Welcome to Bandwidth, The Current digital team’s weekly roundup of news, music we like, and upcoming concerts. (Got a local topic you think we should include? Hit up localshow@mpr.org.)

Video premiere: The Suburbs

Surprise! The Suburbs beamed a new music video directly to The Current for an exclusive premiere. Directed and edited by the band’s guitarist Jeremy Ylvisaker, “Social Style Lush” comes from the band’s 2021 album, Poets Party.

“Jeremy Ylvisaker's a member of the band; he's also just a great artistic mind and he's been fooling with making videos lately,” says Suburbs frontman Chan Poling. “He made our ‘Hey Muse’ video. I like to let him do what he wants to do. It was all his conceptualizing, but the song is inspired by a salon that's in my neighborhood. So it has this notion that we're getting ready to go out. It gets a little surreal after that. I love Janey [Winterbauer]'s antlers. Turned out to be this goth queen of Narnia.”

There’s also a high probability that Chan Poling and co. will perform the song to great fanfare at the Palace Theatre on New Year’s Eve (Friday, December 31, 2021). The Suicide Commandoes and Scrunchies are also on the bill for the evening.

A Top 89 reminder!

It’s a great time to VOTE in The Current’s Top 89 of 2021 poll if you have not already. Don’t remember a single thing you’ve heard this past year? Here are a whole lot of year-end picks from The Current’s staff. For a great overview of the best Minnesota albums, here’s a top 25 from 2021 curated by the local team.

“Closing Time,” reexplained?

Clickhole (The Onion’s answer to Buzzfeed) cooked up this interpretation for Semisonic’s big hit. How does this compare to Dan Wilson’s explanation on the Song Exploder podcast? You be the judge.

Read on

• Ness Nite is on the cover of Lavender.

• The excellent (sometime contributor to The Current) Sheila Regan is MinnPost’s new arts columnist.

• There are now four members of Gully Boys!

• Star Tribune’s Chris Riemenschneider expresses hope for Minnesota’s local scene in a year-end recap.

More from The Current

• Prince associate Jellybean Johnson is heading up the Minneapolis Sound Museum.

• Jay Gabler caught up with the buzz band of Burnsville, Durry.

• 89 Days of Winter: Need some holiday shopping inspiration? Here are some Minnesota makers with stellar wares, and local gift ideas from Bad Bad Hats, Miloe, and more.

• You should probably listen to these 10 Minnesota artists making snowflakes dance this December.

• Music discovery: New holiday music from Phoebe Bridgers, Amanda Shires, The Lumineers, Bad Bad Hats, Beach Bunny and Leon Bridges and Album of the Week: Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, 'Raise the Roof'.

• Read Jay’s book review of Kelefa Sanneh's 'Major Labels'.

• Jill Riley spoke extensively with Elvis Costello for both a Theft of the Dial session and an interview on his First Avenue debut, writing with Paul McCartney, and his latest album.

• Bill DeVille got details on JD McPherson’s new role in Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’s touring band.

• Tune in at 5 p.m. on Saturday, December 18, to catch The Current’s 2021 Remembered special dedicated to the artists we lost this past year.

Weekend Gig Lists

• Friday, December 17: Yam Haus, Soul Asylum, L.A. Witch, Dan Israel

• Saturday, December 18: Chicano Batman, Pentatonix, The Jayhawks, Watkins Family Hour, Belfast Cowboys

• Sunday, December 19: Gully Boys, Toro y Moi, Sophia Eris, Chris Koza