On an overcast night inside the Hollywood Bowl on April 29, the crowd had barely found their seats when Billy Strings and the band launched into “Whiskey River” at 7 p.m. sharp. After all, this was Willie Nelson‘s 90th birthday bash — and no one wanted to waste time. The …
Read More »Connie Converse Was 'the Female Bob Dylan.' Then She Disappeared
In 2010, I was at a friend’s party when a song came up on the house speakers — one that sounded both entirely new to me and as familiar as my own skin. A woman was singing in a plaintive tone about “a place they call Lonesome.” I couldn’t place …
Read More »'Cruel Summer': The Taylor Swift Hit We Deserve
In the summer of 2019, many Taylor Swift fans weren’t sure what to expect from her new music.Her first single of the year, “Me!,” had been so bubbly and over-the-top —so totally the opposite of Reputation — that fans were divided between excitement for a shimmery pop return, and confusion …
Read More »Joy Oladokun Is Nashville's Most Low-Key Musical Revolutionary
Joy Oladokun recently started re-watching Nashville, the soapy TV series centered on country music dreams and drama that helped usher in a wave of big change in the Tennessee capital. She had been thinking about her own place in Nashville — mainly, if she should stay as the state becomes …
Read More »Pharrell On Something In The Water, AI-Generated Music, And Why He's Never Felt Better
Pharrell‘s Something In The Water festival returns to Virginia Beach this weekend after a one-year detour to the nation’s capital. The legendary producer pulled the 2022 festival from his hometown because of what he deemed a “toxic energy” from the local government after the fatal police shooting of his cousin, …
Read More »Kesha, Labrinth, Jack Harlow and All the Songs You Need to Know This Week
Welcome to our weekly rundown ofthe best new music — featuring big singles, key tracks from our favorite albums, and more.This week,Kesha has a spiritual awakening in her first release in three years, Jack Harlow returns, Labrinth catches the feels, and Taylor Swift gets moody with The National. Kesha, “Eat …
Read More »How Lawyers Became Celebrities on The Rap Internet
Earlier this week, Tory Lanez’s lawyer Jose Baez posted a note to his 35,000 followers on Instagram alleging that the DNA evidence in Lanez’s shooting case was “false and misleading.” As if he were dropping a new album himself, he announced that he would divulge more details at 6 PM …
Read More »Kesha Wants to Come Back as a Cat — and Other Things We Learned From the Pop Star
If you ask Kesha something as simple as “How are you feeling?” she just might launch into a monologue about the meaning of life. I spent nearly an hour on Zoom with the pop star talking about her next album, Gag Order, and although I was able to include the …
Read More »Peach PRC Sings to Her Inner Child, Her Exes, and a Stripper Bestie on Her New EP
Peach PRC had a full-circle moment a few weeks ago. While attending Sydney World Pride, she got to meet Ava Max, one of the singers whose music was on constant rotation when Peach worked as a stripper. “I remember I danced to ‘Sweet But Psycho’ so often that the girls …
Read More »Kim Fowley's Estate Sued for Sexual Assault of Minor
A songwriter for the influential 1970s punk group the Runaways has filed a lawsuit against the estate of deceased Runaways manager Kim Fowley and the former KROQ disc jockey and famed nightclub owner Rodney Bingenheimer, accusing them both of sexually assaulting her in the 1970s when she was a teenager. …
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