VIA PRESS RELEASE | Today (2/23), on the exact two-year anniversary of The Past Is Still Alive—named one of the Best Albums of the 2020s So Far by Pitchfork, and one of the Best Albums of 2024 by The New York Times, The Atlantic, Associated Press, NPR Music, Rolling Stone, Billboard, OUT, Mojo, Uncut and a multitude of others—Hurray for the Riff Raff announces the release of a new live record.

Arriving digitally on March 20th, and physically on May 8th via Nonesuch, Live Forever was captured over the course of two sold-out summer nights at the Old Town School of Folk Music in bandleader Alynda Segarra’s new home of Chicago, Illinois. Spanning 14 songs, Live Forever presents The Past Is Still Alive in its entirety, as well as a selection of Hurray for the Riff Raff’s show-stopping, set-defining staples: decrying ICE on the poetic “Precious Cargo” and The Navigator’s anthemic “Pa’lante”; the prescient digital age critique of “Pyramid Scheme”; and ripping through a folk-rock rendition of LIFE ON EARTH’s “Rhododendron,” which is out today with a new video shot at Old Town School of Folk Music.

“I moved to Chicago in September 2024, the year I released The Past Is Still Alive and hit the road with a new band—a group of musicians recommended by my front of house/production manager, Johnny Wilson. Everyone had ties to the city, and had been playing together in the DIY scene for over a decade.

Since then, we’ve traveled the world together, becoming family, playing the best shows of my life. Chicago has become home for me, and I feel grateful for the welcome I’ve gotten into the best music scene in the country.

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Remembering Nicky Hopkins, born on this day in 1944. —Ed.

Ever since the late ’50s/early ’60s pop music explosion, session or studio musicians were integral to recording. Whether they be backing singers, soloists, part of such illustrious posses as the famed Wrecking Crew, or the musicians who were the heart and soul of the Motown sound, these formerly somewhat anonymous players have been given their due over the years in books and in such movies as Standing in the Shadows of Motown from 2002, The Wrecking Crew from 2008, and 20 Feet from Stardom from 2013.

For anyone who has followed the birth and evolution in particular of British rock, from the singles-based British Invasion or album-based ’70s, one name stands out for those who read liner notes: British pianist Nicky Hopkins. In 2011 the book And on Piano …Nicky Hopkins: The Extraordinary Life of Rock’s Greatest Session Man by Julian Dawson was published. The book came many years after Hopkins passed away in 1994 at the age of 50. That book did a lot to recognize what an important musical artist he was and solidified his place in rock music history.

A new film entitled The Session Man: Nicky Hopkins is sure to bring his legacy alive for even more fans of great British and in some cases even American music. The film was directed by Mike Treen who has primarily worked in television. The timing is just right as it was just announced that Hopkins will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the “Musical Excellence Award.”

This is a perfectly crafted musical doc and includes a star-studded cast of interviewees with whom Hopkins worked. There are interviews with Keith Richards, Bill Wyman, Peter Frampton, Nils Lofgren, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Jim Keltner, Terry Reid, Chuck Leavell, Graham Parker, P.P. Arnold, Harry Shearer from Spinal Tap, and record producers Glynn Johns, Shel Talmy, and Chris Kimsey, among many others. There’s also an audio interview with Pete Townshend and a previously filmed interview with Mick Jagger.

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The Tomeka Reid Quartet consists of the leader and composer on cello, Mary Halvorson on guitar, Jason Roebke on bass, and Tomas Fujiwara on drums. This lineup has been solid since their debut recording arrived in 2015, and with dance! skip! hop!, they’ve now cut four full-length albums of structurally dynamic and skillfully exploratory contemporary jazz. The set consists of five tracks that range from astute swing to full-throttle scorch. The record is out now on limited vinyl (black, green, multi-colored one-of-a-kind CHROMA), limited compact disc, and digital through Out Of Your Head Records.

A band that stays together can attain exemplary levels of elevated interaction and do it gracefully. Some might say these bands make it sound like they are doing it with ease, but anybody who has played an instrument, or even (especially) tried to play an instrument and failed, will understand there is nothing easy about it. Interacting and improvising with other musicians can increase the level of difficulty but also inspire heightened creativity.

As the leader of this decade-long-running quartet, Tomeka Reid brings the compositions and also an instrument that, while solidly established in jazz history (Fred Katz, Oscar Pettiford, Ron Carter, Abdul Wadud, Hank Roberts, and Eric Friedlander, to name six), still has a captivating freshness about it when played well, and Reid plays with consistent excellence.

And so, the Tomeka Reid Quartet continues to get down to it on dance! skip! hop! This is due to a lack of faltering by any participant, but we’re not done with Reid yet. In the opening title track, she presents a composition that’s almost bebop-like in its sheer infectious groove-verve. Roebke and Fujiwara lay down a foundation that’s massive as a linebacker but still supple like a youthful ballerina, upon which Halvorson and Reid get off and go off mightily.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Following its critically acclaimed debut at the Tribeca Film Festival, Mercury Studios is announcing that the feature-length documentary Linda Perry: Let It Die Here will launch a global theatrical rollout beginning this May.

Directed by award-winning filmmaker Don Hardy (Citizen Penn, Pick of the Litter) and produced by KTF Films, the film offers an unfiltered portrait of one of the most influential figures in modern music. Evan Saxon Productions will distribute the film theatrically. The film was met with widespread praise following its premiere in Tribeca. Rolling Stone hailed it as “the rawest, most revealing music documentary in years,” while Billboard called the film “riveting,” noting that it captures an artist with “plenty left to say.” The Wrap praised the documentary for revealing “hidden truths” and highlighted Perry’s “vulnerability.”

The theatrical release opens in New York City on May 8 and will feature a special opening night screening followed by a Q&A and live performance. The film will open in Los Angeles on May 15, also accompanied by a Q&A and performance, before expanding through all markets from May 19.

Linda Perry: Let It Die Here chronicles the life and career of the GRAMMY and Golden Globe nominated songwriter, producer, and 4 Non Blondes front woman. Iconic in the nineties for the era-defining hit “What’s Up,” Linda Perry has spent the past three decades reinventing herself as one of pop music’s most prolific behind the scenes hitmakers. Her songwriting and production credits include Dolly Parton, Christina Aguilera, P!nk, Adele, Miley Cyrus, Celine Dion, Alicia Keys, Gwen Stefani, The Chicks, Ariana Grande, Weezer, and more.

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Celebrating David Sylvian on his 68th birthday. —Ed.

When UK new wavers Japan broke up in 1982, the members predictably splintered off into various directions, and the highest profiles belonged to Mick Karn and David Sylvian. Over the decades the latter has amassed a solo and collaborative discography of unlikely reach and impressiveness; however, giving a fresh listen to ‘84’s Brilliant Trees makes abundantly clear Sylvian’s career trajectory isn’t as surprising as it might initially seem.

Upon consideration, very few musicians who made their name in the pop sphere have aged as well as David Sylvian. Of course, this is mainly due to his choice after Japan’s dissolution (they briefly reunited for one self-titled ’91 album under the name Rain Tree Crow) to gradually leave the milieu that fostered his initial reputation. The subsequent journey led him into the outlying territories of experimentation and the avant-garde, though this shouldn’t give the false impression that Sylvian’s post-Japan oeuvre is devoid of pop elements.

As a youngster of the ‘80s, I knew little of Japan, my discovery of Sylvian supplied by his ’87 collaboration with Ryuichi Sakamoto, Secrets of the Beehive. The introduction was made through the frequent play and promotion of said disc by my hometown Mom & Pop record mart, an enterprise also involved in the sale of high end stereo equipment.

To my teen mind any system comprised of separate components was high end, and at the time Secrets of the Beehive basically eluded me, as did much “deep-listening” material attached to ambient, new age, minimalism, art-pop etc. Reengaging with Sylvian as a mature adult provided, if not an epiphany than another instance aiding the realization that artistic assessments work in tandem with personal growth, therefore flouting finality.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Heart’s legendary debut album, Dreamboat Annie, and Jellyfish’s cult classic swan song, Spilt Milk, are the latest records to join UMe’s Vinylphyle audiophile vinyl reissue series.

Available to order now exclusively via uDiscover Music, both albums were mastered by Joe Nino-Hernes and pressed at RTI on 180-gram black vinyl, with an initial pressing of 3,000. Similar in presentation and execution to Blue Note’s acclaimed Tone Poet series, the production and packaging seek to honor the stature of these recordings and includes tip-on wrapped gatefold jackets in satin matte finish, printed on clay-coated board, with archival poly sleeves and a four-panel insert featuring new liner notes.

Dreamboat Annie, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, was mastered from the 1975 Can-Base Studios tapes and features liner notes from veteran music writer Rick Florino, while Spilt Milk was mastered from a new 96kHz, 24bit digital remaster sourced from the 1993 Ocean Way Mixdown tapes and was pressed on 2LP, spreading the 46 minutes of music onto three sides to maximize punch and fidelity, while minimizing the amount of record-flipping interruptions. A handwritten message to fans from Jellyfish co-founder Roger Joseph Manning Jr. is engraved on the fourth side. Manning also provides an illuminating, in-depth interview in the liner notes about the making of the short-lived band’s power pop masterpiece.

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I once read someone call the J. Geils Band America’s Rolling Stones. No shit. If the J. Geils Band are America’s Rolling Stones this country is in even sorrier shape than I thought. The R&B connection is there, the litany of unforgettable songs isn’t—the J. Geils Band began life as a house party band (even wrote a song saying as much), and despite a couple of breakthrough AOR hits, a house party band they remained.

Trouble is, I’m not sure—and I actually have a soft spot for America’s hardly-the-Rolling-Stones—I’d go to that house party. Good time music is only good time music if the music is good, and the J. Geils Band is a kind of music mullet—party in the front, not always so great music in the back. And harmonica solos disguised as songs aren’t my idea of fun.

The J. Geils Band hailed from Worcester, Massachusetts, and appropriately enough got their start as a fraternity party band at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, as Snoopy and the Sopwith Camels. And they remained a fraternity party band in spirit until the late seventies, journeymen in the mold of Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, when they went arena rock with bordering-on-novelty-song smashes like “Love Stinks,” “Centerfold,” and “Freeze-Frame.”

But there are few more energetic frat-party albums than 1972’s Live Full House, which is worth hearing and is probably the LP that spawned the Rolling Stones comparisons in the first place.

Like Seger, they wrote some great originals (okay, so Seger wrote more), performed some great covers, and made their bones as a full-tilt live band. Like Seger, they finally broke through to the big time, but you won’t hear (and I can’t say I’m disappointed) their career-altering hits on 1979’s Best of the J. Geils Band. What you’ll hear is a house party, and while it has its sublime moments, I think Robert Christgau of The Village Voice was spot on when he wrote, “Here’s where we catch up with their good moments, right? Wrong.”

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | “A singular, rhapsodic triumph.” —Uncut

Destroyer’s Rubies, the beloved seventh full-length album by Destroyer, turns 20 this February. Recently hailed by UPROXX as one of 2006’s best albums, Destroyer’s Rubies will receive a repressing befitting its status as one of the jewels of the Merge Records catalog. The 20th Anniversary Edition of Destroyer’s Rubies, a double LP pressed on clear with red swirl vinyl, is now available for pre-order from the Merge Records store or Destroyer’s Bandcamp page. The album, which includes the vinyl-exclusive suite “Loscil’s Rubies,” ships on March 6.

Dan Bejar will once again take to the road later this month, supporting Neko Case’s winter 2026 tour with a solo Destroyer set. Tickets for all dates are now on sale.

Remembering Kurt Cobain, born on this day in 1967. —Ed.

In 1991 a Pacific-Northwest three-piece changed the direction of the record industry, securing a spot in music history as the spearhead of Grunge. In 2002 a self-titled album attempted to sum up their essence; rather than electing to represent the trio’s actual range, Nirvana is dominated by chart entries, a handful of non-surprises, and a (then) previously unreleased track. 

To obtain a full grasp of how well Nirvana succeeds in offering a tidy retrospective of an important, oft volatile, and enduringly polarizing act required getting reacquainted with their discography from ’88 to ’94. With time spent the verdict is in: first hitting racks roughly 8½ years after Kurt Cobain’s suicide and a little over a decade removed from the band’s unexpected runaway success, Nirvana ultimately falls short of top-tier.

This assessment comes not by any fault of the group but through unimaginative assemblage and a problematic title. Leaving the occasional sarcastic usage aside, the words Greatest Hits summarize an objective truth, and the use of Best Of, while potentially arguable, is a nomenclature making its intentions plain. The eponymous treatment employed here is merely ambiguous.

If the purpose behind Nirvana was to encapsulate its subject’s breadth and heights on one record the results don’t meet the goal. Far too safe to accurately embody the Best, it essentially flirts with Greatest Hits; perhaps the term was just considered tacky when applied to retail achievements stemming partially from a perceived lack of calculation and even borderline disinterest.

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Actress, musician, and storyteller Gina Gershon joins us to talk music, Hollywood, and her brand new memoir.

Known for her iconic roles in Bound, Showgirls, Face/Off, and The Insider, as well as her Broadway turn as Sally Bowles in Cabaret, Gershon has carved out one of the most distinctive careers in the business. Music has always been a big part of her world too—she’s recorded albums, toured across America, and performed at Carnegie Hall three times alongside Sting, Laurie Anderson, Joan Baez, and Gogol Bordello.

Her new memoir, AlphaPussy: How I Survived the Valley and Learned to Love My Boobs, drops March 3, 2026. It’s a collection of true stories covering her journey from the San Fernando Valley to Hollywood and New York City, with candid encounters involving Prince, Bob Dylan, Bob Fosse, Sharon Stone, and many others.

Radar features discussions with artists and industry leaders who are creators and devotees of music and is produced by Dylan Hundley and The Vinyl District. Dylan Hundley is an artist and performer, and the co-creator and lead singer of Lulu Lewis and all things at Darling Black. She co-curates and hosts Salon Lulu which is a New York based multidisciplinary performance series. She is also a cast member of the iconic New York film Metropolitan.