British musician and producer Oscar Scheller and Detroit’s chloe moriondo have teamed up for a new single called ‘Hard Being Alive’. Check it out below.
“It’s hard being alive is something I’m sure we’ve all thought at one point in our lives,” Scheller commented in a statement. “I wrote it during a particularly claustrophobic and dismal period in London. I honestly forgot about it. Fast forward onto an LA trip, chloe moriondo and I had just left a session with A.G Cook and I accidentally airdropped the demo to Chloe’s phone when I was trying to play another song in the car. A month later she messaged me the song saying she was obsessed with it and sent me a voicenoted acoustic rendition. I messaged back saying “you wanna do a verse?” and she made the song a million times better!!”
chloe moriondo added: “’HARD BEING ALIVE’ IS THE LITTEST SONG ABOUT BEING SAD EVER. It makes me wanna drive fast and make mistakes :)”
Oscar Scheller released his album Boys Cry in early 2021. Also last year, moriondo dropped their second LP, Blood Bunny.
Metronomy have released ‘Things will be fine’, the latest single from their forthcoming album Small World. Check it out via the accompanying video below.
According to leader Joy Mount, ‘Thngs will be fine’ is “sort of pseudo role-play therapy session in which we all re-visit our teenage selves. Everyone ended up more scarred than they did before making it…apart from Michael and his f*#king guinea pigs.”
Fontaines D.C. stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last night (January 12) to perform their latest single, ‘Jackie Down the Line’. Watch it below.
‘Jackie Down the Line’ is the lead offering from Fontaines D.C.’s upcoming third album Skinty Fia, which arrives on April 22 via Partisan. In January of last year, the group went on TheTonight Show to perform ‘A Hero’s Death’, the title track from their previous LP.
After returning with the track ‘(Nothing But) Ashes…’ on New Year’s Day, Röyksopp have today released a new one called ‘The Ladder’. The instrumental track comes with a visual directed by Jonathan Zawada. Check it out below.
Torbjørn Brundtland and Svein Berge’s last album as Röyksopp, The Inevitable End, came out in 2014. They declared it their final LP, although they promised to keep making music in other formats. In 2019, they announced a series of rarities that were released periodically as Lost Tapes throughout 2019 and 2020.
Coachella has announced the full lineup for its 2022 edition. Kanye West (officially billed as Ye, his legal name), Billie Eilish, Harry Styles, and Swedish House Mafia will headline the event, which will return in April after two years of postponements and cancellations due to COVID-19. Coachella will take place at Empire Polo Club in Indio, California across two weekends, April 15-17 and 22-24.
The lineup also includes Doja Cat, Lil Baby, Jamie xx, Flume, Run The Jewels, Phoebe Bridgers, Megan Thee Stallion, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Danny Elfman, IDLES, Japanese Breakfast, Carly Rae Jepsen, Freddie Gibbs, BROCKHAMPTON, Denzel Curry, Turnstile, Rina Sawayama, 100 gecs, Spiritualized, Caribou, Madlib, Floating Points, Amber Mark, Vince Staples, slowthai, Mannequin Pussy, black midi, Nilüfer Yanya, Arooj Aftab, PUP, Caroline Polachek, Code Orange, Orville Peck, beabadoobee, girl in red, Channel Tres, and many more.
After a COVID-19-related cancellation, a lineup reveal listed Frank Ocean, Rage Against the Machine, and Travis Scott as headliners for Coachella 2020. Ocean is slated to headline Coachella 2023, while Scott was removed in the wake of the Astroworld 2021 tragedy.
Angel Olsen has offered her take on Karen Dalton’s ‘Something on Your Mind’. The rendition is available today as a 7” single featuring Dalton’s original version on the B-side. In conjunction, a 50th-anniversary expanded reissue of Dalton’s 1971 album In My Own Time is set for release on March 25 via Light in the Attic. Listen Olsen’s version of ‘Something on Your Mind’ below.
Ronnie Spector, the 1960s icon who rose to fame as the leader of the girl group the Ronettes, has died at 78. “Our beloved earth angel, Ronnie, peacefully left this world today after a brief battle with cancer,” her family wrote in a statement posted on the singer’s website. “Ronnie lived her life with a twinkle in her eye, a spunky attitude, a wicked sense of humor and a smile on her face. She was filled with love and gratitude.” Read the full statement below.
Born Veronica Greenfield in 1943 in Harlem, Ronnie led The Ronettes, her pop group with older sister Estelle Bennett and cousin Nedra Talley. She was only a teenager when they started releasing music in the early 1960s and would go on to have such hits as ‘Be My Baby’, ‘Baby, I Love You’, ‘The Best Part of Breakin’ Up’, and ‘Walking in the Rain’. Many of the group’s singles were produced by Phil Spector, who began an affair with Ronnie shortly after he signed them in 1963. In 1964, the Ronnettes released their debut album, Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica.
After the group broke up in 1967, Ronnie married Phil Spector, who reportedly kept his then-wife locked in their Beverly Hills mansion. She detailed the abusive relationship in her 1990 memoir Be My Baby: How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts and Madness. “As I said many times while he was alive, he was a brilliant producer, but a lousy husband,” she said shortly after the producer died in 2021. “Unfortunately Phil was not able to live and function outside of the recording studio. Darkness set in, many lives were damaged. I still smile whenever I hear the music we made together, and always will. The music will be forever.”
The Spectors split in 1972, by which time Ronnie Spector had begun pursuing a solo career. Her solo records include 1980’s Siren, 1987’s Unfinished Business, 2006’s The Last of the Rock Stars, and 2016’s English Heart. Although Spector’s solo material did not have much presence on the charts in the ’70s, the influence of her previous work continued to grow, influencing artists such as the Ramones and Amy Whinehouse. In 1986, Ronnie sang the chorus of ‘Be My Baby’ on Eddie Money’s hit ‘Take Me Home Tonight/Be My Baby’. The Ronettes’ original also influenced Billy Joel’s ‘Say Goodbye to Hollywood’, and Spector recorded her own version of the song in 1997 with Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band.
Ronnie Spector was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall Of Fame in 2004. In 2007, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Ronettes.
“Nothing excites me more than just being onstage, having fun and flirting and winking to the guys and stuff like that,” she said in an interview with People in 2017. “I just have so much fun. It’s just the best feeling when I go out and they say, ‘Ladies and gentlemen…’ My heart stops for a minute. ‘…Ronnie Spector and the Ronettes!’ Then I just go out there and the crowd reacts the way they react and I can go on singing forever.”
Family Statement on the Passing of Ronnie Spector:
Our beloved earth angel, Ronnie, peacefully left this world today after a brief battle with cancer. She was with family and in the arms of her husband, Jonathan. Ronnie lived her life with a twinkle in her eye, a spunky attitude, a wicked sense of humor and a smile on her face. She was filled with love and gratitude. Her joyful sound, playful nature and magical presence will live on in all who knew, heard or saw her.
In lieu of flowers, Ronnie requested that donations be made to your local women’s shelter or to the American Indian College Fund. A celebration of Ronnie’s life and music will be announced in the future. The family respectfully asks for privacy at this time.
Midlake have released a new song, ‘Bethel Woods’, taken from their forthcoming LP FOR THE SAKE OF BETHEL WOODS. The single is accompanied by a music video starring Michael Peña. Check out the Brantley Gutierrez-directed clip below.
“’Bethel Woods’ lyrically was born out of a documentary film still of Dave Chandler (Jesse’s Dad) at 16 years old sitting in the massive crowd of Woodstock in 1969,” Midlake frontman Eric Pulido said in a statement. “Dave died a few years ago in tragic circumstances and I was moved to write this song from his point of view with a message of peace in returning to that special place and reuniting with loved ones ‘down the road’.”
Gutierrez added: “When Midlake approached me to direct the video for ‘Bethel Woods’ I knew I wanted to do a take on a ghost story. To play with the idea of returning to a place full of memories. The concept of emotional attachment to the people and the memories in those places, what the confusion might feel like for those who have passed on. Working with the highly talented Michael Peña was an absolute pleasure; he brought something to the character that felt honest and relatable.”
Midlake’s new album, the follow-up to 2013’s Antiphonis, arrives on March 18 via ATO. The band previously shared the lead single ‘Meanwhile…’.
Shamir has released a new song called ‘Reproductive’, the latest offering from his forthcoming album Heterosexuality. The track arrives with an accompanying video directed by Will Schaeffer. Check it out below.
“‘Reproductive’ is a song that holds many meanings,” Shamir explained in a statement. “It’s not as thematically poignant as most of my other songs. It’s a lyrically dense lament that touches on highly personal grievances such as generational curses, karma, and love.”
Heterosexuality is due for release on February 11 via AntiFragile. So far, Shamir has previewed the LP with the songs ‘Gay Agenda’ and ‘Cisgender’, the latter of which made our Best New Songs list.
Christian Lee Huston has shared the details of his new album, Quitters, which will be released on April 1 via ANTI-. The LP was produced by Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst, and its latest single, ‘Rubberneckers’, features backing vocals from Brigders. Check out the song’s Zoe Donahoe and Adam Sputh-directed video below.
“I made the ‘Rubberneckers’ video with my friends Zoe and Adam, who I worked with on the ‘Lose This Number’ video,” Hutson said in a statement. “The last time I danced was at the eighth grade social and it was mainly just swaying to ‘I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing,’ but I wanted to showcase what a natural, gifted dancer I am.”
Of the album, which follows 2020’s Beginners, he added: “When we made Beginners, the aim was to make simple digital recordings of how I would play the songs in the room. With this record, Phoebe and Conor had an idea that it would be fun to make it to tape. Phoebe is my best friend and making Beginners with her was so comfortable and easy. So I wanted to work with her again.”
“I took a long time with Beginners,” Hutson continued. “I had those songs for 10 years, but these songs came out a lot faster. There was a little bit of insecurity with the lyrics. Having Conor there served the purpose of someone who I really respect as a lyricist and could soothe my anxiety.”
1. Strawberry Lemonade
2. Endangered Birds
3. Rubberneckers
4. Sitting Up With A Sick Friend
5. Age Difference
6. Blank Check
7. Cherry
8. State Bird
9. Teddy’s Song
10. Black Cat
11. Creature Feature
12. OCDemon
13. Triple Axel
