Isaiah “Ikey” Owens, keyboardist in Jack White‘s current band and a frequent player with the Mars Volta, has died of a heart attack at age 38. Owens was in Puebla, Mexico, on tour with White. White has canceled all remaining Mexico tour dates in the wake of the news. “We will all miss you Ikey,” said White in a…

There’s an anecdote I like to pull out anytime I’m having a conversation about how quickly songs that you might hear on the Current—which is to say, songs in the overarching contemporary indie rock vein that might range from Americana to punk to electro-R&B—have started crossing over into the Top 40 sphere. Earlier this year…

L’Assassins: Kill Kill Kill! Bang Bang Bang! The garage-punk quartet L’Assassins release Kill Kill Kill! Bang Bang Bang! this week. The EP release party will be at the Triple Rock Social Club on Saturday. The women of L’Assassins will be joined by Fury Things, Leather Sweater, and Calabrese. “Haji Shake” is a track that exemplifies…

“The lights will draw you in And the dark will take you down And the night will break your heart Only if you’re lucky now” Those are lyrics from a song that Ryan Adams didn’t play on Monday night at Northrop (“Lucky Now” from his 2011 album Ashes & Fire), but they were ringing in…

Lorde has become the latest running gag on South Park, which has it that she’s the alter ego of Randy Marsh, the father of South Park character Stan. Lorde is amused by the gag, and told New Zealand’s TV3 news that “We actually, in my hotel room, went ‘Ya ya ya ya ya I’m Lorde! Ya ya ya!’…

“This is the beginning of the long goodbye,” Roger Daltrey said as the Who announced a world tour behind their Who Hits 50! anniversary set. The tour will stop at Target Center in Minneapolis on Oct. 10, 2015. (Billboard) Another farewell: Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young will never tour again, says Neil Young…”but I love those guys.” Not that…

“Don a henley and take it easy,” recommended the Duluth Trading Co. in a recent e-mail advertisement touting its henley shirts. Maybe Don Henley hears a lot of henley jokes, because he was not amused by this one: he’s suing the company for “damages and other appropriate relief.” He’s also demanding the company stop making…

Local indie label Amphetamine Reptile Records started in a hand grenade crate under a United States Marine’s bunk almost 30 years ago, then went on to achieve national notoriety. It is now the subject of a new documentary film coming to town. The screening will mark the local debut of a documentary that’s been winning…

I hope you like electro-pop, downtempo, and dark R&B, because I have a whole bunch of slow, sexy songs stacked up in this week’s Friday Five. Which might be a good indicator of where the Twin Cities scene is at these days: hovering in those spaces between hip-hop, futuristic electronica and old-school soul, casting around…

Spooky Black has been this year’s premier mystery man of the local music scene. Winning national buzz for his dream-hop sound and viral “Without You” video, the St. Paul teen is now represented by the prestigious Windish Agency for booking—yet without releasing a proper album or even playing a single show. Audiences across America will…