Lily Allen got some Australian cops in hot water when they complied with her request to stage a gag photo (since deleted from the singer’s Instagram) in which Allen has been handcuffed and appears to be under arrest. “I don’t appreciate a photo of […] police playing around with their handcuffs,” said a local legislator. “It’s bad…

The Current spent some quality time on the shore of Lake Superior this weekend at several different special events in Duluth, including a live broadcast from the Endion Station Public House in Canal Park, a “The Current Does Duluth” showcase at the Red Herring Lounge in downtown Duluth, and an afternoon at the All Pints…

This weekend marked the 30th anniversary of the release of Purple Rain, and we’ve been celebrating the iconic rock ‘n’ roll film in a big way. And while we’ve talked a lot about the actors that appear of the film—Prince, his leading lady Apollonia, his band the Revolution, and cast members like Morris Day and the Time—there’s another…

The owner of the Manhattan storefront pictured on the cover of the Beastie Boys‘ Paul’s Boutique—an album marking its quarter-century anniversary this year—has agreed to host a commemorative mural (above), which was painted this weekend by artist Danielle Mastrion. (Pitchfork) A new app from the co-founder of Tinder takes a similar approach to music discovery: using…

As part of our big celebration of the 30th anniversary of Prince’s Purple Rain, I got a chance to sit down for a rare interview with Prince’s co-star in the film, Apollonia Kotero. Apollonia was back in town for the first time since filming Purple Rain to perform at Revolution drummer Bobby Z’s annual Benefit…

Tiny deaths is a new project that unites Claire de Lune (The Chalice) with Grant Cutler (Lookbook, Grant Cutler and the Gorgeous Lords). We’ve been playing tiny deaths’ song “Ocean,” and we’re now pleased to premiere their new track “The Words.” “The heart and soul of this project is [Grant’s] moody soundscapes that he is…

“30 years ago today,” acknowledged Prince with a sly smile as the artist who’s previously downplayed the occasion’s significance segued from “Let’s Go Crazy” into “Take Me with U” on Saturday night at Paisley Park. Just a week after making my first-ever visit to Paisley Park, I was again invited out to Chanhassen last night—along with 176,000…

We’ve got a great crowd down at Endion Station today for the Current’s live broadcast from Duluth—and we thought we’d take advantage of the opportunity to ask some of the Duluthians (and regular visitors) what they like to do in this beautiful city on the tip of Lake Superior. Megan and Tom “We like to…

Looking back at July 1984, it’s hard to believe just how many musical events shook up Minneapolis and continue to inspire and mystify us 30 years later. In just the span of a few short months Hüsker Dü would release their revered album Zen Arcade, the Replacements would drop Let It Be, and Prince would…

When Trampled By Turtles went on David Letterman’s show earlier this month to play their song “Are You Behind the Shining Star?”, their host wasted no time revealing what a New Yorker knows about the band’s hometown. “Duluth. That’s iron ore country? Taconite, that’s right.” Then Letterman turned to Paul Shaffer, who seemed to be…