Music

The Strokes performed a new song at their New Year’s Eve show in Brooklyn Tuesday night. It’s called “Ode to the Mets,” according to Spin. Watch it happen below. In the clip, Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas tells the crowd that after the band took off the 2010s, “We’ve been unfrozen, and we’re back.” In May,

Post Malone, BTS, and more performed in New York City tonight (December 31) during Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest, moments before the ball dropped in Times Square. Post played “Circles” and “Congratulations,” and BTS performed “Make It Right” and “Boy with Luv.” Check out some clips below. This year’s festivities marked

Justin Bieber has announced a new docuseries, Seasons, coming to YouTube. It premieres on January 27, with new episodes arriving on Mondays and Wednesdays. Watch a trailer for the series below. Bieber has a new song, “Yummy,” that’s out this Friday. Last week, Bieber announced an extensive spring-summer tour of the United States with a

Neil Innes, the comic songwriter who co-founded the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band in the 1960s before embarking on a celebrated career of musical satire, died Sunday night (December 29), the BBC reports. He was 75. A spokesperson for the Innes family told the BBC he had not been ill and his death was unexpected. Born

Former President Barack Obama has shared his 2019 “Songs of the Year” playlist. This year’s edition includes tracks from Big Thief, Frank Ocean, Rosalía, Solange, the National, Beyoncé, Lizzo, DaBaby, and more. Check out the whole playlist below. Obama’s playlist includes some of the biggest pop hits of the year (Lil Nas X and Billy

Vaughan Oliver, the graphic designer whose artwork was synonymous with 4AD and its corner of alternative rock, died peacefully this afternoon (December 29) at the age of 62. Representatives for 4AD and the publisher Unit Editions confirmed the news to Pitchfork. After studying in Newcastle, Oliver moved to London in the 1970s to work in

EMI has reopened its back-and-forth legal dispute with Kanye West, according to TMZ. The move is coming in under the wire: though the suits seemed to be settled in September, a federal judge had ruled that either party could re-open the case before Friday, December 27. According to TMZ, EMI’s lawyers wrote “unfortunately the parties

Spotify will suspend all political ads in 2020, citing a need for tighter vetting tools and systems, Ad Age and Variety report. The announcement comes amid ongoing criticism of online platforms whose ad standards lag behind other media, allowing misleading or malicious content to reach voters. In a statement to Variety and Ad Age, Spotify

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross will rejoin forces with The Social Network director David Fincher to score new movie Mank, Revolver reports. The film, ostensibly a biopic of Citizen Kane screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, stars Gary Oldman in the title role and The Souvenir’s Tom Burke as Orson Welles. Honoring the 1940s mis-en-scene, Reznor and

Sleepy LaBeef, a beloved rockabilly veteran active since the 1950s, died yesterday (December 26) at the age of 84, Rolling Stone reports. “He died at home, in his own bed, surrounded by his family who loved him, and whom he dearly loved,” his family said in a Facebook post. “He lived a full and vibrant

The internet radio and streaming platform 8tracks is shutting down. According to founder David Porter, the site’s last day online is December 31. In a blog post about the decision, Porter explained that the company could no longer afford to cover royalty payments through its free, ad-supported service or a subscription model. Porter said that

Dave Riley, former bassist in Big Black with Steve Albini and Santiago Durango, died on Tuesday, Rolling Stone reports. He was 59 years old. Riley had been battling throat cancer, his friend and housemate Rachel Brown said in a Facebook note breaking the news. Find Brown’s full post below. After leaving Savage Beliefs to join

Travis Scott has released a new album, a compilation titled JACKBOYS. Take a listen to the album in full below. JACKBOYS is Scott’s first studio album on his Cactus Jack label. He teased the project online earlier this fall, but has since deleted his tweet about it. It features contributions from Sheck Wes, Don Toliver,

Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig was the latest guest on the Song Exploder podcast. He joined host Hrishikesh Hirway to discuss Father of the Bride track “Harmony Hall” and its years-long incubation process. After sharing an embryonic voice note recorded in 2011, he walks through a series of takes recorded over the years, incorporating baroque and classic

Kanye West’s Sunday Service Choir has released a new album called Jesus Is Born. Merry Christmas. West executive produced JIB, which follows Ye’s last album Jesus Is King. That LP was finally released in October following a few delays. Listen to Jesus Is Born below. In addition to the faith-based new albums, Kanye has been

Tyler, the Creator has shared a note on Instagram reflecting on his 2009 mixtape Bastard, which arrived on Christmas day that year. “Christmas 2009 I released my first album Bastard on zshare to 46 people,” Tyler wrote in the post. “I had ideas, an unmeasurable amount of energy and wanted to piss off/get a reaction

Today, Drake posted a video of his lengthy interview on Elliott Wilson and Brian “B.Dot” Miller’s Rap Radar podcast, conducted at Drake’s home. Drake discussed his origin story as an artist, including the impact of his early music, meeting Lil Wayne, and more. Watch the full interview, which clocks in at over two hours, below.

Frank Ocean’s “blonded RADIO” is back with a special new Christmas Eve installment. It features a mix of Christmas music (including Mariah Carey) and non-Christmas songs by Solange, Octo Octa, and more. Listen to it live here on Beats 1. blonded Xmas: Mariah Carey: Miss You Most (At Christmas Time)Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: ElectricityOcto

Last night (December 23), DaBaby was cited for misdemeanor marijuana possession and resisting, obstructing, and delaying arrest after performing at Charlotte’s Bojangles’ Coliseum, TMZ and WSOC-TV report. According to a statement from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, officers approached DaBaby after his show because they said “they smelled a strong order of marijuana coming from [his]

Burna Boy has shared a new single, “Money Play.” The song arrives after African Giant’s recent Grammy nomination for Best World Music Album. Check out the track below. He describes the single in a press release: “I’m highlighting the importance of moving with the ‘cheese’ at all times. ‘No dey carry money play’ is a

Tyler, the Creator has surprised fans today with two new singles, “Best Interest” and “Group B.” The first track arrives with a video of Tyler riding in a boat. Listen to both songs below. Tyler describes “Best Interest” as “a rough draft that did not make IGOR” at the beginning of the song’s visual, which

It’s Christmas Eve, and Drake just dropped a video for a new song called “War.” Watch the Theo Skudra-directed clip below. Drake has stayed busy in 2019. This year, he released his odds-and-ends compilation, Care Package, and appeared on another new track called “Won’t Be Late” with Swae Lee. When the Toronto Raptors won the

Bad Bunny has shared a brand new music video for his X 100PRE track “¿Quién Tu Eres?.” The Western-inspired visual features bikers, a flamethrower, and former pro wrestler “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Watch Steve save Bad Bunny from a brawl in the clip below. X 100PRE came out at the tail end of 2018. Earlier

Ariana Grande has released a new live album from her 2019 Sweetener world tour. It’s called k bye for now (swt live)—give it a listen below. Grande announced the record earlier this month. The tour behind Sweetener, released in summer 2018, ended up spanning the campaign behind thank u, next, which arrived five months later.

Kehlani has teamed up with fellow Oakland native Keyshia Cole for a brand new song. It’s called “All Me,” and you can hear it below. Kehlani released her While We Wait mixtape earlier this year, which followed her 2017 LP SweetSexySavage. Last month, Kehlani hopped on Teyana Taylor’s latest track “Morning.” That single arrived with

There’s a new children’s show on the streaming service Apple TV+ called Helpsters, which stars a team of Muppet-like problem-solving monsters. The show featured an appearance from the National frontman Matt Berninger, who does a song about long words. In a surprise twist, he raps his entire performance. Watch it happen below. Berninger recently performed