In The Number Ones, I'm reviewing every single #1 single in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, starting with the chart's beginning, in 1958, and working my way up into the present. *** Al Green - "Let's Stay Together" HIT #1: February 12, 1972 STAYED AT #1: 1 week When Al Green recorded "Let's Stay Together" -- arguably his masterpiece, definitely his sole #1 hit, generally one of the greatest soul...
Fall came and went without Chromatics' Dear Tommy -- I guess Johnny Jewel changed his mind again -- but we did get a couple of few new tracks from the Los Angeles group in 2018, including "Black Walls," "Blue Girl," and "House Of Dolls." Today, the band is releasing a new song, "Time Rider," and announcing a North American tour. Logic dictates that means Dear Tommy must be around the corner, but I'm...
Last week, in a New York Times report, a number of prominent women, including Phoebe Bridgers and Mandy Moore, came forward to speak about Ryan Adams' pattern of sexual abuse, misconduct, and coercion. (Through his lawyer, Adams denied that he'd done anything legally wrong.) Since then, the FBI has opened an inquiry into Adams, looking into the Times' story about Adams sexting with a minor, and Adams'...
The first revolutionary shot fired from the '90s rock underground in the UK was explosive enough to dispatch a home stereo. The story goes that when Graham Sutton, guitarist/vocalist for Bark Psychosis, first played for Vinita Joshi (then co-owner of Cheree Records) a tape of the two songs that would be his band's first official single, it was a memorable unveiling. As writer Jack Chuter recounts in...
Chicago label Bloodshot Records has issued a statement in response to sexual harassment allegations made by Lydia Loveless. Loveless, who signed with Bloodshot when she was 19, says that she was repeatedly harassed by Mark Panick, the domestic partner of label co-owner Nan Warshaw. A statement from Bloodshot's other co-owner Rob Wilson states that while he "disagrees with certain characterizations...
Phoebe Bridgers has shared a statement about the sexual misconduct allegations against Ryan Adams. "Thank you from my whole fucking heart to my friends, my bands, my mom. They all supported and validated me. They told me that what had happened was fucked up and wrong, and that I was right to feel weird about it," she wrote in an Instagram post yesterday. "Ryan had a network too. Friends, bands, people...
The 24K Magic hit "Finesse" really came alive with the Cardi B-assisted remix last year. The two pop stars had to cancel their tour together last Fall because of Cardi's pregnancy, but tonight, they meet again on a new track, "Please Me." Last year, Cardi released Invasion Of Privacy, one of the best albums of 2018. She followed up with the single "Money." Mars' 24K Magic came out back in 2016. Cardi...
Indie had a big year in 2009. As the first decade of the century drew to a close, there was a slew of major releases from the genre's dominant, or very-soon-to-be-dominant, names. The year kicked off with Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion, still regarded as their masterpiece and a pivotal indie release overall. Soon, Dirty Projectors' Bitte Orca and St. Vincent's Actor and the Yeah Yeah...
Mercury Rev had a pretty good 2018, mostly because they had a great 1998. Though the band hadn’t released any music in a couple of years, in 2018 they became the beneficiaries of a free promotional campaign, thanks to the 20-year nostalgia cycle that inevitably spawns think pieces and retrospective listicles. And no…
When Noah Lennox began writing his new solo album, Buoys, he started with just a guitar. Though previous Panda Bear albums have emerged this way, they’ve resulted in increasingly widescreen visions such as 2011’s Tomboy and the euphoric glow of 2015’s Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper. But Buoys feels different because its skeletal framework…
Playing minimal metal at maximum volume, sound wave masseurs Sunn O))) are now entering their 21st year as the ne plus ultra of suffocating drone. Still searching for the most accurate representation of their famed, body-vibrating live performances, their upcoming eighth album — Life Metal, due in April — was recorded to tape with famed…
Jon Simmons admits he’s trying to be more direct in 2019, but it doesn’t come naturally. The Balance And Composure frontman carefully admits to the one criticism he’s taken to heart over the years — that his lyrics can run a bit vague compared to the stylish, slegdehammer alt-rock of his band.
Decidedly, Cherry Glazerr’s Clementine Creevy and I are not tea connoisseurs. But on a peculiarly warm day in January, we’re learning a lot about the aromatic beverage.
Kim Gordon has long been one of our most intimidating rock stars. From her work with the legendary Sonic Youth to her side gig Free Kitten and current project Body/Head, she’s always been able to wield harsh noise, anti-patriarchal vitriol, and rock star cool with ease. But even though she can summon the feedback to…
There’s been something happening in Dublin. Across 2014 and 2015, a group called Girl Band started to generate international buzz thanks to their idiosyncratic blend of noise-rock, post-punk, and techno-inspired rhythms. Here was a new sound, one nobody associated with a specific generation or scene in Ireland. Girl Band then went silent for several years,…
We’ve Got A File On You is a new reboot of an old-school Stereogum franchise. Once called Annotated Media Guide, these are interviews in which artists share the stories behind the extracurricular activities that dot their careers: acting gigs, guest appearances, random internet ephemera, etc.
Almost 10 years ago, Sharon Van Etten released…
For someone who can be so verbose, Bradford Cox is the first person to admit he doesn’t have all the answers — at this point, he’s not even pretending to.
Chris Simpson doesn’t think he’s ever met a casual Mineral fan, but the potential for millions of them briefly existed in the minds of people like Sylvia Rhone, Jimmy Iovine, and Clive Davis. Even your parents can probably name the careers shepherded by these legendary A&Rs: Santana, Bruce Springsteen, 2Pac, Eminem, Billy Joel, Aerosmith, Metallica,…
Sasami Ashworth is determined to make it. In a sense, she already has. She’s scored short films and commercials, taught in an elementary school, and collaborated in the studio with artists like Vagabon, Hand Habits, and Wild Nothing. And for two-and-a-half years she was a member of Cherry Glazerr, playing the synths that leveled out…
Tracking Down is a Stereogum franchise in which we talk to artists who have been out of the spotlight for a minute.…
Wayne Coyne is always busy. Whether working on official albums or a smattering of side projects, the Flaming Lips — the band he’s now been a part of for 35 years — never seem to stop moving. “With us, it’s always like five things at one time,” he says from his home in Oklahoma City,…
Phoebe Bridgers won a lot of people over quickly. Amidst releasing her debut Stranger In The Alps last year, she immediately made her presence known: A gifted singer-songwriter often diving into confessional, melancholic depths while maintaining a sometimes-dry, sometimes-quirky sense of humor online and elsewhere. She was gifted, and she was interesting. We wound up…
Right now, it certainly seems as if Open Mike Eagle can’t be stopped. Since he got started in earnest at the beginning of this decade, he’s never really taken a break from releasing projects in various forms. His run of albums and EPs since 2014, in particular, has shown the arc of an artist getting…
