The Juliana Theory are postponing their 20-year anniversary tour. Instead they’ve decided to reform the band and start writing a new album. Their statement can be found below.
The Juliana Theory Reunite; Cancel Tour Dates
Sainte – “Eyes Are Open” Video
Sainte have released a video for “Eyes Are Open.”
Arcade Fire – “Signs of Life” Video
Arcade Fire’s new song “Signs of Life” is up on Spotify and Apple Music and they’ve released a new video for the song as well.
St. Vincent – “New York”
St. Vincent has debuted their new song “New York.”
The Best of 2017 … So Far (Encore Episode 150)
On this week’s episode of Encore I am joined once again by special guest Craig Manning. This week our main topic is all about the best albums released in 2017 … so far. As we hit the midway mark of the year, it’s time for our annual tradition of discussing what albums we’ve fallen in love with during the first six months, what didn’t make the list, what we were anticipating and how those stacked up, and all that jazz. (There’s also a rant about movie theaters at the beginning because some people can’t put their phones away.)
What albums have you loved this year so far? We’d love to hear from you and see if there’s something new for us to discover as well. As always, thanks for listening.
Albums in Stores – Jun. 30th, 2017
Today sees new releases from LANY, The Japanese House, Sir Sly, and 88 Fingers Louie. If you hit read more you can see all the releases we have in our calendar for the week. Hit the quote bubble to access our forums and talk about what came out today, what albums you picked up, and to make mention of anything we may have missed.
The iPhone Turns 10
The iPhone turned 10 today. John Gruber over at Daring Fireball has a good piece:
There is no way to overstate it. The iPhone was the inflection point where “personal computing” truly became personal. Apple had amazing product introductions before the iPhone, and it’s had a few good ones after. But the iPhone was the only product introduction I’ve ever experienced that felt impossible. Apple couldn’t have shrunk Mac OS X — a Unix-based workstation OS — to a point where it could run on a cell phone. Scrolling couldn’t be that smooth and fluid. Touchscreen response couldn’t be so responsive. Apple couldn’t possibly have gotten a major carrier to cede them control over every aspect of the device, both hardware and software. I can recall sitting the hall at Moscone West, watching the keynote unfold, 90 percent excited as hell, 10 percent concerned that I was losing my goddamn mind. Literally mind-blowing.
Hayley Williams Talks with The Fader
The Fader has a pretty interesting interview with Hayley Williams of Paramore:
She tells me that after we spoke, she had a panic attack in her car. She apologizes profusely for how this encounter has played out, and tells me that she felt triggered when I asked about the fallout from the lawsuit with her former bandmate. She says that legal reasons make it difficult for her to know what she can and cannot say, and that it both bores her and stresses her out that every recent story about the band has focused on band drama and not on the songs. Fair enough. I keep digging, though, and eventually she admits it was more than that, but that she is having a hard time explaining, or figuring out for herself, what it is.
I offer to let her sleep on it, telling her I was now likely to write about this strange episode, and that it might be good if she provided a more fully realized account from her own perspective. This idea, to my surprise, seems to immediately pique her interest. She quickly agrees and we hug, then go bowling at a little neon spot that doesn’t seem to have changed the decor since the 1980s.
The entire thing is worth reading.
Tumblr’s Unclear Future
Brian Feldman, writing at New York Magazine:
The future of Tumblr is still an open question. The site is enormously popular among the coveted youth crowd — that’s partly why then-CEO Marissa Mayer paid $1 billion for the property in 2013 — but despite a user base near the size of Instagram’s, Tumblr never quite figured out how to make money at the level Facebook has led managers and shareholders to expect.
I haven’t read a Tumblr blog regularly since Property of Zack closed down. I haven’t even logged into my account in quite a while now. What’s the main Tumblr use case these days?
Warped Tour’s Wilmington, NC Date Was Canceled
Warped Tour’s Wilmington, NC date has been canceled.
From the Vans Warped Tour team, the bands, and all of our sponsors, we are truly sorry that this had to happen. We were completely blind-sided by the city of Wilmington, NC and have tried to work through everything as fast as we could.
Review: Pet Symmetry – Vision
The best albums are the ones that challenge you the most and, for the past month, Pet Symmetry’s Vision has truly been a challenge for me.
It’s not that I didn’t like it, or that it needed to grow on me. It’s that there’s quite a bit to unpack, despite the fact that the album is only 11 songs and 30 minutes long. I’ve started and re-started this review more times than I care to admit, because each listen through left me with more to say than I knew what to do with.
Though it’s a quick listen, Vision never once feels short or stunted, or like there might be something missing. On the contrary, Pet Symmetry’s songs feel complete in what is often an unusually brief amount of time.
Public Service Broadcasting Stream New Album
Public Service Broadcasting’s new album, Every Valley, is streaming on NPR. The album is due out next week.
Adele’s Note to Fans Confirms She May Not Tour Again
Adele has confirmed in a letter to fans that she may be taking a break from touring:
Touring is a peculiar thing, it doesn’t suit me particularly well. I’m a real homebody and I get so much joy in the small things. Plus I’m dramatic and have a terrible history of touring. Until now that is! I’ve done 119 shows and these last 4 will take me up to 123, it has been hard out an absolute thrill and pleasure to have done. I only ever did this tour for you and to hopefully have an impact on you the way that some of my favourite artist have had on me live. And I wanted my final shows to be in London because I don’t know if I’ll ever tour again and so I want my last time to be at home.
Camp Cope Sign With Run for Cover
Camp Cope have signed with Run for Cover Records.
The All-American Rejects Tease New Single; Talk New Album
The All-American Rejects are teasing a new single called “Sweat.” Lead singer Tyson Ritter sat down with Billboard to talk about the band’s upcoming album and what’s next for the band:
That’s all about to change. A pair of new songs — “Sweat” and “Close Your Eyes” — are due July 7, with their fifth full-length looming in the fall. We hopped on the phone with Ritter to get all the details: the benefits of pressing pause and ignoring outside pressures on your art, learning to love writing again, and returning to the project you’ve been wielding since adolescence.
And:
It’s not going to be the same Rejects record because it never is, if you’ve listened to one of our records. This time, to me, the visual offering is so important. The last five years of learning my craft as an actor and really developing that side of being a visual artist in that way has made me realize how important that really is — to put the eyes to the ears. This is going to be more of a visual experience. This record is going to be about your eyes and the headphones.
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