Hey everyone,
I’m sorry I missed you last week. I lost my voice and, as it turns out, it’s really difficult to record a podcast with no voice. Who knew, right? We’ve got two weeks to catch up on so, let’s jump right into things, shall we?
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This music newsletter ain’t gonna read itself.
“The best music is essentially there to provide you something to face the world with.”
—Bruce Springsteen
ROCK THE VOTE
:: MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD
WEEKLY PLAYLIST #63
:: NEW MUSIC EVERY WEEK
Featuring: Bluhm, Breezy the band, Alabama Shakes, Manic Street Preachers, Friendship Commanders, TV Girl, Bleach Lab, Wye Oak, Molly Parden, Juliana Madrid, Hozier, Amanda Shires & Bobbie Nelson, Hozier, Elly Kace, Ilsey, Birdtalker, Casual Fan, Dez Money, Dos Chettais, Cindy Wilson
ZAPPAGRAM #63
ZAPPAGRAM PLAYLIST (ALL WEEKS)
MUSIC NEWS
:: WHAT’S GOING ON
Paul Simon Sells Off Rights to Simon and Garfunkel Royalties
A source familiar with the matter says the BMG deal was worth eight figures [RollingStone]
Teresa Taylor, Butthole Surfers Drummer and ‘Slacker’ Star, Dead at 60
Taylor, a.k.a. “Teresa Nervosa,” was a drummer for the seminal psych-punk band. They shared she died “peacefully this weekend” of lung disease [RollingStone]
Jason Isbell Unveils 2023 Ryman Residency with Guests S.G. Goodman, Lawrence Rothman
The annual eight-night event emphasizes LGBTQ talent [RollingStone]
Greta Van Fleet’s Josh Kiszka Comes Out As a Member of the LGBTQ Community
The singer has been "in a loving, same-sex relationship" for eight years [RollingStone]
Sonic Youth Releasing Live Album of Final New York Show
A complete recording of the 17-song show at the Williamsburg Waterfront in 2011 gets released widely in August [Pitchfork]
Faye Webster Announces North American Tour, Shares Video for New Song
Webster shares the stage with a puppet band in the visual for “But Not Kiss” [Pitchfork]
Nearly 100 People Injured After Being Pelted by Hail at Red Rocks
The concert, featuring Louis Tomlinson, was eventually postponed [Consequence]
Aphex Twin Announces New EP
Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / in a room7 F760 is out on July 28th [Consequence]
Morrissey Announces “40 Years of Morrissey” Anniversary Tour
Coming to North and South America this fall [Consequence]
Z-REX
:: ZAPPA’S RECOMMENDATIONS
+ Barack Obama Insists He Really Does Listen to All Those Hip Playlists - "People seem to think, well, he must’ve had some 20-year-old intern who was figuring out this latest cut. No, man!"
+ From RollingStone: Nashville’s Radical Reinvention: From a pop-rock boom to an influx of conservative-media personalities, the country music capital is changing rapidly
+ Also, from RollingStone: Dear Idiots, Please Stop Throwing Things at the Stage: A plea for concert etiquette sanity
+ Boygenius, the supergroup consisting of Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus performed their song “not Strong Enough” live on SiriusXM recently and their performance was flawless. This is how you do three-part harmony, you guys.
NEW RELEASES
:: RECENTLY DROPPED MUSIC
Albert Hammond Jr: Melodies on Hiatus [listen]
Amanda Shires & Bobbie Nelson: Loving You [listen]
Frank Zappa: Funky Nothingness [listen]
Lloyd Cole: On Pain [listen]
M. Ward: Supernatural Thing [listen]
Portugal. the Man: Chris Black Changed My Life [listen]
The Jins: It’s A Life [listen]
Wye Oak: Every Day Like the Last [listen]
RELEASE RADAR
:: UPCOMING RELEASES
- JUL 7 -
ANOHNI and the Johnsons: My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross
Julie Byrne: The Greater Wings
Local Natives: Time Will Wait for No One
Nick Drake: The Endless Coloured Ways: The Songs of Nick Drake
PJ Harvey: I Inside the Old Year Dying
Taylor Swift: Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
- JUL 14 -
Duane Betts: Wild & Precious Life
Gordon Lightfoot: At Royal Albert Hall
- JUL 21 -
Bloc Party: The High Life EP
Blur: The Ballad of Darren
Greta Van Fleet: Starcatcher
Guided By Voices: Welshpool Frillies
Nils Lofgren: Mountains
- JUL 28 -
Aphex Twin: Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / in a room7 F760 EP
Bethany Cosentino: Natural Disaster
Brad: In the Moment That You’re Born
Darlingside: Everything Is Alive
Joni Mitchell: Joni Mitchell at Newport
Madeline Kenney: A New Reality Mind
Stevie Nicks: Complete Studio Albums & Rarities
SUSTO: My Entire Life
- AUG 11 -
Liam Gallagher: Knebworth 22
Neil Young: Chrome Dreams
- AUG 18 -
Sonic Youth: Live in Brooklyn 2011
ON THIS DATE
:: MUSICAL HAPPENINGS OF HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
- JUN 26 -
Birthdays: Mick Jones of The Clash (1955) • Chris Isaak (1956) • Harriet Wheeler of The Sundays (1963) • Colin Greenwood of Radiohead (1969) • Nathan Followill of Kings of Leon (1979) • Elvis made his last ever live stage appearance at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. (1977)
- JUN 27 -
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention released their debut studio album Freak Out! (1966) • The chief medical officer of Russia said that The Beatles were to blame for the country's drug problem. (2012)
- JUN 28 -
Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne ordered Trump not to use Ozzy’s music for his political campaign. Trump had used “Crazy Train” in a video mocking his Democratic rivals. Sharon Osbourne suggested Trump ask some of his prominent supporters such as Kanye West, Kid Rock, and Ted Nugent to supply him with music for his campaign. (2019)
- JUN 29 -
Birthday: Colin Hay (1953) • Former Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler was taken to hospital after stabbing himself. (2019)
- JUN 30 -
Chet Atkins died in Nashville aged 77. (2001) • Bruce Springsteen's “Dancing In The Dark” peaked at #2 on the U.S. charts, the first of six singles from his 7th studio album Born In The U.S.A. all of which hit the U.S. Top 10. (1984)
- JUL 1 -
Birthdays: Debbie Harry (1945) • Fred Schneider of The B-52's (1951) • John Lennon and Yoko Ono were involved in a car accident in Scotland. Both needed hospital treatment. Lennon later had the car crushed into a cube and exhibited it on his lawn at Tittenhurst Park. (1969) • DJ Wolfman Jack died of a heart attack. (1995)
- JUL 2 -
Birthday: Roy Bittan of the E Street Band (1949) • The gravestone of former Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis was stolen from his grave in Macclesfield Cemetery. The stone had the inscription “Ian Curtis 18-5-80” and the words “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” (2008)
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Zappagram #63: All hail Red Rocks