Kirsten Dunst: Turning Japanese

The historic Nelson Mandela anthem, Kirsten Dunst in anime costume, a lot of NTS radio and more in our look at music this week

This past Wednesday, we hit Parisian club Silencio’s pop-up at Art Basel Miami Beach, where Pharrell and Takashi Murakami curated a set of the Japanese visual artist’s films from his most recent “Jellyfish Eyes” to 2009’s “Akihabara Majokko Princess.” The latter—which exhibited at London’s Tate Modern museum—is the pop artist’s attempt to blend highbrow and lowbrow art. Directed by Hollywood-famous McG, it features Kirsten Dunst …

The Special AKA: Nelson Mandela

The historic Nelson Mandela anthem, Kirsten Dunst in anime costume, a lot of NTS radio and more in our look at music this week

As the world mourns the passing of Nelson Mandela this week, we remember his profound spirit through the UK band The Special AKA’s 1984 catchy anthem, “Nelson Mandela“—released as “(Free) Nelson Mandela” stateside. Produced by Elvis Costello, the song fuses the band’s characteristic ska beats and brass with African harmonies, propelled by Stan Campbell’s persuasive voice. Differing from most political protest songs, it is upbeat, …

ListenUp

The historic Nelson Mandela anthem, Kirsten Dunst in anime costume, a lot of NTS radio and more in our look at music this week

It’s Nice That + NTS Radio’s Black Impulse Playlist Our creativity-championing friends over at It’s Nice That have let the folks from Black Impulse on NTS Radio hijack their weekly mixtape—resulting in two hours of music, most of which you’ve probably never heard before. Heather Weil focuses on prog, heavy psych, 1970s and ’80s punk and hardcore. She explains, “These are three really difficult genres …