Alternative Rock
Stone Temple Pilots to Perform Core in Its Entirety During Livestream
Stone Temple Pilots, featuring current lead singer Jeff Gutt, have announced an upcoming livestream performance of their classic 1992 debut album, Core. Plus, they’ve released a pair of archival concert recordings from 2011 and 2019, the former featuring the late Scott Weiland, the band’s original frontman. As live music remains in a relative stasis during the pandemic, the Stone Temple Pilots livestream is the latest in a bevy of virtual performances from isolated bands and artists. Like a ticket to a physical concert, access to the pay-per-view performance costs $9.99. The show airs next Friday (July 31st) at 5:00 p.m. PT / 8:00 p.m. ET via live music curator nugs.tv. Stone Temple Pilots are also sharing shows from 2011 and 2019 via nugs, which hosts official live recordings of many popu...
St. Vincent Shares Clip of Her “Fumbling” Through “Stairway to Heaven”: Watch
St. Vincent, photo by Ben Kaye There’s nothing like guitar stores, with their rows upon rows of unlimited potential, and the ever-present sound of overeager amateurs stumbling through famous riffs. Many such establishments are now closed, but to recreate that hallowed vibe, St. Vincent has shared a Led Zeppelin cover just in case you “missed the sound of someone fumbling through “stairway to heaven”.” The artist born Annie Clark posted the video to Instagram. She wore a fruit-covered robe with red-framed sunglasses, and chose a filter with the color saturation turned all the way to Vegas Strip. While the short clip doesn’t contain singing or any other words, she did add a short comment in which she honored and roasted guitar stores. Clark wrote, “Since guitar stores have been closed, I tho...
The Psychedelic Furs’ Made of Rain Is a Confident, Trippy, and Wonderful Comeback: Review
The Lowdown: Few British post-punk/new wave acts made as big a splash in the 1980s as The Psychedelic Furs. Led by the illustrious vocals and bass playing, respectively, of bothers Richard and Tim Butler — and with tracks such as “Pretty in Pink”, “Heaven”, and “Love My Way” becoming huge hits — the group was as much a part of that zeitgeist as any of their genre peers. Sadly, they went on hiatus following the release of 1991’s World Outside, and although the pair continued to create with Love Spit Love prior to a Furs live reunion at the turn of the millennium, fans have been clamoring for a proper new record for nearly three whole decades. Thankfully, it’s finally arrived, and it’s as exhilarating and charming a return as anyone could’ve wanted. [embedded content] Joining the main duo th...
Nick Cave Previews Idiot Prayer Solo Piano Concert With Stunning “Galleon Ship” Performance: Watch
Nick Cave performing “Galleon Ship” during Idiot Prayer: Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace Tomorrow, July 23rd, Nick Cave will present a special solo piano concert performance called Idiot Prayer: Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace. He’s previewing the gig today with a clip of the song “Galleon Ship”. Originally from his 2019 album Ghosteen, the already-spiritual track takes on a whole new life as Cave delivers it from behind a grand piano, pages of sheet music propped up before him, alone in the London venue’s ornate West Hall. It’s a truly powerful setting and Cave’s performance of the track is both visually and musically intense, displaying an evocative energy that transcends its digital presentation and feels truly palpable. Fans who tune into Idiot Prayer will get ...
Song of the Week: Taylor Swift’s “exile” Reminds Us That We’re Not Alone
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify New Sounds playlist. It’ll be interesting if a decade or two from now, we’ll look back at “quarantine albums” or “pandemic art” as a thing — like how we classify certain things, including some old music, as “Depression-era.” First, I think we can all agree that we don’t want this tumultuous time to carry on any longer or more destructively than it must. But the isolation and time for contemplation that have accompanied this pandemic have inevitably seeped into music: how it’s created, how it’s shared, how it’s performed, and, yes, even its substance. Might we look back at the growing body of quarantine content in the years to come and acknowledge that ...
PJ Harvey Unearths Dry Demos Album: Stream
As part of an extensive archival campaign, PJ Harvey is reissuing her entire discography on vinyl. Notably, these re-releases are also being paired with demos culled from the original album sessions. First to be spotlighted in this series is, of course, her 1992 breakthrough debut album, Dry. Its corresponding collection of demos is simply titled Dry-Demos and consists of 11 early recordings, each raw and captivating in their own way. Whether you’ve been a longtime fan or have just recently discovered her magic, it’s a piece of Harvey history worth savoring (or at the very least, adding to your streaming queue). This release marks the first time Dry-Demos has ever received a standalone release. In addition to digital formats, it’s available in CD and vinyl form and comes packaged...
The Flaming Lips Imagine “You n Me Sellin’ Weed” on New Song: Stream
The Flaming Lips are back with a new song called “You n Me Sellin’ Weed” from American Head, their upcoming 21st album. Better yet, it comes with a sun-soaked music video to brighten up your quarantine. This is the fourth single we’ve heard from American Head so far, following “Dinosaurs On The Mountain”, “Flowers Of Neptune 6”, and “My Religion Is You”. While this new track reads like it will be a giddy uptempo number about the magic of selling drugs with your partner, it begins like the opposite. Over some hazy guitar strums and mellow percussion, Wayne Coyne sings with a tinge of nostalgia about a relationship — that is, until the tempo picks up, sound effect pop in the background, and the psychedelia starts to trickle in. As with the previously released songs from the album, “You n Me ...
Sonic Youth’s and PJ Harvey’s From the Basement Sets Uploaded to YouTube: Watch
The deeper we get into the From the Basement archive, the better and better it gets. The latest uploads include full performances from Sonic Youth and PJ Harvey. Ever since it was announced that Nigel Godrich’s independent music performance program was uploading its entire archive to YouTube, music fans have been blessed with high-quality footage of iconic bands every week, including legendary Radiohead clips and previously hard-to-view performances. These new videos continue that trend. Sonic Youth’s 2007 performance on From the Basement feels like an actual concert. Although the setlist only consists of five songs, the runtime lasts well over half an hour and the band is totally in the zone. After they open with an impassioned version of “The Sprawl”, Sonic Youth then bust out a par...
Dave Grohl Defends Teachers, Slams Trump’s “Foolish” School Reopening Plan
Despite a spike in COVID-19 cases around the country, Donald Trump and his administration are keen on reopening schools. The dangerous move will undoubtedly put teachers and children at risk — especially students of color, according to one former CDC director. Teachers have responded with concern, anger, and even lawsuits aimed at the government. Now, Dave Grohl, former student and the son of a teacher, has been moved to speak up in defense of educators. The Foo Fighters frontman argued on behalf of teachers in a new audio version of his True Stories Instagram series, as well as in a lengthy essay written for The Atlantic. Together with helpful insight from his mother and a former teacher, Virginia, Grohl outlined the importance of “essential worker” teachers and emphasizes the hazar...
Gorillaz Recruit ScHoolboy Q For New Collaborative Song “PAC-MAN”: Stream
Gorillaz continue to dole out hit after hit with their ongoing audiovisual series, Song Machine. For the latest entry, Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett’s animated alternative outfit has teamed up with ScHoolboy Q for a song called “PAC-MAN” that celebrates the beloved arcade game’s 40th birthday. The bouncy, upbeat track features actual sound effects from Pac-Man the game, which makes for a particularly playful setting compared to ScHoolboy’s usual breed of grim West Coast rap. Check out “PAC-MAN” in full below along with its accompanying visual, which features ScHoolboy and the virtual band in both their normal and Pac-Man-ized forms. The track is the fifth edition of Gorillaz’s Song Machine singles series, following “Friday 13th” (feat. French-British rapper/singer Octa...
The Jayhawks on Depression, Anxiety, and the 24-Hour News Cycle
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public The Jayhawks lead man Gary Louris speaks with Kyle Meredith about XOXO. The new album finds the Americana legends heavily collaborating and features each member on the mic for lead vocals. Louris discusses the album’s artwork; themes of depression, anxiety, and the 24-hour news cycle; and life in Minneapolis since the murder of George Floyd. Louris also says the band could have recorded 30 records if the industry allowed them, but teases a finished solo album. 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 to find out how th...
Hayley Williams Covers Björk’s “Unison”: Watch
During the onset of the outbreak, Hayley Williams delivered her rendition of Phoebe Bridgers’ “Smoke Signals” from quarantine. The Paramore leader is back this week with another homemade cover, this time taking on the Icelandic queen herself, Björk. Performing from her own couch, Williams offered up an acoustic version of “Unison”, a track off Björk’s 2001 album Vespertine. “I’d actually hoped to cover a different song of hers live this year, but I guess that will have to wait until some other time,” Williams wrote on Twitter. “anyway, this one has to be in my top 5”. We’re curious to know what songs make up the rest of her Björk list, but we’ll settle for this magical cover in the meantime. Watch video footage below. Editors’ Picks This past spring saw Williams release Pet...
