José González: Leaf Off / The Cave

José González’s heartfelt brand of indie acoustic music has captivated audiences the world over since his cover of The Knife’s “Heartbeats” was released in 2003. The Gothenburg, Sweden-based artist is now on the cusp of releasing his first solo full-length album in over seven years, but that’s not to say he hasn’t been busy. Maybe it was his extensive work on the soundtrack for Ben …

Stevie Wonder: Happy Birthday

Introduced by American Congressman John Conyers in 1968, it wasn’t until 1986 that the third Monday of every January would come to celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. The ridiculously long process for passing a bill which would honor the civil rights leader saw many people speak out on its importance, but Stevie Wonder’s pronounced crusade and musical tribute, “Happy Birthday,” played an …

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Winter playlists, a bizarre Outkast mix, Prince's female protégés and more in the music we featured this week

Panda Bear: Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper Citing ’90s hip-hop and R&B as influences, and sampling material from Debussy and even Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker suite (heard in “Tropic of Cancer”), Panda Bear‘s new album is all about rhythmic swings. Matthewdavid: “Even The Sun Goes Down” OUTKAST MIX Inventive, high energy and wholly cosmic and bizarre, adventurous lovers of electronic and southern hip-hop alike will find …