Public Enemy Drop New Video for ‘Fight the Power 2020’ (Watch)

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAlt-rock veterans the Smashing have announced a new double album, “Cyr,” is dropping on November 27.The 20-track album was recorded in the band’s home base of Chicago with frontman and chief songwriter Billy Corgan producing.The group has also created a new five-part animated series called “In Ashes,” the first two episodes of which will including music from the album and will premiere on September 25 — watch the trailer below.“ ‘Cyr’ is dystopic folly,” Corgan has

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorOn Tuesday, October 13, legendary jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders will perform at a special concert livestreamed from Zebulon in Los Angeles to celebrate his 80th birthday. Called “Another Trip Around the Sun,” the concert will see Sanders joined by Azar Lawrence on sax, John Beasley on keyboards, Tony Austin on drums and Sekou Bunch on bass.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAfter a pandemic-induced delay and several production shutdowns and rescheduling, singer-songwriter and “Power” star Rotimi presents his official video for “In My Bed,” featuring Wale. The clip is steamy but reps assure that safety protocols for talent and crew were strictly followed.“This record has been a blessing for me and I felt like the fans deserved a classic visual to tell the story,” Rotimi says.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBonnaroo has unveiled details for “Virtual Roo-Ality,” a free three-night live broadcast airing exclusively via YouTube. The livestreaming event will celebrate the annual festival with a range of programming, spanning new live performances, original content, and archival sets captured at Bonnaroo’s home at Great Stage Park in Manchester, TN.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorNew York City venue (Le) Poisson Rouge is launching LPR.tv, a subscription-based service through which they will livestream concerts held in their downtown venue (without an audience) in high-definition video with full production and soundboard audio.The venue has booked an impressive array of indie-leaning artists for LPR.tv’s inaugural lineup, including Cults, Kimbra, Sunflower Bean, !!! (Chk Chk Chk), San Fermin,  Kevin Devine, Son Little, Laraaji, Too Many

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn celebration of her career-spanning new album, “An Evening of New York Songs and Stories,” Suzanne Vega will play two globally livestreamed concerts from New York City’s iconic Blue Note Jazz Club in Greenwich Village. The first will go live on October 7 at 9 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time for North American fans and the second will go live on October 8 at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, to accommodate U.K.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBruce Springsteen has dropped a new song and video called “Letter to You,” the first track from his new album of the same name, which is arriving on Oct. 23.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorTriller, the music-video creation app, has named a dozen top female music industry executives to a new advisory board.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLiz Phair, whose widely influential 1990s albums have been enjoying a revival in recent years, has signed a new deal with the relaunched Chrysalis Records and will release her first album in a decade next year, the company announced Wednesday.Phair’s albums, particularly her 1993 debut “Exile in Guyville” and the follow-up “Whip-Smart,” have influenced two generations of young female singer-songwriters.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSinger-songwriter-actress-activist Janelle Monáe has released “Turntables,” her first new song since her Grammy nominated 2018 album “Dirty Computer.” The song was written for and featured in the upcoming Amazon Studios documentary, “All In: The Fight for Democracy,” premiering in select theatres nationwide on Wednesday (September 9) and then streaming exclusively via Amazon Prime Video starting Friday, September 18.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorUnless you’ve been in the right place in Los Angeles at the right time over the past several years, Fiona Apple performances have been as rare as Bigfoot sightings.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn a Wednesday filing in Los Angeles Superior Court, Britney Spears’ attorney filed a motion opposing a request by her father, Jamie Spears — who is also her conservator — to to keep her conservatorship case sealed.“Far from being a conspiracy theory or a ‘joke’ as James reportedly told the media, in large part this scrutiny is a reasonable and even predictable result of James’ aggressive use of the sealing procedure over the years to minimize the amount of

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAs part of a long retrospective era that’s included a documentary, a speaking tour and more, the Beastie Boys will release a 20-song compilation on Oct.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn the wake of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police in May, an organization formed by music industry execs Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang under the name #TheShowMustBePaused began with a call for a single day shutdown soon grew into a movement that called for change across the entire industry.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorDavid Byrne has issued an apology for impersonating people of color, including wearing brownface and blackface, in a 1984 promotional video for the Talking Heads’ iconic concert film “Stop Making Sense.” In the clip, which was intended to be humorous, Byrne interviews himself in a split-screen scene, portraying multiple different reporters.Byrne addressed the matter in a series of tweets on Tuesday.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFive agents formerly with Paradigm have launched a new agency called TBA that represents The War on Drugs, Courtney Barnett, Chvrches, Jose Gonzales, Guided by Voices, Jay Som, Yaeji, Omar Apollo and many other artists.The company, which has offices in New York and Los Angeles, was founded by agents Marshall Betts, Avery McTaggart, Amy Davidman, Ryan Craven, and Devin Landau.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorEven in a pandemic, the VMAs found a way to start off their show with a bang: The Weeknd performed his smash single “Blinding Lights” 1,100 feet above New York, from the city’s highest observation deck, Edge at Hudson Yards.Weeknd was in the guise of the busted-nose character he portrays on his latest album, “After Hours,” and the performance began in a way similar to the album’s videos, which depict the character having a surreal and absolutely terrible night in

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorK-pop titans Blackpink are joined by Selena Gomez for a new song and video called “Ice Cream,” the second single from the quartet’s debut album, set for release via YG Entertainment/Interscope Records on October 2.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorPublic Enemy, the legendary rap group that helped shape socially conscious hip-hop into what it is today, have returned to Def Jam Recordings, the label that hosted their most iconic recordings.The reunion launches with a remix of the group’s classic 1989 song “Fight the Power (Remix 2020),” which opened the 2020 BET Awards in June featuring Nas, Rapsody, Black Thought, YG, Jahi and Questlove. The song, originally featured in Spike Lee’s film “Do the Right Thing,”

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorStaging an awards show in a pandemic is a steep challenge, but for the VMAs on Sunday night, MTV and Toyota will present Latinx music stars Maluma and CNCO performing at a special drive-in location, where fans can enjoy the performances in a safe and controlled environment at an undisclosed iconic location overlooking the New York skyline.The performances will both be debuts: Colombian singer — and recent Variety cover star — Maluma will perform “Hawaii,” from his