Mark Howard, the innovative sound engineer behind two of Bob Dylan’s finest albums – Oh Mercy and Time Out of Mind – as well as landmark recordings by Willie Nelson, Lucinda Williams, Tom Waits, Neil Young, U2 and Emmylou Harris, is now fighting for his life. Just one year after …
Read More »Yeah Yeah Yeahs' 'Fever to Tell': 10 Things You Didn't Know
Of all the records to emerge from the New York City music scene of the early 2000s, none was more giddily exciting than Fever to Tell, the full-length debut from Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Released on April 29th, 2003, the album – produced by TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek and …
Read More »The End of Republican Accountability
When Senator Al Franken faced a sexual misconduct scandal last fall, the outcome was painful accountability. Allegations of unwanted touching – and intense pressure from senior members of his own party – forced the Minnesota Senator to resign. The contrast to the GOP of Donald Trump is striking. For Republican …
Read More »Travers on 'Disobedience': A-List Forbidden-Love Romance Is Scorching
Yes, everyone’s set to watch the Avengers chase evil to infinity and beyond this weekend. But you might want to check out Disobedience– a gorgeously acted, written and directed spellbinder set so far outside the Marvel universe that it thinks the problems of real people are far more compelling than …
Read More »Spotify Is Giving Away Even More Music for Free
Spotify, despite the critics, is doubling down on its commitment to free music. In its first major move since going public earlier this month, the music-streaming company Tuesday unveiled a new version of its mobile app that unlocks certain premium features for free users. Previously, users on the free, advertisement-supported …
Read More »Dierks Bentley on How Del McCoury Inspired New Seven Peaks Festival
When Dierks Bentley first came to check out Jed Selby’s ranch in Buena Vista, Colorado, last winter as a potential host for his Seven Peaks Festival, Selby knew straight away he was the real deal. “It’s the middle of winter and we walk out on the property and he asks …
Read More »Jack White Celebrates Hometown Legacy at Phone-Free Detroit Tour Opener
As advertised, there were no phones allowed atJack White‘stour opener on Thursday. For the artist’s biggest show yet in Detroit, his hometown and site of the Third Man Pressing plant, only one thing mattered: that fans had a “100 percent human experience” devoted to music, as White put it in …
Read More »Mazzy Star Release Delicate New Song, Detail 'Still' EP
Mazzy Star will release a new EP, Still, on June 1st via Rhymes of an Hour Records. The duo – singer Hope Sandoval and guitarist David Roback – previewed the four-track set with the airy ballad “Quiet, the Winter Harbor.” “You’re like a villain in some old film/ Walking in …
Read More »The Mashup Artist: Eddie Huang Wants All Americans to Own Their Stories
Eddie Huang is precisely the sort of storyteller America needs right now: an ambitious, multicultural Everyman who believes the nation’s greatness lies not in assimilation but in diversity, that our mosaic strength comes from each of us owning and celebrating our own largely-immigrant stories in all of their idiosyncratic glory. …
Read More »Miranda Lambert on Carrie Underwood: 'She Can Sing Me Under the Table'
On Sunday night, Miranda Lambert performed “Keeper of the Flame,” from her double album The Weight of These Wings, on the ACM Awards stage. Written with Natalie Hemby and Liz Rose, it’s a song that acknowledges the trailblazing efforts of those who came first, as well as the importance of …
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