Indicted pharmaceutical entrepreneur Martin Shkreli has finally listened to Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, the edition-of-one Wu-Tang Clan album he paid $2 million for. “It’s definitely better than their last album,” says Vice writer Allie Conti, who heard the album playing in the background during an interview with Shkreli. For his part, Shkreli “vacillates between wanting to destroy the record…

I’m turning the tables a little bit on today’s O.K. Show, because while my guest certainly contributes to the scene as a musician with his work in the Background Noise Crew, Ali Elabbady is primarily known as a music writer and radio host; he currently works for Reviler and Greenroom Magazine, and had a long-running show…

Tom Loftus has finally found his people — and this weekend, he will be throwing a party to celebrate them. Loftus, the founder of Modern Radio Record Label, is hosting a two-day mini-festival for the 16th anniversary of his label, filled with a dynamic cross-section of the Twin Cities music scene’s past, present, and future. The…

“I’m no longer a member of VW,” writes Rostam Batmanglij on Twitter — referring to Vampire Weekend, the band he co-founded and has been an integral member of for the past decade. Batmanglij indicates there’s no ill will; he intends to continue working with the band’s frontman Ezra Koenig on music including new Vampire Weekend tracks, but he’s…

Call Me Karizma: Loser Call Me Karizma is a local artist with a growing and enormously devoted national following. The young rapper, a.k.a. Morgan Parriott, bridges the musical gap between Corbin and Owl City, with an appealing and relatable sound built on sincere lyrics and pop-inspired arrangements with a sheen of lo-fi atmospherics. He’ll release…

Nostalgia is a powerful thing. It brought three of the founding members of the “greatest metal band of all time” together on “one final tour” — or so the band insists. It also brought herds of black-clad fans to Target Center on Monday night for one last chance to experience Geezer Butler’s sludgy bass, Tony Iommi’s command…

Each week on the Local Show, we’ll meet a new person from the Minnesota music community who has some fresh discoveries to share in a feature called “Ask a Cool Person.” These people will come from all corners of the scene, including record store clerks, recording studio engineers and producers, artists, writers, bookers, photographers, and…

Hot on the heels of a “gala weekend” featuring his first-ever solo piano performances as well as a Larry Graham show and a dance party, Prince is opening the doors of Paisley Park to his onscreen arch-rivals Morris Day and the Time. Though Prince himself is not on the bill, the show represents a reunion for Prince…

When this weekend’s massive snowstorm forced the postponement of a Madison Square Garden show by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, the Boss decided to soften the blow for fans who are bummed to miss out — even if only temporarily — on the tour, which features front-to-back performances of Springsteen’s entire River album at each…

Pet Sounds — the 11th studio album by the Beach Boys — was released in May of 1966. It’s number two on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and is still widely regarded as one of the most influential albums of the rock era. Many songs on the album — including “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “Sloop John B,”…