Remove
Month: October 2023

Chase Tremaine – Accidental Days (Deluxe Edition) Track-by-Track

Chase Tremaine
Adam Grundy

This past week, I was able to chat with Chase Tremaine to discuss his deluxe reissue of Accidental Days. The deluxe edition of the album has been re-released today on Bandcamp, and it features ten new bonus tracks, plus commentary on the ten main album songs. I continue to be impressed by Chase’s extensive work ethic, and I hope this track-by-track sheds some light on his creative process.

Read More “Chase Tremaine – Accidental Days (Deluxe Edition) Track-by-Track”

Tom DeLonge Talks UFOs, Bigfoot, and Blink-182

Box Car Racer
Jason Tate

Tom DeLonge of Blink-182 talked with Polygon:

So the spirit of Monsters of California is that ghosts are real, Bigfoot is real, UFOs are real, demonic possession is real, orbs of light are real — it’s all happening. And it’s not weird or unique or rare; it is a part of the fabric of existence. So if you go into the ocean, you’re gonna see a jellyfish, you’re gonna see a dolphin, you’re gonna see a whale, then you’re gonna see a boat. And then you’re gonna see a Coke can and some banana peels float by, and you’re gonna realize there’s an island somewhere.

You’d have no idea the ocean is a lot bigger than the jellyfish. It’s got everything in it, and things in it that make no sense that are left over from somewhere else. That’s kind of the point, is that “paranormal” just means “more than normal.” But pretty soon, it will be just normal. Frequencies of life are intersecting, and in certain locations in certain places, we will see the echoes of that. And we will interact with that. And we will understand that. We won’t call it weird. We are at a point now where it’s an inflection point on our understanding of consciousness.

And:

No, Blink is gonna continue. This thing’s a monster. I mean, the band’s bigger than it’s ever been, by miles. On paper, I guess it makes sense, but in my heart, it doesn’t, because I feel like a skateboarder from East County, San Diego. I don’t know how I got this position. Looking at old videos of us, I’m like, Have I really been doing this shit for, like, 27 years? But it’s bigger than it’s ever been. Somehow it’s relevant.

I get it on paper — the songs are catchy, there’s a lot of energy, so it’s fun. The humor and friendship and brotherhood, everyone can relate to. Maybe that’s all you need. But I know that exists in other bands, too, so I’m not quite sure why it’s all working the way it is. But I am so grateful. It’s weird, because for so long, people were annoyed by these dumb skateboarder kids that would tell dick jokes on stage, singing pop songs. They would say we were like the Beach Boys on meth. But, fuck, the Beach Boys are fucking good — I wish I was that good! But here we are still doing it

Brian Fallon Talks New Gaslight Album

Gaslight Anthem
Jason Tate

Brian Fallon talked with Kerrang about The Gaslight Anthem’s new album:

“Yeah, Autumn. It kicked my butt! Man… I had that opening riff and I had the first line for, like, a year. It was just sitting there, and even before I was gonna get the band back, I had one line and a riff, and I was like, ‘I know this is good, but I just can’t finish it.’ But the only reason I had the first line, god bless her, my little daughter was really frustrated one day, and she goes, ‘Mom! There’s too much traffic in my head!’ And I was like, ‘I’ll be having that!’ I heard it from my room here, and I wrote it down (laughs).”

Remove

Mary Middlefield – “Sexless” (Video Premiere)

Mary Middlefield
Adam Grundy

Today I’m thrilled to bring everyone the exclusive video premiere from talented pop artist, Mary Middlefield, called “Sexless.” Taken from her debut album, Thank You Alexander, that dropped in March, Middlefield channels key artists like Dua Lipa, Lizzo, and the brash openness of Katy Perry. Middlefield shared:

I’d already pushed my sincerity all the way out there with the sad songs, but with this, I wanted to push myself towards embarrassment. It gave me a new perspective. There’s nothing really embarrassing about not having sex or being single or not having a partner or just not even wanting it. I don’t want to censor anything in my art. Life isn’t pretty, finding love and taking care of yourself and your loved ones is really fucking hard, a lot of people are cruel and mean. If just getting through the day is hard for most of the people I know – myself included – why would I try to make anything prettier than it actually is?

If you’re ready to see what all the hype is about, Mary Middlefield is delivering the right vibes.

Read More “Mary Middlefield – “Sexless” (Video Premiere)”

Ali Sperry – “My Walk To You” (Video Premiere)

Ali Sperry
Adam Grundy

Today I’m so excited to share with everyone the new single and video from Ali Sperry called “My Walk To You.” Ali Sperry, when faced with a year of trauma, racial reckoning, and downright worldwide existential crisis, did what she has always done — turned inward and wrote songs that channeled, mirrored and ultimately distilled those cultural currents. On this vibrant new single that floats over Sperry’s transcendent vocals, she showcases why she’s a key artist to watch in the Nashville music scene. Sperry shared:

Songwriting can be pure therapy for me, and that was the case with ‘My Walk To You.’ Some songs I whittle away at for months or even years, but this was one of those gifts that showed up whole. It was during a period of deep grief as I was processing the recent loss of my first pregnancy, and as I was going to bed one night the words and the melody came into my head, essentially fully formed. I made a note of the lyrics and recorded a quiet voice memo on my phone so I could remember the melody in the morning. I distinctly heard piano as being the driving instrument in the song, and imagined strings weaving around the melody. It was a very heavy time in my life, and this image of the soul I was singing to, somewhere in the ether waiting and witnessing my journey to them, helped me grasp a sense of hope and fortitude.

If you’re ready to believe in true musical artistry again, Ali Sperry is here for you.

Read More “Ali Sperry – “My Walk To You” (Video Premiere)”
Remove

The End of iTunes?

Jason Tate

Kirk McElhearn:

Soon, all that will be left of the iTunes brand is the iTunes Store for music. And people buy much less music [than] in the past, having mostly shifted to streaming. Will the iTunes name finally fade away as music sales dwindle? It’s hard to imagine Apple stopping digital music sales entirely; even if fewer people buy digital music, the market isn’t dead, not by a long shot. Global digital music sales peaked in 2012 at around $4.4 billion, and in 2021 they had dropped to $1.1 billion. That’s a decline of about 75%, but Apple still earns a hefty amount of money from selling digital music.

Spotify Is Changing How It Pays Artists

Jason Tate

Billboard:

A new threshold of minimum annual streams that a track must meet before it starts to generate royalties. The threshold, according to MBW, will de-monetize tracks that had previously received 0.5% of Spotify’s royalty pool.

Financial penalties for music distributors and labels when fraudulent activity on tracks they have uploaded to Spotify has been detected.

A minimum play-time length that non-music noise tracks, such as bird sounds or white noise, must reach to generate royalties.

Remove

Hayley Williams Talks With Rolling Stone

Hayley Williams
Jason Tate

Hayley Williams of Paramore talked with Rolling Stone:

Making This Is Why was not a comfortable experience for any of us. There was already anxiety about getting back in the groove of creating stuff together after some time apart. We were hanging out plenty, but we weren’t making things. Zac was doing Half Noise and I made a couple projects, one with Taylor which Zac played on. Being like, “Okay, we’re gonna go for Paramore,” that was anxiety inducing. And then also the world was still scary and nothing ever feels certain anymore, really. 

I felt a lot of anxiety about being around people again, that weren’t just in my bubble. And knowing that on the other side of finishing the record I was going to enter the world again was really scary. Not because I thought, “I’m gonna catch COVID.” I didn’t get COVID until we started touring again. It was more about what that did to me in my mind. Part of me had gotten really used to just seeing the people that I know, personally, and that I have all this context for — my family, my bandmates, whatever. And now I have to go be around all sorts of people. People that probably don’t feel the same way, or we don’t align politically. I just don’t know how I’m gonna feel. I don’t know what that’s gonna look like. I don’t know if people are gonna like this version of me and/or Paramore. 

Remove