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Chemical Brothers, Lorde, and Miguel team up for new 'Hunger Games' track

By Ariana Bacle on Oct 20, 2014 at 9:24PM

Lorde has been busy curating the soundtrack for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1, which now includes a Chemical Brothers song titled “This is Not a Game” featuring Miguel and Lorde herself.

“This is Not a Game” is a ready-for-radio pop track, complete with Lorde’s dark vocals interrupting every so often to proclaim, “There it is,” and a moment of calm during the bridge that’s quickly ruined by frantic synths. The track first premiere on Zane Lowe’s BBC 1 Radio Show and is available to listen at Billboard. READ FULL STORY

Here is Taylor Swift's 'Welcome to New York'

By Esther Zuckerman on Oct 20, 2014 at 5:23PM

Image Credit: Samir Hussein/Getty Images

So much for waiting until midnight: the new track off Taylor Swift’s 1989 has emerged early. Hence, “Welcome to New York,” Taylor Swift style. READ FULL STORY

Hear Chvrches' 'Get Away,' from the new 'Drive' soundtrack

By Ariana Bacle on Oct 20, 2014 at 4:25PM

Image Credit: Richard Foreman Jr

Drive‘s soundtrack was already great enough with its synth-heavy tracks and ethereal vocals, but now it’s getting a makeover: With the help of musicians like Banks and Bastille, BBC Radio 1’s Zane Lowe is rescoring the 2011 Ryan Gosling film.

Most of the tracks will be made specifically for the project by artists including Jon Hopkins, FOALS, Laura Mvula, and the 1975. Though the entire soundtrack will premiere on BBC Three Oct. 30, Chvrches debuted their contribution a bit early: Monday, the Scottish trio released “Get Away,” a pulsing pop song that would fit right in on their 2013 album, The Bones of What You Believe.

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'Guardians of the Galaxy' soundtrack to be released on cassette tapes

By Ariana Bacle on Oct 20, 2014 at 3:21PM

Star-Lord takes his Awesome Mix Vol. 1 tape with him everywhere in Guardians of the Galaxy—and soon, you’ll be able to as well.

The film’s ’70s-tastic soundtrack is already out on CD and vinyl, but will be available on cassette tape beginning Nov. 17, according to Billboard. READ FULL STORY

DMA's give the Britpop revival a boost with 'Laced'

By Miles Raymer on Oct 20, 2014 at 2:46PM

It’s been 19 years since Oasis released (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, so it’s about time for Britpop to have another day in the sun.

There’s already been a marked increase recently in bands sonically referencing Britain’s crunchy but unabashedly poppy response to the relatively dour American alt-rock movement, and a few, like Newtown, Australia’s DMA’s, who seem to consider it a primary musical touchstone. The handful of home-recorded songs they’ve released so far have not just the slurry, ragged lead vocals of classic Oasis, but that band’s buoyant sense of melody as well.

Their latest, “Laced,” combines that with some of The Verve’s stoned ambience and Britpop godfathers XTC’s fizzy bubblegum edge. “Laced” and “So We Know” be released as a single in November, available digitally via Mermaid Avenue in the U.S.

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Ta-ku puts a dreamy spin on Young & Sick's 'Heartache Fetish'

By Miles Raymer on Oct 20, 2014 at 2:37PM

Young & Sick is the brainchild of Dutch artist Nick Van Hofwegen, a multimedia project that encompasses not only his visual art (which has graced the covers of records by Maroon 5, Robin Thicke, and Foster the People, among others) but also the music he produces under the same alias.

Back in the spring, he released a track called “Heartache Fetish” that doses ’90s bump-and-grind R&B with the same heady surrealism that infuses his artwork and has become one of his most popular songs.

Now he’s recruited Australian electronic artist Ta-ku, who previously turned Chet Faker’s “Talk Is Cheap” into a syrupy sonic puddle, for a remix that injects the song with bits of cloud rap and two-step and transforms it into a mellower but substantially stranger listening experience.

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Dillon Francis, DJ and 'normal hipster dude from L.A.,' talks about his new record

By Madison Vain on Oct 20, 2014 at 2:22PM

Los Angeles-based DJ Dillon Francis is about to release his first album, Money Sucks, Friends Rule. Out on Columbia Records Oct. 27, MSFR is not your typical EDM collection. Over the course of 12 tracks, he offers smatterings of pop, traditional club dance tracks, a few surprisingly downtempo tunes and, of course, some of his signature moombahton. The collaborators, understandably then, are equally cross-genre—the album shares credits with Twista, Mad Decent labelmates DJ Snake and Major Lazer, Panic! at the Disco’s Brendon Urie, Martin Garrix, Simon Lord, and others.

Non-album track “When We Were Young (Grandtheft Remix),” which EW is premiering exclusively, is a slowed down, synth-pop take on the original’s classic house-anthem vibe. Stream it below and read on, as EW talked to Francis about putting together an album, planning his first tour (kicking off mid-November), and how he’s still just a normal 27-year-old dude.

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Thrash lords Oozing Wound share a headbangingly good playlist

By Miles Raymer on Oct 20, 2014 at 2:01PM

Image Credit: Sarah Cass

Oozing Wound is three guys from Chicago who, as you might be able to guess by the name, play thrash metal.

The beloved hybrid of punk and metal’s been having a pretty substantial revival over the past few years, driven by bands who play up the genre’s association with the kind of cheap-beer-chugging, boneheaded party animals who more serious metal acts have left behind in their quest for artistic seriousness. The Wound, however, takes things in a vastly different direction on their new Earth Suck (out Tuesday on Thrill Jockey), keeping thrash’s headbanging energy and shred-tastic guitar licks while adding bits of sonic weirdness that reflect the trio’s long-running association with the noisy experimental underground.

Their EW playlist is accordingly idiosyncratic, running a gamut from Michael Jackson to obscure vintage synth-punk.

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San Francisco radio stations ban Lorde's 'Royals' for World Series

By Ariana Bacle on Oct 20, 2014 at 12:10PM

Image Credit: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

San Franciscans won’t be jamming along to Lorde’s “Royals” on the way to the World Series for a short while, as some local radio stations have banned the song for the time being.

The ban isn’t directly caused by Lorde herself, but rather by the song’s title and its inspiration: Lorde once saw a photo of Kansas City Royals’ player George Brett and was struck by the team’s name, so she decided to name a song after it. But now, the Royals are facing the San Francisco Giants in the World Series, meaning it’s no time for Giants fans to be humming along.

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'Sister Morphine' to 'Mother Wolf': 10 essential songs by Marianne Faithfull

By Jason Heller on Oct 20, 2014 at 12:00PM

Image Credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Marianne Faithfull’s legend is long and daunting, but it all boils down to her voice. In the ’60s, still a teenager and freshly discovered by infamousRolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham, Faithfull sang like a nightingale. Her relationship with Mick Jagger soured, and her troubles began; after years of drug abuse, she emerged in the ’70s with a voice that was smoky, cracked, and worn beyond its years. Rather than fading into history, she used her shattered, husky croon to make music that wasn’t the sweet folk of her youth. Instead, her songs became deeper, darker, and more emotionally wary.

Her 1979 album Broken English marked one of the most remarkable comebacks in pop, leading to numerous collaborations with everyone from Roger Waters and Lou Reed to PJ Harvey and Nick Cave. Throughout them all, her singing became ever more nuanced and powerful—a disability turned into a symbol of pride and survival. With this year marking the 50th anniversary of her recording career as well as the arrival of her 20th studio album, Give My Love to London on November 11, here are 10 songs that sum up what Faithfull’s legend—and her voice—are all about. READ FULL STORY

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