When I agreed to review Beautiful — The Carole King Musical, I was mostly excited, but a bit uncertain that I was the right person for the task. I was not alive during King’s songwriting heyday with Gerry Goffin, when their compositions climbed the Billboard charts throughout the better part of the 1960s. I was not alive…

A new memoir by Sleater-Kinney's Carrie Brownstein is a must-read, says Andrea Swensson.

Adele‘s new album 25 hits stores on Friday, in what may possibly become the biggest record launch in music history — as least in terms of immediate sales. The current record for sales in a single week is held by *NSYNC, who moved 2.4 million copies of No Strings Attached during the first week it was available, in 2000; projections are for 25 to…

Carly Simon revealed this week that the second verse of her 1972 hit, 'You're So Vain,' is indeed about Warren Beatty. So for today's Coffee Break, what songs do you want to hear that are about or that name-check celebrities? Send us your requests.

Just when we think we know what we’ve come to expect from the Pines — the title and album art for their new album, Above the Prairie, just might be the Pinesiest thing they’ve released so far — or consider brushing them off as another in a long string of Americana bands, they put out…

Eagles of Death Metal, the band who were playing when terrorists launched a deadly attack on the venue Le Bataclan in Paris on Friday, have issued a statement saying they are “horrified” at the loss of life, and that all future shows are on hold. Additionally, Le Bataclan co-manager Dominique Revert says that the venue…

For today's Coffee Break, what acoustic versions of well-known songs do you want to hear? Send us your requests.

A record fair has been announced for this weekend, Friday, Nov. 20 and Saturday, Nov. 21, at the White Page art gallery in South Minneapolis. According to a Facebook event, the inaugural POOF Pop-Up Record Fair is striving for “a coterie of records and record sellers that are often omitted from other fairs in the area.” The…

The Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen, will be the musical guest on the Dec. 19 edition of Saturday Night Live — and he’s bringing the E Street Band along for the ride. Will there be a spirited rendition of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”? Will co-hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler join in? It’ll have to be a holiday surprise.…

Sunday night at 5:30 p.m., four panelists and more than 50 community members gathered at the Common Table community center in Minneapolis for Let the Woman Speak, a two-hour-long conversation addressing sexism in hip-hop. Discrimination against women is hardly unique to Minnesota, reaching across borders worldwide, but it often presents itself locally. Local organization Twin…