pup
106 Musicians Predict the 2022 Baseball Season
The powers-that-be did their best to prevent this year’s Major League Baseball season from happening, but, alas, we’re back. By we, I mean the annual SPIN baseball preview. As usual, everyone (or almost everyone) is optimistic about their team’s chances in 2022. In 2021, a good chunk of the season was played with minimal fans in attendance, but things should be mostly back to normal this year. As I said last year about the season: Will it be weird? Probably. But aren’t they all? If it wasn’t a weird season with bizarre injuries, what kind of season would it be? Not baseball, Suzyn. Somehow, we almost doubled the number of participants from 62 to 105. Maybe we go for a cool 162 next year? If nothing else, we know that musicians love America’s Pastime (even if many feel that it doesn’t love ...
10 Years After Their Self-Titled Debut, PUP Is Unraveling
“Just so you know, this is our first group interview in two-plus years,” PUP lead singer Stefan Babcock says somewhat trepidatiously, as we situate ourselves in the various corners of their downtown Toronto rehearsal space. I’ve set up my phone to record voice memos, hanging carefully on a steel I-beam overhead, with the microphone aiming down to capture our voices in the center of the impromptu pentagram we have formed. Babcock sits comfortably in a folding chair off to the corner by the door, drummer Zack Mykula sitting closer to his drum kit across from me, and bassist Nestor Chumak next to the couch I’ve sunk myself into. To my left, a laptop sits on a drum stool, with guitar player Steve Sladkowski calling in via Zoom from the safety of his apartment. We joke that it feels both like a...
PUP Share New Single ‘Totally Fine’
PUP has released the last single, “Totally Fine,” off of their forthcoming record, The Unraveling of PUPTHEBAND along with an accompanying video. The video and song show a satirized world of news media, corporate greed and conspiracy. [embedded content][embedded content] “Totally Fine” is the third single that has been unveiled off of the album’s release on April 1. It follows the singles ‘Matilda’ and “Robot Writes A Love Song” which were released over the past couple of months after the album was announced in January. The Unraveling of PUPTHEBAND was recorded over 5 days this past summer and incorporated sounds from pianos, synths, and horns for the first time. The album also features collaborations from Sarah Tudzin of Illuminati Hotties, Kathryn McCauhey of NOBRO, Mel St-Pierre of...
PUP Release ‘Matilda’ Off Upcoming Album
PUP unveiled the latest single, “Matilda,”of their forthcoming record, The Unraveling of PUPTHEBAND. [embedded content][embedded content] “Matilda is the name of my favorite guitar,” guitarist Stefan Babcock said. “She was a gift from my friend Ryan, after watching me accidentally break the only guitar I owned in the middle of a long tour. I had no money to buy a replacement, and Ryan’s act of kindness is up there on my list of ‘nicest things anyone’s ever done for me.’ I played Matilda nonstop for 7 years at every PUP show, even when my bandmates started complaining that she sounded like shit.” PUP had previously released “Waiting” and “Robot Writes A Love Song,” off The Unraveling. The band’s fourth studio record is set for release on April 1, and is self-deemed by the band as ...
PUP Unveil The Unraveling of PUPTheBand, Share New Single
Toronto punk rockers PUP detailed their fourth studio record, The UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND, and released its latest single, “Robot Writes A Love Song.” The track itself, the band says, was written in 15 minutes with its vocals recorded in the backseat of Babcock’s car. The song’s video was directed by Whitney McConnaughy. [embedded content][embedded content] The Unraveling is out April 1 (and available for pre-order now), which band members Stefan Babcock, Nestor Chumak, Zack Mykula, and Steve Sladkowski recorded and mixed over five summer days in 2021. Grammy-award-winning producer Peter Katis hosted the band in his own home studio to create the album, and with more allotted time to do so because of the pandemic, PUP had the time to experiment and use instruments like piano...
PUP Return With Two New Songs, Announce North American Tour
PUP has released “Waiting” and “Kill Something,” and unveiled concert dates throughout the U.S. and Canada for next year. The Canadian rock band’s two new tracks are their first original material of 2021, both produced by Grammy-winning producer Peter Katis (Interpol, The National, Kurt Vile). They follow PUP’s 2020 EP This Place Sucks Ass that was released on October 23 also on Rise Records. [embedded content][embedded content] [embedded content][embedded content] PUP once again made our list of the 50 Best Rock Bands Right Now. “‘Waiting’ came about by smashing the heaviest riff Nestor [Chumak] could write with the simplest, most uplifting chorus I could write, just to see what would happen,” singer Stefan Babock said in a statement. “The results were very quintessentially PUP, in t...
The 50 Best Rock Bands Right Now
First, let’s take care of the obvious. Despite the still-persistent narrative that such music is “dead,” there are way more than 50 excellent rock bands out there. And there’s no exact science to scooping the cream of the crop. Our list includes arena-packing veterans but also semi-obscure indie acts who’ve barely escaped their basements. There are no hard rules here. Our methodology was simple: ask our writers and staff which rock bands feel worthy of recognition right now. But we did aim for a wide scope — throughout, you’ll find flavors of psych, post-punk, hardcore, metal, even country. If it feels like rock, it’s on the table. Consider SPIN‘s 2021 roundup — just like last year’s — a thermometer, taking the temperature of modern rock in all its various mutations. Altın Gün Ho...
36 Musicians Predict the 2021-22 NBA Season
If it feels like the previous NBA season just ended, well, it sort of did. The Milwaukee Bucks triumphed over the Phoenix Suns, capturing the franchise’s second title in mid-July, and here we are in mid-October with the league ready to tipoff again. Once again, we polled music’s biggest NBA fans to give their takes on how the upcoming season is going to unfold. Unlike last season (more like 2019), we asked for some general thoughts, musing and predictions. As you’ll see in a moment, there are a lot of Lakers and Sixers fans (and they seem pretty optimistic about their team’s chances this season). Here’s what our musician panel had to say about the 2021-22 NBA season. Mark LaneganLos Angeles Clippers They finally made it to the Western Conference finals, which I never thought would hap...
62 Musicians Predict the 2021 Baseball Season
Somehow, some way, it’s baseball season again. Yes, already. Last year’s abbreviated run saw the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Tampa Bay Rays in six games to win their first World Series title in 32 years, something that Ben Gibbard predicted in our 2020 preview. As you can imagine, Dodgers fans — especially the ones below — are in great spirits heading into the 2021 season. So what does that mean about this year? Absolutely nothing. As COVID restrictions start to loosen and with more fans allowed back into stadiums, excitement is beginning to buzz, especially with our group of experts. Like last time, many are hopeful that this will be their team’s year. We searched far and wide to get predictions for the upcoming Major League Baseball season, creating a proper barometer of what these su...
27 Musicians Predict the 2020-21 NBA Season
If it feels like the most-recent NBA season just ended, well, it did. The strangeness of 2020 engulfed the association, but it led to one of the more innovative ideas of the COVID-era: the bubble. (Mostly) quarantined, teams competed with nary a hitch at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando. The season ended in the fall instead of its customary June, but nevertheless, the NBA is back on Dec. 22. As usual, we enlisted our expert musician panel to preview what’s shaping up to be yet another unpredictable NBA season. Mark Lanegan Los Angeles Clippers CREDIT: Travis Keller What’s your prognosis for the season? Will they ever get over the hump?At this point, I’m slightly jaded as far as the Clips are concerned. I always go into the season optimistic and the same when they hit...
28 Musicians Predict the 2020-21 NBA Season
If it feels like the most-recent NBA season just ended, well, it did. The strangeness of 2020 engulfed the association, but it led to one of the more innovative ideas of the COVID-era: the bubble. (Mostly) quarantined, teams competed with nary a hitch at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando. The season ended in the fall instead of its customary June, but nevertheless, the NBA is back on Dec. 22. As usual, we enlisted our expert musician panel to preview what’s shaping up to be yet another unpredictable NBA season. Mark Lanegan Los Angeles Clippers CREDIT: Travis Keller What’s your prognosis for the season? Will they ever get over the hump?At this point, I’m slightly jaded as far as the Clips are concerned. I always go into the season optimistic and the same when they hit...
Charly Bliss and PUP Share Punky Holiday Tune ‘It’s Christmas and I Fucking Miss You’
Charly Bliss and PUP are here to save the holidays with “It’s Christmas and I Fucking Miss You.” The song premiered last weekend on Charly Bliss’ holiday livestream It’s A Blissful Life, but it’s available everywhere now. It comes with a playful video on YouTube, starting with Charly Bliss’ Eva Hendricks singing into a hairbrush in the shower. “Our managers have been trying to get us to write a Christmas song for years and we’ve never followed through, but we decided that enlisting our friends in PUP would at least make it fun,” said Hendricks in a statement. “We never imagined we’d be so proud and absolutely thrilled as we are by the results. We tried to write a song that reflects the absolute insanity of this year and the fact that everyone in the world is stuck missing someone thi...
- 1
- 2
