Desaparecidos' first record in 13 years, 'Payola' is an exhilarating, exhausting experience, somehow managing to sustain a remarkable intensity for its full 40 minutes.

In May 2014, developer Doug Hoskin announced plans to turn the Minneapolis Armory into a venue for concerts and other events, opening as soon as this year. Those plans stalled, though, as Hoskins looked for the right partners to invest in the renovation. Ned Abdul‘s Swervo Development has now bought the Armory from Hoskins and intends to move forward…

JD McPherson, who performs on 'A Prairie Home Companion' on July 4, frequently wears a 'Smith Fabrication' shirt while onstage. It turns out the namesake of the shirt is TK Smith, a California-based guitar builder and craftsman. 'All the stuff I build is all technology that was available in the late 1940s to the mid-50s," Smith says. 'They used to make things so much better back then.'

Independence Day is this Saturday, so let’s talk fireworks. No matter how you feel about them the rest of the year, you’ll probably want to be near some this weekend. Minneapolis is holding its annual Red, White and Boom celebration once again this year, featuring a half-marathon, live music, food, and (of course) fireworks. Music runs…

Let's celebrate 4th of July with musical fireworks! For today's 9:30 Coffee Break, what songs do you want to hear that include musical explosions? Send us your requests.

The Minnesota band Mint Condition return to First Avenue, where they were discovered in 1989, for a show on Thursday, Aug. 6 to benefit the National Association of Black Journalists. The show will also feature local artists #MPLS, 1000, Felix of Heiruspecs, and DJ Ray Richardson. Formed at St. Paul’s Central High, Mint Condition were discovered in 1989…

In honor of the 4th of July, Billboard created a feature highlighting the “Top 50 Stars of the 50 States,” and Prince got the nod for Minnesota. The article also mentioned Bob Dylan, but ultimately Prince took Minnesota’s title because he’s shown his home state a lot more love – most famously filming Purple Rain in Minneapolis, helping to turn First Avenue into an internationally…

There’s something about anniversaries that can make a person feel especially reflective. Leading up to the 10th anniversary reissue of his debut album, Lights Out Paris—which is out on vinyl for the first time this week—I wondered if Sims might be in the mood to think back to his beginnings of working with Doomtree and unpack some of the…

Demos that Amy Winehouse recorded for a planned third album that remained unfinished at the time of her 2011 death will never be heard, because they were deliberately destroyed by David Joseph, her label’s U.K. CEO. Joseph says his decision was “a moral thing.” He’s an executive producer of the new documentary Amy, which will be released in…

Happy Canada Day! For today's Coffee Break, let's celebrate Canada: What songs by Canadian artists do you want to hear? Send us your requests.