Last fall, with a big tour on the horizon and a new album in the works, the Civil Wars surprised everyone by announcing a hiatus in light of “internal discord and irreconcilable differences in ambition.” The tour was cancelled, and the album — which had already been documented in a series of tweets and Instragram [...]

“This was a very disciplined process. It was like putting an X-ray or a magnifying glass on your own songwriting – it’s right there, its weaknesses glaring. Half the time I’m rewriting at the last minute. Out of 20 songs, if I’m lucky one out of 10 will hold up. So I’ll be more exacting. [...]

Dwight Yoakam has come full circle with his satisfying new album 3 Pears. For example, he finally got around to finishing an old song titled “Take Hold Of My Hand,” which he started writing nearly two decades ago. Hanging out with Kid Rock in Hollywood one day, they shook out the cobwebs in just a [...]

Dwight Yoakam Three Pears (Warner Bros.) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Inviting Beck to co-produce two tracks on Dwight Yoakam’s first album of original material since 2005 (and his return to Warner Brothers after a sojourn at New West), might seem like a bold experiment to push his traditional Bakersfield sound in new and [...]

Pioneering indie-rock icon Beck is once again marching to the beat of his own funky drummer. This December, he’ll release The Beck Hansen Song Reader, a collection of new songs presented in sheet music format, via the website McSweeney’s. There will be no music to listen to per se, but those who read music can [...]

Few people are better suited to sing a Woody Guthrie song than Beck Hansen, whose dusty voice and mastery of folk music tropes connects him firmly to the great American troubadour’s legacy. Listen to Beck perform “I Ain’t Got No Home,” a Guthrie song he first recorded in the mid-’90s. Beck recently made the live [...]

Last weekend, the Governors Ball Festival took over Randall’s Island in New York City. Featuring performances from Beck, Passion Pit, Fiona Apple, Modest Mouse, Built To Spill, Devendra Banhart, Explosions In The Sky, Passion Pit, Chromeo, Cults, Santigold, Walk The Moon, Penguin Prison, Art Vs. Science, and Cage The Elephant.

(Freelance Whales) This weekend’s Governors Ball festival in New York boasts an impressive line-up, boasting a headlining set from Passion Pit on Saturday. On Sunday, Beck takes the main spot with his first NYC show in four years. High-profile acts like Fiona Apple, Santigold, Chromeo, Devendra Banhart, and Built To Spill are also set to [...]

As previously reported, Beck has teamed up with Jack White’s Third Man Records and released a single on 7″ vinyl. Below is the stream for the A-Side “I Just Started Hating Some People Today,” which features White on backing vocals, and sees Beck experimenting with country, punk and funk. Fans of Beck will immediately recognize [...]

The coolest record label in the world just got a little bit cooler. On May 28, Third Man Records, the Nashville-based label run by Jack White, will release Beck’s latest single, “I Just Started Hating Some People Today,” backed with the B-Side “Blue Randy.” A press release states that Beck recorded the single last year [...]

Those looking for a sign of Beck’s ongoing recording career (his last album was 2008′s Modern Guilt) should take a listen to “Looking For A Sign,” a tune he contributes to the Jeff Who Lives At Home soundtrack. Look for the song (which has a nice Sea Change acoustic vibe) to be used to underscore [...]

In this long-ranging interview with Pitchfork celebrating his 15 years in the business, Beck discusses writing “Loser,” the nation’s puzzled response to Odelay, and the fact that he got his first computer in 2002. Perhaps the most interesting tidbit: Beck’s most solemn, straightforward, Hank Williams-influenced album Sea Change, which earned critical raves, almost had a sequel. [...]