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Music Review: PUP’s pop-punk ‘Who Will Look After The Dogs?’ is unapologetically imperfect
For those unfamiliar with Toronto-based punk rock band PUP, the name is an acronym for “pathetic use of potential,” lead singer Stefan Babcock has said. That should give listeners an idea of the snarky rejection of perfectionism at the core…
Music Review: Blondshell alt-rock finds new nuance on ‘If You Asked for a Picture’
Sabrina Teitelbaum, who records under the band name Blondshell, is a longtime student of alt-rock. She knows a thing or two about all the ways in which a cutting lyric and thunderous guitar can rejuvenate the soul and soundtrack rage. On…
Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Bad Company, Cyndi Lauper and Outkast get into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
First-time nominees Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker and Bad Company will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. They're in a class that also includes pop star Cyndi Lauper, the hip-hop pioneers Outkast, the rock duo The White Stripes…
Student gospel singers take stage at New Orleans festival known for celebrity acts
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival each spring is known for hosting some of the world's most famous jazz, funk and rock acts. Yet it's also become a showcase for lesser-known talent: local schoolchildren.
Gospel…
Jensen McRae makes authentic folk-pop the internet can’t resist
California-raised singer-songwriter Jensen McRae makes folk-pop the internet adores. Her second studio album, “I Don’t Know How, But They Found Me!", is out Friday. In an interview, McRae tells The Associated Press the narrative around the…
A Mexican musician uses a contentious genre to sing of women imprisoned for killing their abusers
A Mexican music icon is using a typically male genre to sing of women imprisoned for killing their abusers while defending themselves and to highlight the more complicated aspects of gender-based violence. Singer Vivir Quintana has spent…
Coco Jones is fearless on debut album ‘Why Not More?’
NEW YORK (AP) — What music would you create if there weren’t any outside influences or self-imposed creative restraints? That’s what singer-actor Coco Jones contemplated.
“What would I do if I didn’t have any fear of comparing myself to…
Natalia Lafourcade’s alter ego takes center stage in ‘Cancionera’
LOS ANGELES (AP) — When Natalia Lafourcade sat down to craft “Cancionera,” she never expected to discover an alter ego that would lead her down a pathway of artistic enlightenment.
She had always worn her heart on her sleeve through her…
The Rolling Stones in French, Lucinda Williams and more pay tribute to Zydeco legend Clifton Chenier
NEW YORK (AP) — The Rolling Stones'Mick Jagger sings in swaggering French. Louisiana native Lucinda Williams delivers a slow, slinky, swamp pop sound. Steve Earle, Taj Mahal, Jimmie Vaughan, Charley Crockett and more energize Creole…
11 notable songs about the Vietnam War
War, like love, has long inspired artists and musicians. That is especially true of the songs written in response to the Vietnam War during the countercultural movements of the 1960s and ’70s. The songs released in that time — and in the…
Music Review: Willie Nelson is ageless singing Rodney Crowell songs on ‘Oh What A Beautiful World’
It’s fun to hear Willie Nelson sing such words as “ninja,” “fishmonger” and “absinthe,” which are among the many pleasures found in the songbook of influential country songwriter Rodney Crowell.
“Oh What A Beautiful World” is Nelson’s…
Keri Hilson’s ‘We Need to Talk’ marks her return to music after a 15-year absence
NEW YORK (AP) — The last time Keri Hilson put out an album, Barack Obama was in the second year of his first term as U.S. president, the iPad was released and Instagram was brand new.
“On some days, I’m like that was just a blink away. But…
Katy Perry gears up for sci-fi inspired world tour
Katy Perry has been busy. In the past year, she's released an album, campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris and flew to space. As she heads to Mexico City to kick off a world tour on Wednesday, the pop superstar has no intention of…
Davido’s ‘5ive’ welcomes the Afrobeats megastar into an era of change and growth
NEW YORK (AP) — Afrobeats may be the hot sound of the moment, but Davido remembers a very recent past when music from Africa wasn’t embraced globally, amid a perception the continent was one of only destitute poverty and primitive lands.
“I…
Movie Review: Michael B. Jordan has double duty in Ryan Coogler’s pulsating, vein-bursting ‘Sinners’
It’s gotta be something in the water. How else to explain the plethora of A-list twins on Hollywood screens lately?
In the last few months alone, we’ve had Robert Pattinson, Theo James and the great Robert De Niro playing opposite each…
