How do you make a "singing road"? You calibrate the rumble strips at the edge of the road so that if drivers veer off the lane, the friction of their wheels against the rumble strips produces a tune. Authorities in the Netherlands have just removed a musical rumble strip after neighbors complained that drivers were deliberately veering away just to hear the music. "The Frisian national anthem is fine," said one neighbor, referring to the song the road played, "but not 24 hours a day."

If you want to try a musical road for yourself, you can take a trip down Route 66 to hear "America the Beautiful" near Albuquerque — or motor to Lancaster, Calif. for a rendition of the William Tell Overture that's badly out of tune because the grooves were cut wrong. (New York Times)

Huge donation for KEXP

KEXP, an independent noncommercial radio station in Seattle, has received a $10 million donation from an anonymous donor — the biggest donation KEXP has ever receved, and one of the largest donations in the history of public media. The money will go to "education programs aimed at inspiring younger audiences to engage their curiosity around music, services and programming for emerging artists, media creation experiences for aspiring DJs and music journalists, and outreach activities aimed at deepening KEXP's connections to local communities," says the station. (Pitchfork)

Cardi B sets chart record

Beyoncé triumphed at Coachella last weekend, but Cardi B has just beaten one of her chart records. With 13 hits currently on Billboard's Hot 100, Cardi B has passed Bey for most simultaneous Hot 100 entries by a female artist. (Billboard)

Her debut LP, Invasion of Privacy, has also landed at the top of the Billboard 200, making her the fifth solo female rapper to top that chart. That puts her in the company of Lauryn Hill, Nicki Minaj, Eve, and Foxy Brown. (New York Times)

Oh, and she got a Nardwuar interview. (Billboard)

Numero Group criticizes Record Store Day

Record Store Day 2018 is coming up this Saturday, and many music fans are excited. Not everyone's thrilled, though: the Numero Group, an archival record label based in Chicago, has posted a statement calling the event "an unwieldy grip-and-bitch fest." Although the label admits it has profited from past Record Store Day releases, this year the label isn't offering any special releases for what it now regards as "a marketing event designed to generate traffic by pushing manufactured rarities that scrape off the chaff from deluxe edition CD bonus material and flaunt their first-time-on-wax status while remaining no less unessential." (Pitchfork)

St. Vincent soundtracks film

St. Vincent has written the score for a "360 experiential film" inspired by Edwin A. Abbott’s 1884 novella Flatland. The film debuted at Coachella, where it was projected inside a dome. (Consequence of Sound)