Music

Mastodon has released a new song called “Sickle and Peace,” a track from the band’s upcoming album, Hushed and Grim.

The six-minute tune is a slow burner, starting with a ghostly children’s chorus as it builds to an epic guitar solo at the end. You can listen to it now via digital outlets.

“Sickle and Peace” is the third song to be released from Hushed and Grim, following the singles “Pushing the Tides” and “Teardrinker.” The whole album will arrive October 29.

Mastodon will embark on a U.S. tour in support of Hushed and Grim November 16 in Asheville, North Carolina.

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After being convicted on nine criminal counts by a federal jury in New York City, including racketeering, sex trafficking and the sexual exploitation of a child, R. Kelly will go on trial again — this time in Chicago, to face additional charges.

The 54-year-old singer is set to go to court August 1, 2022 in a federal case that includes child pornography, obstruction of justice and sexual abuse charges, according to ABC Chicago affiliate WLS-TV.

Kelly appeared virtually in court Wednesday morning with lawyer Steve Greenberg, who will represent him in the Chicago case. Greenberg revealed that his client was briefly under suicide watch following last month’s conviction.

Kelly will be sentenced on May 4, 2022 for his New York City conviction. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, but could receive up to life in prison.

The three-time Grammy winner is also facing four separate indictments alleging sexual abuse in state court in Chicago, and a child prostitution charge in Minnesota.

As previously reported, two weeks ago, R. Kelly’s two YouTube channels were deactivated. “Egregious actions committed by R. Kelly warrant penalties beyond standard enforcement measures due to a potential to cause widespread harm,” YouTube’s head of legal, Nicole Alston, wrote in a memo, according to Bloomberg.com.

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In addition to prepping his upcoming solo album The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows, Damon Albarn has also started working on new Gorillaz music.

As Albarn tells Rolling Stone, he recently recorded a new song with hit-making Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, which he describes as the “seed for the next Gorillaz album.”

“I put my seed in the ground and I’ll see what kind of beanstalk grows from it this time,” Albarn says, adding that he hopes the upcoming record will feel like Gorillaz’ self-titled 2001 debut in spirit.

“I think I’m always in some ways trying to work like that since it was so unpretentious, so in the moment,” he explains. “That was its charm. I’m trying to not be so conscious about making music.”

One thing Albarn is conscious of is that his other band, Blur, hasn’t been all that active in recent years, which he says is partly by design.

“I don’t think you can overdo those sort of things,” Albarn says. “They are so imbued with what you were like when you were younger. There has to be a real buildup of feelings and reasons to do something. It’s important stuff and it shouldn’t be squandered.”

As for future live Blur shows, Albarn’s certainly open to the idea.

“I’m not sure about touring touring,” he says. “But I hate to think I’d never sing those songs again with those guys.”

Meanwhile, The Nearer the Fountain, Albarn’s second solo effort, arrives November 12.

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Lana Del Rey has premiered the video for “Blue Banisters,” the title track off her upcoming new album.

The clip reflects the melancholy mood of the tune by recreating images from its lyrics, including Del Rey riding a John Deere tractor, baking a birthday cake, and, of course, painting her banisters blue.

You can watch the “Blue Banisters” video streaming now on YouTube.

The album Blue Banisters, which also features the previously released songs “Text Book,” “Arcadia” and “Wildflower Wildfire,” is due out October 22. It’s Del Rey’s second record this year, following March’s Chemtrails Over the Country Club.

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Luke Bryan may be a massively successful country star these days, but early on in his career, both he and his wife Caroline made plenty of sacrifices so that he could chase his dream.

Specifically, Caroline says in a new appearance on the Uncut with Jay Cutler podcast, she gave up the comforts of sleeping in a bed. During one early tour, the singer’s wife came up with a particularly creative sleeping situation — with the couple’s then-newborn baby, Bo, in tow.

“When Luke was starting out, you know, you’re on one bus. And Bo Bryan was six, seven weeks old,” Caroline remembers. “We would tour with Luke, because he wanted us there. We would sleep on suitcases in the back of the bus.”

At the time, she says, she put Luke in a bunk so that he could be rested for his shows.

“And me and Bo would make a pallet with suitcases. Seriously. And there’s where I slept with an infant. And I’d get up and I’d make bottles in the night,” she continues. “Looking back now, I’m like, ‘How the hell did I do that?’”

Much has changed since then for the country superstar family. Not only is Luke a massively successful country artist, but the couple also recently starred in a series of Jockey commercials. More recently, Luke’s gearing up for the next season of American Idol, where he’ll return as a judge.

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Miley Cyrus’ cover of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” actually mattered quite a lot to her.  

In a new piece for Interview magazine, the singer tells Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich that she appreciated being able to sing the song — which appeared on this year’s Metallica Blacklist tribute album — in her true voice.

“My whole life, whether in vocal training or just continuing to hone my craft, it’s always been about, ‘Why do you sound like a man? Where’s your f****** falsetto, b****? Why can’t you sing the high octave of “Party in the U.S.A.” anymore?’” Miley says.

“In this song, I get to sing in that low register, and I get to live in that authentic, genuine sound,” she adds.

Miley points out that her voice is how she expresses herself and she’s not about to sing in a way that is “false” just to fit a mold.

“I was honored by the fact that I didn’t have to sing this song in the way that females are ‘supposed’ to sing.” she says. “You can hear that at the end of the song, when I take the gloves off and just start flying. That part of the song really grabs people. It’s that lower register of my voice. So I’m grateful to have a song where I can lean into that.”

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(NOTE LANGUAGE) Metallica and Miley Cyrus are taking their collaboration from the studio to the page.

Drummer Lars Ulrich and the “Wrecking Ball” star have interviewed each other for a piece in Interview magazine. In the conversation, Cyrus shares what originally inspired her to cover Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters,” which she performed at Glastonbury in 2019 ahead of recording it for this year’s Metallica Blacklist tribute album.

“When I think about the sentiment behind ‘Nothing Else Matters,’ it aligns completely with my morals and my values,” Cyrus explains. “When I listened to ‘Nothing Else Matters,’ and I knew that I was confirmed for Glastonbury — I actually have chills talking about this — it was the only song that I could imagine playing.”

Cyrus’ experience of recording “Nothing Else Matters” for the Blacklist album, though, felt like the “polar opposite” of playing it at Glastonbury.

“I recorded it at home, in the middle of a f***ing global pandemic, because I couldn’t leave my house,” she says. “It was no less poignant than playing it at Glastonbury — if anything, it was more powerful. The lyrics truly f***ing resonated.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Cyrus speaks on her sound becoming more rock-driven. In addition to covering songs including Temple of the Dog‘s “Say Hello 2 Heaven” and The Cranberries‘ “Zombie,” her new album Paper Hearts features Stevie Nicks, Billy Idol and Joan Jett. Her live band also includes Jane’s Addiction bassist Chris Chaney.

“I love having these authentic, real rock dudes in my band,” Cyrus says. “We even revisit songs that I wrote before I was able to make this huge sonic pivot in my career, before I discovered rock and roll. Now, we cover my own songs. We take my original songs, and turn them on their head, and make them kick a**.”

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