Music News
Sammy Hagar Thinks Van Halen Aren’t “Finished”, Has Heard Eddie Van Halen’s Health Has Improved
Last year, singer David Lee Roth declared, “I think Van Halen is finished,” when discussing the status of the legendary rock act. However, in a new interview, the band’s former singer Sammy Hagar insists, “Van Halen will never be finished,” while also adding that he’s heard guitarist Eddie Van Halen’s health has improved. While Van Halen have been inactive for the past few years, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band has made a number of headlines. First it was reported and later confirmed that Van Halen had reached out to former bassist Michael Anthony about bringing him back to the band for a new tour. Then, in September, Roth made his comment about Van Halen being “finished.” A month later, a report surfaced that Eddie was diagnosed with throat cancer, and had been undergoing treatments...
Wu-Tang Clan Selling “Protect Ya Hands” Sanitizer
Wu-Tang Clan are here to protect ya hands with their own signature line of hand sanitizer. The all-natural, plant-based, vegan hand sanitizer is a collaboration between RZA’s lifestyle brand 36 Chambers and the skincare company Jusu. Though a 8.45 oz bottle of “Protect Ya Hands” will set you back $28.00, for every purchase, 36 Chambers will donate another bottle to The Ottawa Mission Foundation and other homeless shelters in Canada. Order yours here. Wu-Tang’s “Protect Ya Hands” sanitizer isn’t the only band-themed piece of PPE up for grabs: Devo recently launched Energy Dome Face Shields. Additionally, Consequence of Sound just launched its own capsule of custom face masks. A portion of the proceeds will benefit MusiCares’ COVID-19 Artist Relief fund supporting indepen...
Arca Announces New Album KiCk i, Featuring Björk, Rosalía, and More
Arca has formally announced her new album, KiCk i. The follow-up to 2017’s self-titled LP is due out June 26th via XL Recordings. The forthcoming 12-track effort sees experimental producer Alejandra Ghersi teaming up with prominent guests Björk and Rosalía, as well as SOPHIE and Shygirl. This fourth full-length continues a long-running collaborative streak for Arca and Björk; Arca previously contributed heavily to the Iceland icon’s albums Vulnicura (2015) and Utopia (2017). KiCk i represents a new and transformative chapter for Arca, who now identifies as a Latinx trans woman comprised of more than one “self-state.” “I’m asking for recognition that we have multiple selves without denying that there’s a singular unit,” she told Paper recently, “I want to be seen as an e...
Neil Young’s Fifth Fireside Session Takes a Trip to the Barnyard: Watch
It took four Fireside Sessions, but Neil Young has apparently grown tired of every fire pit and fireplace in his Colorado home. For the latest entry in his quarantine performance series, Old Shakey took the show down the road — or at least, to the other side of the estate — for a special Barnyard Edition. Once again directed by his wife, actress Daryl Hannah, the performance is largely delivered to a bunch of chickens and — if you keep an eye out — at least one mallard. The set opens with Young playing “Tumbleweed” from 2014’s Storytone on ukulele while a lama named Lazlo and a horse mosey around their pen. He then moves over to the coop to strum out “Homegrown”, the title track from his long-unreleased 1975 album Homegrown, finally due for release on June 19th. Intercut wit...
Posthumous Jason Molina Album Eight Gates Due Out This Summer
Secretly Canadian has announced Eight Gates, a new posthumous album from Jason Molina. Due for release on August 7th, it’s believed to the final collection of solo material the lo-fi songwriter recorded before his death in 2013. The upcoming effort was recorded in 2008 while Molina was residing in London. According to a statement, the musician said he penned the album’s nine songs as he recovered from a “debilitating” spider bite. “I was in the hospital here in London,” the Songs: Ohia mastermind noted in a letter. “Saw six doctors and a Dr. House-type guy. They are all mystified by it, but I am allowed to be at home, where I am taking a dozen scary Hantavirus type pills a day that are all to supposedly help — but they make me feel like shit.” The same letter also saw Molina claim tha...
Ministry Reschedule US Summer Tour for Spring 2021 Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
Ministry have postponed their summer “Industrial Strength Tour” due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and have already rescheduled the shows for spring 2021. Original support acts KMFDM and Front Line Assembly will remain on the bill for the revised dates of the monthlong U.S. outing. The tour, in which Ministry still plan to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their 1989 album The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste, will now kick off March 31st in Seattle and run through a May 1st show in San Francisco. The trek hits all the same cities and venues that were planned for this summer, and also adds an additional April 3rd date in Salt Lake City, Utah. Tickets for the summer tour, which would have launched on July 1st, will be honored for the rescheduled dates. Exceptions are the Dallas show, for which ...
Gorillaz Perform “Aries” on Kimmel: Watch
Long before the outbreak, Gorillaz launched Song Machine, an ongoing audiovisual series featuring new music. The animated band led by Damon Albarn has since forged ahead by releasing singles each month, and on Tuesday, Gorillaz showcased one of them on Jimmy Kimmel Live. For the remotely broadcast TV performance, Albarn teamed up with 2-D to play Gorillaz’s latest single, “Aries”. As Kimmel noted in his introduction, it marked the first time Albarn has ever-performed a duet with one his animated bandmates. Watch below. The studio version of “Aries” features New Order’s Peter Hook and Georgia, and marks the third chapter in Gorillaz’s Song Machine series. Previously, they released “Momentary Bliss” featuring slowthai and Slaves, and Désolé” featuring Fatoumata Diawara. ...
Country Westerns Share the Origins of New Single “I’m Not Ready”: Stream
In our new music feature Origins, bands give their listeners some insight into the inspirations behind their latest track. Today, Country Westerns explain why “I’m Not Ready”. For a full year, few had heard the music of Country Westerns besides the late David Berman. After all, Silver Jews drummer Brian Kotzur had started the project with The Weight/Gentleman Jesse’s Joey Plunkett as a way to play music pressure-free; performing for the indie icon was enough of an outlet. They’d tested the waters of Nashville’s DIY party scene, but otherwise kept things close to the garage. Once State Champion’s Sabrina Rush picked up bass for the first time and started playing with Country Westerns, however, it was Berman who encouraged them to take their sound wider. So off the trio went to New York, spe...
Matt Berninger Sets Release Date For Debut Solo Album, Shares “Serpentine Prison”: Stream
Matt Berninger and Booker T. Jones, photo via Chris Sgroi It was more than six months ago that The National’s Matt Berninger first announced the release of his debut solo album, Serpentine Prison. Now, he’s finally ready for all to hear it. Berninger has set an October 2nd release through Book Records, a new imprint he created with the album’s producer, Booker T. Jones. Berninger and Jones first collaborated on Jones’ 2013 song “Representing Memphis”. Later, when Berninger set out to make his own solo record, The National frontman identified Jones as the perfect producer. As Berninger told The New York Times last year, he “wanted someone who could corral nearly 20 guest musicians, and someone who could provide the late-night, timeless atmosphere” of Willie Nelson’s Stardust,...
Billy Corgan Gives Quarantine Performance of “Hard Times” on Fallon: Watch
Despite his fondness for far-right, anti-government figures like Alex Jones, Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan seems to be abiding by stay-at-home orders. He’s even grown himself a quarantine beard (!) — which he proudly showed off during an in-home performance for Monday’s episode of The Tonight Show. Supporting his 2019 solo album, Cotillions, served up a delicate rendition of his song “Hard Times”. Watch below. Corgan’s Pumpkins were supposed to go on tour with Guns N’ Roses this summer, but obviously that’s no longer happening. On the plus side, it gives Corgan ample time to finish up those two new studio albums he’s been promising. [embedded content] 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 you ...
The Residents Announce New Album, Share “Die! Die! Die!” with Black Francis: Stream
The veteran art-rock collective The Residents have announced a new double-disc album called METAL, MEAT & BONE: The Songs of Dyin’ Dog. The first single, “Die! Die! Die!”, comes with a Trump and coronavirus-inspired music video, along with unhinged vocals from Black Francis of Pixies. METAL, MEAT & BONE arrives July 10th, and if you’re wondering, “Who’s this Dyin’ Dog?”, The Residents have provided a typically cracked answer. According to a statement, Dyin’ Dog was a bluesman from the 1970s born with the name Alvin Snow. Before his mysterious disappearance on January 13th, 1976, Dyin’ Dog apparently recorded a ten-song demo. As the story goes, The Residents were fortunate enough to rediscover this long-lost masterpiece, and have now used it as the basis for METAL, ME...
Here’s What the First Socially Distant Concert in America Looked Like
America’s first socially distant, coronavirus-era concert took place in Arkansas on Monday, and it served as a preview of what the new normal could look like for live music fans. Health experts have predicted that shows wouldn’t able to return until Fall 2021 “at the earliest.” But that didn’t stop Bishop Gunn singer/guitarist Travis McCready from being the first artist to experiment with the format last night at TempleLive in Fort Smith, a city located right on the border of Arkansas and Oklahoma. Due to the pandemic, heavy restrictions were in place all throughout the venue. The allowed capacity was cut down from 1,000 people to just 200, and all attendees were kept six feet apart whether by official tape or by specific grouped seating. Additionally, concertgoers had their temperatures t...
