Rock Music News
Elvis Costello Shares New Song “Hetty O’Hara Confidential”: Stream
Elvis Costello is back with another new song, “Hetty O’Hara Confidential”. The track comes one month after he returned with “No Flag”, his first new music since releasing his 2018 album Look Now. Sounding like early ’90s Costello with some Tom Waits thrown in, “Hetty O’Hara Confidential” tells “the tale of a tattler who outlives her time.” In particular, it’s the story of an exploitive gossip columnist who gets her comeuppance when she “named the wrong man in the story she broke.” Her audience turns on her, but in ways that perhaps make them no better than she is. There’s something very modern in this story about people with “an unfortunate character trait/ The irresistible impulse to assassinate” and what happens when “now everyone has a megaphone.” Take a listen to “Hetty O’Hara Confiden...
Neil Young Again Lashes Out At Trump Over Unauthorized Use of Music
Neil Young considers Donald Trump “a disgrace to my country,” so you can understand his furor over the repeated, unauthorized use of his music at campaign events. Last night, during Trump’s super racist Fourth of July celebration at Mount Rushmore, at least three of Young’s songs played aloud: “Keep on Rockin in the Free World”, “Like a Hurricane”, and “Cowgirl in the Sand” Young responded to a clip of “Rockin in the Free World” being played by writing simply, “This is NOT Ok with me…” He later quote tweeted a second clip, writing, “I stand in solidarity with the Lakota Sioux & this is NOT ok with me.” (For context, the Lakota Sioux was the indigenous group of people who were forced off their land and saw their spiritual shrine “The Six Grandfathers” turned into Mount Ru...
David Gilmour Admits “Yes, I Have Ghosts” on First New Song in Five Years: Stream
David Gilmour has shared a new single called “Yes, I Have Ghosts”. It’s his first new song in over five years and, unsurprisingly, it doesn’t disappoint. The former Pink Floyd member first revealed the song last month in the the audiobook for A Theatre for Dreamers, a new novel by Gilmour’s wife and longtime collaborator, Polly Samson. “Yes, I Have Ghosts” was exclusive to Samson’s novel, though, and as such wasn’t released as a standalone track until today, a week after the initial publication of the audiobook. “Polly’s vivid and poetic writing, coupled with her very natural narration voice, made joining forces to produce the audio version of A Theatre for Dreamers a fantastic and fulfilling experience,” Gilmour said in a statement. “The audiobook format has so much untapped potential, an...
Josh Klinghoffer Reunites with Flea on New Pluralone Single “Nowhere I Am”: Stream
Josh Klinghoffer was let go by the Red Hot Chili Peppers last year in order to make room for the return of John Frusciante. Despite the sudden lineup change, Klinghoffer later described the situation as “pretty simple” and without any “animosity.” Proving that there’s indeed no bad blood between the two acts, he’s released a new single called “Nowhere I Am” featuring current RHCP bassist Flea and former founding drummer Jack Irons. Officially credited to Pluralone, Klinghoffer’s solo project, the track is painted with swirling, almost psychedelic, strokes, making for a dreamy and blissed-out listening experience. “‘Nowhere I Am’ is one of those songs I feel has a universal message that everyone can understand, then I remember how abstruse I can write sometimes,” Klinghoffer told SPIN. “I s...
Cloud Nothings Surprise Releasing New Album The Black Hole Understands
Surprise! Cloud Nothings have announced a new album called The Black Hole Understands, and they’re releasing it in full tomorrow via Bandcamp. The Black Hole Understands is a 10-song full-length that was written and recorded remotely while self-isolating during the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, reports Pitchfork. A 25% cut of the proceeds will be donated to Play on Philly in Philadelphia and Rainey Institute in Cleveland, both of which provide music and arts education to communities that don’t have easy access to such in their respective local areas. “It’s a quarantine album, so like… not actually recorded live,” frontperson Dylan Baldi tweeted. “I’m playing instruments and singing, Jayson is playing drums. It’s poppy and also kind of sad, which is more or less my state of mind....
Pearl Jam Pay Tribute to Victims of Roskilde Tragedy on 20th Anniversary
On this day back in 2000, nine young men were killed and 26 others were injured during Pearl Jam’s set at Roskilde Festival. To honor those fans who needlessly lost their lives, the band has shared a tribute video online today, taking note of the 20th anniversary and stating that “nothing has been the same since.” The Roskilde tragedy saw eight men, ages 17 to 26, suffocate to death in a crowd crush when Pearl Jam took the stage for their headlining slot. Five days later, a ninth man died from his injuries. An investigation published later that year cited “a chain of unfortunate circumstances” as being responsible for the audience’s rush forward, with many fans eager to get close to the stage so they could hear the music better. Pearl Jam’s tribute includes a lengthy essay and a touch...
R.I.P. Benny Mardones, “Into the Night” Songwriter Dies at 73
Benny Mardones, the soft-rock songwriter known for the ’80s smash hit “Into the Night”, has died following a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. He passed away Monday (June 29th) in his home in Menifee, California, as confirmed by Billboard. He was 73 years old. Mardones, real name Ruben Armand Mardones, was born November 9th, 1946 in Cleveland, though he was raised in Savage, Maryland. After high school, he signed up for the US Navy and served during the Vietnam War. Following his discharge, Mardones decided to relocate to New York City to pursue a career in music. It was there in the Big Apple that Mardones composed multiple songs with help from writing partner Alan Miles. This period also birthed “Into the Night”, which he penned alongside fellow songwriter Bobby Tepper. The 198...
The Rolling Stones Threaten to Sue Donald Trump Over Unauthorized Use of Their Music
The Rolling Stones have no sympathy for the devil. The legendary rock band is threatening to sue Donald Trump and his campaign over the continued unauthorized use of the band’s music. According to a statement released on Saturday, The Rolling Stones and the performing rights organization BMI have served Trump with a final warning to cease playing the band’s music at official campaign events and rallies. “If Donald Trump disregards the exclusion and persists then he would face a lawsuit for breaking the embargo and playing music that has not been licensed,” the statement reads. As BMI explained to Deadline, the Trump campaign has a Political Entities License which provides them with access to more than 15 million musical works in BMI’s repertoire. However, the license includes a provision t...
Grateful Dead Announce New Line of Deodorant
Give your music-loving dad a two-in-one gift this Father’s Day: some Grateful Dead deodorant. Body care company North Coast Organics have created an official Grateful Dead-branded line of USDA-certified organic deodorant, reports Stereogum, so that you can finally achieve that signature Deadhead smell all year long. The jam band collaboration is made with vegan, edible ingredients and is handmade in small batches, ensuing freshness and attention to detail. Best of all, the Grateful Dead deodorant sticks come in five different scents: Skull & Roses (lavender and rose), Sunshine (blood orange and bergamot), Workingman’s (cedarwood and juniper), Timber (douglas fir and sage), and a classic Unscented. As with any creative Grateful Dead crossover, North Coast Organics founder and CEO Nathan...
Kurt Cobain’s MTV Unplugged Guitar Sells For Record-Setting $6 Million in Auction
Kurt Cobain’s guitar from Nirvana’s iconic MTV Unplugged episode sold for a record-setting amount of $6,010,000 at a charity auction on Saturday. The 1959 Martin D-18E acoustic-electric guitar far surpassed its original estimate of $1 million dollars. The sale set five new world records, including the most expensive guitar ever sold and the most expensive piece of band memorabilia ever sold. The buyer was Peter Freedman, founder of RØDE Microphones, who plans to display the guitar in a worldwide exhibition tour, with all proceeds going to the performing arts organizations. In addition to the instrument itself, the guitar came with its original hard-shell case — decorated by Cobain with a flyer from Poison Idea’s 1990 album Feel the Darkness, three baggage claim ticket stubs, and an Alaska ...
Prince’s Blue Angel Cloud Guitar Sells For $563,500 in Auction
Prince’s Blue Angel Cloud 2 guitar, which he played frequently between 1984 to 1993, was sold for $563,500 at a charity auction on Friday. The instrument was Prince’s go-to performance guitar throughout the late 1980s and early ’90s. He took it on the “Purple Rain”, “Parade”, “Sign o’ the Times”, “Lovesexy”, and “Diamonds and Pearls” tours; used it to play “Electric Chair” during the Saturday Night Live 15th anniversary special on September 24th, 1989; brought it out for the infamous 1991 MTV Video Music Awards performance of “Get Off”; held it on the cover of SPIN in September 1991; opened his September 9th, 1991 appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show by using it for “Let’s Go Crazy”, “Cream”, and “Purple Rain”; and featured it in the music videos for “Cream” and “Get Off”. The hi...
Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, Arcade Fire to Play on Preservation Hall Jazz Band Livestream
Dave Grohl (photo by Philip Cosores), Preservation Hall Jazz Band (photo by Paul R. Giunta), and Paul McCartney (photo by Joshua Mellin) Summer music festivals may be canceling left and right due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but that won’t stop Newport Folk Festival staple the Preservation Hall Jazz Band from playing loud and proud anyway. On Saturday night, the famed group will perform a livestream from their respective homes alongside some special guests, including Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, and Arcade Fire. The livestream, dubbed “Round Midnight Preserves”, will take place on June 20th from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET. In addition to the Foo Fighters frontman, The Beatles bassist, and Arcade Fire, Elvis Costello, Dave Matthews, Beck, Irma Thomas, My Morning J...
