Paste

Earliest Tupac Recordings To Be Released As Shakurspeare

By Caroline Klibanoff on 6:00 PM on July 31, 2009

Before he was a rap legend, Tupac Shakur was 17-year-old MC New York with dreams of becoming a Shakespearean actor. So says Darrin Keith Bastfield, CEO of Born Busy Records, the main force behind the upcoming release of the rapper's earliest recordings, on an album titled Shakurspeare. ... read more

Andrew W.K. Piano Album Preview Now On MySpace

By Angela Pham on 5:03 PM on July 31, 2009

Known best for his thrashing, party music, Andrew W.K. is nonetheless not afraid to show his softer side. Exhibit A: He clearly loves kids. Exhibit B: He is releasing an album of instrumental piano songs in September. ... read more

Paste's Guide to George Wein's Folk Festival 50

By Kate Kiefer on 4:00 PM on July 31, 2009

Co-founded by Pete Seeger in 1959, the Newport Folk Festival quickly became... read more

Ty Segall Takes Lemons And Makes Really Big Fall Tour

By Henry Freedland on 4:00 PM on July 31, 2009

As a one-man garage band powerhouse, San Francisco's Ty Segall is cooler than this guy, this guy, and all of these guys put together, who aren't even a one-man band. He plays drums and guitar at once, throttles his vocal chords and ships it all off through waves of reverb with, like, great melodies and stuff.... read more

Kings Of Convenience Declare Dependence With New Album

By Walton Murphy on 3:15 PM on July 31, 2009

It's been a while since we've heard the hushed voices of Kings of Convenience, Norway's mellow indie-folk royalty. After four years on semi-hiatus, the Kings have announced that their third studio album is on the way. ... read more

$1 Million Netflix Competition to Improve Recommendations Ends After Three Years

By Jeffrey Bloomer on 3:00 PM on July 31, 2009

Nearly three years ago, Netflix launched a contest for teams to compete to improve the quality of its recommendations by at least 10 percent. The prize: $1 million. ... read more

Former Football Player Now Member of New York Metropolitan Opera

By Ani Vrabel on 2:00 PM on July 31, 2009

During his days as a football player (first at the University of Colorado, then in Finland and finally with the Arena Football League), Keith Miller didn't listen to stereotypical motivation music. While teammates spent locker-room sessions jamming to hip-hop and metal, Miller confesses that was never his scene. "I used to listen to the 'Queen of the Night' aria before games," he told The Savannah Morning News. This interest has evolved considerably since those days and has become a new career for the former fullback. Miller studied at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, and he's now a member... read more

Yo La Tengo Takes its Popular Songs Around the World

By Julia Askenase on 1:00 PM on July 31, 2009

Indie stalwarts Yo La Tengo have made a boatload of albums. So many, that they've reached the stage when they can assert that a forthcoming album is full of Popular Songs before it even comes out. And if you care to object, just remember, they are not afraid of you and they will beat your ass.... read more

Jay Reatard Announces West Coast Record-Store Tour as Documentary Release Nears

By David Marek on 12:00 PM on July 31, 2009

West Coast, brace yourself. Jay Reatard, fresh off rocking and occasionally kicking faces in the East and the South has just announced you as his next conquest. Throughout the month of August, Jay will be preforming at various indie record shops along the Left Coast, promoting his upcoming blast of awesome, Watch Me Fall. The album doesn't come out until Aug. 18 (pre-order here), but if you're curious, our favorite rocktagenarians have already rendered their verdict.... read more

Two More Monsters of Folk Tracks Released

By Caroline Klibanoff on 11:00 AM on July 31, 2009

The Monsters of Folk have released two additional tracks on iTunes, in addition to last week's free MP3 "Say Please." The supergroup of the indie folker's dreams might be a tease, but we'll take what we can get while we're still a couple months away from the official album release on Sept. 22.... read more

Pearl Jam Backspacer Album Art Treasure Hunt Commences

By Angela Pham on 10:30 AM on July 31, 2009

Ahh, the interwebs. It's been a staple in the music industry's promotional toolbox for quite some time, and now Pearl Jam is savvily taking the viral marketing strategy to a new level. ... read more

Aravind Adiga: Reading Between the Streets

By Henry Freedland on 10:00 AM on July 31, 2009

Aravind Adiga had just returned to India after years in Anglophone countries when he changed his mind about what to write... read more

Americana Music Festival to Feature Buddy Miller, Those Darlins, Will Hoge, Sarah Borges, Many More

By Caroline Klibanoff on 9:30 AM on July 31, 2009

The Americana Music Association has just announced the lineup for its 2009 festival, to be held Sept. 16-19 at an array of Nashville venues. ... read more

Chuck Klosterman to Release Eating the Dinosaur in Oct.

By Ani Vrabel on 9:00 AM on July 31, 2009

Chuck Klosterman, the pop-culture-expert-slash-critic-slash-KISS-fanboy who brought us the likes of Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs, is at it again. The author plans to release his sixth book, Eating the Dinosaur, on Oct. 20. ... read more

Meat Puppets Hit the Road with Dead Confederate

By Walton Murphy on 8:30 AM on July 31, 2009

Have you ever seen a meat puppet singing, dancing, suckling a woman's breast and doing cocaine? It's pretty bizarre. But if Pete, the singing figurine made of sausages, short rib and lamb isn't up your alley, then you can always check out the Meat Puppets, who have announced upcoming dates in continuing support of their latest album, Sewn Together. Either way, we won't judge.... read more

Funny People

By Michael Saba on 8:00 AM on July 31, 2009

Funny People, like the manchildren that director Judd Apatow pillories, is blissfully unaware of its shortcomings... read more

Barack Obama's Inauguration Inspires Richard Linklater's Romantic Comedy

By Caroline Klibanoff on 7:40 AM on July 31, 2009

It's a Barack Romantic Obamedy! Phew, sorry, but certainly some snazzy nickname will arise for Richard Linklater's upcoming romantic comedy, set at President Barack Obama's historic inauguration earlier this year. ... read more

Charles Manson Wants to Collaborate with Phil Spector, Prison-Style

By Caroline Klibanoff on 5:00 PM on July 30, 2009

OK, we get it: Supergroups and drool-worthy collaborations are in. It seems like everyone and their cat is teaming up these days, from drummers to bassists to monsters. But inmates? ... read more

Watch the Trailer for the New Coen Brothers Movie, A Serious Man

By Jeffrey Bloomer on 4:45 PM on July 30, 2009

Here come the Coen Brothers. Their new movie, A Serious Man, follows a middle-class Jewish academic in turmoil, and it’s already famous because it presents a vaguely autobiographical portrait of their childhood (it was filmed in the brothers’ native Minnesota). ... read more