Wednesday Music News

10/12/2016

Janice Headley

PNW transplant Aesop Rock shows some love for his new hometown of Portland in the video for "Shrunk," off his latest LP, The Impossible Kid. Filmed at the old-school arcade palace Ground Kontrol, Aes raps about therapy while an 8-bit version of him battles the therapy bear from earlier promo clips (see here). He also announced a nationwide tour, dubbed the "Hey Kirby Tour" which I highly approve of, but weirdly there is no Seattle date, which I do not approve of. [Stereogum]

In a move that is both impressive and worrying, West Coast rapper Murs is attempting to rap for the next 24 hours to break the Guinness World Record for Longest Freestyle. In an interview with Rolling Stone, he says, "I’m sure it’ll be challenging. But the being awake part I’ve done, so I’m good there. I love rapping just a little more than video games. And combining my own compositions with songs I love by other artists should keep me amped up enough. If not, there’s coffee and coffee." The previous record stands at nine-hours, 18-minutes, and 22-seconds. As of this writing, the attempt is currently in progress; he's three hours in, and doing a great job keeping up the stamina. Murs, we wish you luck. Treat yourself to some throat coat tea when you're done. [Spin]

Earlier today on The Morning Show on KEXP, John debuted a new song from Cloud Nothings. If you were still asleep, you can stream the track "Modern Act" below, a sneak peek at the forthcoming full-length, Life Without Sound, out January 27th via Carpark. Frontman/founding member Dylan Baldi says in a press release, "Generally, it seems like my work has been about finding my place in the world. But there was a point in which I realized that you can be missing something important in your life, a part you didn’t realize you were missing until it’s there — hence the title. This record is like my version of new age music. It’s supposed to be inspiring." [Consequence of Sound]

Our neighbors to the north, Vancouver duo Japandroids, just wrapped up a four-night residency at the Cobalt Motor Hotel where they've been debuting new tracks. Watch fan shot footage of two new singles below: "No Known Drink or Drug" and "Near to the Wild Heart of Life." No news yet on an album title, release date, label, color of vinyl, but knowing they're working out new songs is always good news. [Consequence of Sound]

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