In the late Nineties, James Mercer was just another indie-rock journeyman, living in Albuquerque with a head full of melodies. This crisply remastered 1997 set is a lost Shins album in all but name: Backed by the same crew who joined him on early Shins outings, Mercer was already writing…… Source: RollingStone Link: When You […]
Last year’s Bonnaroo featured headlining performances from Kanye West, Lionel Ritchie, Jack White and Elton John, but one of the festival’s big highlights came when Skrillex led an unlikely group of artists through a hit-filled “Superjam.” Now an eight-part series is tracking how this came together, opening with the show’s conception and…… Source: RollingStone Link: Go Behind […]
iTunes’ Official Music Charts for the week ending January 19, 2015: Source: Yahoo Music Link: The top 10 songs and albums on the iTunes Store
Brooklyn’s Joey Bada$$ made his name with a couple of mixtapes released while he was still in his teens, trading on classic boom-bap New York rap. His official debut LP still sounds like it’s stuck in the past, with solid production from old-school legend DJ Premier and his latter-day disciple…… Source: RollingStone Link: B4.DA.$$
“O Philomena,” sings Colin Meloy on his band’s return after a four-year hiatus – because Jills and Judys clearly don’t excite his quill like the polysyllabic hottie he implores to “open up your linen lap and let me go down.” With sultry ooh-wahs and chiming guitars, “Philomena” might be the…… Source: RollingStone Link: What a […]
Louisiana-born pop savant Mikky Ekko, a.k.a. John Stephen Sudduth, had a hell of a breakout with Rihanna’s “Stay,” the 2012 megahit he co-wrote and co-sang. Ekko’s debut solo LP similarly informs grand pop drama with indie idiosyncrasy – but never quite enough to distinguish it, his stirring tenor notwithstanding. The…… Source: RollingStone Link: Time
“Jump! To the beat of a party line,” Stuart Murdoch sings over Pet Shop Boys-ish synths on the lead single from Belle and Sebastian’s ninth LP. Like many songs here, “The Party Line” pairs vaguely political lyrics with vaguely clubby music – an unusual combination for this band, and one…… Source: RollingStone Link: Girls in […]
“Better run for cover!/Might run for governor!” Rae Sremmurd inform us on their debut. By the time the words leave your speakers, you’re ready to make a campaign contribution. This brother duo from Elvis Presley’s hometown of Tupelo, Mississippi, radiate an inescapable exuberance, shouting with the zeal of freshly minted…… Source: RollingStone Link: SremmLife
Open an album with a horn fanfare? Repurpose Suzanne Vega’s beloved “Tom’s Diner” refrain? Sample Mötley Crüe? Anything officially goes for Fall Out Boy on their sixth album, the group’s biggest, broadest, most unabashed pop smorgasbord yet. The emo survivors jump-started their transformation into all-out omnivores on Save Rock and…… Source: RollingStone Link: American Beauty/American […]
Back in the Nineties, Marilyn Manson sold a lot of records and scared a lot of parents by playing Alice Cooper shockrocker at the goth pity party. With his Methy the Clown fashion sense, lyrics like “I am totalitarian/I’ve got abortions in my eyes” and industrial-metal sound, Manson terrorized Christian…… Source: RollingStone Link: The Pale […]