
Blur announced some massive Wembley gigs and that was that, right? Wrong. They have surprised everyone by announcing a new album! It’s called The Ballad of Darren and is out July 21 via Parlophone. Their first since ‘The Magic Whip’. And there’s a new song too, called ‘The Narcissist.’ Damon Albarn: “This is an aftershock record, reflection and…

Donald Trump’s use of ‘YMCA’ (and to a lesser degree, ‘Macho Man’) by the Village People has been a curious thing. For someone who is, and represents everything virulently homophobic and a whole other bunch of phobics in the US, it’s particularly strange that he’d plump for a song that is not only very camp,…

You’ve invariably picked up a Beatle LP, seen that famous green apple, got an emorous sense of well-being, and got on with your day (unless you’re one of those terrible hipsters who think it’s fashionable to hate The Beatles – you do you, boo). Anyway, the famous split apple across two sides of a Beatle…

The late Japanese composer and Yellow Magic Orchestra founder Ryuichi Sakamoto’s management have shared the last playlist compiled by the late, great musician. Calling it ‘Ryuichi’s Last Playlist’, they wrote: “We would like to share the playlist that Ryuichi had been privately compiling to be played at his own funeral to accompany his passing. He…

When SBTRKT were around last time, they were known for their forward thinking dancefloor chuggers, designed for those kids who weren’t necessarily into dance music and a bit frightened of Techno Lads on pills, but still wanted to scuff their sneakers up on the dirty dancefloors. ‘Pharaohs’ and ‘Wildlife’ were solid gold bangers, but in…

Muhammad Ali. John Lennon. Susan Sarandon. The Black Panthers. Sly & The Family Stone. Civil rights, sitars, hitchhiking, Chuck Berry, hippies, Zen, minimal artists and so much more. Meet Jeff from New York’s Music Inn. He might just be the most interesting person you’ll listen to all year. This charming film is short, beautifully shot,…

The Doobie Brothers are a fine, fine band – but they sure went up a notch when Michael McDonald got involved. They’ve been enjoying a 50th anniversary reunion, and the whole gang has been on the road together and that’s lovely. It was announced that Steely Dan would be pulling out of the tour with…

When you love someone a lot, it’s great to see them still being great. And so, to Beth Gibbons who we all loved from her time in Portishead, who is delivering some tremendously atmospheric and creeped out cosmic psych at the moment. She has a new LP coming out called ‘Lives Outgrown’ and the new…

In classic rock circles, sometimes a new group appears that’s so reverential to the past, that it’s missing all the verve and spontaneity of the thing it’s looking toward. If you’re someone who still goes out, still cares about new releases, you might concede that they’re kinda good at what they do, but the whole…
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