Category: News
Tom DeLonge Leaves Blink-182
If you were alive Monday, you probably heard about the scandal involving Tom DeLonge quitting Blink-182.
It started when a press release from the band’s publicist was shared, and it was reported that Matt Skiba of the Alkaline Trio would replace DeLonge at the band’s performance at the Musink Music and Tattoo Festival.
Barker and Hoppus opened up in a recent Rolling Stones article about the tension between the band and DeLonge:
I think he’s just bummed because Mark and I were finally honest. We always covered up for him before. It was always, “We’re going to record an album,” then “Tom refuses to get into the studio without a record deal.” So everyone does hella amounts of work to get a record deal and now Tom isn’t part of Blink-182. It’s hard to cover for someone who’s disrespectful and ungrateful. You don’t even have the balls to call your bandmates and tell them you’re not going to record or do anything Blink-related. You have your manager do it. Everyone should know what the story is with him and it’s been years with it. When we did get back together after my plane crash, we only got back together, I don’t know, maybe because I almost died. But he didn’t even listen to mixes or masterings from that record. He didn’t even care about it. Why Blink even got back together in the first place is questionable.
According to the rest of Blink- 182, DeLonge was “disrespectful and ungrateful” and kept holding projects off. Both Hoppus and Barker approved the press release that was sent out Monday and in the end just want to continue the legacy of Blink- 182.
Hardcore fans of the band won’t be able to ignore that this feels a little like déjà vu from the last time the band went on indefinite hiatus almost exactly 10 years ago. Hopefully, the band will get everything worked out for the best, but in the meantime…rock on, I guess.
Slingshot 2015 lineup announced!
Freaking out. Athens’ answer to South by Southwest has arrived, and It. Is. Good.
Slingshot Festival is back this year from March 26-28, and the lineup is a little bit insanely awesome, featuring a James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem) DJ set, Jamie xx, Nosaj Thing, Clark, a Washed Out DJ set, Saint Pepsi, Reptar, Omar Souleyman, Prince Rama, Single Mothers, Holly Herndon, Glenn Kotche, Awesome Tapes From Africa, and more TBA. Not to mention “Japan Nite” headlined by Peelander-Z with five bands from Japan.
There’s also gonna be a comedy night headlined by Kurt Braunohler, plus some killer surprise acts and after parties.
Tickets go on sale today (1/22) at 9 AM EST (so that’s now, people – get on it). Limited number of early VIP tix (a mere $70) gets you guaranteed entrance to ALL headlining shows. See you there.
Shaky Knees 2015 lineup announced
Over the past few weeks the buzz has surrounded the headlining acts at Coachella, Governor’s Ball, Bonnaroo and now, SHAKY KNEES!
The lineup for Shaky Knees 2015 was dropped today, and the acts are impressive to say the least. We’re sort of flipping out over here – this might be the best fest lineup so far.
Taking place May 8-10 in Atlanta, Georgia at Central Park, the festival will feature The Strokes, Pixies, Brand New, Tame Impala, Dr. Dog, Best Coast, American Football, Neutral Milk Hotel, Wavves, Best Coast, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Ave., Interpol, and the Avett Brothers.
Tickets can be found here and will go on sale Jan. 16, 2015 at 10 a.m.
of Montreal announce North American tour and share new song
of Montreal have released the second single off of their upcoming album, Aureate Gloom, due out March 3 this year (pre-order here).
The track, “Empyrean Abattoir,” has the quintessential of Montreal sound, with non-stop energy paired with the jaded rant-narration that frontman Kevin Barnes has perfected to an art.
Check out the track below, and be sure to mark your calendars for their upcoming tour. You know I’ll be there.
Tour Dates
1/13/15 Tallahassee, FL – The Moon ^
1/14/15 Pensacola, FL – Vinyl Music Hall ^
1/15/15 Gainesville, FL – High Dive ^
1/16/15 Orlando, FL – The Social ^
1/17/15 Tampa, FL – Crowbar ^
1/18/15 Miami, FL – Grand Central ^
1/19/15 Jacksonville, FL – Freebird Live ^
1/20/15 Macon, GA – Cox Capitol Theatre ^
1/21/15 Charleston, SC – The Pour House ^
1/22/15 Greensboro, NC – The Blind Tiger ^
1/23/15 Nashville, TN – Mercy Lounge ^
1/24/15 Chattanooga, TN – Rhythm and Brews ^
3/5/15 Athens, GA – 40 Watt #
3/6/15 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle #
3/7/15 Washington, DC – 930 Club #
3/8/15 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer #
3/9/15 New Haven, CT – Toad’s #
3/10/15 Boston, MA – Paradise #
3/11/15 New York, NY – Webster Hall #
3/12/15 Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom *
3/13/15 Chicago, IL – The Metro *
3/14/15 Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall *
3/15/15 Minneapolis, MN – First Ave *
3/16/15 Omaha, NE – Waiting Room *
3/17/15 Oklahoma City, OK – ACM @ UCO Performance Lab *
3/18/15 Houston, TX – Walter’s Downtown *
3/19/15 Austin, TX – SXSW
3/20/15 El Paso, TX – Tricky Falls !
3/21/15 Tucson, AZ – The Rialto !
3/22/15 Los Angeles, CA – The Regent !
3/23/15 Los Angeles, CA – Largo at the Coronet
3/24/15 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall !
3/25/15 San Francisco, CA – Slim’s !
3/26/15 Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom !
3/27/15 Seattle, WA – Neumo’s !
3/28/15 Boise, ID – Treefort Festival
3/29/15 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge !
3/30/15 Aspen, CO – Belly Up Aspen !
3/31/15 Denver, CO – Bluebird !
4/1/15 Lawrence, KS – The Granada !
4/2/15 Dallas, TX – Trees !
4/3/15 Austin, TX – The Mohawk !
4/4/15 New Orleans, LA – Howlin’ Wolf !
^ = w/ Nedelle Torrisi
# = w/ Yonatan Gat
* = w/ Deerhoof
! = w/ Yip Deceiver
In case you missed their first single, “Bassem Sabry,” grab a listen below!
A Swift Decision: T.Swift removes all her music from Spotify
Shake it off, T.Swift fans!
In a Spotify blog post earlier today, Spotify revealed that Taylor Swift has decided to remove her ENTIRE back catalogue from the streaming service.
The decision comes as a second blow to fans after Swift, whose 1989 album was released last week, decided not to make the new album available for streaming. There are speculations that Swift may be making the decision to hold her music in an attempt to boost album sales for 1989.
Her album is projected to gain nearly 1.3 million sold copies in its first week, gaining Swift the all-time record for a female artist’s sales in an opening week.
New CHVRCHES Track to be Added to Remade ‘Drive’ Soundtrack
Electronic band CHVRCHES will have a new song featured on the upcoming alternative soundtrack for the 2011 film, Drive (ooh, Ryan Gosling).
The alternative album is a part of a curated project by BBC Radio 1 show host, Zane Lowe. The new edition of the soundtrack will air on BBC 3 Thursday, Oct. 30 and will feature some original contributions in addition to CHVRCHES brand new song, “Get Away.”
The new song fits perfectly with the original tracks playlist (below) including the Chromatics, Kavinsky and Cliff Martinez. It doesn’t fail to please, either, with the funky synthesized vocals and beats that feel as if one is driving on the highway in a bustling city. The soft lead vocals of Lauren Mayberry over the electronic dance beat add to the MO of the film’s original soundtrack.
Don’t listen to me though, check out the CHVRCHES track below!
ICYIMI: Everything That Happened This Week
Every week, the entertainment world brings us new music, TV shows, movies and, sometimes, celebrity break-ups. A lot can and does happen in seven days, but with a busy schedules, you can’t possibly keep up with everything out there. So to help, here’s everything that you missed in the week of Oct. 12-Oct. 18.
1.) Neil Patrick Harris will be hosting the 2015 Oscars
After hosting the Tonys and Emmys, it is only fitting that NPH would go on to host the most sophisticated award show – the Oscars. The former How I Met Your Mother star was will have some big shoes to fill, following 2014 emcee Ellen DeGeneres. But I don’t think that’ll be a problem. NPH has the support of many fans including funny man Seth MacFarlane. The Oscars premiere Feb. 22, 2015 on ABC.
2.) Afroman got high again
Rapper-singer Afroman released a remix of his 2001 hit “Because I Got High” earlier this week to show his support for the legalization of marijuana across the nation.
The song has been making waves with the YouTube video reaching over 2 million views since it was released last Wednesday. Check it out for yourself below!
3.) Foo Fighters released a new single!
In preparation for the release of their upcoming album Sonic Highways, rock band Foo Fighters premiered their new single “Something from Nothing.” The single is the first song on the tracklist for the album and was produced with the help of Steve Albini. The album will be available in stores everywhere Nov. 10. Check out “Something from Nothing” below.
Cursive to Reissue The Ugly Organ
American indie band, Cursive, is reissuing their acclaimed 2003 album, The Ugly Organ, as announced on the band’s website.
The album, which received nods from publications such as Rolling Stone (as well as being in our own Editor-in-Chief’s top 10 albums of all time), will be an expanded to a deluxe version available on both 2XCD and 2XLP vinyl. The additional disks will include eight additional tracks that were originally created for the 2003 copy’s tracklist.
Other goodies included in the 2XCD and 2XLP vinyl are a medley of handwritten notes, lyrics, artwork crafts, and rare photos. Get your pre-orders here.
Curvise will be on tour starting next year with their kick-off show being February 10 in Denver, Colorado. The tour will last until March 21, when the finale is held in their hometown, Omaha, Nebraska.
Tickets are available for pre-order here!
Check out the “Art Is Hard” remaster below
of Montreal is FINALLY Making a Live Album – Vote Now for Your Favorite Songs
So…HUGE news, guys!
Tuesday evening, of Montreal shared on their Facebook page the exciting news that they will finally be making a live album!
Throughout the fall, the “thin/primitive” band – as they like to call themselves – will be recording their upcoming shows. Each night, they will playing a different set, so there will be no redundancy whatsoever. Being loyal to their fans, though, the group created a poll to let the public decide which song they play the most.
Post by of Montreal.
Fans have until 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, October 3 to cast their vote, and it will be no easy choice. The songs on the poll range from”Colossus” to “Cato as a Pun”- and those are two among the many great songs by of Montreal up for grabs. Despite what happens though, I’m positive the live album will be a hit.
So, stop what you’re doing now and go vote (…for “Suffer for Fashion” *wink wink*)!
Chris Walla leaves Death Cab for Cutie and I’m really bummed
This sucks. For those of you who, like me, still (and always will) hold on tightly to the early 2000’s sad-face music of your nobody-understands-my-pain adolescence, I’ve got some bad news. Death Cab for Cutie‘s own multi-instrumentalist/producer Chris Walla has called it quits.
Walla released a statement via Slog about his departure, stating, “I think I long for the unknown. It might be that simple.” Read the full diatribe below.
His final show with DCFC is at the Rifflandia Festival in Victoria, BC, Canada on September 13.
Says Walla:
Short version: I’m leaving Death Cab for Cutie. My last show with the band will be September 13, 2014, at the Rifflandia Festival in Victoria, BC. I hope you guys can make it.
Longer version: I think I long for the unknown. It might be that simple.
I will miss being a quarter of this band, and will support whatever course Death Cab for Cutie chooses from here. I am profoundly grateful to Ben, Nick, and Jason, for the experiences that define my adult life. Truly grateful, beyond words. Thank you.
I am also grateful to, and deeply humbled by, all of our fans. Without you, music would be mere ‘content’, and nothing could possibly be sadder than that. Thank you all, so dearly.
We’ve just finished our eighth album, which is our first with an outside producer. That producer is a fellow named Rich Costey, and working with him in this capacity is one of the greatest joys of my professional life. Thank you, as well.
There are so many others to whom I am grateful—our crew, our management, our families, the Atlantic, Barsuk and Elsinor labels, the Billions team. Thank you all.
Deciding to leave the band was not, and is not, easy. It’s really, really sad. I love my bandmates, and I’m proud of what we’ve done, and mercifully, those things don’t change with my departure. Moving forward, my plans are simply to continue making music, producing records, and erring on the side of benevolence and beauty whenever possible. Darkness may find me, but I shall never choose it.
The rest of the band had a little something to say as well on their Facebook page:
We’ve had an incredible 17 years of making music with Chris. We are very proud of what we’ve accomplished together, including our 8th studio album which we have just put the finishing touches on.
We will miss Chris and wish him all the best in the next chapter of his career. We are excited about sharing new music, and seeing all of you very soon.– Ben, Nick and Jason
I’m sad and feeling confused and abandoned. Also conflicted, because when I feel this way, I usually turn to Transatlanticism, but I think that will just make it worse this time.