Of the two other members of the great triumvirate of ’80s pop, Madonna explicitly mentioned only one on Thursday night at the Xcel Energy Center. “Yeah, we shook it up,” she said, dedicating her performance of “La Vie En Rose” to the megastar who’s “actually from this area.” The two “wrote a few songs together—the queen…

Here at The Current, we’ve been inviting local musicians to take over our all-Minnesota music stream to talk about the local music scene and to spin tracks from other local artists. The roster for Local Current’s DJ in Residence has included local mainstays such as Martin Devaney, Sophia Eris, Al Church, Reina Del Cid, and…

When rumors of a planned LCD Soundsystem reunion started circulating, fans’ hopes rose—but then they fell again, as James Murphy‘s DFA Records co-founder Jonathan Galkin declared the rumors false. LCD Soundsystem have been dissolved since a high-profile final show in 2011. (Pitchfork) Yeah, this happened: Prince serenaded Madonna at Paisley Park. Read Andrea Swensson’s story about the late-night encounter, and watch for Jay Gabler’s…

Beach House have announced a follow-up to their new album Depression Cherry. You won’t have to wait long: Thank Your Lucky Stars is being released next Friday. (Pitchfork) We are very excited, it's an album being released the way we want. It's not a companion to depression cherry or a surprise or b-sides — Beach House (@BeaccchHoussse)…

My guest on today’s show is Adam Levy, who you likely recognize from his work leading the Honeydogs, Liminal Phase, And the Professors, and the band he started with his two daughters, Ava and Esther, which is called the Bunny Clogs. Or maybe you’ve seen him around town, where he’s worked as an educator, mentor,…

Local and national artists including the Flaming Lips, Sharon Van Etten, Astronautalis, and Chris Mars are featured on a new Donovan tribute compilation from local record label Rock the Cause. The album, to be released on Oct. 16, raises funds to support families battling Huntington’s disease, a genetic disease that affects neurons in the brain. 69-year-old…

Bob Dylan has granted a rare televised interview about his lyrics and themes. The fine print: it’s a very short interview, with a talking computer, in an ad for IBM. (News Cut) Yoko Ono gathered over 2,000 people in New York’s Central Park to honor John Lennon‘s upcoming 75th birthday. That made for a pretty big…

Late last spring I got a job as an usher at Northrop, the newly refurbished concert hall at the heart of the University of Minnesota—Twin Cities campus. The majestic architecture and the famous acts who play the venue had always intrigued me, and working as an usher seemed like the perfect way to get to know both…

At the end of May, MSU-Mankato band Navigating North drove through the night to North Carolina and recorded an entire EP, all in about 48 hours. The members of the band—Hailey Johnson, Josiah Jorgensen, and Jay Seaser—originally met as part of a worship team in the MSU campus ministry, the Navigators. The band happened organically, says Seaser. “We just started jamming…

Hozier has been sparring with singer-songwriter Chilly Gonzales, who pointed out similarities between Hozier’s 2013 hit “Take Me to Church” and the 2011 song “How Come You Never Go There” by Feist—a single that Gonzales played piano on. Hozier threatened to sue Gonzales for implying that he plagiarized the song; Gonzales apologized, and Hozier now says “there are no hard feelings…