Listen Up: Twin Sister Gets Hyper, Robyn Covers Prince

Twin Sister, "All Around and Away We Go"
The neon-bright video for this burbling bit of Krautrock-inspired pop brings to mind the most blissed-out sketches from vintage Sesame Street episodes. And if the images are inspiring restlessness, this Long Island band invites listeners to remix its tracks, even going so far as to put the songs' GarageBand files online for free download.

Robyn, "When Doves Cry"
The shape-shifting Swedish pop singer takes on one of Prince's most iconic songs — and while it takes a few seconds to gel, her spot-on interpretation of the Purple One's between-verse exclamations sends the whole enterprise into "fantastic" territory. [Via]

Jay Electronica, "The Shiny Suit Theory (feat. Jay-Z and Charlotte Gainsbourg)"
Jay-Z's newest signing sounds like he's headlining a nightclub in 1958 on this track, which has a lush backing section that brings to mind expertly mixed cocktails. There are also cameos by his new boss and Charlotte Gainsbourg, whose strangled wail sounds like it's beamed in from another, sadder dimension's top-40 station.

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  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
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  MOVIES 'Great Gatsby' Is a Crushing Disappointment
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  TV Why You Should Watch 'Happy Endings'
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  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“Let My Love Open the Door”

Pete Townshend | 1980

A peppy, hopeful love song, "Let My Love Open the Door" became a U. S. Top Ten hit for Pete Townshend in 1980, anchored by the kind of repeating synthesizer figures that he'd used in some of the Who's recordings in the previous decade. Although Townshend brushed the song off as "just a ditty" in Rolling Stone shortly after its release, in 1996 he revealed it was about love of the holiest sort. "It's supposed to be about the power of God's love," he remarked. "That when you're in difficulty, whether it's major or minor, God's love is always there for you."

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