Powerful new Lupe Fiasco song 'Shoes' was written from the perspective of the sneakers Ahmaud Arbery was wearing when he was murdered; Richard Barone's cover of Willie Nile’s 'Streets of New York' is just a warm love song to the city; Mastodon-At the Drive-in-QOTSA supergroup Gone Is Gone released psych-spacey rawk 'Everything Is Wonderfall', Shamir released 'I Wonder' from his self-titled album, out later this year.

Guardian picked out 10 of the best music biographies that "reveal the inner lives of musicians". There's 'Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys' by Slits guitarist Viv Albertine, a "no-nonsense sojourn"; 'Life' by Keith Richards, "given the legendarily debauched life of the Rolling Stones guitarist, it’s a wonder that he can remember enough of it to fill a book"; 'Miles: The Autobiography' by Miles Davis, "by turns joyful, raw and plain disturbing"...

The Chicks appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to perform their new protest song 'March, March', from their new album 'Gaslighter'. Texan group also spoke with Colbert about how they decided to lose "Dixie" from their name.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has signalled the potential return for live music in two weeks - from August 1, socially distanced audiences can return for indoor performances in theatres, music halls and other venues, IQ Magazine reports. From October, Johnson said “audiences in stadia”, conferences and other events will be able to restart, subject to successful pilots around the UK. The PM warned, however, “the timetable I’m about to set out is conditional,” adding “we will not proceed if doing so risks a second peak”.

"Live Music isn’t merely some appealing adjunct, it’s a way I connect with my emotions, communicate with others, and periodically flee from ordinary life" - Guardian's Rick Burin writes passionately about concerts- "They are the injection of coruscating, otherworldly beauty into the everyday".

Marc Geiger, the former global head of music at talent agency William Morris Entertainment and co-founder of Lollapalooza, has said the concerts, hit hard by Covid-19, won't return until 2022. Speaking at the on The Bob Lefsetz Podcast, Geiger said “It’s my instinct, that’s going to take a while because super-spreader events — sports, shows, festivals, etc. — aren’t going to do too well when the virus is this present”. He added there are “probably 20” roadblocks that need to be overcome before live music can return. “The virus and illness being one, spacing and density” being another, he explained. A third, Geiger noted, will be insurance and liability. “With [COVID], there’s infinite liability”. he said, noting the challenge venues and promoters will face in finding an insurer willing to cover their events.

Chi Pig, founder of the legendary Canadian punk band SNFU, has passed away on Thursday (July 16) at the age of 57, Exclaim reports. SNFU have been a formative influence on the skate punk subgenre, and their work has on occasion been included in rankings of the best Canadian music. Chi's life was documented in the biographical film 'Open Your Mouth and Say... Mr. Chi Pig', which was released in 2010.

American rapper Logic has announced he's retiring from music so he can focus on being "a great father", XXL reports. He only started putting out music in 2009 and, after a string of mixtapes, he released his first studio album in 2014. Since then he's put out at least one album or mixtape per year. The 30-year-old rapper, from Maryland in the USA, says his fifth and final studio album, 'No Pressure', will be released next Friday. He became a dad earlier this year. Writing on Twitter, he says it's "been a great decade. Now it's time to be a great father".

"This is a really odd meter they are starting with. This is complicated" - vocal coach Ken Lavigne said in reaction to 'Pneuma' by Tool, watching it for the first time. Coach was watching and reacting mostly to drummer Danny Carey whom he called "a wizard around all these cauldrons... brewing potion”. At the highpoint of the song he stopped and said "I'm new to Tool...and I feel like I have wasted my life", , whereas actually, he should be happy about living in a time when there's so much great music, including Tool, who are great again.

Nike has announced a new line of sneakers in collaboration with Grateful Dead. The Nike SB Dunk Low Grateful Dead cost $110 and come in three different colors - orange, green and yellow, Kicks on Fire reports. The sneakers take their inspiration from the band’s iconic dancing bears, and they feature faux-fur and suede exterior lining, a frayed Nike Swoosh mimicking the bears’ collars, and a circular imagine of the bear on the tongue. Inside the shoes are a bear-adorned slip, a sockliner with the Steal Your Face skull printed on the underside, and a small zipper pouch on the inner tongue for stashing weed.

The 2020 short list for the Polaris Music Prize has been officially unveiled, with 10 albums for the Canadian music prize whittled down from a 40 albums list. One grand prize of $50,000 will be awarded on October 19. The other short list contenders will receive prizes of $3,000 each.

The nominees are:

Backxwash - 'God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It'
Caribou - 'Suddenly'
Junia-T - 'Studio Monk'
Kaytranada - 'Bubba'
nêhiyawak - 'nipiy'
Pantayo - 'Pantayo'
Lido Pimienta - 'Miss Colombia'
Jessie Reyez - 'Before Love Came to Kill Us'
U.S. Girls - 'Heavy Light'
Witch Prophet - 'DNA Activation'

A major tour of the hit musical 'Six', which had sold out several drive-in venues in the UK, also expected to feature performances by The Streets, Kaiser Chiefs, Dizzee Rascal, Sigala, has been cancelled due to uncertainties over local lockdown. Live Nation said the "latest developments over local lockdowns" meant they couldn't proceed "with any confidence", Evening Standard reports. The drive-in shows were announced last month, with outdoor venues such as airports and race courses booked in 12 cities, including Birmingham, Liverpool, London, Edinburgh and Bristol. Concert-goers would have been able to stand outside their vehicles in allocated spaces, or sit in their fold-out chairs.

Megan Thee Stallion suffered multiple gunshot wounds, saying she’s “lucky to be alive”, but is expected to make a full recovery. The incident occurred Sunday morning (July 12) in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles. Police officers at the scene recovered a gun the rapper allegedly had in a vehicle. Canadian rapper/singer Tory Lanez was arrested in connection to the incident.

A lovely article in the Guardian about the strong friendship between two British folk-rock greats, Nick Drake and John Martyn: "In 2005 Martyn told me, 'Nicky was one of my favourite human beings in the world'. Throughout his life, Martyn’s friendships with other men could be intense: tactile, tempestuous, thoughtful and surprisingly gentle, with lots of kisses and hugs. 'John was different from other people in Glasgow; he was very free', says Linda Thompson. 'He wasn’t at all uncomfortable or frightened of loving a man – not in a physical way – which was quite unusual in those days. Nick and John loved one another. It was quite Greek, without the sex'".

Moses Sumney released 'Monumental', his interpretation of 'Olympic Hymn', accompanied by a stunning black and white video starring and directed by Sumney, featuring the musician singing the song on a pedestal like a marble statue come to life; Idles make a slight turn - release s tense psych-ballad 'A Hymn'; free jazz collective Standing On The Corner shared ‘G-E-T-O-U-T!! The Ghetto’ featuring a seven-year-old vocalist Annalise Chanel Renee Williams; Kanye West, again, has a good song - 'Donda', dedicated to his mother; King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard shared a ballad 'Honey'; 'Order' by Zen Mother is just some mighty electro industrial; Helena Deland's 'Lylz' is about the "aching forever-after of female friendship"; Arcade Fire's Will Butler released his new, solo, uplifting song 'Surrender'; Makaya McCraven's 'Strangers in the City' is groovy and tribal jazz.

'CrossBread' is a six-part ABC mockumentary podcast that charts the fortunes of a non-Christian Christian hip-hop group of the same name, and the Guardian says it's great. It's about siblings Josh and Joan who find unlikely success on the Christian rock circuit and have to pretend to have found Jesus in order to maintain their status as the hottest hip-hop act in the parish. There's a "reverend Philip Brock – an archetypal 'groovy priest' figure, played by veteran musician John Waters – sees potential ('they were the only Christian band that didn’t make me want to crucify myself'), so long as he can smooth out their rough edges". Check it out on ABC.

"In just over a decade it changed the record business completely. Twice. It also paved the way for streaming – all streaming, not just music streaming – to become the default way to, drawing on the industry’s own terminology, 'consume' 'content'" - the Quietus argues in an essay about the importance of MP3. It's, tQ is convinced, more influential than vinyl because - "all formats before the MP3 were designed specifically to plump up the profitability of the music business; the MP3 ripped it to shreds".

"The most evocative about 'Beyond The Pale': the ways in which Cocker’s lyrics, sharp as ever, reflect his own aging and experiences within these recurring Big Picture references to human progress, human destruction, and the stupid little things we fill our time with otherwise" - Stereogum writes about their newest Album of the week, debut by Jarvis Cocker's new project JARV IS. Cocker is still as clever and witty - "He has a way of making you laugh at the absurdity and inevitability of everything and you’re struck by each observation he offers".

John Legend made a provocative comment in the Entertainment Weekly about Grammy Awards, saying: “It’s almost impossible for a Black artist to win Album of the Year. How many years do we have to see Beyoncé snubbed? Kanye [West] has never won. It’s kind of insane…We’ve got to do something, because that’s a terrible record, and Diddy is right to complain about it”. Billboard double-checked Legend's claim. Of the 62 albums that have won album of the year, 12 – nearly 20% -- are by Black artists (as the lead artist). The most recent Black artist to win the album of the year, Herbie Hancock, won 12 years ago. Even if a Black artist wins when the 63rd annual Grammy Awards are presented on Jan. 31 - and The Weeknd and Lil Baby both appear to be strong candidates – that would be a 13-year gap between wins by Black artists – the longest such gap since Black artists starting win this award in the mid-‘70s.

The Quietus has made a collection of the best underground Irish music for the month of July, and the star of the month is MuRli, Togo-born rapper who combines grime, afrobeat and hip hop. He deals with issues of racism, discrimination, identity, freedom -  “You can’t hide forever, ain’t nobody safe here unless we all are".

NME's writer Mark Beaumont looks back on "cancel culture" debate, and the shift in "Twitterworld" discourse: "You defeat a virus – and bigotry and racism are viruses; festering and dormant, largely unseen – by studying it, understanding its transmission methods, its cellular make-up and how it multiplies, and then developing antidotes designed to cure, not kill, the host. But that takes skill, composure, thoughtfulness and – y’know what? – a tiny amount of respect for your opponent".

The Dalai Lama’s recently released debut album, 'Inner World', hit the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s New Age album chart with sales of 2,000 units in just its first week. The record also scored No. 8 spot on the World Albums chart, and No. 98 at Album Sales chart. 'Inner World' pairs the Tibetan spiritual leader’s mantras and chants alongside ethereal, new age music composed by New Zealand artists Junelle and Abraham Kunin, and music by Anuscha Shankar.

Wu-Tang Clan have joined the personal shout-out app Cameo and are now available for requests for congratulating birthdays, anniversaries, or even applaud the completion of a mixtape. It costs $360 to get a shout-out from RZA, Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, and the others, Consequence of Sound reports. Ice Cube is also on disposal, for $500. There are from over 30,000 different celebrities on Cameo, including musicians like Kathleen Hanna, David Yow, Ariel Pink, Torres, Foxygen's Sam France, Dr Dog's Eric Slick, The Drums' Jonny Pierce, Giant Drag's Annie Hardy, Surfbort's Dani Miller, Brad Oberhofer, Girlpool's Harmony Tividad...

Eddie Gale, a pioneering jazz trumpeter, best known for his outstanding work in the free jazz realm, had died aged 78, The Mercury News reports. Gale got a front-row seat with the finest bebop jazz musicians of the early era, including Bud Powell and trumpeter Kenny Dorham. A fast learner, he soon found himself in jam sessions with the likes of drummers Art Blakey and Max Roach and saxophonists Illinois Jacquet, Sonny Stitt, and Jackie McLean. In the early ’60s, a 20-something Gale connected with Sun Ra, and he ended up touring and recording with Ra’s Arkestra throughout the ’60s and ’70s. As a bandleader, he cut the “visionary” late ‘60s albums 'Ghetto Music' and 'Black Rhythm Happening' for Blue Note.

Jay-Z has purchased full-page newspaper ads across the United States to promote black businesses, All Hip Hop reports. Hip-hop mogul and his company Roc Nation bought ads in The New York Times, The Denver Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Austin American Statement, The Orlando Sentinel, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and others, promoting everything from eateries, beauty shops, clothing stores, and book shops to gyms, flower shops, waste collection, plumbing, auto shops, electricians, and print shops owned and run by Black men and women. The amount spent by Jay-Z was not disclosed.

Sydmar Lodge Care Home has now been in lockdown for 4 months. Sydmar's residents and carers have been recreating classic album covers, turned out just beautiful.

Veteran rockers Great White, the band notorious for the fire that killed 100 people after setting off pyrotechnics inside of a small club, played a concert in Dickinson, North Dakota last week with no social distancing or any other safety protocols. The band said "It’s one of those things where if people feel comfortable coming down and mixing and mingling, that’s their personal choice. We’re leaving it up to everybody that chooses to attend” at first, and later (kinda) apologized - "we have had the luxury of hindsight and we would like to apologize to those who disagree with our decision to fulfill our contractual agreement. Our intent was simply to perform our gig, outside, in a welcoming, small town". Several hundred people attended the concert, with social distancing or masks.

US rapper Lil Marlo has died, after being shot late Saturday in what investigators believe was a targeted shooting. Officers responded to a single-car wreck on Interstate 285 in Atlanta at about 11.30pm Saturday night and found the driver, later identified as Rudolph Johnson, dead inside his vehicle. Police identified Johnson as 30 years old, while the social media post from Quality Control Music says he was born in 1993. Johnson joined Quality Control Music in 2017 alongside rappers Migos, Lil Yachty, and his collaborator Lil Baby. Lil Yachty posted a tribute to Johnson on Instagram on Sunday, saying, “We just did a song [at] 4 this morning smh rip brother”.

"Lady Antebellum has used their wealth and influence to intimidate and bully me into submission without offering any real recompense for appropriating my name. It is now clear that their apologies, friendly texts, and playing on my love of God were just insincere gestures aimed at quieting me. Well, I will not be quiet any longer" - blues singer Lady A said in her statement about her fight for her name with the pop-country band. She added - "it is absurd that Lady Antebellum has chosen to show its commitment to racial equality by taking the name of a Black woman, particularly in this time when we are reminded every day to 'Say Her Name'. It is one more demonstration of what continues to be taken away from us in the present".

Lisa Marie Presley's son and Elvis Presley's only grandson Benjamin Keough has died on Sunday aged 27, CNN reports. According to TMZ, Keough died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Lia Marie Presley's close relationship with her son, whose middle name was Storm, apparently inspired the title track on her third album, 'Storm & Grace', released in 2012. He was the younger of the two children Lisa Marie Presley had with her first husband, musician Danny Keough, before their divorce in 1994. The other is actress Riley Keough, 31. Lisa Marie also has twin 11-year-old daughters with her fourth husband, musician and producer Michael Lockwood, who she wed in 2006 after brief marriages to pop star Michael Jackson and actor Nicolas Cage. Benjamin Keough has tried to become a musician - he struck a record deal back in 2009 worth $5 million.