Matt Skiba Ranks Alkaline Trio Albums

Alkaline Trio
Jason Tate

Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio sat down with Noisey to rank the band’s albums:

Crimson is one of my favorite Trio records. It’s the last record we made with Jerry Finn and, for a while, I couldn’t listen to it. There was so much of Jerry Finn in the production. Now, when I listen to Crimson, sometimes I think about Jerry, and I miss him, but for the most part I’m just really grateful that we had the opportunity to work with the most amazing producer for our genre that there’s ever been. I’m really thankful for that album, and I’m really thankful for Jerry’s friendship. He was one of my best friends.

YouTube’s Support for Musicians Comes With a Catch

YouTube
Jason Tate

Lucas Shaw, writing at Billboard:

In recent months, YouTube has given a handful of musicians a couple hundred thousand dollars to produce videos and promote their work on billboards, part of a larger campaign to improve the site’s relationship with the music industry.

Yet such support comes with a catch, with some musicians required to promise the won’t say negative things about YouTube, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private business transactions. Non-disparagement agreements are common in business, but YouTube’s biggest direct competitors in music don’t require them, the people said.

That My Chemical Romance “Tour Announcement” Has Been Up For Years

My Chemical Romance
Jason Tate

Over the weekend Alt Press ran a story headlined with, “Are My Chemical Romance planning a tour?,” based on the following evidence:

The band’s site was updated with an “MCRX TOUR” announcement, and the description reads: “Check back soon for more details on the upcoming tour.”

Upcoming tour?

We’re freaking out a little bit. (OK, we’re freaking out A LOT.)

This damn line on their website causes a freakout every few months.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the website has had that same blurb on it for years. Here it is in October of 2016.

If and when My Chemical Romance return, given everything we know about the band, I’d have to imagine it’ll be a well thought out and produced announcement.1

  1. And I am a believer that it’s a when, not an if, I just don’t know when.↩

Jack Antonoff on the Dark Secrets of Good Pop Music

Bleachers
Jason Tate

Sam Schube, writing for GQ:

This is new. Antonoff, now 33, used to be a secret weapon. He started touring the country at 15, was signed to legendary pop-punk label Drive-Thru at 18. And then he linked up with some old touring pals to write world-eating pop jams as Fun. You remember the songs—“We Are Young,” “Some Nights”—because they destroy at weddings, bar mitzvahs, graduation parties, and bars. Along the way, he became something of a pop guru—not a gun for hire, but the rarest kind of collaborator. Armed with his own sonic signature, forged in vans and clubs and small theaters and bedrooms, he also had a willingness—a need—to be a true partner.