Some shit is going down. We’re looking at a brewing feud between Lana Del Rey and Ethel Cain, our two greatest creators of expansive torch songs about American malaise. Last night, Del Rey shared a minute-long teaser for a new song, describing it as “Track 13” and tagging Jack Antonoff, the producer of the new album that she’s been working on for a while. The opening lyric: “Ethel Cain hated my Instagram post.” What is she talking about
Over the past week, you, the readers of Stereogum, have cast your votes to determine this year’s Song Of The Summer — and if I may say so, you have voted well. Today, we’re ready to reveal the results of the poll. Check out the top 10, and a graphic listing our past 15 years of winning tracks, below.
The new Taylor Swift album rollout is in full swing. Yesterday at 12:12 a.m., the pop star announced The Life Of A Showgirl, the followup to 2024’s The Tortured Poets Department, and teased an appearance on New Heights, the podcast her boyfriend Travis Kelce hosts with his brother Jason. She didn’t reveal much; she didn’t share the release date, and the cover artwork was blurred out. Tonight, she went into greater detail on the new episode of the podcast and shared the cover artwork (pictured above), the release date, and the tracklist.
Neil Finn is beating the erectile dysfunction allegations. The Crowded House frontman was the unfortunate victim of an AI-generated newscast video, where a fake version of him shared a heartwarming but false story about becoming a father at the age of 67 after overcoming ED. The band has debunked the whole thing.
In The Alternative Number Ones, I’m reviewing every #1 single in the history of the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks/Alternative Songs, starting with the moment that the chart launched in 1988. This column is a companion piece to The Number Ones, and it’s for members only. Thank you to everyone who’s helping to keep Stereogum afloat.
“Wicked Game.” Whatta song. I imagine covering it is a somewhat daunting task, and yet, the sultry sleeper hit made famous by Chris Isaak has been a staple of Natural Wonder Beauty Concept’s live shows for a while now. Today the duo of Ana Roxanne and DJ Python have shared a studio recording of their “Wicked Game” cover, marking their first release since their 2023 self-titled debut album.
There’s no simpler medicine for mundane blues other than seeing a cute pooch. Feeling bummed out? Just go for a walk and look at all the beautiful local doggos on your block. They’re so cute and ignorant to the vast horridness of this modern world. How nice! Now, Knottingham’s No Peeling have a short-and-sweet soundtrack for the moment you have to approach a stranger and cooly insist: “Can I Pet That Dog?”
“Worst song ever made.” Eight days ago, a guy in Seattle named Justin Boldaji tweeted those words along with video of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros performing “Home” in an NPR Tiny Desk concert. In the footage, Jade Castrinos (hair cropped short, wearing a T-shirt, her shoulders emphatically swaying) is locked into a loving gaze with Alex Ebert, whose appearance (long-haired, bearded, shirtless under a white suit jacket) was recently summed up by journalist Jeremy Gordon with the phrase “Father John Misty as a cult leader.” Most days, I feel like this song’s charms outweigh its hokey affectations, but both “Home” and this specific performance are shamelessly earnest in a way that might strike you as and cloying.
Over the last few years, there’s been a boom of interest in corridos tumbados, the genre that fuses regional Mexican music with American trap. That combination has led artists like Peso Pluma and Fuerza Regida to stardom, and it essentially started with Natanael Cano, a prolific 24-year-old artist from Sonora, Mexico. On Sunday, Cano had a very bad night.