minions: the rise of gru

Thundercat Shares A Warped Cover Of ‘Fly Like An Eagle’ For The ‘Minions 2’ Soundtrack

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The soundtrack to Minions: The Rise Of Gru is out today, which has Phoebe Bridgers covering The Carpenters, HER covering Sly And The Family Stone, St. Vincent covering Lipps Inc., Kali Uchis covering Stan Getz And João Gilberto, and Tame Impala and Diana Ross contributing a new song.

Along with these gems, there’s also Thundercat taking on “Fly Like An Eagle,” originally by Steve Miller Band. The idiosyncratic musician does what one would expect — he makes the song weirder and woozier. It’s full of sparkling synths and warped bass, but his vocals are clean, guiding the track forward. It ends by slowly fading away into echoes.

Last month, he shared a collaboration with Gorillaz for “Cracker Island,” about which the Gorillaz virtual band member 2D said, “It’s nice to be back, I’m well into our new tune, it brings back weird and scary memories of stuff that hasn’t happened yet.” The narrative of the tune was explained as “the world’s biggest virtual band have relocated to Silverlake, California where it turns out that the answer to life’s question — the one truth to fix the world — is to invite fans to join ‘The Last Cult,’ with Murdoc as its self-appointed Great Leader.”

Listen to Thundercat’s cover of “Fly Like An Eagle” above.

HER Covers Sly And The Family Stone’s ‘Dance To The Music’ For The Latest ‘Minions’ Soundtrack

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If you engage with pop culture on any level at all, you likely know that there’s a new Minions movie on the way. While your reception of this news largely depends on how you feel about the Minions as characters — and whether or not you have kids, the determining factor in how likely you are to end up in a movie theater to see the little yellow creatures on July 1 — there is one universal good that comes with the new film: Its soundtrack.

For whatever reason, the Despicable Me cinematic universe has always had absolutely stellar music. While some of that music gets run into the ground — even Pharrell got sick of “Happy” — Illumination, the studio behind Gru and his gibberish-speaking allies, undoubtedly churns out banger after banger for their films from covers to original songs.

This is, in part, because they secure some great collaborators for them. While Pharrell worked on the soundtrack for Despicable Me 2, the soundtrack for Minions: The Rise Of Gru is produced by Jack Antonoff, featuring contemporary artists covering 1970s soul, funk, and pop hits. The latest one to surface is a cover of Sly And The Family Stone’s signature hit “Dance To The Music” performed by the multitalented HER.

Listen to HER’s cover of Sly And The Family Stone’s “Dance To The Music” above. The full soundtrack, which also features Brittany Howard, Brockhampton, Caroline Polachek, Diana Ross, Gary Clark Jr., Jackson Wang, Kali Uchis, RZA, St. Vincent, Tierra Whack, and Thundercat, is also out on 7/1 via Decca and Verve.

Tame Impala And Diana Ross ‘Turn Up The Sunshine’ In Their New Single From The ‘Minions 2’ Soundtrack

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The world was given yet another intergenerational fantasy collaboration today in the form of “Turn Up The Sunshine,” starring the legendary Diana Ross and multi-talented Tame Impala. The uplifting track is loaded with a myriad of instruments, a huge chorus, and an opportune, palpable brightness that is well-timed for the impending summer. The Sun reported on the record last fall after a conversation with someone from Ross’s team, and it is now known that “Turn Up The Sunshine” is the lead single from the upcoming soundtrack for Minions: The Rise Of Gru.

“Turn Up The Sunshine” features songwriting contributions from Jack Antonoff, who is responsible for producing the entire album, in addition to Sam Dew, Patrik Berger, and the man behind Tame Impala, Kevin Parker. The seventies-inspired soundtrack will also feature HER, Phoebe Bridgers, St. Vincent, Thundercat, RZA, and Caroline Polachek, some of which will be trying their hand at covering classic songs from the disco era.

This release follows Diana Ross’ 2021 album Thank You, the 25th in her catalog, lead by the single “I Still Believe.” Tame Impala released The Slow Rush B-Sides & Remixes in February of this year featuring Lil Yachty, Blood Orange, Maurice Fulton, and more.

Check out “Turn Up The Sunshine” above.

1970s Covers From Phoebe Bridgers, St. Vincent, And Thundercat Lead The ‘Minions 2’ Soundtrack

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Phoebe Bridgers Billboard 2022 Women In Music
Getty Image / Emma McIntyre

Over the weekend, teasers made it seem like Tama Impala and Diana Ross were perhaps making an album together. It turns out that’s only sort-of-but-not-really true: They are appearing on an album together, yes, but that album is the soundtrack to the upcoming Minions: The Rise Of Gru movie, the full tracklist of which has now been revealed.

Their contribution is a collaborative new song called “Turn Up The Sunshine.” The 19-track album mostly consists of covers, but other originals include “Cool” from Verdine White (of Earth, Wind & Fire), RZA’s “Kung Fu Suite,” and Heitor Pereira’s “Minions: The Rise Of Gru Score Suite.”

As for the covers, they’re all of songs from the ’70s, coinciding with the movie’s setting. Selections include St. Vincent doing Lipps, Inc’s “Funkytown”; Thundercat doing Steve Miller Band’s “Fly Like An Eagle”; Phoebe Bridgers doing The Carpenters’ “Goodbye To Love”; and Brockhampton doing Kool & The Gang’s “Hollywood Swinging.”

Check out the Minions: The Rise Of Gru (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) art and tracklist below.

Minions The Rise Of Gru Soundtrack
Decca

1. Diana Ross — “Turn Up The Sunshine” Feat. Tame Impala
2. Brittany Howard — “Shining Star” Feat. Verdine White (Earth, Wind & Fire cover)
3. St. Vincent — “Funkytown” (Lipps, Inc. cover)
4. Brockhampton — “Hollywood Swinging” (Kool & The Gang cover)
5. Kali Uchis — “Desafinado” (Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto cover)
6. Caroline Polachek — “Bang Bang” (Nancy Sinatra cover)
7. Thundercat — “Fly Like An Eagle” (Steve Miller Band cover)
8. Phoebe Bridgers — “Goodbye To Love” (The Carpenters cover)
9. Bleachers — “Instant Karma!” (John Lennon cover)
10. Weyes Blood — “You’re No Good” (Linda Ronstadt cover)
11. Gary Clark Jr. — “Vehicle” (The Ides Of March cover)
12. HER — “Dance To The Music” (Sly & The Family Stone cover)
13. Tierra Whack — “Black Magic Woman” (Santana cover)
14. Verdine White — “Cool”
15. Jackson Wang — “Born To Be Alive” (Patrick Hernandez cover)
16. The Minions — “Cecilia” (Simon & Garfunkel cover)
17. GEM — “Bang Bang” (Nancy Sinatra cover)
18. RZA — “Kung Fu Suite”
19. Heitor Pereira — “Minions: The Rise Of Gru Score Suite”

Minions: The Rise Of Gru (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is out 5/20 via Decca.