Music

In December 2020, Bob Dylan sold the music publishing rights of his entire songwriting catalog to Universal Music Publishing—a deal reportedly valued at more than $300 million. A new lawsuit was filed today by the wife and publishing company of Dylan collaborator Jacques Levy, who co-wrote songs from the 1976 album Desire (including “Hurricane” and

Lady Gaga sang the National Anthem at the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris today (January 20). Following the swearing-in of Harris as vice president, Jennifer Lopez sang a medley of “This Land Is Your Land” and “America the Beautiful,” to which she added a line from her 1999 single “Let’s Get Loud.” Watch

Lil Wayne received a full presidential pardon and Kodak Black received a commutation from Donald Trump in the president’s final hours in office, CNN and Reuters report. The two rappers’ reprieve comes amid a flurry of pardons as some of the outgoing president’s final acts. Other names on the presidential pardon and commutation list include

Bizzy Banks has shared the music video for a new song called “Bandemic.” The track is the first new single from the Brooklyn drill rapper to be released this year, and the first taste of his forthcoming, as-yet-untitled second mixtape. Check out the rowdy visual, directed by Useless Films, below. Banks released his debut tape GMTO,

Jazmine Sullivan and Eric Church have been announced as performers for Super Bowl 2021, where they will deliver the National Anthem before the beginning of the game. H.E.R. will also be performing at this year’s event, singing “America the Beautiful.” Find that announcement below. Super Bowl LV will take place Sunday, February 7; kickoff is

Smino has shared a new song titled “MLK Dr” in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In the animated video, the St. Louis rapper assists an extraterrestrial version of Dr. King with a flat tire and the pair share a joint before driving down Martin Luther King Blvd. Watch the visual, which is

Seventeen artists including Alicia Keys, Summer Walker, Quavo, Offset, and more have filmed a campaign video calling for the launch of a U.S. Commission on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation within the first 100 days of the Biden/Harris administration. The video, “17 More Ways You Could Be Killed If You Are Black in America,” calls

Nigeria’s Joeboy has announced his debut album, Somewhere Between Beauty & Magic, with a video for new song “Lonely.” The video was shot in Lagos by Nigerian director Adetula “KingTula” Adebowale. The LP is due out February 4 via Banku/emPawa Africa.  Somewhere Between Beauty & Magic follows his 2019 EP Love and Light. A product

New Radicals broke up in 1999—just months after the release of their 1998 single “You Get What You Give.” On Wednesday, January 20, the band will reunite for the first time in 22 years to perform their hit single as part of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ virtual “Parade Across America” inauguration event, Rolling Stone

Run the Jewels have released a new remix of their RTJ4 song “ooh la la” by Mexican Institute of Sound, the project of producer/DJ Camilo Lara. The new track also features rising Mexican rapper Santa Fe Klan; listen to that below. RTJ previously shared a remix of “The Ground Below” featuring UK rock duo Royal

Phil Spector, the “wall of sound” producer famous for his work in 1960s pop and rock music, has died, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has confirmed. In a post on their website, the CDCR wrote that Spector “was pronounced deceased of natural causes” yesterday (January 16), at an outside hospital. His official cause

Dream pop/electronica band Sweet Trip have returned with a pair of new tracks. Listen to “Walkers Beware! We Drive Into the Sun” and “Stab-Slow” below. The former track will appear on Roberto Burgos and Valerie Cooper’s forthcoming album A Tiny House, In Secret Speeches, Polar Equals, their first LP in 12 years. It’s set to

Sen Morimoto has covered Mitski’s Be The Cowboy track “Washing Machine Heart” in a new video for KEXP. The Chicago artist’s rendition also includes an interpolation of Daft Punk’s “Something About Us,” from the 2001 album Discovery. The rest of the set features Morimoto’s songs “Woof,” “Deep Down” (featuring KAINA), the NNAMDÏ collab “Wrecked,” and

The War on Drugs beamed into the Late Show with Stephen Colbert to perform “Arms Like Boulders,” the opening track to their 2008 debut Wagonwheel Blues. The remote performance sees the band in an atypical configuration, with each member playing guitar or mandolin. Check out their latest late-night TV appearance below. In November 2020, the

Sheer Mag has shared a new song called “Crushed Velvet.” The song appears on the soundtrack for Hulu’s forthcoming original film The Ultimate Playlist of Noise, which is out tomorrow (January 15). Check out “Crushed Velvet” below. Sheer Mag’s last LP was 2019’s A Distant Call. Later that year Vermont Senator—and then presidential candidate—Bernie Sanders

On January 4, Dr. Dre was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after suffering a brain aneurysm. Dre, who updated fans on his well-being shortly after news of his hospitalization surfaced, was kept at Cedars-Sinai’s intensive care unit for 11 number of days. Now, Dre has been released from the hospital to return

On April 30, Marianne Faithfull and Warren Ellis will release a new album, She Walks in Beauty, via BMG. It follows Faithfull’s 2018 album Negative Capability, another collaboration with Ellis. Faithfull’s sometime collaborator Nick Cave will feature on She Walks in Beauty. Other guests include Brian Eno, cellist Vincent Ségal, and producer-engineer Head. Faithfull recorded

Rico Nasty brought “OHFR?” from her debut studio album Nightmare Vacation to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Thursday night (January 14). Watch her performance below. Following her 2018 mixtape Nasty and a 2019 collaboration with producer Kenny Beats, the Maryland rapper released Nightmare Vacation at the beginning of December. Singles “Own It,” “iPhone,” “OHFR?,”

In 2019, Bandcamp started a new service that allowed artists to sell vinyl through an in-house pressing service. Through crowdfunding campaigns powered by customer orders, artists could sell vinyl produced and shipped by Bandcamp. Today, the company has announced that the vinyl pressing service—which started on a limited trial basis for a handful of artists—is

Shamir has shared the video for “Diet,” from last year’s Shamir. The clip was directed by Shamir and Christina Thompson, and features the Philadelphia artist in various locations around Lake Tahoe. Check out the video below.  “The origin of the song is pretty dark, taking inspiration from the film My Friend Dahmer,” Shamir explained in

Dilla’s Delights—the Detroit donut shop opened by J Dilla’s uncle Herman Hayes in honor of his late nephew—has permanently closed its sole location, as the Detroit Metro Times notes. Originally opened in 2016, the shop was forced to close for much of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. In an IGTV video, Hayes shared that

The 43rd annual Kennedy Center Honors recipients have been announced. Joan Baez, Garth Brooks, Dick Van Dyke, artist, choreographer, and actress Debbie Allen, and violinist Midori are the honorees for 2020. Typically held in December, last year’s ceremony was postponed until May 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The Kennedy Center Honors serves as a

Julien Baker has shared a music video for her new single “Hardline.” The detailed stop-motion visual was created by Joe Baughman over a period of several hundred hours. Watch the colorful clip below. “Even after having spent 600 hours immersed in ‘Hardline’ and having listened to it thousands of times, I am still moved by

Jazmine Sullivan was the musical guest on tonight’s installment of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The Philadelphia singer performed “Girl Like Me” from her new project Heaux Tales, which landed last Friday. Check it out below. Heaux Tales follows Sullivan’s 2015 studio album Reality Show, and includes her recent singles “Lost One” and “Pick

Universal Music Group’s recently-launched production house Mercury Studios has announced a documentary about Abbey Road Studios. If These Walls Could Sing will explore the legendary recording studio’s history in conjunction with Abbey Road’s 90th anniversary this November. The film is produced by John Battsek and directed by filmmaker and photographer Mary McCartney, daughter of Paul

Rian Treanor, the UK producer who released File Under UK Metaplasm a few months back, has announced a new EP. Obstacle Scattering is out February 19 via Planet Mu. Check out track three, titled “Obstacle 3,” below. The record’s four tracks, all titled Obstacle, play with “the idea of sound being an obstacle that you

Jack White has announced the release of Jack White: Live at the Masonic Temple, the 47th installment in Third Man’s Vault subscription series, with a live version of his song “Missing Pieces.” The package comprises a recording of his July 30, 2014 show at Detroit’s Masonic Temple on four colored LPs, as well as a

Note: This article discusses acts of self-harm and alleged abuse. The family of Beach Slang and Quiet Slang’s James Alex has released a statement revealing that Alex is “in an inpatient facility after attempting to take his life.” According to the family, Alex “is getting the help he needs and will be on a true

Madlib and Four Tet (a.k.a. Kieran Hebden) have announced the details of their new collaborative LP Sound Ancestors. The music is credited to Madlib; Hebden edited, arranged, and mastered the LP. It’s due out January 29 via the Madvillainy producer’s Madlib Invazion label. Check out the full track list below. Last week Madlib and Four

Lana Del Rey’s new album Chemtrails Over the Country Club has been promised since 2019, and today, she’s shared the album’s tracklist and artwork. Chemtrails includes the already released “Let Me Love You Like a Woman,” the previously teased song “Tulsa Jesus Freak,” and the title track that’s scheduled to arrive tomorrow. The album ends