While the Lowertown renaissance continues around it, the future is on pause for the music venue formerly known as Station 4. The Pioneer Press reports that the City of St. Paul has condemned the building after a recent inspection, finding problems literally from top (an unsound roof) to bottom (a problematic foundation). The venue hasn’t…

The Beatles‘ “Yesterday” is one of the most-covered songs of all time, and now there’s a new version—performed during brain surgery. Anthony Kulkamp Dias, of Brazil, has gone viral on YouTube with a video of his plaintive performance while having a tumor removed from his brain. (CBS News) Jack White and Loretta Lynn were inducted into…

There was a moment at Wednesday’s Rolling Stones show at TCF Bank Stadium that summed up the whole thing better than anything else that night. It came about halfway through the show, during one of Mick Jagger’s many jaunts up and down the catwalk that cut through the center of the crowd. Jagger was somehow dancing,…

Savvy concertgoers have long sought the perfect ear inserts to protect their hearing while minimizing musical distortion. A new set of electronic earbuds takes that a step further. Here Active Listening system earbuds connect to a mobile app that allows you to adjust the sound balance that hits your ears—even adding or eliminating effects like…

On Sunday, June 7, St. Paul’s Grand Avenue will once again become a maze of street food, paraders, and, most of all, music. Grand Old Day, the Grand Avenue Business Association’s yearly start to the summer, is now in its 19th year. All along the avenue, more than 15 local bands will perform on six stages (plus a…

The Rolling Stones are often described as “the biggest band in the world,” and if you combine their continued drawing power with their towering musical significance, it’s true that they’re without peers among active rock groups. Accordingly, Minnesota is going absolutely bananas for their show tonight at TCF Bank Stadium—their first local show in ten…

Jack White‘s Third Man Records will open a new office and retail space in White’s hometown of Detroit. The new space, in the neighborhood where White attended high school, is scheduled to open in time for “Black Friday” on Nov. 27, one of the year’s biggest record-buying days. Third Man Records was founded in Detroit in…

In celebration of Day 1,000 of “thesongadayproject,” local singer-songwriter Zachary Scot Johnson has teamed up with a handsomely bearded Jeremy Messersmith to cover Sia’s worldwide hit, “Chandelier.” Thesongadayproject is a self-explanatory pursuit that Johnson began in September of 2012. His original goal was to record and post one song a day, every day, for as…

Is there anything more electrifying than that hopeful, anything-could-happen feeling that fills the air in the two hours before a Paisley Park show? Is there another time in our lives when a group of people’s hopes and dreams align so specifically? Have you ever cried about a guitar solo? Have you ever truly desired anything as much as…

Corbin and Bobby Raps: Couch Potato Half of thestand4rd, Corbin (formerly known as Spooky Black) and Bobby Raps, have joined forces for a surprise EP called Couch Potato, just released on SoundCloud and Bandcamp (where it’s available for download). Bobby Raps produced the EP, which features Izell Pyramid on one track. There’s even an appropriately…