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Motörhead’s Mikkey Dee on his last conversation with Lemmy: “He wanted to be onstage”

Former Motörhead drummer Mikkey Dee has recalled his last conversation with the band’s frontman Lemmy Kilmister shortly before his death.

READ MORE: Ian Fraser ‘Lemmy’ Kilmister 1945-2015 – A Life in Rock N Roll

Lemmy died aged 70 on December 28, 2015 after the first half of a European tour. His cause of death was later confirmed to be prostate cancer.

“We played the last show the 11th of December in Berlin, and he passed just two weeks later,” Dee said in an interview on the podcast Waste Some Time With Jason Green.

“And that tells you, the guy died with his boots on. Both me and Phil [Campbell, guitarist] were trying to talk him out of starting the second part of the European tour after Christmas. But there was no way in hell we could do that.”

He continued that he told Campbell: “‘Let’s not push him anyway. Let him decide what he wants to do. He knows best what he wants to do.’ And he wanted to be onstage.”

Dee said that before the band discussed future setlist ideas immediately after what would be their final show.

“And I said, ‘Let’s hook up after Christmas.’ Because it was the 11th of December at that time, and I figured we’d talk between Christmas and New Year’s Eve and decide which two songs that we agreed on on playing on that next leg.”

Dee added: “And that was it. He had no intention of not coming back to Europe and touring. So we did a little finger hook, as we always did, and that was the last time I saw him, actually. Very sad.”

Earlier this year, meanwhile, Ozzy Osbourne revealed that he was “one of the last people” to speak to Lemmy before his death.

Introducing the Ultimate Music Guide to Creedence Clearwater Revival

Buy the Ultimate Music Guide to Creedence Clearwater Revival now!

When I first picked up a copy of Willy & The Poor Boys in the 1980s, I’m not sure whether I ever got much further than “Fortunate Son”. The riff, the righteous self-definition, the rhythm driving the song forwards. It was excellent, and it seemed – to someone then far too uptight to choogle – to give me all I needed to hear.

Over 30 years later, it’s not unreasonable to think John Fogerty didn’t need to get much beyond “Fortunate Son” either. It forms the title of his autobiography, of course, and was one of the key battlegrounds on which his recent conflict with the former president of the United States was fought. It’s an urgent and passionate rock ‘n’ roll record, but also a faintly misleading one – it might sound raw, but it was anything but thrown together. Fogerty didn’t just write the songs: he gave out the parts, woodshedded his band, and also produced the records.

As you’ll discover over these 124 pages of new and archival writing about Fogerty and Creedence Clearwater Revival, this approach was the fuel for an 18 month hot streak in which many of his Creedence classics – “Bad Moon Rising”, “Proud Mary”, “Lodi”… the Dude-pleasing list goes on – were written. As contemporary reporters observe in these pages with a mixture of puzzlement and delight (“Bayou Beat” is one attempted definition of what the band are up to), the group became, in a world struggling to accustom themselves to their absence, a band as big as The Beatles were. As one contemporary observer has it in these pages: the place where The Beatles were trying to get back to is where Creedence started out.

How simple it all sounds. Fogerty’s relationship to his music, however, has proved a complex and conflicted one. As Creedence records sold in their millions, he jostled with other band members about his tight control of the music, and faced tough questions about his management of the group. His brother left the band. Having created joyful music, Fogerty began to question the terms he and the band were working under, the whole enterprise becoming intractably linked to poisonous business disagreements. After creating a one man bluegrass band, Fogerty effectively retired from music, not emerging until the triumphant Centrefield album in 1985.

His has been a unique journey, marked by periods of intense activity followed by long retreats and deep reflection on his work. In recent years, he has been revitalised by wife Julie and his family, which has lately culminated in his role as a rock Lord of Lockdown, and great Fogerty’s Factory record in which he revisits some of his Creedence classics in the company of his “family band”. His latest release, “Weeping In The Promised Land”, meanwhile, finds a blue collar American hero calling the powerful to account. As we speak, he is restless again, hard at work on preparing a new album.

Come with us, as we hitch a ride to the end of the highway.

The Ultimate Music Guide to Creedence Clearwater Revival is in shops now, or you can buy it directly from us by clicking here – with free P&P for the UK.

Fraser T Smith on the next James Bond theme: “It could be a rapper. It’s time isn’t it? It could be Stormzy”

Fraser T Smith has expressed his desire to write a James Bond theme song in the future, adding that “it’s time” the film franchise invited a rapper like Stormzy to perform such a track.

The producer and songwriter was speaking on the new podcast series For Your Ears Only, which has been produced by the SPYSCAPE Podcast Network and features insights from influential musicians, composers, directors and actors into their favourite film and television music.

READ MORE: Fraser T Smith on debut album ‘12 Questions’, that Foo Fighters cover and his pride in Stormzy and Dave

Smith is one of a number of guests on the first season of the podcast, which also features contributions from producer and songwriter Paul Epworth, Ludwig Göransson, Anna Calvi, Nile Rodgers of Chic and Duran Duran‘s John Taylor.

Speaking on For Your Ears Only ahead of the upcoming release of the next Bond film No Time To Die – the theme for which has been co-written and recorded by Billie Eilish – Smith expressed his ambition to one day pen a Bond theme song of his own.

“I’d love to take elements of John Barry and to have that huge sound, but I think there could be something electronic that could work within that as well,” he said.

Smith said that he would be keen to work with a rapper on his Bond theme, adding: “It’s time, isn’t it?”

“It could be Stormzy,” he said about who could perform a Bond theme in the future. “With a John Barry-esque futuristic beat. It already sounds like something!”

Back in March Stormzy and Kwesi Arthur teamed up to collaborate with the rising Ghanaian rapper Yaw Tog for a remix of his break-out song ‘Sore’.

Ryley Walker Course In Fable

Load a promotional copy of Ryley Walker’s fifth solo album into iTunes and the descriptor “prog fucking rock” appears beneath the title and his name. It’s a slyly humorous detail that speaks volumes; most obviously, about his deep, oft-declared love for that music, which has a role here, but also his habit of self-mocking. Whether it’s in interviews, onstage chat or his Twitter feed, Walker is always ready with a pin, to prick truth’s painful swelling or any hint of pretentiousness.

If there’s a place where that self-consciousness falls away and Walker roams (almost) free, it’s in the authentic present of his music. It was the absence of what he called “smoke and mirrors” that first drew him to Bert Jansch, Nick Drake and John Martyn for 2014’s All Kinds Of You, which introduced a guitarist skilled beyond his 24 years, undisguised influences or no. A year later, Primrose Green confirmed him as a striking songwriting and instrumental talent committed to the cause, with an irresistibly sun-glazed, stoner jazz-folk style that leaned heavily on Pentangle and Tim Buckley as well as the mystic flow and vocal tics of Van Morrison.

As a comparison of the Primrose Green and Astral Weeks covers shows, Walker’s image played to retro romance and the idea of the gilded prodigy. That might have seen a lesser artist forever shackled to his sources but Walker soon moved on. After the all-instrumental Land Of Plenty (one of two fine hook-ups with Bill MacKay) came 2016’s Golden Sings That Have Been Sung, which was to some degree a transitional album. Its opener, “The Halfwit In Me”, showed that although ’70s UK folk still loomed large, Walker was keen to explore his other interests, namely Chicago-school experimentalism, improv jazz and chamber pop.

It was with Deafman Glance in 2018, though, that he stepped out of the shadow of his heroes and into the leftfield contemporary sunlight. As Walker said at the time: “I really can’t go back to making a Fairport Convention-sounding record.” “Telluride Speed”, especially, is significant: starting with spry, finger-picked guitar and pastoral flute, it then establishes an urgent, post-rock-ish motif that opens up into abstract pastoralism, allowing him to chuck in a couple of minutes of psych guitar vamping. However, Deafman Glance is not the only evidence that Walker has really been stretching his legs of late: in recent years, he has made two records with free-jazz drummer Charles Rumback and, in February, he joined Japanese psych rockers Kikagaku Moyo for a live album. For anyone still finding it hard to mentally reconfigure Walker, it’s worth noting that since he moved to New York in 2019, there have been improv hook-ups with David Grubbs, JR Bohannon and Garcia Peoples, among others. Staying in his lane has never appealed.

All of which makes Course In Fable a clear case of natural evolution, rather than calculated reinvention – and a record that opens a fresh chapter in Walker’s story. It’s a short (just 41 minutes), ineluctably lovely set, light, bright and often dizzyingly joyful, but also thrillingly unpredictable, with complex, jazzy arrangements against which Walker’s phrasing gently pushes and pulls. His lyrics are as poetic, poignant and sometimes droll as they are difficult to parse, although as always, they capture the writer’s experiential instant. It seems that his “now” is less painful than it has been for some time. The music sees him drawn back to his formative years in Chicago, reconnecting with its rich underground history and the likes of Gastr Del Sol/Jim O’Rourke, Isotope 217 and Tortoise, whose John McEntire produces.

Bill MacKay, touring buddy Andrew Scott Young and Ryan Jewell (a Walker mainstay live, who also played on Golden Sings) serve on guitar/piano, bass/piano and drums, respectively. It’s an ensemble effort, born from trust and intuitive flair, but the Young/Jewell team deserve respect for the balletic grace and buoyancy present in …Fable. There are understated strings, synths and (crucially) space to turn cartwheels. Explaining his choice of players, Walker told Uncut his trick is “to just be around folks I love and see what sticks. There’s a fearlessness when I hear Andrew, Bill and Ryan play music. I follow their lead. There’s a revolving door of a dozen or so folks over the years who humble me and keep me listening and learning.”

Walker claims that although Course In Fable fulfilled his desires to make a record on his own timescale and with his own money, on his own label, it wasn’t the album that he originally planned. That was “a double LP prog epic”. It withered on practicality’s vine but there’s more than an undercurrent of prog on “A Lenticular Slap”, which runs to nearly eight minutes and recalls Kiran Leonard’s knotty yet delicate compositions. The set opens with the seductive “Striking Down Your Big Premiere”, where stiff-breeze pacing is punctuated by a booming three-chord coda and some sweet finger-picking gives way to Walker’s rueful note – in a tone that recalls ’70s Elton – that “You send me pulse from God knows where/Antenna has changed its air from shortwave to ballistic cruise” and that he’s “always shit-brained when [he’s] pissed”.

It’s followed by the lightly fried circular folk orchestrations of “Rang Dizzy”, where strings rise and fall against piano-and-guitar dialogue and Walker exclaims in wonder and relief: “Fuck me, I’m alive”. The terrific “Axis Bent” surprises in its manifestation of Stephen Malkmus as a kindred spirit (Grateful Dead are the connecting point), with echoes of West Coast ’70s fusion, a blown-out guitar motif and a dash of freeform skronk. Its name suggests anything but a freewheeling, Laurel Canyon-ish beauty but that’s what “Clad With Bunk” is, albeit pulled off course by what sounds like half a dozen guitars in effortlessly fluent interplay, a burred blues phrase and a ripple of psych rock.

It’s only keening, luminous closer “Shiva With Dustpan” that clearly points back to where he’s been. But here, he and his band refract Nick Drake’s chamber folk through a ’70s cosmic Cali lens – Crosby, perhaps. It’s a fine combination, the sound of paths made familiar by constant tread plus intuitive choices enabled by years of improv discipline, intersecting. It’s also where Walker can’t resist a sardonic spit into his own poeticism. “Walk my cobbles, ash anywhere/Shiva with dustpan, collect no fare,” runs the chorus, perhaps in reference to the vagabond life of an independent musician. Then in the final verse: “Beg and choose in the land of opposition/I declare a happy birthday to every mouth full of shit”. As always, Walker’s expression is both plain-spoken and opaque; he’s the anti-hero of his own stories but a “character” only in the colloquial sense.

If Course In Fable sees Walker in a more relaxed, less self-conscious mode (“upbeat” might be pushing it), going where the evolutionary drift takes him, it’s partly because he’s come “home” to the Chicago sounds of his youth and has the same trusted team, but also because he simply has less to prove with each record. “Sounds or direction are never calculated,” he tells Uncut. “I hope to diverge from anything I’ve ever done on each new record. My style is fake until I make it, with smoke breaks in between.” Where the future takes him now is anyone’s guess – ruling out even that double album of “prog fucking rock” might be unwise.

Course In Fable by Ryley Walker

Squid release live staple ‘Pamphlets’ as latest single from debut album ‘Bright Green Field’

Squid have released another taste of their debut album ‘Bright Green Field’: the single ‘Pamphlets’.

READ MORE: Squid: “I don’t think people take us seriously enough to think we’re ‘pretentious’”

The eight-minute song is the closing track off the Brighton five-piece’s upcoming album ‘Bright Green Field’, which arrives May 7 via Warp Records. The track follows previous singles ‘Narrator’ and ‘Paddling’.

‘Pamphlets’ about “all the rubbish right-wing propaganda you get through your front door,” Squid vocalist, drummer and lyricist Ollie Judge said in a statement. “It imagines a person with that as their only source of news being taken over by these pamphlets.”

In a separate statement on the song, Squid say that ‘Pamphlets’ “is one of our songs that has shape-shifted the most and has always been a staple of our live show when we were able to tour”.

They added, “Out of all the music on Bright Green Field, we’ve played ‘Pamphlets’ the most, and some people might remember it from our gigs. It’s a song that’s also has come full circle, we started it in Chippenham and finished it in Chippenham. An ode to Wiltshire? Possibly – but it was always the song that we knew would finish our first album.”

Listen to ‘Pamphlets’ below.

Squid have also announced a US tour, adding eight Stateside dates in November to an extensive list of gigs in the UK and Europe starting May. Find the full list of Squid’s US tour dates below. Tickets go on sale this Friday.

After Squid release the album, they will embark on the Fieldworks tour of the UK, where they will play work-in-progress music to socially-distanced crowds. Tickets go on sale here at 10am today.

The band will also embark on a headline tour of the UK and Europe from September to October.

Today we’re also finally announcing dates for a US tour later this year! Tickets for the US dates will be live this Friday

+ with so many posters flying around we’ve collated ALL the places you can catch us this year, inc. in the digital realmhttps://t.co/2rOw45YngL pic.twitter.com/dms4LIrwNG

— Squid (@squidbanduk) April 27, 2021

The band promise to preview new music for audiences on tour, previously adding, “We thought that this little tour of places, off the beaten track, would be a great opportunity to show you all some new tunes and some REALLY new tunes.”

Last month, Squid spoke to NME about ‘Bright Green Field’, which they worked on together virtually. “When you’re playing in a room together, you take for granted everyone’s slightly different approaches, but when you’re doing it through .wav files, you can really zoom in on the individual characters,” said guitarist Louis Borlase.

Squid’s 2021 US tour dates are:

NOVEMBER 2021

9 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
10 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
12 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern
13 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
17 – Los Angeles, CA @ Moroccan Lounge
19 – Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room
20 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
22 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
23 – Seattle, WA @ Crocodile

Kanye West and Balenciaga’s DMX tribute shirts reportedly raise over $1million for late rapper’s family

A run of DMX tribute shirts designed by Balenciaga and commissioned by Kanye West‘s fashion brand Yeezy have reportedly raised $1million for the late rapper’s family.

The long sleeve shirts feature a graphic of DMX on the front with “R.I.P” printed above him, and crosses on either side. One sleeve sports the date he was born, and the other the date of his death.

READ MORE: DMX, 1970 – 2021: hip-hop giant who shone brightest in the darkness

According to TMZ‘s sources close to West, the shirts raked in more than $1million after going up for sale during DMX’s memorial service over the weekend, priced at $200 USD each. They were launched on the website DMX-tribute.com, selling out in just 24 hours.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by DMX (@dmx)

In addition to commissioning the shirts, West was also among the artists who performed at DMX’s memorial service, “DMX: A Celebration of Life”, in Brooklyn on Saturday (April 24).

West opened the event with his Sunday Service Choir, singing Soul II Soul’s ‘Keep On Movin’, the Clark Sisters’ ‘You Brought The Sunshine’, the hymn ‘Jesus Loves Me’ and their original song ‘Excellent’.

Other performers at the service included Nas, Eve and Swizz Beatz. DMX’s 12-year-old daughter Sonovah also rapped a version of her father’s song ‘Slippin’, from his 1998 album ‘Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood’.

In an emotional tribute, DMX’s eldest son Xavier Simmons said “our father is a king, our father is an icon”.

“I am so honoured to have a father like we have. This man deepened my ability to love.”

DMX passed away on April 9 from a heart attack at the age of 50. Tributes have flowed for the rapper since his death, with Snoop Dogg, AJ Tracey, Swizz Beatz and the team behind Rick and Morty among those to honour him.

An Audience With J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr

To celebrate the release of Dinosaur Jr’s supersonic new album Sweep It Into Space, here’s an Audience With J Mascis from the September 2014 issue of Uncut (Take 208). Kevin Shields, Mark Arm and TV Smith pose the questions as we discover how Mascis almost joined Nirvana but stood in with GG Allin instead: “Fine in theory, but when he’s actually shitting onstage beside you, it’s not fun!”

—–

“Portugal aren’t coming back from that,” exclaims J Mascis with unexpected enthusiasm. Presently, the notoriously reticent Mascis is sitting in a hotel bar in London watching Germany beat Portugal in the World Cup on a giant television screen. His surprising outburst, he explains, is because he has a vested interest in the outcome of this particular game: Mascis’ wife is German. She is currently in Berlin with their son where, it transpires, they are watching the match on a big screen, in the church where his brother-in-law is a minister.

Meanwhile, Mascis is in the UK to promote his latest solo album, Tied To A Star. Despite his woolly appearance – faded black Cactus T-shirt, trucker cap and purple-rimmed glasses, grey hair, beard – Mascis is on sharp form as he answers your questions on subjects ranging from his favourite guitar riffs to the existence of some deep Dinosaur Jr rarities and exactly what happened when Kurt Cobain asked him to join Nirvana…

Hi, J. You’ve got a reputation for being difficult in interviews, do you think some people misunderstand your sense of humour?
Kevin Shields
I’ve learned from being interviewed and dealing with people that I talk slower than a lot of people. If a person’s really wired and ADD, and I don’t answer fast enough, they write me off as an asshole in that second where I’m not answering them. Then, that’s it. How long have I known Kevin? Since we first came to England. We opened for Primal Scream and then played at ULU. I think he was there. Someone told me to buy My Bloody Valentine, and the “You Made Me Realise” EP had just come out. We’ve seen each other pretty much every time I’ve come to England. Coming to Europe back then was great for us. They’d give us food and somewhere to stay and people actually liked us. We were pretty hated where we lived in Western Massachusetts.

Is it true you turned down Kurt Cobain’s invitation to join Nirvana?
Stan Maloney, New York
Yeah, Kurt asked me to join. I was with Thurston Moore at this Nirvana show at Maxwell’s in Hoboken. I was talking with Kurt, and he said, “You should join my band.” I think he was kind of sick of the guitar player at the time, Jason [Everman]. I was like, “Oh, yeah.” That was kind of it. You know, I wanted to go to college in Seattle and I didn’t get in. So I could have been there before all them. Imagine how different history would have been. I had gone to a semester in Amhurst. I hated college so I didn’t do too well. When I applied to Seattle, they weren’t too impressed. What was I studying? Nothing. You can do that in America. I took a lot of Hitler-inspired classes. I had a teacher who was an SS officer and another who was a Jew who escaped. They were both in the same history department, which was weird.

What do you remember about your earliest gigs in Boston?
Sheryl Dillon, Cardiff
When we started, we were too loud and we had no fans. That’s a bad combination when you’re trying to play shows in these bars and the bartender can’t hear the people trying to buy drinks. “Who are these guys?” So we’d get banned from all the clubs around there. In Boston the soundman threw a bottle at us. We were playing with Salem 66 or something. In Boston, in [Mascis’ early-’80s hardcore punk band] Deep Wound, people liked us in the hardcore scene but the hardcore scene did not like Dino when we started. But what are you gonna do? I guess the first time we went to New York, which was three hours away, that’s when we first met Sonic Youth and found some people who actually liked us. It was our home away from home. We’d spend a lot of time in New York.

J, even your acoustic guitar sounds loud. How do you do it? I’ve been trying to persuade sound technicians to make mine louder for years…
TV Smith, The Adverts
Travel with your own soundman, I guess. It’s a battle, if you don’t have your own soundman, to try and communicate what you’re trying to do to some other guy. I think TV Smith could make it happen. Yeah, I’m a total fan of British punk. What are the differences between British and American punk? The production was much better in England. I guess most US punk bands never recorded in real studios. English punk seemed better for some years, until probably ’81 when hardcore happened. It all came together perfectly at that age. I could relate to Minor Threat. They had more suburban problems, like me. You know, being pissed for no reason. “Oh, my parents are OK, I’m not starving, nothing is apparently wrong, but I’m still depressed and pissed off at everything. I have no reason to be.” You get jealous of people with real problems.

I’m a massive fan of the first three Dinosaur Jr albums. Are there any unreleased studio recordings from this era (“Center Of The Universe”, for example), and if so, what are the chances of them being released?
Bennett Sandhu
No, across the board. “Centre Of The Universe” was an early Lou [Barlow] song. It didn’t appear on any album, he didn’t want to play it. It could have been on our first album, but he decided he hated it immediately. There might be some practice tape of the song, but not that I have. I guess we could always re-record it now.

What was it about GG Allin that made you think, ‘I want to be in a band with that guy?’
Mark Arm, Mudhoney
Yeah… that’s a weird one. Gerard Cosloy, who went on to Matador fame, went to college in my town and became my band [Deep Wound]’s manager, for a minute, then we broke up. He said he’d put out the Dinosaur record when we formed, so we already knew we could make a record. But he was putting together this GG Allin band, and he asked me to be in it. I was excited, until the reality set in. I often thought it was kind of like how Kurt Cobain must have felt about Courtney Love. It’s like this punk idea that seems cool ’til you’re doing it. You like GG Allin in theory, but then when he’s actually shitting onstage and you’re standing there, it’s not fun and you think, ‘Wow, this is a bad scene.’

How many guitars do you own, J?
Craig Parsons, Hemel Hempstead
Quite a few. Under 100, but more than 50. That’s a good answer. Where do I keep them all? They’re pretty much everywhere. I like to try to get every conceivable rock guitar sound you could possibly need. The Wipers sound, the Keith Richards sound, the Fast Eddie sound. I’m just trying to cover all the bases. They all sound slightly different. Some for recording and some for playing. You hope some guitars have different songs in them you can just get out by playing them. That’s one crazy justification for buying them. It’s harder to justify to my wife, of course. The oldest guitar I’ve got is a Martin from the 1930s.

Question: Master Of Reality or Vol. 4? (Paranoid is not an answer.)
Jonathan Poneman, Sub Pop
Vol. 4, definitely. This is Sabbath, who I just saw for the first time. In fact, Jonathan helped me get in to the show. They played in Berlin. Tony Iommi has now gone to the top of my guitar list, Top 5 guitarists I’ve ever seen. I love Sabbath, I was maybe 12 years old when I first heard them, but I never considered Tony to be as good a guitarist as he evidently is. I was blown away when I saw him do “Supernaut” from Vol. 4. I always thought that solo was impossible to play. I’ve seen people try, but no-one can do it. Then to see Tony play it live, that was awesome. Do I think Bill Ward should be back in the band? The new guy kicked them in the ass a bit, gave them some energy, but he’s not so good it takes away from Bill. He’s ballpark.

Which of your album sleeves do you like the most – and why?
Peter Fors, Stockholm
Green Mind is a good one. It’s a cool photo. It seems to resonate. This ’70s icon of the kid. It’s got that over-the-edge look of teenage rebellion. Why do I like green and purple so much? They’re my favourite colours. I have some purple clothing, but it’s very hard to get for men. I’ve designed some purple trainers (below). They came with a 7” cover of Mazzy Star, “Fade Into You”. Will that ever get a proper release? Yeah, I think it’ll appear on this record, like a B-side maybe. I played it live first time the other day. It was pretty good. I’ll probably play it on this tour. It went on for a while. A lot of noodling. But if it’s good, let it noodle.

If you could only play one riff for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Patrick Proctor, Manchester
Maybe “City Slang” by Sonic’s Rendezvous Band. Is that a riff? Sorta. What makes a good riff? It’s memorable, you want to sing it and play it. What’s a favourite riff of mine? I like “Sludgefest” and “Out There”. “Out There” being more of what you’d consider a riff. It seems a bit complicated for me to play and sing, so I’m impressed. It seems a bit over my ability.

What are your memories of the 1992 Rollercoaster tour?
Debbie Williams, London
It was fun. I remember I was surprised that The Jesus And Mary Chain were even more socially retarded than I was. We didn’t speak until maybe the last show. They’d hide in the dressing room. That was impressive somehow. I was already friends with My Bloody Valentine, so we’d hang out. Blur were the most sociable, the Mary Chain the worst, then us, then MBV. Did we drink a lot at that time? I don’t think I was drinking. It was a cool tour. I’d never really heard Blur before, but obviously they became huge. Last time I was here, I saw the guitarist in Wagamama right over the road.

Hello J! Do you remember filming the “Freak Scene” video in my back garden in Manchester?
John Robb, The Membranes/Goldblade
Yes, I do. It was pretty exciting. We shaved our soundman’s head for the video. Dancing around in weird costumes with all the papier mâché stuff he had lying around his house. Our label edited out everything like that from the video and just had us playing in the garden. I was furious. The real version only came out when we re-released the LP. How did we end up in John’s garden? It’s Manchester, that’s what happened in those days.

How did you end up reforming the classic earlier lineup of Dinosaur Jr in 2005?
Matt Barlow, via email
We finally got the reissues to come out and got them away from SST, so we put it on Merge and my then-manager thought we could do something to promote it. I was the hard one to convince. Lou and Murph were on board but it took a bit of Lou mellowing out after being so angry with me for so long. I’d see him, and he’d still be angry. Then at some point he mellowed and it opened the door for apologies… we saw each other in the intervening years. I’d gone to Sebadoh shows when he was in town, but he’d never go to any show that I’d do. Was I on the guestlist? I’d never pay, so I must have got in somehow. Things are doing all right. It has its ups and downs, but it’s not as extreme.

Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra Promises

Even by his own over-achieving standards, Sam Shepherd has pulled off an impressive coup with his latest pan-generational opus. Over the past decade, the classically trained Mancunian polymath composer behind Floating Points has traversed the outer limits of jazz, electronica and orchestral post-rock, DJ-ed at achingly cool clubs and worked with numerous stellar talents. Meanwhile, lest we forget, he also completed a PhD in neuroscience. But Shepherd surpasses himself on Promises by scoring an increasingly rare collaboration with living legend and towering tenor sax innovator Pharoah Sanders, who turned 80 last year, with classy back-up from the string section of the London Symphony Orchestra.

Closer in form and mood to the expansive electro-orchestral reveries of his 2015 debut album, Elaenia, than to its more eclectic, club-friendly 2019 sequel, Crush, Shepherd’s latest release pays unashamed homage to the spiritually inclined “astral jazz” of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Of course, as a former collaborator with both John and Alice Coltrane, Sun Ra, Ornette Coleman and other immortals, Sanders himself was a pioneer in this field, moving from frenetic free jazz into more meditative, cosmic, ambient fusion territory. With its woozy lava-lamp tempo, Quaalude-fuzzy warmth and emphatically analogue feel, Promises could almost be some long-lost modal jazz classic from 1972. The only surprise is that Shepherd did not sprinkle the sound mix with authentically retro vinyl crackle.

Promises first began to take shape five years ago as an improvised jam session in LA featuring Sanders and Shepherd, which was commissioned by Luaka Bop, the globalised fusion-pop label founded by David Byrne. Shepherd later embroidered this sparse conversation between piano and saxophone into a rich tapestry of vintage acoustic and electronic instruments including harpsichord, Hammond B3 organ, EMS Synthi, ARP 2600, Buchla 200e and more. As with previous Floating Points albums, the studio gear list alone will be pure geek-porn for analogue-synth nerds.

Just last year, Shepherd completed this long-gestating project by convening the LSO strings for a socially distanced session in London. Though they never dominate the album’s sound, the string players give it extra ballast and bandwidth, couching the core modal melody in supple arrangements that alternate between delicate tonal retouching and drenching widescreen lyricism.

Despite being pretentiously packaged as a suite in nine movements, Promises is essentially a single long composition topped off with a short surprise coda. The gently hypnotic heartbeat running through the album is Shepherd’s spare keyboard motif, a recurring ripple of broken chords that steadily lap and ebb like becalmed waves on a sheltered beach. Over these amniotic undulations, Sanders initially lays hesitant vapour trails of saxophone, breathy and reedy, intimate and warm-blooded. “It was like the instrument was an extension of his being,” Shepherd recalls in the accompanying press notes, “a megaphone for his soul.”

But as the piece expands, with voluptuous LSO strings and lush electronica swamping the main melody, Sanders shifts into a more assertive gear, striking off on choppy free-jazz tangents, melismatic volleys and blues-inflected licks. As Shepherd’s keyboard noodling swells into cosmic lounge-jazz mode, Sanders also adds some half-submerged vocalese burbles, sleepy-voiced scats and falsetto ululations that sound more like spontaneous responses to the music than pre-planned interjections. These are very human touches, fleeting but charming. More of these playful interjections would have been very welcome.

Hitting its feverish peak around the 30-minute mark, Promises becomes a ravishing symphony of glissando synth sirens, melting portamento chords, hovering strings and twinkling birdsong effects. There are countless musical ghosts at this feast, from the mind-bending celestial visions of mid-period Miles and Alice Coltrane to the cumulative avant-minimalism of Gavin Bryars and William Basinski. Sanders finally gets to let rip here with some thrilling, energised, discordant honking before Shepherd dims the lights again for a slowly receding fade-out of low drones and deepening silence. A hidden coda lurks in the afterglow, rearing up from the shadows with a shiny effusion of strings. Far more modern classical than jazz in style, this brief encore is a bracing but oddly incongruous afterthought.

Promises rewards repeat listens with its immersive, densely layered, quietly mesmerising beauty. But it is also an unusually slender piece of work for Shepherd, especially when set against the kaleidoscope range and dynamism of Crush. Beneath its ornate instrumentation, this elegant exercise in retro pastiche never quite shirks the sense of being a single skeletal composition stretched a little too thinly across 40-plus minutes, a watercolour sketch dressed up as a grand canvas.

With fairly limited room for textural variation or harmonic progression, Sanders also feels underused in places, more guest player than equal collaborator. And while it would be unfair to expect a veteran jazz revolutionary to break new ground so deep into his autumn years, Shepherd’s tastefully manicured moodscapes would have benefited from a little more Pharoah input in general, even in his current mellow grandfatherly mode. Promises is an impressive collision of talents, and sublimely lovely in places, but also frustratingly slight. A minor addition to the canon of its two main authors, it earns the double-edged compliment of all half-great albums: it leaves you craving more.

Rina Sawayama says she’s already begun work on second album

Rina Sawayama has given fans an update on the progress of her second album, following the one year anniversary of her debut ‘SAWAYAMA’.

READ MORE: Rina Sawayama – ‘SAWAYAMA’ review: deeply personal self-portrait lays waste to genre constraints

Taking to Twitter, Sawayama revealed that work on the follow-up to her debut, which is yet to have a known title, has already begun with producer Clarence Clarity.

“I’ve already started album 2 with @clarenceclarity and I love it,” Sawayama said.

“put next to SAWAYAMA its gonna cover all musical bases.”

btw I've already started album 2 with @clarenceclarity and I love it. put next to SAWAYAMA its gonna cover all musical bases

— RINA SAWAYAMA (@rinasawayama) April 17, 2021

The tweet came as part of a thread looking back on the success of ‘SAWAYAMA’, released on April 17 last year, where she thanked her fans – or ‘pixels’ – and her label, Dirty Hit, for supporting her.

“This album literally changed my life,” she wrote.

“I remember being scared + insecure whilst writing this album, cos I felt like an outsider to the pop world. this feeling was exacerbated by countless meetings with labels who weren’t into it.”

“but I knew that I had to do it the way I wanted to otherwise I would get sad,” she continued.

“this was an album that was written with a tiny team, on a tiny budget, and at one point before it finally got signed I was about to run out of money cos I was funding every single thing.”

it the way I wanted to otherwise I would get sad. this was an album that was written with a tiny team, on a tiny budget, and at one point before it finally got signed I was about to run out of money cos I was funding every single thing.

— RINA SAWAYAMA (@rinasawayama) April 17, 2021

Sawayama scored a huge win earlier this year, after a history-making campaign to get the BRITs and Mercury Prize to change the rules around eligibility.

The Japanese-born Sawayama does not have British citizenship, but has indefinite leave to remain in the UK. Current rules in Japan prevent her from dual citizenship.

Previously, solo artists must have had British or Irish nationality and proof of citizenship to be eligible for BRIT awards or the Mercury Prize. Now, that rule has been altered to extend eligibility to those who have resided in the UK for at least five years.

READ MORE: Rina Sawayama on changing BRITs rules: “This is the UK I know – one of acceptance and diversity”

Following the eligibility change, Sawayama was nominated for the 2021 BRITs Rising Star Award, but was beaten out by Griff.

Two days ahead of the one year anniversary of ‘SAWAYAMA’, Sawayama released a remix of album track ‘Chosen Family’ featuring Elton John. The pop icon had previously called ‘SAWAYAMA’ his favourite album of 2020.

Sawayama will finally be touring album around the UK later this year, including her biggest headline show to date.

New Age Steppers Stepping Into A New Age

Founded by visionary producer Adrian Sherwood and Slits singer Ari Up, aka Munich-born Ariane Daniela Forster, New Age Steppers were a loose collective featuring a rich talent pool: among them, Mark Stewart and Bruce Smith from The Pop Group, reggae crooner Bim Sherman, Aswad bassist George Oban, experimental improviser Steve Beresford, future pop queen Neneh Cherry, drummer Lincoln “Style” Scott and more. Notable for releasing both the first ever single and album on Sherwood’s long-running underground label On-U Sound, the Steppers relished the seemingly infinite new possibilities and fertile tensions opened up by post-punk, blending covers of obscure Jamaican imports with psychedelic dub sonics, free jazz, industrial funk and musique concète collage, mostly cooked up in a cramped dungeon studio below east London’s Berry Street.

Reissued both as individual albums and as a five-disc boxset, this lavishly repackaged retrospective confirms the Steppers, 40 years on, as tireless analogue explorers and forerunners to sci-fi soundscape masters like Burial, Andrew Weatherall and Flying Lotus. Released in January 1981, their self-titled debut still crackles with Ari’s thrillingly untamed vocals, all hard Teutonic consonants and crazy-paving tangents, which sound beautifully incongruous on swooning lovers rock serenades like Sherman’s “Love Forever”. Elsewhere, Stewart’s anguished political sermon “Crazy Dreams And High Ideals” gets lost in Sherwood’s Radiophonic fog of echo, hiss and clank.

The covers-heavy Action Battlefield, also released in 1981, and its 1983 sequel Foundation Steppers nudged the band towards more conventional melody and production. Ari Up effectively took charge, living and recording in Jamaica before bringing tapes back to London for Sherwood to finish. Alongside Ari’s mellow reggae numbers and ramshackle renditions of standards like “Stormy Weather”, a teenage Neneh Cherry makes her studio debut on the sweetly wonky bluebeat doo-wop skank “My Love”. Bim Sherman also lends his velvet croon to several tracks, notably the sublime “Misplaced Love”.

In October 2010, Ari died of breast cancer at the cruelly young age of 48. Posthumously completed by Sherwood and released in 2012, the final Steppers album, Love Forever, is both sombre memorial and refreshing restatement of the band’s progressive manifesto, adding dubstep, trip-hop and bashment elements to the fissile mix. Meanwhile, Ari’s riot grrrl howl on kinetic dub-punk beasts like “My Nerves” and “Musical Terrorist” recall her Slits heyday.

The most welcome and useful disc here is Avant Gardening, a newly compiled retrospective of rare mixes, B-sides and restored offcuts from the early 1980s. Sherwood’s sonic alchemist side is strongly represented, not least on the magnificent title track, a trippy inner-space odyssey of deconstructed dubtronica, wistful melodica and haunted music-hall piano. The sole “new” addition is Ari’s slight but warm-hearted take on Atlantic Starr’s bittersweet break-up ballad “Send For Me”, salvaged from a long-lost 1983 John Peel session.

Four decades later, many of these innocent youthful experiments still radiate more forever-fresh futurism and genre-dissolving ambition than most 21st-century avant-rock artists.

DMX hospitalised and in critical state after suffering overdose

DMX has been rushed to hospital and is in a critical state after suffering an overdose, it is being reported.

According to TMZ, the overdose happened on Friday night (April 2) around 11pm and the rapper was then taken to a hospital in White Plains, New York and is currently in the critical care unit.

Sources have told the publication that the overdose triggered a heart attack. One source has reported that X has “some brain activity”, while another has said he’s in a “vegetative state” and doctors have cautioned that he might not pull through.

The Ruff Ryders rapper has a long history of battling substance abuse that he said began when he accidentally smoked a blunt laced with cocaine at the age of 14. In the years following, he was in and out of prison for a variety of drug-related charges as he battled an addiction to cocaine.

He was arrested in 2010 for regularly using drugs and violating the conditions of his probation, and had his jail sentence extended in 2011 due to drug possession behind bars.

In October, 2011, he claimed that he had finally conquered his drug addiction, saying he had “let the cocaine go” in order to help him be a better father to his children.

“It was something that drew me in, and trapped me, and just had a hold on me for a long, long time,” X told Dr. Phil during an interview in 2013.

In the same interview he admitted that he still smoked marijuana “every once in a while”, but hadn’t been high in over a year. He added: “I’m always going to be an addict. I’m going to be an addict until I die. It doesn’t mean I have to get high.”

In 2017, he canceled three shows in California in order to check into a rehab facility. Later that same year, he continued to work on his issues by checking into another substance abuse facility in New England.

DMX has visited rehab several times. His last stint came in 2019 after cancelling a series of shows before checking himself in.

“In his ongoing commitment to putting family and sobriety first, DMX has checked himself into a rehab facility. He apologizes for his cancelled shows and thanks his fans for their continued support,” a member of X’s team communicated via Instagram.

DMX was released from prison in January 2019 after serving time following a guilty plea he entered for federal tax evasion charges in November 2017.

Since being released, X has kept himself busy. His comeback has included a 20th anniversary tour of his classic debut album ‘It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot’, performances at major festivals such as SXSW and Rolling Loud: Miami, and a high-profile interview with GQ.

Swizz Beatz and DMX. CREDIT: Johnny Nunez/WireImage

For the past couple of years DMX has been busy working on his much anticipated comeback album, the proper follow-up to 2012’s ‘Undisputed’.

Speaking in a number of interviews, he’s revealed that the album will include features from Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, Alicia Keys, Usher, several members of the Griselda crew, and the late Pop Smoke.

In February, he also announced that he has a collaboration with U2’s Bono on the way called ‘Skyscrapers’.

Olivia Rodrigo’s Roaring Return, Lil Nas X’s Celestial CGI, And More Songs We Love

The search for the ever-elusive "bop" is difficult. Playlists and streaming-service recommendations can only do so much. They often leave a lingering question: Are these songs really good, or are they just new?

Enter Bop Shop, a hand-picked selection of songs from the MTV News team. This weekly collection doesn't discriminate by genre and can include anything — it's a snapshot of what's on our minds and what sounds good. We'll keep it fresh with the latest music, but expect a few oldies (but goodies) every once in a while, too.

Get ready: The Bop Shop is now open for business.

Olivia Rodrigo: “Deja Vu”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cii6ruuycQA

As we've come to expect from Olivia Rodrigo, the details make all the difference. On "Deja Vu," the slightly psychedelic follow-up to 2021-defining hit "Drivers License," the following pop-culture detritus is shouted out by name: Glee reruns, Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl," strawberry ice cream, and Malibu day trips. It's all in service of the larger narrative of heartbreak and hard questions that permeate such an endlessly listenable song. And that outro? It just might give you deja vu. —Patrick Hosken
Lil Nas X: “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6swmTBVI83k

If Lil Nas X, national treasure and proud peddler of the gay yeehaw agenda, is going to hell, then he’s getting there in style. A lusty bop with nods to the rapper’s given name and Luca Guadagnino’s popular 2017 gay drama, “Montero” sees the chart-topping rapper of “Old Town Road” fame assure his lover that he can “call me when you want, call me when you need / Call me out by your name, I’ll be on the way.” But his overt references to queerness don’t end there. The single’s celestial CGI visuals see a scantily clad Nas X descend via stripper pole into the underworld and give the devil a lap dance. Unsurprisingly, “Montero” has attracted the ire of the religious right — and as far as Nas X is concerned, they can stay mad. —Sam Manzella
The Band Camino: “1 Last Cigarette”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjsNWUBEMpQ

The Band Camino at their most raucous is them at their absolute best: “1 Last Cigarette” screeches with resentment for waking up lost, friendless, and hungover, but damn, being a completely reckless fuckboy isn’t supposed to feel this thrilling. It’s the soundtrack to the morning that precedes a night you’ll never remember: anthemic mantras (“All my friends!!! They hate me again!!! I get too drunk!!! When I get depressed!!!”) that read like self-loathing misery, but hit your ear in raging, breathless screams, like sworn promises, like no other life could ever be more glorious. —Terron Moore
Lana Del Rey: “White Dress”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJuV8PDwvC8

Lana Del Rey pushes her patented aesthetic further Midwest with her latest album, Chemtrails Over the Country Club, crafting a collection that sounds like her previous records purchased a cowboy hat, cracked open a carton of cigarettes on a long drive, and reflected on it all. Instead of beginning with a bop, she opts for the slow burn with “White Dress,” weaving a lyrical tapestry of nostalgia over references to Kings of Leon, the White Stripes, and a gold-hued era of anonymity that wasn’t that long ago. With a breathy and heavy whisper, she reminds us how she’s become the melancholy queen we know her to be. Who else could make a lyric like “down at the Men in Music Business Conference” sound like the tipping point for all-consuming wistfulness? —Carson Mlnarik
BTS: “Film Out”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFT3f9biz68

BTS return after virtually no break (seriously, team no sleep) with “Film Out,” the first single off their new Japanese-language album, BTS, the Best. Co-written by the Golden Maknae himself, Jungkook, the rest of the members explore time, space, and memory, both sonically and visually, in “Film Out,” with heart-wrenching lyrics contrasting a melody that builds in tempo — a race against an hourglass. Regardless of language or location, the Bangtan Boys always find a way to pull right at the heartstrings of ARMY all around the world. —Sarina Bhutani
Janette King: "Airplane"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6brJ5C3-wAE

You have to let Janette King do it her way. An enthralling listen, new single "Airplane" draws its power from a steady synth rhythm and an icy house beat that pair up to help King's voice bounce off the rafters. —Patrick Hosken
Isaac Dunbar: “Kissy Kissy”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtxKZ2fyBt8

It’s marvelous just how deeply “Kissy Kissy” swells and crashes with '90s punk rock nostalgia, as 18-year-old Isaac Dunbar croons over soaring electric guitars for even the slightest bit of attention, as if the promise of true love literally hangs on his vocal cords. It hits every emotion critical to the pure teenage cynical angst of an unrequited crush: raw, newfound desire, brimming with fear, punctured by feigned nonchalance, all building into pure sonic bliss. “Write your name in my journal,” he sweetly sighs to himself. Then: “I should burn it, right?” —Terron Moore
Flock of Dimes: "One More Hour"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLzaYBKGPx4

A new Flock of Dimes album means another chance to hear Jenn Wasner do what she does best: construct dreamy choruses from her incredibly adaptive voice while exploring a handful of musical styles. On "One More Hour," the through-line is colorful, kaleidoscopic synth patterns; elsewhere on Head of Roses (out today), there's plenty more ear candy to indulge in. —Patrick Hosken
The Orphan The Poet: “The Moxie”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwjMLhtqOiw

Spring has finally arrived, which means we’re all literally and figuratively melting in our own way. Thankfully, Ohio alternative outfit The Orphan The Poet’s new track “The Moxie” is extremely alive and rocks hard enough to shake away your winter blues. With casual references to Keanu Reeves, guitar licks that spin, handclaps, and tastes of a heavenly chorus, it’s almost unfathomable that they were able to squeeze so much into this sonic journey, but it’s not a total surprise. After all, they’ve got it: the moxie. —Carson Mlnarik
St. Lenox: "Deliverance"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDFqlRofa6Y

Here on Good Friday, Andrew Choi stands alone. His latest album as St. Lenox, Ten Songs of Worship and Praise for Our Tumultuous Times, is inherently religious, but as "Deliverance" reveals, his POV is less someone kneeling in the pews than standing in the parking lot, weighing whether or not to make an entrance. Shades of Stephin Merritt and John Darnielle abound here, both in the storytelling and the direct vocals, but Choi is also his own kind of performer – muscly, not showy, economical, and completely unforgettable. —Patrick Hosken

Pharrell calls for “transparency, honesty and justice” after cousin shot and killed by police

Pharrell is calling for “transparency, honesty, and justice” following the death of his cousin in a shooting incident by police.

In a social media post to Instagram, Pharrell revealed that his cousin Donovan was recently killed following a series of shootings on Virginia Beach in the US.

Pharrell wrote: “The loss of these lives is a tragedy beyond measure. My cousin Donovon was killed during the shootings.

“He was a bright light and someone who always showed up for others. It is critical my family and the other victims’ families get the transparency, honesty and justice they deserve.

“Virginia Beach is the epitome of hope and tenacity and, as a community, we will get through this and come out even stronger.”

You can see the full post below:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Pharrell Williams (@pharrell)

A number of Pharrell’s fellow artists and collaborators including The Weeknd, Swiss Beatz, Kenya Barris and more paid their condolences in the comments on the post.

As reported on Sky News, Donovon Lynch, who was 25, was shot and killed in Virgina Beach last Friday (March 26) by a police officer amid a series of three separate “chaotic shootings” in the area. Two people including Lynch were killed whilst eight others were injured in another separate event.

In a statement, Virginia Police Beach Department said that homicide detectives had carried out interviews with an officer involved in the shooting of Lynch, as well as an officer who witnessed the incident as well as an “independent witness.”

CORRECTION #VPBD Update to the March 26, 2021, Officer Involved Shooting pic.twitter.com/L1EPV4eK8Q

— Virginia Beach PD (@VBPD) March 29, 2021

VBPD releases 2nd update to overnight shootings. @CityofVaBeach pic.twitter.com/KrN0XGmzNf

— Virginia Beach PD (@VBPD) March 27, 2021

The statement added that both of the offers claimed Lynch was “brandishing a handgun at the time of the shooting” and that it was “recovered from the scene.”

A 28-year-old woman, Deshayla E Harris, died of a gunshot wound in another shooting that night, with police believing that she was an innocent bystander.

Eight further people were injured in a separate shooting that occurred just after 11pm on Friday. All were taken to local hospitals with their conditions ranging from “serious to life-threatening.”

Mr Lynch was shot dead by a police officer in a third incident – which happened when, as Sky reports, “officers were investigating the original shootings and shots were fired nearby.”

The case has sparked controversy after it was revealed that the officer who killed Lynch was wearing a body camera but for “unknown reasons”, according to the police chief, it was not switched on.

The officer who shot Lynch has now been placed on administrative leave.

Garbage return with ‘The Men Who Rule The World’ from new album ‘No Gods No Masters’

Garbage are back with ‘The Men Who Rule The World’, as well as announcing their long-awaited seventh album ‘No Gods No Masters’.

Produced by longtime collaborator Billy Bush, ‘No Gods No Masters’ will arrive in June. Dealing heavily in “capitalism, lust, loss and grief”, the follow-up to 2016’s acclaimed ‘Strange Little Birds’ comes with lead single ‘The Men Who Who Rule The World’.

Described as “a critique of the rise of capitalist short-sightedness, racism, sexism and misogyny across the world,” the bold and industrial track also comes with a cinematic video made by Chilean film director, animator and painter Javi.MiAmor.

“This is our seventh record, the significant numerology of which affected the DNA of its content: the seven virtues, the seven sorrows, and the seven deadly sins,” said Garbage frontwoman and NME Icon Award winner Shirley Manson.

“It was our way of trying to make sense of how fucking nuts the world is and the astounding chaos we find ourselves in. It’s the record we felt that we had to make at this time.”

Garbage return with new album 'No Gods No Masters'. Credit: Press — Garbage return with new album ‘No Gods No Masters’. Credit: Press

Back in 2019, Manson told NME that Garbage’s upcoming new material would be “sort of cinematic-sounding” while containing some “pretty personal” lyrics.

“It’s dark, of course! But I’m not sure I want it to be. I read recently that pop music has become really dark, sad and troubled, and my immediate desire was to do the complete opposite,” she told NME. “Unfortunately, it’s just not my forte to write really upbeat and amazing pop music. I wish it was!”

She continued: “It’s like [past single] ‘No Horses’ [2017] because it’s a little softer, and more expansive. There are Roxy influences in there. Butch Vig [drummer and producer] of course, was formerly the President of The Roxy Music Fan Club in Madison, Wisconsin.”

READ MORE: Garbage’s Shirley Manson: “I don’t give a fuck about fame, I don’t give a fuck about legacy”

Manson added: “So far, it’s all pretty personal. People think I’m going to come out raging about politics, but it’s not political at all. I’ve always talked a lot about the themes that are being talked about now, and I feel like I’ve already fucking said my piece. I’m old and watching my friends die and that changes everything. Everything changes with every season and that’s as exciting as it is heartbreaking. It feels necessary. That lights a burning torch inside you.”

‘No Gods No Masters’ will be released on June 11, along with a deluxe CD/digital version featuring covers of David Bowie’s ‘Starman’ and Because the Night, written by Patti Smith and Bruce Springsteen. Pre-orders are available here.

The deluxe album includes rare Garbage tracks ‘No Horses’, ‘On Fire’, ‘Time Will Destroy Everything’, ‘Girls Talk’, ‘The Chemicals’ and ‘Destroying Angels’- the latter three feature Brody Dalle, Brian Aubert and John Doe and Exene Cervenka respectively.

Garbage have announced a tour with Blondie. Credit: Press — Garbage, 2020 Credit: Press

The Men Who Rule the World tracklist is:

The Creeps
Uncomfortably Me
Wolves
Waiting for God
Godhead
Anonymous XXX
A Woman Destroyed
Flipping the Bird
No Gods No Masters
This City Will Kill You

The ‘No Gods No Masters’ deluxe edition tracklist is:

The Men Who Rule the World
The Creeps
Uncomfortably Me
Wolves
Waiting for God
Godhead
Anonymous XXX
A Woman Destroyed
Flipping the Bird
No Gods No Masters
This City Will Kill You
No Horses
Starman
Girls Talk feat. Brody Dalle
Because the Night feat. Screaming Females
On Fire
The Chemicals feat. Brian Aubert
Destroying Angels feat. John Doe & Exene Cervenka
Time Will Destroy Everything

The band will also be heading out on a UK tour dates with Blondie this winter. Full dates are below and tickets are available here.

NOVEMBER

Saturday 6 – M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool
Monday 8 – Utilita Arena, Birmingham
Tuesday 9 – AO Arena, Manchester
Thursday 11 – Bonus Arena, Hull
Friday 12 – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
Sunday 14 – The Brighton Centre
Tuesday 16 – Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
Thursday 18 – The O2 Arena, London
Saturday 20 – The SSE Hydro, Glasgow
Sunday 21– First Direct Arena, Leeds

Previously unreleased Joe Strummer recording of ‘I Fought The Law’ used for song’s new music video

A previously unreleased live recording of ‘I Fought The Law’ has been released for a new version of the song’s music video as part of Joe Strummer‘s ‘Assembly’.

The posthumous compilation of Strummer’s career-best work, including The Clash rarities and re-mastered tracks, was released yesterday (March 26). With the compilation comes a new music video for ‘I Fought The Law’, The Clash’s 1979 cover of The Crickets’ 1961 original song.

Animated visuals accompany a freshly unearthed live recording of the track performed by Strummer and his backing band The Mescaleros at London’s Brixton Academy on November 24, 2001. You can watch below.

Strummer, who died in 2002, fronted The Clash from 1976 until their disbandment in 1986. He then went on to perform as a solo artist and with The Mescaleros.

‘Assembly’ released on George Harrison’s Dark Horse Records, which is now run by the late Beatle’s son Dhani Harrison and manager David Zonshine.

The 15-track best-of album also contains a live performance of ‘Rudie Can’t Fail’ from the same Brixton show.

In addition to tracks such as ‘Coma Girl’, ‘Johnny Appleseed’, ‘Yalla Yalla’ (with The Mescaleros) and a cover of Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song’, ‘Assembly’ also features three unreleased versions of classic tracks by The Clash, including the never-before-heard ‘Junco Partner (Acoustic)’.

Last Christmas, a 2021 calendar featuring an array of images of the late Joe Strummer was released.

The new offering arrived courtesy of The Joe Strummer Foundation, an organisation set up in the singer’s memory to develop new music talent in the UK and overseas.

Meanwhile, Rafferty Law has said that he would love to play Joe Strummer in a biopic.

The 4th Uncut New Music Playlist Of 2021

Hopefully by now you will have had a chance to zone out to our magnificent new Sounds Of The New West Presents Ambient Americana CD, free with the latest issue of Uncut – if not, you can grab yourself a copy here. Anyway, this playlist picks up where the CD leaves off, with a brand new track by Marisa Anderson and William Tyler from their upcoming collaborative album Lost Futures.

There are similarly blissed-out new sounds from Red River Dialect’s David John Morris – written during a nine-month retreat at a Buddhist monastery in Nova Scotia – as well as from Lea Bertucci, Abdullah Ibrahim, Sven Wunder and Carlos Niño. Plus there are welcome returns for Rosali and Gruff Rhys, a new recording of an old song by Judy Collins, and Lucinda Williams covering Sharon Van Etten. Enjoy!

MARISA ANDERSON & WILLIAM TYLER
“Lost Futures”
(Thrill Jockey)
Lost Futures by Marisa Anderson/William Tyler

DAVID JOHN MORRIS
“New Safe”
(Hinterground Records)

JUDY COLLINS
“White Bird”
(Wildflower Records)

ROSALI
“Mouth”
(Spinster)
No Medium by Rosali

LUCINDA WILLIAMS
“Save Yourself”
(Ba Da Bing)

SAMBA TOURÉ
“Sambalama”
(Glitterbeat)

SVEN WUNDER
“En Plein Air”
(Piano Piano)

MATT BERRY
“Aboard”
(Acid Jazz)

GRUFF RHYS
“Loan Your Loneliness”
(Rough Trade)

SQUID
“Paddling”
(Warp)

RURAL TAPES
“Pardon My French”
(Smuggler Music)

DOROTHEA PAAS
“Anything Can’t Happen”
(Telephone Explosion)

LUCY DACUS
“Thumbs”
(Matador)

LEA BERTUCCI
“On Opposite Sides Of Sleep”
(Cibachrome Editions)

ABDULLAH IBRAHIM
“Did You Hear That Sound?”
(Gearbox)

CARLOS NIÑO
“Pleasewakeupalittlefaster, please… (featuring Jamael Dean)”
(International Anthem)
More Energy Fields, Current by Carlos Niño & Friends

GROWING
“Down + Distance”
(Silver Current)

Method Man and Redman to face off in upcoming ‘VERZUZ’ battle

Longtime rhyme partners Method Man and Redman have been announced as the next two artists to face off in the popular VERZUZ battle series.

READ MORE: Timbaland and Swizz Beatz on VERZUZbattle series: “We want to celebrate the architects of good music”

VERZUZ is the popular entertainment series that pits producers, songwriters and artists against each other in a rap battle style format on Instagram Live and Triller.

Competitors take it in turns playing a song from a list of 20 from their discography, as fans, friends and fellow artists watch on. A winner is later decided by Timbaland and Swizz Beatz.

Kicking off in March last year after Timbaland and Swizz Beatz issued challenges to one another, artists that have taken part so far have included: T-Pain, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Brandy, Monica, Rick Ross, DMX, Snoop Dogg, D’Angelo and many more.

Last night (March 20), Wu-Tang Clan MCs Raekwon and Ghostface Killah went head to head in the first VERZUZ to be streamed through Triller following its recent deal with Timbaland and Swizz Beatz.

Almost immediately after the event, VERZUZ shared a flyer announcing a couple of future battles including Method Man and Redman’s. Billed as a “4/20 Special”, it takes place on April 20.

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Elsewhere on the flyer, The Isley Brothers are set to go head to head with Earth, Wind & Fire on Easter Sunday (April 4), and there’s a VERZUZ rematch scheduled for Memorial Day Weekend (May 29-31).

In addition, a VERZUZ spokesperson recently confirmed to Billboard that co-founders Swizz Beatz and Timbaland will be doing a battle of their own to celebrate the series’ one-year anniversary coming soon.

Meanwhile, Wu-Tang Clan have announced their new photobook Wu-Tang Clan: Legacy, which will be strictly limited to 36 copies – each of which will be encased in its very own bronze-encrusted steel chamber.

The pioneering hip-hop group say that their latest project will be the “the biggest and rarest book in the history of hip-hop”.

Inside our new free CD, Sounds Of The New West Presents… Ambient Americana

The new issue of Uncut, dated May 2021, and available now, comes with a special free CD – the latest in our Sounds Of The New West series, Ambient Americana.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE NEW UNCUT DELIVERED DIRECT TO YOUR DOOR

It compiles 15 tracks by artists mixing the traditions of country and folk with the mind-expanding sounds of ambient and kosmische music – from the blown-out songforms of Steve Gunn and Sarah Louise to the pedal-steel transcendence of Chuck Johnson, SUSS and Luke Schneider, via the droning majesty of William Tyler, North Americans, Mary Lattimore and others.

The issue also includes a full feature looking at this growing tide of musicians, with contributions from many of those on our CD.

Here, then, is our guide to the compilation:

1 SUSS
Drift
Our roadtrip through the cosmic pastoral landscape begins with this nocturnal tune from the New York band SUSS, who evoke an empty desert on “Drift”, from last year’s album Promise. Pat Irwin’s soaring guitar parts mingle with what sounds like cicadas in the brush.

2 STEVE GUNN
Way Out Weather
Steve Gunn may be better known for his folk- and rock-oriented albums than for his forays into ambient music, but the title track to his 2014 album is all vibe, with smears of pedal-steel morphing into a crisply picked guitar theme.

3 WILLIAM TYLER
Four Corners
William Tyler’s 2020 EP “New Vanitas” gravitates toward the spacey, especially on its fourth track ,“Four Corners”. Inspired by the spot in the southwestern United States where the borders of four states, Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico, come together, it uses a gently burbling beat to anchor a free-floating guitar riff to Earth.

4 MARY LATTIMORE
Sometimes He’s In My Dreams
Los Angeles-based solo harpist Mary Lattimore travelled halfway around the world to record her excellent 2020 album Silver Ladders in Cornwall, with Slowdive’s Neil Halstead producing. Her plucked notes on this standout song sound like stars forming a constellation of a melody.

5 NORTH AMERICANS
American Dipper
Formerly a solo project for guitarist Patrick McDermott, North Americans became a duo with the addition of pedal-steel player Barry Walker Jr. Their chemistry is apparent on this loping trail song from 2020’s Roped In.

6 ANDREW TUTTLE
Hilliard Creek, Finucane Road
The Australian guitarist based the songs on his recent album Alexandra on his suburban hometown, which is changing with intensified exurban sprawl. Chuck Johnson joins him on this song, adding pedal-steel to his banjo.

7 MARIELLE V JAKOBSONS
Star Core
Bay Area multi-instrumentalist Jakobsons mixes the synthetic with the organic. “Star Core”, the title track from her 2016 solo album, creates an otherworldly atmosphere with zero-gravity fretless bass and muted vocals.

8 MICHAEL CHAPMAN
Caddo Lake
This song is proof that Michael Chapman defies categorisation, giving an ambient sheen to his American Primitive picking and emphasising his acoustic guitar’s natural sustain.

9 LUKE SCHNEIDER
Exspirio
Luke Schneider was determined to record his entire solo debut on his trusty pedal-steel guitar. Inventive and innovative, Altar Of Harmony finds beauty in the crackle and queasy sustain of his strange notes.

10 BARRY WALKER JR
Shoulda Zenith
When he’s not collaborating with Patrick McDermott in North Americans, Walker Jr records
his own albums as a solo artist. The title track to 2019’s Shoulda Zenith is a quirky lo-fi jam that gradually builds in intensity – it’s like the third hour of some lost Grateful Dead bootleg.

11 FIELD WORKS
The Scars Of Recent History
For his ninth Field Works album, Indiana composer and producer Stuart Hyatt assembled
a group that included Marisa Anderson, Nathan Bowles and HC McEntire. “The Scars Of Recent History” sets a poem by Todd Davis to the earthiest of ambient music.

12 MIKE COOPER
Paumalu
Rayon Hula, an instrumental album inspired by the islands of the South Pacific, is one of many adventurous records produced by the eccentric guitarist since he fully embraced ambient experimentation in the late ’90s. “Paumalu” features his lap-steel improvisations over a laconic, dream-like rhythm.

13 SARAH LOUISE
Your Dreams
Sarah Louise Henson offers a different take on cosmic pastoral, one that sounds more hallucinatory than spacey. “Your Dreams”, from her new album Earth Bow, changes shape constantly, layering clattering drums over mushroom synths over her own fractalising vocals.

14 DEAN McPHEE
The Alder Tree
Inspired by his fascination with English folklore and mysticism, the fourth album by Yorkshire guitarist McPhee is a showcase for his inventive Telecaster playing. He’s a one-man band on “The Alder Tree”, answering his own deep reverberating notes with sharp raga discursions.

15 CHUCK JOHNSON
Constellation
Johnson developed his unique style as a composer/guitarist in the DIY art spaces in and around Oakland, California. His new LP, The Cinder Grove, recreates the acoustics of those rooms as foundations for his ambient pedal-steel arrangements, which balance grief and hope.

This issue of Uncut is available to buy by clicking here – with FREE delivery to the UK and reduced delivery charges for the rest of the world.

Billie Eilish breaks Instagram record with photo of new hair colour

Billie Eilish has set a new Instagram record with a photo of her new blonde hair colour.

READ MORE: Every single Billie Eilish song ranked in order of greatness

The pop star beat the previous record set by Selena Gomez on her 26th birthday in 2018 with a selfie showing off her new do, which gained one million likes in six minutes.

Elish has sported other looks including ice grey and navy blue. Most recently she has worn her hair black with her roots dyed bright green.

At the time of writing, Eilish’s post, which she captioned “pinch me”, has more than 16.8million likes on Instagram. The Independent notes that it’s now one of Instagram’s Top 10 most-liked posts of all time.

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Last December, before the February 2021 release of her AppleTV+ documentary Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry, Eilish told fans in an Instagram Story: “I’m changing [my hair] after the doc comes out. It will be the end of an era. I’m gonna give you a new era.”

Fans on TikTok last week speculated whether Eilish had been wearing a wig recently because the artist wore hats and headpieces that covered her hairline at the Grammys on Sunday (March 14). It’s not known if she was wearing a wig or not to cover her freshly dyed hair [via BBC].

In other news, Eilish paid tribute to Megan Thee Stallion in an acceptance speech for Record Of The Year at the 2021 Grammys.

Eilish and the Houston rapper were both nominated in the Record Of The Year category for ‘Everything I Wanted’ and ‘Savage Remix (featuring Beyoncé)’ respectively.

When Eilish was named as the winner, she honoured Megan in her speech. “This is really embarrassing for me,” she began, addressing the rapper. “I was gonna write a speech about how you deserve this but then I was like ‘there’s no way they’re gonna choose me’. I was like, ‘it’s hers!’ You deserve this.”

Drake becomes first artist ever to have three songs debut in Top 3 on Billboard

Drake has become the first artist ever to have three songs debut in the Top 3 positions on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.

Read more: Drake – ‘Scary Hours 2’ EP review: title defender sounds ready to challenge himself again

Taken from his recent ‘Scary Hours 2’ EP, the Canadian rapper’s new single ‘What’s Next’ has gone straight in at Number One on Billboard.

Not only that, the project’s two other tracks, ‘Wants And Needs’ featuring Lil Baby and ‘Lemon Pepper Freestyle’ with Rick Ross, have entered at Number Two and Number Three respectively, making him the first artist in history to achieve the feat, according to Chart Data.

In addition to this, he’s also joined The Beatles and Ariana Grande as the only acts in history to take up the top three positions of the Hot 100 simultaneously in the same week.

.@ArianaGrande ruled the top 3 positions on Feb. 23, 2019.@thebeatles ruled the top 3 for five total weeks between March and April 1964.

— billboard charts (@billboardcharts) March 15, 2021

‘What’s Next’ is Drake’s 8th Number One on the Hot 100, extending his run as the rapper with the most Number Ones on the chart.

In a three-star review of ‘Scary Hours 2’, NME‘s Luke Morgan Britton said: “Drake sounds less like an artist with something to prove and more like a title defender who might finally be willing to challenge himself again.

“He’s described the release as simply a ‘warm up ting’ to his ‘next masterpiece’, and it certainly does enough to build hype for the main event.”

Earlier this month, Drake provided fans with another update on ‘Certified Lover Boy’, his anticipated sixth studio album.

The latest record from the Canadian rapper was set for a January 2021 release date, but was postponed after Drake injured his knee.

Speaking on OVO Sound Radio, Drake confirmed that the album was “currently being chef’d in every way possible” and explained that he has been working with regular collaborators Noel Cadastre and Noah “40” Shebib.

Meanwhile, former NFL player Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson has claimed that Drake and Rick Ross are currently working on a joint album.

Listen to Joe Strummer’s unearthed home recording of ‘Junco Partner’

A home recording of Joe Strummer playing an acoustic version of ‘Junco Partner’ has been unearthed – listen to it below.

Read more: 50 things you never knew about The Clash

The deep cut arrives ahead of ‘Assembly’, a newly remastered LP of The Clash frontman’s greatest hits.

Made up of carefully curated singles, fan favourites and rarities, ‘Assembly’ will be released on March 26 via George Harrison’s Dark Horse Records, which is now run by the late Beatle‘s son Dhani Harrison and manager David Zonshine.

The intimate, previously unreleased home recording of ‘Junco Partner’ features Strummer on an acoustic guitar and is out now. You can listen to it below.

According to a press release, Strummer first discovered ‘Junco Partner’ on an R&B compilation in the 1970s and it became a staple on the setlist of Strummer’s first band, the 101ers.

The track was recorded by The Clash for the 1980 ‘Sandinista!’ album and it became a mainstay of live shows until the end of Strummer’s career with his band the Mescaleros.

Other tracks that will feature on ‘Assembly’ include ‘Coma Girl’, ‘Johnny Appleseed’, ‘Yalla Yalla’ (with The Mescaleros) and a cover of Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song’. The album will also contain live performances of ‘Rudie Can’t Fail’ and ‘I Fought The Law’, which were recorded at London’s Brixton Academy on November 24, 2001.

The album’s liner notes have been written by lifelong Strummer fan Jakob Dylan.

‘Assembly’ tracklisting:

01 ‘Coma Girl’, ‘Johnny Appleseed’, ‘I Fought The Law’ (Live at Brixton Academy, London, 24 November 2001)
02 ‘Tony Adams’
03 ‘Sleepwalk’
04 ‘Love Kills’
05 ‘Get Down Moses’
06 ‘X-Ray Style’
07 ‘Mondo Bongo’
08 ‘Rudie Can’t Fail’ (Live at Brixton Academy, London, 24 November 2001)
09 ‘At The Border, Guy’
10 ‘Long Shadow’
11 ‘Forbidden City’
12 ‘Yalla Yalla’
13 ‘Redemption Song’
14 ‘Junco Partner’ (Acoustic)

In January, Rafferty Law said that he would love to play Joe Strummer in a biopic.

Speaking to NME, the actor and son of Jude Law and Sadie Frost said The Clash have been a big band in his life, adding: “I love the way they dress and their music. Joe Strummer could be a wicked person to play.”

Liam Gallagher helps to save Glasgow venue The Priory

Liam Gallagher has teamed up with Glasgow venue The Priory to help it raise vital venue-saving funds.

Read more: Liam Gallagher live in London: rants and a wide-ranging set on a cruise down the Thames

The former Oasis frontman has donated a number of items to a special prize draw, which is aiming to raise money to help ensure the survival of the influential Scottish venue which has been impacted by the coronavirus crisis.

“A vital beating heart on Glasgow’s Sauchiehall Street, The Priory has become recognised as a hotbed of the latest and greatest sounds coming out of Scotland’s alternative scene and the place to go whether you’re at your highest high or lowest low,” a press release reads.

The prizes Gallagher is offering fans the opportunity to win are as follows:

The only signed setlist from his recent Down By The River Thames gig
A signed limited edition 7-inch boxset of his second album ‘Why Me? Why Not’
2x TRNSMT Festival Weekend tickets to see Gallagher play live alongside the likes of Lewis Capaldi, Courteeners, Foals, Sam Fender and many more
£200 worth of vouchers for Gallagher’s Pretty Green fashion range.

Liam Gallagher Prizes

For a chance at wining the goodies, you can enter the prize draw by donating £5 here.

“I can’t wait to get back to playing for the fans. But in the meantime, we need to look after the live industry and support our venues,” Gallagher said of the prize draw.

John Jokey, the owner of The Priory, added: “We can’t thank Liam enough for his generosity, it will be a huge help in keeping us going until we can put on live music again and get back to supporting up and coming musicians. We’d also like to thank This Feeling for their continued support.”

Earlier this week, Liam’s brother Noel announced that he was raffling off a signed and personalised guitar in aid of Stagehand’s #ILoveLive campaign.

Meanwhile, Oasis fans are being invited to share their memories from Knebworth ahead of a planned special event to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the two legendary shows.

BTS have been named the best selling global act of 2020

BTS have been named the best selling act of 2020.

READ MORE: BTS – ‘BE (Deluxe Edition)’ review: a sensitive, stunning document of pandemic life

The K-pop outfit topped the IFPI poll – the organisation that represents the global recorded music industry, based on worldwide sales, downloads and streams.

They are the first non-Western act to win, and the first whose songs are not predominantly sung in English.

They beat Taylor Swift, who took the crown in 2019, into second place and Drake. The Weeknd finished fourth and Billie Eilish came in at number five.

Congratulations to @BTS_bighit, the winners of the #IFPIGlobalArtistChart 2020! ?

Here’s the top ? in full:

?@BTS_twt
?@taylorswift13
?@Drake@theweeknd@billieeilish@Eminem@PostMalone@ArianaGrande@JuiceWorlddd@justinbieberhttps://t.co/loJ36s5kwP pic.twitter.com/MNz0v3xdtH

— IFPI (@IFPI_org) March 4, 2021

Frances Moore, chief executive of IFPI, said: “BTS are a global phenomenon. They have had another outstanding year… and [are] continually finding creative and engaging ways to share their story with the world.

“They truly show the power that music has to bring joy and happiness to people the world over.

“We would like to congratulate RM, Jin, Suga, J-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook and we are excited to see what they have in store next.”

The K-pop juggernauts also topped Twitter’s list of most popular artists in 2020, for the fourth year in a row. The group beat off the likes of Kanye West, Beyoncé and Drake for the most mentions on the social media platform in 2020.

They also recently joined the lineup for Music On A Mission, an upcoming virtual concert and fundraiser by the Grammys’ MusiCares Foundation.

BTS will feature on a never-before-seen set at the upcoming charity event on March 12, which will “honour the resilience of the music community, which has been deeply impacted by the COVID-19”.

The lineup will also feature performances by Haim, H.E.R., Jhene Aiko and John Legend.

Alice Cooper on Marilyn Manson abuse claims: “I never noticed that streak in him”

Alice Cooper has responded after Marilyn Manson was accused of sexual abuse by several women.

Manson, who co-headlined a US tour with the shock-rock icon in 2013, was accused of abuse, grooming and manipulation by actor and ex-partner Evan Rachel Wood and four other women last month.

READ MORE: Five things we learned from our In Conversation video chat with Alice Cooper

Since Wood’s statement, more women have come forward with allegations about Manson, including actor Bianca Allaine, who said the FBI are involved with her case. Manson has always denied the claims, saying that all of his “intimate relationships have always been entirely consensual with like-minded partners”.

Responding to the allegations, Cooper told NME that he “never noticed that streak” in Manson.

“It’s funny about Marilyn, in that I know Marilyn – when we toured together we got along very well. I never noticed that streak in him, if it’s there. I always believe in the word, allegations are still allegations,” Cooper said in the latest instalment of our In Conversation series.

Cooper then went on to discuss allegations faced by his “best friend” and Hollywood Vampires bandmate Johnny Depp, who was previously accused of domestic violence against his ex-partner Amber Heard.

“First of all, here’s a prime example: Johnny Depp”, Cooper said.

“Johnny Depp and I are best friends. I’ve never seen him lift a finger against anybody. He’s one of the most gentle people. And all of his former girlfriends and wives say the same thing. So it’s really hard to believe that all of a sudden he’s gonna turn into this monster. And I know the guy — I’m with the guy on tour all the time. He’s one of the most gentle, harmless people I’ve ever met.”

Depp lost a libel case against The Sun in November after he sued the publication for calling him a “wife-beater” in a 2018 article. A High Court ruling deemed the allegations to be “substantially true”.

Focusing on Manson once more, Cooper added: “Now I don’t know Marilyn, though, as well as I know Johnny. So what happens in the bedroom is entirely a mystery to me for what’s going on with Marilyn.”

As well as accusations from Evan Rachel Wood, Wolf Alice singer Ellie Rowsell recently accused Manson of filming up her skirt without her consent when they met at a festival.

In the wake of the allegations, Manson has been dropped by his record label Loma Vista and his long-term manager Tony Ciulla.

He has also been axed from his TV projects and will no longer appear in American Gods or the Creepshow anthology.

Mogwai: Album By Album

Founded in 1995 and initially a trio, Glasgow’s Mogwai made their debut with “Tuner/Lower”, a self-pressed seven-inch in thrall to Slint and Codeine. They went on to synthesise post-rock, metal, slow-core, instrumental soundtracks, Krautrock and electronica into something distinctively their own, moving well beyond the “quiet/loud” aesthetic that dominated their early years. Their reach has encompassed a cover of Black Sabbath’s “Sweet Leaf”, on obscure, absurdly titled split single “Two Sonic Scratches Of The Big Bad Rock Arse”, substantial remix projects and scores for art movies, such as the cultish and acclaimed Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait. As they release their latest studio set, As The Love Continues, Mogwai reassess the highs and happenstance of an impressive career.

YOUNG TEAM
CHEMIKAL UNDERGROUND, 1997
Demonstrating from the off a disregard for recording conventions, Mogwai wrote a set of brand new songs for their debut, defining the formidable quiet/loud dynamic that was their early trademark
STUART BRAITHWAITE: We made it really hard for ourselves, because we’d done a lot of singles but since we were all really obsessed with Joy Division, we didn’t want to put any of them on the album. Plus, we gave ourselves a deadline with a release date, which makes no sense for a band’s first record, but I was 20 and John [Cummings] was only 18, so everything was new to us. We should have realised that if all those early seven-inches had only sold 500 copies, then it didn’t really matter if we re-recorded some of the songs, like “New Paths To Helicon, Pt. 2”, which was one of our best. After making a load of seven-inches, we were excited
by being able to have these long songs and “Like Herod” is a bit like Nirvana’s “Endless Nameless” – and like Slint. It’s still fun to play live; we always get a laugh when people aren’t paying much attention to begin with and then shit themselves.
JOHN CUMMINGS: In terms of being aware at the time of whether “Like Herod” was a “stayer”, I don’t think then we’d even considered that the band was a stayer. Just the fact that we were being allowed to record an album was more than we could have hoped for. It’s not the kind of thing you presume when you’re selling 500 seven-inches – that someone’s going to give you a few thousand pounds to go into the studio for a month.

COME ON
DIE YOUNG
CHEMIKAL UNDERGROUND, 1999
Producer Dave Fridmann steered the experimentalism that quickly became vital to Mogwai’s sound, but this was a powerful set of surprisingly spare and fx-free songs.
DOMINIC AITCHISON: I was very happy with getting Dave Fridmann in, because I was a huge Mercury Rev fan at the time and also it gave us the opportunity to go off to America to record. It was painless to make, because we had it finished before we went out there to record, the only time we’ve done that. A lot of the songs are sparse and downbeat and he didn’t really mess with them at all; he was quite hands-off. But my abiding memory is Dave recording something onto what was practically fence wire; it was the most odd-looking, antiquated stuff ever and produced really low-grade recordings that made everything sound incredibly distorted and quite primitive.
JOHN: Dave’s very quiet, pragmatic and a really nice guy – not what we were expecting. Yes, it was a wee bit disappointing, but it doesn’t make the record sound any less good. That wasn’t due to magic, it was due to someone knowing what they were doing and that was very inspiring.
STUART: At the time, we thought we could have done better with the first album and that we were flying by the seat of our pants, so we really had a mission with the second record, to make it something pretty special. As ill-prepared as the first one was, this was meticulously prepared and we wanted it to be different. We’d been doing the quiet/loud thing and wanted to show we could do more than that. The reason we went with Dave was because we heard Deserter’s Songs and it sounded really lush and special, and Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space had just come out. In our heads we thought we were doing something a bit like that, but to me now, the point of comparison for CODY is the early Cure records – very dark and kind of frosty. Dave’s studio is in upstate New York, in the middle of nowhere. I remember saying I was going to go for a walk and he told me to watch out. So I went out and someone had these wild wolves on chains in their garden. I saw a snake… I never went out again. Wayne Coyne would apparently go out with a stick and just bash things, but he was running. I was not running.

ROCK ACTION
PIAS/SOUTHPAW, 2001
A big budget saw (some of) the band going bonkers. Multi-instrumentalist Barry Burns made his mark and a strong electronic/synth element was introduced. As was a banjo.
DOMINIC: We went to Dave [Fridmann]’s studio and recorded all the band stuff, then Martin and myself went back home for three weeks and Barry, John and Stuart went down to New York City to do all the overdubs. They did the best partying ever there, but they didn’t do much recording and everybody reconvened three weeks later to mix it. Me and Martin got sent CDs of what they’d done in that time and we were both so pissed off. It was clear they’d done nothing. I told them to their faces I was pissed off they hadn’t done any work, but I was actually just pissed off I’d missed out on three weeks of running around New York having a right old laugh! Looking back, it’s utterly mortifying the amount of wastage around that album.
STUART: You can’t make music in Manhattan, unless maybe you’re from there and you’re oblivious to what an awful amount of fun there is, constantly happening. We recorded a lot of songs, but the record’s really short – around 38 minutes. It’s got some good songs on it and it’s really lovely sounding, but the sound we started out making had become kind of predictable and there were an awful lot of bands around making wash-y, long instrumental songs, so we did have a plan, which was to do something different. But we needed more of a plan than that.

HAPPY SONGS FOR HAPPY PEOPLE
PIAS, 2003
Label personnel changes, a departed manager and a shift in the musical climate disturbed the picture. Mogwai moved even further towards a more subdued sound
JOHN: The making of this was more influenced by what we’d done with Rock Action, in terms of the size of it [41 minutes] and the time spent on it, the best part of three months. It’s an interesting bridging record. Stuart got a laptop, I was messing about with sequencers and bleeps and bloops. There’s more of that on the albums that followed.
DOMINIC: I think we all realised that Rock Action should have been a lot better than it was and I felt we’d blown it a bit. We had quite a lot of songs for this album and not a lot of it was fully formed beforehand. We had no idea what it was going to be like until it was mixed and it’s probably one of my favourites. It could have turned out absolutely shite and I’m the pessimist; I always think a record’s going to be terrible until it’s done, so it was a brilliant surprise that it came together.
STUART: I was fairly conscious that people weren’t as excited about what we were doing as they’d been before, because the musical climate had changed. People became interested in more overtly retro music, like The Strokes, and it felt like at this point in particular, we had to make a really good record. We’ve always felt that, of course, but around that time we did feel the pressure, though I wouldn’t be surprised if that was only me. But we stood firm and it actually worked out well.

MR BEAST
PIAS, 2006
A curiously hybrid creation, heavy on the ambient instrumentals, lighter on the vocals and too long in the cooking, although it featured Cummings’ monstrous “Glasgow Mega-Snake”
STUART: It was our first time recording at Castle Of Doom, which is owned by us and [producer] Tony Doogan and has been in three different locations. This time, it was in a weird building in Glasgow’s West End, where the control room was up a floor from the live room. It worked very strangely – I think we had those baby monitors – but it was fun. Mr Beast seems to be the LP people like more as the years go by, but it’s not my favourite; it’s very polished. I’m immensely fond of Alan [McGee, Mogwai’s then manager] as a personality and he’s quite like us, but the way he projects himself is utterly dissimilar to us. I wasn’t very happy when he said Mr Beast was “possibly better than Loveless”, because I’m friends with Kevin [Shields] and the last thing you want is to be used as some point scorer between two of your friends who aren’t getting on. It’s certainly not the kind of comment any of us would ever make, but…
DOMINIC: We had a long time to work on the album – about two months – so we ended up really messing about with the songs. I can’t listen to it now, it seems so over-produced and slick. It’s not the way we sound, which is not a reflection of Tony’s recording skills – it was our decision to keep tinkering and we’ll never do that again. We’ve realised that strict deadlines work well for us, because we are inherently quite lazy.

THE HAWK IS HOWLING
PIAS/WALL OF SOUND, 2008
Entirely instrumental and the product of a failed commission, but Mogwai delivered some compellingly heavy tracks – and comically deadpan titles
DOMINIC: We’d been asked to do the music for a South American film and had been given a time frame of five days, so we pulled this music for it out of thin air. We were happy with what we’d produced, but they hated it and sacked us, so we reworked a lot of that music for The Hawk…. We had a brilliant time recording it and it’s really good fun to play live, although it’s really dour
and probably a little bit too one-note.
STUART: The track with Roky Erickson [a Japanese bonus track] was supposed to be on Mr Beast, but it took a lot longer to organise than we expected. I went over to Austin and went into the studio with him, so that was a really special thing to happen. He was lovely; he’s been in the wars, but he was really nice. And he’s a proper legend.
JOHN: “I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead” was a concerted attempt to come up with a song title that mentioned Jim Morrison, without being too base. “Jim Morrison, American Prick” was a phrase we’d enjoyed, although it hadn’t been assigned to any piece of music, but we thought it was too childish. And there’s no need to be so vulgar.

HARDCORE WILL NEVER DIE, BUT YOU WILL
ROCK ACTION, 2011
All things are relative, but some surprisingly poppy tunes surfaced on Mogwai’s seventh album and their love of motorik grooves kicked in seriously
STUART: By this point, Barry had moved to Germany and we had quite an intense period of getting together and rehearsing, so that was a factor in that we didn’t really have much time to think about what we were doing. Dominic said he thought that my guitar on “George Square Thatcher Death Party” sounded like The Killers. I remember playing it to Arthur Baker before we finished it and he was totally adamant that we should have proper vocals on it. He said it was the only song we had that could ever possibly get played on the radio.
JOHN: What strikes me about it now is its relative poppiness. Certainly a few of the songs I had written I hadn’t written for Mogwai, particularly; I’d just been messing about and didn’t think they were appropriate. “Mexican Grand Prix” was just a wee Casio, Krautrock-sounding thing and when I was playing about I managed to get a computer to sing, although I can’t remember how I did it. You can put a Neu! drumbeat on anything, so I hadn’t really expected us to make much of that.
DOMINIC: I have absolutely no idea where these upbeat songs came from, but again, we don’t really know the direction a record’s taking until it’s nearly done. I definitely raised my eyebrows when I first heard “George Square Thatcher Death Party” because I thought it was too straight-ahead and not like us, but it was fun to play and it sat well when we were sequencing the album. A lot of long-term Mogwai fans absolutely hate that tune.

LES REVENANTS, OST
ROCK ACTION, 2013
The French television series (The Returned) about a mountain town visited by a number of dead former inhabitants was given the moody and minimalist Mogwai treatment, to stylishly spooky effect
JOHN: The director and writer had wanted music in advance of filming, to set the tone and make sure we were on the same page, so we were writing blind. We’d read the first couple of episodes in English, plus a rough synopsis of the rest of the series, but that was really all we had to go on. It was difficult to put a finger on until they’d started filming, but by that point they’d already decided in large part the kind of music that they wanted. We’d just been writing stuff and sending it to them and they’d been saying either, “That’s not quite right for this” or “Yeah, that’s perfect”. Maybe of the 40 things we’d send them, they’d be into 10 or 15 of them, so we’d work further on those. It certainly fell into place once we had seen the first four episodes and heard how they were using our demos. We only formed the complete pieces on the album after we’d done the music for the series. We didn’t want to have a soundtrack album with a minute-and-a-half crescendo that just stops, but nor did we want to have a badly edited piece of music just put onto a random scene. We wanted to make music tailored for the scenes it was being used on and also to have songs that you could put on an actual album, so we did them separately. It could have ended up being cobbled together pretty badly, but it was very satisfying that it all came together. It was great.

RAVE TAPES
ROCK ACTION, 2014
The horror! Mogwai source ’70s Italian prog and video nasty soundtracks alongside Krautrock, via heavy use of Burns’ vintage modular synth
STUART: I think the feel of Les Revenants seeped into Rave Tapes a little bit, and because we did them both in Castle Of Doom it felt like part of the same thing. We were listening to an awful lot of horror film soundtracks – Goblin, Fabio Frizzi, John Carpenter, Morricone’s theme to The Exorcist II… we’re not good enough to do anything like it, but it’s amazing stuff. I think Boards Of Canada are of the same mind; I can hear a lot of that on their latest record. The title “Repelish” is a word that Martin [Bulloch]’s mum uses when she wants another drink; she means “replenish”.
DOMINIC: Barry had recently bought all of this absolutely demented keyboard equipment and he has his own studio space in Berlin, where he’d go and record all of these demos, so we’d get these really crazy, John Carpenter-esque… squelches, basically. We’d all been listening to a lot of ’70s horror soundtracks and although I’d seen most of the films, I’d forgotten about the music, but ever since Death Waltz started putting out all these soundtrack vinyl reissues, I’m hooked. It’s like football stickers when I was a kid; it doesn’t matter what label it’s on – if it’s on lurid vinyl and it’s from a video nasty, I’m buying it. Because they were recorded quickly, there’s a chaotic charm to a lot of these soundtracks. They’re quite rough around the edges and that’s a big part of the appeal for me; they’re the complete opposite of big Hollywood soundtracks.

AS THE LOVE CONTINUES
ROCK ACTION, 2021
25 years since their first EP, their 10th album is a career peak
STUART:  We were due to go over to [producer] Dave’s [Fridmann] studio in New York in May, but obviously that couldn’t happen. So we found an amazing place in Worcestershire [Vada Studios] instead. Dave was still really involved, on a live Zoom call, while we were playing, which had a weird Wizard Of Oz vibe about it. In a funny way, I think it kind of helped the record. Dave wanted us to do at least one thing that we wouldn’t normally do for each song. So if we were going up one avenue, he’d want a complete U-turn and try for something completely different. He definitely kept us on our toes, so as not to make the same record again. We were talking about getting some other people in too. We’ve already collaborated with Atticus [Ross] on the Before The Flood soundtrack [2016 documentary about climate change], so we knew that was something that was going to work. The one with him on it [“Midnight Flit”] is quite a big production, with a full string section. Quite epic. And we’re all really big fans of Colin Stetson [Arcade Fire, Bon Iver], so he’s on the record as well. “Ritchie Sacramento” has vocals on it. Bob Nastanovich put up a post a year after David Berman had died. The first line of the song is based on something that David had said when they were all drunk at college and he threw a mop at a sports car. I asked Bob if he’d mind me using it in a song.

Thanks to Rob Hughes

AC/DC’s Angus Young says he came up with idea for ‘Highway To Hell’ while on the toilet

AC/DC‘s Angus Young has revealed he came up with idea for the song ‘Highway To Hell’ while sitting on the toilet.

Read more: AC/DC – ‘Power Up’ review: Australian rock icons stick to their guns on rollicking 17th album

The guitarist discussed the making of the record while speaking in a new interview, saying that the premise for it came while he was having a bathroom break.

“We’d been in Miami, and we’d been in a rehearsal room and that’s what we were doing. We were putting together new tracks,” Young told Zane Lowe for Essentials Radio on Apple Music 1. “And we’d been there a couple of weeks and we were going a bit slow. And then I had come in one day with [late AC/DC co-founder and guitarist Malcolm Young] and just before we got in, I said, ’I’ve got a good idea in my head.’

“So I got in and he came in, and I started playing the beginning, the intro. And so I was doing the da-da-da, da-da-da. And then I said to Malcolm… I had this thing about the drums. And I said, ’I just want it to come in in the right spot.’ And he said, ’Okay.’ Malcolm got behind the drums and he said, ‘Right, you let me know when you hear the downbeat, the first downbeat of what you want.’ So that’s what I did. I said, ‘I’ll do my drop,’ and he said, ’And I’ll follow your foot.’ So he came in with the beat. That’s how we set it up.”

Explaining that the music was there but the lyrics weren’t, Angus said Malcolm then asked him if he could come up with something.

“I said, ‘Okay, give me a few minutes,'” Young recalled. ”And I went to the toilet, and then I was in the toilet and I was there and I’m sitting and thinking. And I’m just sitting on the throne more or less. And then I go, ’I think I’ve got it. I’ve got it. I’ve got it. I’ve got the idea in my head.’

“And then I came in there and I said, ’I’ve got it. Highway to hell.’ And I was over the chords that we had tried out through a chorus. And he went, ’Yeah, that’ll work.’ And he said, ‘If we spread it out a bit into full singing thing.’ So he came up with a spread of it, ‘(Singing) Highway to hell.'”

Meanwhile, Funko Pop! has announced new Motörhead and AC/DC figures.

The US collectables company has released the ‘Ace Of Spades’ and ‘Highway To Hell’ figurines are part of their ongoing ‘Albums’ series.

The Horrors return with the brutal industrial metal of new single ‘Lout’

The Horrors have returned with a brutal new single which is the title track to a new three-track EP, ‘Lout’. Check it out below.

READ MORE: A brief history of The Horrors

The band’s first new material since their 2017 fifth album ‘V’ marks a striking departure for The Horrors – adopting a new, towering industrial metal sound.

“’Lout’ is about the relationship between choice and chance, compulsive risk-taking and pushing your luck,” said frontman Faris Badwan. “As a band, particularly live, we’ve always had an aggressive side and as we began writing new songs it became clear that we were heading in that direction.”

Launched with a short film directed by Jordan Hemingway starring beauty executive Isamaya Ffrench and scored by guitarist Joshua Third and keyboardist Tom Furse, the band’s new aesthetic matches their gnarly and pummelling new sound.

“There’s something about it which feels like a return to a heavier sound but really it’s a million miles away from anything we’ve done,” said keyboardist Tom Furse. “Keeping the sound aggressive and the beats heavy was a central tenet, everything seemed to fall around that.”

Bassist Rhys Webb added: “It’s the nastiest music we’ve made since [2007 debut] ‘Strange House’. An intense barrage of industrial noise. A return to the spirit and attitude of our debut LP but blasted into the future.”

Artwork for The Horrors' new EP, 'Lout' — Artwork for The Horrors’ new EP, ‘Lout’

Next month the band will release a new self-produced EP of ‘Lout’ backed by the tracks ‘Org’ and ‘Whiplash’ – with all of the new songs written and recorded remotely during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“In the past whenever we’ve written stuff with a harder edge it’s come from the energy we get from all playing together in a room but creating this kind of atmosphere remotely was a different challenge,” said Badwan. “It’s the same level of intensity as the 100-miles-an-hour stuff we’ve done in the past but the anger is somehow more channelled. I can’t wait to play these songs live as there’s so much freedom in that kind of chaos.”

Free from the pressure of the usual release schedule treadmill, Webb explained how the band enjoyed the act of “not making record for anybody except ourselves” – with that liberating spirit feeding into their next album.

“With so many platforms now lost, the pressure to deliver a single for radio or to get on TV just doesn’t exist any more and is probably all the better for it,” he added. “The only thing we need to worry about is making the most exciting new music we can. We’re lucky enough to have been together for 15 years and to be working on our sixth studio LP.

“It seemed like the perfect time to go in guns blazing, no holds barred full on Horrors, the way it should always be.”

The Horrors release the ‘Lout’ EP on March 12. Pre-order it here.

This comes after Badwan recently teamed up with John Coxon for the collaborative two-track 12″ single of ‘Boiling Point/Promise Land’, and Furse releasing his latest solo album, ‘Ecstatic Meditations’.

MGMT’s Andrew VanWyngarden remixes Club Intl’s ‘Never Be The Same’

MGMT’s Andrew VanWyngarden has remixed the new single from Club Intl, ‘Never Be The Same’.

Club Intl is the new project from Public Access TV’s John Eatherly and Chromatics’ Johnny Jewel.

READ MORE: MGMT – ‘Little Dark Age’ review

‘Never Be The Same’ was released yesterday (February 19), following two singles in 2020 – ‘Crush’ and ‘Ash Is Gone’. As well as the original version of the song, a remix by VanWyngarden was also shared.

“It’s so interesting and exciting having an artist you respect reimagine your work in a way that you never could have possibly heard or thought of yourself,” Eatherly said of the MGMT frontman’s version.

“Other than great taste and a knack for making the sounds hit your ears just right, both Andrew and Johnny have in common that they march to the beat of their own drum. That’s the quality I look up to the most in musicians. It’s a dream to work with them together on a track.”

Listen to both VanWyngarden’s remix and the original version of ‘Never Be The Same’ above.

Club Intl will release their debut album ‘In The Attic’ on May 14 via Jewel’s label Italians Do It Better. The record was made between Eatherly’s basement studio in New York’s East Village and Jewel’s LA home studio.

Meanwhile, VanWyngarden shared a new track under the moniker Gentle Dom last month (January 18). He has released a number of standalone singles and mixes under the guise over the last five years, including a remix of Soccer Mommy’s ‘Circle The Drain’.

The 3rd Uncut New Music Playlist Of 2021

As lockdown rumbles on, we remain massively grateful for the steady stream of terrific new music that helps us feel connected, uplifted, transported and all the other stuff that’s otherwise in short supply right now.

Here are some of the tunes that have been brightening our corners this week, including a stunning sighter from Ryley Walker’s new album, the cheeringly swift return of Rose City Band, Hand Habits covering Neil Young, a breezy Hammond jam c/o Dr Lonnie Smith, twilight magic from Japan’s Richard Barbieri and another instalment of gleeful avant scampering from John Dwyer and friends.

Thanks to all the labels and musicians involved! You’ll be able to read about some of them in the new issue of Uncut, of which more news tomorrow…

ROSE CITY BAND
“Lonely Places”
(Thrill Jockey)
Earth Trip by Rose City Band

RYLEY WALKER
“Rang Dizzy”
(Husky Pants)

HAND HABITS
“I Believe In You”
(Saddle Creek)

ESTHER ROSE
“How Many Times”
(Full Time Hobby)

WILLIAM DOYLE
“Nothing At All”
(Tough Love)

MARK McGUIRE
“Marielle”
(Self-released)
Marielle by Mark McGuire

ALTIN GÜN
“Kara Toprak”
(Glitterbeat)

RICHARD BARBIERI
“Serpentine”
(Kscope)

YASMIN WILLIAMS
“Urban Driftwood ft. Amadou Kouyate”
(Spinster)

DR LONNIE SMITH
“Bright Eyes”
(Blue Note)

JOHN DWYER, TED BYRNES, GREG COATES, TOM DOLAS, BRAD CAULKINS
“Vertical Infinity”
(Castle Face)

LEON VYNEHALL
“Ecce! Ego!”
(Ninja Tune)

MURCOF
“Underwater Lament”
(The Leaf Label)
The Alias Sessions by Murcof

ALEX SOMERS
“Sooner”
(Krunk)

Government rejects visa-free Brexit touring petition and blames EU, but promises to help “navigate the changes”

A Parliamentary debate on a petition calling for visa-free touring for UK artists and crew post-Brexit ended in the government essentially ignoring the idea and doubling down on the EU being at fault.

READ MORE: “It’s going to be devastating” – here’s how Brexit will screw over British touring artists

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit trade deal failed to secure visa-free travel for UK artists and their crew wishing to tour Europe (adding huge costs to future live music tours of the continent and preventing rising and developing artists from being able to afford it), prompting a row to erupt over who was responsible.

After over 280,000 people signed a petition calling for visa-free touring through the EU to be established for artists and crew, the campaign was confirmed to be debated by MPs in Parliament. The debate happened today (February 8), with over an hour of testimony coming from cross-party politicians, calling on the government for action and clarity to prevent the prohibitive new rules around touring from damaging the £5.7billion music industry.

Throughout the debate, politicians echoed the anger of many in the industry about the glass-ceiling that this will create for developing talent, as well as claims from European promoters that they’re likely to book fewer UK acts for events and that a great deal of jobs and income for crew, haulage and production will be lost to the EU with operations based in Britain now unviable.

The XX perform live during a concert at the Astra Club on January 22, 2010 in Berlin, Germany.(Photo by Jakubaszek/Getty Images)

Another repeated sentiment was that Brexit only stood to damage the UK’s “soft power” as a leading force in music, and that visa-free travel throughout the EU for artists and crew would be the easiest solution. After the UK government said they put the responsibility for the lack of arrangements for artists at the foot of the EU and the European Commission then denied that they had rejected the UK’s “ambitious proposals” and had in fact made them a promising offer, MPs today called for the “blame game to end” and for a mutually beneficial solution to be found.

However, in responding to all MPs’ statements and questions, the Conservative Minister for Digital and Culture in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media Caroline Dineage did not suggest that negotiating visa-free touring was an option and repeated that “the UK pushed for ambitious arrangements” but that “quite simply the EU rejected this and there was no counteroffer”.

She repeated that “this isn’t a blame game, the outcome is deeply regrettable” and that “our door remains open [with] scope to return to this issue should the EU change its mind”.

Brexit protestors — Protestors demonstrate against Brexit CREDIT: Getty Images

While highlighting that UK artists are allowed to visit France without a visa for 90 days, the minister said that “performers from the UK are still very much welcome to perform in the EU and vice versa” and highlighted that “each EU member state will have their own requirements for this”. “The UK remains open for musicians to tour here,” she said, pointing out that crew from non-visa countries such as EU member states and the US are allowed to perform in the UK for up to one month without requiring a visa if they’re paid by a UK source, and allowed to play for up to three months if supported by “a registered tour sponsor”.

“The UK’s offer to touring professionals is more generous than that of other EU member states,” Ms Dineage claimed, arguing that “it is absolutely within the gift of each EU member state to improve their own arrangements if they want to encourage a more vibrant and welcoming environment in their own country.”

She continued: “As a government, we will engage in bilateral partners to find ways to make life easier for those working in the creative industries in countries across the EU – but we can all play a part in this. There is an onus on all of those who care about this issue, for all those who signed this petition, these are not EU rules. These are rules decided in each member state country.”

In her closing statement, Ms Dineage did not allude to seeking a visa-free musicians’ passport but said that the government were “absolutely committed to supporting individuals and businesses” and helping them to “understand and navigate the actions that they will now need to take” and “make new processes as straightforward as possible for UK artists performing across the country”. She also mentioned the newly-formed Cultural and Creative Touring Group, which would work across government departments and with the music industry to help smooth the process.

“This is about action and not words, it is about working collaboratively and urgently to address the range of issues raised with a view to improving processes and decreasing burdens to help the sector work and tour confidently in the EU,” she added.

With supporters of the petition assuring the government that this issue was “not going away”, chair of the committee Catherine McKinnell ended by quoting artists who had said that the Brexit deal would make touring Europe “a logistical nightmare”, would mean that many “will never be able to afford to play in Europe again” and threatens to “destroy British DIY music – arguably one of the UK’s greatest exports”.

“We are the country that produced The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Queen and other cultural exports that are revered around the world,” said McKinnell. “It would be an absolute tragedy to lose that status as a cultural hub. So we need to see real leadership and foresight from the government to urgently get back to the table and sort this out.”

Today saw more artists speak to NME about how the Brexit deal could impact on the touring of Europe, with many arguing that they simply won’t be able to afford it or to be able to hire UK road crew.

Joe Strummer greatest hits album set to be released next month

A new Joe Strummer greatest hits album is set to be released next month, featuring three previously unreleased versions of classic The Clash tracks.

Read more: The 13 best rhythm guitarists of all-time

The 15-track best of will contain live performances of ‘Rudie Can’t Fail’ and ‘I Fought The Law’, which were recorded by Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros at London’s Brixton Academy on November 24, 2001.

In addition to tracks such as ‘Coma Girl’, ‘Johnny Appleseed’, ‘Yalla Yalla’ (with The Mescaleros) and a cover of Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song’, ‘Assembly’ will also feature three unreleased versions of classic tracks by The Clash, including the never-before-heard ‘Junco Partner (Acoustic)’.

The album’s liner notes have been written by lifelong Strummer fan Jakob Dylan.

‘Assembly’ tracklisting:

Last Christmas, a 2021 calendar featuring an array of images of the late Joe Strummer was released.

The new offering arrived courtesy of The Joe Strummer Foundation, an organisation set up in the singer’s memory to develop new music talent in the U.K. and overseas.

Meanwhile, Rafferty Law has said that he would love to play Joe Strummer in a biopic.

Speaking to NME, the actor and son of Jude Law and Sadie Frost said The Clash have been a big band in his life, adding “I love the way they dress and their music. Joe Strummer could be a wicked person to play.”

Lego share soothing new ‘White Noise’ playlist of the sound of Lego bricks

Lego have shared a new near-four-hour playlist featuring the many sounds of Lego bricks.

The 210-minute playlist, called ‘White Noise’, comes as part of a new campaign from the company which arrives “following research that found that almost three quarters (73%) of adults are on the hunt for new ways to destress”.

READ MORE: Help! I spent the hottest weekend of the year grappling with the new Lego set from The Beatles

According to Lego, the playlist is “designed to help listeners find a moment of relaxation in their busy lives.

“The playlist is composed of a series of audio tracks created using nothing but the iconic sounds that the LEGO brick makes, sounds that are recognised by generations all over the world.”

Listen to ‘White Noise’, which features song titles such as ‘Searching For The One (Brick)’ and ‘It All Clicks’, below.

The company’s statement adds: “Each LEGO element makes a unique noise, which is why designers experimented with over 10,000 in their quest for the perfect soothing sounds.

“The result is a soundscape that includes tracks such as ‘It All Clicks’ which perfectly captures the joyous sound of two LEGO elements joining together, and ‘The Waterfall’ created by pouring thousands of LEGO bricks on top of each other.”

Last year, Lego announced a brick set based on the iconic Fender Stratocaster guitar. “Everyone has seen the Fender Stratocaster guitar, it’s super famous and we think it’s going to be exciting to bring this to life using LEGO bricks,” LEGO Ideas Design Manager Sam Johnson told Brick Fanatics.

“Music is a relatively new place for LEGO to play in so we’re really excited to see how we can execute this.”

Taylor Momsen on gender divide in rock industry: “You should judge music simply on what’s the best”

The Pretty Reckless‘ Taylor Momsen has given her thoughts on the gender divide within the rock industry, explaining that music should be judged “simply on what’s the best”.

The New York band are set to release their fourth studio album ‘Death By Rock And Roll’ on February 12 and have previewed the project with its title track, ‘Broomsticks’, ’25’ and the Tom Morello-featuring ‘And So It Went’.

During a new interview with The Forty-Five, frontwoman Momsen was asked about the latter single as well as the forthcoming song ‘Witches Burn’ – both of which deal with being heard among the male-dominated rock scene.

Asked if there were any personal situations she wishes she could change, the singer said that she has “certainly had my fair share of fucked-up encounters, but I wouldn’t generalise it as ‘that’s the way it is’.”

Momsen continued: “People have been telling me for years that there is misogyny and sexism in music. I think the older I’ve gotten, the more I can look back on certain situations… Maybe someone said something to me that I took as a compliment at the time, and I look back and realise that it was a misogynistic comment that wouldn’t be considered PC now, but I never felt that in an aggressive way.”

She went on to say that her musical “idols” were male but explained “it’s just because they wrote the best songs”.

“I grew up worshipping John Lennon and The Beatles, and Chris Cornell and Soundgarden – it’s not because of what was going on in their pants, it’s because I connected to what they were saying and what they were emoting.

“You should judge music simply on what’s the best song/who’s the best singer. That should have nothing to do with your sex or gender… Good people are good people, and good musicians are good musicians — it’s as basic as that.”

Last week, Taylor Momsen recalled her final conversation with the late Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell.

The Coral share new single ‘Faceless Angel’ and talk double album ‘Coral Island

The Coral have shared details of their spooky new single ‘Faceless Angel’ and talked exclusively to NME about their forthcoming thematic double album ‘Coral Island’.

Fuelled by their own fairground memories and fantasies, 10th album ‘Coral Island’ sees the band soundtracking bustling seaside towns in the summer on the first half of the record before waltzing into the lonely lives of characters who inhabit the island during the cold winter on the second. To get a taster of what’s to come, the band have shared launch single ‘Faceless Angel’.

“It came from this this idea, inspired by the sort of pre-Beatles around the time of Chuck Berry, The Everly Brothers and Joe Meek’s ‘Johnny Remember Me’, that type of thing,” frontman James Skelly told NME. “We had this groove within that. But the song is about the celebration of mystery. The ‘Faceless Angel’ was sort of meant to be a ride. I got the idea from the Hellblazer [graphic novels]. It’s like a fallen angel and a pulp mystery, based on old comics.”

The track comes with visuals directed by Edwin Burdis, the man behind Arctic Monkeys‘ ‘Four Stars Out Of Five’ video.

“My brother knew him from an Arctic Monkeys gig and he just put me in touch with him about doing a video and then I told him about ‘Coral Island’,” said Skelly. “So I started sending him a lot of the photos from these books I had about the circus. He then said he can build an actual, massive coral island and he went ahead and did it.

“He completely oversaw the visual side of it. That would inspire me and I would send him songs and that would inspire him so it’s quite a collaboration. The model is almost like Ray Harryhausen [legendary visual effects artist who created stop motion model animation in movies such as Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans] crossed with Llandudno. It’s got this King Kong stop-animation vibe about it.”

The album also comes accompanied by a fully illustrated book written by keyboardist Nick Power, so we spoke to him and Skelly filled us on their so called ‘White Album’, all the fun of fair, and how they were responsible for kickstarting the Sea Shanty craze.

Hello James and Nick. ‘Coral Island’ seems to be based on your own seaside memories at places like Rhyl and Blackpool. Is that the case?

James Skelly: “Yeah, definitely. That’s just engrained in you, isn’t it? But my dad also had a burger van when I was a kid and I used to work on it with him so we’d pop up at fairs and shows on the Wirral. When we were setting up in the morning you’d see everyone putting all the rides together. When you were at fairgrounds you’d always feel that anything was possible and something was gonna happen. There’s a magic there, there’s a smell there and people are coming from other places. You can feel it.”

Nick Power: “They’re all places that we like as a band – especially Rhyl. I used to go all the time as a kid. The one thing that is still clear in my memory is how the waltzers had a really strict soundtrack with the likes of Joe Meek and Gene Vincent, British rock ‘n’ roll with a bit of Pink Floyd thrown in there for whatever reason. If you go round quite a lot of waltzers, they actually to stick to that soundtrack. It’s not the same playlist but there’s a chief DJ, who’s gotta play spooky rock ‘n’ roll on the waltzers. It’s like an unspoken code that none of them will break. Most of them are like murder ballads or songs about being haunted by girlfriends who have died in a drag race crash.”

The Coral Leadmill — The Coral perform at The Leadmill CREDIT: Gary Wolstenholme/Redferns

What’s this about the album being based Bruce Springsteen’s double album ‘The River’?

James: “It was, but it was also to do with Arctic Monkeys‘ last album [‘Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino’] in the sense that there was another world but it was thematic. I also liked [The Kinks‘] ‘Village Green’, The Ogdens and [The Beatles‘] ‘Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band’. A full concept album is when it goes into [The Who‘s] ‘Tommy’ or something like that. It’s not quite that, it’s more like a theme.

“It originally started off as a concept that ‘Coral Island’ was a place where our ideas came together, but then it started to grow from there. We were like, ‘We’ve never done our ‘White Album”. I also saw that Springsteen documentary [The Ties That Bind] about ‘The River’ and he said the rock ‘n’ roll songs were like the bands playing on the boardwalk and the slower ones were the characters who lived in those places. We got this idea that Part One of our album was the soundtrack to the rides in the summer and Part Two was about the characters.”

What gave you the idea for the book?

Nick: “I started the book as we were coming towards the end of the album. I did a tour diary which came out with the last album and we just thought it’s a good thing for fans to have as well. It references characters and things in the songs and expands on that world. It’s a mixture between old Coney Island stuff mixed with [film] Brighton Rock, British seaside literature, comic books, in that classic tradition but with more of a modern take on it. I spent about eight months just doing it, non-stop.”

Are the characters in the book embedded in the songs as well?

Nick: “A lot of the characters came from the album, it’s like a comic book or something you’d pick up at a fair. But there are personal songs on there, it’s not just songs about death slides and candy floss. You get love songs on there too. There are a wide range of emotions in that [‘Coral Island’] world. Loads of the place names on ‘Coral Island’ are named after places we grew up on in the Wirral like New Brighton.”

Bill Ryder-Jones wrote a bit of music for the book. How did that come about?

Nick: “I just asked him, he lives down the road from me. He’s done a classical album before and we speak quite often so I was just like ‘Can you knock that up for me?’. He did it in about 20 minutes.”

Any chance of him rejoining the band for the tour?

Nick: “Nah, we don’t talk about it really. He’s doing his thing and we’re doing ours. We meet up with him though. He’s a good mate.”

@nathanevanss

The Wellerman. #seashanty #sea #shanty #viral #singing #acoustic #pirate #new #original #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #singer #scottishsinger #scottish

♬ original sound – N A T H A N E V A N S S

What are your thoughts on the Sea Shanty craze with Nathan Evans about to go into the Top Ten this week?

James: “We were 20 years early weren’t we? If only we’d done ‘Spanish Main’ and ‘Shadows Fall’ now we could have been Number One. Nah it’s always been there, with The Pogues and Small Faces, you hear a bit of that. Fair play to him, I’d rather see Sea Shanty go to Number One than whatever else.”

‘Coral Island’ is released on April 30, 2021.

Tom Jones shares cover of Malvina Reynolds’ ‘No Hole In My Head’

Tom Jones has released a cover of Malvina Reynolds’ ‘No Hole In My Head’ in the lead-up to the release of his forthcoming album.

‘No Hole In My Head’ is the second single lifted from Jones’ covers LP, ‘Surrounded By Time’. While the original track was written by the late Reynolds as a folk-blues tune, Jones has reimagined the song as an upbeat pop-rock piece. The accompanying music video sees the singer and a number of others interrogated by an anonymous figure.

Listen to Jones’ cover of ‘No Hole In My Head’ below:

“This song is powerful at any age. It’s about having confidence in who you are,” Jones said in a statement.

“Particularly during this time of a pervasive, boundless media that can wield so much influence, it’s more important than ever to know and be strong in your own self.”

READ MORE: Soundtrack Of My Life: Tom Jones

‘Surrounded By Time’ is co-produced by Ethan Johns and Mark Woodward, and will be Jones’ first album since 2015’s ‘Long Lost Suitcase’. The record is due out April 23 through EMI.

The album will also include covers of Cat Stevens, Bob Dylan, Michael Kiwanuka and Bernice Johnson Reagon, among others. The lead single for ‘Surrounded By Time’, a cover of Todd Snider’s ‘Talking Reality Television Blues’, was released earlier this month.

Drake wants to see Usher and Justin Timberlake face off in ‘VERZUZ’ battle

Drake has said he would like to see Usher and Justin Timberlake face off in an upcoming VERZUZ battle.

Read more: Timbaland and Swizz Beatz on VERZUZ battle series: “We want to celebrate the architects of good music”

It comes after series creators Timbaland and Swizz Beatz stopped by ESPN2’s Jalen And Jacoby show on Friday (January 22) to discuss the online battle show moving into the world of sports.

The show’s co-host Jalen Rose threw a few battle suggestions at the super producers, including a bout between Usher and Timberlake.

“Yes we know,” Timbaland said responding to the idea. “It’s so funny, Drake hit me up too about it. He said, ‘We gotta make that happen’. I said, ‘Soon to come. Soon to come’.”

In addition to suggesting a battle between rap camps No Limit Records and Cash Money Records, Rose also made a case for a Busta Rhymes and Missy Elliott VERZUZ.

Tim said he’s working on making it happen but would rather it was a celebration of two legends instead of a battle. “It is, to me, the best party that could ever happen on VERZUZ,” he said.

Jalen Rose offers some suggestions for the next Verzuz battle, and they are on point! (Via @JalenandJacoby) pic.twitter.com/NlzqiBgsJ7

— The Undefeated (@TheUndefeated) January 25, 2021

“It’s just a matter of comfort zone of my sister wanting to celebrate with her brother. Understanding that it’s not a competition, it’s a party. I have been talking to her about that but I think that’s an amazing VERZUZ.”

Elsewhere during the interview, Swizz Beatz and Timbaland revealed they would like to do a 2Pac Vs. The Notorious B.I.G. VERZUZ battle.

After being asked what their “holy grail” VERZUZ matchup would be, Tim and Swizz said they are trying to figure out how to make a 2Pac and Biggie battle become a reality.

VERZUZ is the popular entertainment series that pits producers, songwriters and artists against each other in a rap battle style format on Instagram Live and Apple Music.

Competitors take it in turns playing a song from a list of 20 from their discography, as fans, friends and fellow artists watch on. A winner is later decided by Timbaland and Swizz Beatz.

The most recent VERZUZ battle took place on Friday night (January 22) and saw Ashanti go up against Keyshia Cole. The singers went hit-for-hit following a number of coronavirus-related postponements.

Cat Stevens Mona Bone Jakon/Tea For The Tillerman 50th Anniversary boxsets

By 1970, Cat Stevens had been absent from the charts for three years. Rendered hors de combat by a life-threatening bout of tuberculosis, the time out also offered an opportunity for a major reset. The likes of Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell and James Taylor were ushering in the age of the sensitive acoustic troubadour, and to Stevens their songs sounded so much more profound and poetic than the overblown, melodramatic orchestral pop of “I’m Gonna Get Me A Gun” and “Matthew And Son”. As he slowly recovered, a stream of songs in a more reflective folk-rock vein poured out of him.

Released from his old recording contract, Stevens auditioned his new material for Chris Blackwell, who had just signed John Martyn and Nick Drake. The result was Mona Bone Jakon. On its release in April 1970 the album flopped. Yet although five platinum LPs would follow over the next four years, MBJ remains the most compellingly human statement of his career.

Half a century on, the naked intimacy of the songs still sounds fresh and alluring, from the spiritual awakening and self-discovery of “I Think I See The Light” and “Katmandu” via the sardonic denunciation of his old life on “Pop Star”, to the confessional soul-searching of “Trouble” and “Maybe You’re Right”.

The original, glorious album on which dandified pop star was reborn as bedsit poet is augmented in this expanded 50th-anniversary “super deluxe” edition with a new 2020 mix, a disc of stripped-down demos that sound even more introspective than the fully worked album versions, and a further disc of contemporaneous live performances.

When Stevens auditioned for Island he allegedly had a cache of 40 new songs, 11 of which appeared on MBJ. Others were recycled on later albums and there are early concert versions here of several tracks that would make it onto Tea For The Tillerman, plus “Changes IV”, which would surface on 1971’s Teaser And The Firecat. Yet somewhat disappointingly amid the wealth of unreleased demos, there’s only one song – “I Want Some Sun” – that we haven’t heard before. It’s fine enough in its way, an upbeat, countryish romp on which Stevens has never sounded so American. But you can hear why it didn’t fit on the album.

Within a month of the release of Mona Bone Jakon, Stevens was back in the studio recording Tea For The Tillerman. Several of its more pensive songs such as “Father And Son” and “On The Road To Find Out” fitted readily into the MBJ template. But at the same time, his writing was developing in other directions. Songs such as “Wild World”, the title track and “Where Do The Children Play” boasted a greater urgency that reflected his growing certainty in his new-found singer-songwriter persona, like a man who has tried on a new coat, wasn’t sure that it would fit but feels increasingly comfortable in its warm embrace.

Again, we get the original album as heard at the time and in a new remix, plus the recent Yusuf-sings-Cat 2020 updates on the songs recently released as Tea For The Tillerman 2. Then there’s a swathe of live recordings and another disc of demos, this time with two previously unreleased songs, the heartfelt “Can This Be Love?” (which could have been a contender) and the throwaway “It’s So Good” (which has no such pretensions).

There are also half-a-dozen other semi-rarities, all of which were previously released on the 2008 boxset On The Road To Find Out. “If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out” and “Don’t Be Shy” were written for Hal Ashby’s 1971 coming-of-age movie Harold & Maude after Elton John had dropped out and recommended Stevens as his replacement. “Honey Man” is a sprightly duet with Elton from around the same time. “The Joke” is a surprisingly soulful electric blues with a hippie-friendly lyric about “too many schemers and not enough dreamers”, while the whimsical “I’ve Got A Thing About Seeing My Grandson Grow Old” sounds improbably like something The Incredible String Band might have recorded.

Inevitably, there’s a lot of duplication as two crisp vinyl albums that originally clocked in at around 35 minutes apiece
are expanded over nine audio discs and two Blu-rays, so that we end up with 10 versions of “Lady D’Arbanville”, and 16 of “Wild World”. But maybe you can’t have too much of a good thing. 1970 was Stevens’ annus mirabilis and Mona Bone Jakon and Tea For The Tillerman represent the high tide of his troubadour triumph. As he became a pop star for the second time round, he never sounded so real and true again.

Bad Religion share new song ‘Emancipation Of The Mind’ to celebrate Joe Biden becoming president

Bad Religion have shared new track ‘Emancipation Of The Mind’ to celebrate Joe Biden becoming the 46th president on the United States.

Read more: Fireworks, Foo Fighters and faith: Joe Biden marks a new day in America with hope-filled inauguration party

The track, which you can listen to below, is a previously unreleased outtake from the band’s 2019 album, ‘Age of Unreason’.

“The track’s upbeat messaging calls for reason and open-mindedness as a new administration is welcomed into the White House. Bad Religion have always advocated for humanism, reason, and individualism, which has never been more essential,” the band said.

Singer Greg Graffin added: “I think the song really is a celebration of enlightenment values that can be cultivated through enthusiastic learning and open-mindedness. So often we’re told what to think. But learning how to think (as opposed to learning what to think) is a true feeling of emancipation from the constraints of indoctrination that are so commonplace in our society.”

It comes after a host of artists performed at Biden’s Celebrating America TV special last night (January 20).

Bruce Springsteen was among those who made an appearance as he played his 1999 song ‘Land Of Hope and Dreams’ at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. while Foo Fighters, Demi Lovato and John Legend also performed.

Earlier in the day, Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez both performed live during Biden’s inauguration ceremony at the US Capitol.

Gaga performed a stirring rendition of the US national anthem, while Lopez gave a passionate performance of ‘This Land Is Your Land’ and ‘America The Beautiful’ ahead of Biden being sworn in.

Last night also saw the reunion of the New Radicals, who played together live for the first time in 22 years to mark the Biden inauguration.

Watch Fleet Foxes’ live music video for ‘I’m Not My Season’

Fleet Foxes have released their first music video of the year, dropping a live clip for their 2020 track, ‘I’m Not My Season’.

‘I’m Not My Season’ appeared on Fleet Foxes’ most recent album, ‘Shore’, which the group surprise-released in September.

READ MORE: Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold talks beating his demons and counting Post Malone as a fan

The song’s music video was filmed at Brooklyn’s St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church, the location at which frontman Robin Pecknold performed the band’s ‘A Very Lonely Solstice’ livestream show in December.

The church was also the site of Fleet Foxes’ recent remote performance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Watch the clip for ‘I’m Not My Season’, directed by Pecknold’s brother Sean, below:

In a four-star review, NME called ‘Shore’ “the more consistent and jubilant sibling of ‘Crack-Up’”, the band’s 2017 record.

“It’s maturer in sound and ideas, but retains all the hallmarks of what made Fleet Foxes so great in the first place: rich and studied folk compositions, unrivalled harmonies, stories that strike to the core of nature and human existence, and a dedication to art that emotionally lifts you off this planet,” the review read.

Earlier this month, Robin Pecknold was announced as part of the inaugural lineup for Bandsintown’s livestream concert subscription service. The initiative will give subscribers access to 25 live shows a month, with Phoebe Bridgers and Flying Lotus among the other artists performing as part of its first instalment.

Fleet Foxes plan to release ‘Shore’ on vinyl and CD on February 5. Fans will receive access to Pecknold’s February 10 virtual concert by pre-ordering a physical copy of the record, or by purchasing one on the weekend of its release.

jxdn and Travis Barker team up on rock cover of Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Drivers License’

jxdn and Travis Barker have surprised fans with a cover of Olivia Rodrigo’s debut single, ‘Drivers License’.

jxdn – real name Jaden Hossler – and Barker took to social media to announce the cover today (January 20).

The cover is a more upbeat rock rendition of the track, compared to the original’s anthemic pop styling. The album art for the single was also illustrated by Hossler himself.

“thank you so much [Olivia Rodrigo] for making the beautiful song! me and [Travis Barker] fw it so much we put our spin on it,” Hossler wrote on Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by jxdn (@jadenhossler)

Listen to the duo’s cover of Rodrigo’s ‘drivers license’ below:

Rodrigo released ‘Drivers License’ earlier this month and the song went viral immediately, in part thanks to the help of TikTok creators. The track went on to break the record for the most single-day streams for a non-holiday song on Spotify and made its debut at Number One on the Billboard Hot 100, the 48th song in the chart’s history to ever do so.

In related news, Travis Barker appears to have confirmed that Blink-182 plan to release a new album this year.

When responding to a fan on Instagram asking if there were “any new Blink-182 albums dropping this year”, Barker simply replied “YES”.

New Blink music was promised back in July as their producer John Feldmann revealed that the band were “getting in touch with their roots” and working on songs which “have been super classic Blink – and I can’t be more excited”.

The band’s last album, ‘Nine’, arrived in September 2019, three years on from July 2016’s ‘California’. The trio also released the stand-alone single ‘Quarantine’ last year.

Music producer Phil Spector has died while serving sentence for murder of Lana Clarkson

Music producer Phil Spector has died at the age of 81, it has been confirmed.

He was in prison serving a sentence of 19 years to life for the murder of actor Lana Clarkson and was convicted in 2009.

According to TMZ, Spector contracted coronavirus four weeks ago and was taken to hospital, but recovered enough to be sent back to prison. However, he is said to have relapsed and was rushed back to the hospital when he was having trouble breathing, but died yesterday (January 16).

His death was confirmed by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). “California Health Care Facility inmate Phillip Spector was pronounced deceased of natural causes at 6:35 p.m. on Saturday, January 16, 2021, at an outside hospital,” the CDCR website stated.

Phil Spector CREDIT: Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images

“His official cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner in the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office.”

Spector is often cited as one of the most influential figures in pop music, in part for his creation of the Wall of Sound technique. The idea saw instruments layered and then mixed in the production process until each was indistinguishable from each other and created a dense “wall of sound”.

Born in New York in 1939, Spector started his career as the frontman of The Teddy Bears in 1958. Two years later, he co-founded his own record label Philles Records with Lester Sill on which they released records from the likes of Darlene Love, The Ronettes, Ike & Tina Turner, The Righteous Brothers and more.

Spector also wrote and produced records for artists. He famously co-wrote the likes of The Crystals’ ‘Then He Kissed Me’ and The Ronettes’ ‘Be My Baby’ and ‘Baby, I Love You’ with Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. In 1963, Philles Records released the Christmas compilation ‘A Christmas Gift For You From Philles Records’, which went on to become considered as one of the best Christmas albums of all time.

He retired from music in 1966 but came out of retirement in 1969 to produce The Beatles’ album ‘Let It Be’. He went on to work on solo albums from John Lennon and George Harrison, as well as records with Leonard Cohen, The Ramones, and Yoko Ono.

In 1968, he married The Ronettes’ Veronica Bennett – aka Ronnie Spector. It was his second marriage, after he wedded Annette Merar in 1963, and ended in divorce in 1974. Ronnie Spector left him in 1972 and alleged that her former husband had imprisoned her in his mansion, sabotaged her career and psychologically tormented her.

During their marriage, they had adopted three children, two of whom would later accuse Phil Spector of abuse. He did not comment on the claims.

After 1981, he was largely inactive in the music industry, working on projects from time to time. The last record he worked on was Starsailor’s ‘Silence Is Easy’ in 2003, but only produced two tracks. He was fired over personal and creative differences.

That same year, actor Lana Clarkson was shot dead in Spector’s mansion in Alhambra, California, two hours after first meeting the producer. Spector claimed that Clarkson’s death was an “accidental suicide” and that she had “kissed the gun”. However, his driver claimed Spector had told him: “I think I’ve killed someone.”

The first trial in 2007 ended in a mistrial, but a subsequent retrial found Spector guilty of murder in the second degree. He was given a sentence of 19 years to life in prison, from which he would have been up for parole in 2024. During the prosecution, several women gave testimony that Spector had pointed a gun at them when they had spurned his advances, illustrating his history of domestic abuse.

This is a developing news story and will be updated.

The Avalanches We Will Always Love You

If, after suffering hardship, you’ve become particularly attuned to the everyday miracles of earth and sky, awed by the wonder of existence, then you’re already intimate with the hopeful air of We Will Always Love You.

Drenched in mechanised shimmer and kinetic beats, The Avalanches’ third studio effort is at its core a beatific vision born of life’s darker turns, that neither weaponises nor romanticises pain. Instead, We Will Always Love You recognises the arc of pain as one of humanity’s strongest connective tissues, an acknowledgement that doubles as an exorcism, a non-verbal expression that intones, “I feel you, pain, and now I am setting you free.”

Fitting neatly at the junction between curiosity and maturity, the record may disappoint those fans with a particular long-simmering and perhaps unfair desire; it is not the anarchic and astonishing Frankenstein’s monster that was 2000’s Since I Left You or, to a lesser extent, 2016’s Wildflower, not an infinitely layered statement with WhoSampled pages that unravel like Kerouac’s On The Road scroll. It is more pop-oriented and far less mysterious. It is the sound of a group who want more from life than the fetishisation of dusty discs.

Though it retains the same deconstructionist form that made The Avalanches a household name, it does so through a reliance on original collaborations with guest vocalists that are then chopped, refracted and stitched with samples of cult records, obscure historical recordings, warbled YouTube clips and alien frequencies. It’s a less intensive template than Since I Left You, one that fulfils a few practical purposes: less time spent digging and chasing sample clearance, and core members Robbie Chater and Tony Di Blasi’s desire to work in a more standard album-tour cycle, one that doesn’t prompt a 16-year absence between records. In keeping with their liking for concept albums, they’ve crafted a record loosely based on the relationship between ‘science communicators’ Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan, and their ‘love note’ on Voyager’s Golden Record.

Druyan’s face appears on the cover, and she was originally planned to appear on the album; though it didn’t happen, the record is certainly not short of other contributors. While it’s fair to see names like Perry Farrell and Rivers Cuomo and be suspicious, the beauty of We Will Always Love You lies beneath the elder statesmen on the shiny hype sticker. It is here that Karen O whispers some of the last and most profound words written by David Berman, over the crackle of static and a light twinkle of piano (“Pink Champagne”). It is here that pop luminary Dev Hynes meets folk luminaries The Roches and soul legend Smokey Robinson in an elegiac symphony built for headphones (“We Will Always Love You”). It is here that Johnny Marr’s guitar again shimmers with a Smiths-era glimmer (“The Divine Chord”), and a crack modern soul upstart, Cola Boyy, is bolstered by none other than OG sampler Mick Jones (“We Go On”). It is here that a sample of Vashti Bunyan, taken from 1970’s “Glow Worms”, flutters on a wave of psychedelic soul (“Reflecting Light”).

Though sonically We Will Always Love You is unlike the group’s first two albums, its spirit of discovery, and subtle championing of the oblique, forgotten and underrepresented, is familiar territory. The album is neither stuck in the past nor barrelling recklessly towards the future, and, in this sense, it’s a lavish genre-agnostic mixtape. On paper it lacks focus, but in practice it is representative of the aural quilts crafted by modern, omnivorous listeners. Anti-pop sentiment has largely fallen out of vogue among serious music heads, and The Avalanches have long advocated for such progress.

Through its adventuresome twists and well-considered combinations, this record acts as a necessary treat amid a turbulent and uncertain climate; it embraces the promise of love, the wonder of outer realms and the connective quality of music across genres and understanding. A reminder of the energy of bodies at one with a beat, and the soothing quality of a quiet hour alone with one’s thoughts, it’s a hopeful guide to a world where everyone is welcome.

The 1st Uncut Playlist Of 2021

I hope you’ve had a chance to pick up our first issue of 2021 – Leonard Cohen, The Clash, Kraftwerk, Black Keys, Jane Weaver, an astonishing interview with Sonny Rollins among many other highlights. Critically, we have a very busy reviews section, which I hope is a strong indicator of the wealth of new music we can expect this coming year. Here, too, are a ton of new releases for your delectation. Some of these – like Sunburned Hand Of The Man, Cory Hanson, Jane Weaver, Chuck Johnson and Julien Baker – you can also read about in our new issue.

Follow me on Twitter @MichaelBonner

1.
SUNBURNED HAND OF THE MAN
“Flex”
(Three Lobed Recordings)

Pick A Day To Die by Sunburned Hand of the Man

2.
THE ANTLERS
“Solstice”
(Transgressive)

3.
JAMES YORKSTON & THE SECOND HAND ORCHESTRA
“There Is No Upside”
(Domino)

4.
CORY HANSON
“Angeles”
(Drag City)

5.
JULIEN BAKER
“Hardline”
(Matador)

6.
LNZDRF
“Brace Yourself”
(self-released)

7.
JANE WEAVER
“Heartlow”
(Fire)

8.
MENAHAN STREET BAND
Make The Road By Walking
(Daptone)

9.
CHUCK JOHNSON
“Raz-de-Marée”
(VDSQ)

The Cinder Grove by Chuck Johnson

10.
ALTIN GÜN
“Yüce Dağ Başında”
(Glitterbeat Records)

11.
BILL CALLAHAN & BONNIE “PRINCE” BILLY
“Lost Love” [feat. Emmett Kelly]
(Drag City)

Lost in Love (feat. Emmett Kelly) by Bill Callahan & Bonnie "Prince" Billy

12.
MOUSE ON MARS
“Artificial Authentic”
(Thrill Jockey)

AAI by Mouse On Mars

13.
HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER
“Sanctuary”
(Merge)

Sanctuary by Hiss Golden Messenger

14.
JOHN GRANT
“The Only Baby”
(Bella Union)

15.
CARM
“Song Of Trouble” [feat. Sufjan Stevens]
(37d03d)

16.
BOBBY LEE
“Fire Medicine Man”
(Bandcamp)

Origin Myths by Bobby Lee

Olivia Rodrigo’s Emotional Rite Of Passage, Taylor Swift’s Bonus Feels, And More Songs We Love

Get ready: The Bop Shop is now open for business.

Olivia Rodrigo: “Drivers License”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmDBbnmKpqQ

There’s an ache on “Drivers License” that feels so real. The dreamy, Taylor Swift-approved cut from High School Musical: The Musical: The Series star Olivia Rodrigo treads a trail previously trod by Lorde, on its helium-soaked bridge especially. But Rodrigo’s artfully constructed narrative feels all her own, masterfully threading a young person’s vehicular rite of passage with the echoes of heartbreak and suburban loneliness. Bet Rodrigo’s subject rues the day they kissed a writer in the dark. —Patrick Hosken
Taylor Swift: “Right Where You Left Me”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur_wAcYDnuA

One of two bonus tracks on the deluxe edition of December’s Evermore, “Right Where You Left Me” transports listeners back to the fantastical forests of Folklore, Taylor Swift’s first foray into indie folk-pop. “Help, I’m still at the restaurant / Still sitting in a corner I haunt,” a forlorn Swift pleads in the pre-chorus, referencing a public breakup that left the song’s narrator permanently frozen in time. Folksy strings and self-aware lyrics underline tensions between the head and the heart, reality and fantasy, evolution and stagnation. It’s also a total earworm, which is to say: How dare you, Taylor! —Sam Manzella
Number One Popstar: “I Hate Running”
https://youtu.be/IGavJgkB7bg

Becoming unhinged has never looked as fun as it does in Number One Popstar’s video for “I Hate Running.” It’s not surprising that the track and its visual go hand-in-hand, considering it’s Slut Island singer Kate Hollowell’s solo project, and that she’s put in the aesthetic work, having directed videos for Katy Perry and Sasami. Taking on the role of a self-help guru espousing the benefits of wellness – while wearing a cigarette crown – she preaches about working on “her fitness in a brand new way” over a throbbing disco beat and a spoken refrain: “Up, down, side to side / Nothing matters, we’re all gonna die.” It’s the kind of quirky pop that doesn’t take itself so seriously, though that doesn’t mean you won’t seriously love it. —Carson Mlnarik
Wild Pink: “Oversharers Anonymous”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khbLl8Oop1k&feature=youtu.be

“You’re a fucking baby,” John Ross sings, “but your pain is valid, too.” On a song the Wild Pink leader says is in part “loosely about the confusing nature of social media,” no better line could be evoked to encapsulate our digital selves and our endless gripes played to a legions of invisible followers. And yet, it’s just a tweet-sized moment in a grand heartland patchwork of a tune complete with sweeping violin and images of the open American west. —Patrick Hosken
19&You: “Bored!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHom8HYUNBU

As far as boy bands go, 19&You might have the most unique come-together story ever. The four-piece met when producer Noah Taylor flew to Australia to follow a girl and met bandmates Cameron Graves, Jackson Leitch, and Liam Wallis. The latest taste of their forthcoming debut EP is “Bored!,” a slick and catchy banger that finds its roots in today’s edgier pop and alternative sounds. There’s a bit of sass overcompensating for the track’s vulnerable heart, which questions whether a lover is in it for the long haul or just bored. Thankfully, this bop is thrilling the whole way through. —Carson Mlnarik
Hannah Hausman: “Will I Ever Feel Like This Again”

After a pre-COVID virus forced her to stay quiet following the viral success – no pun intended – of 2018’s “Lost in Brooklyn,” Hannah Hausman returns swinging with sugary but sad new single “Will I Ever Feel Like This Again.” Over introspective, echoing beats and synths connected to her heartstrings, the L.A.-based indie-pop singer lets her psyche wander around a relationship she has no business being in until her musings reach trippy proportions. Considering the subject matter, the track’s abrupt ending only adds meaning – and has us eagerly waiting for more. —Carson Mlnarik
MF Doom: “Gas Drawls”

It’s not the most infamous “Black Cow” sample — that one comes courtesy of Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz — but “Gas Drawls” still showcases how much cool oozes out of the Steely Dan catalog. That’s thanks to Doom, a master musician as much as a legendary New York MC, whose death was announced late last year. On this 1999 cut, he constructs a world of sleaze and intrigue around the original song’s breakdown, using his bars to shout out pizza, cash, and his Doctor Doom-inspired persona in a single couplet: “The supervillain cooler than a million, I be chillins / Still quick to slice squares like Sicilians.” It’s just one of the dozens of magisterial moments littered across his discography that’ll crash a big, dumb smile on your face. —Patrick Hosken

AC/DC Power Up

It is a line AC/DC are obviously pleased with: they’ve wheeled it out more than once. The gag runs that, during some or other promotional campaign, some upstart critic accused them of having made the same album 11 times. AC/DC retort to the effect that this is an outrageous, ignorant and insupportable calumny: they have, in fact, made the same album 12 times. The numbers vary with the telling, but AC/DC’s repeated deployment of this quip is itself almost a meta-commentary on the joke they’re telling against themselves. It’s also an assertion of the – correct – belief that they got everything absolutely and unimprovably right the first time, back on 1975’s High Voltage, and have therefore perceived no subsequent reason to tinker with the formula.

Power Up does kind of, inevitably, amount to AC/DC having now made the same album 17 times, but its very appearance is some measure more remarkable than that of any of its predecessors. It would have been little surprise to anyone had AC/DC – or what remained of AC/DC – hung it up at the end of 2016’s Rock Or Bust Tour, itself a miracle of defiance. Guitarist Malcolm Young, plausibly the greatest pure rhythm player of all time, the malevolent metronome who underpinned AC/DC’s fundamentalist rock’n’roll, was dying in hospital in Sydney. Long-serving drummer Phil Rudd was serving home detention in New Zealand after being convicted of charges including drug possession and making threats to kill. Towards the end of the tour, singer Brian Johnson was forced out by encroaching deafness; AC/DC’s decision to swap in Guns N’ Roses’ Axl Rose prompted an uncharacteristically public outbreak of internecine sniping.

Malcolm Young died in November 2017 – just a few weeks after the death of his and Angus Young’s brother George Young, the Easybeats and Flash & The Pan founder who’d also co-produced AC/DC’s first few albums. Those losses – and the attendant funerals – seem to have been a significant catalyst in bringing the band back together. The AC/DC of Power Up are Brian Johnson, whose hearing has been sufficiently restored by experimental technology, Angus Young, Phil Rudd, Stevie Young – Malcolm and Angus’s nephew, who first picked up rhythm guitar when Malcolm became too ill to play in 2014 – and Cliff Williams, who did announce his retirement post-Rock Or Bust, but has had a change of heart.

This is all entirely in keeping with AC/DC’s ruggedly utilitarian ‘man down, drive on’ ethos. Famously, they were not knocked noticeably off their stride by the death of a lead singer: just five months elapsed between the passing of Bon Scott in 1980 and the release of Back In Black, not merely the biggest-selling album by AC/DC, but by some estimations the biggest-selling album by anybody other than Michael Jackson. While one obviously wishes Angus Young nothing but a long and healthy life, it would be strangely reassuring to believe that there’s an up-and-coming Young cousin spending spare hours learning to duck-walk in a school uniform while tearing furious solos from the sweat-slathered neck of a Gibson SG as a battery of cannons erupts on the downbeat and a vast womanly dirigible writhes atop an immense blazing locomotive.

Angus Young has spoken of Power Up being a tribute to his late brother in much the way that Back In Black was a memorial to Bon Scott (not that Back In Black was overladen with sombre reflections on mortality, unless there was elegiac subtext buried deep in “Given The Dog A Bone” and “Let Me Put My Love Into You”). On Power Up, they get perhaps as morose as AC/DC are ever likely to on “Through The Mists Of Time”, but this is nevertheless a pounding metal anthem with a soaring chorus, screeching solos and drums that pound like a diplodocus’s heartbeat.

The songs on Power Up are substantially posthumously credited to Malcolm Young, wrung from riffs he’d conjured around the writing of 2008’s Black Ice. There being no imaginable mileage in comparing any of Power Up to anything but previous AC/DC albums, it’s a solid second-tier AC/DC record: it’s no Highway To Hell or Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, but it wouldn’t be at all embarrassed by the company of, say, Ballbreaker or The Razor’s Edge. And the best individual songs are well worthy of the AC/DC marque: “Realize”, impossible to hear without imagining Angus Young in ecstatic soak atop a speaker stack; “Demon Fire”, a monumental boogie recognisable as a descendant of “Whole Lotta Rosie”; “Wild Reputation”, a swaggering retread of “Rock And Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution”; “Shot In The Dark”, a rolling rocker illuminated by one of those Angus Young solos that emphasises the sheer mellifluous prettiness of his playing as well as its pyrotechnic flashiness.

It is perhaps regrettable that it now looks like there will not be an Axl Rose-fronted AC/DC album – those shows were fantastic, Rose endowing AC/DC’s familiar cheerful live pantomime with genuine feral menace – but it may be that AC/DC reflected, reasonably, that they don’t have that kind of time. At any rate, Power Up deserves acclaim for more than merely existing, and it deserves plenty for that. If AC/DC’s – and the world’s – circumstances permit a tour, Rosie’s re-inflation will be abundantly justified.

Lewis Capaldi and The Weeknd among best-selling artists in the UK as streaming and physical music sales soar in 2020

Lewis Capaldi and The Weeknd have been named among the best-selling artists of 2020 in the UK.

New data published by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) today (January 4) sheds light on what the UK listened to and bought in 2020, with the findings also revealing that recorded music consumption in the UK rose by 8.2% last year.

Read more: The 50 best albums of 2020

There were 139 billion audio streams in the UK in 2020 (up by over a fifth compared to 2019) as nearly 200 artists had their music streamed over 100 million times. 155 million albums (or their equivalent) were either streamed or purchased by UK music lovers last year, with the coronavirus pandemic not having an adverse effect on the recorded music market.

The BPI noted that that while the pandemic has had a “devastating effect on the live sector”, demand for record music “initially dipped around the start of the first lockdown, but listening rebounded across streaming and physical formats and grew throughout the year”.

The BPI have also announced that streaming now accounts for four-fifths (80.6%) of the UK’s overall music consumption. Physical formats still enjoyed strong sales in 2020, however, with vinyl sales increasing by over a tenth (11.5%) as almost 4.8 million copies were purchased – a 13th year of consecutive growth for vinyl in the UK – and cassette sales doubling to rack up 156,542 copies, their highest total since 2003.

16 million CDs were also bought in 2020, representing 10.3% of the UK’s recorded music consumption.

Lewis Capaldi performs at The SSE Arena, Wembley on March 12, 2020 in London (Picture: Burak Cingi/Redferns)

In terms of individual best-sellers, Capaldi’s 2019 debut ‘Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent’ continues to be the record to beat as it was crowned the UK’s best-selling album in 2020, as it was in 2019. Harry Styles’ ‘Fine Line’ was the second best-selling album of 2020 in the UK, with Dua Lipa‘s ‘Future Nostalgia’ rounding off the podium.

Billie Eilish, Stormzy and the late Pop Smoke also feature in the top 10 best-selling albums of 2020 in the UK. You can see the full list below.

Official Albums Chart of 2020

1. Lewis Capaldi – ‘Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent’

2. Harry Styles – ‘Fine Line’

3. Dua Lipa – ‘Future Nostalgia’

4. Billie Eilish – ‘When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?’

5. Stormzy – ‘Heavy Is The Head’

6. Pop Smoke – ‘Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon’

7. Ed Sheeran – ‘No. 6 Collaborations Project’

8. Queen – ‘Greatest Hits’

9. Elton John – ‘Diamonds’

10. Fleetwood Mac – ’50 Years – Don’t Stop’

The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ has been named as both the UK’s best-selling single and most-streamed track of 2020, with Tones & I‘s ‘Dance Monkey’ and SAINt JHN‘s ‘Roses’ rounding out the top three in both countdowns. You can see those two respective top 10s below.

Official Singles Chart of 2020

1. The Weeknd – ‘Blinding Lights’

2. Tones & I – ‘Dance Monkey’

3. SAINt JHN – ‘Roses’

4. Lewis Capaldi – ‘Before You Go’

5. Joel Corry ft MNEK – ‘Head & Heart’

6. Dua Lipa – ‘Don’t Start Now’

7. DaBaby ft Roddy Ricch – ‘Rockstar’

8. Lewis Capaldi – ‘Someone You Loved’

9. Stormzy/Ed Sheeran/Burna Boy – ‘Own It’

10. Harry Styles – ‘Watermelon Sugar’

Most-Streamed Audio Tracks of 2020

1. The Weeknd – ‘Blinding Lights’

2. Tones & I – ‘Dance Monkey’

3. SAINt JHN – ‘Roses’

4. DaBaby ft Roddy Ricch – ‘Rockstar’

5. Lewis Capaldi – ‘Before You Go’

6. Dua Lipa – ‘Don’t Start Now’

7. Lewis Capaldi – ‘Someone You Loved’

8. Joel Corry ft MNEK – ‘Head & Heart’

9. Roddy Ricch – ‘The Box’

10. Stormzy/Ed Sheeran/Burna Boy – ‘Own It’

The UK’s enduring love for the likes of Fleetwood Mac, Oasis, Nirvana and Amy Winehouse saw classic albums by those artists being among the 10 biggest-selling vinyl LPs of 2020, while Lady Gaga‘s latest album ‘Chromatica’ has been named as the best-selling cassette album of 2020 in the UK.

Official Vinyl Album Chart of 2020

1. Fleetwood Mac – ‘Rumours’

2. Oasis – ‘(What’s The Story) Morning Glory?’

3. Amy Winehouse – ‘Back To Black’

4. Nirvana – ‘Nevermind’

5. Harry Styles – ‘Fine Line’

6. Kylie Minogue – ‘Disco’

7. Queen – ‘Greatest Hits’

8. AC/DC – ‘Power Up’

9. Arctic Monkeys – ‘Live At The Royal Albert Hall’

10. IDLES – ‘Ultra Mono’

Official Cassette Albums Chart of 2020

1. Lady Gaga – ‘Chromatica’

2. 5 Seconds Of Summer – ’Calm’

3. Yungblud – ‘Weird’

4. The 1975 – ‘Notes On A Conditional Form’

5. Blackpink – ‘The Album’

6. Selena Gomez – ‘Rare’

7. Kylie Minogue – ‘Disco’

8. Dua Lipa – ‘Future Nostalgia’

9. Haim – ‘Women In Music Pt III’

10. The Streets – ‘None Of Us Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive’

Last month Capaldi released ‘Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent: Finale’, a deluxe version of his best-selling album.

Justin Bieber says Tom Cruise is “toast” as he revives fight offer

Justin Bieber has said that Tom Cruise is “toast” after jokingly reviving a past offer to fight the Hollywood icon.

Bieber first issued the bizarre challenge in June 2019 and attempted to secure the services of UFC boss Dana White in a bid to organise the bout.

“I wanna challenge Tom Cruise to fight in the octagon. Tom if you don’t take this fight your [sic] scared and you will never live it down. Who is willing to put on the fight? @danawhite?,” Bieber wrote at the time.

But only days later Bieber conceded that it wouldn’t a good idea, admitting: “I’m pretty sure he’d whoop my ass in a fight. I’d have to get in good shape, I’m really skinny right now.”

“I think he’d probably be out of my weight class. Because he’s big, you know he’s got that dad strength.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Justin Bieber (@justinbieber)

However, Bieber has now seemingly revived the offer after releasing the music video for his latest track ‘Anyone’ – which sees him playing the role of a prize fighter.

Sharing a black and white still from the clip, Bieber wrote: “Tom Cruise is toast.”

While it’s likely that Bieber wasn’t being *too* serious with the offer, it has received the backing of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.

Referencing an iconic line from Rocky, The Rock commented: “‘You’re gonna eat lightning and crap thunder’. Go get em bro (sic).”

But it did little to inspire the confidence of Bieber’s mum Patty Mallette, who commented: “WHY!!!???????”

It comes after Bieber partnered with the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir last month for a new charity version of his single ‘Holy’.

The collaboration came five years after Bieber tweeted his support for the Choir’s successful bid to become the UK’s Christmas Number One with ‘A Bridge Over You’ instead of his own track ‘Love Yourself’.

Gerry Marsden of Gerry And The Pacemakers has died

Gerry Marsden, singer of the Liverpool band Gerry And The Pacemakers, has died, it has been confirmed.

The musician was 78 years old and died today (January 3) from an infection in his heart, friend and broadcaster Pete Price wrote on social media.

“It’s with a very heavy heart after speaking to the family that I have to tell you the Legendary Gerry Marsden MBE after a short illness which was an infection in his heart has sadly passed away,” Price said.

“Sending all the love in the world to Pauline and his family. You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

It’s with a very heavy heart after speaking to the family that I have to tell you the Legendary Gerry Marsden MBE after a short illness which was an infection in his heart has sadly passed away. Sending all the love in the world to Pauline and his family. You’ll Never Walk Alone pic.twitter.com/Ezd9WcdeQK

— Pete Price (@PeteCityPrice) January 3, 2021

Marsden was best known for Pacemakers songs including ‘Ferry Across The Mersey’, ‘I Like It’, and the band’s version of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. He founded the group in 1959 and they went on to become the second group signed by The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein.

They released their debut single ‘How Do You Do It?’ In March 1963, with the track reaching the top of the singles chart in April.

Later that year, the group released their take on ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, which has since become the anthem of Liverpool FC. At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the song also saw a spike in streams in the UK as it was used to show support for NHS and frontline workers. It was also covered by Lana Del Rey in 2020 for a documentary on Liverpool football club.

The Pacemakers disbanded in 1967 but Marsden revived them in 1972 with a new line-up and continued to perform until he retired in 2018.

Throughout his life, Marsden is said to have helped raise more than £35million for charity, including special releases with other artists in the wake of the 1985 fire at Bradford City’s stadium and the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.

His charity work and his contribution to the culture of Liverpool led to him being awarded the Freedom Of The City Of Liverpool in 2009.

Tributes to Marsden have begun to pour in online since the news of his death broke. “It is with such great sadness that we hear of Gerry Marsden’s passing,” Liverpool FC tweeted. “Gerry’s words will live on forever with us. You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

It is with such great sadness that we hear of Gerry Marsden’s passing.

Gerry’s words will live on forever with us. You’ll Never Walk Alone ❤️ pic.twitter.com/5W4yspmLRV

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 3, 2021

The Cavern Club, where the Pacemakers played nearly 200 times, also honoured the musician. “Devastated to hear of the passing of Gerry Marsden earlier today,” they wrote. “The word legend is often overused but Gerry was not only a legend, but also a very good friend of The Cavern.”

Devastated to hear of the passing of Gerry Marsden earlier today.

The word legend is often overused but Gerry was not only a legend, but also a very good friend of The Cavern. pic.twitter.com/74HQZP4gio

— The Cavern Club (@cavernliverpool) January 3, 2021

Frankie Goes To Hollywood singer Holly Johnson added: “So sorry to hear about the passing of Gerry Marsden what a Liverpool legend. So glad I met him.”

So sorry to hear about the passing of Gerry Marsden what a Liverpool Legend . So glad I met him . #ferryacrossthemersey #youllneverwalkalone https://t.co/UnrOxkkWcq

— HOLLY JOHNSON (@TheHollyJohnson) January 3, 2021

See more tributes below.

Such sad news about Gerry Marsden. His music will live on forever. You'll Never Walk Alone.

— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) January 3, 2021

RIP Gerry Marsden!What a lovely bloke I was lucky to meet!zHe may have passed away but His voice will live on forever at Anfield !He will never walk alone!YNWA

— John Aldridge (@Realaldo474) January 3, 2021

Very sad news to hear of the passing of Gerry Marsden.

As far as Scouse icons go they don't come much bigger. #RIPGerryMarsden

We Never Walked Alone.

pic.twitter.com/5LYXzxXnS8

— Paul Doward (@RadioNewsDigger) January 3, 2021

Everyone at #CelticFC sends their deepest condolences to the family & friends of Gerry Marsden.

Gerry’s famous lyrics will live on at Celtic Park forever. You’ll Never Walk Alone ?? https://t.co/JlNIVglFO1

— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) January 3, 2021

RIP Gerry Marsden. You’ll Never Walk Alone. pic.twitter.com/iB7tq0axuY

— Lightning Seeds (@Lightning_Seeds) January 3, 2021

So sad to hear Gerry Marsden has passed away. I did a couple of gigs with him and he was great. RIP Gerry.

— Tony Blackburn (@tonyblackburn) January 3, 2021

Gerry Marsden performing #YNWA at the @TakeThat gig at Anfield in 2019 ❤️ #RIPGerryMarsden pic.twitter.com/X9bI1jPCyP

— Chris Chambers (@CapitalChambo) January 3, 2021

Kiss’ Gene Simmons doubles down on “rock is dead” remarks

Gene Simmons has doubled down on previous comments he made about the state of rock music.

READ MORE: Kiss – five times the glam titans gave rock ‘n’ roll to us all

In 2014, the Kiss bassist accused record labels of failing to adequately support rock artists and declared the rock genre to be “finally dead”.

Simmons doubled down on the claims in a new interview, saying there are popular bands but that doesn’t mean they’re “iconic and legacy and for all-time”.

“Rock is dead. And that’s because new bands haven’t taken the time to create glamour, excitement and epic stuff,” Simmons told Gulf News. “I mean, Foo Fighters is a terrific band, but that’s a 20-year-old band. So you can go back to 1958 until 1988. That’s 30 years. During that time, we had Elvis [Presley], The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones, on and on.

He continued: “In disco, you had Madonna, and then you had your hard rock, you had AC/DC, maybe us, a few others. Motown, all that great music. From 1988, until today, that’s more than 30 years. Tell me who the new Beatles is. You can’t. There are popular bands. BTS is very popular. All kinds of bands are very popular. That doesn’t mean iconic and legacy and for all-time. It’s different.”

Asked if he thinks any of today’s acts will be considered iconic in another 30 years, Simmons replied: “I doubt it. Because the singularity that was The Beatles is a band that wrote their own songs, arranged it themselves, produced it themselves, mostly played all their own instruments. No backing tracks. No digital enhancement. No vocal correctness. Yeah, not gonna happen again.

“You know, the modern artists rely so much on technology. You may not be able to recognise the artist if they record themselves singing in the shower. You’d be shocked. And none of the rappers play instruments. Don’t write songs. They write words. But chords, melodies, harmonies and stuff. It doesn’t mean that rap isn’t important. It’s very important. But it ain’t The Beatles.”

Elsewhere in the interview Simmons spoke about some of his favourite contemporary pop artists, listing the likes of Billie Eilish and Lady Gaga.

“I think Billie Eilish is fantastic,” he said. “She’s interesting because she and her brother actually write the material and are unique to themselves. Lady Gaga is fantastic in the female category. She writes her own material, she can sing like nobody’s business. But she actually is a musician, writes her own songs, plays piano, she can actually do that.

“The rest of the world reacts to a lot of the pop divas, although mostly they don’t write their own songs and can’t play an instrument. And by the way, that’s okay, too. It doesn’t matter what you like. But it ain’t The Beatles.”

Last week, Simmons shared a photo of the band wearing face masks and urged their fans to do the same.

Simmons posted the picture of the band without their conventional face paint while travelling to their forthcoming New Year’s Eve show in Dubai.

“Wear your masks. Even if it’s only as a courtesy. If you yawn, or sneeze, you don’t think twice about covering your mouth. Do the rest of us a favour! Mask Up! … Besides, it looks cool,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, Kiss have teamed up with Dead Sled Coffee to launch their own coffee flavour, set to arrive this year.

Kylie Minogue releases Studio 2054 remix of ‘Real Groove’ featuring Dua Lipa

Kylie Minogue has released a new rendition of her track ‘Real Groove’, remixed as part of Dua Lipa’s recent Studio 2054 livestream.

Released today (December 31), the remix features added instrumentation and a slightly more upbeat tempo, as well as vocals from Lipa. It arrives after Minogue made an appearance on the Studio 2054 livestream last month, where she performed ‘Real Groove’. Elton John and FKA Twigs were also guests on the livestream.

READ MORE: Dua Lipa live at Studio 2054: a big night in with a pop great who excels at escapism

Listen to the Studio 2054 remix of ‘Real Groove’ below:

‘Real Groove’ is lifted from Minogue’s November record, ‘Disco’. Upon its release, NME gave the album a four-star review, describing it as her “most consistent and enjoyable album in a decade”.

“The result is a consistently uplifting set that feels like Minogue’s best album since 2010’s ‘Aphrodite’. Her sister Dannii is rumoured to have claimed that ‘Minogues don’t sweat’. In that case, let’s say that ‘Disco’ shimmers with a warm glittery glow that’s just irresistible.”

Minogue will also be re-streaming her Infinite Disco concert for New Year’s Eve, starting from 9pm GMT. The stream will feature previously-unreleased behind-the-scenes footage of how the show was put together. Tickets will be discounted for fans who viewed the initial livestream back in October.

LadBaby score third consecutive Christmas Number One

LadBaby have scored their third consecutive Christmas Number One single with ‘Don’t Stop Me Eatin’’.

YouTuber Mark Hoyle and his wife Roxanne first reached the top of the festive charts in 2018 with ‘We Built This City’, following up with more success with ‘I Love Sausage Rolls’ in 2019.

Read more: Seasonably rich: here’s how much musicians make from our favourite Christmas songs

Their latest single beat the likes of Mariah Carey, Wham!, and The Kunts’ Boris Johnson protest song to the top spot. ‘Don’t Stop Me Eatin’’ sold 158,000 copies in its first week to secure the Number One position, making it the fastest-selling single of the year. Proceeds from the single went to foodbank charity The Trussell Trust.

The track’s success also means LadBaby now join The Beatles and Spice Girls as the only acts who have scored three Christmas Number Ones in UK chart history.

In a statement to the Official Charts Company, LadBaby said: “From the bottom of our hearts, we just want to say thank you again to everybody. We can’t believe that, a third year on, we’ve had so much support yet again. We’re trying to raise money for an amazing cause, so thank you. Merry Christmas to everyone and don’t stop believin’ – that things are going to get better. 2021 is going to be better for everyone.”

Finishing just behind ‘Don’t Stop Eatin’’ was Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ at Number Two and Wham!’s ‘Last Christmas’ at Number Three. Jess Glynne’s cover of Donny Hathaway’s ‘This Christmas’ placed at Number Four.

The Kunts’ ‘Boris Johnson Is A Fucking Cunt’ landed at Number Five after a last-minute push to get it to the top of the Christmas charts in response to the Prime Minister’s U-turn on coronavirus Christmas restrictions last weekend (December 20).

Meanwhile, in the Official UK Albums Chart, Paul McCartney took the top spot with his new solo album ‘McCartney III’, which was released last week (December 18).

“I just want to say Happy Christmas, Happy New Year, and a big thank you to everyone who helped get my record to Number One in the album charts,” told the Official Charts Company.

Uncut’s Best New Albums Of 2020

50 MARGO PRICE
That’s How Rumors Get Started
LOMA VISTA
Recording in Hollywood with Sturgill Simpson in the producer’s chair, the Midwest farmer’s daughter tried her hand at a West Coast pop album for her third LP. Rather than country confessionals, then, here were 10 songs taking in Heartbreakers-esque new wave, gospel and prime Fleetwood Mac. Complete with a more oblique, lyrical voice from Price, the result was another step forward for a musician who respects tradition but has never been shackled by it.

49 GWENIFER RAYMOND
Strange Lights Over Garth Mountain
TOMPKINS SQUARE
A fearsome live performer, foregoing chat for instrumental acoustic guitar intensity, Gwenifer Raymond in 2020 made the album that gave recorded shape to her uncompromising approach. Grown in ambition, if not noticeably in length from her 2018 debut, Garth Mountain drew both on the rabbit skulls and damp moss of British folk horror, and also a compositional wisdom that broadened the horizon of her American Primitive twang.

48 THE NECKS
Three
ReR MEGACORP
Normally, The Necks appear to simply roll up to the studio, record an hour’s music, and roll out. For this entertaining and accessible album, the Australian acoustic improvising trio (“jazz” doesn’t get it somehow) split their work into three 20-minute compositions. “Bloom”, a rattling yet spacious noise, threw back to the mesmeric charms of their classic Drive By. “Lovelock” explored creepier post-industrial ambience, while “Further” again returned to a groovy, percussive chatter.

47 WORKING MEN’S CLUB
Working Men’s Club
HEAVENLY
Like LCD Soundsystem or Fat White Family before them, this Todmorden collective combine dance rhythms and post-punk awkwardness to fine effect. They were signed as a guitar band, but swiftly reconfigured for this, their debut, with some of its best tracks growing from frontman Sydney Minsky-Sargeant’s electronic demos. With Sheffield legend Ross Orton producing, the likes of “White Rooms And People” and “Valleys” suggested Mark E Smith collaborating with New Order.

46 ROGER & BRIAN ENO
Mixing Colours
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOFON
The brothers Eno have long exchanged music files, but it was only this year that the policy resulted in a full-length album. Obviously with this being an ambient album where all the tracks are named after naturally occurring colours, a part of you possibly imagines that this must be like listening to posh paint dry. In fact, it’s a lovely partnership that harmonises beautifully with recent Brian work – some of the reverberations familiar, but the tunes a pleasing set of frosted miniatures. A companion mini-album, Luminous, was also quietly radiant.

45 BRIGHT EYES
Down In The Weeds, Where The World Once Was
DEAD OCEANS
From the experimental opener “Pageturners Rag” to the gospel-tinged “Comet Song”, the trio’s first record since 2011’s The People’s Key recalled the opulent, unhinged creativity of their magnum opus, 2002’s Lifted…. Among these 14 tracks, there were electronic oddities (“Pan And Broom”), synthy new wave pop songs (“Mariana Trench”) and atmospheric piano ballads, the whole thing tied together by Conor Oberst’s playful, melancholic words.

44 EDDIE CHACON
Pleasure, Joy And Happiness
DAY END
Almost three decades after Charles & Eddie’s “Would I Lie To You?”, the duo’s surviving half returned with this masterful record of adventurous electronic R&B. It’s no grandstanding reappearance; rather, the mood is beautifully low-key, with keyboards warm and woozy, percussion subtle and mostly electronic, and Chacon’s voice tender and emotive. Underlining his status – that of a cult legend finally coming in from the cold – production came from John Carroll Kirby, collaborator with Frank Ocean and Solange.

43 SARAH DAVACHI
Cantus, Descant
LATE MUSIC
In 2020, Davachi offered strong private work from lockdown – her lo-fi “Gathers” cassette a set of site-specific works in progress – and two further EPs, but this album felt like it was the most substantial statement of her year. Geological of pace, these organ/keyboard drones were immersive in scale, contemplative in nature, and joined Davachi’s canon as a deeply empathetic work of haunting secular power. The singing was a new development, which hinted at new avenues to be explored – some of them Lynchian.

42 RÓISÍN MURPHY
Róisín Machine
SKINT/BMG
The former Moloko singer emerged as one of the heroes of lockdown, her exuberant living-room livestream – complete with impressively styled-out pratfall – putting other artists’ acoustic performances to shame. Subsequent album Róisín Machine felt like her definitive statement, a joyous update of classic disco and house manoeuvres, injected with maverick charisma and the emotion of hard-won experience.

41 KEELEY FORSYTH
Debris
THE LEAF LABEL
As an actor, Keeley Forsyth may be known to you from her appearances in popular dramas like TV’s Happy Valley. Her voice, centre stage in this startling collection of songs, will be less familiar. Powerful and individual, Debris is as otherworldly in sound as Anonhi, but as drawn irresistibly to craggy outcrops as that performer is to the dancefloor. Arranged for string section or discreet laptronics, Forsyth’s songs sit like statuary: starkly and impressively against
the landscape.

40 BRIGID DAWSON & THE MOTHERS NETWORK
Ballet Of Apes
CASTLE FACE
A sometime member of John Dwyer’s Oh Sees, Brigid Dawson delivered in July a solo debut that displayed some of that band’s enjoyment of antique sounds (deep reverbs, sedate organ) but pursued them into far quieter realms. A stately singer-songwriter album poised between folky, countrified and chamber modes, the album in its later stages (check out the title track) expanded out into a warm and reflective jazz.

39 THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS
Made Of Rain
COOKING VINYL
One of the year’s most welcome surprises, the Furs’ first studio album in 29 years was every bit as good as ’80s high points like Talk Talk Talk and Forever Now. Realising that radical reinvention at this point in the career may not be necessary, Made Of Rain brought into focus the band’s gifts for twin saxophone-and-guitar attack, impressionistic lyrics and the wonderfully sardonic delivery of frontman Richard Butler.

38 BONNY LIGHT HORSEMAN
Bonny Light Horseman
37d03d
Brought together by Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner, this collaborative project from Anaïs Mitchell, Eric D Johnson, and Josh Kaufman reinterpreted the traditional songbook for our perilous times. Drawing from English, Irish and Appalachian folk music, the trio recast lover’s laments, war ballads and more as existential, eternal dramas, full of humanity and heartbreak. The trio’s spacious arrangements, harmony choruses and subtle embellishments amplified the songs’ emotional punch.

37 SPARKS
A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip
BMG
“So much now needs addressing,” sang Russell Mael on Sparks’s 24th album. “So much is depressing…” The brothers, unsurprisingly, took it upon themselves to set the world to rights on these 14 songs: their tongue-in-cheek targets included modern technology (“iPhone”), suburban obsessions (“Lawnmower”) and even poor Igor Fyodorovich (“Stravinsky’s Only Hit”). The warmth and humanity at the heart of the Maels’ work, not to mention their operatic, day-glo tunes, ensured that Drip stands as one of the duo’s recent high-water marks.

36 DESTROYER
Have We Met
DEAD OCEANS
Dan Bejar’s 13th album as Destroyer was his most accessible to date, polishing the plush synthpop of 2011’s Kaputt to a glimmering sheen. Lyrically, of course, it remained a postmodern puzzle – “a circus mongrel sniffing for clues” – but once you’d tuned into his frequency, Bejar revealed visions of apocalyptic dread and heart-rending poignancy, all wrapped up in the continuing belief that music is the one true religion, expressed via knowing winks to The Smiths and New Order.

35 SHABAKA & THE ANCESTORS
We Are Sent Here By History
IMPULSE!
Cementing his status as a modern-day jazz kingpin, this is Shabaka Hutchings’ third consecutive entry in Uncut’s annual Top 50, each with a different band. But whereas Sons Of Kemet and The Comet Is Coming pinned you to the wall with their kinetic intensity, this second team-up with South African ensemble The Ancestors was an earthy and solemn affair, Hutchings’ snaking sax providing an insistent counterpoint to Siyabonga Mthembu’s revolutionary poetry.

34 ROSE CITY BAND
Summerlong
THRILL JOCKEY
A solo project by Ripley Johnson from Wooden Shjips/Moon Duo, RCB have mapped the lesser-spotted genealogical link between the road music of German motorik, Canned Heat and trucker country. In this context, this year’s Summerlong felt like an agreeable rest stop, with lazy slide guitars and a nod to funk offsetting the moments – like the dust-kicking “Real Long Gone” –in which Johnson showed off some tidy Bakersfield chops.

33 BANANAGUN
The True Story Of Bananagun
FULL TIME HOBBY
Helmed by Nicholas Van Bakel, this Melbourne troupe are following the tropical psychedelic path hacked out by Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa and others. Their debut showed that they share a manic energy and restless creativity with their compatriots in King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, yet their influences also stretched to The Incredible String Band, Fela Kuti and Dorothy Ashby on the turbo-charged “People Talk Too Much” and acid-funk groover “Freak Machine”.

32 THE FLAMING LIPS
American Head
BELLA UNION
After a decade of experimentation, the Lips returned to more graceful, accessible songwriting on their 16th LP. Kacey Musgraves was along for the ride as the group examined what it means to be an ‘American band’; but the album truly succeeded because Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd were looking back wistfully and openly on their teenage years and the troubles experienced by them and their wayward relatives. Their finest since Yoshimi…

31 AFEL BOCOUM
Lindé
WORLD CIRCUIT
“Our social security is music,” the singer-songwriter told Uncut earlier this year. “That’s all we’ve got left.” On perhaps his finest album, and something of a spiritual follow-up to his 1999 debut Alkibar, Bocoum summoned up Mali’s traditional music to call for unity in his troubled country. With Damon Albarn co-producing, though, it wasn’t all trad: there were electric guitars, Joan Wasser on violin and drumming from Tony Allen in oneof his final performances.

30 CORNERSHOP
England Is A Garden
AMPLE PLAY
Perfectly timed to deodorise an unpleasant waft of bad vibes across the nation, England Is A Garden was the best album in nigh on two decades from this perennially undervalued British institution. Tjinder Singh and Ben Ayers’ winning recipe for
lifting spirits involved a singular combination of flute funk, Punjabi folk and Bolan boogie, topped off with a jaunty ska singalong about racial profiling.

29 SONGHOY BLUES
Optimisme
TRANSGRESSIVE
With producer Matt Sweeney encouraging the band to up the tempos and power, Bamako’s greatest rock group hit hard on their stripped-down third album. The piledriving rhythms and distorted riffs, sometimes akin to Thin Lizzy jamming with Ali Farke Touré, were immediately thrilling, but the melodies and vocals ultimately proved more infectious; meanwhile, the translated lyrics showed Songhoy to be a positive and revolutionary force for change in Mali.

28 LUCINDA WILLIAMS
Good Souls Better Angels
HIGHWAY 20/THIRTY TIGERS
Although Williams returned to live in Nashville this year, her 14th studio album was anything but comfortable: here, recording live in the studio with her road band, the singer and songwriter was snarling and passionate, whether dressing down Trump on “Man Without A Soul” or searching for strength on the closing, seven-and-a-half-minute “Good Souls”, her voice earthier and more emotive than ever. 41 years on from her debut, Williams remains utterly compelling.

27 KEVIN MORBY
Sundowner
MARE/WOODSIST
Hard to imagine a more likeable singer-songwriter mode than that presented by Kevin Morby. On Sundowner, his horizontal and lightly-conceptual sixth, the sometime Woods man inhabits the croon of Nashville Skyline, the bibulous wisdom of Leonard Cohen, even (on “Wander”) the lilt of Kendrick Lamar – all while never endangering his own voice. This was calm and meditative guitar songwriting, quietly focused on the quiet bummer at its heart.

26 ROLLING BLACKOUTS CF
Sideways To New Italy
SUB POP
After the rush of their debut, Rolling Blackouts felt no inclination to slow down. Still dealing in brisk, melodic indie rock, instead the band deepened their impact: the lyrical touches in their suburban dramas more telling; the piling of melodies still more effective. Fran Kearney’s continuing ability to nail formative experience (“Cameo”, “Sunglasses At The Wedding”) grew in confidence, while guitarists Joe White and Tom Russo nailed their first classics.

25 NUBYA GARCIA
Source
CONCORD JAZZ
Acknowledged as a key instigator of the new UK jazz explosion, the Camden-born saxophonist finally got around to releasing her terrific solo debut this year after telling contributions to albums by Maisha, Nérija and others. Her generous, soulful tone already well-established, she set about exploring her Caribbean heritage, deftly folding in elements of dub, soca and cumbia.

24 MOSES SUMNEY
Græ
JAGJAGUWAR
Released in two parts in the first half of this year, Sumney’s second album left behind the muted, stripped-back feel of
his 2017 debut, Aromanticism, for a bold, maximalist explosion of colour. Spanning 20 songs, and featuring contributions from Daniel Lopatin, James Blake and Jill Scott, Græ found Sumney impressively combining his stellar vocals with explosive electronics, avant-garde textures, orchestral and jazz arrangements and moody funk.

23 PAUL WELLER
On Sunset
ISLAND
If the Weller of 2018 continued to draw strength, in his own way, from English folk traditions, string arrangements and what we might call “the Nick Drake vibe”, this year’s model cast the net far wider. Oh yes, there was still “Ploughman”, an oo-arrr Ronnie Lane romp, but elsewhere Wellers past and future collided as he investigated funk and soul, even (on tunes like the great “More”) German motorik. Staunch.

22 FIONA APPLE
Fetch The Bolt Cutters
EPIC/CLEAN SLATE
Eight years after The Idler Wheel…, Apple returned with this loose and magnificent fifth album. With much of it recorded by Apple herself at her Venice Beach home, and featuring copious percussion and the barking of her beloved dogs, …Bolt Cutters was raw and emotive; like, say, Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band, that rough setting proved to be the perfect backdrop for Apple’s dynamic voice and her compelling songs of struggle and hope.

21 JAMES ELKINGTON
Ever-Roving Eye
PARADISE OF BACHELORS
The Chicago-based English guitarist has, like his friend Joan Shelley, found new areas to explore in that most over-mined tradition, acoustic singer-songwriting. On his second solo album, assisted by the likes of Spencer Tweedy and The Weather Station’s Tamara Lindeman, Elkington mixed the swinging picking of Nick Drake and John Renbourn with his own wry and subtle musings. The title track, meanwhile, introduced dronier, more psychedelic leanings.

20 BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
Letter To You
COLUMBIA
Back with the E Street Band for the first time on record since 2014, Letter To You was – in Steve Van Zandt’s words – “the fourth part of an autobiographical summation of [Springsteen’s] life”, after his memoir, the Broadway show and Western Stars album. The dominant themes here were faith, music and comradeship – delivered in euphoric, stadium-sized chunks by his reinvigorated cohorts. The addition of three previously unrecorded early-’70s songs neatly emphasised the ongoing nature of Springsteen’s musical mission.

19 BRIGID MAE POWER
Head Above The Water
FIRE
Since her 2016 debut, I Told You The Truth, Power has been combining folk music with defiant, confessional songwriting and haunting, musical drones. For her third album, the addition of a modest-sized band brought warmth and extra texture to her songs, blending elements of jazz, country and even psychedelia with her voice – otherworldly, hypnotic and as powerfully transcendent as ever.

18 FRAZEY FORD
U Kin B The Sun
ARTS AND CRAFTS
As a songwriter, the former Be Good Tanya has built upon her intimate version of Southern soul, investing U Kin B The Sun with sun-lit piano-driven grooves and a folk-country lilt. Although this album came freighted with Ford’s personal emotions – the death of her brother, her fractious relationship with her parents, break-ups – her positivity endured. “There is beauty in this world/So hold it any way you know how,” she sang. Amen.

17 SAULT
Untitled (Black Is)
FOREVER LIVING ORIGINALS
Having released two intriguing albums in 2019, the anonymous neo-soul collective – believed to include Michael Kiwanuka collaborator Dean “Inflo” Josiah, plus vocalists Cleo Sol and Melissa “Kid Sister” Young – really seized the day with this urgent 20-track opus, written in response to the killing of George Floyd and released just three weeks later on the Juneteenth holiday. A multifaceted work of elegant defiance, they followed it up in September with the equally essential Untitled (Rise).

16 STEPHEN MALKMUS
Traditional Techniques
DOMINO
“Top of the bill in Blackpool/Come and see us shred…” The eighth Malkmus album drew deeply and delightfully on some of his own traditional techniques: chiefly wry observation. Elsewhere, though, it curated a virtual festival in British folk-rock circa 1969/70. 12-string guitars, flute and nods to Eastern modes gave the whole a slightly dank Led Zeppelin III vibe that was customarily deadpan and irresistible.

15 FONTAINES DC
A Hero’s Death
PARTISAN
After the bright promise of their debut, the Dublin band’s second album showed a darker flowering of their talents into a rowdy and percussive post-punk. Kudos then to hyperactive FDC singer Grian Chatten – the romantic hero of this particular drama – in particular for locating the melodies that would turn this reverberating guitar abstraction into something epic and memorable.

14 COURTNEY MARIE ANDREWS
Old Flowers
LOOSE/FAT POSSUM
Having spent half a lifetime crafting elegant and delicate songs, the prolific Andrews reached a creative peak with Old Flowers, her seventh album. Ostensibly a break-up record – “you can’t water old flowers” – Andrews delivered her ruminations on lost love against a backdrop of gospel-inflected country-soul. Her message was forgiveness and compassion, delivered with understated grace, her voice moving elegantly from zen-like acceptance to trembling tenderness.

13 TAME IMPALA
The Slow Rush
WARP
Kevin Parker’s journey from slacker guitar burnout to laptop Brian Wilson has been one of the stranger and more enthralling stories of the last decade or so. The first Tame Impala album for five years found Parker almost precisely halfway between Air (1970s soft-rock tunes and diaphanous atmospheres) and Daft Punk (buzzing noises, driving beats). Soft to the touch sonically, the sweetness of the tunes helped the Frank Ocean-style confessionals at Parker’s sad disco slip down even easier.

12 MOSES BOYD
Dark Matter
EXODUS
The title’s double meaning – reflecting Moses Boyd’s interest in both astronomy and the plight of the African diaspora – also alluded to an intriguing duality in the music. Boyd is a producer as well as a virtuoso jazz drummer, and the Mercury-nominated Dark Matter expertly combined fiery live takes with programmed beats and synthy atmospherics. The result sometimes brought to mind ’80s Miles Davis or Jeff Mills’ recent EP with Tony Allen, but with a distinct London edge that tilted towards UK garage and broken beat.

11 JASON ISBELL
Reunions
SOUTHEASTERN
Now seven albums into his solo career, Isbell continued the purple patch that began on 2013’s Southeastern with what might be his richest, subtlest album to date. His loyal group The 400 Unit played a blinder, their performances funky and spacious on opener “What’ve I Done To Help” and sensitive on the atmospheric “River” and “St Peter’s Autograph”; yet it’s Isbell’s songs, both politically and emotionally aware, that were the real jewels here.

10 LAURA MARLING
Song For Our Daughter
CHRYSALIS/PARTISAN
After her exploratory Lump project with Tunng’s Mike Lindsay, Marling tiptoed back to a sort of classicism for her seventh record: while influences include Leonard Cohen on “Alexandra” and Paul McCartney on “Blow By Blow”, the stately sophistication of these 10 songs was testament to Marling’s talents alone. There were no reinventions here, just the songwriter stripped back to the essence of her art.

9 SHIRLEY COLLINS
Heart’s Ease
DOMINO
Eighty-five years young, England’s greatest living folk singer here truly regained the voice that sat dormant for decades, making a record that stood up to her late-’60s and early-’70s marvels. Collins is still an adventurer, too: she tried out a few songs written by her nephew and ex-husband alongside the trad.arr tunes, while the closing “Crowlink” bravely placed her among field recordings and experimental electronic drones.

8 JARV IS…
Beyond The Pale
ROUGH TRADE
Forming a bona fide band for the first time since Pulp’s dissolution in 2002 clearly reinvigorated Jarvis Cocker. On this debut LP, he and his group – including Serafina Steer and Jason Buckle – presented seven epic songs that touched on krautrock, house and dub, and were developed and recorded at live gigs over the past couple of years. Above it all, Cocker examined our cave-dwelling past, the curse of nostalgia and the detritus of broken lives on some of his deepest lyrics.

7 BILL CALLAHAN
Gold Record
DRAG CITY
Many of Callahan’s albums seem to come with difficult labours, but Gold Record, his second album in two years, almost waltzed in, feeling fresh and natural. It’s been an organic transition for the songwriter, now very much the settled and happy family man, and though some may pine for that tortured misanthrope of the Smog years, the likes of “Pigeons”, “Ry Cooder” and “As I Wander” were pinnacles of wry wisdom and storytelling.

6 WAXAHATCHEE
Saint Cloud
MERGE
Sobriety brought Katie Crutchfield back to her Americana roots on this, her fifth album. Like Lucinda Williams, one of her inspirations, here she filtered country through a gnarlier indie lens, singing of her struggles with recovery, growing up and relationships. Eventually, on “Witches”, a lilting, harmony-laden highlight of this subtly phenomenal record, Crutchfield discovered that the struggle is the point of it all.

5 THUNDERCAT
It Is What It Is
WARP
Bass virtuoso and Kendrick veteran Stephen Bruner continued his journey into the furthest reaches of exploded fusion. Seeming to chronicle the boom-bust cycle of a love affair, his fourth album was composed of short pieces (the better, perhaps, to accommodate busy electronica, hard ’70s grooves and sweet soft rock) but visionary and unified in scope, floating on Thundercat’s falsetto and the sweetly candid nature of his lyrics. Joining him on the mind-expanding mission were guest stars Steve Arrington and the idiosyncratic rapper Lil B.

4 DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS
The New OK
ANTI-
Events in 2020 moved so fast that the year needed two Drive-By Truckers albums to tackle them all: The Unraveling in late January and The New OK in December. Both albums were full of fury about the state of America, addressing school shootings, the demonisation of immigrants, the opioid addiction and sundry madness from the American Scream. Following 2016’s American Band, Drive-By Truckers have gone from being a great band to an important one: we need them now, more than ever.

3 PHOEBE BRIDGERS
Punisher
DEAD OCEANS
The finest songwriters develop their own singular voice, and Los Angeles’ Phoebe Bridgers has certainly done that in the six years since her first single. Like, say, Bill Callahan or frequent collaborator Conor Oberst, her musings on sex and death flow organically but with a rare power and playfulness. Her second album Punisher was her strongest work to date, the hallucinatory mix of electronics and eerie chamber folk propelling highlights such as the title track, “Chinese Satellite” and “Moon Song”.

2 FLEET FOXES
Shore
ANTI-
A wonderful surprise, not just because of its sudden appearance on the autumn equinox, but because Robin Pecknold sounded like a man reborn, matching the wide-eyed folksy innocence of the Fleet Foxes’ classic debut to gleaming pop production. Despite lyrics touching on isolation, depression and loss – “Sunblind” paid tribute to Richard Swift, David Berman and others very much missed – Shore was relentlessly sunny and optimistic, a celebration of nature both wild and human.

1 BOB DYLAN
Rough And Rowdy Ways
COLUMBIA
If nothing else, 2020 has proven how resilient music can be. Despite the vicissitudes of the pandemic, hearteningly, good music has found a way to endure – on record at least. As our poll demonstrates, our team of writers have zoned in on the rich seam of creativity running through 2020, finding comfort in familiar friends like Fleet Foxes, Bill Callahan, Drive-By Truckers (twice), Stephen Malkmus and Paul Weller while also searching diligently for the new and innovative: Sault, Nubya Garcia, Sarah Davchi and Bananagun among them. Some songwriters have released their best records yet – Frazey Ford, Brigid Mae Power, Courtney Marie Andrews, Phoebe Bridgers – while artists who we considered newcomers just a short while ago, such as Fontaines DC, Margo Price and Shabaka Hutchings, have settled themselves firmly at our top table.

It is, perhaps, no surprise that the artist who defined 2020 for us was Bob Dylan – hitting the No 1 spot for a record-setting third time in our Albums Of The Year. Heralded by “Murder Most Foul” in March – an elegiac, 17-minute song ostensibly about the assassination of John F Kennedy – Rough And Rowdy Ways was a ferocious, urgent, marauding album that felt almost supernaturally relevant to the present. Arguably, of course, Dylan’s most prized albums have always arrived at fraught moments. But with this, his 39th studio album, he seemed to have found new, invigorating ways of illuminating American history and reflecting it against the present day. The ghosts of the 20th century – Buster Keaton, Walt Whitman and General Patton among them – coexisted with spirits from earlier civilisations, all of whom had something to say, in their own oblique ways, about today. Dylan’s point? History is cyclical; societies emerge, flourish, decline. Not bad going, then, for a man last seen peddling his own brand of whiskey.

What Rough And Rowdy Ways ultimately demonstrated, though, was Dylan’s continuing capacity – as he approaches his 80th birthday – to confound and delight us. Who else is there, this far into their careers, who has that ability? A remarkable achievement; a remarkable album. “The last of the best/ You can bury the rest”, he sang on “False Prophet”. He wasn’t far off.

Paul McCartney has been listening to Dominic Fike, St Vincent and Khruangbin

Paul McCartney has shared some of his recent musical obsessions, including Dominic Fike and St. Vincent.

The Beatles legend released his new solo album ‘McCartney III’ last week (December 18) and was hosting a Q&A session on Reddit when a fan asked about his recent listening habits.

READ MORE: Paul McCartney: read the exclusive track-by-track story of ‘McCartney III’

“Hi Paul! Love the new album!” a fan wrote. “My question is about the music that inspires you now. Are there any newer (or older) artists that you listen to? Any artists that you fancy collaborating with?”

In response, McCartney wrote: “I’m lucky, I have a friend who sends me new music which helps me keep in touch with the modern scene.

So I listen to people like Dominic Fike, Beck, St Vincent and Khruangbin. I also listen to a lot of classic oldies coming through, from rock’n’roll to 60’s to soul to r’n’b, with a sprinkling of classical music now and then.

Responding to the shoutout on her Instagram Stories, St Vincent wrote: “PAUL MCCARTNEY SAYS HE LISTENS TO ME (?!)”

Reviewing new album ‘McCartney III’, NME wrote: “If future archaeologists take this three-album series as a significant marker of his solo half-century, they’ll conclude that Paul McCartney never stopped liberating.”

In a new interview, McCartney said that he still wonders about whether The Beatles would’ve ever reunited had John Lennon lived.

The 40th anniversary of Lennon’s death fell earlier this month. The musician was shot and killed outside his apartment building in New York on December 8, 1980.

“The question is: would we have ever got back together again?” McCartney said. Pressed for an answer, the musician replied: “I don’t know. We don’t know.”

A guitar signed by Paul McCartney and Idris Elba has gone up for charity auction

A guitar signed by Paul McCartney and Idris Elba has gone up for auction to benefit the S.T.O.R.M charity.

McCartney and Elba recently filmed a BBC special together to mark the release of the former’s new solo album ‘McCartney III’.

While filming, the pair signed a Cort-made acoustic guitar that they played during the show, which aired on the BBC last weekend.

McCartney’s message reads “Hey Idris! Cheers Thanks, Paul McCartney 2020”, while Elba wrote: “Wow!! Keep Safe!! Idris Elba”.

I shared the stage with @PaulMcCartney and the result.. I got this signed guitar to auction with proceeds going to @MarieMBESTORM charity for domestic violence that @Sabrinadhowre and I support
In the UK, watch tonight @BBCOne 9.20pm
Be kind people https://t.co/TuOCtgozvj pic.twitter.com/DqJyaOdHDJ

— Idris Elba (@idriselba) December 19, 2020

The guitar has now gone up for auction in aid of the charity S.T.O.R.M, which provides support and shelter to those suffering from domestic abuse. There has been a significant rise in cases of domestic abuse over the coronavirus-enforced lockdown, and the funds raised from the guitar auction will immediately aid those in need during this holiday season.

S.T.O.R.M will receive 100% of the proceeds from the Dawsons-conducted auction, which is currently ongoing and is set to end at 7pm on January 1.

As of 1pm on December 22, the bidding is at £5200 – well exceeding the initial £500 – £1,000 estimate.

Last weekend, McCartney remembered his late Beatles bandmate John Lennon in an interview with CBS’ Sunday Morning programme.

McCartney reflected on the tragedy of Lennon’s murder (“it was just so senseless”) and gave his view on whether Lennon would still be making music if he were alive today.

“Yeah. He was showing no signs of slowing up. You know, he was still making great music,” McCartney said in regards to Lennon’s successful solo career at the time of his death 40 years ago.

Paul McCartney slams idea that wearing face masks infringes on civil liberties: “That is stupid”

In a new interview, Paul McCartney has criticised people who say wearing face masks is an infringement on their civil liberties.

Speaking to CBS Sunday Morning on the occasion of his new album ‘McCartney III’, McCartney told journalist Seth Doane, “When people sort of say, ‘Wearing masks is infringing on my civil liberties,’ I say, ‘No. That is stupid.’”

Doane noted that both he and McCartney had been tested for COVID-19 prior to sitting down for the interview, and that McCartney had done almost no other in-person interviews to promote the record.

Watch the interview below:

Over the weekend, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a new Tier 4 level of restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Residents of London, the South East and East of England are required to stay at home, with limited exemptions, until at least December 30.

Elsewhere in the CBS interview, McCartney discussed his relationship with John Lennon, saying it is still “difficult” to process his fatal shooting 40 years on.

“It’s very difficult for me. I occasionally will have thoughts: why don’t I just break down crying every day? Because it’s that bad,” he said.

“There will be times when I have memories and think, oh my god. It was so senseless.”

READ MORE: Paul McCartney – ‘McCartney III’ review: an unpredictable quest of musical evolution

Were Lennon still alive, McCartney is confident he would still be writing music today.

“He was showing no signs of slowing up. He was still making great music. The question is: would we have ever got back together again? I don’t know. We don’t know,” he told CBS.

“We were friends. That was one of the great things about it. I don’t know how I would have dealt with it. I don’t think I’ve dealt with it very well. I wouldn’t be surprised if a psychiatrist would sort of find out I was slightly in denial. Because it’s too much.”

McCartney released his latest album, ‘McCartney III’, last week, recorded during lockdown (or ‘rockdown’, as he calls it). The new LP marks the third and final instalment in the ‘McCartney’ solo album trilogy. NME gave the record a four-star review upon its release, labelling it “a stellar return to his three-decade-spanning series”.

McCartney also recently released a music video for the album cut ‘Find My Way’, which was directed by Roman Coppola and used 46 cameras to capture him performing every instrument on the song.

Last week, McCartney talked about his ambivalence about headlining Glastonbury next year, calling the festival a potential “super-spreader”.

“People have started to find ways [of live performing] with Zoom and with socially distanced things,” he told The Sun. “But for a thing like Glastonbury where you’ve got over 100,000 people packed into a field, that’s a super-spreader, you know.

“But I’ll be glad when we can get back – it will be a nice change to actually play to some people.”

Pharrell says songs on Justin Timberlake’s ‘Justified’ were written for Michael Jackson

Pharrell Williams has claimed that “all but one” of the tracks on Justin Timberlake‘s debut album, ‘Justified’, were originally written for Michael Jackson.

Speaking on Revolt TV podcast Drink Champs, Pharrell revealed that he was regularly sending beats to both Jackson and Prince, apparently without success.

“John McClain was his manager at the time,” the Neptunes producer explained. “We sent him pretty much all the stuff y’all are hearing on the ‘Justified’ album. That’s all the Michael stuff.”

According to Pharrell, almost every song on Timberlake’s 2002 debut was put together with Jackson in mind. “All but one song, they were all written for Michael,” he said.

The producer claimed Jackson wasn’t interested in the tracks on offer, suggesting that he wanted something closer in style to Pharrell’s 1998 N.O.R.E. collaboration.

“John McClain was like, ‘Man, Michael don’t want that shit,’” the ‘Entrepeneur’ singer told the host. “‘He want that shit you’re giving Noreaga… he want that ‘Superthug.’”

Pharrell on Drink Champs said most of the tracks for Justified were originally made for MJ and MJ’s manager hit them back like “Michael don’t wanna sing over this shit, he wants the shit you be giving NORE” lmao

— Kibbutzy Collins (@atrak) December 19, 2020

On Friday (December 18), Pharrell weighed in on the recent dispute between Taylor Swift and Scooter Braun, after the latter notoriously purchased the singer’s former record label and the master rights to her first six albums.

“It’s really unfortunate, you know,” he told Variety. “There was room for him to make his acquisition because that’s just the way the business is, and I felt for her and not being able to be in control of it.”

The N.E.R.D. man also unveiled a new non-profit initiative this month. Black Ambition will support Black and Latinx entrepreneurs.

Pharrell’s charity is said to be committed to levelling the playing field for non-white entrepreneurs by providing them with funding, opportunities, mentorships and access.

Paul McCartney says he didn’t recognise his guitar on Kanye West collaboration

Paul McCartney has admitted that he didn’t recognise his own guitar when he first heard his ‘FourFiveSeconds’ collaboration with Kanye West and Rihanna.

Read more: Paul McCartney – ‘McCartney III’ review: an unpredictable quest of musical evolution

The 2015 track, which has been covered by everyone from Drake to James Bay, peaked at Number Four on the US Billboard chart, and it helped McCartney set a record by ending the longest break between Top 10 singles on the chart.

Speaking on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Thursday (December 17), McCartney said that he didn’t even know he was making a song at first.

“It was only two months later when I got a track sent to me,” McCartney said. “I didn’t think I’d done anything, but suddenly I got sent ‘FourFiveSeconds’ with Rihanna.”

He added: “I like that one. And I had to say, ‘Am I on this record?’ He said, ‘That’s you doing that guitar.’ So they’d sped it up so it wasn’t recognisable.”

Elsewhere during his appearance on Fallon, McCartney talked about being a self-taught musician.

“I wasn’t trained in anything. Nothing. I really wasn’t,” he said. “They tried to train us in stuff, but no, I didn’t get trained in anything. But there’s still time, I might learn. I might take lessons. Who would I take lessons from?”

McCartney released his new solo album ‘McCartney III’ earlier this month, the third in his trilogy of self-titled albums dating back to 1970.

Reviewing ‘McCartney III’, NME wrote: “If future archaeologists take this three-album series as a significant marker of his solo half-century, they’ll conclude that Paul McCartney never stopped liberating.”

Meanwhile, McCartney recently opened up about his friendship with John Lennon in a new interview.

Channel Tres Is Reaping The Rewards Of His Work — But He’s Not Satisfied Yet

By Jack Irvin

On the evening ahead of the release of his third EP, I Can’t Go Outside, you’d think Compton hip-house musician and producer Channel Tres would be getting ready to celebrate. Instead, he’s on his sixth hour in the studio, already working on his next project, for which he says this one is “just the precursor.” It’s that mighty work ethic and a dedication to honing his craft that have taken Tres all over the world — on tour with Robyn and Childish Gambino — as an independent artist with just a couple of EPs under his belt. In fact, prior to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, he’d never really taken a break.

“This is kind of the first time I’ve been able to sit down for this long and not be on a plane or going somewhere else,” the 29-year-old tells MTV News over a phone call, mere hours before his project dropped on December 10. In the absence of touring, which has always been the main driver of his creative process, Tres has been forced to take a closer look at his surroundings. “It’s really easy sometimes when you’re doing music, or maybe any job, to ignore different problems you have because you could just fly somewhere and forget about it, but during this time I haven’t been able to ignore anything. I’ve been having to deal with things.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diOwsWMHt10

Growing up in South Central Los Angeles, the musician born Sheldon Young immersed himself in the music of his church choir at a young age, later learning the drums and taking dance classes; at one point, he even joined a krumping group. Raised by his grandparents, Tres left high school early after his grandfather’s death to take care of his grandmother, who later passed as well. By his late teens, Tres was left unhoused and reliant on welfare. Feeling marginalized by his environment, he fled to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to study music at Oral Roberts University, working night shifts at Chick-fil-A to stay afloat. He came back to L.A. after college, began working as a touring DJ, and quickly found himself creating music in rooms with Kehlani, Duckwrth, Wale, and more. By the time his debut single “Controller” dropped in 2018, Channel Tres was already primed for success.

Fast forward to 2020. After years of constant touring (and picking up fans like Elton John along the way), the musician found himself stuck inside just like the rest of us. Channel Tres immediately got to work on I Can’t Go Outside, a seven-track set inspired by quarantine and the anxiety, loneliness, and global chaos he’s endured during it. At first, boredom was a main source of inspiration — especially for the groovy lead single “Skate Depot” and the project’s cover art, which sees Tres’s face peeking through a giant banana leaf. “I picked up skates for like one day. I learned how to play chess. I wanted to learn how to do the Rubik's Cube,” he details. “I’m just showing myself really bored and not having anything to do, so I put a leaf on my face.”

I Can’t Go Outside is the first project Tres has crafted without a performance in mind, and knowing live shows are out of the question for a while, he decided to leave his longtime apartment and purchase his first home — a major milestone, especially considering the struggles of his past. “It feels good. It’s a testament to consistency, and hard work, and just never giving up when obstacles come your way,” he says. “I hope that it inspires younger kids or any other artists who need to be inspired, ‘cause it took me a long time to get there, but the journey was well worth it.”

Clare Gillen

His environmental shift is accompanied by a sonic one, as the project strays from Tres’s signature crisp house sound to incorporate more hip-hop elements, a string section, and a self-described “aggressiveness” in its mixing.

“A lot of my stuff is polished, but this one I purposely didn’t polish all the way. 2020 wasn’t a polished year, and it doesn’t feel like I can just be that polished artist I want to be,” he says, describing the frustration he felt creating amid the Black Lives Matter protests earlier this summer. “When I made ‘Fuego,’ there was a lot of noise outside, rioting and that kind of stuff. You can hear it in the verse, I’m talking to myself: ‘It ain’t that bad. Why you scared of this shit? You ain’t that rare. You just a beat they gon’ flip. My n---a, get off your knees. It’s trash, ain’t it lit?’”

The track’s dark intensity reflected Tres’s headspace at the time, but those emotions were soon offset by an exciting text Tres received from Tyler, the Creator’s engineer asking if he had any tracks that would fit a guest verse from the rapper. He sent over “Fuego,” which Tyler quickly wrote on and sent back — a full-circle moment for Tres, whose remix of “Earfquake” elevated his own profile and became the first remix of a Tyler, the Creator track to ever receive an official release from the rapper. Also featured on I Can’t Go Outside is Tinashe, to whom he reached out for a verse on the soulful, uplifting “Take Your Time” after she posted a video jamming to his song “Topdown” in her car about a year prior. “I hit her up, and we just became cool. We made some music together. She’s a real fun person to work with,” he remarks, noting that there are “definitely” more tracks to come from the pair.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIyU-8Ag5lB/

Channel Tres is yet to achieve mainstream success as it’s often defined (Billboard Hot 100 hits, RIAA certifications), but in an age when impressions are made online and not on the radio, the array of artists knocking on his door to collaborate is a clear indicator that he’s on the verge of something truly great. Earlier this year, he appeared on SG Lewis’s disco-house banger “Impact” alongside pop auteur Robyn, whom he now considers a mentor following his experience as an opener on her Honey tour in 2019. “I’ve learned a lot from her. I feel like she inspired me a lot during that time, and she just taught me little things. The way I work has changed, and the way I was performing changed,” he details. “She sees music a lot of the same ways I see it, so it’s nice to talk to someone as dope as her and be able to level on certain conversations about music.”

Aside from mentorship, there are many perks to being on the radar of the industry and its leading artists. During a celebratory dinner for Tres’s first London show in late 2018, his manager let him know that Disclosure had reached out with interest in a collaboration. A few months later, they got together to create the sticky, infectious “Lavender,” off of the duo’s latest album Energy. Nearly two years after the session, the project is nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Album at the 2021 Grammy Awards — an impressive feat for Tres, who says he's put in well over his 10,000 hours of practice. “Man, it feels amazing. I knew I was going to work in music, but I never thought I’d get this far, so I’m kinda just riding the wave. It made my mom really happy, and it made people that know my story and what I’ve been through happy,” Tres says. But it only scratches the surface of what’s to come.

“It’s great, but I’m definitely not satisfied. I definitely want my own Grammy one day.”

Ashanti tests positive for coronavirus just hours before ‘VERZUZ’ battle with Keyshia Cole

Ashanti revealed she tested positive for the coronavirus just a few hours before her VERZUZ battle with Keyshia Cole.

Read more: Timbaland and Swizz Beatz on ‘VERZUZ’ battle series: “We want to celebrate the architects of good music”

The pair were due to go head-to-head last night (December 12) as part of the popular virtual entertainment series created by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland.

However, after the former Murder Inc. singer revealed she had tested positive for COVID-19, the scheduled face off was postponed – even though Ashanti appeared to be trying to make her side of the event happen from home.

“Hey y’all I can’t believe I’m saying this but I tested positive for COVID-19. I’m ok and not in any pain. I’m actually down to do the verzuz from my house… we’re tring to figure it all out!!!” Ashanti wrote on Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ashanti (@ashanti)

Less than an hour later, the official VERZUZ account confirmed the event was being postponed.

“Unfortunately, we have to postpone tonight’s @Ashanti vs @KeyshiaCole #VERZUZ,” the message began. “Ashanti tested positive for COVID-19 beforehand, and we cannot put anyone at risk in the process. First time this has struck us so close to showtime.

“We apologize to our incredible audience! Get well soon, Ashanti. Wear a mask, stay inside, and take COVID-19 seriously. It’s truly affecting our community.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Verzuz (@verzuztv)

The battle has now been rescheduled to take place on January 9, 2021.

Following the news, Ashanti posted a video message. “We all go through lessons in life… and hopefully this serves as a lesson that this pandemic is very real,” she said.

“Thank you guys so much for all of your love and prayers…Thank you to everyone supporting the verzuz… much love to @keyshiacole and we’ll see y’all on January 9th!!! 2021 Women Empowerment.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ashanti (@ashanti)

VERZUZ is the popular entertainment series that pits producers, songwriters and artists against each other in a rap battle style format on Instagram Live and Apple Music.

Competitors take it in turns playing a song from a list of 20 from their discography, as fans, friends and fellow artists watch on. A winner is later decided by Timbaland and Swizz Beatz.

Kicking off in March after Timbaland and Swizz Beatz issued challenges to one another, artists that have taken part so far have included: T-Pain, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Brandy, Monica, Rick Ross, DMX, Snoop Dogg and many more.

Watch the wintery new video for Liam Gallagher’s ‘All You’re Dreaming Of’

Liam Gallagher has shared the official video for his recent single ‘All You’re Dreaming Of’ – you can watch it below.

Read more: Liam Gallagher’s new song ‘All You’re Dreaming Of’ is a touching festive ballad

The former Oasis frontman released the festive track late last month, and has since performed it live on The Jonathan Ross Show and as part of his Down By The River Thames live-stream.

Today (December 8), Gallagher has shared the single’s wintery, black-and-white video, which was helmed by Peaky Blinders director Anthony Byrne.

The video starts with a piano playing itself as Gallagher sings in front of a grand open fireplace. He then treks through a snowy woodland which is illuminated by Christmas lights.

The video’s final shot focuses on the message “This is not here” etched on a windowpane – a reference to the visuals for ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon, which contains the same phrase. The nod comes as the world remembers the late Beatle on the 40th anniversary of his death.

Gallagher previously worked with Anthony Byrne last year on the ‘One Of Us’ video. The single appears on his second solo album ‘Why Me? Why Not.’.

In a five-star review of Down By The River Thames, NME wrote: “We’re missing fans, flares, hurled pints and crowd chants, but this is without doubt the next best thing.

“The Thames has seen its fair share of incendiary moments, from The Sex Pistols’ turbulent 1977 trip to mark the release of ‘God Save The Queen’ to the legendary yowls of “I live by the river” in The Clash’s ‘London Calling’. Liam Gallagher has added to the story in his own indelible way.”

Meanwhile, Courtney Love has recalled the time Liam Gallagher played her an early preview of Oasis‘ ‘Songbird’ after the pair spent the night partying together.

Lemmy once told WWE’s Triple H that he was responsible for rejuvenating Motörhead

Lemmy once credited WWE wrestler Triple H with rejuvenating the career of Motörhead.

READ MORE: Lemmy: seven legendary stories the pre-Motörhead biopic should include

Speaking in a new interview, Triple H (real name Paul Levesque), whose entrance music often included a number of Motörhead songs, discussed the pair’s friendship and recounted a heart-to-heart the two of them had before a Motörhead gig.

“We were talking and [Lemmy] goes, ‘You’ve gotta look out there tonight. Wait until you see all the kids that are at our event. We didn’t have any of that before we started with you’,” Triple H told Metal Injection’s Squared Circle Pit podcast.

“He said, ‘It used to be an old-timer event at our shows where it was all these old metalheads that had kinda aged out. All of a sudden, we’re like this cool, young band and we’ve got kids here and teenagers and young adults that are at our shows again. It’s been like a refresh for us.’ To me, there was no bigger compliment.”

Listen to the interview below:

Elsewhere in the interview, Triple H also revealed that WWE chairman Vince McMahon is big fan of AC/DC. “He’s sort of a classic rock kind of guy. AC/DC is the big thing for him,” he said. “The Stones, Bob Seger — those are the things that really resonate with him.

“He loves the music, but to him, it’s the experience. Kid Rock, ZZ Top — all that stuff where they can give you that performance as well. Not just the music, but the performance is big, too — he loves that.”

Earlier this year, a posthumous interview with late Motörhead frontman Lemmy has appeared online, which sees the legend paying tribute to AC/DC.

The recent interview, recorded back in 2015, appeared as the new season opener of the AC/DC Beyond The Thunder podcast.

Meanwhile, a new Lemmy action figure is now available to order, commemorating the 40th anniversary of Motörhead‘s ‘Ace of Spades’ album next month.

Ashanti and Keyshia Cole to go head-to-head in next VERZUZ battle

Ashanti and Keyshia Cole are set to go head-to-head in the next VERZUZ battle, it has been announced.

The series of livestreamed battles between rappers, singers and producers began in March 2020, launched by Timbaland and Swizz Beatz amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Read more: Timbaland and Swizz Beatz on VERZUZ battle series: “We want to celebrate the architects of good music”

Now on a second season, next weekend’s match-up will be the 21st battle overall and will see Ashanti and Cole face-off over 20 rounds.

Fans can tune into the battle on the @VERZUZTV Instagram page or on Apple Music. It will take place next Saturday (December 12) at 8pm ET (1am GMT).

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A post shared by Verzuz (@verzuztv)

Among the tracks Cole could air include her Eve-featuring 2004 debut single ‘Never’, her biggest US hit ‘Let It Go’, 2008’s ‘I Remember’ or ‘You’, which appeared on her latest album ‘Reset’ and featured appearances from Remy Ma and French Montana.

Ashanti, meanwhile, could drop 2003’s ‘Rock Wit U (Awww Baby)’, Busta Rhymes collaboration ‘The Woman You Love’, or her 2001 Ja Rule team-up ‘Always On Time’.

The last VERZUZ battle saw Jeezy and Gucci Mane break the series’ record for biggest-ever viewing figures. Their match saw 5.5million total viewers on Instagram and 2.3million on Apple Music, as well as an additional 1.3million “unofficial” viewers.

“On a minimum level, 9.1 MILLION people watched this epic, legendary showdown,” read a post on the VERZUZ Instagram page afterwards. “As we saw across the country, there was a new phenomenon of Verzuz viewing parties, so that figure is not including those who gathered in large numbers together.”

Other stars to take part in the battles so far include Nelly and Ludacris, Ryan Tedder and Benny Blanco, Alicia Keys and John Legend, and Rick Ross and 2 Chainz.

Paul McCartney says music was his “silver lining” during lockdown

Paul McCartney has opened up about the making of his new solo album during lockdown.

Read More: The Big Read – Paul McCartney: “The Beatles were brothers arguing, that’s what families do”

Dubbing the period spent at home recording “rockdown” in a new interview with The Sunday Times, the former Beatle star said he tried to remain optimistic writing the album, which is set for release on December 18.

“Well, I am an optimist,” McCartney said. “Generally speaking I do believe things are good, and we screw them up. In fact, a lot of people during lockdown would say, ‘Oh God!’ And I’d say, ‘Yes, but there’s a silver lining.’ It was a phrase I used a lot. I was loath to say it because a lot of people had it bad, but suddenly we saw more of the family than ever, and I was able to do recordings. That was my silver lining.”

He continued: “It’s so easy to fall into the trap of thinking things are bad and getting worse. Which, I don’t know, may be true, but I know I’d then be bummed out by that, so I say to myself, ‘Well, it’s not that bad. Think about the other day. That was good!’ I am always trying to find the good in things.”

Elsewhere in the interview, McCartney went on to discuss his thoughts on John Lennon and whether or not The Beatles would have ever reunited.

McCartney said: “We made a decision when the Beatles folded that we weren’t going to pick it up again. So we switched off from the Beatles. You talk about something coming full circle that is very satisfying; let’s not spoil it by doing something that might not be as good. It was a conscious decision to leave well enough alone, so I don’t really think we would have. But who knows? We could have.”

Going on to speak about a potential reunion in light of his repaired friendship with Lennon, McCartney then added: “We had certainly got our friendship back, which was a great blessing for me, and I now will often think, if I’m writing a song, ‘OK, John — I’ll toss it over to you. What line comes next?’ So I’ve got a virtual John that I can use.”

McCartney recently delayed the release of his upcoming solo album due to “unforeseeable production delays”.

The record is the long-awaited final part of the ‘McCartney’ solo album trilogy, following on from ‘McCartney’ in April 1970 and ‘McCartney II’ in May 1980.

After previously setting a December 11 release date, ‘McCartney III’ will now arrive a week later on December 18.

Miley Cyrus’s Plastic Hearts Has A Song For Every Mood

By Ashley Oken

Miley Cyrus’s long awaited seventh studio album, Plastic Hearts, dropped on Friday (November 27) and sees Cyrus embracing a throwback rock sound, reinventing herself yet again and unapologetically reflecting on her journey from Disney child star to mature artist exploring herself. She spent her immediate post-Disney career trying to shed the clean-cut image that comes with child stardom, and since then, Cyrus has tried embracing many sounds, from pop to country to psychedelic, in order to break away. Now, she seems to have found a bold, fitting path in rock.

The track “Gimme What I Want” has Cyrus drawing deeply from Nine Inch Nails and her penchant for covers of ‘80s tunes, while “Prisoner” melds a Runaways-style glam-rock vibe and Dua Lipa’s dance-pop sound with bits of Olivia Newton John’s “Physical.” Cyrus gets personal on “Never Be Me” and “Golden G String,” in which she discusses her flaws and her evolution as depicted by the media. All this adds up to a robust new sound to work with.

She originally planned to release a series of EPs, starting with 2019’s She Is Coming, but the 2018 Malibu wildfires — in which she lost her home — changed those plans. Though most of the old material survived the natural disaster, the event altered her perspective on her life. That renewal is there on Plastic Hearts, which also has seen videos allowing her to transform into rock and roll vampire and even eat a spider. Along with collaborations with Mark Ronson, ‘80s icon Billy Idol, and rock forebear Joan Jett, Cyrus treats fans to her personal rebirth and a look into her true musical self.

Below, we break down this rock-fueled album track by track and mood by mood.

"WTF Do I Know"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqwYgpnCRGA

Listen to it when you’re feeling: rebellious

Key lyric: "Thought it’d be you until I die / But then I let it go"

Serving as a more savage version of “7 Things” and a nod to early aughts alt-pop, this kickoff track is an upbeat, rebel punk song that seemingly dives right into Cyrus’s divorce from Liam Hemsworth as well as her image in the media. Play this when you want to thrash around your childhood bedroom and set your own rules.
"Plastic Hearts"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vStru2voDjY

Listen to it when you’re feeling: thoughtful

Key lyric: "I just wanna feel something / But I keep feeling nothing all night long"

Slyly referencing Rolling Stones’s “Sympathy for the Devil” in its intro and Bruno Mars’s “Locked Out of Heaven” in its outro, Cyrus sings of wanting to feel deeply connected to someone or something, but only being able to for a short time. This song will have you thinking about your last IRL hookup or virtual date.
"Angels Like You"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19IG7ZfaxZ8

Listen to it when you’re feeling: reflective

Key lyric: "I know that you’re wrong for me / Gonna wish we never met on the day I leave"

On this vulnerable mid-tempo track, Cyrus reflects on a relationship that wasn’t meant to be and learns to let go. Listen to this the next time you’re stuck on that person you thought was your forever.
"Prisoner" (ft. Dua Lipa)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ir1qkPXPVM

Listen to it when you’re feeling: freewheeling

Key lyric: "Can’t get you off my mind / Why can’t you just let me go?"

A mashup of neo-disco samples and early ‘70s/’80s rock, Cyrus and Lipa sing of feeling trapped in their emotions and pair it with an equally retro and sensual video. This song will provide you with a dance-tinged escape from those 3 a.m. thoughts you’re having during quarantine.
"Gimme What I Want"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_knNYThfGOQ

Listen to it when you’re feeling: lustful

Key lyric: "I don’t need a future, I don’t need your past / I just need a lover"

Over '80s synths, Cyrus sings of giving a potential lover the choice to pursue a relationship and being OK if they turn her down. This song serves as a reminder that you can be alright on your own amid the flurry of Instagram engagement announcements.
"Night Crawling" (ft. Billy Idol)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeEtfHz5D3c

Listen to it when you’re feeling: sexy

Key lyric: "Sometimes I’m the best you’ve ever had / Sometimes I need your loving"

With throaty vocals and thoughts about light, violence, and silence from Idol, this track marries rebellion with sex. A rocker version of Teddy Pendergrass’s “Turn Off the Lights,” this song will have you thinking of your beau in the wee hours.
"Midnight Sky"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS1no1myeTM

Listen to when you’re feeling: free

Key lyric: "Lotta years went by with my hands tied up in your ropes / Forever and ever, no more"

Wielding her weathered vocal style and a disco-pop sound expertly, Cyrus channels Stevie Nicks and samples her hit “Edge of Seventeen” while singing this LGBTQ+ anthem of being a free spirit who embraces all that she is and doesn’t live with expectations of forever. Whether you need a pick-me-up or want to dance in your room in the middle of the night, this song will provide the right soundtrack.
"High" (ft. Mark Ronson)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQNa4b5ZROU

Listen to it when you’re feeling: nostalgic

Key lyric: "And I don’t miss you but I think of you and don’t know why"

With a country feel and powerful vocals, Cyrus explores missing someone that you shouldn’t and not being able to shake them. Listen when you still feel warmth while thinking of a past friendship or relationship and want to understand it.
"Hate Me"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcn7WU9-HMI

Listen to it when you’re feeling: angry

Key lyric: "I hope that it’s enough to make you cry / Maybe that day you won’t hate me"

After a near-fatal experience during a flight to the Glastonbury Festival and recent discussion about not wanting to join the 27 Club, Cyrus discusses how the media would shed positive light on her if she was to die after years of negativity. If you’re feeling angry at the state of your life and being left on read during the pandemic, this song understands those feelings.
"Bad Karma" (ft. Joan Jett)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy_sqp-t_H8

Listen to it when you’re feeling: naughty

Key lyric: "You may think I’m ghosting, but the truth is I’m a liar"

Leaked online a year ago, this defiant song sees Cyrus and rock legend Joan Jett crooning about cheating and not caring about the consequences, with Cyrus noting that she’d “think about it later.” Miley’s got you covered the next time an ex pops up in your DMs.
"Never Be Me"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qniEbNzBT20

Listen to it when you’re feeling: emotional

Key lyric: "If you’re looking for someone to be all that you need / That’ll never be me"

With vibes of “It Ain’t Me Babe” by Bob Dylan, this gutting power ballad sees Cyrus sing of not being who a partner would need her to be. This song is great for processing breakups and realizing that there is life afterwards.
"Golden G String"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HKCsWmZLcU

Listen to it when you’re feeling: powerful

Key lyric: "The old boys hold all the cards and they ain’t playing gin"

This personal track inspired by the Trump era sees Cyrus doing two things: owning her persona over the years (“I was trying to own my power / Still I’m trying to work it out”) and discussing how men can still act as the gatekeepers to the fate of women. If you wanna feel like a boss, here’s your soundtrack.
"Edge of Midnight" ("Midnight Sky" remix ft. Stevie Nicks)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CoOLtQbmJI

Listen to it when you’re feeling: wistful

Key lyric: "Sings a song sounds like she’s singing / Ooh, baby, ooh, said, ooh"

This remix to lead single “Midnight Sky” transports you to the past with its clear references to Stevie Nicks's 1972 hit “Edge of Seventeen” and even has Nicks singing the chorus, something we never knew that we needed. Bookmark this for whenever you need a song to dance to in between Zoom meetings.
"Heart of Glass" (Live from the iHeart Music Festival)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YIlierZzGk

Listen to it when you’re feeling: romantic

Key lyric: "In between what I find is pleasing and I’m feeling fine / Love is so confusing, there’s no peace of mind"

A cover of the 1979 original by Blondie, Cyrus’s 2020 cover garnered praise and was an introduction to her robust, rock-infused new sound. Importantly, it’s also Debbie Harry-approved.
"Zombie" (Live from the NIVA Save Our Stages Festival)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l81u-oSIAp4

Listen to it when you’re feeling: sentimental

Key lyric: "It’s the same old theme since 1976 / In your head, in your head, they’re still fighting"

On this cover of the 1993 original by The Cranberries, Cyrus channels a powerful sound in line with its anti-violence message. Save this for the next time you need to be reminded that musical taste and Cyrus’s vocal abilities transcend genre.

NTIA accuses UK government of intentionally destroying night life industry with new restrictions

The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) has accused the UK government of intentionally destroying the night life sector through the introduction of new coronavirus restrictions.

Read more: The beat goes on: how the UK dance scene’s DJs, clubs and festivals are fighting for survival

The sector argues it will be among the hardest hit through Boris Johnson’s revised three-tier system, which the PM outlined in a virtual statement to the Commons last week.

The new rules, which are due to come in to force from Wednesday (December 2), will see non-essential retail and personal care providers, such as hairdressers, reopen no matter which tier they are in. The same is true for gyms.

However, the restrictions facing hospitality – pubs, bars and restaurants – are more complicated. Even in Tier 1 areas, they must only provide table service, though the 10pm curfew has been extended to 11pm, with last orders at 10.

Those in Tier 2 have to close unless they are serving food, with alcoholic drinks only available with a “substantial meal”. Such businesses can only open as a takeaway service in Tier 3.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson outlined new coronavirus restrictions in a virtual statement to the Commons last week. CREDIT: Leon Neal/Getty Images

“This announcement by the Government has led us to believe that they are intentionally aiming to collapse our sector,” said Night Time Industries Association CEO Michael Kill in a statement. “Every town and city across the UK stands to lose valued and much loved venues. This will be another stab in the heart of our town and city centres.

“We stand to lose the cultural institutions and amazing workforce of professionals that the UK are renowned for globally. Our clubs, bars, venues, security, freelancers, staff, managers, DJ’s and many more will lose their livelihoods and continue to suffer financial hardship without Government intervention.

“I make a direct appeal to the Prime Minister – ‘Mr Johnson, what are you doing to save the lives and livelihoods of the many businesses and workers within the night time economy, businesses that have been closed since March and are continuing to suffer? They have staff and freelancers that will lose their jobs irrespective of furlough because the businesses won’t survive.’

He concluded: “What do you say to that Prime Minister, I hope you are sleeping well at night because thousands within our sector are struggling to sleep, in fear of their future.”

Printworks in London lay empty and under threat of permanent closure (Photo by Peter Summers/Getty Images)

The NTIA also shared the results of a recent survey they conducted, where they spoke to over 400 businesses and found 75.6% of them said they will be closed for good by Christmas.

Over 73% of businesses revealed that they had made redundancies since the start of the pandemic, with 65% of them already making over 40% of their workforce redundant, with many more to follow after the announcement of restrictions, ahead of the Christmas period.

The survey, which NTIA conducted with Sprout CRM, also highlighted that 74.4% of businesses surveyed were commercial tenants with 77.6% with over 2 Quarters in rent arrears and were suffering extreme financial hardship.

42nd Street crowdfunder — 42nd Street in Manchester, known to regulars as 42s, is under threat of closure. CREDIT: Press

Last week, nightclubs across the UK warned that they could lose two thirds of their staff or even face permanent “extinction” unless the government provided urgent support and clarity to help them weather the storm caused by the pandemic.

While iconic nightclubs such as Fabric in London were among those to celebrate receiving millions from the government’s £1.57billion Cultural Recovery Fund – which has helped save hundreds of venues forced to remain closed due to COVID for months ahead – many more were denied funding and were left feeling that the Arts Council considered them to be “culturally insignificant” due to their rejection.

Responding to the nightlife’s scenes concerns, a government spokesperson for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport told NME that they were working hard with the sector to secure a safe future.

“We are making the biggest ever one-off investment in the cultural sector through our unprecedented £1.57billion Culture Recovery Fund which has benefitted nightclubs including Ministry of Sound, Motion in Bristol, and Night People in Manchester,” a spokesperson told NME.

“Pubs, clubs and grassroots venues are the heartbeat of our vibrant night time economy and we are continuing to work closely with the Night Time Industries Association and medical experts to develop advice and guidance so that nightclubs can reopen when it’s safe to do so.”

For more information on the #SaveNightLife and #LetUsDance campaign, visit here – or raise your concerns by writing to your MP by using the automated form here.

Meanwhile, The Music Venue Trust have launched a new campaign to save 30 UK grassroots venues still in danger of being lost forever in the wake of coronavirus restrictions. See the full list and how you can help here.

Young Thug on OutKast’s Andre 3000: “I ain’t never paid attention to him”

Young Thug has shared his thoughts on OutKast‘s Andre 3000, stating that he’s “never paid attention to him”.

Read more: A beginner’s guide to… Young Thug

Appearing as a guest on T.I.‘s ExpediTIously podcast alongside Benny The Butcher, Thug was asked about his decision to wear a dress on the cover of his 2016 mixtape ‘Jeffery’.

Denying that he wore it for attention, Thug maintained that the dress just so happened to match a pair of Maison Margiela shoes he’d bought. “That shit was just that simple,” he explained. “That motherfucker matched. It was not for attention. That’s on the holy bible, that’s on my kids.”

T.I. then mentioned that Andre 3000 had also previously worn a dress, which prompted Thug to reflect on his experience – or lack thereof – with the legendary MC.

“I only did that for my generation though,” he told Tip. “I can’t rap you two Andre 3000 songs. I ain’t never paid attention to him. Never in my life.”

T.I. replied: “You crazy. You’re missing out. Y’all need to work together. Your motherfuckin’ next move, just like you went and worked with Elton John.”

T.I. interviewed Young Thug on his *ExpediTIously* podcast. CREDIT: Getty Images

At that point, Thugger interrupted to clarify. “But the difference between Elton John and Andre is, to simplify it, Elton John likes to kiss ass, and Dre likes his ass kissed,” he claimed.

“Elton John like, ‘Hey! I like you, I remember your first song, I remember Gucci first song, when Guwop getting out?’ He a fan type of n***a, to the point where I’m like ‘let’s do music,’ and he’s like ‘n***a bet.’ Andre more like, and this is his secretary ‘Ey, tell the n**ga it’s Thug, n***a.”

After T.I. vouched for Andre 3000 and his status as their ally, Young Thug shook his head and said: “No. He’s who ally? Yeah fuckin’ right. Why you don’t rap like him? You don’t talk like him, dress like him, look like him. You ain’t trying to portray none of that.”

He continued: “I knew a few n***as that everybody tried to portray. There was one moment you thought you was Michael Jordan. Then there was one moment you thought you was Kobe.”

T.I. responded: “No. I’m not an athlete!”

You can watch the full interview below. The conversation about Andre 3000 starts to unfold around the 53-minute mark.

Earlier this year, T.I. and Young Thug teamed up on a new track called ‘Ring’.

It marks the pair’s latest collaboration together, with Young Thug having most recently featured on T.I.’s 2018 studio album ‘Dime Trap’ along with Swizz Beatz on the track ‘The Weekend’.

Meanwhile, a VERZUZ battle between A Tribe Called Quest and OutKast could be on the way, according to the virtual series’ co-founder Swizz Beatz.

Speaking to DJ Kid Capri on Instagram Live, the super producer let it slip that he and the VERZUZ team have been working on getting the two iconic groups together for the series.

Juicy J wants to take on Pharrell Williams in a ‘VERZUZ’ battle

Juicy J has said that he wants to take on Pharrell Williams in a VERZUZ battle.

Read More: Timbaland and Swizz Beatz on VERZUZ battle series: “We want to celebrate the architects of good music”

Speaking in an interview with Houston radio station 97.9 The Box, the producer was asked about the series, which pits producers, songwriters and artists against each other in a rap battle style format on Instagram Live and Apple Music.

“See, I got such a long [back catalogue], I could easily kill somebody in a VERZUZ battle,” Juicy J said.

“I could pull up that old Three 6 [Mafia] and pull up my new catalogue and smash you with my middle catalogue. I mean, there’s three decades of music. I think you can only play 20 records. I got so many hits.”

Asked who he thinks would make a good match-up, Juicy J said: “You know what, I’ma tell you something. A match-up: me and Pharrell. He a artist, I’m a artist; he a producer and I’m a producer. He can pull up shit he produced, and I can pull up some shit I produced.”

Earlier this month, the virtual series’ co-founder Swizz Beatz revealed that a battle between A Tribe Called Quest and OutKast is in the works.

Kicking off in March after Timbaland and Swizz Beatz issued challenges to one another, artists that have taken part so far have included T-Pain, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Brandy, Monica, Rick Ross, DMX, Snoop Dogg and many more.

The second series of ‘VERZUZ’ kicked off earlier this month, with Gucci Mane facing off with Jeezy.

Meanwhile, Juicy J released his fifth studio album ‘The Hustle Continues’ today (November 27). In a three-star review, NME’s Will Lavin called it “a solid addition to Juicy’s already cemented legacy as one of the most influential artists of pop culture’s modern era.”

Munya Chawawa’s “posh drill rapper” Unknown P shares debut single, ‘Piers Morgan’

Comedian Munya Chawawa has released his debut single as Unknown P, ‘Piers Morgan’.

Chawawa has enjoyed huge viral success over the past couple of years, having shared various sketches that reflect current events, politics and social issues.

Read More: Move over, Chicago: how the UK made drill its own – and then sold it back to the world

Described as “the UK’s first ‘posh’ drill rapper”, the funnyman’s Unknown P alter-ego has now offered up his first track, on which the “pheasant-eating, Brexit-backing Tory” expresses his love for the divisive Good Morning Britain host.

“Piers Morgan/ Susanna Reid, I’m adorin’,” Unknown P raps over a drill beat, before going on to reference Margaret Thatcher, caviar, Rupert Murdoch and Bourbon biscuits.

Released via Atlantic Records, ‘Piers Morgan’ was co-produced by Munya and Rymez (Headie One, M24). You can watch its official video below.

“I created Unknown P as a nod towards the appropriation and false ownership of black culture that often happens in western societies,” Chawawa explained.

“Drill is very much portrayed as violent music for violent people, as a means of stubbing out a form of expression for many black young men…when in reality, it’s a genre of music enjoyed by people of all demographics across the world.”

He continued: “Unknown P comes to burst the bubble of what the stereotypical drill artist and fan ‘should’ look like. He’s a pheasant-eating, Brexit-backing Tory who loves the genre as much as the next man and furthermore, he’s a decent drill artist in his own right.”

Munya Chawawa has previously parodied the likes of JME, Ne-Yo, Headie One, Skepta and Dave with his online videos. The comedian’s other characters include newsreader ‘Barty Crease’ and Jamie Oliver’s Caribbean cousin, ‘Johnny Oliver’.

Last month, Chawawa used Unknown P to parody the recent fallout between Stormzy and Chip.

Sam Fender shares emotive cover of ’70s folk track ‘Winter Song’

Sam Fender has today (November 24) shared an emotive cover of the ’70s folk track, ‘Winter Song’.

READ MORE: Sam Fender on his groundbreaking Newcastle arena gigs: “I’m proud that Geordies are the trailblazers”

Described as a “stark, raw and heartfelt recording”, the song is a cover of a track originally recorded by Alan Hull and Lindisfarne.

A press release described Alan Hull as “a local legend” for the people of Newcastle, where Fender is from.

The press release added: “As meaningful to the people of Newcastle as The Beatles were to the people of Liverpool, Lindisfarne might never have reached the dizzying heights of John Lennon’s men, but in vocalist and songwriter Alan Hull, they had an artist whose music reached and touched millions, and who hundreds of thousands of Geordies, over the generations, remain fiercely proud.”

Speaking about the song, Fender said: “I wanted to do a Christmas song, and wanted it to be close to my home and my heart. For me, the words are more relevant this year than ever. Christmas won’t be the same for a lot of people this year, and that’s why I picked Winter Song.

“Alan Hull truly was one of the most fantastic and underrated writers of his time. Geordie legend. I hope I’ve done it justice, I’m really proud of it.”

The lyric video for the video, which you can watch above, is a collaboration with ‘People of the Streets (POTS)’, a social enterprise that helps to support the homeless.

Together with his collaboration with POTS, Fender is also selling The Big Issue via his official store with all profits going to the magazine to split between vendors.

Fender recently told NME that he believes his upcoming new record is “miles better” than his debut. The singer spoke to NME after he played one of the UK’s first major socially distanced gigs at the Virgin Money Unity Arena in Newcastle in August.

Asked about the current progress of the follow-up to 2019’s ‘Hypersonic Missiles’, Fender said that “it’s a much more cohesive piece of work” so far.

“For me, this feels like my first album. [‘Hypersonic Missiles’] was a collection of songs over five years, so it’s not sonically cohesive for me,” he explained. “It has songs like ‘The Borders’ and ‘Two People’ that I love and I’m proud of, but the record itself felt more like a ‘Greatest Hits’ before I’d even had any hits!”

Reviewing ‘Hypersonic Missiles’ upon its release, NME wrote: “‘Hypersonic Missiles’ mostly hits the notes he longs to convey: it’s by turns euphoric and melancholy, self-deprecating and righteous, untethered and claustrophobic. There are no easy answers here, but Sam Fender’s asking the right questions.”

Tool are giving fans the chance to win a signed kitchen sink

Tool fans have been given the chance to win the most unlikely of memorabilia – a stainless steel kitchen sink signed by all four members of the band.

The bizarre item is being auctioned off by the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund, but Tool fans won’t be able to actually use the sink, unless they’re willing to lose the signatures of Maynard James Keenan and his bandmates.

READ MORE: Puscifer: “Eventually we’ll go the way of the dinosaurs, and it will be OK”

As a press release states, “Tool members are generally reluctant to sign items to donate. However, when presented with ‘the kitchen sink’ and a good cause, they couldn’t resist.”

The sink is a highlight in a true treasure trove of items that are being auctioned, including a special limited-edition Les Paul featuring the artwork from Dio’s iconic album ‘Holy Diver’.

Tool have signed a sink for new fundraising efforts

Guitars autographed by Lita Ford, Nancy Wilson of Heart, John 5, Avenged Sevenfold, Motörhead, and Slash will also be up for grabs, as will a single Schecter Omen Solo 6 guitar signed by 15 musicians including members of Dio and Quiet Riot and the late Eddie Money.

Vintage Beatles and Fleetwood Mac memorabilia is also up for grabs.

The auction forms part of the larger ‘Icons & Idols: TRILOGY Rock ‘n’ Roll Auction’, with bidding starting on December 2nd at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET via Julien’s Auctions.

A catalog of all the items can be found here.

Dio, who fronted Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and his own titular band, died from gastric cancer in 2010.

It comes after a pallet of custom Les Paul guitars designed by Tool guitarist Adam Jones were stolen from a truck in Indiana earlier this month.

The limited-edition 1979 Gibson Les Paul Custom Silverburst was unveiled last month, with three members of Tool scoring new short film The Witness to mark the occasion.

Meanwhile, Tool‘s Maynard James Keenan recently hit out at coronavirus conspiracy theorists after revealing earlier this month that he contracted COVID in February.

“I’m still feeling residual effects of [the virus],” he said. “I feel like there’s a bunch of people that…maybe I didn’t almost die, but I have friends who almost died. It was ugly. And then you have people going…apparently I’m being paid to say this. Eat a dick, dude.”

Busta Rhymes names Jay-Z and Eminem as potential ‘Verzuz’ opponents

Busta Rhymes has named the likes of Jay-Z and Eminem as potential Verzuz opponents.

The US webcast series, which was created by Timbaland and Swizz Beatz, pits producers, songwriters and artists against each other in a rap battle style format on Instagram Live and Apple Music.

READ MORE: Timbaland and Swizz Beatz on VERZUZ battle series: “We want to celebrate the architects of good music”

During a new interview with Complex, Busta – real name Trevor George Smith Jr – was pressed on who he would like to face in the Verzus ring, with T.I. having previously declined a battle against the rapper.

“I would love to spar against anybody,” Busta replied. “As long as their catalogue is a powerful catalogue because I don’t want to do a corny Verzuz.

“I don’t wanna do no Verzuz with anybody whose catalogue isn’t crazy. And I would love to do a Verzuz with somebody that I’m a fan of because I’m only trying to compete with somebody that brings the best out of me.”

Busta Rhymes. CREDIT: Johnny Nunez/WireImage.

He continued: “I would love to do a Verzuz with Eminem, I would love to do a Verzuz with Lil Wayne. I would love to do a Verzuz with Hov.

Busta went on to say that he’d be up for taking on “two artists at the same time” on the show. “I actually presented that before T.I. started talking like that,” he added.

The second season of Verzuz will kick-off next Thursday (November 19), with T.I. set to battle Jeezy in the first episode.

Busta recently recalled losing a high school rap battle to his then fellow student Jay-Z, explaining that he “always wanted to have my rematch”. “It didn’t happen which was fine because I ended up getting my skillset developed to the point where I don’t think nobody want to fuck with a n***a now,” he added.

Busta Rhymes released his latest record, ‘Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath Of God’, on October 30. In a four-star review, NME wrote: “[The album is] bursting at the seams with ferocious drum patterns, inventive samples […] dazzling wordplay and an all-star cast only Busta could assemble.”

Uncut – January 2021

CLICK HERE TO GET THE NEW UNCUT DELIVERED DIRECT TO YOUR DOOR

Paul McCartney, Uncut’s Review Of 2020, Neil Young, Elton John, Jarvis Cocker, Phoebe Bridgers, Lucinda Williams, AC/DC, The Kinks and Moses Boyd all feature in the new Uncut, dated January 2021 and in UK shops from November 12 or available to buy online now. As always, the issue comes with a free CD, this time comprising 15 tracks of the year’s best new music.

PAUL McCARTNEY: As he prepares to release McCartney III, the man himself calls us up to discuss the new lockdown-recorded album, his ongoing communion with John Lennon, Bob Dylan (“Sometimes I wish I was more like Bob…”), The Beatles and their place in the pantheon. “If you dare to experiment a little bit, it’s good for you!”

OUR FREE CD! THE SOUND OF 2020: 15 fantastic tracks from the cream of the year’s releases, including songs by Jason Isbell, Courtney Marie Andrews, Jarv Is, Stephen Malkmus, Phoebe Bridgers, Laura Marling, Fontaines DC, Thundercat, Kevin Morby, Brigid Mae Power and more.

This issue of Uncut is available to buy by clicking here – with FREE delivery to the UK and reduced delivery charges for the rest of the world.

Inside the issue, you’ll find:

THE REVIEW OF 2020: We count down the year’s top 75 new albums, top 30 archival releases, 20 films and 10 books

NEIL YOUNG: Archives Volume II: 1972-1976 is here! Along with it, of course, is our deep deep review, six pages of in-depth analysis with some help from Poncho Sampedro

ELTON JOHN: The making of “Come Down In Time”, as told by Elton, Bernie Taupin and musicians who played on it

PHOEBE BRIDGERS: 2020 has been a triumphant year for the LA singer-songwriter, and Uncut discovers the full story, from witchcraft exotica and skeleton jumpsuits to her superlative second album Punisher

JARVIS COCKER: From domestic discos to his own brand of tea, Jarv has been busy recently – here we sit down to chat about cave gigs, staying optimistic and his accidental lockdown anthem

MARGO PRICE: The renegade country queen answers your questions on oysters, Willie Nelson, politics and her hidden rap skills

THE INCREDIBLE STRING BAND: As she presents her fascinating memoir, Rose Simpson lifts the lid on the group’s late-’60s utopia. “We lived what we sang…”

AFEL BOCOUM: Album by album with the Malian master

THE KINKS: Dave Davies takes us through the new Lola… 50th-anniversary reissue alongside an extensive review

CLICK HERE TO GET THE NEW UNCUT DELIVERED DIRECT TO YOUR DOOR

In our expansive reviews section, we take a look at new records from AC/DC, Kacy & Clayton and Marlon Williams, Alex Maas, Luluc, Sturgill Simpson, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Josephine Foster and more, and archival releases from Neil Young, The Gun Club, The Kinks, Kraftwerk, Chavez, Ennio Morricone and others. We catch Lucinda Williams live online; among the films, DVDs and TV programmes reviewed are Another Round, Possessor, County Lines and Billie; while in books there’s John Cooper Clarke and Gary Numan.

Our front section, meanwhile, features The Damned, Dana Gillespie, Futurama festival and The Incredible String Band, and we introduce Black Country New Road. At the back of the issue, Moses Boyd takes us through his life in his favourite records.

You can pick up a copy of Uncut in the usual places, where open. But otherwise, readers all over the world can order a copy from here.

For more information on all the different ways to keep reading Uncut during lockdown, click here.

Damon Albarn on Joy Division: “There’s nothing like it, no one else sounds like them”

Damon Albarn has spoken of his love for Joy Division during a guest appearance on the new Joy Division and New Order podcast Transmissions: The Definitive Story.

Launched late last month, the official podcast is an eight-part series which includes interviews with members of the two bands and a number of special guests, such as Bono, Johnny Marr, Liam Gallagher and Radiohead‘s Jonny Greenwood.

READ MORE: “It felt like we were changing the world”: inside New Order’s seminal ‘Power, Corruption & Lies’

Albarn is another one of the guests who features on the Transmissions podcast, during which he spoke about his enduring admiration for Joy Division.

“It’s the sum of the parts as well as the atmosphere that they create, you know? It shouldn’t work but it does,” he said of the band.

“There’s nothing like it, no one else sounds like Joy Division. They created their own sound and I think that’s true of any decent band. That’s what is special about bands.”

Albarn also praised the Ian Curtis-fronted band for their decision to record their music live.

“The fact is that they played those records live together. That’s why they sound like sometimes the beat is not quite there and everyone’s really struggling to play that well, cause that’s not easy to play like that,” he said.

“But then you get the madness of Ian on top of that. So his words and his delivery are as fractured as the way they’re trying to keep up with the beat and play, and his mind’s moving like that. It’s what all good music should aspire to be.

“Remember what they’re called: they’re recordings. They should be a recording of a moment in time.”

The next episode of Transmissions: The Definitive Story will be released on Thursday (November 12), and you can listen to the first two episodes of the podcast here.

Speaking on a previous episode of Transmissions, Peter Hook recalled his memories of meeting Ian Curtis for the first time.

Read Ringo Starr’s full Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction speech for T-Rex’s Marc Bolan

At last night’s (November 7) Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, late T-Rex frontman Marc Bolan was among the new inductees, and he was welcomed into the Hall by Beatles drummer Ringo Starr.

Alongside Bolan, Nine Inch Nails were also inducted, with Iggy Pop giving a speech to welcome Trent Reznor and co, while Depeche Mode also joined the revered list.

“People knew him as a great musician, a songwriter, a guitarist, but he was also a poet,” Starr said of his friend, who died in a car crash in 1977. “And he was really proud of that.

“He was always telling me that he was the Number One selling poet in Britain. In fact, his poetry was as important to him as his music. He had great style and was really unlike anyone else I have ever met.

Ringo added: “He was a great performer, just incredible. And that’s why I called the film we did together Born to Boogie, because he really was. I told Marc, I’ll bring the camera and everything else, you just bring yourself. We had a lot of fun together. I remember lots of laughter.

“We lost him way too young, but in his short life, he made over 12 albums that are as far out and ahead of their time as he was. With the help of [producer] Tony Visconti and his band T. Rex, Marc’s style started a lot of trends. They called it glam rock with singles such as ‘Get It On’, ‘Children of the Revolution’, and, of course, ‘Born to Boogie’.”

Starr’s speech concluded: “But it was always just great music to me. And that’s why people are still listening to T. Rex today. There’s no doubt they believe in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — finally. And I’m very proud to welcome them in right now. Peace and love to [T. Rex members] Marc, Mickey, Steve, and Bill, and peace and love to all the fans from me and T. Rex. Peace and Love.”

When Bolan’s induction into the Hall of Fame was announced back in January, his former girlfriend and bandmate Gloria Jones discussed what she feels it would have meant to him.

“He would have said, ‘It’s about time!’” Jones joked in an interview with Billboard, before adding: “He was a very humble spirit, but he understood who he was. He understood his worth.”

Earlier this year, a Marc Bolan tribute album ‘AngelHeaded Hipster’ was released. Included on the album are Nick Cave’s stripped-back cover of ‘Cosmic Dancer’, Peaches’ version of ‘Solid Gold, Easy Action’, and Kesha’s take on classic ‘Children Of The Revolution’.

The album also includes contributions from U2, Elton John, Joan Jett and more. It was produced by the late Hal Willner, who died in April.

Watch as crowd outside the White House plays ‘YMCA’ to troll Donald Trump

Crowds outside the White House in Washington, DC are playing The Village People‘s ‘YMCA’ to troll Donald Trump.

The US President was beaten by Democratic nominee Joe Biden today (November 7) after the 2020 US election was finally called after four days.

Trump famously closed his campaign rallies earlier this year by playing ‘YMCA’, with The Village People then ordering the President to stop using their music. In a statement posted to Facebook, band leader Victor Willis said he was forced to act after Trump seemingly threatened to shoot Black Lives Matter protestors in Minneapolis.

“I ask that you no longer use any of my music at your rallies especially ‘Y.M.C.A.’ and ‘Macho Man’,” Willis wrote. “Sorry, but I can no longer look the other way.”

Now, crowds outside the Presidential residence are trolling Trump by blasting the song out of speakers. Watch footage below.

The crowd outside the White House celebrating Joe Biden’s projected victory is blaring YMCA — the song President Trump closed out his latest rallies with. pic.twitter.com/UkrsBq8l5M

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) November 7, 2020

The YMCA is happening outside WH too pic.twitter.com/tHC9kaEOC2

— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) November 7, 2020

Across America, Joe Biden supporters are celebrating in the streets following news of his victory in the election.

In New York’s Washington Square Park, crowds sang John Lennon hit ‘Imagine’, while across the river in Brooklyn, director Spike Lee has led celebrations after Biden’s win. Lee was captured drinking and spraying champagne over a crowd as celebrations began.

After the election result remained up in the air across this week since Tuesday’s (November 3) election, a victory in the state of Pennsylvania this afternoon gave Biden the 270 electoral college votes he needed to take the White House.

In a short statement posted to Twitter, Biden promised to serve all Americans regardless of their political affiliations. “America, I’m honoured that you have chosen me to lead our great country,” he wrote.

“The work ahead of us will be hard, but I promise you this: I will be a President for all Americans — whether you voted for me or not. I will keep the faith that you have placed in me.”

Justin Bieber’s Moody Remix, Jade Bird’s Cathedral-Sized Voice, And More Songs We Love

Jade Bird: “Headstart”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRLrKUEplII

Though she hails from England, 23-year-old Jade Bird has never sounded more at home than in Nashville. That’s where Bird recorded “Headstart,” her latest single since dropping last year’s excellent debut LP, and yet another showcase of her turbo-sized voice and knack for pep. She’s talking about love, but her refrain spells out a message to those sleeping on her talents: “Why’s it so hard? I’m giving you a head start.” —Patrick Hosken
Typhoon: “Welcome to the Endgame”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlBT5S1w7ZM

Hope is hard to come by these days, and Typhoon knows. The world-class indie rockers out of Portland, Oregon, are back with “Welcome to the Endgame,” their first new release since 2018’s Offerings. Frontman Kyle Morton’s vocals shine over delicately evocative instrumentals — and with lyrical motifs like plagues, straw men, and going “back into the streets,” it’s easy to draw parallels to the seemingly never-ending chaos of 2020. Morton concludes with a promise: “Summer’s gone, had a good one / Now the season of the witch hunt / Here we go into the cauldron / I'll see you on the other side.” —Sam Manzella
24kGoldn, Justin Bieber, J Balvin, Iann Dior: “Mood” (Remix)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOHN4EnFqAU

The sweet guitar-strumming courtesy of songwriting prodigy Omer Fedi is the base for 24kGoldn and Iann Dior's moody smash. This slick remix veers further into pop with the addition of quippy verses from industry titans Justin Bieber and J Balvin. "The song's come a long way," Goldn told Billboard in October. "But this journey is definitely not over." —Coco Romack
Carmen DeLeon: “Juegas”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF1GIfxmr30

Venezuelan artist Carmen DeLeon spends a lot of her stylish new video for “Juegas” on the (leather, likely expensive) couch, something 2020 has made us all do a little too much of. But even as she unspools “Juegas” in the throes of luxury seating and over a sluggish beat — with a little help from Colombian singer Feid — she’ll capture your attention. —Patrick Hosken
Katya ft. Alaska Thunderfuck: “Come in Brazil”

In the year where I didn’t think there could be any more surprises, RuPaul’s Drag Race star Katya Zamolodchikova decides to release her first-ever single. “Come in Brazil,” which features fellow drag superstar Alaska Thunderfuck, is a satirical love letter to fans in Brazil inspired by their incessant pleas for drag queens to perform in their country. Katya’s layered, airy chorus (performed entirely in Portuguese) balances Alaska’s classic rasp and spitfire verses effortlessly, creating an unusual, yet cohesive soundscape. The heavy bass and electro-pop feel, along with the occasional beat drop, ensures that “Come in Brazil” will be heard at every gay bar from New York to L.A. —Sarina Bhutani
Joseph Signa: “My Tennessee Mountain Home” (Dolly Parton cover)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXMoRSXeh3Y

In the age of streaming, TikTok, and attuned algorithms, it’s a lot harder for up-and-coming artists to creep up on me the way that they used to. I wasn’t seeking out new music when I stumbled upon Joseph Signa while doomscrolling through Instagram, but I’m so glad I did. His flamboyant, Auto-Tuned take on ABBA’s “When I Kissed the Teacher” is a treat – especially for anyone who’s secretly thirsted over Mr. Schue – and his emo cover of Gwen Stefani’s severely underrated track “Cool” is another personal favorite. But it’s his most recent spin on Dolly Parton that had me sold. With perfectly curated outfits and visuals, Parton’s “My Tennessee Mountain Home” gets an electronic folk-pop twist, and it’s just as infectious as you’d imagine. As his quirky green-screen effects suggest, perhaps countryside solitude is less of a state than a state of mind. Regardless, Signa is more than worth the follow. —Carson Mlnarik
Anohni: “I Will Survive” (Gloria Gaynor cover)
https://youtu.be/J4okxtKqL7s

The British-born, New York-based artist Anohni has often transformed stadium pop hits into somber, piano-led ballads. With Antony and the Johnsons, she reimagined Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love" with brass and ivory and brought Bob Dylan's "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" to a slow boil. Punctuated by tearful violins and the singer's own beguiling, rumbling moans, Gloria Gaynor's classic empowerment anthem is almost bereft, like a rage-filled lament — for a climate at the brink of decimation, for "all endangered Black trans lives." —Coco Romack
Ariana Grande: “Shut Up”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MogWz-LHXI

In keeping with tradition, Ariana opens the story of her sixth studio album with an ethereal subdued masterpiece. “Shut Up,” with its gorgeous orchestral windfall, sonically sets the mood and tone for the remaining 13

tracks. Grande vibrates at a higher level with "a circle so lit," spending no time worrying about the haters, an attitude we should all adopt. The dulcet “you know you sound so dumb (so dumb)” has been stuck in my head since release, and I've even sung it aloud to the recent frivolous presidential press conferences. The track is a protection of good energy, telling everything and everyone that isn’t doing you any good to “maybe just shut up.” —Daniel Head
Dua Lipa and Angèle: "Fever"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs61OHs2g-w

In this intercontinental collaboration, British-Albanian pop diva Dua Lipa teams up with Belgian singer-songwriter Angèle for their new single, “Fever.” The song encompasses all we love Dua for: nostalgic, synth-pop, dance-club vibes, but this time with a twist. Similar to Angèle’s past work, especially on her 2018 hit “Tout Oublier,” “Fever” has a more mellow, less aggressive pop sound that is constantly palatable and sonically gorgeous. The lyrics transition effortlessly from English to French and back again, creating a piece of art that can literally transcend borders. The point of music is to connect people. “Fever” does just that. —Sarina Bhutani
Friends of Clay: “Livin Time”
https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bp1m0fByyAU

With the world locked down, songwriter Clay Priskorn got to work creating Claymation visuals for the folky, autumnal pop-rock he releases under the moniker Friends of Clay. His latest, “Livin Time,” is as psychedelic as stop-motion trips can get, a druggy Las Vegas trek that would make Hunter S. Thompson proud. —Patrick Hosken

Burna Boy backs #EndSARS campaign during powerful BET Hip Hop Awards 2020 performance

Burna Boy was among the main performers at last night’s BET Hip Hop Awards 2020, teaming up with Coldplay‘s Chris Martin for a politically-charged performance of ‘Monsters You Made’.

The Afrobeats star called out police brutality in his native Nigeria during the performance, using powerful visuals to back the #EndSARS campaign, while his band wore shirts that read #StopPoliceBrutality.

Ending the performance, Burna Boy delivered a short monologue to remember the victims of last week’s protests in Lagos’ Lekki Gate – with Amnesty International claiming that at least 12 people were killed after brutal clashes broke out last week.

“This is for Tiamiyu Kazeem, this is for Kolade Johnson, this is for everyone that has lost their lives at the hands of SARS and all kinds of police brutality,” he said.

“End police brutality now and end profiling.”

The impassioned performance comes after Burna Boy previously described the EndSARS movement as the most important moment in Nigeria’s history.

Speaking to Sky News last week, he said: “It is shocking when you see it happen in that place, in such a place, that was the landmark of everything.

“The Lekki Toll Gate, that was the most peaceful place to protest, the most peaceful venue in the whole country and then that is the place where (the shootings) happen. It is not something that you can just wrap your head around.

READ MORE: Burna Boy: “A revolution is needed. I want to inspire it”

“This is the most important moment in Nigeria’s history… that is what we are witnessing right now because if nothing changes after this, if this doesn’t work, then it is over.”

Other key winners at last night’s awards include the likes of Megan Thee Stallion and Roddy Ricch.

Abbey Road Studios launches music scholarship programme for Black students

Abbey Road Studios has launched a music scholarship programme that will help two Black students complete an advanced diploma in music production and engineering.

Read more: The Beatles’ ‘Abbey Road’ at 50: 10 perfect moments that give you goosebumps

London’s famous recording studios announced the scholarship, which will also see the students take on a year-long engineering apprenticeship at Abbey Road, earlier today (October 27).

Set to begin in 2021, the programme, which is the first-of-its-kind, will see Abbey Road cover the full cost of the course fees and contribute towards living expenses for two Black British students annually to study on Abbey Road Institute’s Advanced Diploma in Music Production and Sound Engineering.

Upon successful completion of the course, the two graduates will be offered a year-long trainee engineering role within Abbey Road Studios, providing them with the opportunity to put everything they learn into practice at the historic recording studios.

The scholarship programme is the first in a series of initiatives from Abbey Road seeking to create education and mentoring opportunities for young Black people, as part of a broader commitment to creating meaningful change within music production.

“I’m thrilled that this programme will create new opportunities for aspiring young engineers by giving them not just the educational foundation, but also the benefit of practical experience working with the best artists, composers and engineers in the industry,” said Isabel Garvey, Abbey Road’s managing director.

“Abbey Road has always been about training the best studio talent, so it’s brilliant that the Scholarship will help diversify the next generation of engineering professionals from the ground up.”

RAYE press shot — Raye will be a mentor on the course. CREDIT: Press

British singer-songwriter Raye will be actively involved and offer support and guidance as part of the programme.

“I’m so proud to be part of this brilliant initiative to encourage more Black students down the path of music production and audio engineering,” said Raye. “Black producers and engineers are under-represented in the professional recording environment and we need to address that. During my time at The BRIT School I learned how important music education is and it’s been instrumental in helping me get further in life.”

“This is such an incredible opportunity to obtain the highest levels of technical training at one of the world’s most iconic recording studios! I’m very much looking forward to meeting and working with the successful applicants and being a part of your amazing journey!”

To find out more about the scholarship programme, you can visit Abbey Road’s official website.

Earlier this year, a London municipal crew repainted the Abbey Road crossing made famous by the cover of The Beatles‘ 1969 album of the same name, while the city was under lockdown to stem the spread of coronavirus.

The crew quietly painted the normally swamped tourist hotspot zebra crossing on March 24, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a shutdown of non-essential businesses on March 20.

T.I. and Jeezy to face off in next edition of ‘VERZUZ’

The second season of Swizz Beatz and Timbaland‘s popular VERZUZ series has been announced – and the first battle will see T.I. face off with Jeezy.

READ MORE: Timbaland and Swizz Beatz on VERZUZ battle series: “We want to celebrate the architects of good music”

VERZUZ is the popular entertainment series that pits producers, songwriters and artists against each other in a rap battle style format on Instagram Live and Apple Music.

Competitors take it in turns playing a song from a list of 20 from their discography, as fans, friends and fellow artists watch on. A winner is later decided by Timbaland and Swizz Beatz.

T.I. and Jeezy will kickoff the next season of VERZUZ on November 19 at 8pm EST (1am GMT).

#VERZUZ is back with Season 2 ‼️ T.I. vs Jeezy ? Let the celebrations begin ???

Thursday, November 19th, 5PM PT/8PM ET.

Watch it on our IG or in HD on @AppleMusic.
Drinks by @CIROC. pic.twitter.com/azgvMt4nT2

— Verzuz (@verzuzonline) October 24, 2020

The pairing comes after T.I. initially challenged 50 Cent to a VERZUZ battle, which was later shot down by the G-Unit rapper.

“For your birthday, I offer you a challenge, sir,” T.I. said to 50 Cent in an Instagram video. “Pull your ass up with 20 of your records, sit across from me, and get this work, man.”

50 jokingly responded to the proposal, referencing Chris Tucker’s character Smokey from the film Friday, writing: “yo somebody passed TI the weed they gave smokey in Friday. LOL.”

Meanwhile, T.I. has appeared to confirm the identity of the friend who allegedly urinated on Drake at an event 10 years ago.

The long-standing rumour made headlines back in 2015 when Meek Mill released ‘Wanna Know’, a diss track aimed at Drake. “You let Tip homie piss on you in a movie theatre n****, we ain’t forget,” Meek rapped. “Real n****s back in style this shit is lit/ This that Ja Rule shit and 50 Cent.”

Omer Fedi Is The Guitar-Pop Prodigy Behind 24kGoldn And Machine Gun Kelly

By Ethan Shanfeld

Behind today’s top hits is a 20-year-old guitar prodigy from Tel Aviv named Omer Fedi. The multi-instrumentalist, producer, and songwriter has topped the Billboard charts and worked with pop royalty from Lil Nas X to Machine Gun Kelly. But just over four years ago, Fedi moved to Los Angeles with no connections to the industry, at a time he could barely speak English, with one singular goal: “I wanna make my friends the biggest artists in the world,” he tells MTV News, casually pacing around his Bel Air home.

Fedi started playing drums before he could walk. His dad was one of the most accomplished and well-respected drummers in Israel, introducing Fedi to music at a very young age. Inspired by Drake Bell from the mid-aughts Nickelodeon series Drake & Josh, Fedi decided to pick up the guitar at age 10. After wandering into a nearby CD store and listening to Red Hot Chili Peppers’s Blood Sugar Sex Magik, he knew that music was the only way forward. Later, Fedi embraced jazz from listening to Steely Dan. He was enthralled by the incorporation of sophisticated chords and distorted riffs in pop music.

At 16, Fedi moved to the states when his dad sought to expand musical opportunities for himself and his son. Fedi enrolled at Calabasas High School and immediately joined the jazz ensemble, where his teachers were astounded by his technical chops. “He was so far ahead of everyone else in terms of his fluency on the instrument and his harmonic ability,” says Tod Cooper, a jazz clinician who volunteered at the school. “Nothing got in his way. He could speak through the instrument.”

Jay Bills

Fedi was a guitar virtuoso; his extraordinary talent would fill school auditoriums for shows normally only attended by performers’ parents. Competing as a high school senior at the 2018 Reno Jazz Festival, Fedi won the single “Outstanding Performer” award in a field of over 9,000 young musicians. The summer after sophomore year, Fedi landed a gig playing guitar at a nearby church, where he met other musicians who invited him to jam sessions. About a year later, one of Fedi’s friends called him with an opportunity to meet Sam Hook, a hit songwriter who was looking to collaborate with a guitar player.

“I had never produced or written a song, but we just started writing together, and soon I’d go to his house every day after school,” Fedi says. Eventually, the pair wrote Ella Mai’s “Naked,” a smooth R&B ballad driven by Fedi’s soulful plucking.

Fedi started spending mornings in classrooms and afternoons at Glenwood Place Recording Studios in Burbank, California. After graduating high school, Fedi linked up with English alt-pop star Yungblud. During one of their sessions, Fedi met former Interscope executive Conor Ambrose, who would later become his manager. “He came in wearing a pink beanie and just sat in the corner of the room,” Ambrose says. “He started playing guitar and everyone literally stopped in their tracks, like this is easily the most talented guitarist we’ve ever seen.”

Later that year, a friend from high school invited Fedi to a USC party. There, he met Golden Landis Von Jones, aka 24kGoldn, then a student trying to make it big as a rapper. They exchanged phone numbers and booked a studio session a week later. Fedi and Goldn’s creative partnership started with writing the emo-influenced Iann Dior song, “18.” They continued making music together, putting out 24kGoldn singles like the moody “Lot to Lose” and seductive “Games on Your Phone.” Both songs are built around Fedi’s carefully crafted guitar melodies.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CD0EOVjjtrx/

“We always start from scratch,” Fedi says. “Goldn writes the lyrics — he’s one of the fastest writers of all time — and then we write the music and structure it together.” Fedi helped push Goldn to incorporate rock into his style with “City of Angels,” which pairs an angsty electric guitar progression with a steady drum machine. The song blew up on TikTok and dominated alternative radio for months. The duo continued collaborating on Goldn’s debut EP, Dropped Outta College, and are currently working on the artist’s first studio album, El Dorado.

In late 2019, Fedi performed as a touring guitarist during Goldn’s opening run with Landon Cube, playing a handful of shows across the country. However, when Goldn’s 2020 headline tour plans were thwarted by the coronavirus pandemic, he and Fedi rented an Airbnb in Hollywood to grind out new songs. Though it was on a night off at Dior’s place when they wrote the biggest hit of their careers so far — by accident.

“We didn’t even think about making music,” Fedi says. While Goldn and Dior played Call of Duty, Fedi and producer KBeaZy spontaneously started making beats. “I didn’t even have my guitars, so I took Iann’s guitar, plugged it into the computer, and the first thing I played was the ‘Mood’ guitar riff.” Within five minutes, Fedi and KBeaZy laid down a beat.

“Then Goldn’s sitting on the couch and starts singing, ‘Why you always in a mood?’” Fedi says. “He probably didn’t even know he was singing because he was so focused on the game."

Fedi heard something in Goldn’s subconscious hook and pleaded with him to pause the game, get off the couch, and record it. “I was like, ‘Goldn, I won’t be your friend if you won’t record this,’” Fedi says.

The song came together like magic and, after its release in July, almost immediately became a smash hit. As of this writing, “Mood” has spent over nine weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, hitting No. 1 on October 19. It has over 300 million Spotify streams and its music video has over 42 million views on YouTube.

https://youtu.be/GrAchTdepsU

“Mood” is grounded by a shuffling hi-hat beat and elevated by a catchy chorus and crooning verses, but the song is built around its euphoric guitar riff. It’s easy to understand why Fedi’s favorite band is Red Hot Chili Peppers: Like John Frusciante, he gives the guitar a distinct voice on everything he writes, so that after just a few notes, songs like “Mood” and “City of Angels” are immediately recognizable. “People know that when they work with me, it’s going to be a guitar-based song,” Fedi says. “Nothing can compete with the feeling of live guitar.”

One of Fedi’s goals is to bring the guitar back to the forefront of pop music. His signature cross-genre sound, evident on songs like The Kid Laroi’s “Go,” seamlessly blends guitar with hip-hop beats. The musician’s most recent creative endeavor was working on Machine Gun Kelly’s No. 1 album, Tickets To My Downfall, full of nostalgic pop-punk bangers. Fedi produced nine tracks on the deluxe album alongside Blink 182’s Travis Barker, one of his idols.

Recently, Fedi has been hanging out at Diplo’s house, making music with Dominic Fike, and playing jazz live from Charlie Puth’s Instagram. He’s also been working on Lil Nas X’s debut album and an exciting remix of “Mood,” coming out within the month. Last November, Fedi was nominated for a Grammy for his work on Ella Mai’s album. The first song he ever wrote was considered for music’s highest honor. But for a kid whose dream is to become “the best of all time,” this is only the beginning.

“I’m really happy and excited about everything that’s happening right now,” Fedi says. “But I try to keep my head down and just make good music.” In many ways, Fedi is the architect behind pop’s new sound. With a keen ear for crafting hooks and the technical training to execute them, no one is better suited to soundtrack the future.

Lous And The Yakuza’s Kate Bush Nod, Hope Tala’s ‘Crazy’ Voice, And More Songs We Love

Quinton Brock: “To the Moon”
https://youtu.be/9p5NOhYBrE4

In the lead-up to “To the Moon,” newcomer Quinton Brock repeatedly tweeted how it would “change rock music forever.” Now, it’s here, and the peppy single synthesizes plenty of alt spirit into an undeniably charming ember of a song. Like his peers Jean Dawson and Bartees Strange, Brock is one to watch for his commitment to chasing the sounds he wants to emulate and coming up with something singularly resonant. —Patrick Hosken
Lous and the Yakuza: “Amigo”
https://youtu.be/PNGwThvjadY

Recording as Lous and the Yakuza, the Brussels-based, Belgian-Congolese artist Marie Pierra-Kakoma’s subtle, snappy R&B is a conceptual and cultural confluence. Sharing a producer with Rosalía and shifting effortlessly between French, English, and Kinyarwanda (spoken in the Congo and Rwanda), she sings with old-world refinery and a contemporary flow, while her visuals are similarly referential. The arresting choreography in “Amigo,” off her debut album Gore (out today), signifies a transformation, with more than a nod to Kate Bush’s legendary “Wuthering Heights” video. —Coco Romack
Skipper Jones ft. King Elway: “Riot Fires”
https://youtu.be/fKL2JD9DFDg

The lyrics to Skipper Jones’s “Riot Fire” are at once striking and healing. An up-tempo snare modernizes a track infused with gospel. It's stitched together with brutal honesty featuring raspy lines like “It’s open season on Black lives” and “‘All lives matter’ is a protest to my anger” that hold a mirror to society. Accompanied by the Georgia rapper King Elway, the pair call into question America’s moral code, while marginalized people are made to play Russian roulette for freedom. “We’re trying to raise our kids up in better times,” Elway raps, “but we’re stuck in a system that was built up to let us down.” Protests and “riot fire,” like rap, are the sermons of the streets, revealing the stories often criminalized or cast aside. —Virginia Lowman
Hope Tala: “Crazy”
https://youtu.be/dO3aiVzEYQc

Even as she channels her influences, London’s Hope Tala has a voice all her own. On the lovely “Crazy,” Tala’s voice is the jewel in wide downbeat bedrock, and the tiny sonic flourishes that amplify her perspective — layered crooning, slyly busy percussion — make the whole four-minute affair a bountiful feast. —Patrick Hosken
Watson: “All Falls Down”
https://youtu.be/CelBA0HLaRg

Rising alt-rapper Watson’s new single might be called “All Falls Down,” but his music career has been nothing but a come-up. He scored his big break on the way to work at Jersey Mikes, dropping everything to hit the studio with hit-maker Brian Lee to write tracks for Post Malone and 21 Savage. His latest bop is a moody, sexy banger in the vein of Posty, recounting the wreckage left by a lover he still can’t get off his mind. It’s as haunting as it is vibey, and it’s a good preview of what’s to come from his forthcoming follow-up to this year’s EP, Hallelujah, I’m Free. —Carson Mlnarik
Puma Blue: “Snowflower”
https://youtu.be/TkWlbTLA2IM

Jacob Allen, who records skeletal and fragile electronic-tinged music as Puma Blue, goes full wraith on “Snowflower,” a groove as delicate as the gold leaf that falls on his sleeping face in the video. Like the equally sparse “Velvet Leaves,” it’s another preview of his 2021 debut, In Praise of Shadows, that promises to probe further into this eerie musical mind. —Patrick Hosken
Orla Gartland: “Pretending”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG6YJJMs3sw

Impostor syndrome and self-doubt are common threads in London singer-songwriter Orla Gartland’s discography. “Why Am I Like This” is a personal favorite, but her new single “Pretending” charts the same relatable waters with even more confidence and edge. “I’m so fucking self-aware / It’s exhausting,” she sings before bursting into a plucky, vulnerable chorus about swearing off pretending to be someone else. The adorably quirky visual, set in a bathroom at a Halloween party, perfectly captures the feeling of being an outsider; and it’s festive! —Carson Mlnarik
Tini ft. John C: “Duele”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqaLwY2Ok4M

The heavenly visuals; the full two minutes of head-turning, rattling pop; the charisma of Tini herself, who brought her style to a recent MTV Instagram livestream performance — despite the title, when “Duele” bumps, nothing hurts. —Patrick Hosken
Claud: “Gold”
https://youtu.be/SiXQyIbaPa0

Rust on gold is physically impossible, but Claud doesn’t care. The nonbinary, indie-pop singer defies the laws of chemistry in their latest cut, a mellow, self-aware take on a doomed relationship with an absolute earworm of a chorus. (“Gold” is their first release under Saddest Factory, Punisher songstress Phoebe Bridgers’s new record label.) “I’m too optimistic when I think that this’ll work out / Without anothеr emotional night where we both break down,” Claud confesses, which — ouch. Too real? Chase the burn with the song’s campy, pastel-hued visuals. —Sam Manzella
Sylo Nozra: “Ginny”
https://youtu.be/csCXaW-b1jw

I’m a sucker for any song that includes my nickname, but Korean-Canadian artist Sylo Nozra’s “Ginny” is seriously intoxicating, as much as it is soothing — it’s sonic whiskey. A synth-pop beat married with lo-fi and R&B influences, Nozra’s sleepy bedroom vocals make the song irresistible. You want to dance, but you also want to lay down and send a racy text. It’s a cocktail of bliss that goes down smooth and is best played on repeat. —Virginia Lowman
Reason ft. Rapsody: “I Can Make It”

With a string of solid singles featuring Vince Staples, Boogie, and more, California-based rapper Reason has been building up the anticipation for his latest release New Beginnings all year. He delivers throughout the entire project, which dropped last Friday, but especially soars with help from Rapsody and Desi Mo on standout “I Can Make It.” Spitting bars about flexing through adversity, it’s the track’s sticky chorus that’ll loop over and over in your head. “I can make your wrongs feel right / I can make the lonely dark times feel bright,” he begins. Desi swoops in with an answer: “I can make your lows feel good.” —Carson Mlnarik

Uncut – December 2020

CLICK HERE TO GET THE NEW UNCUT DELIVERED DIRECT TO YOUR DOOR

Bruce Springsteen, Joni Mitchell, Fleet Foxes, Songhoy Blues, Paul Weller, The Doors, Drive-By Truckers, Kim Gordon, Metallica, Grandaddy, Todd Rundgren and Gwenifer Raymond all feature in the new Uncut, dated December 2020 and in UK shops from October 15 or available to buy online now. As always, the issue comes with a free CD, this time comprising 15 tracks of the month’s best new music.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: As Bruce and the E Street Band return with Letter To You, we speak to every E Street member about life inside “a benevolent monarchy”, the rigorous discipline behind the album’s “Beatles schedule” and honouring the departed. “It’s a celebration of music and the joy of it…”

OUR FREE CD! GREETINGS FROM UNCUT: 15 fantastic tracks from the cream of the month’s releases, including songs by Elvis Costello, Lambchop, Grandaddy, Gwenifer Raymond, Evie Sands, Jeff Tweedy, Drive-By Truckers, Jennifer Castle, Skyway Man, Sam Coomes, North Americans and more.

This issue of Uncut is available to buy by clicking here – with FREE delivery to the UK and reduced delivery charges for the rest of the world.

Inside the issue, you’ll find:

JONI MITCHELL: As a new boxset sheds light on the earliest part of Mitchell’s career, we investigate how the songwriter is today returning to active service. Stand by for hootenannies, visits from Eric Idle and nights spent dancing in roadhouse bars: “She’s living a very full and creative life…”

FLEET FOXES: 12 years on from their remarkable debut, Robin Pecknold has returned with an excellent new album, Shore. He fills Uncut in on his struggles and triumphs, and on what’s changed over the last decade

SONGHOY BLUES: Uncut meets one of the world’s most exciting rock bands to hear all about coups and civil war in Mali, their powerful new songs and their optimism for the future

PAUL WELLER: Along with his Style Council bandmates, Weller takes us through the making of their classic single, “Walls Come Tumbling Down!”

THE DOORS: Welcome to Morrison Hotel… band members and eyewitnesses tell the tale of The Doors’ 1970, from legal burdens to bursts of unrivalled creativity. “We had to do something different”

METALLICA: Album by album with the Californian thrashers

KIM GORDON: The musician and artist takes us through her inspiring new photo memoir, No Icon

TODD RUNDGREN: The restless rock inquirer answers your questions on AI, hip-hop, crushed velvet pants and philosophical chats with Pete Townshend

CLICK HERE TO GET THE NEW UNCUT DELIVERED DIRECT TO YOUR DOOR

In our expansive reviews section, we take a look at new records from Drive-By Truckers, Jeff Tweedy, Gwenifer Raymond, Lambchop, Cabaret Voltaire, Skyway Man, Eels and more, and archival releases from Trees, Pylon, Grandaddy, John Prine, Funkadelic, Donna Summer and others. We catch Devendra Banhart and Frazey Ford live online; among the films, DVDs and TV programmes reviewed are Saint Maud, The Trial Of The Chicago 7, Jimi Hendrix Live In Maui and The Rolling Stones’ Steel Wheels Live; while in books there’s John Lennon, Peter Frampton and glam metal.

Our front section, meanwhile, features Evie Sands, John Cohen and Sisters With Transistors, and we introduce North Americans. At the back of the issue, The Kinks‘ Dave Davies takes us through his life in his favourite records.

You can pick up a copy of Uncut in the usual places, where open. But otherwise, readers all over the world can order a copy from here.

For more information on all the different ways to keep reading Uncut during lockdown, click here.

Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi remembers Eddie Van Halen in new interview

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has remembered Eddie Van Halen in a new interview.

Van Halen died aged 65 on Tuesday October 6, after a lengthy battle with throat cancer.

Read more: Rock legend Eddie Van Halen dies – rock world pays tribute

In an interview published by Rolling Stone yesterday (October 9), Iommi recalled how the one and only time Van Halen joined Black Sabbath on tour in 1978 cemented his lifelong admiration for the guitarist and his unreal talent.

“I just don’t know how he could play like that,” Iommi said. “Nobody can play like him.”

According to Iommi, the two guitarists spent a lot of time together during that tour.

“We really got to know each other well on that tour,” Iommi said. “He [Van Halen] used to come around to my room most nights after the show. Or I’d go around to his room and we’d sit there talking.

“We used to have such a great time together. We really spilt our hearts out with each other.”

“What I like about Eddie, he was always an inventor. He’d always want to come up with something new. He worked hard to develop his own amplifiers. And he’d work on his own guitars as best he could to make them feel comfortable to him. He was always very much an innovator with a bunch of things.”

Iommi remained friends with Van Halen for the rest of his life, saying he spoke to the guitar god just before his passing.

“This week’s just been horrible,” Iommi said, “I can’t stop thinking about it, to be honest. It’s very, very sad.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Iommi recalled how Van Halen had a hand in writing ‘Evil Eye’, a song on Black Sabbath’s 1994 album ‘Cross Purposes’.

“I said, ‘You ought to come down to rehearsal if you want.’ [Van Halen said] ‘Oh, can I?’ I said, ‘I’ll pick you up from the hotel.’ I said, ‘Let’s go and get a guitar.’

“And he came to rehearsal. We played some of the Sabbath stuff for him. One of his favourites was ‘Into the Void’, strangely enough. We played that and we went back to writing. I think it was ‘Evil Eye’, and I said, ‘Go on, you play the solo on this.’ He did and it was really great. When we recorded it, of course, I tried to duplicate that, but I couldn’t.”

Earlier this week, former Van Halen vocalist Sammy Hagar revealed how he had rekindled his friendship with Van Halen before his passing.

The pair had had a tentative friendship and not spoken directly since the end of the Van Halen reunion tour in 2004. Reconnecting earlier this year, Hagar revealed in a note to The Howard Stern Show, “Eddie and I had been texting, and it’s been a love fest since we started communicating earlier this year. We both agreed not to tell anyone… But he also didn’t want anyone to know about his health.

“He stopped responding to me a month ago, and I figured it wasn’t good. I reached out one more time last week, and when he didn’t respond, I figured it was a matter of time. But it came way too soon.”

Ride on the creation of all their albums: “It’s a hell of a thing to be inside”

Taken from Uncut’s September 2019 issue

It’s been five years since Ride reformed, and according to guitarist and vocalist Mark Gardener, the creative energies sparked by this momentous event are as strong as ever. “When you still have the creative magic, you can just come back and create good music, and I think that’s what’s happened,” he explains. “We could just enjoy the Ride thing again, which is a hell of a thing to be inside.”

The quartet have met up to discuss the brand-new This Is Not A Safe Place LP – their very fine follow-up to 2017’s reunion album, Weather Diaries. They’re also taking Uncut through all the records they’ve produced during their career, including 1990’s shoegaze classic Nowhere, which gave their engineer a nervous breakdown and angered a Del Amitri-loving next-door neighbour, and the controversial West Coast detour, Carnival Of Light. Along the way, the band discuss their lost “ambient reggae” tunes, hanging out with Public Enemy and their disastrous cover of “Windmills Of Your Mind”, which traumatised producer George Drakoulias.

“We were just too shit to play it,” remembers bassist Steve Queralt. “George was tearing his bushy hair out! And then for some reason afterwards he didn’t want to do the album with us…”

______________

SMILE
SIRE, 1990
This American compilation neatly collects their first two EPs, “Ride” and “Play”

ANDY BELL [vocals/guitars]: The first EP was done in Union Street in Oxford, which was a small basement studio that we saved up for. I think we were there for a couple of hours one afternoon. It turned into a hostel in the evening – we came back from getting something to eat and there was a girl with a backpack in the studio.

STEVE QUERALT: At that time, we had no interest from anyone other than Cally Calloman at Warners. He was a great guy, but there was no point putting us out on a major label – the audience would have thought they were being conned. But during this time we had a support tour with The Soup Dragons, and Alan McGee came along to all three shows – at the final show he said he wanted to put our record out on Creation. It was a no-brainer, it was everything we could have possibly dreamed of. Cally was gracious enough to say, “Go with Alan.”

MARK GARDENER: With Creation we had more support, so we were able to get out of Oxford to record “Play”. It was done at Blackwing Studios in London, but we recorded in a similar way to the first one, all live and then a few overdubs. At that point we had no idea that this was something we could make a living from. It just felt great. We were experiencing lots of firsts in life,  and it was great having an outlet for our confusion.

BELL: The engineer at Blackwing, Ken, was brilliant – when you fast-forward a DAT it skips through like  a tremolo thing, and he was like, “This is what we’re gonna do, fast forward through it and that’ll be the track.” “Right… Ken, take a break!”

______________

NOWHERE
CREATION, 1990
The debut album, a psych-shoegaze classic and Ride’s noisiest effort

BELL: Before Nowhere, me and Mark both got these rack effects units, Roland GP16s. They became a really big part of the Ride sound. You could programme in really complicated multi-effects for one song and then just turn it on with one switch. Towards the end of recording we knew the deadline was coming, so in the last three days we worked days and nights. The engineer, Marc Waterman, had a nervous breakdown. He’s great, but we did push him quite hard. I remember we all stayed in the same flat…

QUERALT: It was in a mews in Paddington. We got back late one night and put a load of music on. Later, we were then woken up at six in the morning by some City guy we’d obviously kept awake. The music he’d chosen to annoy us – and he did really well – was Del Amitri!

GARDENER: The hours just got crazy. It all added to that dark, alienated feeling that  I think permeated through Nowhere. We just tried to make the best of it, being guided by instincts. But it was good times, for sure.

LOZ COLBERT [drums]: It was  a live sound in the studio, but maybe a bit too live. We needed someone to contain it.

BELL: After Marc left, Alan Moulder came in to mix Nowhere. He said he couldn’t work out which was the bass drum and which was the snare when he pulled the tapes up! So he did a good job of rescuing it. It ended up with its own sound, but it wasn’t intentional exactly.

______________

GOING BLANK AGAIN
CREATION, 1992
The kaleidoscopic second album. A free-flowing triumph, incorporating many different styles. Towering lead-off single “Leave Them All Behind” gave them their highest Top 10 hit

BELL: This was written and recorded in a residential studio in Chipping Norton. We had six weeks there, with catering and a big keg so we could drink draft beer at will from a big free barrel. There was this big bowl of eggs that really concerned me, because it was like, “How do you know when these eggs are going off?” No, it didn’t affect my performance too much!

GARDENER: This was one of the most enjoyable recording processes we’ve had. We weren’t locked away in a dark London studio, and we were only 25 minutes from Oxford too, so I could go and buy pot! We felt confident about where the band was going. I remember going up to bed with the “Time Machine” instrumental on a cassette just going round and round, and putting words down to it there and then. It was a fresh, reactive way of working.

COLBERT: There was a lovely routine and rhythm to it that just went on day after day after day. Everyone had space. It was a great studio, and it was nice working with Alan [Moulder, producer]. We had big charts up on the wall, “Things To Do”. I loved all that!

GARDENER: With “Leave Them All Behind”, we were mucking around with chopping up this Hammond recording, and it worked really well with the way the song evolved through jamming. Lyrically, I was inspired by our first American tour.

QUERALT: It felt like we’d almost established ourselves so that there were no rules to follow – we didn’t have to do a ’gazy album, we didn’t have to have the guitars up full.

BELL: We absolutely weren’t going to do that. We had all these tracks that were conceptual, like “Motorway Madness”, which was like “Drive Blind”’s noisy bit part two. We did some Abbey Road-style medley things and some of it got used at the beginning of “OX4”. There was “King Bullshit”, this ambient reggae thing with an AR Kane vibe that ended up as a part of “Time Machine”. They were all tracks that had their own qualities but we ended up squashing loads of them together. It was all based on the Beatles model: it felt like we had to progress, and make our albums all develop from the last one. That’s why we ended up painting ourselves into a corner.

______________

READING FESTIVAL 1992
IGNITION, 2001
A stellar live set from the group at the peak of their powers. Originally released as part of the OX4 boxset

GARDENER: I never felt like we were a cool band, but at Reading in 1992 we pulled off a major show on the main stage. It felt like a big moment for the band.

COLBERT: Public Enemy were big heroes of mine, and it was such an honour to be on that bill with them.  I offered Chuck D our CD backstage, and he was like, “Thanks, I’ll probably sample some of that shit.”  I was thinking, ‘Yeah, great, Public Enemy sampling us!’ After a few years, I realised that it probably just went in the bin.

BELL: We weren’t cool by this stage at all. We were cool in 1990, I think, and possibly 1991, but grunge was already coming then. We were followers of that scene, that pre-grunge American psychedelic rock. Some of that mid-’80s American psychedelic rock, like Screaming Trees, even REM. Sonic Youth and the Valentines would be the two mighty pillars of the temple of  rip-offs that we made! Whenever you try and copy something it always comes out different. We’re rubbish at copying.

COLBERT: It’s our biggest strength.

______________

CARNIVAL OF LIGHT
CREATION, 1994
This step away from shoegaze was brave, but fatally harmed the band’s momentum

GARDENER:  I felt like we were a great live band, but we didn’t really capture that  on record. So I thought someone like George Drakoulias might be able to help with that.

BELL: So we went very West Coast American and ditched a lot of the things that were good about the band, because we felt like we couldn’t repeat ourselves. That was a mistake, because there’s a whole universe within the initial sound we had, we could have taken that a lot of different ways.

QUERALT: George Drakoulias said, “I’ve got a great cover for you guys, ‘Windmills Of Your Mind’, and we were like, “OK…”

BELL: He found it quite frustrating by day four of us trying to learn it… It was supposed to be an example of teaching us how to write a song – he said ours were too linear. So we ended up recording with John Leckie in Cornwall and Oxford instead. He’s a very interesting character, quite strange in a really cool way.

QUERALT: We recorded at Sawmills in Cornwall, quite cut off from the rest of the world. We’d come down in the morning and John would put some music on, stuff we’d never heard, Alice Coltrane, say.

BELL: This would have been the imperial period if we’d made an amazing record! The recording felt imperial, sitting on thrones on a lake getting photographed, having multiple recording sessions at The Manor and Abbey Road and everywhere else we went.

GARDENER: I was expecting the press to knock us down after building us up. Some people are still really annoyed that we don’t play much from that record now, though.

______________

TARANTULA
CREATION, 1996
The swansong, with the group pursuing a louder, punchier sound influenced by ’60s rock and prevailing Britpop sounds

GARDENER: Things weren’t going well. I felt completely marginalised to the point where I didn’t even know what my role was. The band just fragmented. I didn’t feel like we were playing to our strengths, and I didn’t get that record – I couldn’t even tell you the tracklisting!

BELL: Oasis came on the scene when we were about to release Carnival…, and it made it seem out of date immediately. We were courting a cleaner sound, and they came out sounding like the Pistols and the Mary Chain, but with great tunes. Carnival… misfired, and we didn’t get to do a world tour with it. So Tarantula was conceived as,  “Right, come on, we’ve been too indulgent, let’s get some of that energy that’s been going around, let’s play in a room together, let’s  do songs that are more compact.” But the songwriting wasn’t there, especially on my side, and that let it down. We tried our best.

COLBERT: Tarantula was us squashed into a room in London, really intense, and we didn’t know if people liked us any more. I shaved my head, which was symbolic – all the floppy stuff had gone.

QUERALT: Drum and bass and trip-hop had arrived too, and I think the relationships in the band had got a bit intense. Technically, Tarantula sounds like a good album and I think we played well on it, but maybe the songs weren’t quite strong enough.

______________

COMING UP FOR AIR
RIDE, 2002
A one-day reunion for Channel 4 results in this nimble and epic jam

BELL: I remember getting a phone call from our ex-manager, saying, “This thing has come up, it’s to do with Ride. There’s this programme on Channel 4 called Pioneers…” And I was like, “Oh!” And his next line was, “…it’s about Sonic Youth. They want you to do the music for it.” But we said yes. I think they filmed us rehearsing and recorded it, but we also recorded  it with a four-track, and that’s Coming Up For Air, 40 minutes of jamming. So we thought it would be cool to put it out.

COLBERT: The clue’s in the title really. Everyone was busy doing their own thing and it was just a nice break and then back to what  we were doing.

BELL: It was a nice day out and I think it shows there wasn’t any bad blood. Once the band broke up, within a few months everyone had taken a deep breath and got over it. We liked the idea of Holger Czukay going through hours of jamming and editing it together to get something like “Mother Sky” out  of it, which is just amazing.

GARDENER: I was lost in the medieval world of France then, living in the middle of a walnut orchard, letting nature do its healing, so it was nice to dip in and play with the guys again. After a while you realise that these people are going to be massive parts of your life, and that you’re always going to be known as part of Ride.

COLBERT: Typical Ride to do it without any songs, just turn up and jam. That’s kind of what kicked it all off for us originally, so it’s wonderful that everyone had the bravery to turn up with no plan whatsoever.

______________

WEATHER DIARIES
WICHITA, 2017
A fantastic return, 21 years after Tarantula, with Ride working with mercurial producer Erol Alkan

QUERALT: We’d had a year of playing together live, we were comfortable with each other, and so we thought, ‘We have to make more music.’ Everyone was demoing at home.

COLBERT: This was very much worked on and refined, in a brilliant way, which felt great. That’s the one thing we never felt that we’d had a chance to achieve, a really, really good studio album, even Going Blank Again. But with this one we really had the time, it was great.

QUERALT: Erol was amazing. I only knew him as a DJ, but he was totally hands-on. He’s a complete music head, too. It’s not just about electronic music, there’s no genre he doesn’t know anything about.

COLBERT: As soon as he was in the room, the momentum just went right up. We had a few days without him, but when he was there we were so much more productive. He was such an integral part of the record.

GARDENER: You have to live underground not to be affected by politics now and what goes on, it’s just crazy, so it did reflect on what was happening at the time – lyrics like “Lannoy Point” reflect my depression about the Brexit referendum, and “White Sands” was definitely about the experience of coming back together and making music with your buddies.

BELL: We’ve learnt what our strengths are, and the value of playing to your strengths. Once you know that, you can be adventurous and work to the limits of it.

______________

THIS IS NOT A SAFE PLACE
WICHITA, 2019
Ride pick up where they left off, crafting this more compact, focused effort, again with Erol Alkan behind the desk

COLBERT: With Weather Diaries, we really did try a lot of things, so we got a lot out of our system. For this album, which I think is  one of the best things we’ve done, we really did cut to the chase for what we’re good at, what we’re comfortable with, so maybe  we had more to draw from. It didn’t feel limiting, just more honest  and direct.

GARDENER: When you get more comfortable again as a unit, things can naturally get a bit more experimental. When “Future Love” came along we all picked up on that, and I really like “Kill Switch”. “Shadows Behind The Sun” is a very honest one for me.

BELL: This has got a lot more limited palette of sounds, it’s not so much of a kaleidoscopic array of instruments. It’s guitar, bass and drums on every song, and I tended to use the same guitar in the same open tuning. So that limited it.

COLBERT: We finally changed our approach, just to freshen it up, and started with the drums. We’d never really thought about drum sound  in the studio, it was always a bit of an afterthought.

BELL: We rehearsed for the album in a studio, and then we were playing music through the night on the studio system, and we realised we were playing a lot of stuff like Pixies’ Surfer Rosa, Nirvana’s In Utero, with that Steve Albini drum sound. We thought that would be great for our drum sound.

GARDENER: It amazes me and surprises me that Ride has carried on in the way it has. We’re not in it for the money. I’ve done building work, and I’d much rather do this! I don’t feel like I’ve done my best thing yet and that’s what drives me to do more. I hope this album carries on what we did with Weather Diaries. The people decide in the end. I’m already starting to think about new things if we ever make another album.

Afel Bocoum Lindé

When Ali Farka Touré died in 2006, Afel Bocoum seemed perfectly placed to take over the great man’s mantle. Touré’s compelling desert blues had earned him a roster of western admirers ranging from Ry Cooder to Jimmy Page to John Lee Hooker, and a trio of Grammy awards – and Bocoum was his most talented protégé.

Hailing from the same town of Niafunké in the Timbuktu region of northern Mali on the River Niger, Bocoum had fallen under Touré’s spell as a boy in the ’60s. He went on to play in Touré’s band for more than 20 years, touring the world with him and playing on his albums in between his day jobs as a civil servant in the agriculture department and a cultural animateur for the Ministry Of Youth.

He made a fine debut solo album for World Circuit in 1999 with Alkibar and perhaps only a lack of ambition subsequently held him back. His first solo album was recorded at the same sessions as Touré’s Grammy-nominated Niafunké album and the motivation for it seemed to come more from his mentor, who played on the record, than from Bocoum himself. “Everybody else seemed to be releasing albums, so it was like, ‘Why not?’” he shrugged self-deprecatingly.

Certainly there was never anything as vulgar as a career plan. Over the next decade there followed two low-key albums on the obscure Belgian label Contre-Jour, but Bocoum seemed happier as a collaborator than as a band leader. After playing on Damon Albarn’s 2002 album Mali Music, he became a regular on board the Blur singer’s cross-cultural Africa Express.

Now in his mid-sixties, in a sense Lindé is the true follow-up to the solo debut he made more than 20 years ago and proves that under the right guidance, Bocoum can be a fine frontman. Here he has two powerful figures to direct his focus in executive producers Albarn, who describes Bocoum’s voice as “one of the treasures of Mali”, and Nick Gold, who produced most of Toure’s greatest recordings as well as Bocoum’s debut. The latter’s long-standing immersion in traditional African music and the restless adventurism of the former is a winning combination that has coaxed something rather special out of Bocoum.

Lindé is steeped in the heritage of the Songhai, the ethnic group whose empire dominated the western Sahel 500 years ago and to which both Bocoum and Touré’s families belong. The core of the sound is built around tribal African instruments – the earthy plunk of the banjo-like ngoni, the drone of the two-string njurkele, the rippling kora and insistent calabash percussion from the late Hama Sankaré.

The songs pack a message that is both specific to Bocoum’s homeland but also universal. In the face of Mali’s crushing struggles with jihad, poverty and tribal war, Bocoum urges hope, solidarity and unity. “If you’re hiding down holes, my brothers/Come out so that we can talk,” he pleads in a direct message to the jihadists on “Sambu Kamba”, while the heartfelt call-and-response lyrics of “Dakamana” translate as “It’s time for us to work together, hand in hand and make 2020 a year for peace in Mali.” The death of Sankaréin March this year underlines the urgency of Bocoum’s message. The calabash player was killed along with eight others when the vehicle in which he was riding was hit by an improvised explosive device close to Bocoum’s hometown.

The traditional instruments are embellished with some exquisitely modern touches. On “Bombolo Liilo” the kora of Sidiki Diabaté (brother of Toumani) and the trombone of the Skatalites’ Vin Gordon dance an irresistible pas de deux to an African reggae beat. “Avion” is a pan-African excursion on which Congolese soukous meets Malian tradition with an added dash of Afrobeat. Elsewhere there are psych guitars courtesy of Mark Mulholland and Garba Touré from Songhoy Blues, and the violin of Joan As Police Woman snakes sinuously around the haunting desert-blues sound of Yoro Cissé’s njurkele on “Fari Njungu” and “Yer Gando”.

The album closes in a clattering symphony of syncopated rhythm on “Djougal”, as the distinctive powerhouse drumming of Tony Allen joins the kinetic beat of Sankare’s chattering calabash. Tragically it would turn out to be their final percussive hurrah. Both died within four weeks of each other, prior to Lindé’s release.

Touched by sadness but tinged with hope, this is a masterful album on which the sound of tradition is rendered vital and visceral in a very present tense.

Eminem’s ‘Curtain Call: The Hits’ rejoins Billboard chart 15 years after its release

Eminem‘s compilation album ‘Curtain Call: The Hits‘ has re-entered the Billboard 200 after previously falling just shy of a 10-year run on the chart.

Read more: Eminem: ‘Curtain Call – The Hits’ (2005) review

‘Curtain Call: The Hits’ debuted at Number One in 2005 – selling approximately 441,000 copies in its first week – and remained on the chart for the next nine and a half years (496 weeks).

According to Billboard, the rapper’s compilation has now re-entered this week’s chart at Number 59.

The album already holds the record for the longest-running rap album in Billboard’s history, hitting 350 weeks in August 2017. As HipHopDX notes, however, the album is yet to beat Pink Floyd’s overall record of 741 weeks (14+ years) for the band’s 1973 classic ‘Dark Side of The Moon’. The album sat in the chart from 1973 to 1988.

‘Curtain Call: The Hits’ is a 13-track compilation of Slim Shady’s biggest hits from his first four major label albums: 1999’s ‘The Slim Shady LP’, 2000’s ‘The Marshal Mathers LP‘, 2002’s ‘The Eminem Show‘ and 2004’s ‘Encore‘. It also included four new recordings/songs: a live version of ‘Stan’ with Elton John, ‘Fack’, ‘When I’m Gone’, and ‘Shake That’ feat. Nate Dogg.

In other news, Eminem’s manager Paul Rosenberg recently shot down claims that the rapper was due to release new music to mark the 20th anniversary of Shady Records.

It came after designer Mike Saputo shared unused ‘Shady XX’ logos in September on his Instagram page which he said he was designing assets for in 2019. Saputo previously designed the album cover for ‘Shady XV’ – a compilation celebrating 15 years of Shady Records – in 2014.

Eminem’s last album was ‘Music To Be Murdered By’, which was released in January. Read the three-star NME review here.

Jeff Rosenstock Made His Late-Night TV Debut Look Like ‘Chaos Hell’

On Monday night (September 28), punk icon Jeff Rosenstock made his late-night TV debut by roaring through "Scram!" on Late Night with Seth Meyers. Like his indefatigably sweaty live shows, it was an energetic affair. Backed by his masked-up band, Death Rosenstock, the kinetic front-person shouted, clapped, and perspired through the three-minute rager, with Black Lives Matter written on his face covering. Bassist John DeDomenici was green-screened in, giving the rendition presence a trippy and occasionally unsettling punch. There was even a lightly subliminal message to buy his new album, No Dream. To hear Rosenstock describe it, the three-minute remote performance perfectly fit the hellish year 2020 has been.

"We live in fucking chaos hell. I want to be honest about us living in chaos hell," Rosenstock tells MTV News.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRs_TdFLVgU

Rosenstock has spent the past five years steadily yet forcefully emerging from the punk underground to become the voice for an anxious, exhausted crowd determined to not let them win. His 2016 and 2018 albums — Worry. and POST-, respectively — became life-affirming salves for expressing fury and weariness in the Trump era, irresistibly hooky and blistered with rage; mere days after he surprise-released No Dream in May, the country (and then the world) exploded into mass demonstrations against police brutality, vigilante violence, and racial injustice.

"Scram!" soundtracks this year, even as it dates back to the POST- era, written about "leftist anarchist types basically fucking up Lindsey Graham's lunch." "When Lindsey Graham was out to eat, people would go and be like, 'Fuck you, Lindsey Graham.' Then I was like, that's awesome! Because these people are ruining thousands and thousands of lives with their bigotry, with their racism, with their tricks into keeping the income gap as wide as possible [and] taking advantage of the working class," Rosenstock says. "Then the other side is basically just like, 'If you can't have a polite conversation with us, then we are not going to listen to you.' It's just like, what the fuck? Fuck you, man."

This year, Rosenstock raised thousands of dollars through Instagram-livestream performances benefitting The Bail Project, the First Nations Development Institute, and various other progressive activist organizations across the United States. With the live-music industry shut down, Death Rosenstock's joyously deranged ceremonies had to be scaled down to cozier solo livestreams. Jeff yelled his voice hoarse and pounded acoustic guitars. The stave diving and communal moshing were replaced by jokes and emojis in a scrolling chat. "In all of them, the thing that resonated with me was just people goofing off in the chat and people who were happy to see their friends, or people who were happy to talk to their online friends in a way that doesn't feel permanent, like a comment on a Facebook post or an Instagram post or a Tweet or something that somebody could get back at you for," he says.

As live music continues to be experienced through screens, livestreams, and remote performances on Seth Meyers, Rosenstock talks to MTV News about that experience, releasing a set of more mellow material as 2020 Dump, and this chaos-hell year's potential extraterrestrial silver lining.

2020 DUMP by Jeff Rosenstock

MTV News: This Late Night performance is going to be a way for people that don't know you to get to know you. What does it mean to get that distinction now at this point in your career?

Jeff Rosenstock: I don't really know what any of it means, you know what I mean? It's just exciting. It's cool. I know that we're on it because Seth is a fan, which is a cool thing. It makes me feel like we got to this spot on our own, not because — this is how I imagine it all works: Somebody gives Mr. NBC $50,000 and is like, "Hey, put my band, The Motorcycles, on there," or something like that. I don't really know how it works. It was a pleasant surprise that it wasn't because of anything like that, but it's because they were just like, "Oh, no. We like your band. We like your music." That's a cool thing.

MTV News: It gives you a chance to introduce yourself in a certain way. How much are you thinking about that when you choose to wear a mask, first of all, and know that it's going to be a Black Lives Matter mask, and all those considerations?

Rosenstock: To me, that seemed like the bare minimum you could do, to show awareness of ... how necessary it is to hold police accountable for continuously murdering Black people. I feel like that's the very least I could do, if I'm there, is wear a mask that I wrote "Black Lives Matter" on. I was trying to be really considerate of making it have energy, in a certain way. Just to feel alive and truthful to the moment that we're in. I feel like I've seen people do things that either felt stiff or felt really solemn and reverent to the times that we are living in. I just was hoping that ours felt a little bit more chaotic and energetic.

Our bass player had to be green-screened in for it. He was like, "Well, do I have to wear a mask? Because I'm not going to be around anybody." Our keyboard player was like, "You think we fucking wore masks because we want to wear masks? We have to wear masks. You've got to wear a mask. Screw you!" I think that I just wanted to be honest to what we're living in right now. We all got tested beforehand. We all treated it in a really, really safe way, as safe as we possibly could. Then I see performances where people seem to defiantly not be doing that. I'm just like, Jesus fucking Christ, you people.

MTV News: 2020 has really given people so much time, and you've recorded more music. You've done a ton of livestreams and raised money. Has staying busy made 2020 feel a bit more bearable for you?

Rosenstock: I feel happy every time that I get to play a livestream and just get to feel like I'm communicating with people who I would usually see throughout the year. I feel very, very, very, very, very fortunate to be in a position where I can help to raise money for good causes like that. But I don't know — I think I feel like a lot of people feel, where I wish I was getting more done. I wish I was taking all those online courses or whatever and becoming a better mix engineer. Or I wish I was learning how to build things, since I finally am not living in an apartment. In theory, I could just get a saw and build shit. But it feels really difficult to get it done because there's just five layers of, I don't know, neon red-level threat distractions happening all the time. That makes it kind of hard to do it, you know? It makes me happy also when Craig of the Creek episodes air that I had worked on throughout all of this. I've always felt lucky to be able to channel negative energy into something that feels like, at the very least, it's creative.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCH0WuBnLYW/

MTV News: It's been about six months of you and other artists doing those livestreams in different capacities instead of playing regular shows. What's that experience been like?

Rosenstock: I think just because of my personality, five minutes before a livestream, I'm like, oh shit, what songs am I going to play? Oh shit, I didn't practice any of those songs. Oh shit, I didn't warm up. Shit, I didn't realize it was already 6:00. Shit, shit, shit. I haven't adjusted to being able to do them better. I think of it as a good thing. It still feels like a similar nervous energy to the first time I did it, where it was just, oh, how's this going to go? I think that's something that we embrace a lot in our band, when we're playing a show: that we don't go into it expecting that it's going to go well.

MTV News: It's cool to hear the more mellow material you released as 2020 Dump songs as a counterpoint to No Dream. Were you nervous about sharing that stuff at all, knowing that they're more like demos?

Rosenstock: I tried to not treat them as demos once I knew I was going to put them out because I don't know what's going to happen with these songs. I don't know if, at the end of the day, this is going to feel like, well, this was the most real representation of the song, even though it was something that I recorded at home. I was just thinking a little more about Guided By Voices or old Mountain Goats tapes or Dear Nora, just stuff that. There was a mountain of material. It wasn't all necessarily beautifully recorded in a studio, all planned out. The way the recordings are, that's them as they're being written.

Nervous to put them out? I guess so. But I'm nervous to put everything out. Two of the songs that are on there were songs I was thinking about for No Dream, but never really figured out. I knew No Dream was going to be a fast record. I couldn't find the heart in them yet. I couldn't find where they wanted to go. It didn't make sense in context of that. Now it's making sense. But then it's also — I don't know if it feels too gloomy, or something. I don't know. I'm thinking way too much about all of it and I'm trying to not overthink it as much, which is, I think, the point of trying to put them out in this way.

Sad13’s Power-Pop Memories, Anthony Ramos’s Feel-Good Exhale, And More Songs We Love

Sad13: “Market Hotel”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSnM3wQr7Yw

“I’m just an adult dirtbag,” Sadie Dupuis sings on “Market Hotel,” putting a new spin on a beloved power-pop touchstone. It’s yet another hallmark inside a reference-rich musing on Brooklyn shows, sexism, gigging until you die, and how all those concepts mingle inside memory. As the closer to her excellent new album Haunted Painting, “Market Hotel” punctuates the themes that likewise run throughout the song cycle. It’s also an incredibly potent two-minute firebomb, with the prototypically brilliant lyrical turns of phrase that makes Dupuis such a force: “I’m playing an adult / You’re just playing yourself.” —Patrick Hosken
The Mountain Goats: “Get Famous”

Singer-songwriter John Darnielle says we “wouldn’t even believe” how much fun The Mountain Goats had writing and recording “Get Famous,” but I hear it loud and clear. The upbeat new single tackles the siren call of fame with characteristic cleverness. “You’ve been waiting for this ever since you were young / Be careful not to choke on your tongue,” Darnielle advises over a frolicking brass section. He would know. “Get Famous” is the second single off of Getting Into Knives, the prolific folk-rocker’s forthcoming studio album, and his 19th as The Mountain Goats. —Sam Manzella
Anthony Ramos: “Stop”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsqIqVJz75o

From stage to screen to his own singing career, Anthony Ramos has already proven himself as a multifaceted and multi-talented performer. He leans into his pop sensibilities and peels back another layer with new single “Stop.” The feel-good track’s message of slowing down and appreciating life’s smaller moments might be well trodden, but Ramos’s soulful delivery keeps it feeling fresh. “Sometimes I wish my life was like a photograph / Double tap the good ones and just photoshop the bad,” he sings before resolving to “stop” – both metaphorically and literally, taking a beat going into the chorus. The video follows Brooklynite Anthony Payne, who lost his job during the pandemic and began giving outdoor haircuts in the city to support the Black Lives Matter movement. Ramos himself even gets under the clippers, taking a moment, and giving us all a breath of fresh air. —Carson Mlnarik
Travis Scott ft. Young Thug & M.I.A.: "Franchise"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VRyoaNF9sk

Seeing "Travis Scott" and "Franchise" together now immediately conjures associations with McDonald's, but quickly after pushing play on his latest — a collaboration with Young Thug and M.I.A. — there's a callback to Dem Franchize Boyz's "White Tee," and the title takes on new significance. Brawny and speckled with whimsy from its guests ("I'm higher than the plane / I'm where the Skypes be," raps Thug; "Kawasaki, catch a fish, Sushi, maki, livin' life," raps M.I.A.), Scott's latest is further proof of his comfortable spot at the top. —Patrick Hosken
Elliot Jones: “Do it Again”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBA77TWGOY4

“Do it Again” is an end-of-summer daydream that puts me in the mood to, well, make mistakes. Can I squeeze in one last summer fling before the city completely cools down? Indie-pop sweetheart Elliot Jones seems to think so. His new single is a hazy musing on the question, is the high worth the low? It’s a self-aware conclusion as he sings, “Why do I do this? Falling in love with my own lies / Know the truth, but I’m so clueless.” Regardless, his dreamy vocals help put everything in focus and remind us that there’s only one way to learn, and that’s just to “Do it Again.” —Daniel Head
Mike Sabath: "Good Energy"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpjeXsQ4wFM

A few years ago, producer Mike Sabath was a teenage budding sonic maestro, ready to make his mark in the pop realm. Since then, he's written songs for everyone from Selena Gomez to Lizzo — and now he's bringing "Good Energy" to a solo career. His debut single vibrates with all the kinetics of party music, nostalgic and ethereal as chillwave with horn stabs and soulful vocals lifted right from the pop charts. Treat yourself to some of his energy. —Patrick Hosken
Chappell Roan: “Pink Pony Club”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR3Liudev18

Every now and then, I get this itch to drop everything, change my hair, and become a dancing gay Brooklyn bartender à la Coyote Ugly, never mind the fact that I can’t dance. I thought I might be alone in my disputatious daydreams until I heard Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club.” The rising pop starlet has been charting her takeover since signing with Atlantic Records as a teen, and the dusty yet decadent single is a promising sign of what’s to come. In a rhinestone cowboy hat, Roan starts off slow with visions of “a special place where boys and girls can all be queens every single day,” letting the soft keys give way to a triumphant electronic chorus reminiscent of Kacey Musgraves’s “High Horse.” Her voice reads as hallowed as the halls she sings about, and there’s a palpable electricity in its glitzy video, as she gives a stadium-ready performance to a group of bored barflies. Add in a couple of cameos from RuPaul's Drag Race legends like Meatball and Porkchop, and she’s got me already booking my ticket to L.A. —Carson Mlnarik
Carla Morrison: "Ansiedad"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChPy6Q30b38&feature=youtu.be

Even if you don't speak Spanish, Mexican pop vocalist Carla Morrison's face tells you everything you need to know in her striking new video for "Ansiedad" ("Anxiety," in English). As she navigates the weight of mental-health struggles that saw her take a step away from the spotlight for the last few years — personified by her choreo collaborators — Morrison also resounds deeply with her voice, a magnetic instrument conveying both longing and hard-earned hope. —Patrick Hosken

Fleet Foxes Shore

Early into lockdown, people began sharing clips on social media of deer roaming housing estates in Essex, coyotes prowling across the Golden Gate Bridge, goats promenading along Llandudno high street and other signs that animals were moving into the spaces that humans had vacated. Nature, it seemed, was making a comeback in the wake of the pandemic.

It feels, then, like an appropriate time to welcome back Fleet Foxes. Shore, their fourth album, is accompanied by a film shot around Washington State comprising a series of nature scenes – water running over stone, flowers in the field, horses in a meadow, distant mountains, trees glimpsed across a misty lake, a crescent moon. Much like these sun-dappled images of the American wilderness, Shore is an emissary from a better, more beguiling world than the one we left before lockdown began in April.

It transpires lockdown has been useful, creatively-speaking, for Robin Pecknold. He started work on this album not long after the band wrapped their world tour to support 2017’s Crack-Up. Preliminary writing took place at his home in New York, then in Portugal, before he took early demos of the album to Aaron Dessner’s Long Pond studio in upstate New York. The music took shape there, improved by further sessions in Paris and Los Angeles. But Pecknold now admits to being “a bit lost” with the album. He had music; but the lyrics evaded him. Lengthy, lockdown drives through upstate New York, though, gave him inspiration – the wild, empty landscape providing creative nourishment.

Released on the autumnal equinox, Shore finds Pecknold taking a left turn. On a superficial level, the album doesn’t feature any other regular members of Fleet Foxes, who were absent due to lockdown restrictions. Pecknold is at great pains to make clear that he hasn’t abandoned them: “The studio albums have always been predominantly my work and my vision,” he writes in an artist’s statement. “I’ve always handled all the songwriting, most of the vocals and harmonies, and most of the recording of the instrumentation, usually working most closely with one other person, a producer or bandmate, to see the album through to completion.” He anticipates reconnecting with his bandmates for “nine more songs”, written collaboratively, “to augment the fifteen here.”

For Shore, Pecknold’s chief collaborator is engineer Beatriz Artola, while the other musicians include Christopher Bear, Kevin Morby, Daniel Rossen and Joshua Jaeger. The first voice you hear isn’t even Pecknold’s: it’s Uwade Akhere, who Pecknold met while they were both students at Columbia University, providing an early signal that you might expect something different here. Nothing radical, perhaps, but all the same Shore feels like a comfortable progression from Crack-Up.

Crack-Up found Pecknold and his cohorts pushing the band’s trademark luscious harmonies and wonderful orchestrations to the limit. With Shore, Pecknold appears to be striving to embrace simplicity. The lyrical heaviness has gone – although he can’t resist subtitling Shore as “IV. Rising Phase” (which I guess is better than, say, “The Search For Spock”). Meanwhile, eight of the album’s 15 tracks are under four minutes long; the digressive song-suites of Crack-Up have been replaced by bright chord progressions.

Shore begins, though, roughly where Crack-Up left off. The cover image of a shoreline loosely refers back to Hiroshi Hamaya’s painting Eroded Sea Cliff At Tōjinbō, which appeared on Crack-Up’s sleeve. There is a lot of water on this album – songs take place near it, characters interact with it, its powerful cleansing and destructive qualities are both cited. There are oceans, rain and even a reference to the Silver Jews album, American Water. The album opens with “Wading In Waist-High Water”, with Akhere accompanied only by warm acoustic guitar, before a shift in tempo introduces horns, a choir, piano and drums. It’s an epic progression, but the transitions are far smoother and more natural than some of the jumps on Crack-Up.

The horns segue into “Sunblind”, whose rapturous chorus is one of the most joyous and uplifting moments on Shore. A celebration of Pecknold’s fallen musical heroes – most prominently, Richard Swift and David Berman – the song seeks out positivity even in these immense losses. “I’m loud and alive, singing you all night,” Pecknold rhapsodies over beautiful rolling piano and ravishing acoustic guitar. “Can I Believe You” and “Jara” are focussed and determined, carried along on soaring melodies and breathless percussion.

Pecknold slows the pace for “Featherweight” – which he debuted last month as part of Vote Ready, a livestream event that encouraged viewers to register to vote. Ostensibly, a sweet folk song, it is full of tiny details – filigrees of guitar and brisk piano motifs lying under the main melody – that remind us, even in the most superficially straightforward material, Pecknold can still find room for nuanced dynamics. Similarly, the Laurel Canyon loveliness of “A Long Way Past The Past” features plenty of detail to burrow into, although never at the expense of the song itself. “For A Week Or Two” is ostensibly Pecknold and a piano, but even something as simple and effective as this is augmented by birdsong at the end.

The birdsong segues into “Maestranza” – named, possibly, after a bullring in Seville – driven by Pecknold’s swaggering acoustic guitar, before bursting into “Young Man’s Game”. It’s tempting to view this song as Pecknold (now at the ripe old age of 34) looking back at his younger self: “I could dress as Arthur Lee / Scrape my shoes the right way / Maybe read Ulysses / But it’s a young man’s game”. Its playful melodies, skittering drums and tumbling harmonies give it a playful quality: “I’ve been a rolling antique / For all my life” he sings at one point. It contrasts with the autumnal mood of “I’m Not My Season”, which in turn gives way to “Quiet Air/Gioia”. Another of Pecknold’s song-cycles, its shifts are gentle, organic, soothed by Pecknold’s multi-tracked vocals.

“Going-To-The-Sun Road” sweeps along on harpsichord, horns and acoustic guitars while “Thymia” builds around a simple horn and piano arrangement. Then it’s back shifting tempos and layered instruments on “Cradling Mother, Cradling Woman” (guitars, violin, drums, horns). The song opens with a sample of Brian Wilson working on vocal overdubs for “Don’t Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)” from the Pet Sounds box set; as good an indication as any where Pecknold’s head is at.

The ebb and flow, from quite straightforward songs to more complex and textured compositions, gives Shore its internal rhythm – tide-like, you might say – that reaches its conclusion with the title song. A lament to the fallen – John Prine, David Berman and the fire that devastated the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Parks – it’s minor chords, layered orchestral passages and subtle processing recall In Rainbows era Radiohead.

All in all, it’s a beautiful record – and one that bears repeated plays. I’ve been playing it for around 10 days now, mostly on headphones, and it’s still revealing new details with each listen. Pecknold has created another beautiful, immersive world for us to dive into – and with the prospect of more new music, this time with the rest of his regular Fleet Foxes bandmates, to follow in 2021, it feels like Pecknold has a lot left to say. Four albums in, he’s showing no signs of letting his quality control slide.

Shore by Fleet Foxes

Doves The Universal Want

Rock history tells us that there is usually a pretty good reason why chart-topping bands take an extended break. From rehab to road weariness to the age-old ‘musical differences’ – code for mutual loathing brought on by too long in each other’s company – it rarely bodes well.

Doves’ 11-year absence, on the other hand, has, we’re told, simply been the result of midlife drift, the kind that sees old friends lose touch as real-world responsibilities take over. Having explored various musical avenues with their solo projects – Jez and Andy Williams with Black Rivers, Jimi Goodwin with solo debut Odludek – the trio began making music again in 2017, reigniting a 30-year partnership dating back to their days in dance outfit Sub Sub.

It’s a narrative in keeping with an everyman appeal that has seen their combination of romantic, widescreen rock and cryptic, small-screen lyrics – think Cold Feet, as filmed by David Lean – earn them two consecutive No 1 albums in the wake of 2000 debut Lost Souls, with 2002’s The Last Broadcast and 2005’s Some Cities. Kingdom Of Rust didn’t do badly either, reaching No 2 in 2009.

However, while The Universal Want’s lyrics are typically enigmatic, they suggest that Doves – who all turned 50 this year – have been through the emotional mill during their decade away. In the run-up to release, Jimi Goodwin has spoken of “a lot of casualties in my past… we shouldn’t be afraid to reference the damage that life can do”, and their fifth album comes with a cathartic feel. Densely layered – four of the 11 tracks are over five minutes – it’s also as complex as a Rubik’s Cube, the elaborate arrangements owing more to progressive rock than contemporary pop.

Opener “Carousels” sets the tone. While the lyric is archetypal Doves – a nostalgic reminiscence of childhood holidays in North Wales – it’s musically fearless, building from a sample of Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen into an atmospheric, six-minute soundscape where soaring guitar glissandos and blistering techno bass merge in an “A Day In The Life”-inspired crescendo.

There’s a similarly bullish feel to “I Will Not Hide”. Ostensibly a country-pop cousin to “Catch The Sun”, it manages to shoehorn burbling synths, helium-balloon vocals and a liquid, John Squire-esque guitar solo into four breathless minutes. If these are scene-setters, “Broken Eyes” is where everything clicks into place. A La’s-esque leftover from the Kingdom Of Rust sessions, it’s an instant classic forged from the simplest of materials. The specifics remain obscure – is Goodwin singing: “I can’t help it if you don’t feel satisfied” to his bandmates, or a lover? – but it hits home like a slap in the face, hinting at inner turmoil.

There’s a different, darker kind of tumult in “Cathedrals Of The Mind”. Set against a dazzling musical backdrop where cascading synths give way to a sample from a ’60s Black Panthers rally decrying police brutality and then to a dub-meets-ambient end section, its haunting lyric (“Every day I see your face/Everywhere I see those eyes/ But you’re not there”) could apply to the aftermath of any human tragedy. The emotional Geiger-counter flips into the red on a storming “Cycle Of Hurt”. Almost hypnotic in its despondency, it finds Goodwin asking rhetorically: “Have I got the nerve, to end this cycle of hurt?”, the tension erupting in an explosive guitar solo before an electronic voice repeats: “It’s a trick/It’s a trap.”

This being Doves, the lyrical storm clouds always come shot through with musical sunlight. “Prisoners” is a Tame Impala-informed northern soul nugget reminiscent of “Black And White Town”, while a stunning “For Tomorrow” sees the Rubik’s Cube turn again. Similar in feel to Rotary Connection’s “I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun”, it’s a stone-cold classic, the cosmic desolation of the verses traded for renewed hope in a sky-scraping chorus of “From tomorrow, we will live again”.

The sense that, 20 years on from Lost Souls, Doves have come full circle is made explicit in the final two songs. Starting off as a prog-ish rumination on the pitfalls of consumerism, the title track is a slow burning epic, its “Sympathy For The Devil”-style groove mutating into a minimalist techno outro. If it acts as a flashback to sweaty nights at the Haçienda, a sublime “Forest House” soundtracks the comedown, a bucolic celebration of midlife tranquility.

The message is clear: Doves’ hedonistic past is largely behind them, but it informs everything they do. With their fifth album they’re taking strength from sadness, hope from despair, and wisdom from experience. In troubled times, The Universal Want is exactly what we need.

Slowthai announces new single coming tomorrow with emotional tribute to brother

Slowthai has announced that he’s releasing a new single tomorrow (September 15) called ‘Feel Away’.

Read more: The Big Read – Slowthai: “Is Britain actually great, or are you?”

The new track, which is set to feature James Blake and Mount Kimbie, is dedicated to Slowthai’s younger brother, Michael John.

“today is the anniversary of my baby brother passing,” Slowthai said in a social media post. “this is one of the biggest days of the year for me and my family, and with my whole heart I can say I’ve never missed anyone as much as I miss him, I know you’re looking down on us everyday with your smile.”

He continued: “i’m doing in everything in my power to live for him and also make him proud… tomorrow i’m dropping a song featuring James Blake and Mount Kimbie called ‘feel away’ and i’m dedicating it to my little brother Michael John.”

“rest in paradise little brother I love you more than life itself,” Slowthai concluded.

pic.twitter.com/uqDsGwhPC1

— TYRON (@slowthai) September 14, 2020

The new song follows the release of ‘MAGIC’, a track that saw Slowthai team up with Kenny Beats

Coming in at just over two minutes long, the trap-influenced release sees Slowthai rap about being “addicted to sex” and his recent commercial success: “The shit that I did for a piece of the pie, and they say I’m selfish – now the pie is all mine.”

Meanwhile, The 1975‘s Matty Healy has commented after a sample of his voice at the NME Awards 2020 was used in Slowthai‘s track ‘Enemy’.

The song, which arrived earlier this month, opens with a sample of Healy addressing the audience after Slowthai’s appearance at the event was marred in controversy.

Speaking to NME, Healy explained how the Northampton rapper had contacted him to approve the sample.

He said: “I just got a FaceTime from Ty and he’s like, ‘Let me play you this! Let me play you this!’ And you know, Ty is actually a really sweet boy and a smart guy.”

Toots Hibbert: “Believe in what you believe in”

The sad news came through this morning (September 12) that reggae pioneer Toots Hibbert of Toots And The Maytals has died, aged 77. Uncut were honoured to interview him just a couple of months ago, on the release of his new album Got To Be Tough. Here’s Graeme Thomson’s full feature, which originally appeared in the September 2020 issue of Uncut, Take 280.

“Is a good day,” pronounces Frederick “Toots” Hibbert breezily, calling Uncut from his studio in Kingston. “Is good here all the time.” It’s precisely the kind of blunt positivity we’ve come to expect from the man who has been fronting the mighty Maytals for the best part of 60 years, a man whose songs – vibrant, righteous, urgent, joyful – are synonymous with the golden age of Jamaican music.

Alongside Jimmy Cliff and Desmond Dekker, Hibbert was part of reggae’s first international wave. The youngest son of a Baptist minister, he grew up singing gospel in his father’s church choir. With its echoes of Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett and Ray Charles, his soulful voice is one of music’s most evocative sounds, encompassing all the sweetness and sweat of his homeland, from chapel to dancehall, lush countryside to febrile inner city.

Hibbert made the same journey in his teens as his great friend and contemporary Bob Marley, moving from the rural outlands – in his case, the town of May Pen – to the Kingston ghetto of Trench Town. There he formed The Maytals in 1962 with “Raleigh” Gordon and “Jerry” Matthias.

Working first with producer Coxsone Dodd at Studio One, and later Prince Buster, Byron Lee, Leslie Kong and Warrick Lyn, The Maytals blended ska, reggae, soul, blues and R&B with soulful three-part harmonies. In the late ’60s and early ’70s, they defined the era with the genre-minting “Do The Reggay”, jailbird’s lament “54-46, That’s My Number” and the karmic curse of “Pressure Drop” – alongside “Monkey Man”, “Time Tough”, “Pomp And Pride”, “Funky Kingston” and dozens more classics. In their prime, The Maytals were a bigger deal than The Wailers. Their record of 31 No 1 hits in Jamaica has never been equalled. “I was on top of the moon, man, in those days,” says Hibbert. “But we still didn’t get paid.”

Signing to Island in the early 1970s, they became Toots & The Maytals and appeared in the classic rude boy film The Harder They Come, featuring twice on the hugely successful soundtrack album. They toured with The Who and the Stones and proved a key source for the punky reggae ska revival: The Specials covered “Monkey Man”, The Clash “Pressure Drop”. Ever adventurous, Hibbert has since recorded with Willie Nelson and Jim Dickinson, and even had a swing at Radiohead’s “Let Down”. Every step, he says, has been guided by a powerful sense of destiny. “People over here say, ‘Hey Toots, you’re a star, man!’ I say, ‘No, I’m a son.’ You know what I mean? It was the call of the Almighty. He blows in me. I have different talents from other artists.”

At 77, the man Ziggy Marley calls Uncle Toots is still burning bright. He was last seen in these parts touring with The Specials in 2017. Now the latest iteration of The Maytals are back with a new album, Got To Be Tough, the first since Flip And Twist in 2010. It’s a lively, engaged affair, largely self-played and self-produced, with assistance from Zak Starkey on guitar, Sly Dunbar on drums and Cyril Neville on percussion. There are characteristic calls to keep your eyes open and your ear to the ground, as well as a punchy reading of Marley’s classic “Three Little Birds”.

The album title is a manifesto of sorts. Hibbert was struck on the head with a bottle thrown by an audience member at a concert in Virginia in 2013, an incident which left him shaken but unbowed. As we shall see, he has been through worse and survived: false imprisonment, “deep-down scams”, not to mention being saddled with a stage name he hates. “When The Maytals came in, we had to go through a lot of different vibes before we be what we are today,” he says. “I keep telling people that: ‘You have got to be tough. Don’t just give up in life. Be strong and believe in what you believe in.’”

From “Pressure Drop” to new tracks like “Just Brutal” and “Got To Be Tough”, I always think of your best songs as short, sharp sermons. Has the writing process changed over the years?
All my songs tell a story. A true story. Things just come to me and I write. An intelligent spirit came to me from the Lord, and we have to make sure that all of my words in my songs are permanent, intelligent and good to the ears of the people – children, big people, all people: my family, my friends, my musicians, the whole world. That’s how it is, and how it has always been. My vibes are coming from my spirit.

Your version of “Three Little Birds” has an energy that turns it into an almost completely different song. Why did you cover it?
It’s a good song! Me and Bob were very close friends, and bredren. There are quite a few of his songs that I’d like to sing one of these days. I just asked his son, Ziggy, “Let’s do this song for your daddy,” and Ziggy said, “Yes, Uncle Toots.” He call me Uncle Toots! I went home, I played all the instruments, as usual, and then Ziggy go to California and he came in on top. I put a different effort into it, between reggae and R&B.

Can you remember when you first met Bob?
I can remember it, but I don’t know the date! I met him in Trench Town, in the ’60s. When I first came to Kingston, after a while I live in Trench Town, and I get to meet Bob and Bunny [Livingstone] and Peter Tosh, and a lot of great people like that: Alton Ellis; Bongo Herman, the conga player; Byron Lee; “Chicken Scratch” Perry! Scratch is different, is all I can say. He has remained the same. He makes a lot of jokes, he makes you laugh, he makes you think. He’s a good friend. I go with these people, and it was quite nice. I didn’t plan it, but me and my friends, “Raleigh” Gordon and “Jerry” Mathias, three young boys, we started playing. We started with my compositions, we taught each other great things, and then I create the name The Maytals. I compose that name and I still have it. There was no Toots at the time. Toots is my nickname. I don’t like it when people call me Toots these days. My brother gave it to me, but he has died now.

So, what does Toots mean?
It mean nothing! It mean a laugh. You know: [high camp voice] “Hey, Toots!” I don’t like it, but I have to like it, because it’s part of my career. Friends call me by my spiritual name, Naya, but all my friends accept Toots as my career name all these years. My name is Toots & The Maytals on stage. Everyone who appear on stage with me, they share the name Maytals with me. I’m more than one person, I consider.

Are you still in touch with the original Maytals?
Raleigh died a few years ago now, but Jerry is still living in Brooklyn. I talk to about the old days when I see him. The only time I see him is when I go to Brooklyn and visit him. He’s still going strong.

You were making your way at the same time as The Wailers, The Skatalites, The Upsetters, The Pioneers, The Heptones. Was there rivalry?
That was just musical. It was exciting. But you know, the spirit that Bob has is very clean. I wrote a song [on 1972 album Slatyam Stoot] called “Redemption Song”, and Bob listened to it and said he wanted to write one like that. I said, “Yeah man, go ahead Bob.” We had a good thing going ever since we met.

Your voice is so distinctive and soulful. What were your influences growing up?
My voice was developed going to church with my family. I love singing; singing was what I thought I should do because it was born in me and I grew into it, straight from the church. We never talk about it, but my parents already know what I’m going to be.

The story goes that “54-46, That’s My Number” is titled after your prisoner ID, when you were wrongfully jailed in 1966 for possession of marijuana…
[Laughs] Well, I’ve never really been to prison, you know. It was just politics. I never smoked weed in those times. I never do nothing like that. I was just finished leaving school, but I won this festival [the inaugural Jamaican Independence Festival Popular Song Competition] with “Bam Bam” and people get jealous, and frame me for weed. I got the chance to meet some people, one of them was Chris Blackwell, and after the festival I was supposed to go away on my first Europe tour, but then some kind of musical politics came in. They couldn’t do nothing else than what they did because they didn’t have goodness in them heart for me. It was politics. I never go to prison. They bring me to a special place, where I have my own clothes, I got my own food from my home, I got my guitar, I got all the comforts that I have at home. When you go to prison you don’t have those comforts.

It was a kind of house arrest?
Yeah. Politics served me out, for 30 pieces of silver. They get to hold me back from my success. It’s a long story. So, what did I do? I wrote a song about it. I still have to feed on my enemies who did it. It was three persons. I can’t call no names, but I think they all die now. They were in the music industry, or something like that. But I have a good mind for them.

The Jamaican music industry seemed fairly rough and ready back then.
Well, we never used to get paid. All my good songs, all we get sometimes is three shillings for three of us, sometimes five shillings, sometimes 10 shillings – sometimes we got nothing. We just have to sing some more. There was a criminal element. Even now, it’s still there.

You popularised the term reggae with “Do The Reggay” in 1968. Some people say you invented it.
I never invented it. Something like reggae was playing in Jamaica long time, but nobody knew what to call the beat. Some people called it blue beat, or boogie beat, all different names, and then I came up with the word “reggae”. I realised I had to put the “rrrr” in the music! I had to let the people know the name of the music we play.

“Pressure Drop” is one of the lodestars of reggae. Do you remember writing it?
I remember everything I wrote! When we have all these problems with money, like I told you, somebody was supposed to pay us our first one or two thousand pounds – but we never get it. I wrote this song which, instead of trying to fight this person or do him any harm, it said, “Pressure going to drop on you.” But he knew I was talking to him. Again, I can’t call no names! I wrote that song about that moment because he didn’t pay me my money. It felt just like another song to me, I didn’t think it was going to be so great. All these songs were No 1 in Jamaica. I had, like, 31 No 1 records in those days, on the two stations – RJR and JBC – which no other artist ever get to do.

“Pressure Drop” has been covered by everyone from The Clash to Robert Palmer. You’ve recorded versions with Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton and Keith Richards. Do you have a favourite?
I just make it out to be a very nice thing to happen to reggae and Toots & The Maytals. It was a good thing, to meet other great artists and to make sure we are one family – black or white, we don’t care. Keith? He’s an amazing writer, musician, creator, producer. He’s everything that is great in music.

The Maytals performed “Sweet And Dandy” and “Pressure Drop” on The Harder They Come. Internationally, was that a game changer for you?
I think I was on top of the moon, man, in those days – but we still didn’t get paid. Up until now, I still don’t get paid for that performance in the [film]. But I love it, man, because of the fellow who stars in it: Jimmy Cliff. It was one of the best adverts for Jamaica, with Jimmy and all these people who put it together. Jimmy is still my friend and my brother, and we still come together.

Chris Blackwell eventually signed The Maytals to Dragon, an Island subsidiary, around the time he signed The Wailers. Did you and Bob discuss the merits of Blackwell and Island?
Chris kept listening to my songs. He’s a great guy, and he’s a great guy for listening to a record and telling you if it’s going to be a hit or not. He have good ears! Me and Bob didn’t get that close to talk about business. Neither Bob or myself, nor Bunny, we don’t know what this contract means to our career. People never can tell you what a contract means, unless you get a good corporate lawyer, which we never knew in those days. We didn’t converse about that.

At Island, you made a string of classic albums in the mid-’70s: Funky Kingston, In The Dark, Reggae Got Soul…
It build up a career in such a dynamic way that I can never forget. The albums are all special, because I have to work them everywhere I go, but Funky Kingston is really special, yes. I think that is one of my best songs, also. It was conversed by me and Chris Blackwell. He told me, “Hey man, I want you to sing a song like [The Beginning Of The End’s] ‘Funky Nassau’.” He keep on talking, talking, talking about this for about an hour. I said, “OK, Chris, I’m going to sit beside my two friends and take my guitar with me”, and I actually planned it. In five minutes’ time I go in the studio and we record it together. Jackie Johnson, Hux Brown, all the musicians, we went in and did the song – one time. We didn’t have to re-record anything, not even the voice. One time, that was it. Those are the times you just can’t forget.

It’s a very different way of working than nowadays. You played most of the new album yourself.
I miss the old days. In the old days it would be my bass player, guitar player, keyboard player, we would go in the studio and we would do it live. Everybody would have the feel, but I would always say, “Do it my way.” I miss that. On this album, I created the music and I produced it myself, with Nigel [Burrell] alongside as a co-producer. I played everything. Bass, guitar, keyboards, the kick drum, the arrangements – everything [apart] from blowing horns. It is the first time I have done a whole album like that. The Maytals live in various countries, and that’s why I start to do things by myself, because it’s hard for them to come down so many times. I play what I think I would ask them to play for me on these songs. But I have a good memory of how it used to be, that’s why I can get the similar sound in the studio, and it’s all right. I play my bass like Jackie [Jackson] would be playing it. In other words, I prefer the old times, and I still respect the new times.

“Monkey Man” was covered by The Specials during the ska revival, and you toured with the band in 2017. How was that?
We did shows all over the place with The Specials, it was so nice. The audience are usually always with the rock’n’roll, [but] in those gigs, it was mostly ska fans, and the skinhead gave a good turnout! It was really, really crazy – but great.

Zak Starkey is head of your new label, Trojan Jamaica, and he also plays guitar on the new album. Do you know him well?
Not really at all. Just enough for him to know Toots & The Maytals. I met him once, and we had a good time. When Zak came, he said he wanted to be a part of it – but there were no parts for anyone to come in, because I had played all the parts already. He just put his guitar on and respect what I done. Beautiful. He was very nice to work with. Anyone who played anything, I told them what to play. Sly Dunbar, too. Like you read a script and follow it. It was all good.

It has been 10 years since your last studio album. What took you so long?
I was just trying to keep away from the audience for a while. It’s just my style. I don’t want to overdo nothing. Songs need to find the right time and the right company. You need the right people to do justice to a good song.

Was the hiatus related to the injury you received on stage in 2013?
That was some time ago, quite a few years now. I get hurt very badly. I think about it, but I try to put it aside – because I’m still alive. I never felt like stopping. I went there to sing a free show for all the students there. This guy, he was so happy singing the song with me, and then he went away and he just drink something that he shouldn’t have done. He had something in his pocket, and he drank it. He didn’t throw the bottle at me, it just happened that it catch me.

The perpetrator was sentenced to six months in jail, although you pleaded for leniency.
He was a young student. I forgive all those people, but I don’t forget.

What do you make of the state of reggae nowadays? Why is it less potent and popular than it was in the heyday of the ’70s and ’80s?
I think the younger generation has to pay more attention to what all the elders did before. From The Wailers, Jimmy Cliff, all the great singers in Jamaica that were born before them. They should pay more attention to their writing, their lyrics, to see that we were the ones who captured the world. Reggae is not overtaking the world the way it was with Bob, but there are still a lot of great people out there.

The tour for Got To Be Tough, which was postponed owing to the coronavirus, was billed in the press as a farewell tour. Is that still the case?
I never knew about that. I never tell nobody that. People have their own intentions, and they corrupt it in their minds, and corrupt other people. It was a scam, a deep-down scam, without me knowing anything about that. Unprofessional! I’m going to keep going all the time, man! You will see me again because I’m not going to resign for now. I keep on doing this thing. My audience don’t expect me to stop.

Got To Be Tough is out now on Trojan Jamaica/BMG

Music legends Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle announced for next Verzuz instalment

Music legends Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle have been announced as the next artists to square off in the next instalment of live-streamed series, Verzuz.

The soul icons will be pitting their hits against one another at 1am BST on Monday September 14 (8pm EST, Sunday September 13). It’ll be available to view on Verzuz’ Instagram page or on Apple Music.

With a discography that spans over a century between them, the two artists have collaborated on a selection of songs in the past, including ‘I Don’t Do Duets’ and ‘Superwoman’ alongside fellow legend Dionne Warwick.

Announcing the stream on Twitter, Verzuz said “Y’all gotta get dressed up in ya Sunday’s best for this classic affair.”

The Master Class we’ve ALL been waiting for! @MsGladysKnight vs. @MsPattiPatti ? This Sunday at 5PM PT/8PM ET.

Y’all gotta get dressed up in ya Sunday’s best for this classic affair.

Watch it on our IG or in HD on @AppleMusic.
Drinks by @Ciroc. pic.twitter.com/tgCAOdBFgc

— Verzuz (@verzuzonline) September 8, 2020

The series has gained some serious traction over the past few months, seeing head-to-head pairings between the likes of Alicia Keys and John Legend, and Timbaland and Swizz Beats.

The latest instalment saw a highly anticipated reunion between Brandy and Monica, which lasted almost three hours and was closed by the pair’s all-conquering collaboration ‘The Boy Is Mine’.

Brandy and Monica’s battle also broke the record for most simultaneous viewers of the series thus far, clocking in 1.2million viewers at its peak.

In addition, both artists saw a surge in their streaming numbers as well after the battle. Together, they had 21.9million streams in a three day period beginning with the day of the battle.

Yoko Ono told Liam Gallagher he was “silly” for naming his son Lennon

Liam Gallagher has revealed how Yoko Ono told him he was “silly” for naming his son Lennon after her late husband and Beatles icon John.

The singer met Lennon’s wife Yoko in New York in 1999, the same year his son was born.

He recalled to the Daily Mirror: “Yoko said, ‘I’ve heard you’ve called your son Lennon’.

“I said, ‘Yeah’, she said, ‘Why? Do you not think it’s a bit of a silly name?’

“And I said, ‘No, it’s a bit silly being called Yoko isn’t it? So Lennon it is.’

“And she said, ‘Don’t you think he’ll get picked on in school?’ I was like, ‘Nah man, he’ll be buzzing with that name.’”

Liam also revealed how Yoko “made us a nice cup of tea”, explaining: “She asked me if I wanted a go on the piano, I said, ‘No you’re all right’. Then she showed us around.

“I said, ‘That’s a really nice picture of you’, she had loads round the piano.

“She looked cool, Yoko, she had these shades on and a playsuit and I said, ‘It’s a really cool picture’ and she said, ‘That was John’s favourite’.”

In 2018, Gallagher revealed how listening to Lennon’s music helps him to battle his inner demons.

“I have got John Lennon. Anytime I am in need, man, I just stick him on, all those dark clouds disappear. I do not need therapy. John Lennon is my thing,” Liam said.

In other news, the Cornwall studio where Oasis recorded sessions for ‘Definitely Maybe’ is currently up for sale.

Boiler Room shares extensive archive of mixes on Apple Music

Boiler Room fans are now able to access an extensive archive of past mixes via Apple Music, thanks to the two platforms striking a new deal.

Read More: Charli XCX Los Angeles Boiler Room set is all too fitting for 2020

The initiative was announced yesterday (August 18) as Apple revealed plans to replace Beats 1 – which launched in 2015 – with three separate channels: Apple Music 1, Apple Music Hits and Apple Music Country.

“Boiler Room is now available to Apple Music subscribers worldwide,” a statement reads. “Listeners can now access a catalogue of over 200 of the most influential recordings from Boiler Room’s ten-year history.”

The post goes on to confirm that royalties will go directly to the DJs, while the artists whose music is featured in the set will also receive compensation.

You can see that tweet below:

A new initiative with @applemusic.⁠
⁠Read more: https://t.co/biFOI3AOiQ pic.twitter.com/HXEbyHuxDi

— BOILER ROOM (@boilerroomtv) August 18, 2020

Available through the team-up is Boiler Room’s lockdown series Streaming From Isolation, classic sets such as Honey Dijon at Sugar Mountain and Ben Klock from the first Boiler Room space in Berlin, and many more.

According to Crack Magazine, the Apple Music 1 station will also play host to a new weekly show, Boiler Room Radio. The program will reportedly contain in-depth interviews and mixes from featured artists.

Yesterday, it was revealed that the likes of Blink-182‘s Mark Hoppus, Snoop Dogg and Alanis Morissette have bagged their own slots on Apple Music Hits.

Since its inception, Beats 1 – now known as Apple Music 1 – has launched special shows from the likes of Elton John, Billie Eilish, Haim and Frank Ocean. Most recently, Lady Gaga debuted her weekly Gaga Radio program on the station.

Oliver Schusser, vice president of Apple Music, Beats, and International Content, said that the new Apple Music stations will offer “an unparalleled global platform for artists across all genres to talk about, create, and share music with their fans, and this is just the beginning.”

Mark Hoppus, Snoop Dogg and more to get their own Apple Music radio shows

Blink-182‘s Mark Hoppus, Snoop Dogg and more are set to present their own radio shows on Apple Music, it has been announced.

The news came today (August 18) as part of the streaming platform’s plans to expand, which will see Beats 1 – launched in 2015 – being replaced by three separate channels: Apple Music 1, Apple Music Hits and Apple Music Country.

The Hits station will feature various exclusive shows from a wide range of artists, with Hoppus and Snoop joining the likes of Alanis Morissette, Meghan Trainor, Shania Twain, Backstreet Boys and Huey Lewis in bagging their own programs.

Snoop Dogg CREDIT: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

He added: “We will continue to invest in live radio and create opportunities for listeners around the world to connect with the music they love.”

Further details on specific shows have not yet been revealed.

Since its inception, Beats 1 – now known as Apple Music 1 – has played host to shows from the likes of Elton John, Billie Eilish, Haim, Frank Ocean and more. Most recently, Lady Gaga launched her weekly Gaga Radio program on the station.

Meanwhile, Blink-182 have shared a timely new single called ‘Quarantine’. It is set to feature on the band’s forthcoming new EP, which drummer Travis Barker hopes will “be out by the end of summer”.

Listen to Prince’s previously unreleased ‘Witness 4 The Prosecution (Version 2)’

The Prince Estate has shared the previously unreleased Prince recording ‘Witness 4 The Prosecution (Version 2)’ — you can listen to the track below.

The recording will feature on the upcoming expanded reissue of the late artist’s 1987 album ‘Sign o’ the Times’, which is set for release on September 25.

Following on from the release of the previously unheard recordings ‘Witness 4 The Prosecution (Version 1)’, ‘I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (1979 Version)’ and ‘Cosmic Day’ — all of which will feature on the reissue — the Prince Estate have today (August 14) released ‘Witness 4 The Prosecution (Version 2)’, which you can hear below.

Recorded by engineer Coke Johnson at Sunset Sound, Studio 3 on October 6, 1986, a press release for ‘Witness 4 The Prosecution (Version 2)’ further explains: “When country music artist Deborah Allen asked Prince if he could write a song for her, he decided to rework ‘Witness 4 The Prosecution’ instead.

“The original song contained contributions from the Revolution, but this re-recorded version is almost exclusively Prince (with the exception of Eric Leeds and Atlanta Bliss on sax and trumpet respectively), and it includes at least five different Fairlight keyboard tracks and seven layers of Prince’s own background vocals.

“Prince decided to keep the song, and would instead offer her ‘Telepathy’, which had been recorded and mixed on the same date.”

Earlier this month, a new statue honouring Prince was unveiled at his Paisley Park complex.

Fontaines DC: “The most normal things become absolutely terrifying”

Previously published in Uncut’s February 2020 issue

2019 was a breakthrough year for Fontaines DC, with their Mercury Prize-nominated debut earning effusive praise from the likes of Johnny Marr. Not bad going for a band whose earliest ambition was to be the “punk Beatles”. Dave Simpson joins Dublin’s boisterous, literary-minded quintet on a rainy night in Manchester, as they begin their largest tour to date. He discovers a band who, despite  struggling to come to terms with success, already have their second album in the bag. “If we hadn’t written new music, we probably would have broken up,” they reveal. Words: Dave Simpson

___________________________

Standing in the dressing room of Manchester’s O2 Ritz, singer Grian Chatten weighs up the distance travelled by his band, Fontaines DC, in recent months. It is a remarkable trajectory for the Dublin quintet, encompassing ferocious gigs, sold-out tours and a Mercury-nominated debut album, Dogrel, along with plaudits from many of their musical heroes. “I suppose,”  says Chatten with a half-smile, “we’ve been going forward… 50 yards every six months.”

He’s referring to the band’s jump from playing Whitworth Street’s 600-capacity Gorilla over the road in April to tonight’s venue, tripling their audience in doing so. Built in 1927, the Ritz has a proud history as  a key step up for rising stars. Frank Sinatra and The Beatles played here; the building hosted the first Smiths gig, supporting Blue Rondo A La Turk in 1982. By uncanny coincidence, Uncut meets Fontaines just as guitarist Conor Curley receives a “good luck” text message from Johnny Marr – who lent them a guitar at Glastonbury – and the band are thrilled to discover that Mike Joyce is in the audience for tonight’s gig.  On learning that Joyce rates his skills, Fontaines drummer Tom Coll modestly replies, “I’m really not  a very technical player.”

What does Chatten think of praise from the likes of Marr, then? Does he consider it a mark of success – or how else does he judge his band’s rise? “We’re not making tons of money,” he insists. “I’m told we’re inspiring kids to get into poetry, which is great, but I’m desperate to live in ignorance of our success. That’s at the core of my paradox, because I’m worried about becoming too aware of it and starting to care about the wrong things.”

It is a typically shrewd comment from Chatten – there will be further displays of such insight during the next 24 hours – that underscores the keen intelligence at work behind Fontaines DC’s rapid ascent. To an extent, they are kindred spirits with Idles, The Murder Capital and Shame – artists who are utilising the language and energy of punk as a response to current discord – but Fontaines DC have staked out other territory. Their music is fleetingly reminiscent of the monochrome post-punk of Joy Division or early Cure mixed with the kind of bracing, upstart qualities shared by The Libertines or The Strokes in their earliest days. They sing about Dublin  – particularly the impact of gentrification, working-class anger, the decline of community and small-town frustration – dispatching colloquial wisdom in lines like “Dublin in the rain is mine/A pregnant city with a Catholic mind”. Chatten cites The Pogues’ debut album Red Roses For Me as one of their chief influences alongside Yeats, Kerouac, Lorca and Joyce.

“They self-published two books of poetry before they made a record,” explains Undertones bassist Michael Bradley, who has watched the band’s popularity expand beyond Dublin. “It wasn’t just the singer who was doing poetry and then formed a band. It was all five of them! It’s as if James Joyce, Seamus Heaney and Brendan Behan all formed a band, or a vanload of Mark E Smiths.”

Backstage in Manchester before the gig takes place, the traditional trappings of rock’n’roll seem markedly absent. Band members and crew file in and out. Beside a modest selection of soft and alcoholic drinks, an uneaten chocolate cake sits temptingly on a table, presumably to be saved until after the show. While they wait to go on, bassist Conor Deegan cuts Chatten’s hair with scissors and a fork. “I’m not trained,” Deegan explains between snips. “We all cut each other’s hair.” Needs must, and the long-locked bassist makes an impressive surrogate barber, dusting clippings from the singer’s shoulders with a tissue and offering a jar of hair wax.

This is the first date on a new UK tour, their first large venue shows. Earlier, the band had spent the day meeting their new crew and running through a full production rehearsal with new lighting rigs, monitors and instruments. As Fontaines DC prepare to take the stage, it’s hard to tell whether nerves are running high; though as the band admit, there was every chance they might not  have made it this far. As it transpires, they struggled over the summer, finding it difficult  to come to terms with their success and manage their increasingly heavy schedule.

“Summer was hard for us,” confides guitarist Carlos O’Connell. “Imagine finding yourself in a place you’ve always dreamed of, but you just can’t find any enjoyment in any of it and you can’t understand why. Getting on a flight every morning and being in a different city and not seeing any of it; having a different crew we didn’t get on with. The gigs were always great. It was just everything around them.”

_______________________

The next day in Liverpool, aboard the band’s tour bus, Grian Chatten reflects on the previous night’s gig – a typically boisterous affair, with the audience singing along to every song. It was, he admits, life-affirming – “but there’s a sense of dread and doom on the album, and claustrophobia”, he explains. “It’s oppressive and cold, but humanity  rears its head in this whole black landscape. That’s the way I see the world now, and I suppose a lot of other people do.”

He notices, from the band’s travels, how British cities like Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds are experiencing similar upheavals to Dublin. “Any city that has suffered austerity or has an underdog aspect to the empire,” he says. “Northern audiences go particularly fucking mad at gigs, because they’re an outlet for frustration. People used to find that at football, but it’s become too expensive.”

He breaks off to look for a socket for the kettle. This is a new tour bus and clearly the layout has defeated Chatten. “As you can see,” he says with a laugh, “I’m really not used to all this.”

The bus is another barometer of the band’s progress after two years on the road in tiny vans. “It happened really naturally,” explains Deegan. “You’d walk around with a book sticking out of your jacket pocket and someone would say what’s that? I loaned Carlos some Yeats, I think.” Chatten compares this period to Dead Poet’s Society, where they were “drunk on the idea that poetry could change the world”. They published two small volumes of poetry together, Vroom and The Winding, before deciding to form a band.

Fontaines’ seriousness is familiar to one admirer. “There wasn’t much frivolity in The Smiths, because we wanted it to sound brilliant,” says Mike Joyce. “And these guys have that same passion.”

For Chatten, poetry equalled rebellion. Reacting against his formal music education, he became interested in the punk idea of “picking up a guitar and being self-righteously unable to play it”. He admits he may have been a “terrible singer, technically”, but they spent so much time together playing music that it became the next, natural step in their comradeship. O’Connell remembers the first time they assembled in a rehearsal room and “just jamming ideas for five hours, it was amazing”.

Their initial desire was to form a “punk Beatles”, though thankfully they have developed loftier ambitions since. The five members of Fontaines DC met at Dublin’s British and Irish Modern Music Institute,  where they bonded over poetry, not tunes. “At that first practice we said, ‘We want to be the best band in the world,’” Deegan chuckles. “I don’t know how far we got with that, but at least we weren’t defeating ourselves from the get-go.” Aside from The Pogues, their early inspirations included Dublin noiseniks Girl Band and the ’60s garage rock they heard in their local Garage bar. They all agree that an early, unreleased song called “The One Between” was the first track to sound recognisably like the Fontaines.

Because none of the members had grown up in Dublin, seeing the city as observant outsiders proved  a powerful trigger for songs. “There’s an area called Liberties which is being developed as a digital hub,” explains Deegan. “But you walk down the street and there’s horses. It makes you wonder what makes you love the place and what makes you fear for it.”

Chatten was born in Barrow-In-Furness,  Cumbria. Having an English mother made him feel faintly insecure about his identity. “I felt like I was a fake. Writing about Dublin brought me closer to my Irishness.”

As Michael Bradley notes, Chatten’s lyrics are forensic in their detail. The Anglo-phobic cabbie in “Boys In The Better Land” only smokes Carrolls – an Irish cigarettes brand, now only made in Dublin. “They’re products that don’t always get out of town, like a lot of people. So there’s a hopelessness to Carrolls.” Meanwhile, the “ready, steady violence” chorus on “Liberty Belle” was inspired by Chatten’s walk to work “and the cognitive dissonance of seeing something and being unable to accept it as reality. I’d be confronted by domestic violence, bloody noses, heroin addicts curled up in phone boxes, racism, and I’d cope by listening to my iPod.”

Only their absolutely best tunes made it past Fontaines’ ruthless quality control. They self-released their early singles – their 2017 debut, “Liberty Belle”, limited to 500 copies when they were plain Fontaines, now sells for £350 – before signing to Brooklyn indie Partisan Records. Dogrel producer Dan Carey saw them play to 150 people at the Five Bells pub in Deptford and knew even at that early stage in their existence he was watching “the finished article”. To transfer that energy and intensity onto record, Carey recorded the band live in the studio, playing four songs at a time like a mini-gig. “We had this pact that if anything went wrong in a song, we’d wipe the tape and start again,” says Carey. “The pressure in that situation was unbelievable, but it worked.”

Carey’s other plan was to record the vocals separately from the music. “An a capella recording  of Grian singing the lyrics would be a perfectly satisfactory recording,” he argues. “So I mixed the music instrumentally and put the vocal on top afterwards. I wanted it to sound like a gig, but so people could hear every word.”

Band and producer were so thrilled with the results that they had a party in the studio, playing the album all night; evidently it paid off, but to an extent that no-one could have foreseen. The band admit now to being “gobsmacked” when the album went into the Top 10 and and was subsequently nominated for a Mercury Music Prize.

Looking back on this period now – the sudden rise, overwhelming success and punishing schedule – Grian Chatten admits it almost broke the band.

“I think every artist simultaneously feels deserving of success and a complete fraud,” he explains, sitting in the tour bus close to a small fan heater that hums gently in the background. “That feeling was there already, but the success means it feels like your fraudulence is growing.”

Where does that come from? Insecurity?

“Yes,” he nods, “If I really felt that I deserved this, then I wouldn’t have it.”

He admits he struggled with acclaim and attention. “I mean, it’s touching, but difficult to reconcile. To be described as a ‘poet’… My favourite poets, like Yeats, are untouchable, out of reach. I can’t possibly imagine myself being like that.”

However overwhelmed the band were by the sudden and acute acclaim, this was only amplified by their increased schedule. “Drive from the gig, get to the hotel at 4am, woken up at eight,” recounts Chatten. “Get in the van; you have to do things on the journey and you want to tell the interviewer, ‘Fuck off, I’ve had four hours’ sleep.’” He smiles. “We’re sensitive people and we become more sensitive when we’re sleep-deprived.”

“It’s hardest on the guys who have girlfriends back home,” considers Deegan. “I can suspend my life and go on tour. But for them, it continues without them being there.”

When O’Connell finally went home to be with his girlfriend, he found himself having an unexpected anxiety attack while out buying a sofa. “It was insane,” he says with disbelief. “The most normal things become absolutely terrifying.”

Some bands may turn to drink and drugs, but Chatten says Fontaines aren’t a big party band and that “our manager says we’re mad enough already. But the itineraries are made for robots. I’d encourage any artist to put their foot down, because it can end up feeling the opposite of what you go into it for.”

_________________

During summer 2019, Fontaines suddenly cancelled a slew of festival dates in the UK, Switzerland and America, citing “health issues”. Chatten now acknowledges this was burnout.

“I’m not complaining,” he insists. “I got what I wanted, but at some point we’ll take time out. I want to be treated as a normal person. I really want to get  a job, put on a uniform and be faceless from nine to five. I miss the staff in the bookshop I used to work in, when it was easy to compartmentalise who I am privately and publicly. I no longer have that.”

For some bands stepping off the promotional treadmill, time off would be taken literally. Not so Fontaines DC Back home in Dublin, they used their R&R time as an opportunity to regroup and consider their next steps.

“I suppose most bands would have just gone to sleep,” Chatten says. “But we knew we needed to be doing the thing that makes us happy, and that’s writing music. That just changed everything. If we hadn’t written new music, we probably would have broken up. But we went on the [autumn] American tour knowing that we’d written another album, and the tour was just fantastic.”

They had a head start, though – as Chatten explains, the band spent their time profitably “recording four-part harmonies on our phones” as their van travelled the motorways and freeways of Europe and America. “When we touched down in Dublin, the songs just tumbled out.”

Chatten is quick to make the point that this second album won’t repeat Dogrel. It has, he explains, been influenced by the Beach Boys – Chatten’s favourite band – and what Deegen calls “American cowboy music”, encountered touring the States with Idles. Perhaps the biggest revelation of all is that they’ve stopped singing about Dublin. “Because our Dublin in our heads is pretty much the way we left it,” Chatten explains, “but I haven’t written about hotel rooms. The album’s introspective, full of characters from my dreams. They’re parts of me – roads that I could have gone down – and they carry guilt and shame.

“It’s a subconscious attempt on my part to empathise with people, because the paradox of doing this is that I sometimes feel so lonely.” He brightens, and there’s a grin. “But we’re alright! The band are as close as ever and we’re encouraging each other to open up.”

It’s soundcheck time and fans are milling round the bus. The gigs continue to get bigger: they’re playing the 5,000-capacity Brixton Academy in February. So how far can Fontaines go?

“Personally, I’d like us to last for another 20 years,” smiles O’Connell, stepping off the bus  for a smoke. “There’s nothing that’s given me  o much joy as being in a room with the lads, creating music together.”

“They could all go home, because they’d leave behind this brilliant record,” says Michael Bradley, who was around Chatten’s age when The Undertones’ bubble burst. “But I’d be surprised if the new songs weren’t just as good.”

Chatten says he “can’t even think about” arenas, and adds, with a note of caution, that “skipping around the rehearsal room happy with what you’ve created is pure enjoyment. But I promise if that feeling ever stops or we run out of ideas, we’ll go away. I’ll just get a job and quit.”

Then Chatten and his bandmates walk inside Liverpool’s O2 Academy, the shouts from eager fans filling the evening air around them.

___________________

Fontaines’ literary heroes

JAMES JOYCE
Carlos O’Connell: “Dubliners was a big book for us. There’s all these Dublin characters and different stories from these different perspectives and they all ring true – innocence, lies, lost ambition. We shared those ideas.”

ALLEN GINSBERG
CO: “We read lots of Jack Kerouac about self-acceptance, but Ginsberg was definitely the Beat writer we liked the most. Howl is about outcasts in America and is  just amazing.”

FEDERICO GARCIA LORCA
CO: “His book Poet In New York influenced the Beat Generation [and Leonard Cohen]. It’s the shock of someone from rural Spain living in New York. When artists fled fascism in Spain, he remained because he felt the people needed ideas. He was killed.”

WB YEATS
CO: “After reading  the Beats we found Yeats, and it was a whole new level, almost a different language. So much  is said with a few words. We became obsessed with  that and read Yeats so that we could get better at it ourselves.”

OSCAR WILDE
Grian Chatten:  “I adore Wilde’s writing for the way  e can get such big ideas into a single sentence. Our song “Chequeless Reckless” is a list of Wildeisms – or my hopeless attempts at Wildeisms.”

50 Cent responds as T.I. challenges him to ‘Verzuz’ battle

T.I. has challenged 50 Cent to a ‘Verzuz’ battle in a message sent to 50 on his birthday.

It’s set to be the latest edition of the popular series initiated by producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, that began on Instagram at the start of the coronavirus lockdown, which sees high-profile rappers, producers and singers facing off and playing highlights from their respective discographies.

Read more: Timbaland and Swizz Beatz on ‘VERZUZ’ battle series: “We want to celebrate the architects of good music”

“For your birthday, I offer you a challenge, sir,” T.I. said to 50 Cent in an Instagram video. “Pull your ass up with 20 of your records, sit across from me, and get this work, man.

“But, I understand if you don’t want to answer to that challenge,” he added, before referencing the chart battle in 2007 between Kanye West’s ‘Graduation’ and 50’s ‘Curtis’ albums. “Last time you got challenged Kanye West dusted your ass off, so, you might not wanna do that. Well, guess who ain’t scared of your mothafuckin’ ass, 50?”

View this post on Instagram

We love POWER / For LIFE/ BMF & everything u doin on ?…. Now pull up and catch this Trap Muzik fade big fella…. @50cent @verzuztv @therealswizzz @timbaland #24hrsToRespond Repost if you ain't scared of this nigga @50cent Hook this shit UP‼️ I AINT SCARED OF THIS NIGGA? Westside Zone1 Atown BANKHEAD SHIT UDIGG ‼️ITS DA KIIIIIIING BIIITCH‼️ -drops mic ?

A post shared by TIP (@troubleman31) on Jul 6, 2020 at 10:45am PDT

50 Cent then jokingly responded to the proposal, referencing Chris Tucker’s character Smokey from the film Friday, writing: “yo somebody passed TI the weed they gave smokey in Friday. LOL.”

View this post on Instagram

yo somebody passed TI the weed they gave smokey in Friday. LOL ?

A post shared by 50 Cent (@50cent) on Jul 6, 2020 at 2:59pm PDT

Recent Verzuz battles have seen Alicia Keys and John Legend go head-to-head, while other face-offs include Nelly versus Ludacris, Lil Jon versus T-Pain, and French Montana versus Tory Lanez.

Speaking to NME about the Verzuz series, Timbaland and Swizz Beatz said: “It’s authentic. It’s educational, it’s interesting and it’s music. People love music, and they love good music.

“So what we wanted to do was celebrate the architects of good music – whether it was the writers, whether it was the producers, and we’re about to take it to a lot of different areas and a lot of different places.”

Government announces £1.57billion support package for UK’s arts industries

The government have announced plans to fund the UK’s arts, culture and heritage industries with £1.57billion to help them “weather the impact of coronavirus”.

The support package, which was announced today (July 5), will provide music venues, independent cinemas, museums, galleries, theatres and heritage sites with emergency grants and loans.

Read more: Primal Scream’s Simone Marie Butler on the #LetTheMusicPlay campaign: “We need you all to come together”

The money marks the biggest one-off investment in UK culture and follows other measures taken to help companies, institutions and organisations survive during the pandemic, including loans, business rate holidays and the coronavirus job retention scheme. According to a press release, as well as helping businesses to survive, it will “help support employment, including freelancers working in these sectors”.

“From iconic theatre and musicals, mesmerising exhibitions at our world-class galleries to gigs performed in local basement venues, the UK’s cultural industry is the beating heart of this country,” Boris Johnson said. “This money will help safeguard the sector for future generations, ensuring arts groups and venues across the UK can stay afloat and support their staff whilst their doors remain closed and curtains remain down.”

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden added: “Our arts and culture are the soul of our nation. They make our country great and are the lynchpin of our world-beating and fast-growing creative industries. I understand the grave challenges the arts face and we must protect and preserve all we can for future generations.

ARTS NEWS

?A £1.57 BILLION emergency support package

? Weeks in the making to make this world leading fund to help the arts weather the storm of Covid

? I said I wouldn’t let the arts down.
Culture and the arts matter, and this Govt backs you@RishiSunak @ace_national

— Oliver Dowden (@OliverDowden) July 5, 2020

“I said we would not let the arts down and this massive investment shows our level of commitment.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said arts spaces were “the lifeblood of British culture” and that the support package would ensure “that they can continue to provide the sights and sounds that Britain is famous for”.

The funds include a £1.15billion “support pot” for cultural organisations in England, comprised of £270million of repayable finance and £880million in grants.

It also includes £100million for national cultural institutions in England and the English Heritage Trust and £120million of capital investment to restart construction on cultural infrastructure and heritage construction projects in England that were put on hold due to the pandemic. The package also features more funding for “the devolved administrations” in Northern Ireland (£33million), Scotland (£97million) and Wales (£59million).

Arts and culture make our lives richer in every sense

That's why we’re announcing a world leading, £1.57bn package of support – the biggest ever one off investment in UK culture – to help them weather the storm of Covid-19 pic.twitter.com/l78mXdqZz9

— Oliver Dowden (@OliverDowden) July 5, 2020

“Expert independent figures” from the arts sector will help the government decide on who the money should be awarded to. More details will be announced when the scheme opens “in the coming weeks”.

Last week, more than 1,500 artists came together to call on the government to stop “catastrophic damage” to live music as part of the #LetTheMusicPlay campaign. Dua Lipa, Liam Gallagher, PJ Harvey, Dizzee Rascal, Radiohead and more signed the open letter, which read: “Government support will be crucial to prevent mass insolvencies and the end of this great world-leading industry”.

In June, the Music Venue Trust and over 500 UK music venues asked the government to provide £50million in emergency funding to “hibernate” the spaces until October.

“These venues are wholesale going to be closed if the government does not act,” MVT CEO Mark Davyd told NME. “No amount of social distancing or any other daft measures that the government has come up with is going to make any difference.”

He added: “As it stands, 93 percent of these venues are likely to close forever by October 1. It would cripple the music industry of this country for decades and I’ve no idea how we would recover from it. The cost of opening 560 new grassroots venues would be close to a billion pounds. It will never be done, so we’ve got to protect what we’ve already got. It would be incredibly cheap.”

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