I say I don’t like surprises, but I live for twists and turns in music. Flourishes, hooks, complicated key changes—when done well, they always give me a rush. That said, many of the albums I’ve heard this year have been so run-of-the-mill. When I can predict a song’s rhymes and drum fills, I wonder at…

Holidae, “Darkest Shade” Holidae‘s first music video is a sci-fi novel, dance routine, and musical performance wrapped up in one. What could tie all those things together? Ashley Gold, her facial recognition software-defying make-up, and Gold and Garrett Neal’s song “Darkest Shade.” Sa-Roc, “Queen Ting” Rhymesayers’s new signee, Sa-Roc, is dropping a video every week in a series…

Lowertown is known as one of the Twin Cities’ most up-and-coming areas, but Black Dog is already a neighborhood mainstay. Owners Sara, Stacy and Andy Remke have called 308 Prince Street their business’s home since 1998. Even old favorites can use freshening up, though, so the Remkes recently snapped up the former Clouds in Water Zen Center space next door…

NYC-based Emily King has been wowing fans with her smooth pop-soul blend for over a decade, opening for the likes of John Legend, Nas, Chaka Khan, and Alicia Keys. Now, she’s come into her own with the polished and powerful sophomore album The Switch, a long-awaited follow-up to her Grammy-nominated J Records release East Side Story (2007). King will…

What vinyl-related stunt is Jack White up to now? Third Man Records is teasing a July 30 announcement about “making vinyl history.” A video shows a gold record in space — the record being one issued by the label in 2009, featuring the remixed voices of Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking. As Stereogum notes, White has talked about his…

Dessa is getting her own flavor of ice cream, courtesy of Izzy’s. “Dessa’s Existential Crunch” is “a Dark Brown Sugar and Creme Fraiche ice cream, flavored with Jameson Irish Whiskey and Disaronno Originale amaretto to help you contemplate the incomprehensible, all mixed with Praline Pecan pieces and a crunchy cashew brittle.” The flavor will be…

  Year after year, Pitchfork Music Festival proves to be one of the most celebrated music festivals in the country. Its small size gives it a leisurely feel (the three-day festival in Chicago’s Union Park draws an estimated 50,000 attendees compared Lollapalooza’s 300,000 in Grant Park). Vendors help support the local economy, and the lineup is…

Less than a year before his death, Prince bought the house that appeared in exterior shots in his iconic film Purple Rain. The Minneapolis house was placed on the market in 2015 for an asking price of $110,000, with the seller cautioning that the house was in need of very significant repairs. The purchase happened quickly, but…

This past weekend in New Jersey, Michael J. Fox joined Coldplay onstage for two songs performed by Fox’s character Marty McFly in Back to the Future: Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” and the Penguins’ “Earth Angel.” In a video shown before the songs, Chris Martin’s son asked his dad to play a song from their shared favorite movie. (Pitchfork) Tour…

Last summer, the Minneapolis house that appeared in Purple Rain as the home where Prince’s character “the Kid” lived went up for sale. Who bought it? Prince himself, it turns out. To celebrate Prince’s legacy, we’re going all-Prince on our Local Current stream of Minnesota music every day through Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016, from 11 a.m. to noon.…