Machine Gun Kelly Tops the Charts

Machine Gun Kelly has the number one album in the country:

Machine Gun Kelly’s Mainstream Sellout tops the Billboard 200 albums chart, as the set enters atop the list dated April 9 with 93,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending March 31, according to Luminate, formerly MRC Data. It’s the artist’s second leader, following his last release, 2020’s Tickets to My Downfall. All told, Mainstream Sellout is his sixth top 10 on the tally.

Liner Notes (April 3rd, 2022)

This week’s newsletter has thoughts on the 6th anniversary of Chorus, some commentary on music I listened to throughout the week (Taking Back Sunday, Elway, Hit Like a Girl), and a few other articles and things I found interesting this week. As always, there’s also a playlist of ten songs I enjoyed, 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.

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Brian Fallon Explains Why The Gaslight Anthem Have Reunited

Uproxx:

Well, I think it’s two sides that have always been there. Even on like the early, early records, like Sink Or Swim, you have “The Navesink Banks” and “Red At Night” that are more Americana. But I know that when I finished doing Local Honey, there was very strong sense of completion. When that record was done, I felt I had achieved something, whatever it was that I was working at. And I was like, “Well, chapter closed. What am I going to do now? You know what’s pretty cool? Rock music. Playing guitars. I want to turn up something to 10 and play. Kick an amp over or something. That sounds great right now.”

Nick Leng – “Morning / Midnight” and “My Mind Is A Mess In the Morning”

Nick Leng

Today I’m thrilled to share the new double single of “Morning / Midnight” as well as “My Mind is a Mess in the Morning” by a talented singer-songwriter named Nick Leng. Leng is currently supporting the artist, LP, on their Spring North American tour, and the interest in this artist couldn’t be higher with expansive songs like these two. Leng shared this about each song:

I’ve always had trouble writing quotes that summarize songs. It feels like the words can put songs in boxes, and possibly snuff out any personal interpretation a listener might have. In a similar way, when I was finished with ‘My Mind is a Mess in the Morning,’ and was thinking about releasing it as a single, it really excited me to pair it with ‘Morning / Midnight.’ They’re equally important to me, and, one might say, quite different. together, I felt like they painted a better picture of what I’m trying to say. 

’My Mind is a Mess in the Morning’ was written while I was living in Topanga in a trailer park which, subsequently, (and arguably hilariously) became rat infested prompting a hasty departure. ‘Morning / Midnight’ was started there as well one late night when I was chopping up a classical piano improvisational piece I had recorded, on a sampler. There’s a video on my Instagram of me playing the melodica in the intro in the morning and the sun peeked through that ended up in the final version. I had considered dividing that intro, with the chopped piano and the ‘second part’ when the beat comes in, into two songs, but the journey of the intro, and duality and sensation of when the bass and kick comes in, had a real story to it that it cemented the conviction that it’s one idea.

If you’re enjoying the two singles, please consider purchasing them from your favorite streaming service via SOTA Records.

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Interview: Craig Mabbitt of The Dead Rabbitts

Dead Rabbitts

Recently I was able to catch up with the lead vocalist of Escape the Fate and The Dead Rabbitts, Craig Mabbitt, before the release of the latter band’s third studio album called Rumination. In this interview I asked Craig about the differences between writing music for both bands, the touring plans for each project, working with veteran producer John Feldman, and he also shared about his recent sobriety that allowed him to see his career path in a much better light. I enjoyed my conversation with Craig as he shared insight on the writing behind both bands, and The Dead Rabbitts’ latest album, Rumination, hits the streets this Friday (April 1).

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