Before settling into their nearly three-hour pop face-off, Brandy and Monica welcomed Kamala Harris for a special cameo at the start of their hit-packed Verzuz battle Monday, August 31st. The Vice Presidential nominee appeared via video chat (starting around the 17-minute mark) to thank the singers for supporting Michelle Obama’s …
Read More »Spike Lee Updates Michael Jackson's 'They Don't Care About Us' Video With Protest Footage
To mark what would have been Michael Jackson’s 62nd birthday, director Spike Lee has released a 2020 version of his music video for the singer’s “They Don’t Care About Us.” The new visual for “They Don’t Care About Us (2020)” incorporates scenes and outtakes from Lee’s original two videos for …
Read More »St. Vincent, Yoshiki Release Classical Version of 'New York'
St. Vincent has partnered with classical composer Yoshiki for a new version of her song “New York,” first released in 2017 for the albumMasseduction. This reimagined version features Yoshiki’s beautiful string arrangement backing Annie Clark’s voice as she mourns the loss of a relationship in Manhattan: “I have lost a …
Read More »Suzanne Vega Celebrates New York City With a Cover of Lou Reed's 'Walk on the Wild Side'
Suzanne Vega has shared a cover of her late, long-time friend Lou Reed‘s “Walk on the Wild Side.” The rendition appears on her upcoming LP An Evening of New York Songs and Stories, out September 11th via Amanuensis/Cooking Vinyl. Accompanied by a charming video that features collage cutouts depicting the …
Read More »'Hanging Tree Guitars': See Artist Freeman Vines' Haunting Creations
Freeman Vines, a North Carolina–based artist, guitar maker, and one-time blues musician, thought he’d seen it all: He’d worked for free on a white farm and served jail time for bootlegging. But about five years ago, a man approached Vines with two planks of black walnut wood from which he …
Read More »Tiwa Savage, Sam Smith Release Seductive New Song 'Temptation'
Nigerian artist Tiwa Savage has released “Temptation,” a new collaboration with Sam Smith. “Temptation” features bright, summer-friendly instrumentation, and the sultry Afrobeat duet centers on a steamy back-and-forth between the two leads: “If you do me nice/If you do me right/I’ma give you, everything you like.” Smith ups the ante …
Read More »Killers Celebrate 'Imploding' Arrival With 'Blowback' on 'Colbert'
Minutes after the release of the Killers’ new album Imploding the Mirage, the band celebrated its arrival with a performance of “Blowback” on The Late Show. While Brandon Flowers and company’s early-in-the-quarantine late-night TV performances saw them performing Imploding songs in their own bathroom and their recording studio, “Blowback” was …
Read More »Flashback: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Play 'Crawling Back to You' in 2008
Earlier today, the Tom Petty estate finally rolled out details of the long-awaited deluxe edition of his 1994 solo LP Wildflowers. The five-CD set (also available as a nine-LP box) will feature 10 unreleased songs cut during the original Wildflowers sessions, 15 homemade demos from the era, live songs, and …
Read More »Jeremy Ivey Previews New Album With Cautionary 'Someone Else's Problem'
Jeremy Ivey follows up his 2019 debut The Dream and the Dreamer with the new album Waiting Out the Storm. Due October 9th, it’s inspired by the glut of crises currently affecting the planet and arrives with the first single “Someone Else’s Problem.” A Dylan-like stream of multiple verses about …
Read More »Mary Chapin Carpenter Defies Ageism, Champions Self-Care on Empowering New Album
Mary Chapin Carpenter has a snake problem. The Grammy-winning songwriter has been finding outgrown snakeskins around her home in Virginia and it’s freaking her out. “Just talking about it makes me want to vomit everywhere,” she says, pausing our phone call to get an update from the exterminator. “They say …
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