The latest music video from LA-based indie-pop singer-songwriter Jordana threads an interesting needle. In the Alex LaLiberte-directed clip, she plays a news personality type who visits a local hype house to learn the latest dances from a team of influencers. In the process, Jordana manages to make fun of TikTok dances as an institution while introducing a few moves that could potentially become TikTok dances themselves — a very right-now version of both having and eating cake.
I was at last week’s Turnstile show in Richmond, the one where a sheriff’s deputy apparently pepper sprayed some kid in the face. I didn’t get pepper-sprayed, though. I didn’t even see it happening. That’s probably because I started heading for the merch tables as Turnstile were finishing their last song. I really, really wanted to get a Speed football jersey. I got one, and it looks sick as hell.
Some songs make a fool out of time. Such is the case of “50s song,” the debut single from newly formed UK trio Dorothy, which calls back to a bygone era while also feeling otherworldly. While there’s a romantic, doo-woppy air to “50s song,” there’s also intergalactic synths, man-made rocket(?) wave(?) noises, and a grunginess that unfolds as the song fades out. It’s a little eerie, like a Caspar David Friedrich painting, but overall striking with pop whimsy.
The thing about mythmaking is, it’s a lot cooler when other people do it for you. Except for maybe when it’s a state attorney aiming to send you to prison until Barron Trump’s re-elected president. Staring into the judge’s eyes during Young Thug’s RICO trial a few years ago, a Georgia state prosecutor was doing just that as he told a fantastical tale of Thugger’s crime boss alter ego. It was an opening statement fit for Spike Lee’s The Slimefather starring Denzel Washington: “This is the most of them. This is the one that you see the shadow in the back of the room. He’s the one directing traffic. He is the one that we’re all afraid of. He’s the one that’s King Slime.”
Ultra-theatrical punk rock stars AFI have been through many different phases in their long career, and their new album Silver Bleeds The Black Sun… represents a new one. For one thing, Davey Havok has that crazy mustache situation now. For another, they’ve signed with Run For Cover, a label that’s never taken on a band this hugely famous before. On top of all of that, AFI seem to be going full old-school goth-rock for this record, which is arriving right in time for the spooky season.
It’s the year of Britpop revival. In last night’s case, Gene reunited at Brudenell Social Club in Leeds to play a two-hour set. Gene — singer Martin Rossiter, guitarist Steve Mason, bassist Kevin Miles and drummer Matt James — formed in London in 1993. They released their fourth and last studio album Libertine in 2001 and split in 2004. Yesterday’s show was their first in 21 years.
We’ve been waiting for eight years for a new album from the consistently fascinating R&B explorer Miguel, and we’re finally about to get it. Next month, Miguel will release his new album Coas, and he’s already shared the singles “New Martyrs (Ride 4 U)” and “El Pleito.” Today, he’s got a new one called “RIP,” and it’s easily my favorite of the three.
After a nine-year hiatus, emo revival greats Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate) kicked off their reunion tour Saturday night in Ferndale, Michigan, not far from their Fenton hometown. At one point they brought up a fan onstage to sing on “An Idea Is A Greater Monument Than A Cathedral” from their 2009 debut What It Takes To Move Forward. Check out some clips below.
Lola Young passed out onstage during her All Things Go performance at New York’s Forest Hills Stadium yesterday. During her song “Conceited,” the viral British pop singer looked offstage and appeared to tell somebody “I’m gonna faint” before collapsing to the floor, cutting her set short. Young updated fans later that night on her Instagram story, writing “For anyone who saw my set at all things go today, I am doing okay now. Thank you for all of your support.”
Turnstile’s massive US tour kicked off earlier this month, and it hasn’t been going so smoothly. There’s apparently been an ongoing phone theft problem that fans are begging the hardcore band to address. On Wednesday (Sept. 24), things got worse when a cop pepper sprayed a fan.