Dua Saleh

Dua Saleh is in-between genres on 'Angel Rock', driven by strings; Lana Del Rey covered 'Summertime', this time George Gershwin's original; Gilles Peterson's Brownswood released electro-jazzy rap 'I Know You See Me' by Kassa Overall; singer-songwriter Postdata shared 'Twin Flames'; Fana Hues presents her great voice on 'Snakes x Elephants'; Dueling Experts deliver hip-hop old school NY-style on 'Revolve Around Sciences'; Kelly Rowland goes for and - gets a pop smash with 'Hitman'; Ash Koosha explores the “hallucination of a machine” on 'Hallucinato' (30 mins).

“Lana is simply one of the best songwriters in the country, as we speak. She just creates a world of her own and invites you in. So a big favorite of mine, the lovely Lana Del Rey” - Bruce Springsteen said in a recent broadcast on SiriusXM, Stereogum reports. Springsteen also played Del Rey’s own 2012 song 'American' during the radio show, which notably name-drops him: “Springsteen is the king, don’t you think/ I was like, hell yeah that guy can sing”.

Lana Del Rey called out fellow female stars Doja Cat, Ariana Grande, Camila Cabello, Cardi B, Kehlani, Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé, who "have had number ones with songs about being sexy, wearing no clothes, f---ing, cheating, etc". On her Instagram post headlined "Questions for the future" she then asked if she can continue singing about her own dark past "without being crucified or saying that I’m glamorizing abuse?”. Del Rey added she liked those singers, and would like to "have some of the same freedom of expression without judgement of hysteria". After being accused of racism, she further explained - "there are certain women that culture doesn’t want to have a voice it may not have to do with race I don’t know what it has to do with".

Friends of the NME
February 13, 2020

Little Simz, Slowthai, Lana Del Rey win NME awards

Little Simz

Little Simz won the NME award for the best British album for her 'GREY Area', with Lana Del Rey winning the best album in the world award for her 'Norman Fucking Rockwell'. Best song in the world award went to Billie Eilish for her ‘Bad Guy’, Robyn was named songwriter of the decade, FKA twigs got the best British solo act award, Clairo is the best new act in the world, Emily Eavis got the godlike genius award, and the Foals were named best live act. All the nominees and the winners at the NME. Photos from the awards - here.

The best selling vinyl album in the 2010s in the USA was 'Abbey Road' by the Beatles, selling in 558,000 copies. In fact, all the biggest vinyl albums of the past 10 years are older performers like Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, Bob Marley, Miles Davis... Only two albums actually released in the 2010s appear on the list: the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' soundtrack - which is entirely comprised of songs released in the ’60s and ’70s, and Lana Del Rey’s 'Born to Die'. The only album from the noughties on the list is Amy Winehouse's 'Back to Black'. No album from the 1990s on the list.

An impressive project by the Los Angeles Times - a 50-song mixtape attempting to locate musical intersections both physical and thematic. They picked out a whole lot of musicians - Kanye West, Lana Del Rey, Kendrick Lamar, Devendra Banhart... landing them in LA. An entertaining ride.

For the full list go here; the top 10 are below: 10. Purple Mountains: 'Purple Mountains'9. Weyes Blood: 'Titanic Rising'8. Fennesz: 'Agora'7. Helado Negro: 'This Is How You Smile'6. Bad Bunny: 'X 100PRE'5. Solange: 'When I Get Home'4. Angel Olsen: 'All Mirrors'3. Big Thief: 'U.F.O.F.'2. FKA twigs: 'MAGDALENE'1. Lana Del Rey: 'Norman Fucking Rockwell!'

Here the full 70 list; the top 10 spots are taken by the following: 10. Purple Mountains – 'Purple Mountains' 9. Big Thief - 'U.F.O.F.' 8. Angel Olsen – 'All Mirrors' 7. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – 'Ghosteen' 6. Jamila Woods – 'LEGACY! LEGACY!' 5. Dave - 'PSYCHODRAMA' 4. Fontaines D.C. - 'Dogrel'  […]

Lizzo is nominated in all of the big four categories -- record of the year ('Truth Hurts'), album of the year ('Cuz I Love You (Deluxe)'), song of the year ('Truth Hurts') and best new artist. Following closely behind are both Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X, who each have six nominations, with Eilish also […]

Stormzy won best solo act at last night's Q Awards, The 1975 were named best act in the world today, Scottish chart-topping singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi took home the best track gong for 'Someone You Loved', while song of the decade went to Lana Del Rey for her breakthrough hit 'Video Games'. Best breakthrough act went […]

The music video for ‘Don’t Call Me Angel’ – Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey’s theme song for the 'Charlie’s Angels' remake – has arrived (watch below). Grande is the mastermind here, Cyrus the strongwoman, and Del Rey the weapons expert; they look cool, wear angel's wings and eat... and get kicked out by the movie director Elizabeth Banks.

"I grew up with Obama and we were happy in New York. We were really, really happy with everything. That’s what I think people miss. We had gotten to a point where we could focus on the music and the arts. It was great” - Lana Del Rey says in an NME interview. Then came Trump […]

"...Sings exquisitely of freedom and transformation and the wreckage of being alive. It establishes her as one of America’s greatest living songwriters" - Pitchfork chooses American singer's fifth album for their "Best New Music" segment. She's better than ever, P. says - "Lana’s pillars are intact before you even hit play: glamour, eccentricity, the absurd, […]

After the mass shootings in USA that left 31 person dead, Lana Del Rey has attempted to make sense of these shootings with a new song called 'Looking for America', Consequence of Sound reports. “I’m still looking for my own version of America,” Del Rey sings on the track. “One without the guns, the flag […]

Lana Del Rey recently teased an upcoming cover of Sublime song 'Doin’ Time', a move sure to bring the 1990s ska-rock band to a new and younger group of listeners. The Ringer argues that "larger appetite for ’90s nostalgia shows no signs of abating, and people looking for a short-lived and influential band led by […]

Plenty are going to be released, and Spin is especially excited about these: Sky Ferreira, The Weeknd, Grimes, Weezer, Chance the Rapper, Vampire Weekend, My Bloody Valentine, 2 Chainz, Avril Lavigne, Beirut, Carly Rae Jepsen, Cass McCombs, Cherry Glazerr, Chromatics, Deerhunter, Die Antwoord, Fidlar, Girlpool, Janet Jackson, Kanye West, Lana Del Rey, Mandy Rogers, Panda Bear, […]