Zappagram #6
Apple discontinues the iPod, Tour the house where Neil Young recorded After The Gold Rush, and Bono has written a memoir
Hey friends,
We’ve got a lot of ground to cover this week. As this newsletter matures, I’m working on changes and improvements to the content. This week, the news section gets a more condensed one-liner format to make room for more news. Also, the “Heavy Rotation” section has evolved into a weekly playlist of songs new and old that I think you should hear. I’ll provide links for each week’s playlist on both Spotify and Apple Music.
Hey! Ho! Let’s go!
“A good song should give you a lot of images. You should be able to make your own little movie in your head to a good song.”
―Tom Petty
Recent Essays
The latest music essays by Chris Zappa
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The Best Podcasts for Serious Music Lovers
If we're not listening to music, we're listening to people talk about music
"What's in My Bag?" is Great for Discovering New Music
Amoeba Music explores what your favorite artists are listening to
Nick Cave's Son Has Died
The Australian singer mourns the loss of his second son
Music News
The latest happenings in the world of music
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After 20 years, Apple has finally discontinued the iPod. ♯ Trevor Strnad, vocalist for death metal band The Black Dahlia Murder, died by suicide at the age of 41. ♯ Turn your amps to 11 because Spinal Tap 2 is in the works. ♯ Metallica’s James Hetfield called to check on a fan who went into labor and gave birth at their recent concert in Brazil. ♯ For the first time ever, Hulu will stream this year’s Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and Austin City Limits festivals. ♯ Filed under: fingers crossed. David Gilmour says it’s possible that Pink Floyd may tour again. ♯ The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has announced its class of 2022 which includes Dolly Parton, Eurythmics, and Duran Duran among others. ♯ Flight of the Conchords’ Bret McKenzie announces a new non-comedy solo album and tour. ♯ In honor of the 21st anniversary of their Oh, Inverted World album release, The Shins are going on tour and performing the album in its entirety. ♯ Bono has written a memoir, titled Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story, which is set for release in November. Hear him read an excerpt from the book here.
Heavy Rotation
New weekly playlists highlighting great music
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Video Spotlight
See it to believe it
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A kind, music-loving gentleman named Tim runs a YouTube channel called Hiking4Life where he posts great content centered around the Hollywood Hills (Laurel Canyon, Topanga Canyon, etc.) area, much of which has musical historical significance. Check out his recent video where he leads us on a hike to—and a tour through—Neil Young’s old house where After The Gold Rush was written and recorded. Fascinating stuff. [via YouTube]
New Releases
These albums have recently dropped
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- MAY 13 -
The Black Keys
Dropout Boogie [listen]
Florence and the Machine
Dance Fever [listen]
Monophonics
Sage Motel [listen]
Ryan Adams
Romeo & Juliet [listen]
The Smile
A Light For Attracting Attention [listen]
Upcoming Releases
These albums are coming soon
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- MAY 20 -
Delta Spirit
One Is One
- MAY 27 -
Liam Gallagher
C’mon You Know
Wilco
Cruel Country
- June 3 -
Andrew Bird
Inside Problems
Angel Olsen
Big Time
The Kills
No Wow
Tour Dates
Currently on tour
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Aimee Mann ♯ Andrew Bird ♯ Arcade Fire ♯ B-52’s ♯Bob Dylan ♯ Broken Social Scene ♯ Caamp ♯ Chvrches ♯ Dead & Co ♯ Death Cab For Cutie ♯ The Doobie Brothers ♯ Father John Misty ♯ Florence and the Machine ♯ Interpol ♯ Jackson Browne ♯ James Taylor ♯ Jane’s Addiction ♯ Jenny Lewis ♯ Khruangbin ♯ Local Natives ♯ Lollapalooza ♯ The Melvins ♯ Monophonics ♯ The National ♯ Primus ♯ Ray LaMontagne ♯ Red Hot Chili Peppers ♯ Robert Plant & Alison Krauss ♯ Roger Waters ♯ The Shins ♯ Smashing Pumpkins ♯ Spoon ♯ Stevie Nicks ♯ Tears For Fears ♯ Tori Amos ♯ The War on Drugs ♯ The Who ♯ Wilco
On This Date
Musical happenings of historical significance
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May 10
Bono was born in Dublin, Ireland. (1960) ♯ American singer/songwriter, poet, cartoonist, screenwriter, and author of children's books, Shel Silverstein, died of a heart attack aged 57. Most people don’t know he wrote, “A Boy Named Sue” for Johnny Cash. (1999)
May 11
Butch Trucks, drummer for The Allman Brothers Band, was born in Jacksonville, Florida. (1947) ♯ Jimi Hendrix Experience bassist Noel Redding died at his home in Ireland, aged 57. (2003) ♯ Bruce Springsteen and a small group of friends went out for a boy’s night out in Lake Oswego, Oregon, two nights before his wedding to Julianne Phillips. Drinking in the Gemini Bar & Grill, Springsteen sang a number of songs, karaoke-style, to his own records in the jukebox. (1985)
May 12
Thieves stole the gates to Strawberry Fields, the Merseyside landmark immortalized by The Beatles song. The 10' high iron gates were later found at local scrap metal dealers in Liverpool. (2000) ♯ Neil Young had a spider named after him. US university biologist Jason Bond discovered a new species of trapdoor spider and named it after his favorite musician. Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi was first found in Jefferson County, Alabama, in 2007. (2008)
May 13
Stevie Wonder was born in Saginaw, Michigan. (1950) ♯ Alison Goldfrapp was born in London. (1966) ♯ Bruce Springsteen married Julianne Phillips at Lake Oswego, Oregon. (1985)
May 14
David Byrne was born in Dumbarton, Scotland. (1952) ♯ Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys was born in Akron, Ohio. (1979) ♯ Ian Astbury of The Cult was born in Cheshire, England. (1962) ♯ Elvis Presley was rushed to a Los Angeles hospital after swallowing a porcelain cap from one of his front teeth, which then lodged itself in one of his lungs. (1957)
May 15
English musician, composer, record producer Brian Eno was born in Melton, UK. (1948) ♯ June Carter Cash died in Nashville, Tennessee, of complications following heart surgery, aged 73. (2003) Ahmet Zappa was born in Los Angeles. (1974)
May 16
Nirvana bassist, Krist Novoselic, was born in Compton, California. (1965) ♯ Jonathan Richman of The Modern Lovers was born in Natick, Massachusetts. (1951) Ronnie James Dio died after a six-month battle with cancer. (2010) The Beach Boys released Pet Sounds. (1966)
Off Topic
May or may not be music-related
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FILED UNDER: CHA-CHING
Andy Warhol’s “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” sold for a cool $195 million on Monday, making the iconic portrait the most expensive work by a U.S. artist ever sold at auction. [via AP News]
FILED UNDER: MUSIC + SCIENCE
Watch Björk and David Attenborough sit down for an educational discussion on music and science. [via YouTube]
FILED UNDER: HAPPY 20TH
Tom Waits’ albums Alice and Blood Money were released 20 years ago, as of May 7th. Read about the albums and music journalist Phil Freeman’s interview with Waits himself. [via Stereogum]
Question of the Week
Inquiring minds want to know
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What’s your most memorable concert experience? I’ll go first. The year was 1999. My girlfriend at the time and I were living in Nashville. That summer, we attended Lilith Fair in Atlanta. Due to a rainstorm, the outdoor amphitheater (Lakewood) turned into a total mudfest. We were, quite unwillingly, covered head-to-toe in mud and because we hadn’t planned for that, we didn’t bring a change of clothes. However, we still had a 4-hour drive back to Nashville. So, we stripped down before getting in the car and drove home completely naked, which was fine except for that one stop for gas we had to make…
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Peace and love,
CZ 🤘🏻
I’d forgotten Springsteen got married in LO. It’s all anyone on the radio could talk about for weeks! Same with when Simon LeBon started dating someone from the area.
I heard a Monophonics track on Red Planet this weekend, and I’m all in. It’ll probably find its way into an issue of On Repeat soon…