Japanese Breakfast has recorded an acoustic take on Brandi Carlile’s “The Story” to soundtrack the fall 2022 brand campaign from the North Face. “It was a joy to take on the iconic ballad “The Story,’” Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner says. “I think the song captures the depths of human tenacity and the spirit of the […]
Bourbon & Beyond kicked off its fourth non-consecutive edition on Thursday night (Sept. 15) in Louisville, Ky. Along with 1 Million Strong and the Phoenix, SPIN hosted an afterparty that featured a DJ set from Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast. With hundreds of revelers in attendance, Zauner curated a set of songs from the era […]
Japanese Breakfast is paying tribute to its leader Michelle Zauner’s Korean heritage with the release today (July 20) of a Korean-language version of its track “Be Sweet.” The new recording features vocal contributions from So!YoON!, the frontperson of eclectic Korean band SE SO NEON. “Be Sweet” is a key track from Japanese Breakfast’s latest Dead […]
In case you missed it, last week Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner celebrated a career milestone. No, we’re not talking about performing on Saturday Night Live, we’re talking about throwing out the first pitch at the Phillies vs. Mets game at Citi Field. On Saturday, we caught up with Zauner backstage at Wilco’s Solid Sound Festival […]
Tonight marked the Season 47 finale of Saturday Night Live. It also marked the debuts of host Natasha Lyonne and musical guest Japanese Breakfast. Ahead of the episode, it was announced that longtime cast members Pete Davidson, Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney and Kate McKinnon would not be returning next season. Michelle Zauner and company performed “Be […]
For the Spotify Singles series that’s highlighting the work of the Grammy nominees for Best New Artist, Japanese Breakfast re-imagined “Be Sweet” from their 2021 album Jubilee as a funky disco tune complete with call-and-response vocals and a cover of Bon Iver’s “Skinny Love.” The cover features a folk-rock twist accompanied by an orchestral instrumental. […]
For the past year and change, Ben Gibbard has been busy working on his passion project: a Yoko Ono tribute album. Paying respect to one of the most misunderstood artists of the past half-century, Gibbard enlisted high-profile artists like David Byrne, Yo La Tengo, his bandmates in Death Cab for Cutie and Japanese Breakfast to […]
Next month, the Yoko Ono tribute album, Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono, which was compiled by Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard, will be released on Canvasback Music. This album features a myriad of talented artists including David Byrne, Yo La Tengo, U.S. Girls, the Flaming Lips, Sharon Van Etten, and more. The latest […]
The late, great Lester Bangs once wrote that we will never again agree on anything as we agreed on Elvis. And he was basically right until Lil Nas X came sliding down the stripper-pole to Hell. Oh, 2021. You rocked us like a damn sociopath. What an insanely exciting, emotional, and reinvigorating year for music. […]
If you told Michelle Zauner in early 2021 that she’d dominate the year-end lists — both in music and books — she would’ve thought you were nuts. But here we are. And she had a perfect spot to soak it all in: Onstage in early December during a warm Mexico City evening, her confident stage […]