Friday Music News

01/27/2017

Janice Headley

Earlier this month, we mentioned local ladies Sleater-Kinney were on the eve of releasing their first-ever live album, and today, you can stream the whole thing. Live in Paris was recorded at La Cigale back in March 20th, 2015, and features a strong discography-covering set list. Sub Pop will release a physical edition on January 27th. [ Spin ]

Following a fantastic live performance at last month's SMooCH benefit show, The New Pornographers have announced a new album on the way, titled Whiteout Conditions. Stream the first single "High Ticket Attractions" below, via an interactive video from director Chris Shier. In a press release, frontman Carl Newman says, "On other records it felt like sometimes it was very clear: oh, this is a fast one with me singing, and then the next would be a slow song with Neko [Case] singing. And I've always liked that in a White Album kind of way, being a band that just does whatever the hell they want from track to track. 'Let's try to give it a sound and see how focused we can make it.' And on this record, I think we went a lot farther down that road." [ Under the Radar ]

Just last week, Arcade Fire shared the new track "I Give You Power," a collaboration with soul legend and civil rights activist Mavis Staples. Today, they share two additional versions of it, a "Broken Speaker Mix" and an instrumental version. On the air with Apple Music's Zane Lowe, frontman Win Butler said, "It’s easy to get sucked into sitting on the couch and checking your news feed and watching things on CNN and we’re just musicians and the only thing we have to offer is our music. I talked to Mavis last night and she said now more than ever we just need to hold onto each other for us it’s a feeling of solidarity — to not feel powerless and focus on what we can do as individuals and try to do our part." Listen below. All proceeds from the single benefit the ACLU. [ Consequence of Sound ]

Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy continues to stretch his thespian talents -- first, on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and next on Portlandia. Watch him in this faux commercial for a lawyer who specializes in suing musicians. ("He should win a Grammy for Suing!") [ Stereogum ]

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