Local Current BlogBandwidth: Minnesota music is all over Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs listReed Fischer • Sep 17, 2021The Current digital team's weekly roundup of news, music we like, and concerts.
Local Current BlogDid Prince pick the best place in America to settle down?Jay Gabler • Sep 16, 2021No, not Minneapolis. Yes, Prince was born and raised in the Mill City, but in the early ’80s he bought a lakeside house in Chanhassen, the Carver County suburb that would remain Prince’s primary home (aside from stints in Los Angeles and Toronto) for the remainder of his life. “Chanhassen offers more than a chance…
Local Current BlogTake it from Bob Mould: Vaccination and masking are no jokeJay Gabler • Sep 16, 2021“You’ve got to follow house rules,” says Bob Mould in a new video announcement. His former band Hüsker Dü were always better at that than, say, the Replacements — but back in the ’80s, the stakes around concert comportment were never as high as they are today. In plain language, Mould tells fans that they…
Coffee BreakCoffee Break: Greatest Songs of All TimeJill Riley and Christy Taylor • Sep 16, 2021For the first time in 17 years, Rolling Stone has updated their rankings of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. For today's 9:30 Coffee Break, tell us what you think of their rankings! Who you think should've made the top 20?
Rock and Roll Book ClubRock and Roll Book Club: Joshua Clover's 'Roadrunner'Jay Gabler • Sep 16, 2021In the first of a new book series devoted to specific songs, poet and cultural theorist Joshua Clover goes into a tailspin over Jonathan Richman's minimalist nugget 'Roadrunner.'
WatchListen to Looch: Spike Lee's 'NYC Epicenters'Mary Lucia • Sep 15, 2021Mary Lucia says Spike Lee's HBO documentary series gives you as close an answer to why and how events in 2020 unfolded the way they did.
News and InterviewsPirner "surprised and delighted" by Prince CoverSean McPherson • Sep 15, 2021We caught up with Soul Asylum frontman Dave Pirner about performing in the age of Covid, and what it felt like to hear Prince covering "Stand Up And Be Strong," which appears on the posthumous Prince album 'Welcome to America'.
Coffee BreakCoffee Break: New WaveJill Riley and Christy Taylor • Sep 15, 2021One of New Wave's founding fathers, Ric Ocasek of the Cars died on this day in 2019 at the age of 75. For today's 9:30 Coffee Break, what New Wave bands do you want to hear?
Local Current BlogCrooners to remember Rondo as Fridley supper club branches into musical revuesJay Gabler • Sep 14, 2021After adapting to welcome Covid-era audiences with drive-in concerts and other innovations, Crooners Supper Club is expanding its live music programming to include musical revues. A venerable tradition, revues incorporate songs into story-oriented frameworks that draw on performers’ acting skills as well as their musical chops. With that in mind, Crooners could hardly have a…
Coffee BreakCoffee Break: Neo-SoulJill Riley and Christy Taylor • Sep 14, 2021On Amy Winehouse's birthday, we remember her for her music and how she blended her deep vocals and an eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues, jazz, and reggae, to create her own special version of neo-soul. For today's 9:30 Coffee Break, what neo-soul artists do you want to hear?