NEWS
As the U.S. wars over a woman’s right to choose this week, Kim Gordon is out with her first new music since 2019’s No Home Record: “Grass Jeans,” a track whose December sales will be donated to Fund Texas Choice, which provides women in that state with travel to abortion clinics.
The deliciously fuzzy song sees Gordon singing in her distinctive yelp: “Take me downtown/take me downtown/uptown/Take me downtown where they go.” She then continues to intone about the darkness downtown over swirling guitars, as well as a mysterious figure called the shadow.
“I often get asked, ‘Can music change things for people in a political landscape?'” Gordon said in a statement. “Hell yes it can . . . but it takes a listener, an audience to make it anything. So please join me in helping to protect and keep accessible a woman’s right to choose her fate by purchasing this song and supporting Fund Texas Choice and their collective efforts to secure abortion access for all. Thank you. It means so much.”
The former Sonic Youth member dropped her first solo album, No Home Record, in 2019, while also throwing an art exhibit in protest of then-President Donald Trump. “It was inspired by Trump getting elected,” she told Rolling Stone. “It was also inspired by protests, and that things never go away. Here we are dealing with abortion again, and women having control of their own bodies. It’s kind of crazy.”
Three years later, and the song remains the same.
Fontaines D.C. have teamed up with Rosalía for their new collaboration, Where Is Gone?.
The song features on the Irish rock band's forthcoming album, Dopamine Chamber, which arrives on Friday (16.10.26). For guitarist Carlos O’Connell, working with the Spanish superstar is particularly special because of his own Spanish roots.
He explained: “I’ve admired Rosalía ever since her debut album, which I thought was absolutely beautiful.
“What excited me most was the way she continued to preserve Spain's musical traditions, something that felt spiritually connected to what we've been trying to achieve with Irish music. Having roots in both countries, it's been really special to witness. "She's an artist who has continued to amaze me at every point in her career.”
Frontman Grian Chatten has also described the collaboration with Rosalía as one of the most memorable achievements of his career.
He revealed that he felt "humbled" when she agreed to lend her voice to the band's album.
Speaking to NPR, Grian said: “I've always felt there's something almost like a single big idea that I'm personally trying to communicate to the world before I get old and die, if that makes sense. There's one thing I think I'll spend my life trying to express. I have a feeling she has a similar outlook. … I mean, she's an amazing arranger, composer and lyricist. It means so much that she wanted to sing on something we'd put together. It's definitely one of the highlights of my career.”
Rosalía's links to Irish rock music extend beyond Fontaines D.C. She also offered inspiration and helped develop the Spanish lyrics for U2's The Mirror Maker (Rosalía), a track from their forthcoming album, Carnaval de Luz.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week, she spoke about frontman Bono, saying: “I don't know him personally, but he sent me a text explaining that he was working on a new project and had written a song called The Mirror Maker."
Rosalía joked that Bono had invented a few words of his own.
She recalled telling him: “I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I told him he could create his own language if he wanted to.”
She described the opportunity to collaborate with the 66 year old music veteran as a real privilege.
She added: “Bono is a legend.
“It's amazing.”
Bono recently revealed that he was worried about seeming like a stalker when he reached out to Rosalía to ask whether he could name the song after her.
