Malcolm John Rebennack Jr., who died Thursday at age 77, was a onetime Catholic schoolboy who remade himself into a bona fide high priest of funk — and a lifelong ambassador of gritty, glittery New Orleans groove. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011, Dr. John …
Read More »City Pop: Why Does the Soundtrack to Tokyo's Tech Boom Still Resonate?
Andy Cabic was exploring the stacks in a Tower Records in Japan when he had an epiphany. The musician, who fronts the folk-rock band Vetiver, was on tour with Devendra Banhart in the mid-2000s when he walked into the store and found displays highlighting Japanese artists from the Seventies and …
Read More »Nick Hornby Talks Newfound Setlist Obsession for Charity
Nick Hornby has never owned a setlist, but his latest charity endeavor, Setlists For Young Voices, may change that. The project, conceived by Hornby alongside authors Dave Eggers and Michael Chabon, has collected over 100 setlists from artists like R.E.M., Patti Smith, Nine Inch Nails, Death Cab for Cutie and …
Read More »Broken Social Scene Are Back for Good
Earlier this spring, the ragtag group of Canadian indie-rock lifers and unapologetic idealists known as Broken Social Scene made their way from Toronto to Austin, Texas, to perform eight shows in less than one week. “We didn’t have our gear for the first few shows,” says Kevin Drew, the 17-member …
Read More »John Lydon Sounds Off on New NYC Punk Art Exhibit
It’s been a little over a month since John Lydon (aka the Sex Pistols‘ Johnny Rotten) lit into Marky Ramone, Henry Rollins and a murderers’ row of underground-music legends at an L.A. panel about punk music. “Hello, Johnny Rotten never did the walk?” he bellowed when Ramone suggested he didn’t …
Read More »Jenny Lewis Starts Over
There are 19 white stickers arranged across Jenny Lewis’ fridge. Each one carries a stamped date, the logo of Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, the word VISITOR and, in Lewis’ handwriting, a different beguiling little phrase: I taught him how to 2-step; Rosey posey put your snake finger on; You …
Read More »Song You Need to Know: Jonas Brothers, 'Sucker'
It’s been a long six years since we last heard new music from the Jonas Brothers, and toward the end of their run, it seemed like they had already lost the muse that made them one of the catchiest, funniest and most-charming acts to come out of their class of …
Read More »Offbeat Rock Trailblazers King's X Get a Book Worthy of Their Unique Saga
Throughout author Greg Prato’s new oral history of the band King’s X, one theme comes up again and again. Pearl Jam‘s Jeff Ament, a longtime friend and fan — and onetime tourmate — of the long-running, impossible-to-classify trio sums up the idea succinctly: “It’s so incredibly unfair that they weren’t …
Read More »Billie Eilish's Teenage Truths
Two days ago, Billie Eilish celebrated her 17th birthday at a roller rink here in L.A., and yesterday she got right back to work, which meant hunkering down at “a random-ass hotel” to shoot a video for her new single, “Bury a Friend.” “It smelled like pee and horses,” she …
Read More »Five Things Spotify Needs to Fix in 2019
In many ways, Spotify enjoyed a spectacular end to 2018. The company finished the year with its first ever quarterly operating profit – €94m ($107 million) — something that challenged many of the long-term naysayers about its business model. In addition, amid its year-end financial-results announcement, Spotify confirmed that it …
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