The legendary Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen died in 2020, at the age of 79, and he kept working right up until the end. Allen was most famous for playing with Fela Kuti for many years, but he never stopped collaborating with other artists. Since Allen’s death, a whole lot of music has come out, including […]
Monomania Turns 10
Cox is absolutely correct there. As someone who ranked Halcyon Digest as the best album of 2010, I found Monomania mostly off-putting at the time, but a decade later, the album holds up big time. So do Cox’s press clippings, which mark him as someone willing to rock the boat and cut his own path. […]
Stream Body/Head’s New EP Come On
It’s been a decade since Kim Gordon, the iconically cool presence that was at the center of Sonic Youth for so long, formed Body/Head, her experimental duo with guitarist Bill Nace. Body/Head are still going strong. Two years ago, they teamed up with Wolf Eyes member Aaron Dilloway for the collaborative album Body/Dilloway/Head. Today, they’re […]
Peter Gabriel – “Four Kinds Of Horses”
Right now, art-rock overlord Peter Gabriel is getting ready to head out on tour and to release i/o, his first new original album in 21 years. Gabriel still hasn’t announced the details of the LP’s release, but he’s been sharing new songs, one at a time. We’ve already posted his singles “Panopticon,” “The Court,” “Playing […]
The Number Ones: Britney Spears’ “Womanizer”
In The Number Ones, I’m reviewing every single #1 single in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, starting with the chart’s beginning, in 1958, and working my way up into the present. Don’t call it a comeback. The word “comeback” is simply insufficient to describe what was happening with Britney Spears in 2008. Britney’s […]
The Baseball Project – “Journeyman”
Supergroup the Baseball Project — comprising former R.E.M. members Peter Buck and Mike Mills, Steve Wynn (the Dream Syndicate), Scott McCaughey (the Minus 5 and Young Fresh Fellows), and Linda Pitmon (Filthy Friends, Alejandro Escovedo) — have announced their fourth studio album, Grand Salami Time!. Due out June 30 via Omnivore Recordings, Grand Salami Time! […]
Stream Fred Again.. & Brian Eno’s New Album Secret Life
Everything’s coming up Fred Again.. The DJ and producer born Frederick Gibson was already establishing himself as a mainstay of UK pop and rap in the 2010s, but in the 2020s he’s risen to the level of marquee artist, in part thanks to his own Actual Life album series. This year Fred’s been frequently aligned […]
Billboard Introduces “Fan Packs,” Re-Allowing Controversial Bundles On Album Chart
In July 2020, Billboard changed its chart rules to eliminate merch and album bundling when calculating its 200 and Hot 100 chart scores. As a reminder, “bundling” is the practice of selling merchandise along with a download of an album (usually for free) with the intention of boosting sales. Today, Billboard introduced the idea of […]
David Letterman Raves About The National: “I Wish I Could Be Matt Berninger”
In a new video posted to his YouTube page, former late-night host David Letterman is sharing his thoughts about the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame class with longtime colleagues Barbara Gaines and Mary Barclay. While he reacts against Warren Zevon getting snubbed (“I’m disappointed but not angry”), he positively gushes over the National, […]
Oneohtrix Point Never Scored An Episode Of Disney+’s Star Wars: Visions
Today, Disney+ debuted the second season of the animated anthology series Star Wars: Visions for what has turned into a day to celebrate the franchise. (May the fourth be with you and whatnot…) One of the episodes this season, “The Pit,” was scored by Oneohtrix Point Never’s Daniel Lopatin. The episode in question was directed […]