In 2023, the Drivin N Cryin cover compilation Let’s Go Dancing: A Celebration Of Kevn Kinney began rolling out. It’s still happening, and now R.E.M.’s Mike Mills is sharing a rendition of “Telling Stories” from 1995’s Wrapped In Sky.

Sabrina Carpenter is on tour celebrating her new album Man’s Best Friend. At ACL Fest the pop star brought out Shania Twain and “arrested” Djo as part of the “Juno” bit, and on Thursday (Oct. 23) she gave a live debut to “House Tour” in Pittsburgh.

Two years ago Say Anything released the Sufjan Stevens-inspired “Carrie & Lowell & Cody (Pendent)” from …Is Committed, an album frontman Max Bemis promised would satirize emo bands “trying to be the next Animal Collective or Strokes.” Now the band has followed that release with a surprise three-song EP called Is Sleazy, featuring covers of Animal Collective and the Strokes (and Yeah Yeah Yeahs).

They’re three for three! Next week, the great Texan DIY garage-punks Radioactivity will release Time Won’t Bring Me Down, their first new album in a full decade. They have not lost a step. We posted the title track and “Why,” and both of them are fucking jams. The same is true of “Analog Ways,” which is presumably the last song they’ll share before the LP. It’s a different kind of jam, though.

Have you pictured Megan Thee Stallion and Klay Thompson having sex, yet? Well, you’re about to. The rap star and the legendary NBA shooter have been an item for a minute, and Megan’s new single “Lover Girl” is a straight-up love song, presumably directed at Thompson. Since it’s a Megan Thee Stallion track, this particular love song involves some very specific bedroom talk. And yes, she does bring the word “Splash” into play.

We haven’t gotten a proper album from Sugar World since their 2022 debut, but the Los Angeles band has kept up a steady stream of music in the intervening years. Now they’re ready to roll out LP2.

Tyla’s new one is airy yet intense, icy yet burning hot. On “Chanel,” the South African singer matches Ian Kirkpatrick and P2J’s popping, skittering beat with a hypnotic hook: “You say you love me? Put me in Chanel.” Even if designer fashion brands aren’t your love language, you might find the track’s energy contagious.

The UK soul-pop singer-songwriter Celeste got a whole lot attention from the music industry when she was just starting out. In 2020, she won the BBC’s Sound Of 2020 poll and the Rising Star Award at the Brits. Her 2021 debut album Not Your Muse was a #1 hit in the UK, and it got a Mercury Prize nomination. Celeste was also nominated for an Oscar for “Hear My Voice,” her song for the 2020 film The Trial Of The Chicago 7. But now that she’s getting ready to release her sophomore LP Woman Of Faces, Celeste has had a very different experience with the business. She’s not happy about it.

Jennifer Walton has a distinguished pedigree in the realm of forward-thinking popular music. The London musician has drummed for the hyperpop bubblegum rockers Kero Kero Bonito and made music with the avant-garde rapper and producer aya, among other connections. On her debut album Daughters, Walton steps into the spotlight, and she makes the most of it.

Next Friday is Halloween, and it’s also the release date for the new Florence + The Machine album Everybody Scream. That should be fun! We’ve already heard the title track and “One Of The Greats,” and now Florence Welch has announced plans to hit arenas across North America next spring. If you’ve never seen Florence live, it’s a true spectacle. Her best songs sound huge, and she’s got the voice to deliver them. I don’t know if I would’ve expected her to headline arenas, but that sounds like a good night out to me.