Music

A new compilation from the NOW That’s What I Call Music! folks focusing specifically on classic songs from the 1980s will be released on August 6.

NOW That’s What I Call a Decade 1980s is an 18-track collection that will be available everywhere on CD and digital formats, and as a vinyl LP sold exclusively via Walmart.com and at Walmart stores.

The album features classic rock hits including Foreigner‘s “I Want to Know What Love Is,” Journey‘s “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart),” John Mellencamp‘s “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. (A Salute to 60’s Rock),” The Clash‘s “Rock the Casbah,” and Billy Idol‘s “Rebel Yell.”

The compilation also features hits from George Michael, Eurythmics, Simple Minds, Duran Duran, Survivor, Rick Springfield, Wang Chung, A-ha, INXS, The Bangles, Hall & Oates and Toto.

NOW That’s What I Call a Decade 1980s can be pre-ordered now.

Here’s the complete track list:

George Michael — “Monkey” (7″ Edit Remastered)
Eurythmics — “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” (Remastered)
Simple Minds — “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” (12″ Version)
John Mellencamp — “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. (A Salute to 60’s Rock)”
The Clash — “Rock the Casbah” (Bob Clearmountain Mix)
Duran Duran — “Rio”
Tears for Fears — “Shout”
Survivor — “Eye of the Tiger”
Rick Springfield — “Jessie’s Girl”
Wang Chung — “Everybody Have Fun Tonight”
A-ha — “Take On Me”
Billy Idol — “Rebel Yell”
INXS — “Need You Tonight”
The Bangles — “Walk Like an Egyptian”
Daryl Hall & John Oates — “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)”
Toto — “Africa”
Foreigner — “I Want to Know What Love Is”
Journey — “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)”

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Childish Gambino lent his soulful vocals to a cover of Brittany Howard‘s Grammy-winning rock hit, “Stay High.”

The singer and actor, born Donald Glover, renounced his familiar falsetto on the synth-driven track over guitar strings and electronic drums. The original “Stay High” sat atop Billboard’s Adult Alternative Songs chart for three weeks and secured Alabama Shakes’ frontwoman a Grammy for Best Rock Song in March. 

Gambino’s version will appear on Brittany Howard’s forthcoming project, Jaime Reimagined, which includes fresh covers and remixes of the original songs from her 2019 solo album Jaime. It was named after Howard’s older sister, who taught her how to play the piano and write poetry and died of cancer as a teenager.

Fans who pre-order the digital edition of Jaime Reimagined will receive Childish Gambino’s version of “Stay High,” along with reimagined tracks from Dreamville duo EARTHGANG, Common, 9th Wonder, Syd, and more.

Jaime Reimagined drops on July 23, followed by a vinyl edition arriving later this fall. 

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Lil Nas X is giving everyone fair warning this time: his next video is not for kids.

The singer, who’s gearing up to release his new single, “Industry Baby,” warned parents on Twitter Tuesday: “Saying this in advance so y’all won’t blame me. THE INDUSTRY BABY VIDEO IS NOT FOR YOUR KIDS!”

Lil Nas’ debut song, “Old Town Road,” was a hit with kids and adults alike, so some parents were shocked when the singer later released his decidedly more adult video for the sexually charged song “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name).”

He previously hit back at critics on Twitter, writing, “i made the decision to create the music video. i am an adult. i am not gonna spend my entire career trying to cater to your children. that is your job.”

“Industry Baby” is set to drop Friday. Lil Nas teased the Kanye West-produced track Monday with a video spoofing the Nike lawsuit over his Satan Shoes.

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California rockers Thrice will release a new album called Horizons/East on September 17. The first single from the project, “Scavengers,” is out now.

Singer Dustin Kensrue says the song is about “toxic worldviews I once inhabited,” and he admits, “a lot of people that I love are still in that place.”   In the track, Kensrue appears to be trying to rescue those people, singing, “I will find you in the black light/Of that cold dry land/never mind who held you last night/Come and take my hand.”

As for the album, Horizons/East is described as “a soundtrack for deeper dreaming,” with a theme of “interrelatedness.” The songs, meanwhile, speak to “the fragile and awkward arrangements that pass for civilization, while inviting us to dwell more knowingly within our own lives.”

Horizons/East is a followup to Thrice’s 2018 album, Palms.

Thrice will launch a tour September 24 in Houston, TX which is currently scheduled to wrap October 30 in Anaheim, CA.  Visit Thrice.net for the full itinerary.

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Miranda Lambert is bringing her MuttNation Foundation into the digital space. 

The “Bluebird” singer is partnering with Auras Studios to create an interactive online experience for people trying to adopt a pet through MuttNation.

The London-based music technology company has developed a special Instagram filter that shows two dogs sitting side by side in front of a digital 3D model of an animal shelter. Users will have the ability to virtually adopt a dog by touching the screen, which then transforms the scene into the user’s new pet living in their home.

“Here’s a way to spread awareness about shelter pet adoption. Use our new MuttNation Instagram filter on your story! I want every dog to find a home, especially ones that have a harder time of getting adopted, like Pit Bulls and senior dogs,” Miranda describes in a sample video on Twitter. “Thanks for helping spread awareness for pups that are easy to love, but have a hard time finding homes!”

The superstar founded MuttNation in 2009 with her mother, Bev Lambert, with the goal of advancing pet adoptions from shelters, providing support to shelters during natural disasters and more.

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An archival film focusing on the performances that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band gave at the historic 1979 “No Nukes” concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City will be released later this year, the popular Springsteen fan site Backstreets.com reports.

According to the website, Sony Music announced Tuesday that restored footage of Springsteen and his group’s performances at the shows, which took place on September 21 and 22, 1979, are being edited together by frequent Bruce collaborator Thom Zimny to create a full-length concert flick called The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts.

The audio of the shows also has been remixed and remastered.

The “No Nukes” shows, also known as the MUSE Concerts, were a star-studded series of performances that ran from September 19 through September 23 at Madison Square Garden. They were organized to advocate against the use of nuclear energy by Musicians United for Safe Energy, or MUSE, an activist organization co-founded by Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Bonnie Raitt, ex-Orleans member John Hall and others.

Besides Springsteen and the E Street Band, performers included The Doobie Brothers, Browne, Raitt, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Crosby, Stills & Nash.

A 1980 documentary about the shows only featured a few of the songs that The Boss and his group played, as did the triple-LP soundtrack released in 1980.

An official press release about The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts film is expected to arrive in September.

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Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys recently celebrated their 11th wedding anniversary with an elaborate “72-hour date night.”

The singer shared a “photo dump” from their vacation on Instagram Monday, which included a helicopter ride and a nightcap featuring a starter kit from Key’s skincare line, Soulcare. Other photos find Keys and Swizz enjoying food by the water and lounging on a couch. 

According to her husband’s Instagram, the photos were taken in the French territory of Corsica, where the couple tied the knot in 2010.

“72 hr date trip dump Zaaaaa. Celebrating our 11th anniversary month all month. Them Deans,” Swizz wrote in the caption. “The fact we haven’t been back to the house in Corsica we got married at 11 [years] ago until now is crazy! Time goes by fast make every moment count.”

Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys tied the knot on July 31, 2010, and welcomed their son, Egypt, later that year, in October. They had their second son together, Genesis, in November 2014. Beatz has three children from other relationships.

 

 

 

 

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As Metallica gears up to celebrate its 40th anniversary, a new book will examine the impact the band and its music have had on our culture.

Metallica: The $24.95 Book, written by Ben Apatoff after years of exhaustive research, features chapters dedicated to each band member and each album. It’ll also cover touring, fashion, books, film, influences, fandom, history and more.

“I wanted it to be more than a fact book, and not just something people could look up on the Internet,” says Apatoff.

The book covers Metallica through 2021, and is the first one written with access to the band’s box set materials. Unpublished photos, new transcriptions of video interviews and magazine quotes that were previously unavailable online round out the tome.

The book’s foreword was written by Laina Dawes, the author of the 2013 memoir What Are You Doing Here? A Black Woman’s Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal.

Metallica: The $24.95 Book will be released in August, but you can pre-order it now.  We’re sure you can figure out how much it costs.

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After landing his first platinum-certified album, Pray 4 Love, rapper Rod Wave has now earned a spot on Billboard’s Money Makers list of the highest-paid music artists in the U.S in 2020, placing 25th.

Throughout the year, most artists hosted virtual performances due to COVID-19, which drastically diminished or elimnated touring revenue. However, the Florida native managed to close out last year with $7.37 million in earnings.

Rod Wave reportedly made $1.3 million from publishing and $66,400 in royalties, which came entirely from digital downloads. Yet he made his biggest earnings from streaming services, in the amount of $6 million. His music videos account for close to 20% of his 4.1 billion combined streaming plays.

Pray 4 Love debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart in April 2020, with singles such as “Girl of My Dreams” and “Rags2Riches” landing on the Hot 100.

Rod Wave is among the many hip-hop artists who dominated last year and earned a spot on Billboard’sranking of the highest-paid musicians of 2020, including Travis Scott, DaBaby, Kanye West, Roddy Ricch, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, and Lil Uzi Vert. Out of 40 artists, Taylor Swift returned to the number-one spot on the 2020 list, earning $23.8 million — which is $75.8 million less than what she made in 2018, the last time she appeared on the list.

“The Bigger Picture” rapper Lil Baby came in at number ten, earning $11.7 million behind heavyweights such as Drake, who earned $14.2 million, putting him in sixth place.

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