Punk
Hinds Light a Fuse on “Spanish Bombs” with The Clash Cover: Stream
Hinds released their excellent new album The Prettiest Curse last month to help soundtrack our summer. While they were recording those songs, it turns out they were also rehearsing a cover of The Clash’s track “Spanish Bombs”. Now, they’ve released the studio version of that cover. Of course, “Spanish Bombs” comes from London Calling, The Clash’s iconic album and one of the most influential punk rock records of all time. While “Spanish Bombs” is a classic in its own right, the song has additional meaning for the members of Hinds because of its perspective on the Spanish Civil War — singer Joe Strummer was inspired to write about it after he heard about the Costa Brava hotel bombings on the radio at the time — as a piece of pop culture history. “The Clash were my mom’s forever favorite band...
Culture Abuse Break Up After Singer David Kelling Admits to Sexual Misconduct
San Francisco punk band Culture Abuse have broken up in light of singer David Kelling admitting to sexual misconduct with an underaged girl. In a statement on Instagram, the other members of Culture Abuse emphasized that “the victim is our first priority.” Before sharing the anonymous individual’s full account of Kelling’s actions, with her consent, the band noted, “However we do not want [our breakup] to be the focus of this story, as survivors come forward, we commend their bravery and absolutely need to respect and listen to them. We are well aware that this does not fix the pain caused but we are hoping it’s a first step. There are no excuses for this behavior and it cannot be allowed.” They went on to say they would disassociate from Kelling, but urged him to “seek therapy to unlearn ...
Green Day, Fall Out Boy, Weezer Reschedule “Hella Mega Tour” Dates
Weezer (photo by Ben Kaye), Green Day (photo by Heather Kaplan), and Fall Out Boy (photo by Philip Cosores) The “Hella Mega Tour” is ready to hit the road — for real this time. Green Day, Fall Out Boy, and Weezer have just announced the rescheduled dates of their joint stadium tour for later this fall and into summer 2021. This news arrives just over a month after the bands revealed they would have to delay the tour due to the coronavirus pandemic. The “Hella Mega Tour” now kicks off on November 8th in Perth, Australia and sees the bands perform in various cities across the country and in New Zealand. After that, they will take a break before resuming the stadium jaunt in Europe next summer. That leg kicks off in Paris on June 9th and has the bands playing in London, Glasgow, Dublin, and o...
Pussy Riot Share New Song “1312” Railing Against Police Brutality: Stream
This past week has been rife in police protests, rampant looting, burning buildings, and a blatant lack of equality following the death of George Floyd. During all of this, President Donald Trump has been, to quote Taylor Swift, “stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism.” So it was only a matter of time until politically driven punk group Pussy Riot stepped in to write “1312”, a new song about ending police brutality. “1312” sees the Russian group collaborating with Argentinean artists Parcas, Dillom, and Muerejoven as a form of solidarity — similarly to their Vic Mensa track “Hangerz” — to honor “the bravery and strength shown in front of abusive police forces” at Chilean protests. Musically, “1312” is a hybrid of blown-out grunge beats, throat-scratching screams, punk rock br...
Green Day, Fall Out Boy, Weezer Postpone “Hella Mega Tour” Until 2021 Due to Coronavirus
Weezer (photo by Ben Kaye), Green Day (photo by Heather Kaplan), and Fall Out Boy (photo by Philip Cosores) Sadly, the “Hella Mega Tour” has been hella postponed. Green Day, Fall Out Boy, and Weezer were set to perform together throughout Europe and North America this summer, but now they’ve announced that they’re pushing the entire outing back to Summer 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The massive tour was originally supposed to begin overseas on June 13th. That European leg, which was scrapped back in April, also featured stops in Vienna, London, and Dublin. The pop punk triad were then scheduled to play North America from mid-July through the end of August. That itinerary included the cities of Seattle, Los Angeles, Houston, Jacksonville, and Atlanta, as well as Chicago, Detroit, New ...
Girl Friday Announce Debut Album Androgynous Mary, Share “Amber’s Knees”: Stream
Girl Friday have announced their debut album Androgynous Mary. In anticipation of the August 21st release, the genre-fluid rockers have shared the music video for their lead single “Amber’s Knees: A Matter of Concern”. The LA quartet first gained national attention when they were named finalists in the 2018 Vans Share the Stage competition. Girl Friday followed that accomplishment with the 2019 Fashion Conman EP, a marvelous project that sounded like Robert Smith went surfing with Iggy Pop. “Amber’s Knees: A Matter of Concern” continues the exploration of sunny, guitard-driven post-punk. It’s melodically simple but structurally dense, with an intro, a couple of verses, a big shout-a-long chorus, a bridge, and an outro, all crammed into a tight three minutes. In a statement, Girl Frida...
Iggy Pop Reads a Bedtime Story About His Beloved His Dog
Artist Maurizio Cattelan’s”Bedtime Stories” is a new initiative for NYC’s The New Museum in which musicians and other creators reading short tales in a soothing voice. The inaugural edition features Iggy Pop and his beloved dog Tromba. This is not your typical bedtime story, and should probably not be played for small children. While it begins with Iggy Pop falling in love with a stray “across the divided highway,” the story climaxes with Tromba’s death some time later after being hit by a car. But even so, the punk icon’s affection for the dog is never in doubt, and he peppers the story with moments of humor. “I picked you up and put you on my lap and thought about keeping you,” he said, “and in less than a minute I was covered in fleas.” He ends the tale with a touching message for ...
Jacknife Lee Starts a Riot With Beth Ditto and Earl St. Clair on “I’m Getting Tired”: Stream
Between lockdown, the pandemic death toll, and The White House’s endless foibles, it’s hard not to feel completely burnt out on reality. That’s the kind of energy producer Jacknife Lee is channeling on his latest single, “I’m Getting Tired”, featuring Beth Ditto and Earl St. Clair. With the help of his two collaborators, Lee turns all of his inner frustrations outward in the form of soulful chaos mixed with noise-rock and fiery jazz fusion and funk. The collision of genres may seem a little busy on paper, but Lee is a master of balancing everything out — after all, his production credits do include an array of artists, such as R.E.M., Taylor Swift, and The Killers, and Regina Spektor. And at the end of the day, it’s that clashing of feelings and sounds that ultimately provides the catharsi...
