As he prepares to release his new album Shadows in the Night, Bob Dylan gave a long interview to AARP’s magazine—ironic, given that the septuagenarian is anything but retired. In the interview, he talks about the process of recording the new album (he says all the songs were recorded in the order they appear on the album),…

The music industry has changed dramatically since the Current launched in 2005. In the early days of the station iPods and other mp3 players were still a fairly new revelation, and people still mainly purchased CDs—although those sales numbers were shifting dramatically. As the Current celebrates its 10th anniversary, I’ve been thinking a lot about…

Colorguard: yes, it’s that flag-waving team you remember from high school. David Byrne became fascinated with the activity after a team asked to use some of his music in a routine, and he’s now organized four all-star concerts, in New York and Toronto in late June, that will pair colorguard teams with artists including himself, tUnE-yArDs,…

In an evening meant to pay tribute to our state’s reigning Prince, what transpired was actually a celebration of our scene’s queen. As the most high-profile act on the bill for the Purple Rain tribute at the Fitzgerald Theater, it wasn’t exactly a surprise that Queen Lizzo—the only title for her that feels appropriate right now—managed to steal…

Björk‘s new album Vulnicura is now being officially released via an ongoing 24-hour rollout around the world. The decision to release the album ahead of its planned March release follows the recent leak of a low-quality version of the album, making the decision reminiscent of Madonna‘s choice to release several tracks from her new album Rebel Heart…

Kevin Steinman, a former Minneapolis artist who now resides in Oslo, Norway, is one of several artists protesting what they regard as poor Norwegian climate change policy.  In support of the Norwegian Church Aid’s climate campaign, Steinman performed a cover of Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is” in a video that appears on…

A two-pronged celebration, jazz and hip-hop artist José James’s performance at the Mayo Civic Center Presentation Hall in Rochester on Jan. 17 commemorated both The Current’s tenth anniversary and the centennial of Billie Holiday—born in Philadelphia on April 7, 1915. James was introduced by Mark Wheat, who noted the artist’s “own way of approaching jazz” before…

Well, that was surreal. If there was one word uttered more than any others after Billy Idol’s six-song acoustic set with Steve Stevens at the Turf Club on Monday night, it was just that: Surreal. Surreal to see such a household name in such a tiny club. Surreal to watch Idol’s sinewy body prowl around…

Two legendary local rock groups came together on Friday to celebrate The Current’s 10th anniversary and a shared 10″ record release—joined by none other than “the most rock ‘n’ roll mayor west of New York.” Those were St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman’s words, at least, when he proclaimed Friday, Jan. 16 to be 89.3 The Current Day in the…

Mystery Date: New Noir Mystery Date are back with their sophomore effort, New Noir. The crunchy opening bass line on “Wouldn’t You Like to Know” is just one of the irresistible rhythm parts that make the band’s grooves stick. The manic guitar parts meld together with crooned vocals by Johnny Eggerman (Real Numbers, Cozy) to form the…