Rihanna: Same Ol’ Mistakes

For those who don’t have a TIDAL subscription, Rihanna’s album ANTI is now available on Spotify. Whether you’re tearing down the highway to “Desperado” or grooving to the nostalgic, soulful “Love on the Brain” the tracks are delightfully diverse. It’s her rendition of Tame Impala’s “New Person, Same Old Mistakes” (from their most recent album Currents) that sticks immediately, despite the similarity in accompaniment. With …

Moderat: Reminder

Originating in Berlin, German electronic music explorers Modeselektor and Apparat are back with their third album as power trio Moderat. From III, they release the single, “Reminder,” which opens with Apparat (Sascha Ring) revealing something intimate through his bare voice, accompanied by a light, breakbeat percussion pattern. Moderat has well-earned a reputation for balancing the experimental with the dancefloor rockout, and all of the subtleties …

Pussy Riot: CHAIKA

If you don’t know who Yuri Chaika is, Pussy Riot’s song “CHAIKA” can help fill in the blanks. The punk-rock protest collective, whose performances have gotten a few members jailed, bravely ridicules the Russian General Prosecutor through music video and spoken word (entirely in Russian). Just last December, Chaika was the subject of an investigative article, in the form of a film, by Alexei Navalny’s …