Five years ago, My Morning Jacket released their most recent album, The Waterfall. At the time, the word was that the alternative rockers had actually recorded enough songs for two full-length albums, but the second collection of tracks never materialized — until now. Today, MMJ have announced The Waterfall II, and it’s coming this Friday, July 10th via ATO Records. The Waterfall and The Waterfall II were recorded during inspiring sessions at what became affectionately known as Panoramic House in Stinson Beach, California. While My Morning Jacket considered putting out all of the music as a triple album, they instead decided to split the two dozen tracks into distinct projects. It was during a walk in the early days of the pandemic lockdown that frontman Jim James rediscovered on...
Surprise! Cloud Nothings have announced a new album called The Black Hole Understands, and they’re releasing it in full tomorrow via Bandcamp. The Black Hole Understands is a 10-song full-length that was written and recorded remotely while self-isolating during the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, reports Pitchfork. A 25% cut of the proceeds will be donated to Play on Philly in Philadelphia and Rainey Institute in Cleveland, both of which provide music and arts education to communities that don’t have easy access to such in their respective local areas. “It’s a quarantine album, so like… not actually recorded live,” frontperson Dylan Baldi tweeted. “I’m playing instruments and singing, Jayson is playing drums. It’s poppy and also kind of sad, which is more or less my state of mind....
Corey Taylor, photo by Antonio Marino Jr. A bevy of notable rock musicians are coming together for a good cause. Slipknot’s Corey Taylor, Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale, Bush’s Gavin Rossdale, and more will perform during the “Rock for Relief” virtual benefit show, while Alice Cooper and others will conduct interviews. “Rock for Relief” is being organized by United Stations Media Networks and Storic Media Podcast Network, with proceeds benefitting Feeding America’s COVID-19 Response Fund. The streaming event airs this Friday, July 3rd, at 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT, and will rebroadcast immediately following at 11:00 p.m. ET / 8:00 p.m. PT. In addition to Taylor, Hale, and Rossdale, the performance lineup includes ex-Eagles guitarist Don Felder, George Thorogood, Alter Bridge’s Myles Kennedy, Filt...
On this day back in 2000, nine young men were killed and 26 others were injured during Pearl Jam’s set at Roskilde Festival. To honor those fans who needlessly lost their lives, the band has shared a tribute video online today, taking note of the 20th anniversary and stating that “nothing has been the same since.” The Roskilde tragedy saw eight men, ages 17 to 26, suffocate to death in a crowd crush when Pearl Jam took the stage for their headlining slot. Five days later, a ninth man died from his injuries. An investigation published later that year cited “a chain of unfortunate circumstances” as being responsible for the audience’s rush forward, with many fans eager to get close to the stage so they could hear the music better. Pearl Jam’s tribute includes a lengthy essay and a touch...
As one of several acts to play the “All In WA: A Concert for COVID-19 Relief” livestream event on Wednesday night (June 24th), Pearl Jam treated viewers to the first-ever live performance of their recent single “Dance of the Clairvoyants”. The socially distant rendition of the song featured each member of Pearl Jam performing from his own home. The band’s longtime lineup of Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, Jeff Ament, and Matt Cameron was bolstered by former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, who provided backing vocals. In the video of the performance, Vedder holds a handheld camera, as his two daughters and wife Jill are seen dancing, bringing to life the song’s line, “I know the girls wanna dance.” Musically, the band mixes things up, with guitarist Gossard pla...
Give your music-loving dad a two-in-one gift this Father’s Day: some Grateful Dead deodorant. Body care company North Coast Organics have created an official Grateful Dead-branded line of USDA-certified organic deodorant, reports Stereogum, so that you can finally achieve that signature Deadhead smell all year long. The jam band collaboration is made with vegan, edible ingredients and is handmade in small batches, ensuing freshness and attention to detail. Best of all, the Grateful Dead deodorant sticks come in five different scents: Skull & Roses (lavender and rose), Sunshine (blood orange and bergamot), Workingman’s (cedarwood and juniper), Timber (douglas fir and sage), and a classic Unscented. As with any creative Grateful Dead crossover, North Coast Organics founder and CEO Nathan...
In recognition of National Gun Violence Awareness Day on June 5th, Pearl Jam unearthed the uncensored version of their 1992 video for “Jeremy”. To date, “Jeremy” remains one of Pearl Jam’s most chilling and affecting songs, based on the real-life suicide of high school student Jeremy Wade Delle, who shot himself in front of his classmates in January 1991. The accompanying video depicts the incident in graphic detail, though the edited version zoomed in on Jeremy’s face so that his gun could not be seen. The uncensored version includes the haunting final scene with Jeremy putting a gun in his mouth. “The increase in gun violence since the debut of ‘Jeremy’ is staggering,” Pearl Jam wrote in an accompanying social media post. “We have released the uncensored version of the video which w...
Rupert Hine, who produced two RUSH albums, as well as releases from The Fixx, Howard Jones, Tina Turner, Stevie Nicks, and more, has died at the age of 72. No cause of death has been revealed. The veteran UK producer’s passing was reported by the Ivors Academy, a songwriting association of which Hine was a board director. “His passion, wisdom, inspiration and his immense kindness will be hugely missed,” stated the organization. Hine produced RUSH’s gold-certified 1989 album Presto, which included the chart-topper “Show Don’t Tell”, and platinum-certified 1991 LP Roll the Bones, featuring the hit “Ghost of a Chance”. It was in the ’80s new wave scene that Hine really made his mark, producing multiple albums by The Fixx, including the platinum-certified Reach the Beach (highlighted by the si...
Jonathan Steingard, the frontman of the successful Christian rock band Hawk Nelson, has declared in a lengthy Instagram post that he no longer believes in God. The singer-guitarist has been a member of Hawk Nelson since 2004, taking over lead vocals in 2012. The Canadian band has placed a number of LPs in the Top 10 of Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart, amassing a large following along the way. In a caption accompanying his open letter, Steingard remarked, “I’ve been terrified to post this for a while – but I feel like it’s time for me to be honest. I hope this is encouraging to people who might feel the same but are as afraid to speak as I am. I want to be open. I want to be transparent with you all – and also open to having my heart changed in the future.” In the letter itself, Stei...
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...
Pigs will soon fly across your TV and laptop screens, as Roger Waters has announced the digital release of Us + Them, the concert film that followed his 2017-2018 tour of the same name. It will be available on YouTube beginning June 16th, with a Blu-ray and DVD release to follow. Watch the trailer below. The concert film follows Waters, the legendary Pink Floyd member, as he embarked on a massive 156-date tour around the world. Waters co-directed the film with Sam Evans, using footage from his dates in Amsterdam and the UK. It captures the spectacle of the “Us + Them” tour, with its dizzying image projections and trippy rainbow laser pyramid. The setlists, too, were something to behold, chock-full of Pink Floyd’s greatest hits from The Wall, Wish You Were Here, and Dark Side of t...
The Pretty Reckless are back with the new single, “Death by Rock and Roll”, a guitar-driven anthem highlighted by singer Taylor Momsen’s powerful pipes. The new song comes shortly after it was announced that the band had signed a new deal with Fearless Records. The track kicks off with a heavy guitar riff and features Momsen singing about the deaths of various characters, ending each of their stories with, “But on my tombstone when I go/ Just put ‘Death by Rock and Roll’.” Momsen’s vocals range from silky smooth in the verses to a full-on scream toward the end of the song. “In a lot of ways, this new album feels like a rebirth and our first single, ‘Death by Rock and Roll’, represents that salvation that my favorite music brings me,” said Momsen in a press release. “Rock is freedom and thi...