Haviah Mighty, the beloved Toronto hip-hop artist, won the prestigious Polaris Music Prize, just over a year ago for her well-received album 13th floor. Now a year later, she published a music video for one of the biggest tracks of the album ‘Bag Up’.
Talking about the song Haviah added: “‘Bag Up’ is the last piece of content from the album,’13th Floor.’ It’s amazing that we’ve had over a year of fun with this project! We collaborated with Rack & Pinion on this visual, depicting a selection of resilient women on different paths, dealing with different life hindrances, but bonding over and connecting with the go-getter energy that lies in all of us. With playful lines like ‘I just wanna get my M’s up … mmm mmm I’m a smartie though” and more personal lines like ‘They wanna gentrify dreads, but I’m the creme de la creme,’ I focus on my specific hustle – being a musician – and how I will remain true to the craft while growing this empire.”
For a band entering the fifth decade of their career, American Head might sound like an obvious attempt at playing it safe. Eschewing the conceptual theatrics of last year’s King’s Mouth and the anti-pop experimentation that characterised much of their output in the 2010s, the Flaming Lips’ sixteenth studio album finds them pivoting back to the familiar mid-tempo balladry and grand orchestral swells that made much of their 90s material so iconic. Drawing shamelessly from the classic psych-rock playbook, they’ve come up with a record that has seemingly little in common with the Lips’ shapeshifting highlights even as it appears to be emulating them.
And yet, American Head is somewhat of a revelation. Frontman Wayne Coyne and company might be touching on the well-trodden themes of death, drugs, and the American dream against a backdrop of predictably beatific, 70s-inspired arrangements, but this grounded approach is a gateway to some of the band’s most personal songwriting to date. On the surface, the album might come off as a purely nostalgic affair as Coyne looks back on the formative years of his life as a kid growing up in Oklahoma, but it’s more of a sobering reflection on the dangers of romanticising a certain kind of lifestyle, and the ways in which that spark of youthful idealism fades with age.
Opener ‘Will You Return/ When You Come Down’ sets the stage by laying out a striking realization: “Now all your friends are dead/ And they’re ghosts floating around your bed,” Coyne sings pensively, accompanied by a chiming instrumental that taps into the haunting qualities of a lullaby. As epic introductions go, it feels like the band is signalling their slow descent back into Earth. Follow-up ‘Watching the Lightbulbs Glow’ channels Pink Floyd’s ‘A Great Gig in the Sky’ but seems to aim for the opposite effect; Kacey Musgraves’ vocals are plaintive rather than ecstatic, floating above the ether like a ghostly reminder of what’s been lost. Musgraves might seem like an unlikely choice for a feature on a Flaming Lips record, but unlike other pop stars who have found themselves into the band’s orbit, her dreamy cadence warmly complements the tenderness in Coyne’s delivery when it comes up on the elegiac ‘Flowers of Neptune 6’ and ‘God and the Policeman’.
American Head’s earthly, naturalistic tones seem to serve as a manifestation of the narrator’s change in perspective, a framing device that warns against the romanticism that governs the lives of the young characters that inhabit the album. The chorus of ‘Dinosaurs on the Mountain’ recaptures the innocence of childhood, but Coyne’s vocals turn into a distant croon as his older self paints a more unsettling picture of a memory that’s now riddled with fear and anxiety. On ‘At the Movies on Quaaludes’, Coyne recalls one experience of getting high as life-threateningly horrifying, even as he recounts it in the present tense: “We’re so high that we/ Forget that we’re alive/ As we destroy our brains/ ‘Til we believe we’re dead.” And on ‘Mother I’ve Taken LSD’, Coyne’s lyricism takes a devastating turn for the confessional: “I thought it would set me free/ But now I think it’s changed me,” he laments, adding, “Now I see the sadness in the world.”
It’s an eye-opening moment, but it’s not the last time that Coyne addresses his mother directly on the album. Where ‘Mother, I’ve Taken LSD’ is sung from the perspective of Coyne’s brother, ‘Mother Please Don’t Be Sad’, a sweeping piano ballad that arrives later in the tracklist, finds him opening up about his own near-death experience, laced with the kind of sentimentality that feels entirely earned and sincere. The song transitions seamlessly into the slow-percolating ‘When We Die When We’re High’, a stand-out instrumental that unfolds like the journey to the afterlife. More than a thin collection of melancholic ballads, there’s a clear narrative progression running throughout American Head, which makes it feel both purposeful and compelling.
The Flaming Lips lay down a ream of great songs on the front half of the album, each of which builds steadily upon the other. But the record falters somewhat towards the back end: ‘You n Me Selling Weed’ should work in theory, but it lacks the nuance to really bring out the more violent undertones of its doomed love story, as other songs on the album do; ‘Assassins of Youth’ is another weak spot that attempts to offer a glimpse of the bigger picture but ends up feeling devoid of any substance. But American Head closes off on a fittingly high note with ‘My Religion is You’, which wonderfully underscores what the album is really about: not death, or God, or magic forests, but giving yourself fully to the ones you love. This, Coyne seems to be saying, is the only kind of devotion that’s really worth it.
Angie McMahon has shared an alternate version of her song ‘Soon’ as well as a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘The River’. Both singles are set to appear on McMahon’s upcoming EP Piano Salt and arrive with accompanying music videos, which you can watch below.
For the ‘Soon’ montage, McMahon compiled footage of her home during lockdown as well as clips from various locations across the U.S., taken when she supported Hozier on their North American tour last year. “We were travelling around America, my sound engineer Jono and I, following the Hozier bus and having our own adventures every day,” she wrote in the video’s description. “I’m so grateful he kept the go pro on for that month, and that the audiences were so warm, and that I have a safe and comfortable home to slow down in now. Thank you to our friend Lewis Parsons who edited all of this together so flawlessly.”
About her decision to cover ‘The River’, she said: “I love the way [Bruce Springsteen] can tell a story as a writer, and I grew up listening to his music. I was going to learn the harmonica for this one, but I ran out of time, so I turned his harmonica solo into a whistle one. Sorry Dad.”
McMahon talked more about the origins of both stripped-backed recordings for an Origins feature at Consequence of Sound. “Like lots of Bruce songs, this is a song about longing and dreaming, and about injustice or being trapped, but there is so much strength and dignity in the voices,” she said of ‘The River’.
Piano Salt comes out on October 2nd. McMahon released her debut studio album, Salt, in July of 2019.
Cardi B has filed for divorce papers from Migos rapper Offset. The paperwork for a dissolution of marriage was filed in Fulton County yesterday (September 15), multiple outlets report, citing “irreconcilable differences”.
The couple had been married since September 2017. They have one child together, a two-year-old daughter named Kulture. In 2018, amidst rumours of Offset’s infidelity, Cardi revealed that the two had split up. “We’re not together anymore. I don’t know, it might take time to get a divorce,” she said at the time. “And I’m always going to have a lot of love for him because he is my daughter’s father.” They later got back together after Offset interrupted Cardi’s set at Rolling Loud with a sign that read “TAKE ME BACK, CARDI.”
Beyond their personal relationship, Cardi B and Offset have also collaborated on multiple songs: ‘Um Yea’, ‘Drip’, ‘Who Want the Smoke?’, and ‘Clout’. ‘Drip’ is taken from Cardi’s sophomore album, Invasion of Privacy, which largely deals with Offset’s rumoured infidelity. “Of course, it’s going to have my Lemonade moments, my personal relationship moments,” she said in a recent interview with ELLE.
A Madonna biopic has officially been announced by Universal Pictures, and it’s going to be directed by the pop icon herself. Madonna is also co-writing the film with Diablo Cody (Juno).
“I want to convey the incredible journey that life has taken me on as an artist, a musician, a dancer — a human being, trying to make her way in this world,” Madonna said in a statement. “The focus of this film will always be music. Music has kept me going and art has kept me alive. There are so many untold and inspiring stories and who better to tell it than me. It’s essential to share the roller coaster ride of my life with my voice and vision.”
The project is being produced by Amy Pascal, who previsouly worked with Madonna on the 1992 film A League of Their Own. “This movie is an absolute labor of love for me,” Pascal said. “I have known Madonna since we made A League of Their Own together, and I can’t imagine anything more thrilling than collaborating with her and Diablo on bringing her true-life story to the big screen with [Universal executive] Donna [Langley] and our partners at Universal.”
Though Madonna will be heavily involved in the making of the film, she won’t be appearing in it, Deadline reports. The lead role has yet to be cast, but Julia Garner, Riley Keough, Haley Bennett, and Florence Pugh have all been rumoured for the part.
The biopic won’t be the artist’s directorial debut, as she previously helmed 2008’s Filth and Wisdom and 2011’s W.E. Her last album, Madame X, came out last year.
slowthai has teamed up James Blake and Mount Kimbie for a new song titled ‘feel away’. It arrives with an accompanying video directed by Oscar Hudson (who previously helmed Radiohead’s ‘Lift’ video) featuring the U.K. rapper giving birth in a maternity ward. Check it out below.
The track was written in Los Angeles alongside James Blake, and produced by Mount Kimbie’s Dom Maker. “This song is about the doubts we have whether it be within friendships, your partner or with our family,” slowthai said in a statement. “It’s about putting yourself in the other person’s shoes so you have a better understanding of the situation.”
Earlier this year, slowthai released the songs ‘MAGIC’, ‘ENEMY’, and ‘BB (BODYBAG)’ and collaborated with Disclosure on ‘My High’. His debut album, Nothing Great About Britain, arrived last year.
Future Islands have shared a new song titled ‘Moonlight’. It’s taken from the band’s upcoming album As Long As You Areand arrives with an accompanying visual directed by Will Mayer and starring Matthew Gray Gubler and Callie Hernandez. Check it out below.
“It’s about recognising the holes in ourselves and recognising the circular whole of others,” frontman Samuel T. Herring said of the track in a statement. “‘Moonlight’ is about acceptance because that’s what love allows us all.”
As Long As You Are comes out October 9 via 4AD. ‘Moonlight’ marks the third single from the album, following the previously released ‘Thrill’ and ‘For Sure’. Future Islands are set to play a special ticketed livestream concert on the album’s release date, featuring “a bespoke one-off light show created by light artist Pierre Claude.” Tickets are on sale now.
Lambchop have announced a new covers album called TRIP. The 6-track LP comes out November 13 via Merge in North America and City Slang worldwide. The group have also unveiled a 13-minute cover of Wilco’s ‘Reservations’. Listen to it below, and scroll down for the album’s cover artwork and tracklist.
According to a press release, each member of the band chose one song to cover for the record. “My idea was to see what might happen if I removed myself from the process as much as possible,” Kurt Wagner said in a statement. “In doing so, what surfaced would be elements that have always been there but maybe got overshadowed by my songwriting and approach.”
‘Reservations’, the closer from Wilco’s classic Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, was drummer Matthew McCaughan’s pick. “I’d like to say that Wilco’s “Reservations” is a song I’ve always wanted to cover,” he said. “But honestly, after a friend had mentioned it in a story, I had to go back and give it another listen. Picking out a cover is stressful for me. It’s kind of a dumb thing to stress about, but so many songs have memories tied to them, and I don’t want to cloud those memories. I usually pick one of those songs that I feel would fit the band, but then I go back and forth, wondering the best way to approach the arrangement. Should we honor the original and try to faithfully re-create all the sounds and performances that make the song special to me, or should we take it apart and start over?”
He continued: “Then, add in the fact that the cover would be recorded and preserved forever. I could not think of one song that I couldn’t make an argument for both approaches, so it always ends in a one-person stalemate. So I decided I would pick a song that, while I love it, and know it, it wasn’t one that had been on repeat for months at some point in my life, nor was it one that is permanently tied to some memory of my own. Instead, I used my family’s and friends’ collections and recollections with and without their permission. That way I’d just ruin it for them. But it’s the thought that counts.”
Lambchop put out their most recent album This (Is what I wanted to tell you) last spring, followed by the Basement Tapes EP in October.
TRIP Cover Artwork:
TRIP Tracklist:
1. Reservations (Wilco cover)
2. Where the Grass Won’t Grow (Earl “Peanutt” Montgomery cover)
3. Shirley (Mirrors cover)
4. Golden Lady (Stevie Wonder cover)
5. Love Is Here and Now You’re Gone (Holland–Dozier–Holland cover)
6. Weather Blues (James McNew cover)
Online slots are probably one of the easiest games to play, if not the easiest. However, there are so many different types to choose from and places where you can play that it might all be just a little too much. If you find yourself in this boat, it’s nothing to lose sleep over. Find below a step by step guide on how to get started and play now with online slots.
Finding the Right Game
While many believe that playing online slots should start with choosing and registering at an online game, this article suggests that you choose a slot first. This might seem like an odd place to start, but it is quite logical. Once you have found the best slot type for you, you can look at the sites that offer more of what you are interested in.
Some of the slot characteristics that could help you determine the best slot game for you include the number of reels, number of paylines, jackpot type and theme. However, the best way to decide which games you prefer is to play a few of each style in demo mode.
Choose an Online Site That Offers What You Are Looking for Along with Great Promotions
Choosing an website is not just about choosing the best welcome bonus. Remember, this is where you will be spending your time and money. At first, try to look past the welcome bonus. This might be difficult but try.
If you have completed the first step, then you will know exactly what you are looking for. Now, what you want to do is make sure that the games you are looking at offers what you are looking for. There might be more than one that offers exactly what you are looking for, or you might see that different games have some of what you are looking for. Ideally, you’d want a games that has everything you need in one place.
If you have many options, to narrow it down you could look at the games offering the best bonuses and welcome packages. However, before signing up based solely on the bonus offer, make sure to read the terms and conditions carefully.
Registering
Only after you know what you prefer and where to find it do you register an account at an online game. This is probably the easiest step in this entire process. The online site will want to be sure that you are over the age of 18. On the first page, you will almost always be asked to provide some basic information like a username, password and an email address. The next page will require personal information to help setup your account. This would include your full names, ID number, gender and date of birth.
Online games will also offer you the option of opting-in to receive updates on any special offers or promotions. However, you are not obligated to opt-in. Then all you must do is click on the Register button and you are set to go.
One thing that has been made very clear about the human race is that as a collective species we just love to compete against each other in a variety of different tournaments and competitions. Just look at the Ancient Greek Olympics, for instance, these games happened over two thousand years ago, and they just prove how much competing has impacted human society.
Nowadays there are all sorts of tournaments across the world, from the big ones such as the Football World Cup every four years, to localised ones such as family bingo tournaments. One thing, however, that doesn’t usually get mentioned in relation to competitions and tournaments is the world of slot gambling, however in the modern day developers such as NetEnt and Microgaming have made sure that these exist too. Read on for the slot game developer tournaments that you should play at www.thorslots.com.
What is a slot game developer tournament?
So then, first things first, what exactly even is a slot game developer tournament. On the face of it you could be fooled into thinking that a slot developer tournament is a competition between slot developers to see who can officially make the best online slot titles, however in actuality slot game developer tournaments are competitions ran by the likes of Microgaming, NetEnt, Big Time Gaming, Play’N GO and various other high profile online slot developers.
These competitions give budding online slot gamblers the chance to prove themselves against other gamblers from around the world, with there usually being a fairly sizeable prize for the eventual victors. Something to remember about slot game developer tournaments too is that they don’t work in the same way as many other competitions, with the overall places being decided by a leader board type system rather than straight knock out rounds. This is purely because it would be very hard to pit two people against each other whilst playing slots.
Some different types of slot game tournaments and their rules
There are various types of slot game developer tournaments around in the 21st century too, read on for three of the most popular examples:
Freeroll Tournaments: You can probably guess what kind of tournament the Freeroll Tournament, as the clue is in the name. These are the least popular tournaments on average, mainly because there is no actual money involved, and competitors are just vying to win things like free spins.
VIP Tournaments: These competitions are reserved for the crème-de-la-crème of the online slot gambling community, and as you might imagine the prizes are astronomical too. In order to enter a VIP Tournament you will need an invitation.
Buy-In Tournaments: A Buy-In Tournament is relatively simple, gamblers have to pay a fee for the buy-in, and then they compete to see who can amass the most money on a specific online slot game in the shortest amount of time.
The best slot game developer tournaments that you should play
The big guns such as NetEnt and Microgaming are often said to have the best slot game developer tournaments.
