Ella Mai‘s “Boo’d Up” just might have the zaniest origin story of any recent hit: In December of last year, almost exactly 10 months after the song was first released to little fanfare, a patron requested the track at a club in Oakland. “The whole place went, ‘Woo!’” DJ Big …
Read More »Watch Miley Cyrus, Gwen Stefani, Elvis Costello Read Mean Tweets About Themselves
Miley Cyrus, Gwen Stefani, Elvis Costello and Nickelback were among the musicians enlisted by Jimmy Kimmel for his latest edition of “Mean Tweets.” Targeted to last night’s American Music Awards, the musicians gamely read negative tweets about themselves and then responded. Other artists in the segment include Halsey, The Chainsmokers, …
Read More »Mayhem Plot Remastered 'Grand Declaration of War' Reissue
The influential black-metal band Mayhem will reissue their second album, 2000’s Grand Declaration of War, later this fall. The album, which came six years after their celebrated first LP, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, found the group incorporating elements of prog and art-rock into its typically grim sound. Drummer Hellhammer and …
Read More »The Cranberries on Their Surprise Hit Debut and Final Album With Dolores O'Riordan
When Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?, the Cranberries‘ major-label debut, was released in March of 1993, “we were gutted,” says Noel Hogan, the band’s guitarist and co-songwriter. The reason? “It came out and basically disappeared without a trace,” he recalls. “So we figured, ‘That’s it. We’re …
Read More »Paul McCartney at Austin City Limits: Certainly a Thrill
Paul McCartney headlined the first night of Austin City Limits on October 5th with an epic show in Zilker Park, high-energy even by his standards—even in the withering heat, this most unwitherable of rock legends just hates to put down his guitar and leave the stage. The sweat was visibly …
Read More »Paul McCartney: Geoff Emerick's Work Will Be 'Remembered By Connoisseurs of Sound'
Paul McCartney paid tribute to the humor, work ethic and fearlessness of late audio engineer Geoff Emerick, who died Tuesday from a heart attack at age 72. Emerick worked on some of the Beatles‘ most revered albums, including Revolver, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Bandand Abbey Road.“I’ll always remember him …
Read More »Hear Tim McGraw's Sorrowful New Song 'Neon Church'
Tim McGraw is searching for a little barroom salvation in “Neon Church,” one of two new songs the country superstar released on Thursday. “Neon Church” is the lead single from an upcoming album project, McGraw’s first solo release since 2015’s Damn Country Music and his crosstown move to Sony Music …
Read More »St. Vincent Details 'Masseduction' Redux LP 'MassEducation'
When Annie Clark was mixing last year’s critically acclaimed Masseduction, she cut another version of the same album that she’s since dubbed MassEducation. The reworked LP, which will come out on October 12th, features only her on vocals and Thomas Bartlett on piano. She described the record in a statement …
Read More »Garth Brooks Readies Live Anthology, Asks Fans to Wear 'Body Paint' to Notre Dame Gig
Garth Brooks continues his career-chronicling Anthology series with a bit of a surprise in the five-volume collection. Having released Part I last November, Brooks jumps ahead to Part III Live with a five-CD collection of 52 concert recordings, including the Triple Live LP announced this summer and soon to be …
Read More »A Close Friend Offers a Fresh Perspective on Janis Joplin's Tragic Story
When Janis Joplin was found dead in her Hollywood hotel room in 1970, the announced cause of death was—and remains–a heroin overdose. But one image haunted her close friend Peggy Caserta, who arrived at Joplin’s room after police were already on the scene: Joplin’s high-heeled sandal. “I saw her foot …
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