This week, producers Justin and Jeremiah Raisen accused Lizzo of plagiarizing the oft-memed "I just took a DNA test, turns out I'm 100% that bitch" line from her song "Truth Hurts." And now she's just been hit with another accusation of copyright infringement -- for her other big hit. Nineties singer CeCe Peniston has taken to Instagram to allege that Lizzo copied the "ya ya ee" ad-libs on “Juice”...
Some albums are just mysteries. They have their time and place, and yet resist their context. They are slow to unfold and get their due, and yet grow beyond their original confines as a result, spanning generations and building pockets of devotees. Ultimately they become known but still hidden, gems waiting to be unearthed again. These are the terms we usually ascribe to a "cult classic," a masterpiece...
Seemingly every time we at Stereogum publish a retrospective on some classic album, someone responds, "Fuck, I'm old." But the landmark musical releases of your youth turning 10 or 20 years old is only one of many ways you can be alerted to your own aged status. For instance, I have recently discovered that Hulu is releasing a new teen drama series set in 2005, produced by Josh Schwartz, with a soundtrack...
Every autumn here at Stereogum, we look long and hard at the last 12 months and pinpoint which new artists make us excited about the future of music. We then organize those artists into our annual Best New Bands list, celebrating what they've already accomplished and highlighting them as someone to keep an eye on moving forward. This year is no different, and the crop of 2019 musicians is just as inspiring...
Yesterday, the National's Matt Berninger officially released "Walking On A String," his great duet with Phoebe Bridgers from Between Two Ferns: The Movie. Today, he has announced something just as momentous: He's recorded a solo album with none other than Booker T. Jones. As Berninger reveals on Instagram, the album is Serpentine Prison. Jones, the driving force behind legendary Memphis soul combo...
Right now, the entire music industry is trying to figure out how to make money off of TikTok, the mysterious, absurd, popular-among-teenagers Chinese social media app. This past summer, Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road," a song that initially found its audience on TikTok, became a runaway juggernaut of a hit. But the app seems to move faster, in more unpredictable ways, than anyone at the labels can figure...
SuperM are objectively a big deal. The seven-man ensemble brings together members of several prominent K-pop groups: EXO's Baekhyun and Kai, NCT 127's Taeyong and Mark, WayV's Lucas and Ten, and SHINee's Taemin. That makes them a supergroup, and they flexed their commercial superpowers this week by landing their debut EP SuperM: The 1st Mini Album at #1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The 1st Mini...
Two days ago, the Las Vegas music festival Intersect announced additions to its inaugural lineup. One of them was the Black Madonna, a DJ known for her outspoken radical leftist politics. A day after the lineup announcement, the Black Madonna expressed her outrage that Intersect was affiliated with Amazon's cloud and web hosting division Amazon Web Services, a fact she said was hidden from her when...
Emily Yacina’s new song “Gleaming” is an upward rush of momentum. “Meet me here/ I’ll show you/ The same light/ I’m feeling,” she sings, her delivery breathless, words spilling out in an incantatory pulse. The track was originally supposed to be entirely instrumental, and it wasn’t until late in the process of making her new…
The legendary Liz Phair is releasing a memoir today, Horror Stories — you can read an excerpt from it here — and she’s also releasing a brand-new song, her first new track since 2010’s Funstyle, if you don’t count this Christmas original from 2014. “Good Side” finds her reuniting with producer Brad Wood, who she…
I am trying very hard to make this orange look like an orange. But after trying my best to bring my illustration of Adrianne Lenker’s snack to three-dimensional justice, I must concede that I have inadvertently drawn the sort of bowel movement that should make one hurriedly call their doctor.
We’ve Got A File On You features interviews in which artists share the stories behind the extracurricular activities that dot their careers: acting gigs, guest appearances, random internet ephemera, etc.…
The music of Lower Dens has always been dense and to some extent difficult, even when cathartic or hypnotizing. Across their first two albums, 2010’s Twin-Hand Movement and 2012’s Nootropics, the band perfected a kind of shadowy then nervy rock sound — exemplified by the albums’ respective highlights, “I Get Nervous” and “Brains.” Then, on…
Britons have a complex relationship with the Monarchy. Though adored by older generations and millions around the world, the Royal Family are almost exclusively met with scorn and contempt from younger Brits, and especially those who are left-leaning and in the music community. That makes “Magic Of Meghan,” the debut single from southeast London four-piece…
We’ve Got A File On You features interviews in which artists share the stories behind the extracurricular activities that dot their careers: acting gigs, guest appearances, random internet ephemera, etc.…
Of the many reasons artists have missed interviews — schedule conflicts, illness, feigned illness — childbirth is among the most reasonable. The original plan was to Skype with both members of the Oslo duo Konradsen, but vocalist and pianist Jenny Marie Sabel was unavailable due to the strong likelihood of induced labor. Fortunately, multi-instrumentalist Eirik…
Vagabon makes music for outcasts. Laetitia Tamko writes quietly luminous songs that help the listener feel less alone. Her work often meditates on how we find a sense of belonging within a community and what it means to feel truly at home. But it also grapples with what it feels like to be alienated, to…
It’s hard to believe Great Grandpa’s newest album is by, well, Great Grandpa. It’s a drastic musical shift, the kind that has you questioning if you accidentally put on a different band’s record or missed a transitional EP along the way. Four Of Arrows, the Seattle band’s sophomore full-length — due out this October via…
Caroline White has been releasing hushed reveries as Infinity Crush for the better part of the decade. The musician and poet’s songs are consistently revelatory in how much they do with so little. They are suggestive, her words have a precious, unfiltered intimacy. They’re loaded with imagery that takes on a kind of dream logic,…
We’ve Got A File On You features interviews in which artists share the stories behind the extracurricular activities that dot their careers: acting gigs, guest appearances, random internet ephemera, etc.
There are some legacy artists that exist in a funny place. They became famous off a couple hits once upon a time, they…
Over the past year, Jake Ewald’s tastes have evolved, man. The Slaughter Beach, Dog mastermind has found himself drawn towards music with nuance and a little more space to breathe — things the 26-year-old can respect “now that my attention span’s gotten slightly longer.” His newfound appreciation for the slow build shows in the way…
Industry showcases are an odd thing. Some record company gathers together label people, media types and maybe some radio people together in a venue, and gets their artist to play their latest stuff live. Hopefully, you’ll buzz about it. I once had a job where it was all but mandated I attend these things, and…
“Pitchfork Condé Nast Music Festival!” JPEGMAFIA exclaimed. “Look at it. And they’re letting me up here with a live microphone. Mistake.”
