“I’m near the bottom/Name the blues, I’ve got ‘em,” the National frontman Matt Berninger sings on the delicately despondent “Oh, Dearie,” from his debut solo LP. It’s a song about being completely asphyxiated by fear and doubt — certainly a message for our times. But don’t call the crisis hotline …

In the heady days after the 2016 election, a pair of political scientists, Valerie Bunce and Mark Beissinger, posed an unsettling question: “How might American democracy end?” Until Donald Trump’s ascent to the White House, such a question felt, well, academic. The United States was the longest-running democracy on Earth; …

A few months ago, a 51-year-old woman from Michigan named Wendy Wein sent an email to a man she believed was named Guido Fanelli, the proprietor of a website called Rent-A-Hitman.com. “Got A Problem That Needs Resolving? With Over 17,985 U.S. Based Field Operatives, We Can Find A Solution Thats …

Former Vampire Weekend member Rostam Batmanglij — who records under the name Rostam — has dropped a new single “Unfold You,” accompanied by a video featuring Hari Nef. Directed by Rostam, the video shows the duo meeting on Dune Shacks Trail in Massachusetts. They sit and stare at each other, …

Mastodon‘s Brann Dailor and Baroness‘ Sebastian Thomson linked up for a Halloween-appropriate quarantine cover of Ozzy Osbourne‘s 1981 track “Over the Mountain.” Dailor — hamming it up for the camera in a long black wig and an “Ozzy for President” T-shirt, flanked by a pair of fake skeletons — sings …

Saturday Night Live opened with a sketch about the vice presidential debate and “the fly” that stole the show, with the cold open also spoofing the 1986 sci-fi film The Fly. Compared to the season premiere’s insane Biden vs. Trump showdown, the debate between Maya Rudolph’s Kamala Harris and Beck …

The intertwined sagas of Joy Division and New Order will be chronicled in the upcoming podcast, Transmissions: The Definitive Story, premiering October 29th. The first run of eight episodes will follow Joy Division through their founding and rise to Ian Curtis’ death by suicide in 1980. It will then tackle …

St. Vincent/Annie Clark has many titles — pro guitarist, film actress, horror movie director — but now she can add “teacher” to the list. This fall, Clark is offering a virtual creativity and songwriting course through MasterClass, a streaming platform for online classes taught by notable instructors. The course is …

Sturgill Simpson recalled his first concert — Van Halen — in an online tribute to Eddie Van Halen, who died Tuesday at 65 after a battle with cancer. “Face melted. Mind blown. Life changed.,” Simpson posted on Instagram, along with a photo of vintage Eddie Van Halen onstage. “Impact is …

The Who have dropped a new remix of “Beads on One String” from the upcoming deluxe edition of their 2019 album, Who, out October 30th. Guitarist Pete Townshend crafted the remix — which was released under his Yaggerdang moniker — with the help of co-producer Myles Clarke. The remix was …