music
IDLES’ Ultra Mono Offers Rallying Cries for a Burning World: Review
The Lowdown: In a year that’s seen the world burn physically, politically, and epidemiologically, getting into a debate about whether or not a rock band is phony feels as nostalgic as it does futile. However, this is an IDLES review, so that’s exactly what we’re going to do (at least for a minute). After the twin triumphs of 2017’s Brutalism and 2018’s Joy as an Act of Resistance vaulted the Bristol five-piece into the upper echelon of the British music world, the backlash arrived with bite that seemed to go beyond the music. Pick any IDLES profile from this album cycle, and you’ll inevitably see references to the recent charges and epithets leveled by fellow artists like Sleaford Mods (“their take on [political music] is cliched, patronising, insulting and mediocre”) and Fat White Family ...
Josh Klinghoffer’s Pluralone Announces New Album, Shares “The Night Won’t Scare Me”: Stream
Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer has announced a new solo album. Credited to his Pluralone moniker, it’s called I Don’t Feel Well and due out October 16th. The forthcoming effort serves as the follow-up to his 2019 debut album, To Be One with You, but is his first since being let go by the Peppers earlier this year. According to a statement, the 10-track effort was completed during the pandemic, hence the title’s rather dismal and uncertain tone. “This is a wild time,” Klinghoffer said of the LP. “This album was made during and amongst some very new experiences. I hope it captures some of how it felt during this period. I’ll feel better when this is behind us. As an early look at I Don’t Feel Well, stream reflective lead single “The Night Won’t Scare M...
Anthrax Announce “Stop Spreading the Disease” Hand Sanitizer
Anthrax’s 1985 sophomore album, Spreading the Disease, turns 35 on October 30th, but the band is celebrating the anniversary by encouraging the opposite: The thrash legends have announced their own “Stop Spreading the Disease” hand sanitizer. Yes, as revealed by drummer Charlie Benante in an Instagram post (below), Anthrax now have their own line of hand sanitizer. Without the revenue from touring — guitarist Scott Ian thinks he’ll be out of a job as a touring musican until 2022 — metal bands have improvised new ways to shift merch and stay connected with fans. What’s more practical during a pandemic than branded hand sanitizer? Anthrax are here to make the otherwise mundane act of squirting your hands with ethyl alcohol a lot cooler. Besides, the band recently released its own bourbon whi...
R.I.P. Roy Head, 1960s Rocker Famous for “Treat Her Right” Dead at 79
Roy Head, the 1960s rocker best known for the smash hit “Treat Her Right”, has died at 79. According to the Montgomery County Police Recorder, the cause was heart attack “Treat Her Right” was a sensation upon its release in 1965, reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100, while boasting sales that would have made it number one at just about any other time — except that The Beatles had recently released “Yesterday”. The song has been a pop culture mainstay ever since, appearing over the opening credits of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and popping up in the 1991 film The Commitments. Head was born in Three Rivers, TX, on January 9th, 1941. His father was a sharecropper, and his love of music came from listening to Black sharecroppers singing in the field...
SXSW 2021 Going Digital Due to the Ongoing Pandemic
Due to the ongoing health crisis, South by Southwest is going digital in 2021. Today, the Austin music, film, and interactive festival announced plans for SXSW Online, a self-proclaimed “digital experience” that’s set to go down from March 16th through the 20th. Like the festival’s in-person iteration, SXSW Online will feature conferences, keynotes, screenings, showcases, networking, and other exhibitions. According to a statement, the event’s Film and Conference portions will be constructed using an application process. Submissions open up on October 6th using SXSW’s PanelPicker platform. Next year’s SXSW Music segment seems like it will go down a little differently, however, serving as something of a make-up for the performers affected by the festival’s cancellation this past March....
Baroness Announce Stunning Picture-Disc Vinyl Editions of Red, Blue, and Yellow & Green
Baroness are releasing picture-disc vinyl editions of their first three full-length LPs, Red Album, Blue Record, and the double album Yellow & Green. They’re currently available for pre-order direct from the band for $29.99 each and arrive October 24th. It marks the first time the albums have seen a picture-disc pressing, having been released on a variety of color variants over the years. Each LP brings frontman John Dyer Baizley’s glorious cover art to wax — the first side of each emblazoned with the album artwork and the reverse side adorned with alternative patterns from the original sleeve designs. Each picture-disc edition is housed in a gatefold sleeve and limited to 4,500 copies. Baroness fans can attest to the collectivity of the band’s many vinyl color variants, so these might...
The Glam Grief In Sad13’s Haunted Painting
By Caitlin Wolper Sadie Dupuis and a fellow poet were looking for ghosts. Rooming at the same supposedly haunted hotel, they took photos and stayed up until 4 a.m., but found nothing. It wasn’t until the next day that Dupuis — a vocalist and guitarist for Speedy Ortiz, who performs solo as Sad13 — came across a presence in Seattle’s Frye Art Museum. She was immediately obsessed with it. It was a portrait of the dancer Saharet by Franz von Stuck. Dressed in green, a red flower in her hair, Saharet appears benign at first. But after a moment, you notice the dark circles under her eyes — a stark contrast to her very red lips and intensely pale skin. The utter weariness of those circles adds a hyperrealistic depth, a whisper of sorts: She’s seen something. This portrait primarily inspired Dupu...
Polo G Makes Late Night Debut with “Martin & Gina” on Fallon: Watch
Four months after releasing his excellent sophomore full-length, The Goat, Polo G finally crossed the cable lines. The Chicago rapper made his television debut on Monday night with a performance of “Martin & Gina” on Fallon. On a stage as crisp white as his outfit, Polo G was backed by a full four-piece band. With soft lights cycling through colors around him, he demonstrated the strength of his consistent, quavering vocal style. He also showed appreciate for his rise, ending the performance by saying, “Shout out to my band for rocking out with me, and thanks Jimmy Fallon for having me.” Replay Polo G’s Fallon appearance below. [embedded content] Related You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving...
Nine Inch Nails’ Pandemic Merch Is Both Clever and Grim
Tackling bleak subject matters is nothing new for Nine Inch Nails, but even Trent Reznor hasn’t seen the likes of the COVID-19 pandemic before. Now, some of NIN’s past works have inspired a new line of “Pandemic 2020” merch. For a limited time, Nine Inch Nails are selling five new T-shirts for “modern times” via their official online store. The tees display song titles and lyrics from throughout the band’s career to address the strange world in which we’re currently living. One such design uses the lyrics “New world/ New times/ Mutation feels alright” from the song “Shit Mirror” off the 2018 album Bad Witch. Another repeats the song title “Everyday Is Exactly the Same” from 2005’s With Teeth. Two of the shirts display U.S. maps, with one featuring the line “Used to stand for something” fro...
Bruce Springsteen Wrote His New Album on a Guitar Randomly Gifted to Him by a Fan
Bruce Springsteen is set to return next month with a new album called Letters to You. In a new Rolling Stone profile, the legendary singer-songwriter credits a seemingly innocuous gift given to him by an Italian fan for reinvigorating his creativity and inspiring him to write the album. As Springsteen tells it, upon exiting the venue following a performance of his Springsteen on Broadway residency, a fan walked up to him and gifted him a guitar. “I said, ‘Geez, you know, thanks.’ And I just took a quick glance at it and it looked like a nice guitar, so I jumped in the car with it,” recounted Springsteen. Months later, Springsteen found himself in a creative rut. “You’re down in the mines,” he told Rolling Stone, “and you’re searching for different veins of creativity. Sometimes y...
Knox Fortune Announces New Album Stock Child Wonder, Shares “Shirtless”: Stream
Chicago alt-rapper Knox Fortune has announced his new album Stock Child Wonder. It’s due out October 30th, and today he’s giving fans a taste with a new single called “Shirtless”. Stock Child Wonder follows up on his 2017 debut Paradise, and comes four years after his breakout appearance on Chance the Rapper’s Coloring Book. As with its predecessor, the forthcoming record splits the difference between Chicago’s indie rock and rap scenes. It features guest appearances from Windy City indie staples like Lala Lala, Will Miller of Whitney, Macie Stewart of Ohmme, members of Twin Peaks, Resavoir, and more. Additional production is provided by Acid Rap star Nate Fox and Pomo. Whereas previous single “Sincerity” had more of a pop-rap flavor, new song “Shirtless” is a breezy tu...
Prog-Metal Band The Ocean Have Fossil Named After Them, Unveil New Music: Stream
German progressive metal band The Ocean now have a fossil named after them. “Ophiacantha oceani” is a new brittle star fossil discovered by paleontologists at the Natural History Museum of Luxembourg. The nomenclature is especially fitting given the The Ocean’s own use of paleontological themes, like their new concept album, Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic, arriving this Friday (September 25th). The fossil was discovered by Dr. Lea Numberger and Dr. Ben Thuy, who are either metalheads or simply appreciated The Ocean’s obsession with paleontology. Declared Dr. Thuy: “Musicians who so skillfully combine arts and science, composing albums like Precambrian (with songs named after the periods of the Precambrian), Pelagial (with songs named after the bathymetric subdivisions of the water col...
