NEWS ROUNDUP: The Politicization of Music, RHCP, & Radiohead

bey

  • Beyonce & the Politicization of Music

    Though Beyonce’s Lemonade contains unlimited potential for trivial gossip (Who is Becky?), the visual album is way deeper than that, as explained in The Rolling Stone here. Music has gotten a little more political lately, with artists canceling shows in anti-LGBTQ states or performing in support of political candidates (well, mostly Bernie Sanders), but when Beyonce weighs in, you know we’ve reached the peak of the politicization of music.

    [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]

  • Red Hot Chili Peppers Accused of Sexual Harassment

    Julie Farman, who worked at Epic Records in the 90’s, wrote a blog post detailing a “fucked up” experience she had during a meeting with members of the band. Farman wrote she was inspired to speak up after Amber Coffman broke her silence about Heathcliff Berru earlier this year, and blamed “the misogynistic culture of the music industry that kept [/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][her] from speaking up in 1991.”

  • Watch White Lung’s Video For “Below”

    The band plays in a dark theater, their only audience a handful of Marilyn Monroe impersonators who are brought to tears by the performance. “Below” is from White Lung’s upcoming album Paradise, out on May 6.

  • Levitation Festival Is Cancelled

    Artists including Animal Collective, Courtney Barnett, Ty Segall, Ween and many more were scheduled to play the festival, which was cancelled due to dangerous weather in Texas.

  • A New Radiohead Album Might Be In The Works

    The band is promoting it in kind of a creepy way: sending fans in the UK leaflets that say “We know where you live” and referencing the early 2000’s song “Burn The Witch.” It’s the latest sign that a new album is coming, after they announced a world tour and registered the companies Dawn Chorus LLP and Dawnnchoruss Ltd. When it comes out, it’ll be the band’s first new album since 2011’s The King Of Limbs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uejn1f6pqMQ

  • Blink-182 Are Back?

    The pop punk group replaced Tom Delonge with Matt Skiba from Alkaline Trio and released the first song from their upcoming album. California will be out July 1st, but “Bored To Death” was just presented to the internet in the worst way possible: a lyric video. Seriously, why do bands use these things? Anyway, here it is:

[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

PLAYLIST: A Playlist to Celebrate “Riot Grrrl Day”

 Bikini Kill photo

April is known for rain, taxes, rabbits, and silly pranks, but now the month has a new, much cooler holiday: Boston’s mayor, Marty Walsh, has designated April 9th “Riot Grrrl Day” in honor of Kathleen Hanna, the front woman of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre. Born in Portland, Hanna’s interest in feminism came at an early age. After dabbling in spoken word performance, she realized that her message would be louder if it was delivered in music.

How can you celebrate “Riot Grrrl Day”? Start by listening to this playlist of badass female-fronted acts.

1. Sleater-Kinney “Bury Our Friends”

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]

After a long hiatus, Carrie Brownstein, Janet Weiss, and Corin Tucker reunited Sleater-Kinney with the album Bury Our Friends. Check out the title track above: “Exhume our idols and bury our friends/ We’re wild and weary but we won’t give in.”

2. Speedy Ortiz “Raising The Skate”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyCF9r9NdMo

Speedy Ortiz is fronted by vocalist/guitarist Sadie Dupuis, who created the witty, anxious “snack rock” that rocked SXSW this year.

3. Screaming Females “Hopeless”

New Jersey’s Screaming Females is actually just one female. She may not exactly scream, but guitarist/singer Marissa Paternoster has earned the description by belting rock vocals that defy her size.

4. Bikini Kill “Rebel Girl”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzMGqVh8G20

Of course, we couldn’t make this playlist without including the person who inspired the holiday: Kathleen Hanna, the original rebel girl.

5. Le Tigre “TKO”

Hanna’s next project, Le Tigre, is more polished, but just as fierce:“I’ll say my piece and when it’s over you’ll be on your knees,” she sings, while rocking a suit in the video for “TKO.”

6. White Lung “Down It Goes”

These Canadian punks are led by singer Mish Way, who is also known for writing edgy articles and putting douchey audience members in their place. 

7. Perfect Pussy “Work”

Meredith Graves is the woman behind the heavy-hitting, possibly-unsafe-to-google punk band, Perfect Pussy.

8. Waxahatchee “Under A Rock”

Waxahatchee is named after a creek in Katie Crutchfield’s hometown in Birmingham, Alabama. Now living in Brooklyn, the singer-songwriter just released her third album, Ivy Trip.

9. Tacocat “You Never Came Back”

Tacocat is here to prove that cat ladies can be cool, too. The Washington State surf-pop group plays upbeat songs that address feminism, as well as topics related to cats and everyday life.

10. She Keeps Bees “Saturn Return”

The husband and wife duo has a name that almost seems like a warning- as in, “watch out for that chick; she keeps bees.” Their sound is a slow, bluesy creep that builds and sneaks up on you.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]