Christine and the Queens: Heart of Gold (Neil Young Cover)

Christine and the Queens (aka French singer/songwriter and producer Héloïse Letissier) just released an emotive and haunting cover of Neil Young’s 1972 hit, “Heart of Gold.” With spacey blips and echoing vocals, this minimal version (with Letissier’s sublime voice the focus) diverges from the acoustic, country-meets-folk original—yet carries all the same intense yearning.

Tom Misch + Yussef Dayes: The Real

From vocalist and instrumentalist Tom Misch and drummer Yussef Dayes, “The Real” features a pitched-up sample of “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing” by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. The song (appearing on Dayes and Misch’s collaborative album, What Kinda Music) mixes electronic elements with percussion and a bass line more typically used in hip-hop—all layered under Misch’s sultry vocals. The result is a hybrid piece …

Beirut’s 72-Hour Online Nightlife Fundraiser, Electronic Labor Day

A citizen-led virtual party organized to raise funds for hospitality workers

Before the pandemic arrived in Lebanon, Beirut’s nightlife pulsed with global renown. Then came the government-mandated lockdowns. Like in other cities, Lebanon’s hospitality industry took a major hit as non-essential businesses were shuttered. But the absence of state-sponsored assistance for those left jobless would be more glaring, further straining an already dire economic situation prior to the pandemic. It is estimated that 25,000 workers in …