Luke Combs responded to criticism about his past use of the Confederate flag on Wednesday, saying, “There is no excuse for those images.” Combs made his remarks during a revealing panel discussion with Maren Morris during Country Radio Seminar, with critic Ann Powers moderating. The three touched on accountability and …
Read More »Judge Rules Against Britney Spears' Father at Conservatorship Hearing
The ongoing legal battle over Britney Spears‘ conservatorship continued amid a week when discussion of the pop star’s life and career became a hot button topic following the airing of documentary Framing Britney Spears. At a hearing on Thursday, a probate judge overruled James “Jamie” Spears’ objection to an order …
Read More »'Love Story (Taylor's Version)' Is a Brilliantly Bittersweet Update on a Classic
On the surface, the new version of “Love Story” that Taylor Swift released today to introduce her re-recorded catalog project shows few obvious differences from the original 2008 hit. The two songs share the same 3:55 length and nearly identical arrangements, from the opening banjo plucks to the tasteful fiddles …
Read More »Bon Iver, Poet Ross Gay Team Up to Launch Jagjaguwar 25th-Anniversary Celebration
Indie label Jagjaguwar has announced a year-long 25th-anniversary celebration that kicks off Thursday with a collaboration between the poet Ross Gay and Bon Iver. “Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude” is an expansive piece that finds the Bloomington, Indiana-based poet and educator reciting a piece over a characteristically sprawling Bon Iver soundscape. …
Read More »Smashing Pumpkins' Jeff Schroeder Plots Virtual Benefit Concert for Touring Crews
Smashing Pumpkins’ guitarist and keyboardist Jeff Schroeder will host a virtual concert to raise money for tour crew workers who are out of work because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The For the Crew show will take place March 6th at 7 p.m. ET, and feature solo sets from Schroeder, Kevin …
Read More »Hear X Jam With the Doors' Robby Krieger on 'Alphabetland' B-Side 'Strange Life'
The Doors’ Robby Krieger played jazzy guitar on “All the Time in the World,” the closing track of Alphabetland, X‘s first album in decades, and now the L.A. punk group is releasing another song they recorded together. On Alphabetland, “Strange Life,” was a relatively straightforward punk rocker (and a catchy …
Read More »Jim Weatherly, 'Midnight Train to Georgia' Songwriter, Dead at 77
Jim Weatherly, the country singer-songwriter who penned the Gladys Knight and the Pips hit “Midnight Train to Georgia,” among other hit songs, died Wednesday at his home. He was 77. Music publisher and family friend Charlie Monk, “the Mayor of Music Row,” confirmed Weatherly’s death to the Tennessean. No cause …
Read More »Ben Howard Drops Nautical New Single 'Crowhurst's Meme'
Ben Howard has dropped “Crowhurst’s Meme,” the second single from his upcoming album Collections From the Whiteout, out March 26th via Republic Records. Featuring Yussef Dayes, the song is accompanied by a video that portrays distorted images of Howard in a field as the track ebbs and flows with chaotic …
Read More »In Praise of 'Sandinista!': Why the Clash's Triple-Album Mess Is Also Their Masterpiece
Forty years ago this winter, a strange new album arrived in U.S. record stores. It was a triple-vinyl set, by a London band still best known as punk rockers: the Clash’s Sandinista! It was barely a year after their global breakthrough, London Calling, which got them a U.S. Top 40 …
Read More »Woodstock 50 Settles Lawsuit With Financier Over Canceled Festival
The organizers of the canceled Woodstock 50 have reached a settlement with the festival’s financier following a legal battle stemming from the financier’s decision to withdraw funding just months before the 50th anniversary event. Billboard reports that an arbitration panel ruled three months ago that Dentsu Aegis, the Japanese advertising …
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