Thursday, August 31, 2017

Watch The Trailer for 'Beside Bowie'


Director John Brewer is set to release the new documentary on legendary guitarist Mick Ronson who worked with David Bowie, Morrissey, Bob Dylan, and Lou Reed to name a few. In 1993, Ronson, who is the father of superstar producer and DJ, Mark Ronson, passed away while making a solo record. 

Now, the documentary, Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story, will hit select theaters next month. 

Take a look at the trailer, below:

Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile Detail Duet Album


Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile have finally detailed their anticipated duets record which will arrive next month. 

Take a look at the cover of Lotta Sea Lice, above, and the tracklisting, below:

1. Over Everything
2. Let It Go
3. Fear Is Like A Forest
4. Outta The Woodwork
5. Continental Breakfast
6. On Script
7. Blue Cheese
8. Peepin' Tom
9. Untogether

Live Pix: Marduk at Gramercy Theater


On Tuesday night, Marduk performed at the Gramercy Theater in Manhattan and our very own RICH D SMOOV was on hand to capture the brutal action. 

Take a look!







Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Jimmy Eat World Reading and Leeds Highlights



Watch Jimmy Eat World perform "Pass The Baby" and "Pain" from this past weekend's Reading and Leeds festival in England.

At the Drive-In at Reading and Leeds Highlights



Watch At The Drive-In perform "Governed By Contagions" and "One Armed Scissor" at the Reading and Leeds festival this week.

Liam Gallagher at Reading & Leeds Highlights



Watch Liam Gallagher make his solo debut at the Reading and Leeds festival this past weekend in England. Watch as he performs "Wall of Glass" and "Wonderwall."

Queens of the Stone Age Reading & Leeds Highlights



This past weekend, Queens of the Stone Age headlined the annual Reading and Leeds festivals in England. Watch some highlights of their set featuring "The Way You Used To" and "Feel Good Hit of the Summer."

Metallica Share Lady Gaga Grammy Rehearsal Footage


Metallica recently uploaded rehearsal footage of them with Lady Gaga ahead of what was now their ill-fated Grammy performance in February where singer James Hetfield's mic didn't work. Take a look at the fly on the wall style filming of the two artists in action.

Quick News


Metallica will reissue Master of Puppets in various formats this November. The Master of Puppets reissue will be available physically as a Standard LP, Standard CD, 3 CD Expanded Edition, and Limited Edition Deluxe Box Set and digitally as a Standard CD (available to stream and download), a 3 CD Expanded Edition (available for download only), and a Digital Deluxe Box Set (available for streaming and download). The Expanded Edition will include previously unreleased demos, rough mixes, interviews, live tracks, and a 28-page booklet. The Limited Edition Deluxe Box Set will include a 108-page hardcover book including never before seen photos, outtakes and previously unreleased interviews, three LPs, ten CDs, a cassette, two DVDs, a lithograph, a folder with handwritten lyrics, and a set of six buttons. Take a look at the video above where James Hetfield unboxes the deluxe edition -- it is a beauty!

Following the release of their latest album, Emperor of Sand, Mastodon will release a new EP called Cold Dark Place in November.

The Flaming Lips and Mac Demarco will release a split EP which features both artists cover one anothers respective songs. Lips singer Wayne Coyne broke the news on Instagram Tuesday. 

The anticipated duet record between Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett will arrive in October and it is going to be called Lotta Sea Lice. Vile broke the news to Rolling Stone.

According to reports, calls to suicide prevention hotlines increased on Sunday following Logic's performance at the MTV Video Music Awards where he performed "1-800-273-8255," which is the phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. John Draper, director of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline told CNN in a statement: "The impact has been pretty extraordinary. On the day the song was released, we had the second-highest call volume in the history of our service." He added that calls to the hotline are up roughly 33 percent from this time last year. Take a look at the powerful performance, below:

Sunday, August 27, 2017

QUICK SPINS



Brand NewScience Fiction

There are a select batch of artists that turn the release of a record into an event – Radiohead, Kendrick Lamar, Beyonce, Jay Z, Kanye West, and Long Island emo survivors Brand New. The quartet have been cryptic with fans about the release of what is said to be their final record for years and earlier this month, they surprised everyone with Science Fiction. The record, peppered in personal and powerful undertones of surviving a scene, getting old, figuring out your life and wanting to leave a legacy behind has been rolled up into Science Fiction. Eight years after they released Daisy, Brand New have once again reinvented their sound with a less aggressive and more mature style that shows how full circle their progress has come since their 2001 debut, the essential pop-punk listening of Your Favorite Weapon. Science Fiction is a band trying to destroy the identity of the band they once were by becoming something they always wanted – an art rock band.
FINAL GRADE: A



Queens of the Stone Age  - Villains

The world’s favorite stoner rockers return with record chock-full-of groovy rhythms, slick rock and roll, and catchy tunes. With Mark Ronson behind the decks as the sole producer of Villains, the British DJ and artist helps bring the uptown funk to the California dessert as he and Queens keep their fingerprint on a whole new sound. While it isn’t a total 180, they remain true to themselves while daring to take a bold new step that works perfectly.
FINAL GRADE: A-


Nine Inch Nails Add Violence EP

The second of three planned EPs for 2017, Trent Renzor releases what might be the more aggressive of the three and throws back a punch that has not been heard since With Teeth-era NIN.


Tyler, The CreatorFlower Boy

The former Odd Future ringleader returns with his most personal, private, and autobiographical record to date. Since the release of his outstanding Goblin, in 2011, Tyler, has been slowly revealing who he is to the world, now, with Flower Boy, it fully blossoms. He confronts himself about his sexuality, who he is as an artist, and how it is time to grow up.
FINAL GRADE: A-


Grizzly Bear Painted Ruins

The low-fi indie rock favorites with a record that has more of a pulse than some of their previous efforts and that is thanks to part to some actual upbeat songs and not just an album filled with moody harmonies and dark undertones.
FINAL GRADE: B+


Gogol BordelloSeekers and Finders

In the age of Donald Trump and Theresa May, where anyone who was not born in their respective countries needs to get out – here comes Gogol Bordello to once again remind us the importance of immigrants, other cultures, and creeds. The gypsy punks have just put out what could be their most important record and a weapon in the fight against ugly nationalism while still sounding as if they are having the time of their lives. Like other releases from the band, it is a party and learning experience.
FINAL GRADE: B+


EMAExile in the Outer Ring

On her third record, EMA, pushes herself and the sounds she has crafted on her own to find herself going into a deep, mysterious, unknown rabbit hole of creativity and curiosity.
FINAL GRADE: B+

GhostpoetDark Days and Canapés

The tender and timid British electro singer releases what we like to call an “end of the night” record for the summer. After coming home from a night out, this is one that you want to put on and unwind to while having a nightcap. The soulful and blip-filled disc continues to make Ghostpoet one of the more interesting and underrated artists out there today.
FINAL GRADE: B+

UnkleThe Road

After seven years away, the mysterious and intense electronic group are back with help from Primal Scream’s Andrew Innes, Queen of the Stone Age’s Troy Van Leeuwan, Dhani Harrison, Mark Lanegan, ESKA, Keaton Henson, and the Duke Spirit’s Liela Moss. The Road is a journey through space and time and our captains are Unkle.
FINAL GRADE: B


Dead Cross

The self-titled debut album from the supergroup containing Mike Patton, Dave Lombardo, and Retox’s Justin Pearson, Michael Crain, is a as straight forward as it gets for someone like the Faith No More front man. However, adding the other monsters to the mix makes the record worth listening to.
FINAL GRADE: B


Iron and Wine Beast Epic

The singer / songwriter is back with a new collection of songs that just extends his vast and solid catalogue.
FINAL GRADE: B-


Rainer Maria

The self-titled reunion record from the indie heroes is a safe return to form and will certainly make old fans happy to hear new tracks.
FINAL GRADE: B-

Guided By Voices How Do You Spell Heaven

The second release of 2017 from the indie rock titans at first came out as a surprise since earlier this year they put out the very good and very long double album, August by Cake. Now, the quick follow-up is How Do You Spell Heaven, which continues the legacy of this band that does not want to stop but it might just be too much music for one year.
FINAL GRADE: B-

Washed Out- Mister Mellow

The shoegaze artist is back with a record that is perfect for the last days of summer. As anxiety about school, work, and the fall, heats up, this is an album that will help you mellow out.
FINAL GRADE: B-

Big BoiBoomiverse

The Outkast rapper returns with a new solo record that is a solid effort and a bit middle of the road. Boomiverse has decent beats and rhymes from the hip-hop icon as well as special guests Killer Mike, Gucci Maine, Adam Levine and production from Organized Noise and Scott Storch, it falls flat in the age of young guns like Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$, and Vince Staples.
FINAL GRADE: C

TLC

The long-awaited new album from the R&B group has finally arrived and it is not very memorable. It contains the spirit of the band but lacks the unity without the late Lisa “Left Eye” Lopez and it might have been too long away from the scene for T-Boz and Chili to fully pull out their potential.
FINAL GRADE: C

Action BronsonBlue Chips 7000

The Blue Chips series for Action Bronson has been some of his best material after Well Done and Bon Appetite.. Bitch, yet, since the Queens rapper has gone mainstream with his various Vice shows, hanging with Mario Batalli, and inking a major label deal, rap has been his backup plan. On his second record for Atlantic Records, following the abysmal Mr. Wonderful, Blue Chips 7000 doesn’t even deserve to be named after the stellar series it comes from. The record lacks focus and creativity. If Bronson wasn’t too busy with everything else in his life, including a new cook book arriving next month, and focused on his music, what he should be turning into Atlantic are classics not middle of the road and uninspiring records.
FINAL GRADE: D



ColdplayKaleidoscope EP

In the past, it was always easy to take aim at Coldplay for their sensitive and tender sound but they took it on the chin and released great records like Parachutes, A Rush of Blood to the Head, Viva La Vida, and even X&Y. They were creative artists that were paving their own way, they 2011 happened and since the unlistenable Mylo Xyloto, they are just a pop band that tries really hard, a little too hard at making radio friendly pop songs. With the exception of the somber Ghost Stories, nearly everything the British band has put out in six years has been manufactured crap and their latest EP is another victim of that. Why bother at this point releasing anything? Why bother trying to please anyone if all you want to do is be on the radio and not fulfill a creative hole? If that is what the band wants, fine, do it, just don’t expect it to be good.
FINAL GRADE: D

Quick News


via GIPHY


Wu-Tang Clan confirmed that they will be releasing a new album, Wu Tang: The Saga Continues, which will be produced by RZA and DJ Mathematics. The studio album includes 10 songs, plus skits, and features vocal performances by RZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killa, Inspektah Deck, Masta Killa, ODB, Redman, Sean Price and more.

The Fall had to cancel a rare U.S. tour which was set to kick-off next month because singer Mark E. Smith was recently hospitalized. In a statement the band said: "nfortunately it would be a gamble on his health to fly anywhere over the next couple of months. Mark’s current problems are connected to his throat, mouth/dental & respiratory system… so throwing all the meds together and continuing with the travel/shows would certainly harm any progress that we have made over the past few weeks. We understand that this is a huge deal for both American/worldwide fans of The Fall and The Fall themselves, Mark & the guys have been really excited and everyone is gutted about the outcome. However, it’s high-time Mark put his health first and that’s what we are gonna do."

NERD have cleared their social media accounts leading to speculation that a new album is on the way. If so, it would be the group's first in seven years. They recently announced that they will perform at Complex Con in L.A. this fall -- their first performance as a group in three years.

Ice-T and Soledad O'Brien will explore the deaths of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious BIG in a new Fox documentary called Who Shot Biggie & Tupac?, airing next month.

Saturday, August 26, 2017

Live Review: Kendrick Lamar at Prudential Center



On Friday night, Donald Trump signed an executive order to ban transgender troops from the military, he pardoned noted racial profiler former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and the president went on vacation after another vacation as a hurricane is getting ready to slam into Texas and Louisiana. That all happened as fans from across the tri-state area flocked to Newark, New Jersey's Prudential Center as the most important voice of a generation and someone whose music has become part of the anti-Trump movement -- Kendrick Lamar.

Lamar, who is nearing the end of his highly successful Damn. Tour, played the New York area for the final time this summer after hitting Brooklyn last month for two sold-out concerts.

"We worked really hard on this record and it feels great to bring it to life, in 3-D, and play it for all of you," the Compton rapper told the packed audience Friday night.

Prior to taking the stage, a black curtain draped over the stage with the logo of the tour, around 9:15, it dropped down to reveal veteran hip-hop producer Kid Capri taking the stage with just a mic in his hand as he introduced the rising icon everyone came to see. The lights dimmed, and the screens to the sides of the arena, as well as one massive one in the back of the stage played a short film of Lamar getting into his character, "Kung-Fu Kenny," which would be the motif of the night's performance.


As Lamar rose from the bottom of the stage dressed as a ninja, he held a kneeling position for applause before exploding into the mic as his stormed through "DNA." He then jumped into "ELEMENT." before playing the first non-DAMN. track, "King Kunta," off 2015's best album and one of the greatest records ever made -- To Pimp a Butterfly.

The crowd was in the palm of his hand as they screamed back the words, making the 30-year-old smile as he spit into his mic. The audience was full of energy, which the rapper fed off of. He would profess numerous times what it meant to be playing a place like Prudential Center and how he appreciates the support and love of his fans. Lamar also asked if he had any "Day Ones" in the audience, as many in the room chanted, he threw it back for them with songs like "Swimming Pools," "Backseat Freestyle," and "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe," from his major label debut - Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City.

Lamar would also cover Future's "Mask Off" and Schoolboy Q's "Collard Greens," and rapped his verses from the respective songs.


A post shared by Prudential Center (@prucenter) on

It was impressive set that featured the West Coast rapper performing on a small B-Stage in the middle of the arena which levitated him above the crowd. Lamar was also supported during his show my back-up dancers dressed as ninjas and a contortionist who at one point, lift the rapper up in the air with just on leg and arm as she held herself and the star by her right arm which was perched on the stage.


As visuals from around the world, nature, and the news flashed across the screens, including a moveable one which rested above the stage and eventually was lowered to the floor, Lamar took his fans on a journey as he brought his blockbuster new album to life.

While DAMN. came alive in Jersey, at his has all summer, it also proved that Lamar has a way to connect with his audience like the greats before him including U2, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Bruce Springsteen, all do by giving shout outs to various people in the crowd that caught his eye. It was those fans that helped elevate the people around them as the highlights of night included virtual A Capella renditions of "Alright," "LOVE.," and "HUMBLE." -- which he restarted as the room screamed the words back to him that no backing track or musician (who were hidden from view) could be heard.

Those songs became the rally cry for peace and love in our tumultuous times and were given to us by an artist whose integrity and creativity knows no bounds. The DAMN. Tour is much more than a concert but more like a sermon.

Friday, August 25, 2017

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Beck FINALLY Details 'Colors'


Beck's new album, Colors, was supposed to arrive at various points last year and the time came and went. The Grammy-award winning singer spent most of 2017 teasing the record and then eventually told Rolling Stone it was coming out in October. Now, he has shared more details. 

Take a look at the cover, above, and the tracklisting, below:

Colors
7th Heaven
I’m So Free
Dear Life
No Distraction
Dreams
Wow
Up All Night
Square One
Fix Me

Quck News


Lady Gaga has taken to Instagram all day to tease various panels that eventually made up the poster for her upcoming Nextflix documentary, Five Foot Two, which airs on the network next month. Take a look at one of the mini trailers and details above.

Thirty years after it was filmed, Showtime will air the rare Prince concert film / documentary Sign O' The Times, which was shot on the tour of that record of the same name. It will air on the network next month.

In an interview with MTV News, Kendrick Lamar said his new album, DAMN., is intended to be played backwards and tells the same story of his life but at a different temp and rhythm. “I don’t think the story necessarily changes, I think the feel changes. The initial vibe listening from the top all the way to the bottom is...this aggression and this attitude. You know, ‘DNA,’ and exposing who I really am. You listen from the back end, and it’s almost the duality and the contrast of the intricate Kendrick Lamar. Both of these pieces are who I am," he said.

The xx are already planning their new record after the release of their third LP, I See You, earlier this year. Singer Romy Melody Croft told The Courier: "We’ve got plans to release our techno tunes,” she said. "We’ve loved having more upbeat music in our set. We’ve remixed ourselves, there’s some older songs that we now play at 120 bpm.”

Nine Inch Nails collaborator and former member Alessandro Cortini will release his new album, Avanti, next month. "Delving back into his youth brought out some mixed emotions for Cortini. “There’s this melancholia that comes with memories of bygone days, whether they were great or not, they're gone and you can't go back to them,” he said in a press release. “That’s why I named the record AVANTI, it means ‘forward’ in Italian and that’s the only direction you can go.” Take a look at the tracklisting, below:
1.Iniziare
2. Perdonare
3. Aspettare
4. Nonfare
5. Vincere
6. Perdere
7. Finire

Beach Slang Announce Quiet Slang Project


Beach Slang frontman James Alex is doing a solo project from his fantastic punk band and will be doing an acoustic EP under the name Quiet Slang. Quiet Slang will be Alex featuring vocals, acoustic guitar, cello and bass. He will release his debut EP, We Were Babies and We Were Dirtbags in October. 

Alex says of the project in a press release: "I suppose we're all chasing something that resembles salvation, something that calms our bones. Maybe this is some small slice of that. Maybe it's not. Maybe it's chaos in soft clothes. Maybe it's frightened. Maybe it's fearless. Maybe it's both. Or maybe it's nothing. I don't know, but I think about this: one day I'm going to be dust. And when my soul splits, maybe this will be the thing that sneaks me through the gates. If not, well, those are the breaks."

Take a look at the cover, above, and the tracklisting, below:

  1. "Future Mixtape For The Art Kids"
  2. "Bad Art & Weirdo Ideas"
  3. "Androgynous" [The Replacements]
  4. "Thirteen" [Big Star] 

Stars Announce New Album


Stars will release their new album, There is No Love in the Fluorescent Light, in October.

Read Our 2010 Interview with Stars 

Take a look at the cover, above, and the tracklisting, below, and hear the first single, "Real Thing."

01 Privilege
02 Fluorescent Light
03 Losing to You
04 Hope Avenue
05 Alone
06 We Called It Love
07 Real Thing
08 The Gift of Love
09 On the Hills
10 The Maze
11 California, I Love That Name
12 Wanderers


Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Quick News


via GIPHY


Prince's sister, Tyka, has said that she plans on releasing the music from her late brother's vault which has been the subject of much mystery even when he was alive. The vault inside his Paisley Park compound has been guarded under lock and key for decades and now it will see the light of day. "I want what Prince wants. We have to preserve everything," she told The Sun recently. "As soon as we can release it, don’t worry — we sure will."

Morrissey will release a new album, Low in High School, later this year.

After years of speculating, King Krule has confirmed that he and Frank Ocean have worked together, including one time in 2013, but the man whose real name is Archy Marshall, told Pitchfork that he believes the Blond singer didn't like what he offered. "His work rate’s crazy; he creates album after album. I don’t know what goes through his head. He’s a different kind of cat. He came down and he wanted me to do something for his record, but I don’t think he liked it," Krule said. He also added that he worked with Earl Sweatshirt and did the beat to "Death Whistles," saying: "It was probably like 5 in the morning. And we made this beat, [which] basically came out of the fact that he was like, ‘This beat’s trash.’ And he slowed it down, super. And he was like, ‘This is some good shit.’ [laughs] I was like, ‘Aight.’”

Billy Corgan, now going under his full name, William Patrick Corgan, will release his solo debut, Oligaga, in October. The record was produced by Rick Rubin. In a press release, Corgan said: "For as long as I can remember the delineation point between songs I wrote for myself and songs I’d pen for whatever band was something I couldn’t explain. And it remains so, for they all feel quite personal to me, no matter their time orera. The lone difference on songs for Ogilala is that they seemed to want little in the way of adornment. Having written the songs for voice and guitar, I put myself in Rick’s hands to take the music wherever he’d like. Normally I would have done more, and tinkered more on production, but rather Rick put the onus on me to deliver at a molecular level via live takes. The rest was simply a reaction." He also released the tracklisting, below:
01 Zowie
02 Processional
03 The Spaniards
04 Aeronaut
05 The Long Goodbye
06 Half-Life of an Autodidact
07 Amarinthe
08 Antietam
09 Mandaryne
10 Shiloh
11 Archer

Quicksand Detail 1st Album in 22 Years


As announced yesterday, Quicksand they would release their first album since 1995 called Interiors this fall. Now, the band have fully detailed the record which arrives in November.

“It was all just about being ourselves and who we were as well as who we are,” singer Walter Schreifels said in a press release of the making of Interiors. “We did it for us completely.”

Take a look at the cover, above, and the tracklisting, below, and hear the first single, "Illuminant."

1 Illuminant
2 Under the Screw
3 Warm and Low
4 >
5 Cosmonauts
6 Interiors
7 Hyperion
8 Fire This Time
9 Feels Like a Weight Has Been Lifted
10 >>
11 Sick Mind
12 Normal Love

Live Pix: Code Orange at Barclays Center


Rising metal titans Code Orange performed at the Barclays Center Saturday during WWE's NXT Takeover ahead of Sunday's epic Summerslam event. 

Our RICH D SMOOV was on hand to capture the action. Take a look. 






 

VINTAGE CLIP: Queens of the Stone Age on 'Conan' in 2000


Watch Rated R-era Queens of the Stone Age perform "The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret," on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in 2000.

Monday, August 21, 2017

Quick News


After reuniting for Riot Fest last year, The Misfits have announced their only concert of 2017 which will take place in LA on December 30. Fans are holding out for more shows next year. Take a look at the flyer, above.

Quicksand, who reunited in 2012, will release their first album in 22 years, Interiors, later this year. No official release date has been set.

LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy told the New York Times in a recent story that the reason the New York electronic band split in 2011 was to sell tickets to their Madison Square Garden concert that April. “My theory was, if I make it our last show, we’ll sell it out in two weeks,” he said. “It wasn’t a total lark, but it was a bit larky.” He said that the promoters of the show were afraid they would not sell out the venue and wanted a big opening act like Big Boi of Outkast, prompting Murphy to claim: "Why on earth would Big Boi open for us? Big Boi was in one of the biggest, most important hip-hop—no, one of the biggest and most important acts of all time. It didn’t make any sense. My theory was, if I make it our last show, we’ll sell it out in two weeks... It wasn’t a total lark, but it was a bit larky. But I like making decisions. I find it easy.”

St. Vincent talked to the New Yorker about her upcoming new album. In the interview she said that her ex-girlfriend, model Cara Delevigne, appears on the record and she worked with Jack Antanoff as a producer and Thomas Bartlette aka Doveman as an arranger for the LP. The record is apparently very autobiographical and deals with her emotions and anxieties. She recorded the record in New York while living out of a motel near Electric Lady Studios.

According to reports, Action Bronson is being toted as a late night host for the Viceland channel which he already has a series of shows including his hit, Fuck, That's Delicious. No word as to when the show will air or premiere but Bronson is releasing his new album, Blue Chips 7,000, Friday and showed off the tracklisting. Take a look:
A post shared by Action Bronson (@bambambaklava) on

File this under -- FUCK YES! Portugal. The Man are performing in Charlottesville tonight with The Dig and all of the proceeds from the show will go to relief efforts in the city following the atrocities last weekend.

Italian composure Daniele Luppi is teaming up with Parquet Courts to release a concept album called Milano, which will also feature Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The album is out in October via Danger Mouse's label 30th Century Records.


Pearl Jam Announce New Live Album


Last summer, Pearl Jam performed two special concerts at Fenway Park in Chicago in the season where the Cubs won their first World Series in what feels like forever. To commemorate the special gigs, the band will be releasing a live album and concert film called Let's Play Two. The film, which will be released in theaters next month and later show on television during the World Series playoffs, is expected to arrive on DVD later in the year. No confirmation on the DVD pressing. Take a look at the trailer, above.

Sunday, August 20, 2017

Great Soundtracks: 'The U.S. vs. John Lennon'


In 2006, a team of documentary filmmakers set out to tell the true story of how the American government thought John Lennon was a threat to society and problem to the Nixon Administration in the 1970s. The film, The U.S. vs. John Lennon, is about the former Beatle's quest to end the conflict in Vietnam and demand equal rights for all in America while he was living in New York City following the break up of the Fab Four. Lennon, and his wife, Yoko Ono, would organize rallies, billboards, and of course concerts as well as create music with a message that chastised the American government. Lennon being British and his wife a Japanese immigrant manage to bother the government so much that they looked to deport him.


The film showcases Lennon's issues against the U.S. government until his death as well as the music he created during this period. The soundtrack to the documentary captures the sound in his head and heart perfectly. Using Lennon songs like "Power to the People," "Nobody Told Me," "Working Class Hero," "New York City," makes the soundtrack one of the greatest post-Beatle compilations of his work.

Recommended Reading: Johnny Marr 'Set The Boy Free'



Last fall, Johnny Marr finally told his story and released his long-awaited autobiography, Set The Boy Free. The autobiography chronicled the influential guitarists discovery of music and what it was like growing up in the harsh city of Manchester, England. Yet, the world around him along with his passion to be a rock star led him to meet Steven Patrick Morrissey and form The Smiths. Marr details a vivid account of how the band rose to stardom, became one of the most influential acts of all time and then eventually disbanded, leaving many people to bed for a reunion.

While the rise and fall of The Smiths is not only heavily documented before Marr gave a first person account, what is fascinating in Set the Boy Free is Marr's rediscovery of music and working with bands like The The, Modest Mouse, The Cribs, as well as finding his own voice as a solo artist. Marr, who along with Morrissey, became one of the best songwriting duos in the history of music, brings that same touch to how he pens his life.

Robert Plant Announces New Album


In October, Robert Plant will release his new solo album, Carry Fire, which he also self-produced.

In a press release, the former Led Zeppelin singer said of the record: "It's about intention, I respect and relish my past works but each time I feel the lure and incentive to create new work. I must mix old with new. Consequently the whole impetus of the band has moved on its axis somewhat, the new sound and different space giving way to exciting and dramatic landscapes of mood, melody and instrumentation."

Take a look at the cover, above, and the tracklisting, below:

1. The May Queen
2. New World...
3. Season's Song
4. Dance With You Tonight
5. Carving Up The World Again... a wall and not a fence
6. A Way With Words
7. Carry Fire
8. Bones Of Saints
9. Keep It Hid
10. Bluebirds Over The Mountain
11. Heaven Sent

Friday, August 18, 2017

Grizzly Bear on 'Colbert'


Watch Grizzly Bear perform "Mourning Sound" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Brand New Surprise Release 1st Album in 8 Years


Very few bands manage to shake the internet like Brand New. Artists like Radiohead, Kendrick Lamar, Beyonce, Kanye West, Jay-Z, all manage to do it but for a band like Brand New to fit in that mold, not only are they the odd men out, they seem to love it.

Their alleged final album was supposed to arrive last year and after a massive tour, they announced that in 2018 they would be calling in quits. Since 2015, they have released a new single each year leading up to a potential new record and leaving fans guessing as to when and what will come of new music they have been working on for close to a decade. 

They would take to their Instagram page and post cryptic messages about being in the studio, sometimes they would alter the look of their website, even their label, Procrastinate Records confirmed new music was on the way... but when?

Eight years after they released their critically acclaimed album, Daisy, the Long Island rock band announced earlier this week that their new album was coming in October and  pre-sale for a $45 vinyl which ships in October was the only info around. 

Well, on Thursday, 500 lucky fans who managed to snag one of the 5,000 copies of the vinyl pre-order were shipped a CD overnight and it contained one 61-minute song that would make up the new Brand New album.

As fans posted to Reddit, the music world sort of flipped into the Upside Down World of Stranger Things trying to hear the album. Later in the day, the band confirmed that the record is called Science Fiction, and is available for download and physical formats including CD and a different vinyl than the one they had on pre-sale earlier in the week went on sale. The physical versions will also ship in October. 

Take a look at the cover, above, and the tracklisting, below:

01 Lit Me Up
02 Can’t Get It Out
03 Waste
04 Could Never Be Heaven
05 Same Logic/Teeth
06 137
07 Out of Mana
08 In the Water
09 Desert
10 No Control
11 451
12 Batter Up

For more info on the new record and to get it, click HERE

VINTAGE CLIP: Johnny Cash on 'Letterman' in '93


In 1993, Johnny Cash appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and performed his 60s classic, "Don't Take Your Guns to Town," watch the VINTAGE CLIP above. We post the poignant clip as the Cash family -- Rosanne, Kathy, Cindy, Tara, and John Carter Cash, released a statement on Rosanne's Facebook page denouncing a white supremacist who was filmed wearing a Johnny Cash shirt at last weekend's horrific events in Charlottesville. In the post, they condemn the white supremacist as someone "spewing hatred and bile." They added: "To any who claim supremacy over other human beings, to any who believe in racial or religious hierarchy: we are not you. Our father, as a person, icon, or symbol, is not you. We ask that the Cash name be kept far away from destructive and hateful ideology.”

Read the full statement below:

Trailer For New PBS Doc Has Foo Fighters Playing in Acropolis



In November, PBS will air the new series Landmarks Live in Concert, which has big artists playing historic venues. For the premiere episode, they will show Foo Fighters performing at the Acropolis in Greece from a July 2017 performance. The show, hosted by Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers, will follow the artists around the city and venue and show their gig. Take a look at the trailer, above.

Listen to Our Essential Foo Fighters Playlist on Spotify! 

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Surprise Release New LP


Australia's King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard promised they would release three albums in 2017, they have already put out two and their third, a collaboration with Mild High Club, was due in October. However, the bands surprised fans today with the full album, Sketches of Brunswick East, on their Bandcamp page, which you can stream. Physical copies are still out in October.

Listen To Our Australian Mixtape on Spotify! 

That is the cover, above, along with the album, and here is the tracklisting:

01 Sketches Of Brunswick East I
02 Countdown
03 D-Day
04 Tezeta
05 Cranes, Planes, Migraines
06 The Spider And Me
07 Sketches Of Brunswick East II
08 Dusk To Dawn On Lygon Street
09 The Book
10 A Journey To (S)hell
11 Rolling Stoned
12 You Can Be Your Silhouette
13 Sketches Of Brunswick East III

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Quick News


Next month, Action Bronson will release his first cookbook, Fuck, That's Delicious. Take a look at the trailer, above.

Noel Gallagher is set to reopen the Manchester Arena is Manchester, England, following the May bombings at the venue after an Ariana Grande concert. Gallagher, who will be supported by Blossoms and The Courteeners, for the September gig will donate all of the profits from the show to the Manchester Relief Fund.

According to reports, U2's long awaited Songs of Experience album, will be out in December to mark World AIDS Day. The band have not confirmed the news but a new single is expected arrive next month as they kick off the third and fourth legs of their massively successful Joshua Tree 30th anniversary tour.

St Vincent is set to make her directorial debut as she will helm an all-female cast in the adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s 1890 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray for Lionsgate.

DOOM will release a new album from his former hip-hop outfit KMD, which he formed in 1988 when he was known as Zev Love X. The record, Crack in Time, the first KMD album in 25 years.

A$AP Mob on 'Fallon'


Watch A$AP Mob perform "Feels So Good" on The Tonight Show.

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

'L7: Pretend We're Dead' Trailer


The long awaited documentary on the influential indie band, L7 will finally arrive next month in theaters and then on DVD and OnDemand in October. 

Take a look at the trailer for L7: Pretend We're Dead: