Broken Social Scene Share "Golden F...

Earlier this month, Canadian label Arts & Crafts released Broadsheet Music: A Year in Review, a musical collaboration with The Globe and Mail featuring label artists as well as contributions from the Canadian Opera Company. Included in the set was “Golden Facelift”, a Broken Social Scene song recorded during the Forgiveness Rock Record sessions that didn’t make the final album. Today, the band shared the fan-made clip for the song, which serves as a visual recap of 2014.  In a press release, they also talked about the video:...

Michael Stipe Plays Surprise Solo Set, C...

Last night, Patti Smith played the first of her two shows at Webster Hall in NYC. Unannounced, Michael Stipe opened last night’s show with a stripped-down six song set, one that featured covers of Perfume Genius‘ “Hood” and Smith’s “Wing” as well as a couple of R.E.M. rarities. It was the first time Stipe had performed since 2011, when R.E.M. broke up. Watch footage and hear audio from the set below, via Wondering Sound.  “New Test Leper” and “Saturn Return” “Hood” (Perfume Genius cover)...

Pussy Riot Share "Witches of Pussy ...

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and his brother Oleg were recently sentenced to prison in a trial that was deliberately sped up in order to prevent protesting. In response, Pussy Riot has shared the video for “Witches of Pussy Riot Clean Manezhka”, a clip that features group members cleaning Manezhka Square in downtown Moscow, the location of protests taking place tonight. Watch the video below. Read our interview with Pussy Riot members Nadya Tolokonnikova and Masha Alyokhina...

Shamir Shares Miranda Lambert Cover

As part of their Theme Song series, Rookie enlists an artist to cover a song that has special meaning to them. The latest iteration features Las Vegas singer Shamir covering Miranda Lambert’s 2009 hit “The House That Built Me”. Listen below, via Stereogum.  Shamir also offered some thoughts on his choice: When you picked “The House That Built Me” to correspond with our First Person theme, what about it seemed like a good fit? I love Miranda Lambert so much. When you told me the theme, I was like, “I have the perfect song! The...

Previously Unseen Footage of Nicki Minaj...

This past weekend saw the return of the British TV show “You Saw Them Here First”, which compiles footage of stars from before they were famous. In addition to early performance clips from Katy Perry, Paloma Faith and others, Saturday night’s episode offered a rare glimpse into Nicki Minaj‘s life pre-rap-stardom, back when she studied theatre at the prestigious Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School in New York City. The minute-or-so of footage features Minaj (née Onika Miraj, class of ’00) rehearsing a high-intensity scene and hurling a telephone...