Pharrell is in legacy mode. The legendary artist and producer is on the cusp of releasing a LEGO biopic about his life, Piece By Piece. There’s a lot to get through, given all the different hats he’s worn. Each of these hats has been accompanied by incredible music, though. Pharrell has finally unveiled the tracklist for the Piece By Piece soundtrack, and it lived up to the hype. Not only will fans get an assembly of some of the artist’s most beloved songs, but some new ones too. And a brand new collab with protege, Tyler, The Creator.
There are some obvious inclusions here, as they rank among the biggest hits of Pharrell’s career. We’re talking songs like “Get Lucky” with Daft Punk and “Alright” with Kendrick Lamar. There’s also “Happy,” which remains Skateboard P’s biggest solo hit to date. It appeared on the soundtrack to another kids film, Despicable Me 2, so no-brainer there. Less expected, but just as welcome, are the inclusions of classic N.E.R.D. songs like “Sooner or Later,” “God Bless Us All” and “Maybe.” N.E.R.D. is an essential piece of the Pharrell puzzle, so it’s nice to know they made the cut.
Yes, JAY-Z, Snoop Dogg and Clipse get inclusions with the classic singles “Give It 2 Me,” “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and “Grindin.” The most exciting material on the soundtrack, though, is the new stuff. Pharrell wrote the first two songs on the tracklist, “It’s Happening” and “Piece By Piece,” specifically for the film. Then there’s “L’Ego Odyssey” and “For Real,” which will also play crucial roles in the narrative. Then there’s a previously unheard Tyler, The Creator remix to the song “Virginia Boy.” It’s been a minute since these two have worked together, and we can’t wait to hear what it sounds like. Piece By Piece soundtrack is slated to drop October 11.
It’s Happening
Piece By Piece
Virginia Boy (Remix) [featuring Tyler, The Creator]
Anybody who thought the vinyl resurgence was just a fad was mistaken: The industry has experienced a legitimate revival. As a result, music fans are interested in physical media in ways they may not have if the decades-old medium hasn’t made a comeback. That doesn’t mean everybody is listening to just their parents’ old music, though. That’s part of it, sure, thanks to rereleases that present classic albums in new ways. A vital part of the renewed vinyl wave, though, is new projects being released as records, of which there are plenty.
Whatever you might be into, each month brings a new slew of vinyl releases that has something for everybody. Some stand out above the rest, naturally, so check out some of our favorite vinyl releases of November below.
Snoop Dogg (who’s still smoking weed, by the way) is celebrating 30 years of his iconic debut album, Doggystyle, with a new reissue. This is a cool one, too: Aside from being available in a number of color variants, it features “Gz Up Hoes Down,” which was exclusively available on the album’s initial 100,000 units in 1993, making it sought after.
The Beatles — 1962-1966 (‘The Red Album’) and 1967-1970 (‘The Blue Album’)
Apple Corps Ltd/Capitol/UMe
“Now And Then” is the headlining new Beatles release of the year, but the legendary group also delivered some compelling reissues of two classic compilation albums. The new versions of the collections come with expanded tracklists (which includes “Now And Then”), all pressed on bold-colored, semi-translucent vinyl with stereo mixes. And if you just want the new (and final) Beatles song on vinyl, don’t worry, that’s also available in multiple formats.
The Beths – Expert In A Dying Field (Bandbox Exclusive)
Bandbox
If you’re not following what Bandbox is doing in the vinyl space, you better get on board. The Minneapolis-based company is announcing exclusive pressings and zines from a variety of artists on a weekly basis, and our favorite of their recent announcements is this lovely pink and green pressing of The Beths’ killer Expert In A Dying Field. It’s available for pre-order now, as well as recently announced offerings from the likes of Braid and Grizzly Bear.
Various Artists — Barbie The Album (VMP Designer Edition) and Barbie The Album (VMP Kendom Edition)
Vinyl Me, Please
Barbie was the movie of the year, but it had the soundtrack of the year, too. Given that Barbie as a brand has been a merchandising titan for decades now, the vinyl editions of the soundtrack are packed with goodies, and they come in both Designer and Kendom flavors via our friends at Vinyl Me, Please.
As part of Record Store Day’s Black Friday celebration earlier this month, Legacy Recordings dropped a series of reissues. It’s hard to call their Polo G offering a reissue, though: They pressed Die A Legend on “black ice” colored vinyl, which is actually the first time the multi-platinum album has ever been available on vinyl. So, if this is one you’ve been waiting to put on your turntable, you finally can.
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab is in the midst of a very cool reissue series with LA icons Van Halen, and the self-titled debut is a great place to start. The company describes the restoration process as “painstaking,” mastered from the original analog tapes onto MoFi’s supervinyl. When you turn up “Running With The Devil” and “Eruption” to their max volume, you’ll be hearing Eddie’s trademark guitar as well as ever.
Public Enemy — It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back (35th Anniversary Edition)
UMe
It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back is an iconic release in early hip-hop history, and this year, it celebrates 35 trips around the sun. Now there’s a 4LP reissue that comes with new liner notes via Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Q-Tip, and Questlove, quite the foursome offering insight on an important hip-hop milestone.
Explosions In The Sky — Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Live Forever (Anniversary Edition) and The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place (Anniversary Edition)
Temporary Residence Ltd
Post-rock mainstays Explosions In The Sky are reissuing two of their most classic pieces of early work, and this is actually the first time either LP is available on colored vinyl. Both colorings do a terrific job at highlighting the distinct album cover art, and the albums have been remastered for this release, too.
Ten was a huge debut album for Pearl Jam, and they crushed it with its follow-up, Ten, too: It was their first No. 1 album and it hung into that top spot for five weeks. It’s been 30 years since that album dropped, and now Eddie Vedder and company are reissuing it in a number of different configurations; Pictured above is the 2LP “dreamsicle” configuration available via the band’s Ten Club, while other editions are available elsewhere.
Up was a turning point for R.E.M., as the group’s 11th album saw them without their founding drummer, Bill Berry, for the first time. It’s already been 25 years since then, so they’ve given the album a fresh coat of paint with a new remaster of the LP, and the band also has T-shirts and other cool merch to complement your vinyl purchase.
Social Distortion — Mommy’s Little Monster (40th Anniversary Reissue)
Craft Recordings
Mommy’s Little Monster, Social Distortion’s 40-year-old debut album, can now be yours via some pretty neat vinyl reissues. The album has been remastered from the original analog tapes, and there’s also a variety of limited-edition colorways to choose from, all of which are lovely.
Daft Punk — Random Access Memories (Drumless Edition)
Columbia
Random Access Memories is a classic of its era, but it sounds completely different if you get rid of the drums. That’s something Daft Punk wanted to explore with a new “Drumless Edition” of the 2013 album. Aside from being a new way to experience this awesome project, the stark white cover art is just so, so clean.
In his review of Victor, Uproxx’s Aaron Williams wrote, “Victor gives listeners exactly what it says on the tin: A holistic look at an artist who’s come into his own at last. Vic had to go through everything he did to mature enough as an artist to synthesize those experiences into an honest, unfiltered summation of himself. This is his real autobiography — it was worth the wait.” Now, it’s available to spin at home, and includes an option for a signed copy.
Dylan’s 1978 world tour were his first international shows since 1966, making them a special event for those audiences. The run included his first appearances in Japan, and now we have a deluxe box set that chronicles two full shows recorded at Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan Hall on February 28 and March 1, 1978. Ultimately, there are 36 previously unreleased recordings here, making it a must for hardcore Dylan fans. Check out Steven Hyden’s review of the collection, and look below for your own physical copy.
The Weeknd’s vocal chops have long regarded him as one of the best in the music industry today. During a recent concert, he revealed that he has no future plans for guest features – save for one special duo that he’s long looked up to. As Pitchfork reports, the Canadian is currently touring through Europe on his After Hours Til Dawn tour. On stage in Warsaw, he teased a new verse that could mark his last time collaborating with another artist.
“And I just wanna say, this, this is gonna be the last feature I ever do, ever in my career, so I wanna perform it for you guys tonight,” Abel Tesfaye said before belting out “Another One of Me.” It remains unclear who else will appear alongside the Dawn FM artist, or when the complete version is expected to be released. While fans are certainly sad to hear this could be The Weeknd’s last joint effort, he did leave us with some hope for the future. “The final feature… Unless Daft Punk ever get back together,” he wrote via Twitter on Friday (August 11).
The electronic artists announced the end of their lengthy 28-year run together in February 2021. Prior to going their separate ways, Daft collaborated with The Weeknd on “I Feel It Coming” and the title track from his Starboy LP, both of which were performed at the 2017 Grammy Awards. In the past, the Uncut Gems actor has credited the French creatives as “one of the reasons [he makes] music.”
It’s unclear what the likelihood of a Daft Punk renaissance is at this time, but seeing as he’s still so young, fans of Tesfayes are hoping that he doesn’t retire from making music with his contemporaries quite yet. Elsewhere during his ongoing European tour, The Weeknd left audiences stunned as he managed to hold a 15-second note. See that incredible moment at the link below, and check back later for more hip-hop/pop culture news updates.
The Weeknd has appeared on a number of other artists’ songs over the past decade or so. In 2021, for example, he guested on tunes from Rosalía and FKA Twigs. He also just popped up on Travis Scott’s Utopia. It looks like that’s coming to an end, though, as The Weeknd just announced that after one more song, he’s all done doing features.
On social media, he shared a clip from his August 9 concert at PGE Narodowy in Warsaw, Poland. In it, he speaks to the audience, telling them he’s about to perform an unreleased song called “Another One Of Me.” He added, “I just want to say: This is going to be the last feature I ever do ever in my career, so I’m going to perform it for you guys tonight.”
There’s one artist who could get him to return to features, though: The post is captioned, “the final feature… unless daft punk ever get back together.”
The Weeknd previously debuted an earlier version of the song on the Kiss Land episode of his Apple Music Beats 1 radio show Memento Mori. Another version later appeared, with vocals from Diddy, in a Beats By Dre advertisement. As a fan on Reddit notes, several different versions of the song have surfaced, including ones featuring French Montana, Belly, and 21 Savage. As for the final song, it is not clear when it will be released or who else appears on it. setlist.fm indicates the August 9 performance was the third time The Weeknd has played the song live, with the previous two instances also happening this month.
Meanwhile, Samra Origins, the coffee brand The Weeknd launched earlier this year, just partnered with Blue Bottle Coffee to launch Samra Origins Craft Instant Coffee, which press materials describe as “a limited-edition run of 100% Ethiopia Natural METAD Yirgacheffe Gedeb Chelebesa.” More information can be found here.
Daft Punk hung up their robot helmets and officially broke up years ago, but they’ve been in the news lately as they celebrate the tenth anniversary of their final album, Random Access Memories. The campaign has included a scavenger hunt and previously unreleased songs, and now they’re rolling out a series of mini-documentaries, focused on the collaborators who helped bring the album to life.
The duo started sharing installments, which run from 7 to 12 minutes in length, last week and have posted new videos daily since. There are seven episodes as of this post, and in a recent one, Pharrell reminisces about what it was like to first meet and work with the duo.
As DMY notes, the interview clips were originally recorded in 2013, during the making of the album. In the video, Pharrell explained that he first saw the duo (“the robots,” as he refers to them throughout) at a Madonna party, where Pharrell expressed a keen interest in working with the pair. Eventually, they met up in Paris, where Pharrell noted that he was in a Nile Rodgers phase at the moment. Daft Punk then played Pharrell a song they were working on, which had guitar from Rodgers. (The song? “Get Lucky.”)
Pharrel then noted that the duo gave him a tablet dissolved in water, which gave him a burst of energy. By the time he got back on the plane, though, Pharrell had “forgotten everything,” which had him wondering if the pair pulled a Men In Black memory erasure on him.
Anybody who thought the vinyl resurgence was just a fad was mistaken: The industry has experienced a legitimate revival. As a result, music fans are interested in physical media in ways they may not have if the decades-old medium hasn’t made a comeback. That doesn’t mean everybody is listening to just their parents’ old music, though. That’s part of it, sure, thanks to rereleases that present classic albums in new ways. A vital part of the renewed vinyl wave, though, is new projects being released as records, of which there are plenty.
Whatever you might be into, each month brings a new slew of vinyl releases that has something for everybody. Some stand out above the rest, naturally, so check out some of our favorite vinyl releases of May below.
Tame Impala — Lonerism (10 Year Anniversary Box Set)
Interscope
Tame Impala defined psychedelic rock in the early 2010s and Kevin Parker’s sophomore effort, 2012’s Lonerism, was a big part of that. The album turns 10 this year, so it’s being reissued as a 3-LP box set that includes goodies like a 24-page booklet and previously unheard demo sessions.
Before ABBA was ABBA, they were Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida. Under that name, they released their debut album, 1973’s Ring Ring. That was 50 years ago, and half a century later, the project has been pressed on vinyl for a fresh rerelease, giving a new generation the chance to experience the launch of an enduring phenomenon.
Sun Ra & His Arkestra — Space Is The Place: Music From The Original Soundtrack
Sundazed Music
Back in the ’70s, Sun Ra recorded the soundtrack for the movie Space Is The Place. It took decades for the soundtrack to get a proper release as an album, and now the definitive version of it is here with a new vinyl reissue. In addition to the album, this edition comes with the movie on BluRay and DVD, a tote bag, and a pizza box-style box to house everything.
The Exploding Hearts — Guitar Romantic (Expanded & Remastered)
Third Man Records
The Exploding Hearts ended tragically after three of the band’s members died in a van accident. They did manage one well-received album, though: 2003’s Guitar Romantic. Third Man Records just reissued the album as an “Expanded & Remastered” edition: along with the original remastered album are a few new mixes of select songs.
It feels like Lucy Dacus has been around for forever, but her breakout sophomore album Historian only just came out five years ago in 2018. She’s taking a moment to celebrate the project with a vinyl reissue, which is pressed on vibrant red vinyl and comes with Dacus’ first draft of the album art.
Daft Punk — Random Access Memories (10th Anniversary Reissue)
Sony
It’s really been ten years since Daft Punk released what would end up being their final album, Random Access Memories. While the duo is no longer active, they’ve been busy with a fresh reissue. There are a lot of goodies here, including an unreleased Julian Casablancas collaboration and some demos with Pharrell.
Death Cab For Cutie — Transatlanticism (Vinyl Me, Please Reissue)
Vinyl Me, Please
Transatlanticism was an iconic release for Death Cab, so it’s worth honoring 20 years later. Vinyl Me, Please is doing so with a killer reissue, which is pressed on red marble vinyl and comes with a listening notes booklet from Sean Nelson, who contributed some vocals to the album.
Paul Simon is 81 years old and still trying different musically: His new album is totally acoustic and it’s one multi-section song that runs for 33 minutes. It’s quite the concept and one that’ll come across beautifully on a turntable.
The Rhino label has launched Rhino High Fidelity, a new series of high-quality vinyl pressings. They’re kicking things off big with reissues of The Cars’ self-titled 1978 debut album and John Coltrane’s 1964 release Coltrane’s Sound. The series will unveil two new installments every quarter, and all of them will be limited to 5,000 numbered copies.
Animal Collective started their journey to defining experimental indie music in the 2000s with 2000’s Spirit They’re Gone, Spirit They’ve Vanished, back when it was just Avey Tare and Panda Bear. There’s a new reissue and on top of the remastered album and new artwork, there’s also A Night At Mr. Raindrop’s Holistic Supermarket, a bonus EP containing five previously unreleased bonus tracks.
