music
Angel Olsen Covers George Harrison’s “Beware of Darkness” from Quarantine: Watch
The pressure to be productive while in quarantine continues to be very real, but Angel Olsen has made it look fairly effortless. In addition to rolling out a stellar new album, Whole New Mess, she’s spent the last few months sharing cover after cover. In March, she took on Roxy Music’s “More Than This”, followed by the Tori Amos original “Winter” in April. For her latest reworking, Olsen has tackled “Beware of Darkness” by George Harrison. Originally appearing on The Beatles guitarist’s All Things Must Pass album, the 1970 track was described by Olsen as “pretty great.” Her rendition, uploaded directly to IGTV late Thursday night, is similarly impressive in its vulnerability and starkness. “I’m just messing around like a tired sad shit,” Olsen wrote of her version, which was filmed in...
Amigo the Devil Premieres Bare-Bones Version of “Stronger Than Dead”: Stream
Amigo the Devil has been making waves as a unique troubadour who appeals to fans of both folk and metal. While his music is acoustic-based, his lyrics are decidedly macabre. In the midst of a new “living” album project titled Covers, Demos, Live Versions, B-Sides, Amigo teams up with Heavy Consequence to premiere a stripped-down version of his song “Stronger Than Dead”. As he continues work on a proper follow up to Everything Is Fine, which made our list of the Top Hard Rock + Metal Albums of 2018, Amigo is rolling out rarities and alternate song renditions to create the ever-growing collection Covers, Demos, Live Versions, B-Sides. “Stronger Than Dead”, which originally appeared on Everything Is Fine, is stripped down to its bare bones in this version, simply featuring Amigo and his acous...
Nothing Announce New Album The Great Dismal, Share Lead Single “Say Less”: Stream
Philadelphia shoegazers Nothing have announced their fourth album, The Great Dismal. In advance of its release, they’ve shared the lead single, “Say Less”. Building from a dancey post-punk drum beat, “Say Less” cascades into a noisy wall of feedback. The marriage of dance rhythms and guitar textures recalls My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless closer “Soon”, and director Jordan Hemingway’s ephemeral visual montage is an ideal backdrop for the song. Nothing have always favored a heavy sonic treatment, and judging by “Say Less”, The Great Dismal will be another huge, crankable record. It also touts some notable guest contributions from harpist Mary Lattimore, classical musician Shelley Weiss, and fellow Philly artist Alex G. “The Great Dismal refers to a swamp, a brilliant natural trap where survi...
Finn Wolfhard’s Band The Aubreys Share New Song “Smoke Bomb”: Stream
Shortly after the breakup of their band Calpurnia late last year, singer-guitarist Finn Wolfhard and drummer Malcolm Craig decided to team back up to form The Aubreys, a new indie rock band that’s more influenced by Jay Reatard than The Strokes. Today, the duo is back with a brand new song under that moniker called “Smoke Bomb”, and it comes with an excellent on-brand music video, too. This is the second track we’ve heard from The Aubreys so far following “Getting Better (otherwise)”, their debut single. It doubled as a contribution to the soundtrack for thriller The Turning, too. Whereas that track was meant to be an angst-filled burst of fuzz, though, “Smoke Bomb” is full guitar-pop bliss, complete with scruffy feedback tones. In the music video for “Smoke Bomb”, Wolfhard and Craig photo...
Hatebreed Announce New Album Weight of the False Self, Unleash Title Track: Stream
Connecticut hardcore metallers Hatebreed are set to return with their eighth studio album, Weight of the False Self. The band has unveiled the title track in advance of the LP’s November 27th release. Weight of the False Self marks Hatebreed’s follow-up to 2016’s The Concrete Confessional. The upcoming set was produced by longtime Hatebreed collaborator Zeuss. “Sometimes, I think my reality consists of two irreducible elements, expressed by the age-old interior battle of the dualistic self,” Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta said of his approach to the new album. “The angel on one shoulder stands firm, providing reason, wisdom, and compassion while the devil dances angrily on the other, ranting with passion, spite, and dark desire.” He added, “I often wonder if a truly centered mind is attain...
R.I.P. Toots Hibbert, Reggae Pioneer and Frontman of Toots & The Maytals Dies at 77
Frederick Nathaniel “Toots” Hibbert, founder of the pioneering reggae group Toots & the Maytals, has died at the age of 77. Hibbert had been hospitalized in his native Kingston, Jamaica after contracting COVID-19. He passed away Friday, September 11th, surrounded by family, according to a statement. By incorporating elements of Jamaican ska and rocksteady alongside traditional gospel, soul, R&B, and rock & roll, Hibbert is widely credit as being one of the originators of the reggae genre. In fact, Toots & the Maytals’ 1968 single “Do the Reggay” was the first song to use the word “reggae” and would ultimately give the genre its name. In the early 1960s, Hibbert formed The Maytals alongside fellow vocalists Henry “Raleigh” Gordon and Nathaniel “Jerry” Mathias and i...
New Jimi Hendrix Documentary Explores Infamous Rainbow Bridge Film and 1970 Concert in Maui
Some performances are as legendary as the story surrounding it, and Jimi Hendrix’s live show in Maui, Hawaii is one of them. The famous 1970 concert took place at the foot of the Haleakala volcano, filmed as part of the rock icon’s hilariously incoherent Rainbow Bridge movie. Now, a new documentary called Music, Money, Madness… Jimi Hendrix In Maui will take fans behind the scenes of that ill-fated film and the unusual circumstances leading up to Hendrix’s performance. An accompanying live album has also been announced. The idea for Rainbow Bridge came shortly after Hendrix’s momentous delivery of the “Star-Spangled Banner” at Woodstock the previous year. Seeking to capitalize on Hendrix’s rock stardom, his manager, Michael Jeffrey, planned out a semi-fictional movie that would captur...
Madonna Details New Biopic Written with Diablo Cody
Madonna is getting into the screenwriting groove with Diablo Cody. Last month, the two announced they were collaborating on a screenplay, but stopped short of divulging any specifics. Now, The Material Girl has confirmed that their collaborative project is in fact a biopic about her career and “the struggle as an artist trying to survive in a man’s world.” The screenwriting partners revealed the news in an hour-long Instagram Live video, as well as shared some of the major plot points that will be highlighted in the upcoming film. One of those involves Madonna’s early years spent in New York City. The pop star famously moved to the Big Apple in 1978 with $35 in her pocket, and quickly established herself as a dancer and burgeoning pop star. She also tapped into the city’s ballroom culture,...
Cold Waves Industrial Fest Goes Virtual with Meat Beat Manifesto, Members of Front 242, Ministry, NIN, and More
The annual Cold Waves industrial music festival in Chicago won’t be taking place in-person this year due to the pandemic. However, a virtual lineup, dubbed “The Lost Weekend”, has been set for September 18th-20th, featuring streaming performances and appearances by Meat Beat Manifesto and current and former members of Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, Front 242, Revolting Cocks, and more. The fest was set to occur the same weekend at the Metro in Chicago, with headliners Front 242, Stabbing Westward and My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult, but had to be postponed due to the pandemic. It was been rescheduled for September 26th-28th, 2021, with a lineup yet to be revealed. The virtual fest will broadcast for free via Twitch, kicking off Friday, September 18th with a stream of the first-ever Cold Wave...
Daniel Johnston Livesteam Tribute to Feature Phoebe Bridgers, Jeff Tweedy, and Beck
Phoebe Bridgers and Jeff Tweedy (photos by Ben Kaye), Daniel Johnston (photo by Amy Price), Beck (photo by Amanda Koellner) Daniel Johnston tragically passed away one year ago today. In remembrance of the lo-fi legend, a livestream tribute event headlined by Phoebe Bridgers, Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy, and Beck will be broadcast tonight. Titled “Honey I Sure Miss You”, after Johnston’s own 1991 song of the same name, the online music memorial will also feature performances from Waxahatchee, Kevin Morby, Devendra Banhart, and Maya Hawke, as well as The Lemon Twigs, Lucius, and Jesse Harris. Additionally, Johnston’s family is expected to show a previously unreleased home movie of the late songwriter. The tribute will stream on the website of New York’s famed Electric Lady Studios, as well as...
John Fogerty Mocks Donald Trump’s “Confounding” Choice of “Fortunate Son” at Rally
Yesterday, September 10th, Donald “Bone Spurs” Trump held a campaign rally in Freeland, Michigan. He de-planed to Creedence Clearwater Revival’s anti-war classic “Fortunate Son”, and if you’ve ever paid the tiniest bit of attention to the lyrics, you’ll agree with singer John Fogerty that it’s a “confounding” choice. The moment was recorded in a tweet by Washington Post reporter Dave Weigel, who called it “an entry for the “nobody listened to the lyrics” hall of fame.” The tweet quickly went viral, and today Fogerty issued his response. In a Facebook video called “Meaning behind Fortunate Son,” the legendary rocker broke things down so even a very stable genius could understand. “Recently, the President has been using my song ‘Fortunate Son for his campaign rallies,” the former C...
Michael Love Michael’s XO Is A Service To Their Queer Ancestors
It can be tempting, as a writer, to compartmentalize, to define by a set of fixed words or parameters. Pinpoint the detail about your subject that most interests you — an unexpected gesture, a prime soundbite pulled from an interview — and flesh it out into a full story. But in the case of the New York-based artist Michael Love Michael, who last month self-released their debut album XO, it’s simply not possible, in part because they do so much. As the former culture editor at Paper magazine, the 32-year-old “Cancer-Leo cusp,” who grew up between Chicago and Gary, Indiana, crafted celebrated profiles of such disparate musicians as Paramore’s Hayley Williams and cyborg sensation Poppy, while also serving up weekly playlists packed with the best bops from Megan Thee Stallion, Yves Tumor,...
