Music

Los Angeles’ premier punk band, X, are surprise-releasing Alphabetland, their first new album in 27 years, today via Bandcamp. Although the group issued their last LP, Hey Zeus!, in 1993, the recording marks the first new music by the ensemble’s original members since 1985’s Ain’t Love Grand! “When your heart …

On April 23, 1985, a billion-dollar beverage company felt the heel of a boot descending on its windpipe. Coca-Cola’s rival, Pepsi, was everything the late 19th-century drink was not — smooth, new, and sweet enough to quench the carbonated corn syrup-addled taste buds of the Reagan era. Instead of riding …

John Legend and Sam Smith remotely duetted on Ben E. King‘s classic “Stand By Me” for Global Citizen’sOne World: Together at Home special to raise money for COVID-19 relief. The eight-hour concert helped raise $127 million to help the World Health Organization’s efforts to fight the pandemic around the globe. …

Former Journey frontman Steve Perry has posted a stunning a cappella rendition of the 1963 Beach Boys classic “In My Room.” “When I was a teenager, isolating in my room, this song gave me comfort,” he wrote in an attached note. “Stay safe.” Perry emerged from a long hiatus in …

Alicia Keys’ new book, More Myself, isn’t your typical celebrity autobiography. Keys charts her path from growing up in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen to winning 15 Grammys (and hosting the show twice), but she also calls in famous friends for help: Bono, Oprah, Jay-Z, and husband Swizz Beats each open …

Following the group’s remote rendition of “24 Frames” last weekend, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit have released a performance of “Something More Than Free.” The song served as the title track of Isbell’s 2015 album, billed — like its predecessor, Southeastern — as a solo release. Isbell is joined …

Norah Jones has shared “How I Weep,” the second single and opening track from her upcoming LP Pick Me Up Off the Floor. The simmering track sees Jones feeling a full-body mourning for something she’s lost: “Inside I will weep/For a loss that’s so deep/That it hardens and turns into …

Ed O’Brien has shared his tender new song “Cloak of the Night,” an acoustic duet with Laura Marling and the latest offering from the Radiohead guitarist’s upcoming debut solo album Earth. “Hello good people … here is ‘Cloak of the Night’.. it features one of my favourite and one of …

“Yenimno” is a raucous blast of energy from Onipa’s recently released debut album, We No Be Machine. The guitar is a marvel here, generating restless, romping momentum in cascades of sing-song lines, and all four group members contribute to a stirring chorus. Onipa is a relatively new outfit formed by …

Sheryl Crow has released a cover of Bill Withers’ “Lonely Town, Lonely Street” in his honor, following the news of his death last week. The track, recorded prior to the coronavirus quarantine, features vocals from Citizen Cope and production by Steve Jordan. “I love Bill Withers. His passing last week …