Month: June 2024

Many have speculated that Charli XCX’s “Girl, So Confusing” is about Lorde, with lyrics like, “‘Cause people say we’re alike / They say we’ve got the same hair / One day we might make some music / The internet would go crazy” (more context on that in a minute). Well, that has now been pretty much confirmed with Lorde hopping on a new remix of the track.

On the song (officially titled “The girl, so confusing version with lorde”), Lorde responds to the original lyrics, singing, “Well, honestly, I was speechless / When I woke up to your voice note / You told me how you’d been feeling / Let’s work it out on the remix.”

In a May cover story with Rolling Stone UK, Lorde spoke about some envy she felt when Lorde first found fame, saying, “When ‘Royals’ came out, I was super jealous of the success that that song got, and that Ella got. You piece all this stuff together in your brain, like: ‘She was into my music. She had big hair; I had big hair. She wore black lipstick; I once wore black lipstick.’ You create these parallels and think, ‘Well, that could have been me.’ But it couldn’t have because we’re completely different people. I wasn’t making music that sounded anything like ‘Royals.’ I think you just read what you want into it because you’re feeling insecure about your own work.”

Listen to the “Girl, So Confusing” remix above.

Today’s episode begins with Steven confronting Ian over a difficult subject: The big plate of donuts that Ian stole from Steven at his book event in Los Angeles last week. Will the guys be able to get past this? Yes, they will. But not before some serious donut shaming! After resolving the donut issue, they briefly discuss Steven’s plans to see the Pixies, Modest Mouse, and Cat Power on the same bill, and the Pixies’ weird status post-reunion in the 21st century.

After that, they finally get down to the task of handing out their mid-year Indiecasties. Categories include: Most Valuable Album Cycle, Most Memory Holed Album, Most Annoying Music Writer Story, Most Fun Music Writer Story, and Most Overrated Album. Remember: Everybody is a winner at the Indiecasties. It’s an honor just to be nominated!

In Recommendation Corner, Ian talks up the new album from Annabel while Steven raves about the latest from This Is Lorelei.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 194 here and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

GloRilla is having the time of her life this summer. On top of dropping one of the buzziest hits of the year — the catchy, infectious “Yeah Glo!” — the Memphis rapper has been killing it as the opener on Megan Thee Stallion‘s Hot Girl Summer Tour. All the while, her unreleased material has been going viral in TikTok videos. Tonight (June 21), Glo has shared her new single, “TGIF,” which has already proven to be a hit online.

Over a scorching beat, Glo looks forward to the weekend. She’s not stressing over a man, but rather, she is looking forward to spending time with her girls.

“Turnt up with my b*tches / Turnt up at my shows / Cuzzo I got that blicky / 60,000 fans, came to see me do my dance / Got a million and one haters / And they all can kiss my ass,” raps Glo.

The song arrives shortly after her mixtape, Ehhthang, Ehhthang, and on the very first night of summer. Having first gone viral with “FNF (Let’s Go)” two years ago, Glo has been supplying the heat for the ladies.

Pure confidence paired with some dirty south flavor is a recipe for an undeniable banger.

You can listen to “TGIF” above.

Gracie Abrams gets personal on her new album, The Secret Of Us. On her sophomore album, Abrams shares painfully relatable anecdotes as she grows through love. On a special song called “Us” — a raw, poignant collaboration with Taylor Swift — Abrams looks back on a relationship fondly, but finds herself hurting over the fact that she can’t get those moments back.

Helping Abrams tap into those emotions are Swift, who mostly delivers background vocals, as well as prolific producers, Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff, who contributed to the song’s emotional production.

“Do you miss us, us? / I felt it, you held it, do you miss us, us? Wonder if you regret the secret of us,” sing Abrams and Swift on the song’s chorus.

Though Abrams doesn’t call out anyone by name, it seems like she may be talking about her rumored ex, Dylan O’Brien. This is perhaps most evident as she sings “You’re twеnty-nine years old / So how can you be cold when I open my home?” on the song’s bridge, which seems to allude to the secretive nature of their rumored relationship.

You can listen to “Us” above.

The Secret Of Us is out now via Interscope. Find more information here.

Two generations of powerhouse vocalists are coming together. Monica and Brandy had the ’90s in a chokehold, both as individual artists, as well as on their iconic duet, “The Boy Is Mine.” Many modern day vocalists, including Ariana Grande, have cited Brandy and Monica as inspirations. Tonight (June 21), the three have teamed up on a remix of Grande’s song called “The Boy Is Mine.”

Grande has said she’s always wanted to create her own version of Brandy and Monica’s 1998 track, “The Boy Is Mine,” and she realized this goal on her most recent album, Eternal Sunshine. Though her song is a solo song, and is sonically, lyrically, and structurally different, Grande stands on business, not letting anyone come between her and her man.

On the remix, Monica sings the first verse, taking over for Grande. Brandy, also known as the vocal bible, takes over on the second verse, before all three deliver an all-new bridge.

Perhaps we should’ve seen this collaboration coming all along, especially as Brandy and Monica make a surprise appearance in the video for Grande’s “The Boy Is Mine.” But three top-notch women in music coming together to create magic? We love to see it.

You can listen to “The Boy Is Mine” remix above.

Rapper and singer 6lack is known to take his time between projects. But on his latest single, he’s not mincing words. Tonight (June 21), the Atlanta artist shared his new single, “F*ck The Rap Game,” on which, he does some introspection, and takes an honest look at the current musical landscape.

At times, 6lack finds himself defeated. But regardless of what comes his way, nothing can ever affect how much he loves music.

“I came into the industry before the streaming era, and I’ve witnessed a lot of change since then,” said 6lack in a statement. “Over the last few years there seems to be a lot more moments where it feels like being an artist is about everything besides the actual music. I consider myself very fortunate to do what I love for a living. But I say f*ck the rap ‘game’ because that’s the part I don’t love. The part that has nothing to do with artistic expression and makes being an artist feel like a job. This song is a personal reflection about distractions within the music industry that detract from what this art form was created for. I’m distancing myself from the politics and reminding myself what my purpose is within the genre.”

You can see the video for “F*ck The Rap Game” above.

A hot Posty summer is upon us. Earlier this week, Texas native Post Malone announced his sixth studio album, F-1 Trillion, which will serve as his first-ever country album. Tonight (June 21), Malone has shared his new single, “Pour Me A Drink” — a fun, weekend-ready collab with Blake Shelton.

On “Pour Me A Drink,” Malone laments a draining week. Seeking a debauched night with a buddy in Blake Shelton, the two lay the ground for some good old-fashioned partying.

“Somebody pour me a drink, somebody bum me a smoke / I’m ’bout to get on a buzz, I’m ’bout to get on a roll / Yeah, I been breakin’ my back just keepin’ up with the Joneses / Y’all know what I mean, and y’all know how it goes,” sings Post on the song’s chorus.

While Post dreads the 9 to 5, it seems Shelton is mourning a different type of pain.

“Guess I really went and messed it up again / Now, my baby’s goner than the Tulsa wind / Judgin’ by the stone-sober state I’m in / Need to crack one wide open,” sings Shelton on his verse.

While the two artists may have coveted accolades to their credits, when they come together, it’s time to get the festivities rolling.

You can listen to “Pour Me A Drink” above.

F-1 Trillion is out 8/16 via Republic. Find more information here.

88Rising‘s leading lady is gearing up for what looks to be a promising new album. Ahead of her upcoming record, Buzz, Jakartan-born singer NIKI has shared her new single, “Blue Moon.”

On the song, NIKI finds herself devasted and blindsided by a break-up. A string-driven instrumental adds an additional layer of heartache.

“Four full laps around the sun / We wouldn’t admit that we were done / Now I may very well havе just lost the one,” she sings on the song’s chorus.

NIKI wrote the harrowing track last year while on the Nicole World Tour. She was inspired by the end of a four-year-long romance — the closing of a chapter she did not see coming.

“I wrote ‘Blue Moon’ lamenting the slow, then sudden demise of a truly significant relationship,” Niki said in a statement. “It’s about the deepest and rarest of loves we might stumble upon (once in the bluest of moons, if we’re lucky), and then realizing we’d stumbled
upon it too early for it to stand a chance. It’s that classic trope of right person, wrong
time.”

The song’s accompanying visual features NIKI in an ominous looking cabin, depicting her complex feelings through the art of dance.

You can watch the “Blue Moon” video above.

Buzz is out 8/9 via 88Rising. Find more information here.

It would have made sense if an NBA team in need of some offensive firepower in the backcourt gave Malik Monk a big contract this offseason. One of the top unrestricted free agents on the market, Monk was viewed as the exact type of bucket getter who could end up commanding big money.

As it turns out, Monk isn’t going anywhere. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Sacramento Kings took advantage of the exclusive negotiating window teams have with their own free agents to give Monk a 4-year deal worth $78 million, which he intends to sign.

Monk is coming off of the most productive season of his career as a member of the Kings, one which saw him finish as the runner-up for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award. He averaged 15.4 points and 5.1 assists per game, both of which were the highest marks of his career, and was an important part of head coach Mike Brown’s rotation despite coming off the bench in every game he played this season.

After spending the first four years of his career as a member of the Charlotte Hornets and making a pit stop in Los Angeles as a member of the Lakers, Monk joined the Kings on a 2-year deal last offseason, where he was reunited with one of his teammates in college at the University of Kentucky, De’Aaron Fox. Now, he’s getting the chance to cash in on how his stint in Sacramento has gone up to this point.

Apparently a move across enemy lines to AEW isn’t as far-fetched as one would think for Shane McMahon, the son of former WWE owner, Vince McMahon.

Shane was last seen in a WWE ring at WrestleMania 39 tearing his quad in a wild impromptu match that resulted in Snoop Dogg knocking out The Miz. With his father out of the company, and his brother-in-law, Paul Levesque effectively running the company, AEW announcer Jim Ross shared that Shane has called him “two or three times” and posed that a run in AEW is so crazy it could work on his podcast, Grilling JR.

Then, a few days later, Ross’ co-host, Conrad Thompson followed up with an even stronger notion that Shane-O-Mac may be at least considering the option on Grilling JR.

“There was a friend of ours, I shouldn’t say their name, but he went out of his way to text me and say, ‘Hey, that’s not as crazy as you think. I know for sure that Shane McMahon has reached out to wrestlers on the AEW roster to at least hypothetically discuss the idea.’ Are we saying that’s going to happen? No. We are saying it’s not that crazy of an idea,” Thompson said (H/T Fightful)

Shane’s last appearance on TNT was to announce he was “purchasing” WCW. If he appears on the network again, the angle could be just as memorable.