The Format Announce New Album

The Format
Jason Tate

Target have put up The Format’s new album, Boycott Heaven, for pre-order.

After nearly two decades apart, Nate Ruess and Sam Means return to The Format, the indie pop band they helmed in the early 2000s. Teaming with Grammy-winning producer Brendan O’Brien (Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, The Killers) and drummer Matt Chamberlain (who’s played with David Bowie, Bob Dylan, and others), the duo’s third album Boycott Heaven incorporates sonic nods to the alt-rock, grunge, and pop-punk sounds that Sam and Nate first bonded over as Arizona teenagers in the late 90s

Due out January 23rd. The band performs on The Tonight Show tonight.

UPDATE • Oct 6, 2025

Official pre-orders from the band are now up. And the band have shared the new single “Holy Roller.”

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The Queen of Selling

Taylor Swift
Jason Tate

Taylor Swift’s new album brought in over $33 million at the box office and 2.7 million day-one album sales.

Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl launch has shown once again that it’s Taylor’s world and the rest of us are just living in it. The special album release event dwarfed the competition at the box office over the weekend, debuting to an impressive $33 million domestic and $13 million overseas. That’s a record-breaking number for what is neither a concert film nor a documentary, but a timed promotional event for the release of her new album.

The album dropped on Friday and is already setting records. After just one day, The Life of a Showgirl has secured the second-highest weekly sales for any album since tracking of such things began in the early 1990s. Billboard’s Luminate reported that the album sold 2.7 million copies on Friday alone.

Future Ruins Festival Canceled

Festival
Jason Tate

The Future Ruins festival has been canceled.

Unfortunately Future Ruins will not move forward this year. The reality is, due to a number of logistical challenges and complications, we feel we cannot provide the experience that’s defined what this event was always intended to be. Rather than compromise, we’re choosing to re-think and re-evaluate. Meanwhile, we are sorry for any inconvenience and appreciate all the interest and support. Refunds will be automatically issued and ticket holders will receive an email with more information

Riley Talks Drums on New Thrice Album

Thrice
Jason Tate

Riley from Thrice posted up a new blog about the band’s new album:

I kept it really conservative with my set up. I used the same old kit (save a couple minor exceptions) and same snare for every song. The Q Galvanized Steel has been on every record post-hiatus because I love it and it tunes up so easy. It’s punchy, and lively, and fun as hell to play. Great combo. My Q Copper Gentlemen’s snare has also been on every record post-hiatus because it’s like a Swiss Army knife – works great in any situation, sounds awesome regardless of tuning range, and every audio engineer I’ve worked with legit loves it.