Gwendolyn “Blondy” Chisolm, a member of the extremely early all-female rap trio the Sequence, has passed away. Billboard reports that Chisolm died in Atlanta on Monday after a brief illness. She was 66. Her death follows that of Angie Stone, the former Sequence member who rapped as Angie B long before becoming a star in the late-’90s neo-soul wave, and …

UK legends Johnny Marr and the Pet Shop Boys go way, way back together. According to a 2009 Guardian story, Marr met the Pet Shop Boys by chance in a Los Angeles hotel elevator in 1987, just after he left the Smiths, and he told them how much he liked their song “Hit Music.” PSB singer Neil Tennant appeared on …

Jejune: A great band, and one who — up until recently — you had to scour niche corners of the internet to listen to. The great archival record label Numero Group, however, has been reissuing the San Diego-via-Boston emo band’s catalog, culminating into one big box set called Wait A Lifetime that arrives this June. They’ll also be playing some …

When someone can absolutely hold your attention without necessarily doing much of anything, that person is a star. It’s the difference between an actor and a movie star, two overlapping but distinct skill-sets, and it also applies to music. By that measure, Mitski is a total star. Her stage performances are often elaborate and fascinatingly designed, but she doesn’t need …

Friko’s new album has a train song. It has a bicycle song. It even has a hot air balloon song. When the young Chicago combo said transit was a major theme of new album Something Worth Waiting For, they weren’t kidding. The post Friko Are Emphatically Getting There appeared first on Stereogum.

It must be so cool to be Robert Plant. You’ve got forever-legend status, and you can just continue to do whatever you want. If you want to spend more than a decade exploring ancestral folk music, sure, go ahead. If you want to bust out the occasional Led Zeppelin classic, that’s even better. People will be incredibly psyched to see …

Aldous Harding introduced her new album Train On The Island with “One Stop,” a tremendous folk-pop track that includes the lyric “I met the real John Cale.” I thought Harding also said “I met Jenny from the block,” but I was wrong. It’s actually “Imagining from the block.” Bummer. Great song, though, and only mildly… The post Aldous Harding – …

This past weekend, the “Pound Town” superstar proved that her heart is just as big as her hustle. Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum rapper and St. Louis native Sexyy Red returned to her… The post Sexyy Red Launches ‘Giving Is Sexyy’ Non-Profit with St. Louis Easter Giveback appeared first on .

Tori Amos puts on a famously intense live show, and she’s got a deep catalog of songs to play. Next month, Amos will release her new album In Times Of Dragons. On Wednesday night, she started a tour of the UK, where she lives now and where she’s always been hugely popular, with a show at Sheffield City Hall. There, …

Taylor Momsen has some weird luck. Two years ago, the former Gossip Girl star was on tour with her band the Pretty Reckless, opening for AC/DC in Seville, Spain. While she was performing, a bat flew up and bit her on the leg. After a stagehand pulled the animal off, Momsen told the crowd, “Well, that hasn’t happened before. I’m …