When explosive punk duo Birthday Suits played the Turf Club earlier this month, they had a lot of milestones to mark. Not only was it time to release their long-awaited new full-length, Spin the Bottle: Adult Party, but the band’s lead singer and guitarist, Hideo Takahashi, was returning from a year-and-a-half sojourn to Japan just in…

Courtney Barnett plays an anchorwoman in a video for “Shiny Gun,” a song by her fellow Australian Fraser A. Gorman. (Pitchfork) See Barnett IRL this summer at Rock the Garden. The first show of U2‘s world tour will happen as scheduled tonight in Vancouver despite the recent death of drummer Larry Mullen Jr.‘s father. Mullen left…

Before playing a high-profile “Rally 4 Peace” concert in Baltimore on Sunday, Prince and 3RDEYEGIRL warmed up with a “Dance Rally 4 Peace” at Paisley Park on Saturday, May 2. He’s now released 42 minutes of audio from that concert, streaming on Soundcloud. (Listen below.) On Saturday, Prince also used Soundcloud as the platform for…

Activision has announced its upcoming version of Guitar Hero will have a tracklist featuring more indie artists than in the past. For today's 9:30 Coffee Break, what songs would you, as a listener of The Current, want to add to the Guitar Hero tracklist? Send us your requests.

After Prince‘s Sunday concert in Baltimore—a concert that was live-streamed on Jay Z‘s Tidal music service—Jay Z and his wife Beyoncé, along with Alicia Keys, met backstage with relatives of Freddie Gray and Mike Brown. Tidal will be matching proceeds from donations made to a fund created to support work towards police accountability and racial justice. (Billboard) Beyoncé & Jay Z with #FreddieGray‘s…

I believe in rock ‘n’ roll and I think rock ‘n’ roll believes in me. These words were broadcast far and wide recently by my friend and colleague Mary Lucia, and they’ve also been echoed by countless rock ‘n’ roll believers over the past 50 years. While Mike Mictlan might spit that “rap won’t save…

As 'American Idol' announces it will be ending its run in 2016, for today's 9:30 Coffee Break, what songs do you want to hear by artists who would never have made it onto 'American Idol'? Send us your requests.

American Idol, the reality show that helped define music television for the 21st century, will end its run in 2016, after its 15th season. The show’s ratings have been in decline for the past several years. Among the careers launched by American Idol are those of Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, and Carrie Underwood. (New York Times) A Dolly Parton biopic called Coat…

There's been a lot of noggin talk on the show today, so it got us thinking: What songs do you want to hear that have the word 'head' in the title? Send us your requests.

St. Paul’s Grand Oak Opry recently announced its summer concert series. Opry concerts take place in the backyard of the St. Paul home of Sean Kershaw and Timothy Hawkins, who put on two concerts last year with great success. The series will begin on June 6 with local favorites One Brown Shoe: an eclectic mix…