Earlier this week, Sheryl Crow joined forces with St. Vincent for “Wouldn’t Want To Be Like You”. As it turns out, it’s just one of several exciting collaborations destined for what Crow says will be her final full-length studio album.
“How would I follow that up with an album?” Crow remarks.
“Albums as an art form are a little bit of a dying art form. People are more interested in singles,” she continues, adding that “I’ve made the decision in my head that the record that comes out next year will be my last full album. I’ll just start putting songs out… to put out really pertinent songs that feel immediate.”
Elsewhere in her conversation with Meredith, Crow discusses how her unexpected collaboration with St. Vincent came about, plus she reflects on the anniversaries of her seminal albums including 2008’s Detours, 1998’s The Globe Sessions, and 1993’s Tuesday Night Music Club. Listen to the full interview below.
In the weeks since ABC canceled Roseanne in the wake of the show’s creator and star, Roseanne Barr, making another in a long line of racist tweets, the studio has been scrambling to find a way to salvage its number one program. There was talk of the show finding a home on Bond, a streaming TV startup founded by Trump’s former campaign aide Michael Caputo, or a reboot centered on Sara Gilbert‘s Darlene. However, it’s now been confirmed that a spin-off entitled The Conners has been given a straight-to-series order from ABC.
The show is the result of negotiations that stripped Barr of any and all creative or financial input while she retained the rights to the title character, Roseanne Conner, and any future spin-offs or reboots. “I regret the circumstances that have caused me to be removed from Roseanne,” Barr said in a statement. “I agreed to the settlement in order that 200 jobs of beloved cast and crew could be saved, and I wish the best for everyone involved.”
To that point, Roseanne stars Gilbert (Darlene), John Goodman (Dan), Laurie Metcalf (Jackie), Lecy Goranson (Becky), and Michael Fishman (D.J.) will all return for the new series. Also back will be much of the creative team behind the 2018 Roseanne revival, including showrunner Bruce Helford, Gilbert, Dave Caplan, Bruce Rasmussen and Tony Hernandez. “We have received a tremendous amount of support from fans of our show, and it’s clear that these characters not only have a place in our hearts, but in the hearts and homes of our audience,” the actors said in a joint statement. “We all came back last season because we wanted to tell stories about the challenges facing a working-class family today. We are so happy to have the opportunity to return with the cast and crew to continue to share those stories through love and laughter.”
Making no reference as to exactly how Roseanne will be written out of the show, ABC’s official logline for The Conners reads,
“After a sudden turn of events, the Conners are forced to face the daily struggles of life in Lanford in a way they never have before. This iconic family – Dan, Jackie, Darlene, Becky and D.J. – grapples with parenthood, dating, an unexpected pregnancy, financial pressures, aging, and in-laws in working-class America. Through it all, the fights, the coupon cutting, the hand-me-downs, the breakdowns – with love, humor and perseverance, the family prevails.”
There’s no word yet on when The Conners (which is a working title) might debut, but the first season will consist of 10 episodes. The axed season 11 of Roseanne was set to feature an expanded 13 episodes; since the network exercised the cast’s options, they expected to be paid $300,000 per episode for at least 10 episodes, though it was less clear how the writers and creatives were to be compensated. It seems ABC’s parent company, Disney, has avoided shelling out $3 million per actor in exchange for zero product by picking up The Conners.
Frankie Cosmos have announced a new tour for this fall in support of their last album, Vessel. Greta Kline’s soft-rock musical project will hit the road on September 13 in Baltimore before traveling through various U.S. cities. Those cities include Atlanta, Houston, Detroit, and Brooklyn before wrapping things up in New York City on the…
“R+R stands for ‘Reflect’ and ‘Respond’,” Glasper explains in a press release, adding that the project was inspired by Nina Simone’s quote regarding it being “an artist’s duty… to reflect the times.” He continues, “When you reflect what’s going on in your time and respond to that, you can’t not be relevant. So ‘R’ plus ‘R’ equals ‘NOW’.”
“Everyone in this band is a six-foot-tall black guy who didn’t come from an affluent background,” Scott adds. “In order for us all to make it into that room together, we’ve had to go through some hell, fight for some things, build up a lot of armor, and do a lot ourselves to forge our realities, to become who we are. We’re all very aware of that, so anytime we get together, it’s a celebration.”
The 11 tracks appearing on Collagically Speaking were written in the studio and recorded in a single take. “I love the first take because it’s the most honest take,” Glasper explains. “There’s something about the spirit of it. I don’t record until I’m ready and I don’t do extra takes just to do it-you burn out. We’d chill, watch some basketball, have some drinks, and hit record when the vibe was right.”
After a winter that felt like it would last forever, it now feels like summer actually arrived early this year, and things are just beginning to heat up. The festival season is now in full swing, the year’s most anticipated releases are dropping left and right, and we even had a bona fide rap beef surface to ensure May went out with a bang. While all of this means long hours for us at CoS, for you it means enough good stories and tunes to fill your playlists again and again.
Here’s what we had spinnin’ on the regular in May.
10. Nicky Jam – “Live It Up” featuring Will Smith and Era Istrefi
Release: Single available on Sony Music Latin
Okay, so we don’t particularly care about soccer any more than most Americans. It was fun when we were six and got orange slices at halftime, but most of us – except for that one cousin everyone’s got who wears a Manchester United jersey all the time – grew up and moved on. But let’s not forget that soccer is the global pastime, and there’s no bigger sporting stage in the world than the FIFA World Cup, which means Nicky Jam‘s “Live It Up”, love it or lump it, will be one of the most-played songs from now until the final seconds of the World Cup tick down in mid-July. With more flavor than the tastiest Russian borscht and assists from Era Istrefi and Big Willie Style himself, this Diplo-produced banger will have you dancing up and down the pitch, even if you don’t know what a pitch is.–Matt Melis
09. Nick Lutsko – “Jerry (Maybe We Should Get Married)” ft. Bethany Cosentino
Release: On YouTube from Super Deluxe
It’s not the ’80s anymore. Hell, not even the ’90s. But it seems that they live on in the form of Seinfeld reruns, no matter what the present year is. Parodies may not be as common after the height of “Weird Al” Yankovic and the like, but Nick Lutsko‘s “Jerry (Maybe We Should Get Married)” is a true gem that deserves attention. Snippets of iconic character Elaine’s musings on romance are set to music and sung by Best Coast‘s Bethany Cosentino to create a bop that is both funny and endearing, much like the legendary show itself. –Clara Scott
A blend of grit and grandness, a hearty dose of fuzz-infused guitar, and an addictive rhythm that will seep deep into the veins is the ultimate formula for creating a damn good rock song, and it’s one that Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks proved to have down to a finite science on “Shiggy”, a standout track from their latest album, Sparkle Hard. The track exudes edge into the otherwise sonically light album, the band’s first in four years since the release of Wig Out at Jagbags. “Shiggy” doesn’t just hint at Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks’ harder side – it places it on clear display. –Lindsay Teske
With its entrancing, psychedelic undercurrent and brassy flourishes aplenty, Danish rockers Iceage masterfully craft a grandiose soundscape in “Pain Killer”, a single from their fourth studio album, Beyondless. The album is the band’s first since 2014’s Plowing into the Field of Love, and “Pain Killer” is just one of the tracks that reminds us why Iceage’s new work was so well worth the wait. Bleeding endless cool, “Pain Killer” finds its flair in nuance. Background vocals from artist Sky Ferreira, bold percussion, and guitar riffs that fuse style and sting all serve as contributing factors that make the track command the attention of the ear – and it does so effortlessly. –Lindsay Teske
Release: From The Now Now, out June 29th via Parlophone
Gorillaz fans are used to extended waits, so it came as quite a shock earlier this week when the band announced that their next album, The Now Now, would be coming out in late June, a little more than a year removed from their last multi-media project, Humanz. It was all the more surprising then when news of a North American Tour and another installment of Demon Dayz Festival emerged today, along with a new music video and two brand-new tracks. Head ape Damon Albarn has described the pending album as a “summer record” with songs that’ll feature his voice up front in the mix. The video for single “Humility” surely bears him out as we skateboard along the beach with 2-D (Albarn’s virtual alter ego) to a laid-back ocean-side groove as a busking Jack Black tags along. Don’t be surprised if you’re humming this nonstop until the full album drops in a month. –Matt Melis
We Are What We Sing 