By now, you have probably heard Megan Thee Stallion‘s “Savage” more times than you thought could be possible. The track’s chorus has dominated TikTok in both its original form and aTiger King-themed remix about Carole Baskin. Yet through what can only be described as pure witchcraft, Beyoncé‘s new remix makes …
Read More »How a Singing Surgeon Is Raising Funds for COVID-19 Relief
This is the fifth installment of Rolling Stone’sMusic in Crisisseries, which looks at how people all across the music industry are coping with thecoronaviruspandemic. Dr. Elvis Francois was all but destined to do something musical. Just before he was born, his mother had a vivid dream that she was at …
Read More »Before Drake Released 'Toosie Slide,' He Turned to a Few Dancers for Help
The coronavirus pandemic, which has confined much of America to their homes and threatens to cause a worldwide economic catastrophe, almost also robbed humanity of a Drake song. Until three days ago, that is, when four 20-years-olds premiered a new TikTok-ready dance in a sparse living room with a stationary …
Read More »Song You Need to Know: Joe Exotic, 'Here Kitty Kitty'
If you haven’t spent a couple of your quarantined days marathoningTiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, it’s high time you add the Netflix documentary to your list of things to do for another weekend of staying in and flattening the curve. Tiger King dives deep into the world of independently …
Read More »Song You Need to Know: Arlissa, 'Healing'
On “Healing,” a new single from U.K. singer Arlissa, orchestral strings introduce waves of pop production and R&B vocal stylings that crash together, resulting in an invigorating anthem.An unpretentious guitar part adds a human touch, and the programmed snaps feel like fresh rain on dry skin. “I thought I needed …
Read More »Rock Hall 2020: Welcome to the Machines
According to the late rock & roll historian Bon Scott of AC/DC and his barnstorming Old Testament scripture “Let There Be Rock,” the genre was born around 1955, when Pyotr Tchaikovsky said, “Let there be sound … light … drums … guitar,” all leading up to the revelation, “Let there …
Read More »See DJ Lag's Propulsive 'Amanikiniki' Video
At the end of September, an MC grabbed a hold of the microphone at a small but crowded club in Durban, South Africa. “Who knows about ‘Amanikiniki?’” he bellowed. “It’s a hit.” “Amanikiniki” is a hard-charging club single — brute-force bass, sing-song vocals — from the producer DJ Lag, working …
Read More »Ric Ocasek Was a Studio Wizard to the End
Ric Ocasek, the oddball-pop wizard who died on September 15th at age 75, knew how to get the best out of a rock band in the studio. That was true when he was making one timeless radio gem after another with the Cars, and it was true when he gear-shifted …
Read More »Woodstock Remembered: Bob Weir on Why the Fest Mattered to the Grateful Dead
Everybody kept saying it was gonna be huge, but I don’t think anybody really believed that. To the Grateful Dead, it sounded a bit like pressure. You know, “You gotta play well ’cause your career is gonna be made or broken by it.” We also expected a gigantic party, which …
Read More »Woodstock Remembered: Richie Havens on Opening the Fest of 'People Just Being People'
I thought, “Oh, God, they’re going to kill me. I’m not going out there first. What, are you crazy?” It was about 2:30 or 3 p.m. on Friday afternoon, and the concert was already almost three hours late. I was supposed to be fifth on the bill, but the other …
Read More »