Among the fifty best-selling records of August on Discogs.com, three of the top five entries were just different vinyl pressings of Khruangbin's 'Mordechai', including the top spot. In all, six of the top fifty best-selling records were by Khruangbin, topping both current hot acts such as Phoebe Bridgers and catalog titles like David Bowie. It goes down to music of course 'Mordechai' is a “record that is fun and full of heart, and also really calming", Hannah Carlen, head of marketing at Khruangbin’s label, Dead Oceans, told Texas Monthly.

"Running helps me maintain a deep physical connection to the electronic music that I love: The same pulsating energy that once fueled peak-time dance marathons now carries me over the next hill, through the next mile, toward the next goal" - Indy Week's Nick Williams writes about a change of floor for the electronic music lovers, who found a similar thrill in running. The music also makes people try harder - "a consummate DJ set can keep a club churning long past the point where everyone should be in bed; the right music can push runners beyond their physical limitations".

Veteran music executive and Lollapalooza co-founder Marc Geiger has been working on an initiative of his own called SaveLive this year with a plan to save American indie venues, the New York Times reports. Geiger’s plan is to buy at least 51 percent equity in dozens of music clubs nationwide, and help them expand into “regional forces” with the help of sponsorship opportunities and create a “network effect”. Geiger has already collected $75 million from the first investment round.

Deftones have announced a 20th anniversary deluxe reissue of their landmark 2000 album, 'White Pony', featuring a bonus LP of brand-new remixes dubbed 'Black Stallion' with reworkings by the likes of DJ Shadow, The Cure’s Robert Smith, Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda, and more. In advance of its December 11th release, Deftones have unveiled Purity Ring’s remix of 'Knife Prty'. Other remixers on Black 'Stallion' include Phantogram, Tourist, Clams Casino, Squarepusher, Blanck Mass, and others.

The 22-year-old daughter of Michael Jackson has released her debut solo single 'Let Down', ahead of her solo album 'Wilted' being released on November 13th, CNN reports. She described her music as alternative folk, and it's fair to describe it as indie-rock with touches of Americana. A nice song, and a brave move from young Paris Jackson to move quite away from her father's sound. The only daughter of Michael Jackson has previously made music with her now ex-boyfriend Gabriel Glenn as part of their band The Soundflowers.

Bruce Springsteen scored his 12th Number 1 album on UK Official Chart with 'Letter To You', sold in 51,800 units. The entry means Springsteen is the first credited solo artist to have a Number 1 album in five consecutive decades, topping the charts in the 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s and 20s. With 12 Number 1 albums, Bruce Springsteen is now tied with Madonna for chart-topping albums – Robbie Williams and Elvis Presley are the only solo artists to have had more Number 1 albums in the UK.

Country music singer-songwriter Billy Joe Shaver, a hero of "outlaw" country, whom Willie Nelson once called "the greatest living songwriter" died Wednesday at the age of 81, the New York Times reports. Shaver was often referred to as part of the "outlaw country" movement of the 1970s along with figures like Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, both of whom recorded his songs, as well as Kris Kristofferson, His songs were recorded by Elvis Presley, David Allan Coe, Patty Loveless, Tom T. Hall, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Paycheck and Doug Kershaw, Johnny Cash. His own recording career encompassed 17 studio albums.

Atlantic Records has launched the 36% Campaign, named after the fact that only 36% of eligible voters aged 18-29 voted in the 2018 midterm election in the US, with songs stripped down to 36% in the innovative campaign. Atlantic artists Portugal. The Man, Kelly Clarkson, Jack Harlow, Meek Mill, and Cordae are releasing rough-cut, shortened videos of some of their biggest hits, Variety reports. Pta. T M's five-time platinum Grammy award-winning 'Feel It Still' (or 'Fl Sl') has been edited to be 36% visible and stripped of key instrumental elements, including its signature bassline. In other political-related news, Snoop Dogg says he believed his criminal records precluded him from being able to vote (it didn't), The Atlantic reports.

The proportion of black, Asian and minority ethnic staff in the music industry in the UK has risen from 15.6% in 2016 to 22.3% this year, according to trade body UK Music. But, there are bigger differences when it comes to pay - among those earning more than £100,000 per year, just 27% were women and 12.2% were not white. In low-paid jobs - where salaries are less than £15,000 - the figures were 59.4% and 33.6% respectively. Overall, female representation was at 49.6% in 2020 - roughly the same as in 2016, Independent reports.

Nothing released a leaned back and mighty 'Famine Asylum'; Aquiles Navarro & Tcheser Holmes dropped a great afro-beat jazzy 'Pueblo'; Chelsea Wolfe released a creepy cover of 'In Heaven' from David Lynch's classic 1977 film 'Eraserhead'; Cass McCombs assembled a powerful front with Angel Olsen, Bob Weir, and Noam Chomsky to send a 'Don’t (Just) Vote' message; Zack de la Rocha remixed Outkast's 'Bombs Over Baghdad', adding a rock-rap riff to it; Portrayal of Guilt melt post hardcore with black metal on 'It's Already Over'.

Megan Thee Stallion was the big winner at the 15th annual BET Hip Hop Awards taking home three awards -- hip-hop artist of the year, best collaboration (for 'Savage' with Beyonce) and hustler of the year. Rapsody became the first woman to win for lyricist of the year. Roddy Ricch’s 'Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial' won hip hop album of the year, the first time that an artist’s first studio album has won that award. Pop Smoke won best new hip hop artist posthumously. Check out the complete list here.

It's a match made in heaven (or hell maybe?) - Johnny Depp produced a documentary about the Pogues leader Shane MacGowan, directed by Julien Temple, responsible for the Sex Pistols movie 'The Great Rock ‘N’ Roll Swindle' as well as docs on the Pistols and the Clash. 'Crock Of Gold — A Few Rounds With Shane MacGowan' features animation by Ralph Steadman, it traces MacGowan’s life, culminating at his 60th birthday blowout on Christmas night 2018 with an all-star tribute concert featuring performances from likes of Bono, Nick Cave, Sinéad O’Connor and Johnny Depp. It's coming to theatres and VOD in December.

Indigenous people of Brazil are taking a stand against the government and violations of their overlooked rights with music, combining urban music with their ancestral music. Singer and composer Kaê Guajajara merges hip-hop, traditional instruments and elements from her mother tongue Ze’egete to talk about her indigenous identity. The most prominent Indigenous rapper is 19-year-old Kunumi MC, a native of the Guarani people, who talks "against everything happening to the Indigenous peoples in Brazil now". São Paulo band Androyde Sem Par blends pop and rock in Guarani-inflected songs. A political message is also the first ingredient in indigenous heavy-metal band Arandu Arakuaa's music. The Guardian tells the important story.

The body of aspiring rapper Kent Won't Stop, who went missing on October 17, has been found dead in the boot of a car after a crash on a highway in Miami, Hot New Hip Hop reports. Florida Highway Patrol officers discovered the body of 25-year-old hip-hop artist Brian Trotter after being called to the site of the collision. The driver, 25-year-old Robert Deupree Avery Coltrain, a friend of the deceased, has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder. An autopsy showed Trotter was fatally shot multiple times. This follows the news that broke this week of a 12-year-old rapper, named Lil Rodney, who was sentenced to seven years for murdering a one-year-old toddler.

Over 6,000 musicians, producers, road crew, and other industry workers had signed an online petition demanding a penny per stream royalty from Spotify, which is about triple what Spotify is currently paying. It might, however, be too much for the Swedish streaming company - "If Spotify's model can’t pay artists fairly, it shouldn’t exist", Union of Musician and Allied Workers says, according to CoS.

The last song written by just one songwriter to reach the No. 1 at the Billboard Hot 100 was Ed Sheeran’s 'Perfect' in December 2017. The last song written by a solitary female songwriter to reach No. 1 was Alicia Keys’ 'Fallin’' in August 2001. In the 1970s almost half the songs reaching No. 1 were written by just one person. Billboard wonders why and how has it come to this.A helping hand

Songs that Donald Trump plays on his campaign are mostly classic rock that project power and combative self-confidence, like Queen's 'We Are The Champions', Tina Turner's 'The Best', and Survivor's 'Eye Of The Tiger' (containing the lyric "just a man and his will to survive"). BBC sees Trump's choice as one "based on how they feel, rather than a scholarly analysis of the lyrics". Joe Biden mostly goes for the lyrics, like with The Staple Singers' 'We The People', or for feel-good songs like Bill Withers' 'Lovely Day' or Jackie Wilson's 'Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher.

Republic Records claims the top three titles on the Billboard 200 albums chart this week, a first in two years, Billboard says. Taylor Swift’s 'Folklore' (released via Republic) climbs back to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for an eighth non-consecutive week on top, with 77,000 equivalent album units. Total album sales for 'Folklore' jump past 1 million (to 1.038 million), making it the first album to sell a million copies in 2020, according to Billboard. Pop Smoke’s 'Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon' (via Victor Victor Worldwide/Republic) falls one spot with 66,000 equivalent album units earned. 21 Savage and Metro Boomin’s 'Savage Mode II' (Boominati/Slaughter Boomin/Republic/Epic) dips 2-3 with 47,000 units (down 29%).

Viola Smith, widely considered the first professional female drummer, has died aged 107 in California, LA Times reports. The trailblazing drummer once heralded as the “fastest girl drummer in the world”, gained recognition as the percussionist for Frances Carroll & the Coquettes, an all-female big band group that became popular in the late 1930s. She was known not only for her speed and precision, but her 12-drum kit which featured high-mounted tom-toms.

Outlaw country singer/songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker has died aged 78, NPR reports. He started playing on the early-'60s Greenwich Village folk scene, before moving to Austin in 1971 where he began performing in the city's thriving "outlaw" country scene that included Waylon Jennings, Guy Clark, Willie Nelson and Townes Van Zandt. “People said, ‘We’re different, but we’re not hillbilly country’. We didn’t blacken our teeth and wear baggy pants, we just liked cowboys and played like that” - Walker said about his music.

Good flow and a rolling beat make for a great new Junglepussy song 'No Band Aid'; Young Knives shared a great new puppet video for 'Barbarians'; 'Silver Wings' is a 12-minute hard-rock ripper by Pallbearer; Hot Chip released a funny video for 'Straight to the Morning' about girls going not too crazy (did they get frightened by Jarvis Cocker?!?).

“The history of women has been a story of silence, and music is no exception” - Lisa Rovner told Dazed about her documentary 'Sisters with Transistors' which tells the story of (almost) forgotten women who helped invent and create electronic music. The film is narrated by Laurie Anderson, features guest appearances by Aura Satz, Holly Herndon, and Kim Gordon, and it tells the stories of women like Bebe Barron who composed the first completely electronic score for any mainstream film, for 1956’s 'Forbidden Planet'.

Italian rapper, performance artist and L.G.B.T.Q. icon Myss Keta, the mysterious Queen of the Milan Night, used masks to lift herself from underground clubs to the cusp of national celebrity. Now, everybody in Italy is required to wear masks in public at all times, which stripped her of her defining shtick. “Before, it was a distinguishing characteristic. Now, it’s something we all have in common” - she told the New York Times.

"Barbie is an icon in her own right, so having her pay tribute to my work and personal style is a real honour" - Elton John told Rolling Stone about a Barbie doll based on him. The new doll sees Mattel's most beloved character decked out in head-to-toe Elton gear, and it's now available to pre-order for $50. The Elton John Barbie will drop on October 29. Elbarb

26-year-old busker Matt Grant was playing his guitar on a street in Edinburgh when an allegedly drunk woman smashed his only guitar (the young man is kind enough to call her a "lady" in a Tweet). “That’s a £300 guitar... Obviously, if I don’t have a guitar, I can’t busk. If you could help out, I’d be — massive appreciation” - Grant said and set up a GoFundMe, which was a great success (he got over £4,000) so he went and bought a new guitar, The Daily Record reports. While he was buying a new guitar, he got a call from Jack White's manager telling him the guitarist feels bad for what happened and wants to buy him a new guitar. And so he did - a £3,600 Fender Stratocaster. Good beats drunk, after all!

Short-video streaming service Quibi is shutting down six months after launching, in an attempt to return as much capital to investors as possible, The Wall Street Journal reports. Quibi cost $4.99 a month and hosted programs in 5-to-10 minute “chapters”, formatted to fit smartphone screens. Quibi included some music-related content, such as MTV’s rebooted prank show 'Punk’d' (hosted by Chance the Rapper), Eric André’s 'Rapper Warrior Ninja' show, and a new season of Reno 911. According to LA Times, Quibi raised $1.75 billion in funding from major Hollywood film studios, TV companies, telecommunications companies, technology companies, banks, and other investors including Disney, 21st Century Fox, Sony, Time Warner, Viacom, eOne, Lionsgate, MGM, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Alibaba. At the end of the summer, Quibi had $350 million in funds available.

A BBC investigation has found racist songs on major music streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Deezer. These platforms do not allow such content, however, BBC easily found at least 20 songs with disturbing content. Searching out the music required no specialist skills or effort.

New Zealand is one of the only places in the world where musicians are touring right now, since they have successfully curtailed community spread of covid-19 with a total lockdown. Washington Post talked to the Beths, a band that's back on tour, happy to play and mingle with the crowd. However, they are limited to New Zealand, so by the end of their current tour, the Beths will have played 17 shows in their home country. Normally, they would have played 60 international dates...

Retired American musician and satirist Tim Lehrer, 92 years old now, has posted all his lyrics on his website and declared them public domain, to be "downloaded and used in any manner whatsoever, without requiring any further permission from me or any payment to me or to anyone else". His music is coming soon to the same website.

Newcomers Red Fiction mix metal, jazz and Eastern European folk on 'Kerberos'; gospel meets psychedelia on 'Unity (It’s Up To You)' by Badge Époque Ensemble; Nick Cave has shared his unreleased track ‘Euthanasia’, written during the 'Skeleton Tree' period; composer Olafur Arnalds and producer Bonobo team up for atmospheric gem 'Loom'; death metal meets western American music in Wayfarer's 'The Crimson Rider'; a good indie-rock song 'Good Woman' by the Staves; Chamberlain, making their first album in 20 years, released just a straight rock song 'Not Your War'.