Last year, Kanye West dropped "Only One" on New Year's Eve in the closing hours of 2014. This year, he's struck again with another new song to close out 2015. It's called "FACTS". Listen to it here.
West has shared very few of his own songs in 2015. Prior to "FACTS", he had officially released just "All Day" and "FourFiveSeconds", a collaboration with Rihanna and Paul McCartney. He also debuted "Wolves" at a fashion show. Most recently, he posted a new version of 2008's "Say You Will" and a reinterpretation of the Weeknd's "Tell Your Friends" to his SoundCloud. There is no word on when West will release his forthcoming album SWISH.
Kendrick Lamar has shared a new 7-minute short film titled God Is Gangsta, featuring To Pimp a Butterfly tracks "u" and "For Sale? (Interlude)". The "u" segment, directed by Jack Begert, features Lamar heavily drinking and rapping, while the "For Sale?" part, directed by PANAMÆRA, was filmed at Silencio, David Lynch's nightclub in Paris. Watch the film below.
Travi$ Scott has shared two new tracks, "Wonderful" and "A-Time". The former song – produced by Scott, Boi-1da, and Mike Dean – features a hook from the Weeknd, with whom Scott has been touring (he'steaseditseveraltimes on the road); the latter track features production from Dean and Allen Ritter. Listen to both cuts above.
Both LCD Soundsystem and a version of Guns N' Roses featuring Axl Rose and Slash will reunite at Coachella this year, the New York Timesreports. An unnamed source with direct knowledge of the California festival's lineup has confirmed to the Times that both bands will play on April 15-17 and 22-24 in Indio.
In July 2010, LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy explained why he was choosing to end the group at that time, hinting at both the final show at Madison Square Garden and that he might reunite the band five years later:
It's not like some big, dramatic ending-- we've talked about if in five years we'd want to play again we'd do it. It's all just gotten bigger than I planned or wanted. Not that I'm against it but I don't want to get bigger. What's the goal now-- get fucking huge? I don't want to be a famous person. It's fucking great where we are. I get on an airplane and nobody has any idea who I am. I just want to do other stuff. And since we know we're not gonna do another record I feel freer to do the biggest shit I possibly can. Like, 'Fuck it, we should play Madison Square Garden.'
He continued:
If I thought there was another record, I'd be very uncomfortable and anxious about it and what it was going to do to my life. Putting an end to it frees me up to have fun; it's like knowing your mortality. As a kid that always wanted to make music, I couldn't have dreamed of a better place to be than where I'm at right now. I didn't even know this place existed-- to play with your friends and be really satisfied and happy. It's not so bad.
As for Guns N' Roses, though they never officially broke up, Axl Rose has been the band's only original member since 1997, when McKagan departed. This version of the band has toured on-and-off since the early aughts, but their official output has been slim. In 2008, the band released the long-gestating Chinese Democracy.
In the interim, Slash, McKagan, and drummer Matt Sorum (who replaced Adler in Guns N' Roses in 1990) formed Velvet Revolver, which was fronted by late Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland.
In recent years, there hasn't been any love lost between Axl and the original members. "Slash either should not have been in Guns to begin with or should have left afterLies," Axl said in 2009. "In a nutshell, personally I consider him a cancer and better removed, avoided—and the less anyone heard of him or his supporters, the better."
But this year, Axl and Slash reconciled. "It was probably way overdue, you know," Slash said. "But it’s, you know, it’s very cool at this point."
RZA has shared a remix of "Hands of God", a track by composer and Ghostface Killah collaborator Adrian Younge that also features Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier and Israeli singer Karolina. RZA says he was inspired by Quentin Tarantino's new, Ennio Morricone-scored film The Hateful Eight; indeed, the Wu-Tang member's verse contains numerous references to the film. Listen to the remix of the song – taken from Younge's forthcoming record Something About April II – above.
Something About April II arrives January 22 via Linear Labs; it features collaborations with Bilial, Raphael Saadiq, and more.
Check out the trailer for The Hateful Eight, out now:
Hundred Waters have created music for a new short film called "Ghosting". Directed by Kim Sherman, the creepy short features Allison Miller, Chase Williamson, Lilan Bowden, Alex Warren and Greg Edwards.
Lil B just dropped his new mixtape Thugged Out Pissed Off. It features 63 tracks, including his Weeknd diss track "4 Tha Record". Check it out here. Below, watch the video for "Flexin Maury Povich".
Watch Lil B perform "Like a Martian" at Pitchfork Music Festival:
Aretha Franklin was invited to perform at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors' tribute to Carole King earlier this month, and now footage has surfaced of the song she performed: 1967's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman".
During the performance, President Obama is caught wiping what appears to be a tear from his eye, minutes before the audience is wowed to an emphatic standing ovation. Carole King, meanwhile, looks wholeheartedly impressed. Watch the video below, via NME.
Earlier this month, Lupe Fiasco announced plans to release three albums in 2016: Drogas, Skulls, and Roy. Now, he's detailed a tour for next year, too. Check out the tour poster above, and scroll down for the dates.
Lupe's last album was Tetsuo & Youth, released in January.
01-13 Seattle, WA - The Neptune Theatre 01-14 Portland, OR - Roseland Theater
01-17 Anaheim, CA - House of Blues
01-18 Los Angeles, CA - Fonda Theatre
01-20 San Francisco, CA - Mezzanine
01-22 Garden City, ID - Revolution Concert House and Event Center
01-24 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
01-28 Dallas, TX - Gas Monkey Live!
01-29 Houston, TX - Scout Bar
01-31 New Orleans, LA - Republic NOLA
02-02 Athens, GA - Georgia Theatre
02-04 New York, NY - Highline Ballroom
02-07 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
02-09 Montclair, NJ - The Wellmont Theater
02-10 Boston, MA - The Wilbur
02-12 Cleveland, OH - House Of Blues
02-13 Indianapolis, IN - Vogue Theatre
Artist rights advocate and Camper Van Beethoven frontman David Lowery has brought a massive $150 million class action lawsuit against Spotify, as Billboard reports. The suit claims that the music streaming service intentionally distributed copyrighted material without securing the necessary mechanical licenses. (A mechanical license allows a party to reproduce copyrighted material.)
The new lawsuit was filed in California on December 28. The suit claims that Spotify distributed copyrighted material to over 75 million users without identifying the copyright holders, nor did they signal any intent to obtain licenses.
The suit claims that songs such as "Almond Grove", "Get On Down the Road", "King of Bakersfield", and "Tonight I Cross the Border" were illegally distributed, and that statutory penalties allow for up to $150,000 for each instance of willful infringement.
Lowery is named as the class representative for the lawsuit, which also asks the court to make Spotify pay for the cost of a third party auditor to determine what works were illegally distributed, and to remove all disputed works from its catalog until obtaining the proper license.
Spotify is also embroiled in settlement negotiations with the National Music Publishers Association, over claims it allowed users to access improperly licensed material.
A previous study conducted by Lowery, who also fronts Cracker, prompted the National Music Publishers Association to file take-down notices against 50 lyric websites in 2013.
Last week, King Louie was shot in the head in Chicago. A few days later, the recovering rapper briefly appeared on CNN to discuss the incident, as well as gun violence in general, as the Fader points out. Watch video below.
John Bradbury, the drummer in pioneering 2 Tone group The Specials, has died. He was 62. The band made the announcement this morning via Twitter.
Bradbury joined the group in 1979, when he replaced original drummer Silverton Hutchinson. For the next two years, the Specials took their blend of reggae and ska to the UK charts, with singles including "Too Much Too Young" and Dandy Livingstone cover "A Message to You, Rudy", and a pair of albums on 2 Tone, the label of chief songwriter Jerry Dammers.
After the success of seminal hit "Ghost Town", three core members left to form Fun Boy Three, while Bradbury and Dammers resumed operations as the Special AKA. In 1984, they released their final album, In the Studio, which featured another Top 10 UK single, "(Free) Nelson Mandela".
In 2008, Bradbury joined the reformed Specials in a role he held until his death. In a statement quoted by TheGuardian, a band spokesperson said, "Brad’s drumming was the powerhouse behind the Specials, and it was seen as a key part to the 2 Tone sound. ... His contribution to the world of music can not be understated and he will much missed by family, friends and fans alike."
Next week, Alabama Shakes will open the forthcoming season of "Austin City Limits" on PBS. Before it airs, they're rolling out a few previews and web exclusives. Watch the band perform tracks from Sound & Colour below, including "Gimme All Your Love", shared today via Stereogum.
Ian Fraser Kilmister, better known to the world as Motörhead frontman Lemmy, has died. He was 70. The news was first reported by rock journalist Eddie Trunk and later confirmed by TMZ, who said he passed away on Monday afternoon.
In 1972, Kilmister joined the psychedelic rock outfit Hawkwind, contributing bass and vocals. After being kicked out of Hawkwind in 1975, he formed Motörhead. In 1977, Motörhead released their self-titled debut. Over the span of 40 years and 22 studio LPs, the group emerged as one of the biggest hard rock bands in history. Their last album, Bad Magic, was released this year.
In the four decades since their inception, Motörhead experienced numerous lineup changes. As the founder and sole constant member of the group, Lemmy represented its anchor. Outside of the arena, he appeared on numerous television programs and films ("The Drew Carey Show", Hardware, and Airheads, to name a few) and lent voice talents to the video game Brütal Legend. He was also slated to appear in Björn Tagemose's forthcoming film Gutterdämmerung.
Hudson Mohawke has shared "Escape", an interpretation of John Carpenter's Escape From New York theme. Mohawke released the track as part of LuckyMe's Advent Calendar, which is offering a free download from the label's roster every day until January 6. Stream "Escape" – and download it for free – above, via Stereogum.
At the Apollo shows, Hynes performed with Nelly Furtado, with whom Blood Orange released a collaborative cassette, available only at the shows. The Beats 1 episode features the two playing "Hadron Collider" from the cassette. (Listen to it around the 32:20 mark of the stream.) They do Furtado's "Say It Right" together (34:00 mark), as well.
The episode also collects Hynes' performance of an unreleased track called "E.V.P" (48:30 mark). It's a collaboration with the Dutch artist Bea1991. He's played the track live in the past, and shared its lyrics on his website back in February.
"Yours Truly, Blood Orange and Friends" is not Hynes' first experience with Beats 1. Earlier this year, he appeared on Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig's "Time Crisis" show where he talked about Blood Orange's song "Sandra's Smile".
Watch Blood Orange do "Champagne Coast" at Pitchfork Music Festival 2013:
This afternoon, El-P shared a short clip of audio on Instagram with the caption "RTJ3 is just getting started"—presumably, a cut from what would be Run the Jewels 3, following Run the Jewels and Run the Jewels 2(which was our favorite album of 2014). El-P previously shared a similarly short clip this past May. Check out the new one below.
Earlier this year, Toro Y Moi's Chaz Bundick released two full-length projects: April's What For?and August's Samantha. Now, Bundick has uploaded four previously unreleased songs to the Toro Y Moi SoundCloud, as Noisey points out. Check out "Couplegirls", "4- 5-12b", "3 - 4-12b", and "2 - 1-12b" below.
Watch Toro Y Moi perform "Say That" at the 2013 Pitchfork Music Festival:
Mac DeMarco has shared a cover of the Irving Berlin/Bing Crosby holiday song "White Christmas". DeMarco is calling it "White Christma$". He shared it along with a photo of Star Wars' Jar Jar Binks in a Santa hat. Check that out above and listen to the song below.
DeMarco recently reviewed the new Star Wars film, The Force Awakens. He'll soon embark on a tour in support of 2015's mini-album Another One.
Since 2009, Bono has busked in Dublin on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, he couldn't perform last year, as he was recovering from surgery for injuries suffered in a serious cycling injury. This year, he returned to the streets to perform with an ensemble that included Glen Hansard, Hozier, and more. Watch them do U2's "When Love Comes to Town" and "Every Breaking Wave" below, via Stereogum.
Busta Rhymes has shared a new mixtape called The Return of the Dragon The Abstract Went on Vacation. (Busta's last release was his 2013 team up with Q-Tip, The Abstract And The Dragon.) Listen and download it here.
Lauryn Hill has shared a cover of "A Christmas in Bethlehem". The song was originally written in the 1920s, but popularized in 1960 by Nat King Cole, who sang it for his 1960 album The Magic of Christmas. Listen to Hill's rendition above.
Earlier this year, Lauryn Hill covered several Nina Simone songs for the tribute album Nina Revisited. She's also just announced two intimate performances for 2016: one at Howard Theatre in Washington, DC on Jan 1, and another at The Brooklyn Bowl in Brooklyn, NY on Jan 4.
Run The Jewels have launched a new advent calendar on their website in which fans can submit their email addresses to be entered to win free RTJ merch for the next twelve days. #12DaysOfRTJXmas begins today. Enter the contest here.
The first day of the contest features a Tag The Jewels mural painting. See video, below.
Earlier this year, bookmakers suspended Bond theme betting after a punter tried to bet £15,000 ($22,500) that Radiohead were behind it. Although Sam Smith ultimately did the honors, it turns out the rumors weren't completely unfounded. This morning, Thom Yorke tweeted out a new Radiohead track called "Spectre", originally recorded for the theme. Listen to it above, and see Yorke's tweets below.
Last year we were asked to write a tune for Bond movie Spectre. Yes we were ...........
Timbaland has released his new mixtape King Stays King, through MyMixtapez.com. It features contributions from Young Thug, Migos, Rich Homie Quan, Tink, 2 Chainz, and more. There's also an unreleased Aaliyah track ("Shakin"). Check out the full tracklist and the cover art below. Listen to it at MyMixtapez here.
Timbaland is also preparing his Textbook Timbo LP, due in 2016. He will tour clubs in January.
King Stays King:
01 Get No Betta [ft. Timbaland and Mila J]
02 Shakin [ft. Aaliyah, Timbaland and Strado]
03 Dem Jeans [ft. Migos]
04 Frenemies [ft. Sy Ari Da Kid and Tink]
05 Tables [ft. Obs3ssed and Tink]
06 Servin [ft. Blaze Servin and PC Tweezie]
07 Didn't Do It [ft. Young Thug]
08 Callin and Callin [ft. Young Crazy and Breeze Barker]
09 WYA Wit It [ft. Blaze Servin]
10 Shawty [ft. Rich Homie Quan]
11 This Me, Fuck It [ft. 2 Chainz]
12 All I See Is You [ft. Sequence]
13 Drama Queen [ft. Tink]
14 Go Ahead (Boo Boo Kitty) [ft. WDNG Crshrs, Goldy and Cynthia]
15 Drug Dealer [ft. Rico Richie]
16 You Held It Down [ft. Bankroll and Obs3ssed]
17 On My Way [ft. D'XMCI]
Watch the video for Aaliyah's "Are You With Somebody?":
The Weeknd has shared two new tracks: "Low Life" and a remix of Jeremih's "Pass Dat". "Low Life" features Future, and "Pass Dat" comes from Jeremih's recent Late Nights: The Album. Listen to both songs above.
Miley Cyrus has shared a new Christmas song. It's called "My Sad Christmas Song", and it was recorded with the Flaming Lips. Listen to it and check out the artwork above. Watch Wayne Coyne's videos of the recording process below.
Father John Misty (aka Josh Tillman) made an appearance at the 4th Annual Merry Minstrel Musical Circus in Los Angeles the other night. At the show, he did a cover of John Lennon's "God", but updated some of lyrics to have more contemporary references. In his version, Tillman claims he doesn't believe in President Barack Obama, Facebook, Star Wars, and more. Watch the whole performance below, via Consequence of Sound.
Jonathan Wilson, who is one of the event's organizers, joined Tillman for the cover. He also co-produced this year's Father John Misty album, I Love You, Honeybear, with Tillman.
Earlier this year, Tillman covered the Velvet Underground and Taylor Swift's "Blank Space".
Grimes has shared an unreleased track to her Tumblr, as Pigeons and Planes points out. It's called "Fifteen Minutes To". In a note, she says that it "probably" comes from before her 2010 album Halifaxa. Listen to it below.
Grimes released her latest album Art Angels earlier this year.
Watch her do "Genesis" at Pitchfork Music Festival 2012:
Earlier this year, Janet Jackson embarked on a world tour in support of her recent album Unbreakable. Today, she has announced that the remaining dates on the tour will be postponed until the spring so that she can undergo surgery. She added that "every date will be rescheduled" in a note on her Twitter. Read the entire message below.
Hey you guys… Happy Holidays to each and every one of you. I need you to know, I learned today, from my doctors that I must have surgery soon. It breaks my heart to tell you that I am forced to postpone the Unbreakable Tour until the spring. Every date will be rescheduled. Please hold on to your tickets. They will be honored in a special way when the new schedule is announced. Please pray for me, my family and our entire company during this difficult time. There will be no further comment. I love you all so much and am ever grateful for your understanding and your love. Gon' b alright.
LCD Soundsystem broke up back in 2011 and have since squashed every rumor imaginable that the band would ever get back together. Today, they've shared a new song for Christmas. It's called "Christmas Will Break Your Heart". According to a note on the band's Twitter, James Murphy had been singing this "depressing Christmas song" to himself for the past eight years, but finally got around to recording it this year. Listen to the song and read the full note below. (It can also be purchased here.)
so, there’s been this depressing christmas song i’d been singing to myself for the past 8 years, and every year i wouldn’t remember that i wanted to make it until december, which is just too late to actually record and release a christmas song... but this year, al doyle had a short break between hot chip tours where he could be in nyc, and pat and nancy were home, and tyler agreed to fly out from berlin for a few days, so we all recorded this together, reserved a pressing plant slot, and our friend bob weston was available to master it quickly—so that means, less than 2 weeks after we recorded it, there is actually a christmas 7", which feels like something that could only have happened a very, very long time ago.
anyway, for the holidays we give you the previous, very long run-on sentence, and this song: “christmas will break your heart”, which is another one of those songs which had about 75 lines of lyrics, though we’ve knocked down to 8 to keep the suicide rate in check.
have fun!
Here's a clip from the film documenting LCD Soundsystem's farewell show, Shut Up and Play the Hits:
Future Islands have shared a cover of Wham!'s "Last Christmas", just in time for your holiday playlists. You can listen to it below, and download it for free here.
Speedy Ortiz frontwoman Sadie Dupuis has shared the demo for a new "depressing xmas song." It's called "Krampus (In Love)". Listen to it above and check out the festive artwork below.
Dupuis has shared Christmas songs in the past. In 2011, she released "Grinchin'", and then followed that up in 2013 with a demo for a song called "X Actually".
Yesterday, it was announced that the Beatles' catalog would become available on music streaming services. Tonight, that promise has been fulfilled and the Fab Four's catalog is now accessible for listening on the following nine services: Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, Deezer, Google Play, Microsoft Groove, Amazon Prime, Rhapsody, and Slacker. Watch a video accompanying the announcement below.
The music has been made available globally on a rolling basis. Once the clock strikes 12:01 a.m. in your time zone, you can stream the Beatles. As previously reported, the back catalog will not be exclusive to paying subscribers, meaning "freemium" users (on sites such as Spotify and Deezer) will have access too.
Chicago rapper King Louie has been shot in the head. His manager confirmed to a Chicago Sun-Times reporter that the incident occurred earlier today in Chicago, as Spin points out. He added that Louie is "awake and talking."
Breaking: King Louie's manager confirms he was shot in the head at 83rd and Pulaski earlier today. He's awake and talking.
A new Tupac biopic called All Eyez On Me has finally cast its Tupac and Biggie actors, following the hiring of music video director Benny Boom earlier this month, MissInfo reports.
A new actor named Demetrius Shipp, Jr.-- who bares striking resemblence to Tupac-- has been selected to portray the rapper in the film. As for Biggie, the filmmakers cast Jamal Woolard, who previously portrayed Biggie Smalls (aka Christopher Wallace) in the 2009 biopic Notorious.
Check out the picture of Shipp and Woolward, below.
For those of you unfamiliar with the above Twitter phenomenon, it all began with @SeinfeldToday, an account that asks "What if Seinfeld were still on the air?", imagining Jerry using Instagram, Elaine going on OKCupid dates, and other hypotheticals transplanting the granular issues of "Seinfeld" into 2014.
@Seinfeld2000 came later, parodying the concept by grinding it into the dirt, photoshopping the members of "Seinfeld" into contemporary situations, ceaselessly asking "What if Seinfeld was still on TV" in an easily-imitated gibberish language, and trolling its straight-faced counterpart.
For those of you unfamiliar with the above Twitter phenomenon, it all began with @SeinfeldToday, an account that asks "What if Seinfeld were still on the air?", imagining Jerry using Instagram, Elaine going on OKCupid dates, and other hypotheticals transplanting the granular issues of "Seinfeld" into 2014.
@Seinfeld2000 came later, parodying the concept by grinding it into the dirt, photoshopping the members of "Seinfeld" into contemporary situations, ceaselessly asking "What if Seinfeld was still on TV" in an easily-imitated gibberish language, and trolling its straight-faced counterpart.
London rapper Little Simz dropped a surprise EP yesterday, as the Fader points out. It's called Age 101: Drop X and features Isaiah Rashad, Mick Jenkins, Bibi Bourelly, Jesse Boykins III, and more. Download it for free from her Bandcamp, or listen to the stream above.
Simz had tweeted that she'd release the EP if she received 500 retweets. After hitting the mark, she shared the record with an accompanying note on Tumblr. Read it below.
Firstly I just want to say thank you to everyone who has supported me thus far. This year has been a special one. After releasing my debut album I wanted to round up the year nice, felt right to release another Drop solely for the people who been on this journey with me. For those who are wondering why i called it Drop X instead of Drop 5, it’s simple this is my TENTH solo project. I know right, madting.
A Jackie Wilson hologram tour will launch in 2017, Billboard reports. The R&B star, who died in 1984, will star in a full stage show produced and distributed online by FilmOn. He joins the roster of Hologram USA, the company behind holograms of Billie Holiday, Whitney Houston, Chief Keef, Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, and more.
In a statement quoted by Billboard, Hologram USA CEO Alki David said, "Everything you expect from an exciting ‘rock star’ stage show was invented by Jackie Wilson: the leaps, spins and back-flips, not to mention his amazing four-octave range."
The Beatles have long been absent from music streaming services. Now, they've confirmed it'll be made available on services such as Spotify and Apple Music, starting first thing tomorrow. As the Guardian reports, the back catalogue won't be exclusive to paying subscribers, meaning "freemium" users of sites such as Spotify and Deezer will have access too.
This isn't the first time the band's music has been late to digitally adapt: They didn't become available in the iTunes store until 2010.
