Tag Archives: Rolling Stone

They Might Be Giants – “Last Wave”

“Oh my god, They Might Be Giants is underrated. That’s the best band of all time. Better than the Stones, better than the Beatles, better than Oasis, and better than Crosby, Stills and Nash.”  – Open Mike Eagle, Pitchfork “Over/Under”

“The crowd’s enthusiasm for the fresh material is unmatched even when the band proffers what is perhaps their most-loved song, “Birdhouse in Your Soul”… “ – Rolling Stone

“Now a band for 30 years, John Linnell and John Flansburgh are one of rock’s all-time most quixotic successes” – SPIN

 “Perfect pop music can come from anywhere and can go anywhere. They Might Be Giants have demonstrated this for a quarter century…” – The New Yorker

 “Catch them if you can — their live shows always deliver.”  – USA Today

GRAMMY award-winning alternative rock legends They Might Be Giants have released their new album track “Last Wave”. The band will release their new album I Like Fun on January 19 followed by a massive world tour as well.

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Grey Gersten – “The Planet is Doomed”

Artist and musician Grey Gersten has just released the video for his song “The Planet is Doomed.” The video was created and directed by Kyp Malone (TV on the Radio). The song appears on his first full-length album Naked Light, out now.

Gersten’s most recent release prior to Naked Light was an EP under the moniker Eternal Lips featuring guest vocals from Sharon Van Etten and Kyp Malone. The EP received wide critical acclaim, Rolling Stone wrote “Gersten bends and contorts the idea of pop music, channeling his experimental music background into dreamy indie-pop.”

Accompanied by co-producer Shahzad Ismaily on Naked Light, Gersten dismantles artifice and creates an intimate space where the power of vulnerability is revealed. “I didn’t think about what’s cool or what anyone would think,” says Gersten. “I just focused on being emotionally present. The real impact of music comes from feelings. If you suspend self-judgement, you create the opportunity for something universal to resound.” Naked Light burns with the rawness of Neil Young and glows with the otherworldliness of Brian Eno.

For the past 10 years, Gersten has been active in NYC’s experimental rock and art community collaborating with an eclectic mix of revered artists. His recent work Custom Melodies, an interactive multimedia website that features 110 biographical songs created with 110 strangers at his immersive and participatory Mmuseumm exhibition, was featured in the New York TimesRolling Stone, Wall Street JournalGizmodoPasteInterview MagazineTime Out NY and other publications. Gersten created an original score for internationally acclaimed artist Tom Sachs’ 2016 feature film A Space Program. Gersten recently performed at The David Bowie tribute concert at Radio City alongside artists Tony Visconti, Blondie, Michael Stipe, The Flaming Lips, Cat Power, The Pixies and others.

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New Album From The Cranberries!

The Cranberries are set to release Something Else, a new album featuring re-worked renditions of their major hits, as well as brand new material. The album is due out April 28 via BMG on digital and CD formats, and includes seminal Cranberries songs like “Linger,” “Zombie,” “Dreams,” and “Ode To My Family”… re-recorded in orchestral and acoustic arrangements.

Something Else celebrates the 25th anniversary of the band. Their first major U.S. hit “Linger” has been re-done acoustically, and just premiered on Rolling Stone! On the album concept and choice of “Linger” as the first single, The Cranberries’ singer-songwriter Dolores O’Riordan explains,

“‘Linger’ was the first song The Cranberries ever wrote together. I was 17, and the youngest member of the band was 15 at the time. We never imagined it’d be such a big hit, but soon us teenagers found ourselves on our first flight to the United States to shoot the video in Downtown LA. That video would introduce us to American households, in the good old days of MTV! The bittersweet love song still holds all that sentimentality for us personally, which is why we had to include it on this project. Universally, I think its message remains timeless and relevant, never going out of fashion, yet never quite in fashion. It’s amazing to have a song hold up 25 years later, and I hope this acoustic version allows our fans to hear a Cranberries classic in a new way.”

“Linger ” is available now for download and streaming. The full album is available for pre-order on digital and CD formats.

Over a period of two weeks last year in the University of Limerick, at the home of the Irish Chamber Orchestra, the band revisited old times; Dolores laid down vocals as small booths were created to record the instruments as if live. She was no longer a child, singing her mature songs from an inexperienced vantage point but a woman now, with the capacity to throw her life at the music, the benefit of hindsight. “I prefer them like this,” she says of the new recordings of old songs, “with a little bit more experience behind them, with a new lease of life. They sound fresh again.”

As the record began to take full shape, three new songs were added, to stop it from just being a rush of memories lost and found. The first was “The Glory”, which Dolores explains she wrote in The Irish Chamber Orchestra’s rehearsal rooms at the University of Limerick. She then brought out two songs she had been keeping in her personal stash, until she could place them in the right home: “Rupture” (“about depression, about being in that black hole and finding it hard to get out of it”) and the forthcoming single “Why?” (“written just after my father passed, the hardest time”).

It’s testament to Dolores and Noel’s song-writing prowess that the new additions to the Cranberries cannon sit seamlessly next to the old. When they began finalizing details for the record, they decided on Something Else, a nod to the first record’s Everybody Else…, a title neither riven with the promise of future endeavors or locked into the past.

Official Tracklisting
01. Linger **
02. The Glory
03. Dreams
04. When You’re Gone
05. Zombie
06. Ridiculous Thoughts
07. Rupture
08. Ode To My Family
09. Free To Decide
10. Just My Imagination
11. Animal Instinct
12. You & Me
13. Why

UK & Ireland Tour Dates

17 May        Belfast, Waterfront
18 May        Dublin, BordGais Theatre
20 May        London, Palladium
22 May        Bristol, Colston Hall
24 May        Gateshead, The Sage
25 May        Nottingham, Royal Concert Hall
27 May        York, Barbican
28 May        Manchester, Bridgewater Hall

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Newest Love: Beginners

Beginners

Los Angeles-based indie-pop band Beginners will release their brand new “white-hot scorcher” (Neon Gold) sophomore EP Pleaser on September 16th. A formidable follow-up to their 2014 self-titled debut which garnered over 4 million Spotify streams, numerous TV syncs, and tour dates with artists such as Walk The Moon and Tove Lo, Pleaser features catchy dance melodies with a rock ‘n roll vigor and clever lyrics ranging from feel good to biting. Today, their new single premiered for their underdog anthem “What We Are”.

The sun-soaked indie pop track is “about my childhood in Indiana,” front-woman Samantha Barbera told Interview. “When I was growing up, my mom struggled financially and we were forced to live off of food stamps. Despite being poor in an otherwise wealthy town, she always instilled an impenetrable sense of confidence in me. I still have vivid memories of riding my second-hand bike around my neighborhood, wearing a giant gold medallion from the 70s that I took from my mom’s jewelry box, feeling like I owned the streets. It’s an underdog anthem about being proud of who you are, regardless of what anyone tells you.”

Pleaser is an ode to the thin line between love and hate. Pulsing singles like “Gangsters or Lovers” and “What We Are” leave no choice but to move to the contagious beats and guitar riffs. The Black Keys meet Yeezus in the tongue-in-cheek revenge ballad “I F*cking Hate You” where Barbera’s bluesy vocal melody delivers sultry lyrics with a violent twist. Gritty dance track “Making Love to the Dead” reveals how passion can turn to pain in a soul-sucking industry designed to churn out marketable hits, while hypnotic closer “Melting Into One” evokes the intoxicating power of young love. At first listen, I also immediately heard notes similar to that of Santigold.

Beginners delivers dark garage rock with a shimmery electronic pop veneer influenced by years of cutting their teeth in the LA punk scene. The band’s sound and lyrics ride a line between glossy and gritty, creating hooks that are at once magnetically catchy and unsettlingly honest. Their single “Who Knows” off their first EP launched the band two years ago resulting in buzz from Rolling Stone, Perez Hilton, Huffington Post, and TV syncs on shows including New Girl and commercials for Ray Ban, Skullcandy, and Miller Lite.

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New Music From Escort – “If You Say So”

Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez

Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez

“This New York dance orchestra was churning out period-perfect disco homages years before Daft Punk got lucky.      Rolling Stone

“ …a righteous blast of expertly engineered soul, funk, and, yes, disco.” SPIN

“ …even their four-minute songs feeling like dance-floor epics.“  – The New York Times

“it’s a rollicking collection of era-spanning anthems” The New Yorker

“The best New York disco tracks since West End Records’ early-‘80s heyday.” – Pitchfork

“Their sound is deeply rooted in classic disco, that strain of glossy, decadent dance music that the city churned out at a coke-fueled pace throughout the 1970s and into the ’80s…” The Village Voice

Escort’s new single, “If You Say So” is the soundtrack for your sun drenched West Coast block party. Written with MNDR, “If You Say So” melds the funkier side of ‘70s AOR with Escort’s own aesthetic of classic dance music into a bleach blonde head nodder. It’s the undiscovered love child of Stevie Nicks and Larry Levan. A secret tryst between Darryl Hall and Jean Carn. By embracing the legacy of these forward-thinking but classic acts, Escort have managed to create something strikingly new. The “If You Say So” single will be released on October 21 via Escort Records and features a house take on St. Vincent’s modern classic “Actor Out of Work” featuring the soaring vocals of Adeline Michèle.

If You Say So

Listen: Escort – “If You Say So”

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Pre-order Sadnecessary from Milky Chance

milky chance

After building palpable buzz and drawing widespread critical acclaim, Milky Chance unlock the pre-order for their full-length debut, Sadnecessary [Republic Records]. Preorder and receive an instant download of “Flashed Junk Mind.” Following a special limited-edition vinyl release of the record on September 30, the album officially arrives in stores and at iTunes and all digital partners on October 14th.

Pre-order the album here: http://smarturl.it/MCSadnecessaryDA

Milky Chance have turned out to be the hottest ticket of fall 2014! Last week, the German duo revealed their first-ever North American tour dates at New York’s Bowery Ballroom [October 13], Toronto’s Virgin Mobile Mod Club [October 16], and Los Angeles’s Troubadour on [October 20]. All three shows literally sold out instantly, while New York and Los Angeles specifically sold out in less than five minutes.

Press continues to sing their praises. Rolling Stone recently named them one of “10 Artists You Need to Know Now”. Nylon called their first single “Stolen Dance” a “breakout smash”. Buzzfeed dubbed it one of the “songs you need in your life this summer”. Idolator declared it to be “absolutely undeniable”. Radio has already caught on to the international smash as it has hit #1 at Triple A (four weeks straight), and top 5 at Alternative.

Online “Stolen Dance” hit has gone viral with over 136 million streams across Spotify and YouTube. The smash song has taken over Spotify with over 75 million streams, hit #1 on the Spotify Viral Chart, and is currently #20 on the Spotify overall chart. However, the band is only beginning to make its mark on the United States. On YouTube, the official video for “Stolen Dance” just crossed the 61-million mark and counting. Check out the official video below.

In addition, the music community has embraced the group with Ásgeir recently covering “Stolen Dance” which accumulated over 200,000 views, while Imagine Dragons recently did their own live rendition of the song while performing in Hamburg, Germany with the crowd singing along. Check out those videos below.

Internationally, “Stolen Dance” has quickly become something of a sensation. To date it has gone double-platinum in Australia, platinum in Canada, Germany, and The Netherlands, and gold in Austria, Belgium, France, Italy, New Zealand, and Switzerland. Moreover, it landed in the Top 10 of iTunes in over 50 countries.

Longtime friends Clemens and Philipp came together during high school in Kassel, Germany and founded Milky Chance shortly after. Initially, they released Sadnecessary independently in Europe through their own label Lichtdicht Records and saw major success, hitting #1 in France and going Top 10 in 9 countries, while “Stolen Dance” took off online. Given their impressive debut and the power of “Stolen Dance”, they inked a deal with Republic Records earlier this year.

Sadnecessary is the beginning of something very special for MILKY CHANCE. Keep a close watch for a full- fledged North American tour in 2015.

Sadnecessary Tracklisting:

  1. Stunner
  2. Flashed Junk Mind
  3. Becoming
  4. Running
  5. Feathery (slow version)
  6. Indigo
  7. Sadnecessary
  8. Down By the River
  9. Sweet Sun
  10. Fairytale
  11. Stolen Dance
  12. Loveland (studio version)
  13. Feathery (bonus track)
  14. Loveland (bonus track)

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New Album From La Roux Out Next Week

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Welcome back La Roux – your return hasn’t let us down at all.” – NME

La Roux’s highly anticipated sophomore release, Trouble In Paradise is set to hit next week, July 22nd via Cherrytree/Interscope Records. Listen to the album in full now via iTunes First Play, then pre-order your copy with three immediate song downloads (iTunes.com/LaRoux). The already acclaimed upcoming release features nine tracks, each written and performed by multi-instrumentalist Elly Jackson and co-produced with Ian Sherwin. The reviews coming in have been incredible with Rolling Stone raving, “her vintage synth-pop magnificence…has warmed into the sort of electro-disco drama you imagine the Daft Punk robots blasting as they cruise down Highway 1.” while Billboard exclaimed, “La Roux returns with a bold new look and a thrilling new sound.” 

On the eve of release for Trouble in Paradise, La Roux has also announced a fall headlining tour that will kick off in Canada at Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom on September 18 before heading stateside for a ten show run. The dates will see her crisscrossing the country before wrapping in New York City atTerminal 5 on October 4th.

La Roux (Cherrytree/Interscope Records) blew up internationally, going platinum and gold in multiple countries. Stateside, multi-platinum hit single “Bulletproof” soared up the Billboard Hot 100 charts making its way to the Top Ten where it stayed for weeks. The debut release also garnered a GRAMMY for Best Electronic/Dance Album amongst other illustrious honors including nominations for a Mercury Prize, MTV Europe Award, MTV Woodie and two Brit Awards.

Tour Dates:

09/18/2014      Vancouver, BC        Commodore Ballroom
09/19/2014      Seattle, WA            The Showbox @ The Market
09/20/2014     Portland, OR            Wonder Ballroom
09/22/2014     Oakland, CA            Fox Theatre
09/23/2014     Los Angeles, CA      The Fonda Theatre
09/26/2014     Salt Lake City, UT    In The Venue
09/27/2014     Boulder, CO            Boulder Theatre
09/29/2014     Minneapolis, MN      First Avenue
10/01/2014      Chicago, IL            Concord Music Hall
10/02/2014      Detroit, MI             St. Andrews Hall
10/04/2014      New York, NY          Terminal 5

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Dancing with Imaginary People

Frontman Dylan Von Wagner has a voice that wavers between uncertainty and rock ‘n’ roll confidence, and he’s one of the few modern-day vocalists I have a hard time comparing to anyone else.” – USA Today’s Pop Candy

Imaginary People’s lead vocalist, Dylan Von Wagner, has the kind of voice you don’t hear much anymore: there’s a vibrato to it, and an occasional yelp, and a good-natured snarl, all of which might put the listener in mind of Elvis or Jerry Lee Lewis.Interview Magazine

“Sounding like Eddie Veddar and Tiny Tim Harmonizing in a meat cooler, Dylan Von Wagner’s shivering warble grabs you straightaway.”–Rolling Stone

“Von Wagner is a commanding presence, expressive and elegantly bombastic”–Pitchfork

“…as much of a throwback as it is a dance party-starter.”–Nylon

The world we see in Imaginary People’s video for “Miles” is an honest day in New York City, but somehow slightly more fanciful. Perhaps it’s the carefully constructed cinematography, the 80’s boom box perched nostalgically on a shoulder or the radical and unapologetic dancing. As the main character leads us from symmetric backgrounds to a pulsing dance floor, we see how many ways this song can be boogied to.

Imaginary People have created a pure, unadulterated sound, utilizing Dylan Von Wagner’s surprisingly unique vocals, as well as a dance-happy synth and pulsing drums throughout. This track creates a vibe that could easily apply to a sweaty strobe lit dance floor or playing pool in a dimly lit pub. Half blues, half punk, half something completely their own, this video is a perfect match for a sound is as unique as this guy’s dance moves.

With his magnetic presence, it’s difficult to divert your eyes from dancer Menelik Puryear. Von Wagner explains to Pop Candy, “Menelik is dead serious about dancing; he literally danced for seven hours straight and has no problem shaking it in front of anyone.”

Miles is the b-side to the equally as energetic and danceable “Fever Nation,” which premiered earlier this summer.

 

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Newest Love: Jungle

London-based collective Jungle has revealed they will release their debut album in North America on July 15, 2014 (July 14 UK) on XL Recordings.  Their eponymous album is set to be one of the summer’s most anticipated debut records, building on the success of their singles “Platoon”, “The Heat” and “Busy Earnin'”.  Rolling Stone recently included the group in their “10 New Artists You Need To Know“.

Jungle are based around a core musical duo of lifelong friends known simply as ‘J’ and ‘T’, who expand to a thrilling seven piece live, and make mesmeric, kaleidoscopic modern soul that’s unmistakably born in the UK but has true global appeal (their “Platoon” video has already racked up more than 4 million views). The album was recorded between the band’s own home studio in Shepherds Bush, London and the XL Recordings studio in Ladbroke Grove.

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The album track list is:

  1. The Heat
  2. Accelerate
  3. Busy Earnin’
  4. Platoon
  5. Drops
  6. Time
  7. Smoking Pixels
  8. Julia
  9. Crumbler
  10. Son Of A Gun
  11. Lucky I Got What I Want
  12. Lemonade Lake

*pre-order Jungle Jungle here

Meanwhile, Jungle will return to North America for their first headline tour to date in the country.  The group will perform in NYC at their third sold-out show, as well as San Francisco for a sold-out show at The Independent on June 7, the day after they kick off their tour on June 6at The El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles.  The group will come back in August to perform at this year’s Lollapalooza (full list of dates below).

JUNGLE North America Tour Dates

  • Fri, Jun 6 – El Rey Theater – Los Angeles, CA
  • Sat, Jun 7 – The Independent – San Francisco, CA  *SOLD OUT
  • Mon, Jun 9 – Doug Fir Lounge – Portland, OR
  • Tue, Jun 10 – Neumos – Seattle, WA
  • Fri, Jun 13 – Fine Line Music Cafe – Minneapolis, MN
  • Sat, Jun 14 – Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL
  • Sun, Jun 15 – Lee’s Palace – Toronto, ON
  • Tue, Jun 17 – The Sinclair – Cambridge, MA
  • Wed, Jun 18 – Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY  *SOLD OUT
  • Thu, Jun 19 – Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA
  • Aug. 1-3 -Lollapalooza, Chicago, IL

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Tour Dates for The Wailers

wailers

Reggae music has never stopped evolving but for millions of people from around the world it’s still defined by the songs of Bob Marley and the Wailers. It’s been their heartbeat rhythms that have inspired so much of what’s followed since, as evidenced by the enduring popularity of the “one-drop” reggae sound.

The world’s most iconic reggae band The Wailers are currently touring the US, performing the prominent album Legend in its entirety. As they infiltrated reggae music to the world outside of Jamaica, its birth place, The Wailers celebrate their 30th anniversary of the album Legend. Named by Time Magazine as the “Best Album of the 20th Century” and #46 on Rolling Stone Magazine‘s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Legend is also the best selling reggae album of all time, with over 30 million copies sold worldwide. 

The Wailers have consistently toured for the past 40 years, and in doing so, have been keeping the legacy of Bob Marley alive. They are the most successful reggae group in history, having sold over 250 million albums worldwide and played to an estimated 25 million people around the world.  They have left an indelible mark on modern music. After touring in South America, Russia, Middle East, and Europe, The Wailers are eager to bring their good vibrations to festivals and venues across the country this summer.

Formed in the late sixties, The Wailers have created an extraordinary body of work and their music can be heard in every corner of the world today.  Original members included Bob Marley and his vocal partners Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh, alongside the ground-breaking rhythm section of the Barrett brothers, Carlton on drums and Aston “Family Man” on bass. Today, Aston leads the band as it continues its worldwide campaign to promote peace, love and equality through the message of reggae and Rastafari.

The Wailers Tour Dates
     
Thursday, May 8
Havana
New Hope, PA
Friday, May 9
Harvester Performance Center
Rocky Mount, VA
Saturday, May 10
H Lounge @ Hollywood Casino
Toledo, OH
Tuesday, May 13
Brooklyn Bowl
Brooklyn, NY
Wednesday, May 14
Avalon Theatre
Easton, MD
Friday, May 16
Flying Monkey
Plymouth, NH
Saturday, May 17
Earthfest
Boston, MA
Sunday, May 18
The Ridgefield Playhouse
Ridgefield, CT
Thursday, May 21
Innsbrook Pavilion
Glen Allen, VA
Friday, May 22
Stage AE
Pittsburgh, PA
Saturday, May 23
The Paramount Theater
Huntington, NY
Sunday, May 24
The Social
Atlantic City, NJ
Monday, May 25
Dark Star Jubilee
Thornville, OH
Tuesday, May 26
Sands Bethlehem Event Center
Bethlehem, PA
Wednesday, May 28
Blue Fox Billiards
Winchester, VA
Thursday, May 29
9:30 Club
Washington, DC
Friday, May 30
Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
Hampton Beach, NH
Saturday, May 31
Newport Yachting Center
Newport, Rhode Island
Wednesday, June 11
Neptune’s Park @31st Street
Virginia Beach, VA
Thursday, June 12
Kelly’s Outer Banks Restaurant
Nags Head, NC
Friday, June 13
Ziggy’s By The Sea
Wilmington, NC
Saturday, June 14
Ham’s Downtown
Greensboro, NC
Wednesday, July 2
Milwaukee Summerfest
Milwaukee, WI
Thursday, July 3
Marin County Fair
San Rafael, CA
Saturday, July 5
Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Maryland Heights, MO
Sunday, July 6
Freedom Hill Amphitheater
Sterling Heights, MI
Monday, July 7
LC Pavilion
Columbus, OH
Wednesday, July 9
Common Ground Music Festival
Lansing, MI
Thursday, July 10
Majestic Theatre
Madison, WI
Sunday, July 13
Taste of Chicago
Chicago, IL
Thursday, July 17
Saban Theatre
Beverly Hills, CA
Saturday, July 19
Junior Seau Pier Amphitheater
Oceanside, CA
Sunday, July 20
The Coach House
San Juan Cap., CA

Wailers Lineup:
Aston “Family Man” Barrett – Bass
Audley “Chizzy” Chisholm – Guitar
Keith “Coach” Sterling – Keyboards
Basil “Bennow” Creary – Drums
Melvin “Rasmel” Glover – Rhythm Guitar 
Cegee Victory – Back Vocals 
Dwayne “Danglin” Anglin – Lead Vocals
Aston Barrett Jr. – Organ
Kevin “Yvad” Davy – Lead Vocals 

 

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