Alternative Rock
10 Matty Healy Lyrics Every 1975 Fan Knows by Heart
The lights go out, but suddenly everyone starts screaming. From the fog, a neon rectangle — or black and white depending on the era — lowers down and illuminates the stage. Screaming is still happening, of course, until you hear the infamous lines: “go down, soft sound.” Over the past seven years, for the hundreds, maybe thousands of shows they’ve played, The 1975 begins each set in the same exhilarating manner. But for longtime fans, the theatrics are no longer just a spectacle: they’re a routine. This is The 1975 live show experience. Whether it be their 2013 teenage angst-ridden debut, their ‘80s pop sophomore LP, or the more recent culture critique within their third album, The 1975’s live shows are essentially exhibitions, or better yet, manifestations of the general motifs and themes...
STRFKR on Having Their Music Played in Space
Kyle Meredith With… STRFKR Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS STRFKR frontman Joshua Hodges speaks with Kyle Meredith about the group’s surprise new record, Future Past Life. The Portland-based singer-songwriter discusses how the record finds the band taking a more acoustic-led direction, the raw honesty in the lyrics, and the dark stories that make up the set. Hodges also talks about having an astronaut fan who took their music to space and how they repaid the favor with a few Easter eggs. Kyle Meredith With… is an interview series in which WFPK’s Kyle Meredith speaks to a wide breadth of musicians. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Meredith digs deep into the artist’s work ...
Faith No More’s Roddy Bottum Debuts Single “Daddy” from His Man on Man Project: Stream
Faith No More keyboardist/guitarist Roddy Bottum and his boyfriend, Joey Holman, have launched a new project called Man on Man, and they’ve just debuted their first single, “Daddy’”. Bottum and Holman describe the project as “gay lovers making gay music” on their Instagram page, and appear in tighty-whities in both the promotional photos and the music video for “Daddy”. Bottum told Rolling Stone, “There’s enough representation in the gay community of young, hairless pretty men. It feels good to represent a faction of our culture that isn’t squeaky and manicured.” He added, “Based on the ageist and homophobic responses posted in the comments section of a straight publication that ran our photo, I’m happy to be those faces on the queer map.” As for the song itself, the music leans more...
The 1975’s Notes on a Conditional Form Marks a Definitive Moment in Time: Review
The Lowdown: The 1975 are undeniably divisive. From the start of their roughly 18 years together, frontman and lyricist Matty Healy has generated mass deliberation on whether or not The 1975 are a “serious” band. But that’s typically the case, right? Once something becomes “mainstream,” critics have to re-evaluate, for whatever reason. Can the cult curtains be pulled back to reveal a more substantiated, dynamic legacy? Are fans unanimously delusional to admire a band that talks a lot about crying, erections, and Internet love. I mean, how many times will “she say” something? Spoiler alert: she says a great deal on their latest record, Notes on a Conditional Form. Matty also still cries a lot, too, so don’t worry about that. But to be fair, the skepticism surrounding the band isn’t unwarran...
The 1975 Finally Release New Album Notes on a Conditional Form: Stream
By this point, our calendars are filled with crossed reminders of the release date for The 1975’s new album. After two years and multiple delays, the circle finally takes the square: The 1975 have today released Notes on a Conditional Form. The follow-up to the truly excellent 2018 effort A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships was formally announced last summer with an expected due date of February 21st, 2020. Work didn’t progress as anticipated, however, and a month before the release it was pushed to April 24th. Then the full-length faced another hitch along with the rest of the world when the pandemic hit, forcing The 1975 to delay it once again until today, May 22nd. In her review of the album, Consequence of Sound contributor Samantha Small said that the diverse record is...
Lollapalooza Shares Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 2006 Concert from the Vault: Watch
Despite the fact that we all know a 100,000-capacity event just isn’t going to happen this summer, Lollapalooza still hasn’t officially canceled its 2020 edition. While we await the inevitable announcement, the festival has been unloading classic performances from its vaults. Past streaming concerts have included The Strokes’ 2010 comeback concert and Foo Fighters’ legendary 2011 set. Today, the series continues with the reveal of Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 2006 headlining show, which you can watch below beginning at 8:00 p.m. EDT. The 17-song performance was RHCP’s first at Lolla since 1992, back when it was still a touring festival. The shirtless rockers were in the midst of their “Stadium Arcadium Tour”, which holds a special place in fans’ hearts. Stadium Arcadium and its accompanying...
Stabbing Westward Announce New Album Wasteland, First Full-Length Since 2001
Stabbing Westward have inked a new record deal and will release a new album titled Wasteland, the industrial rock act’s first full-length LP in nearly 20 years. The news follows the early 2020 release of the band’s comeback EP, Dead & Gone. So far, there’s no release date or tracklist, but Stabbing Westward plan to unveil the album and at least one single in 2020. They’ve signed a recording deal with COP International, and have welcomed back producer John Fryer (Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode), who helmed Stabbing Westward’s early albums Ungod and Wither Blister Burn & Peel. “It’s grand to be working with Stabbing Westward again,” said Fryer in a press release. “The first two albums we made together were some of my finest work as a producer.” Stabbing Westward frontman Christopher H...
Sharon Van Etten and Josh Homme Share Video for “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding”: Watch
Sharon Van Etten and Josh Homme in video for “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” Sharon Van Etten and Josh Homme’s cover of “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” wasn’t intentionally made for the quarantine era. “Recording this song had nothing to do with what we’d be going through… until we started going through it,” explains Homme in a statement. But while the track itself wasn’t intended to be an anthem of isolated times, its new music video fully embraces the state of the world. Directed by Matthew Daniel Siskin, the clip captures Van Etten and Homme at home with their families. The former’s kid plays around with an empty inflatable swimming pool while she sips a glass of wine and sings karaoke in front of a projection of SMPTE color bars. Homme, m...
Gorillaz Perform “Aries” on Kimmel: Watch
Long before the outbreak, Gorillaz launched Song Machine, an ongoing audiovisual series featuring new music. The animated band led by Damon Albarn has since forged ahead by releasing singles each month, and on Tuesday, Gorillaz showcased one of them on Jimmy Kimmel Live. For the remotely broadcast TV performance, Albarn teamed up with 2-D to play Gorillaz’s latest single, “Aries”. As Kimmel noted in his introduction, it marked the first time Albarn has ever-performed a duet with one his animated bandmates. Watch below. The studio version of “Aries” features New Order’s Peter Hook and Georgia, and marks the third chapter in Gorillaz’s Song Machine series. Previously, they released “Momentary Bliss” featuring slowthai and Slaves, and Désolé” featuring Fatoumata Diawara. ...
Country Westerns Share the Origins of New Single “I’m Not Ready”: Stream
In our new music feature Origins, bands give their listeners some insight into the inspirations behind their latest track. Today, Country Westerns explain why “I’m Not Ready”. For a full year, few had heard the music of Country Westerns besides the late David Berman. After all, Silver Jews drummer Brian Kotzur had started the project with The Weight/Gentleman Jesse’s Joey Plunkett as a way to play music pressure-free; performing for the indie icon was enough of an outlet. They’d tested the waters of Nashville’s DIY party scene, but otherwise kept things close to the garage. Once State Champion’s Sabrina Rush picked up bass for the first time and started playing with Country Westerns, however, it was Berman who encouraged them to take their sound wider. So off the trio went to New York, spe...
Deftones Postpone Summer Tour with Gojira and Poppy Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
Fans holding out hope that Deftones might still tour North America in 2020 will have to wait until next year to see the alt-metal veterans. The band has officially postponed its summer tour with Gojira and Poppy due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but plans to announce rescheduled dates for 2021. The news of the postponement comes as no surprise, as singer Chino Moreno recently told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe that “it’s not looking like we’re going to be able to get out there this summer.” In that same interview, Moreno revealed that Deftones had originally planned to deliver a new album to their fans this summer, but now the release date is “something that we’re going to have to figure out.” The tour was slated to run from July 27th in Portland, Oregon, through September 5th in Denver, Colorado. T...
Incubus Frontman Brandon Boyd Covers Beach House’s “Myth”: Stream
Like many musicians these days, Incubus frontman Brandon Boyd has been recording new material to pass the time in quarantine. Earlier this month, the veteran rocker put his own spin on Ricky and Morty song “Goodbye Moonmen”; now, Boyd has shared a cover of the 2012 Beach House single “Myth”. While Beach House’s Bloom original unfurled like a blanket of dream pop, the allure of Boyd’s rendition is found it in its simplicity. The Incubus leader croons across spare guitar strums, effectively turning the track into an aching acoustic rock ballad. Hear it below. Editors’ Picks For more of Incubus, fans may need to lean hard on Boyd’s surprise covers — at least for the next few months. This afternoon, the band announced on Facebook that it was officially canceling its US tour with 311...
