For the first time in seven years, Fountains of Wayne reunited, to perform in honor of Adam Schlesinger, the band’s bassist and songwriter who died due to COVID-19 on April 1. Sharon Van Etten filled in on bass and harmonies as the group performed “Hackensack,” its anthem to the New Jersey town, for April 22’s […]
Non-essential businesses may be closed, but the Boss is still hard at work raising funds for his native New Jersey. On Wednesday evening, Garden State royalty Bruce Springsteen joined forces with fellow Jersey-king Jon Bon Jovi and the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund to produce “Jersey 4 Jersey,” a benefit concert raising funds to fight […]
Woah! We were halfway through Jon Bon Jovi singing an acoustic version of “Livin’ On a Prayer” for the Jersey4Jersey benefit on Wednesday night when we snuck a peak at a bespoke piece of art in the back of his home studio: A large black and white photograph of a young Jovi, during his peak […]
Roy Orbison won’t be singing for the lonely on the radio tonight. It’ll be Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, and a star-studded cast of their New Jersey friends, hoping to make you feel a little less alone while you’re livin’ on a prayer in quarantine. We’re talking, of course, about the “Jersey 4 Jersey” benefit […]
Look, we’re not saying guitarist Mike Campbell’s new quarantine jam, “Lockdown,” is that great of a song. It ain’t no Damn the Torpedoes bonus track, if you will. “I’ve got a basement and some rubber gloves,” he croons. “Yeah, I’m washing my clothes in an old bathtub!” But do we care? Absolutely not. (Actually, “I […]
After recently performing as both Meg and the Muses in Hercules (all while not standing up, incredibly on brand for her), Ariana Grande is further embracing her truest musical-theater self and accompanying Jason Robert Brown (remotely) for one of his SubCulture series concerts on April 27. They’ll be joined by Shoshana Bean, beltress extraordinaire, and […]
Well, at least Lady Gaga knows how to handle a leak by now. On Wednesday, music-hungry fans noticed a new listing on Target’s website today for Chromatica, Lady Gaga’s long-awaited sixth album that’s currently sitting in purgatory due to the coronavirus pandemic (it was originally set for an April 10 release). Sure, that sounds fine: […]
You might know Mike Dean from his work on pivotal Texas rap albums by UGK, the Geto Boys, Z-Ro, and Devin the Dude or from his work as a co-producer, mixer, and masterer for everyone from Kanye West and his G.O.O.D. Music collective to Travis Scott, Frank Ocean, Beyoncé, and Madonna. The Houston native is […]
When bad things happen, concerts usually follow. After 9/11, there was America: A Tribute to Heroes and the Concert for New York. After Hurricane Katrina, the major TV networks broadcast A Concert for Hurricane Relief, an event famous for Kanye West’s declaration that, “George W. Bush doesn’t care about black people,” and Shelter for the […]
As far as the world currently knows, Hayley Williams will release her first solo album on May 8. But in case 17 days is too long a wait (no matter that it’s already been three years since Paramore’s last album), Williams has now released ten songs off the project, titled Petals for Armor. She released […]
We won’t gaslight you and we won’t be deniers. The upcoming Dixie Chicks album Gaslighter, set to be the country group’s first new album in 14 years, has been postponed indefinitely from its original May 1 release date. At a time when we all need the Dixie Chicks’ tell-it-like-it-is songwriting, stomp-along instrumentation, and enveloping harmonies, […]
With American Utopia on a short hiatus from Broadway before a planned fall 2020 return, David Byrne, New York’s finest resident and friend to all bikes, appeared on Amy Schumer’s podcast to share an unlikely source of creative inspiration for his certified perfect show: Jerry Seinfeld. Turns out, the Bee Movie and SeinfeldVision star was […]
In just a month, Swizz Beatz and Timbaland’s Verzuz beat battle series has grown from a novel event bridging hip-hop’s past and present into uplifting excitement in our indoor spring, joining DJ sessions by D-Nice, Questlove, and others as well as Ontario artist Tory Lanez’s unpredictable Quarantine Radio series as the must-see remote-but-live viewing for […]
No one likes coffee more than Chelsea Peretti. David Lynch comes close, but only Peretti could have written the ridiculous banger “Coffee Crankin’ Thru My Sys” from her podcast, Call Chelsea Peretti. Eight years after that musical debut, and one year after leaving Brooklyn Nine-Nine where she played Gina Linetti, Peretti has matured as a […]
The surviving members of Fountains of Wayne, Chris Collingwood, Brian Young and Jody Porter, will reunite this week for an Adam Schlesinger tribute performance during Wednesday’s “Jersey 4 Jersey” benefit show, organized by the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund, to raise money for the fight against COVID-19. Their fellow band member Schlesinger passed away due […]
Small businesses across America are in peril as the economic impact of the COVID-19 shutdowns start to take effect, and Amoeba Music — part of the long-imperiled cohort of record stores — is sending out a plea for help. The independent music retailer has outlived such massive music enterprises as Tower and Sam Goody, but […]
A 4/20 during the month of 4/2020 should’ve been a 4/20 to be remembered. Now that we’re all stuck inside, it’s going to be … different. The concerts and events might be canceled, but luckily, you can still get stoned in the comfort of your own home. Even more luckily, your favorite musicians have planned […]
In the weeks following beloved soul singer Bill Withers’s death on March 30, one of his most enduring hits has never seemed so timely. During Global Citizen’s One World: Together at Home concert Saturday, for which musicians from Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Lizzo to The Rolling Stones sang from their living rooms and home […]
Alright, alright, Ticketmaster will refund your tickets already. The sales and distribution platform and its parent company Live Nation have come under fire in recent weeks as would-be concert-goers sought refunds for over 18,000 events canceled or indefinitely postponed by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. According to Billboard, Live Nation is reportedly finalizing a plan that […]
When you’re done with your Rolling Stones living room scavenger hunt exercise, come here for the sonic cool-down. On Saturday jam-packed One World: Together at Home special, in addition to the many other talented musicians who contributed a vignette for the occasion, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, and Lizzo formed the ultimate pop soloist alliance: They all […]
But we got this song! So maybe we can get what we want if we try sometimes? And we just might find: The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, and Charlie Watts pulled off the coveted four-part acoustic living-room harmony on Saturday’s One World: Together at Home special, grooving to “You Can’t Always […]
No, you’re not high watching three (3!) Keith Urbans perform a lovely cover of “Higher Love” for last night’s One World: Together at Home special. Modern clone technology, amirite? Bring us to that! It gives us more time to examine all of his tattoos and lack of socks, anyway. But if you can’t handle the […]
Back in 2014, David Crosby thought it would be a great idea to publicly declare that the new girlfriend of one of his oldest pals, Neil Young, was a “purely poisonous predator” who wasn’t worthy of Young’s affection — which was also fueled by the fact that Young recently separated with his wife of four […]
Pop stans launching entire Twitter putsches over a new release from their chosen idols are nothing new. Hell hath no fury like a Barb scorned. BTS Army will take over any and all trending search terms. But /r/indieheads, and Fiona Apple fans, specifically (what do we call them? Idler Wheels?) are operating on a whole […]
Fiona Apple has swooped in to save the world, once again — this time from the monotony of quarantine by releasing her long-awaited new album, Fetch the Bolt Cutters, her first since 2012’s The Idler Wheel. The reclusive performer has built her career on her terms, telling Vulture’s Rachel Handler, “Although it’s not so important […]
Those of us wondering what, exactly, Lover Fest was to be will have to wait another year. Taylor Swift is the latest, and one of the most prominent, musicians to cancel performances in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. She’s canceling all of her 2020 performances, including the semi-mysterious two-day Lover Fest East and West […]
As if it needs to be said, there won’t be many festivals this year, with cancellations creeping into the summer and others being pushed out of sight to the fall for time being. But fret not, because two perennial festival favorites dropped new music — and both to raise money for the response to COVID-19. […]
Kelly Rowland is craving some coffee. In her first single since 2019’s anti-bullying song “Crown,” Rowland sings an ode to “coffee and sex in the morning.” “Hmm, they say mornin’ wood do a body good, babe,” she sings. “Clearly you agree, don’t be tryin’ to leave / Stay here with me.” Oop! So, that’s why […]
Fetch the Bolt Cutters is like nothing Fiona Apple has done before, but the album is still recognizable as something only she could create. It’s purposefully unvarnished, a raw export from the inside of her brain: Her voice stretches and loops, morphing into Vipassana chants and spooky, surreal yelps; in the middle of one song, […]
Fiona Apple FaceTimes me on a recent Friday afternoon from a bright-pink futon inside her Venice Beach home, her hair in a long braid, wearing giant headphones, a cozy green sweatshirt, and no makeup. The first thing she says is that she’s nervous. “I’m like, Oh, shit,” she says, laughing. Her nerves are understandable. Apple, […]