Singers laugh for various reasons, not all of them sincere. Take, for instance, the laugh that closes out Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi”—a giggle some people find so fake, they made their own fan edits just to cut it out. There is intentional laughter, layered in to create a wild, maniacal atmosphere (“Thriller,” “T…
In addition to highly anticipated releases from Courtney Barnett, Tee Grizzley, and The Body, May holds some of our early favorites for 2018: Jon Hopkins’ follow-up to 2013 breakthrough Immunity, DJ Koze’s extremely fun Knock Knock, Beach House’s enigmatic seventh record, and Parquet Courts’ most politically direct…
Welcome back to AVC Sessions, our series where we bring in an artist, band, musician, singer, rapper, etc. to perform three of their tracks. This week, we’re sharing songs Scottish indie-rock band Frightened Rabbit. Earlier this year, the five-piece embarked on The Midnight Organ Fight 10th Anniversary Tour in…
1. Beyoncé, “Irreplaceable”
2. Rihanna, “Umbrella (feat. Jay Z)”
3. Gwen Stefani (feat. Akon), “The Sweet Escape”
4. Fergie, “Big Girls Don’t Cry”
5. T-Pain, “Buy U A Drank (Shawty Snappin’)”
6. Carrie Underwood, “Before He Cheats”
7. Plain White T’s, “Hey There Delilah”
8. Akon (feat. Snoop Dogg), “I Wanna Love You”
9. Nelly…
Janelle Monáe has devoted years to developing the saga of Cindi Mayweather, a renegade android hunted for having the gall to fall in love with a human. The meticulously crafted character is at the center of much of the Grammy nominee’s work, including the funk-opera Metropolis, and her subsequent full-length releases, …
Welcome back to AVC Sessions, our series where we bring in an artist, band, musician, singer, rapper, etc. to perform three of their tracks. This week, New Jersey trio Screaming Females join us in the studio to perform a few songs from their latest release, the stellar All At Once. For the final song from their…
Grouper’s Grid Of Points finds the artist at her most vulnerable, while Dr. Dog loses momentum on Critical Equation, and Okkervil River’s In The Rainbow Rain is pretty but a little schmaltzy. These, plus Speedy Ortiz in this week’s notable new releases.
Listen to these songs and more on The A.V. Club’s Spotify playlist, updated weekly with what we’re listening to.
I wrote up two news posts this Monday about Kanye West. The first detailed his five albums in five weeks release strategy, which he announced in a string of tweets that also proclaimed his support of the right-wing pundit Candace Owens. On the second news post, written a few hours later, I threw my hands up, because…
Welcome back to AVC Sessions, our series where we bring in an artist, band, musician, singer, rapper, etc. to perform three of their tracks. This week, New Jersey trio Screaming Females join us in the studio to play a few songs from their latest release, the stellar All At Once. Next up, the band performs “Agnes…
When A.V. Club Executive Editor Laura M. Browning recently polled one of our company Slack channels looking for heavy workout music by women, I sent her Princess Nokia’s “Kitana,” a song that makes me feel invincible enough to walk down the street overturning cars and knocking down lampposts despite my 5’ 2” frame.…
Punk bands love to cover pop songs. If there’s a universal thread running through the genre from practically the moment of its birth to the present, it’s the continual appropriating of sugary-sweet Top 40 hits with the avowed goal of speeding them up and adding distorted guitars. Whether you’re talking about Sid…
A Perfect Circle’s belated Eat The Elephant is more whimper than bang, while the Melvins’ acid-drenched Pinkus Abortion Technician doubles the bass, and Exitmusic dissolves with the exhausting but honest The Recognitions. These, plus Sting & Shaggy and Alexis Taylor in this week’s notable new releases.
Listen to these songs and more on The A.V. Club’s Spotify playlist, updated weekly with what we’re listening to.
“A Stroke Of Genie-us” was built out of CD-Rs: 30 seconds of Albert Hammond Jr.’s guitar, stamped on the end with that indelible, coltish riff sliding down Fabrizio Moretti’s drums, under an a cappella take of Christina Aguilera’s “Genie In A Bottle” that producer Roy Kerr was thrilled to exhume on the prehistoric…
I’m going to level with you, stranger on the internet, because you deserve that much: I turn 40 this summer. I lead a sedentary professional life that revolves around the never-ending search for the perfect lumbar pillow. I am the father of twins on the verge of 3 years old, and thus I haven’t had a good night’s sleep…
Manic Street Preachers live up to lofty pop touchstones on Resistance Is Futile, while Pinned doesn’t quite pack the punch of prior A Place To Bury Strangers releases. These, plus Rival Consoles and the debut solo album of Spinal Tap bassist Derek Smalls in this week’s notable new releases.
What Are You Listening To? is a weekly rundown of what The A.V. Club staff has in rotation. Listen to these songs and more on our Spotify playlist, updated weekly.
Permanent Records is an ongoing closer look at the records that matter most.
Part of the fun of “Bodak Yellow,” Cardi B’s earth-conquering 2017 hit, was the way it captured that rare moment when you can hear someone make a quantum leap forward on record. Cardi B had released two mixtapes already, proving she was an inspired rapper with preternatural, outsize charisma, but it wasn’t until that…
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