I sent over some questions to Open the Portal, the directors of Fall Out Boy’s “Love from the Other Side” video, and you can find that, along with some behind the scenes photos from the video shoot below.
Read More “Open the Portal — Directors of Fall Out Boy’s “Love from the Other Side” Video”
Today I’m thrilled to share with everyone the latest single from indie rock band Raised On TV, called “Mr. Blue.” For those unfamiliar with the band, they were formed by brothers Keaton Rogers and Kacey Greenwood in 2016, and now includes bassist and keyboardist Chris Clark. The band shared this about the latest single, “Mr Blue is one of those songs where it’s hard to say exactly what it’s about. It’s part of our fourth full length album Strangers in Pictures due out in Spring of 2023 in collaboration with Sell the Heart Records, and it’s very much in line with what we were going for with this album. A sort of refined rock sound that wasn’t too gritty, but also very driving, and very fun to play live. Keaton has a guitar from his childhood named ‘Mr Blue’ so that’s partly where the song got its name. Lyrically, the song touches on being young and stupid, falling on your face, and figuring out how to get back up again. A music video was shot for this song where the band becomes a ‘Power Rangers’ type group and fights weird alien forces. That will also be out soon!” If you’re ready to discover your next favorite band, you’ve come to the right place. You can also support this artist by purchasing the song here.
Read More “Raised On TV – “Mr. Blue” (Song Premiere)”
Today indie-pop singer Natalie Shay has returned with a new single and lyric video for “The Edge.” The song is about a painful situation between herself and her friendship with her best friend dissolving quickly. Shay mentioned, “This is one of my favorite songs I’ve ever released, and as the feelings are still very raw, I’m hoping to find closure in this.” If you’re ready to cry along with Natalie Shay, you’ve come to the right place. I was also able to catch up with Natalie for a brief interview below.
Read More “Natalie Shay – “The Edge” (Video Premiere)”
Today is the perfect day to share the latest single and music video from Whitney Walker called “Heather From Here.” In this great sounding track from the singer-songwriter, Walker channels the best part of rustic rock into a heartfelt message of hope. Walker shared:
I used to write songs really quickly, but I stopped being able to write songs as fast when I got sober. It took six or seven years until I could write like that again. I was living in Amesbury, Massachusetts at the time and going through a long breakup with my then fiance. I hated it there. Used to call it ‘Lamesbury.’ It’s right on the water, and kinda has a big class disparity, somewhere between working class and hoity-toity. But this turned out to be a fertile songwriting time for me. I was always channeling the Pixies and Lou Reed in my head. I wrote it on acoustic guitar and it ended up being one of the more under-adorned songs on the album, and the only song on the record without Dana. This was the last song we recorded for the record, and it went quick. I recorded at Will Bradford’s house here in Portland [Maine], and he has this really cool vocal booth. Will [Bradford] played bass, lead guitar and keys. Brooke did the backing vocals. Her range is great as it isn’t what she normally sounds like on TheWorst records. It was very much a label [RascalRecordZ] affair.
If you’re enjoying the sound Whitney Walker went for here, you can check out his full-length record, A Dog Staring Into a Mirror on the Floor, on March 3rd.
Read More “Whitney Walker – “Heather From Here” (Video Premiere)”
Today I’m excited to bring everyone the latest single from Philadelphia slowcore band, Swim Camp, called “Dougie (For Sharyl).” The track comes from the forthcoming LP, Steel Country, out everywhere on February 24th via Julia’s War Recordings. On this latest single, Tom Morris shared, “This song is about developing a codependent friendship with someone who is not good for you. They support you, but enable bad behavior. Ultimately this ends up being bad for everyone involved. I recorded this song to tape in a cabin in the Poconos after my friend Sharyl heard the demo and insisted that it become a fully realized song, so it is largely for her.” If you’re enjoying the direction Swim Camp went for here, please consider purchasing the song here.
Read More “Swim Camp – “Dougie (For Sharyl)” Song Premiere”
Today is a great day to share the latest single from indie punk rock band Strawberry Fuzz, called “Dropout.” The single comes from the band’s new LP, Strongs Dr., that releases everywhere music is sold on January 18th via CandyShop Recordings. The band is great for fans of similar artists like The Germs, White Reaper, and Black Lips, but they really have a unique style that is truly one of a kind. When speaking on the new album, vocalist Colby Rodgers shared, “The album is a blend of all the people I grew up with in LA. Stoners, pill heads, downers, uppers, straight kids — it’s pretty much all in there.” If you’re ready to discover your next favorite band, you’ve come to the right place. I was also able to catch up with Strawberry Fuzz for a brief interview below.
Read More “Strawberry Fuzz – “Dropout” (Song Premiere)”
Today I’m thrilled to bring everyone the latest single from Chris Garneau called “Overexposure.” The track was co-produced by Benoit Bel (Kate Nash, Will Oldham, Bjork) and focuses on the vulnerability felt after a break-up. On the single, Garneau shared:
This song is about the absence of a lover, the pain of separation, and how a break-up can haunt the heart over the years. I wanted to capture a narrator who longs for a past that glimmered with hope and affection. His desire to ‘go back to that feeling’ is a wish to return to his faith in love and to abandon the regret and despair that now washes over him. Like a haunting spell, the repetitive, circular motion of the melody reflects a sense of overexposing yourself to loss. These thoughts can inundate and torture a person’s mind and take over. This state of entrapment makes me think of someone who continues to press down on a bruise and prevent it from healing.
If you’re ready to get hurt, and fall in love all over again with Chris Garneau, you’ve come to the right place.
Read More “Chris Garneau – “Overexposure” (Song Premiere)”
Today is a great day to share the latest single and music video from Hurt Season called “Afraid To Love.” For those unfamiliar with the artist, Hurt Season finds their inspiration from artists like Pierce the Veil and Santana, while adding some layers of complexity to his music to make it his own. Speaking on the latest single, he shared, “‘Afraid To Love’ is a deep, meaningful song about a break up. Written from the perspective of someone who is tired of being strung along by finicky emotions and commitment issues, it’s a beautiful goodbye.” I was also able to catch up with the artist for a brief interview below.
Read More “Hurt Season – “Afraid To Love” (Video Premiere)”
I still don’t have my head wrapped around it being 2023, but I’m here with another edition of the newsletter anyway. There’s also a playlist of ten songs worth your time, and this week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.
Read More “Liner Notes (January 14th, 2023)”
Today I’m thrilled to bring everyone the newest single and visualizer video from Colony House, called “Would Ya Could Ya.” This Nashville-based rock band will be releasing their next full-length record called The Cannonballers on February 3rd, and this single is a great introduction for those unfamiliar with the artist. On the latest single, the band shared:
It’s too easy getting sucked into the grind of everyday life… the hustle and the hurry we all willingly subject ourselves to. “Would Ya Could Ya” is about breaking the mold. At surface level, it’s a ‘let’s get outta here’ open road, never look back type of cruiser, but beneath the surface, I think it recognizes that we are often the obstacle standing in our own way and that it’s up to us to make the next move.
If you’re enjoying the direction Colony House went for on this electric track, please consider pre-saving their full-length record here.
Read More “Colony House – “Would Ya Could Ya” (Song Premiere)”
The first newsletter of the year has some thoughts on some projects I’ve been working on to start the year and my usual thoughts on music, entertainment, and other random musings. This week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.
Read More “Liner Notes (January 7th, 2023)”
Today is a great day to share the latest single and video from singer-songwriter Angel Abaya called “Over / On / Under.” The eclectic song comes from her debut album, The Bubble, which will be out everywhere music is sold on May 5th via Earth Libraries. Abaya shared this about the new single, “This song puts you in a chaotic mood. You’re either dodging lightning bolts or breaking shit and robbing a rich guy’s house.” If you’re ready to embrace the chaos, Angel Abaya is the right artist for today.
Read More “Angel Abaya – “Over / On / Under” (Video Premiere)”
We begin the new year as we have so many times before, with our annual ranking of the best albums of the year. Below you’ll find the contributor best of 2022 list with blurbs written by the staff talking about why we loved these albums. Each album title links to a streaming page so you can make sure to check out anything you may have missed. There’s also a playlist featuring a song from every album on this list, and a few staff members have shared their individual lists and some commentary, and you can find those at the bottom of this post.
As always, thanks for spending 2022 with us, and I hope you find something new to check out and love.
Read More “Chorus.fm’s Top 30 Albums of 2022”
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about noticing some suspicious activity on our Stripe account. It turns out that some nefarious actors were using the system to test stolen credit card numbers. I detailed the potential cost implications of this in the newsletter (in time and real money,) and I am now happy to announce that I’ve made a series of changes to hopefully mitigate this activity.
I have rebuilt the website’s supporter platform to better use Stripe’s tools for processing payments and managing subscriptions. I also took this opportunity to add a variety of features and better streamline the entire flow.
For anyone that is currently a supporter, nothing has changed. You don’t need to do anything to take advantage of the new system; your account will automatically work with it.
Unfortunately, I had to turn off membership signups for the past two weeks while I was making this change, and the end of the year is usually one of the biggest signup periods we have (end-of-the-year lists, holidays, etc.). So, if you were unable to signup before, or you’re a long-time reader ready to now, please do!
I’ll monitor the new system over the next few days to see how it’s all working while I finish putting together our end-of-the-year feature. If all goes well, I should have some time this week to work on a few other new features for the website I’ve had on my list for a while as well.
As always, thank you to everyone that reads this website and helps fund its continued existence. If you ever have any questions or issues with your subscription, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.
Hello,
I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas eve. I’ll be spending the weekend with family, so this week’s newsletter is very brief. I really just wanted to wish everyone a wonderful holiday and thank you all for subscribing and reading each week.
Next week I will be working fixing the Stripe issue I detailed here, and finalizing our end of the year feature for publication on January 2nd. I had hoped to work on a few other features I’ve had on my list for a while, but this Stripe issue really needs to take priority. I got a good start on it yesterday and hopefully there won’t be too many setbacks and I can get this rolled out within the next week.
Some things I saw around the internet this week that are worth your time:
Read More “Liner Notes (December 24th, 2022)”