previously released “Song for Nick Drake” and was recorded with collaborator Noah Weinman. Below, check out the new music video for the Storm

Brittany Howard has recorded a new cover of Jackie Wilson’s classic 1967 song “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher.” Penned by Gary Jackson, Raynard Miner, and Carl Smith, the the track was covered by the Alabama Shakes leader as an Amazon Original. The tracks has been an occasional feature of her live sets

Gladys Knight and Alessia Cara performed the national anthems of their respective countries at the NBA All-Star 2021 basketball game, which is being held tonight at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Knight was present in Atlanta to sing “The Star Spangled Banner,” while Cara delivered a remote performance of “O Canada” from Toronto.

Cardi B, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, HAIM, Megan Thee Stallion, Harry Styles, Bad Bunny, DaBaby, Dua Lipa, Post Malone, and more have been announced as performers at the 2021 Grammy Awards. The Recording Academy dropped the news today (March 7), stating in a press release that “artists will be coming together, while still safely apart,

Last night on The Late Late Show With James Corden, Caroline Polachek performed her cover of the Corrs’ “Breathless.” Originally released as a bonus track on her album of Pang remixes, the cover was paired with a gothic, steamy set for the performance. Watch it go down below. Polachek released Pang in 2019. She’s since

Back in 2016, it was revealed that actor Joe Manganiello had gotten Morrissey’s approval to make his Smiths-inspired film Shoplifters of the World. Many years later, the film’s official trailer has arrived. Watch that below (via Entertainment Weekly). The film, directed and written by Stephen Kijak, is based on a largely embellished story about a

Beyoncé has released a brief a capella medley of songs in memory of Lyric Chanel, a 13-year-old girl whose two-year struggle with brain cancer was documented on Instagram before she passed away on Friday, as Rolling Stone reports. The medley, set to a slideshow of photos of Chanel, includes the songs “Brown Skin Girl” (The

Mitski has shared a new song from her forthcoming soundtrack for This Is Where We Fall, a new graphic novel by writer Chris Miskiewicz and artist Vincent Kings that’s out on May 5 via Z2 Comics. It’s called “The Baddy Man”—take a listen to the country-tinged track below (via Rolling Stone). The soundtrack will be

SZA has shared a new video for her song “Good Days.” The Solana-directed clip finds SZA in a psychedelic forest surrounded by giant mushrooms. Check it out below.  “Good Days” is the b-side to “Hit Different,” [ft. Ty Dolla $ign] which SZA released in September, directing the video herself. She had previously joined Justin Timberlake

Montreal producer Mike Silver is self-releasing a new CFCF album: Memoryland, the follow-up to 2019’s Liquid Colours, is out April 9. The full album features appearances by fellow Montreal music group No Joy and Kero Kero Bonito frontwoman Sarah Bonito. Take a listen to the new track “Life Is Perfecto” below and check out the

Unsound Festival has released a new compilation called Intermission. It features a new collaboration between Jlin and the late SOPHIE called “JSLOIPNHIE.” Listen to it below. The new compilation also features songs by Tim Hecker with Agata Harz and Katarzyna Smoluk, Moor Mother with Geng, and more. The compilation was released alongside a book featuring

Chance the Rapper has shared a video for a new song called “The Heart & the Tongue.” Take a look below. Since releasing his studio album The Big Day in 2019, Chance the Rapper has hosted Saturday Night Live and Quibi’s short-lived Punk’d reboot, more recently sharing the new single “The Return.” He’s also made

Pussy Riot have shared a new song and its music video. The track, “Sexist,” features Hofmannita and was produced by White Punk and Count Baldor. Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova wrote, directed, and edited the new visual, which comes with a strobe warning. Find it below. “Sexist” is the second single from Pussy Riot’s upcoming EP,

After the news surfaced on street posters, St. Vincent has officially announced her new album Daddy’s Home and shared its first single, “Pay Your Way in Pain.” The album is out May 14 via Loma Vista. Check out the “Pay Your Way in Pain” video, along with the album’s artwork and tracklist below. Annie Clark

OMB Peezy was arrested on Monday, March 1 in connection with a shooting in Atlanta that occurred during the filming of a Roddy Ricch and 42 Dugg music video, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. He was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, the

New York’s governor, Andrew M. Cuomo, announced during a press conference earlier today that the state’s arts, entertainment, and events venues will be allowed to reopen at 33% capacity starting April 2, The New York Times reports. Capacity for indoor events will be limited to 100 people; outdoor events can have 200 attendees. If a

Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard has collaborated with Fender to create his own signature guitar. The Ben Gibbard Mustang is modeled after a 1970s version of the classic Mustang, recreating his go-to touring model, complete with custom modifications. It features a chambered ash body, a 3-way rotary pickup selector switch, and a rock-solid

Iggy Pop has joined legendary Hammond B-3 organist Dr. Lonnie Smith for a cover of Donovan’s 1966 hit “Sunshine Superman.” The track will appear on Smith’s forthcoming album Breathe. Listen to their take on the song below. Breathe arrives March 26 via Blue Note. It is the companion album to Smith’s 2018 LP All in

Rostam has announced a new album called Changephobia. It’s out June 4 on his label Matsor Projects (via Secretly Distribution). In addition to the previously released tracks “These Kids We Knew” and “Unfold You,” it features the new song “4Runner.” Listen to it below. In a statement about the new record, Rostam said, “In the

Patrick Paige II, a member of the Internet, has announced a new solo album. If I Fail Are We Still Cool? is out May 21 via Fat Possum. Today he’s shared the Ethan Nelson-directed video for the first single, “Whisper (Want My Luv),” which features Steve Lacy, Allen Love, and Durand Bernarr. Check it out

Hundreds of songs from popular K-pop acts, including Sistar, IU, Monsta X, Epik High, and more, have been removed from Spotify in markets outside of South Korea. In a statement to the NME, Spotify confirmed that the songs would no longer be available “due to the expiration of our license.” But the Korean company that

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Ian North, the guitarist and songwriter of the Long Island power pop band Milk ‘N’ Cookies, has died. North’s wife confirmed to Paul Zone of the Fast that North died on Sunday morning after suffering a heart attack last week. He was 68. Milk ‘N’ Cookies formed a short drive from New York City in

Tonight at the 78th annual Golden Globes, Andra Day took home the award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for her titular role in The United States Vs. Billie Holiday. Day won over performances by Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), (Frances McDormand (Nomadland), Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman), and Vanessa Kirby