Rise Against have released a new photo book called Whereabouts Unknown. You can pick up a copy here, and the press release can be found below.
Rise Against Announce Photo Book
Why Tidal Is in So Much Trouble
David Turner, writing at Gizmodo:
Tidal’s subscriber numbers received such intensified attention because initial adoption of the service appeared to be slow and the company ceased providing any user base information, while its competition continued to show growth. An extensive 2017 Dagens Naeringsliv report alleged that Tidal’s subscriber numbers were inflated. The paper said according to multiple sources and documents that Tidal’s true subscriber base in September 2015 was closer 350,000—Jay-Z tweeted it was 1,000,000—and in March 2016 was 850,000—although Tidal said 3,000,000.
I just don’t see how Tidal finds a place in this market. If you want a streaming service, you’re using Spotify or Apple Music, if you want random songs or videos, you’re using YouTube. I don’t see any place for Tidal to grab a foothold.
The Flatliners Cancel Upcoming Shows
The Flatliners have canceled their upcoming UK shows:
Due to unforeseen circumstances stemming from personal and family matters, we will be cancelling our upcoming summer tour dates, until the middle of August. This is not a decision that was made hastily or easily, rather one that needed to be made to ensure the health and wellbeing of all who are involved with this band.
Audio Released of Children Separated From Their Parents at the Border
Ginger Thompson, writing at ProPublica:
The desperate sobbing of 10 Central American children, separated from their parents one day last week by immigration authorities at the border, makes for excruciating listening. Many of them sound like they’re crying so hard, they can barely breathe. They scream “Mami” and “Papá” over and over again, as if those are the only words they know.
The baritone voice of a Border Patrol agent booms above the crying. “Well, we have an orchestra here,” he jokes. “What’s missing is a conductor.”
Our government is torturing children. These are the kinds of things that if we read about in history books we would not be able to understand how people let this happen. There will come a time when future generations read about this era in their history books, and they will rightfully judge us. This is sickening.
Inside an Alleged Abusive Emo ‘Sex Cult’
Amy Zimmerman, writing for The Daily Beast:
Earlier this month, accusations started circulating about William Francis, the former lead singer of emo band Aiden who goes by the stage name William Control. […] [A]ccording to accusations made by multiple women, Francis only purported to practice BDSM; in fact, they claim, he physically and emotionally abused women, ordered many of them to get matching tattoos of his initials, and even demanded contracts from his sexual partners or “slaves,” signed in their own blood.
This is extremely difficult to read.
The Earliest Images of the Moon Were So Much Better Than We Knew
Ryan Smith, writing at World of Indie:
Fifty years ago, 5 unmanned lunar orbiters circled the moon, taking extremely high resolution photos of the surface. They were trying to find the perfect landing site for the Apollo missions. They would be good enough to blow up to 40 x 54ft images that the astronauts would walk across looking for the great spot. After their use, the images were locked away from the public until after the bulk of the moon landings, as at the time they would have revealed the superior technology of the USA’s spy satellite cameras, which the orbiters cameras were designed from. The main worry was the USSR gaining valuable information about landing sites that the US wanted to use.
Frightened Rabbit’s Meltdown Set Replaced by Mental Health Panel
Jazz Monroe, writing at Pitchfork:
Meltdown festival will today host a mental health panel in place of the scheduled set by Frightened Rabbit, whose frontperson Scott Hutchison died last month in an apparent suicide. Clinical psychologist Jay Watts will moderate the talk with Throwing Muses’ Kristin Hersh, Placebo’s Stefan Olsdal, musician and poet Dizraeli, and Christine Brown of music charity Help Musicians UK, the Guardian reports.
Warner Music Launching Standalone Elektra Music Group
Hannah Karp, writing for Billboard:
Warner Music Group is launching a new standalone record company to be staffed by a mix of WMG employees and new hires.
The company, Elektra Music Group, will launch October 1 and consist of WMG’s labels Elektra Records, Fueled By Ramen (FBR), Roadrunner Records, Low Country Sound, and Black Cement Records, marking the first time in 15 years that the storied Elektra label will operate independently. Heading the new 60-person team will be FBR/Roadrunner president Mike Easterlin and Elektra’s current president Gregg Nadel.
Dave Matthews Band Top the Charts
Dave Matthews Band have the number one album in the country this week:
The set, which was released on June 8 via Bama Rags/RCA Records, earned 292,000 equivalent album units in the week ending June 14, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 285,000 were in traditional album sales — the biggest sales week for a rock album in over four years.
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Frank Turner Releases Acoustic “Little Changes”
Frank Turner has released an acoustic version of “Little Changes” on streaming platforms.
This Clarinetist’s Career Was Derailed by a Deleted Scholarship Letter
Brianna Sacks, writing at BuzzFeed:
Eric Abramovitz had been training for this moment for nearly his entire life: the opportunity to study under one of the best clarinet teachers on the planet, on a full-ride scholarship to a prestigious music conservatory in Los Angeles. […] What happened next, outlined in interviews and court documents filed in Abramovitz’s successful lawsuit against Lee, paint the picture of a promising “what if” life trajectory knocked off its rails by what a Canadian judge called “despicable interference” by a selfish girlfriend.
This story is bonkers. I sent it to my violinist girlfriend and she read the entire thing slack-jawed.
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists Announce Cruise
Blink-182 Talk About “The Party Song”
Mark Hoppus of Blink-182 talked with Las Vegas Weekly about playing “The Party Song” during their Las Vegas residency:
I’ll peel back the curtain a little bit. For us and for hardcore Blink fans, it was a cool song, [but it’s] a deep cut from an album that came out almost 20 years ago, so a lot of people just had no idea. And first of all, it’s a hard song to play…It’s super fast. There’s nowhere to breathe. We had to work long and hard at rehearsal so that I sing the majority of the line and Matt sings the end of the line, just long enough for me to take a break and start the next line. It was a lot of work to do, and we played it and some people were like, “I can’t believe they’re playing this!” and some people were like, “What is this song?” These are good problems to have, that your catalog is so big some people don’t recognize the songs.
The Oral History of The Gaslight Anthem’s ‘The ’59 Sound’
Robert Mays, writing at The Ringer, has put together an oral history of The Gaslight Anthem’s The ’59 Sound:
The intangible thing of “The ’59 Sound,” it didn’t mean anything about the ’50s. I didn’t imagine people banging on jukeboxes and Fonzie and all that. I’m not interested in any of that. To me, it reminded me of my grandmother and a time where simpler things were valued more. Friendships, relationships, and that kind of thing. There weren’t so many distractions. You didn’t have so many goals. Now, a kid grows up, and he could be anything. That’s great, but it’s also very daunting. Because which one of the anythings do you be?