Portugal. The Man has released the new single “Denali.”
Read More “Portugal. The Man – “Denali””Portugal. The Man – “Denali”
Cut Copy – “Belong to You”
Cut Copy have shared the new single “Belong to You.”
Radiohead Announce New Tour
Radiohead have announced some new tour dates.
Read More “Radiohead Announce New Tour”The Origins of The Starting Line’s Name
Kenny from The Starting Line explains how the band got their name.
Read More “The Origins of The Starting Line’s Name”My Life In 35 Songs, Track 24: “The House That Heaven Built” by Japandroids
It’s a lifeless life, with no fixed address to give/But you’re not mine to die for anymore, so I must live.
“Last Call at 301.” That’s what my college roommates and I called the final party we threw at our apartment, one week before we graduated.
Over the course of our junior and senior years, the place my roommates and I shared had become something of a de-facto hangout spot among our friend group. That was partially because of our habit for hosting Super Smash Bros battles on weeknights, but mostly because my roommate Danny would just invite people over for impromptu dinner parties all the time, or study sessions, or movie nights, or cocktail hours. On any night of the week, there was a good chance of finding 2-6 guests in our living room. And so, while we had college bars that we loved – special shoutout to the Kalamazoo Beer Exchange, the coolest beer bar I ever frequented – it ultimately made the most sense for us to have our last big college hurrah at our place: Apartment 301.
My big responsibility for that party, other than chipping in for booze, was putting together the perfect party playlist for our big sendoff. I was absolutely up to the task. In a lot of ways, I’d been training for this moment my whole life. As this series attests, I have a habit for very carefully and deliberately soundtracking the big, climactic moments of my life, and this party was surely going to be one such moment. And while I knew most of the songs on the playlist had to be shared touchstones – tracks that would get a group full of college kids laughing, vibing, dancing, reminiscing, and singing along – I made sure to save one slot on the playlist just for me, so that I could play the Japandroids song “The House That Heaven Built” as loud as fucking possible in a room full of elated drunk people.
Read More “My Life In 35 Songs, Track 24: “The House That Heaven Built” by Japandroids”The Carolyn – “Routines” (Song Premiere)
Today I’m so excited to bring everyone the latest single from the Atlanta-based anthemic punk band, The Carolyn, called “Routines.” The Carolyn is Andrew Patrick (Guitar & Vocals), Oliver Conlon (Bass & Vocals), and Dave Mulazzi (Drums) and they capture the spirit of melodic punk bands like The Gaslight Anthem and The Menzingers, but with a sound of their own. The band is gearing up for the release of their third LP, Pyramid Scheme of Grief, which releases everywhere music is sold on October 3rd via 59 X Records. The Carolyn shared, “’Routines’ is about realizing you’ve been the architect of your own burnout — and still not changing a thing.” If you’re enjoying the early listen, please consider pre-ordering the vinyl of Pyramid Scheme of Grief here.
Read More “The Carolyn – “Routines” (Song Premiere)”Review: Dijon – Baby
The sophomore album from Baltimore, Maryland-based R&B artist, Dijon, Baby feels like a force of nature. The record is equal parts a concept record, since it largely reflects on him becoming a first-time father, as much as it is an exploration of the power of soul/gospel, all put on blend in a stunning concoction. The LP was largely self-produced by Dijon, with a few collaborations from Andrew Sarlo, BJ Burton, and a frequent Dijon collaborator in Mk.gee. Dijon intricately weaves in old school hip-hop samples, stellar production, and a soulful, almost-gospel esque approach to his vocal performance that transcends genre lines along the way. Baby was released with no preceding singles, and is meant to be listened to from front to back to fully absorb what Dijon created here. Sophomore albums typically don’t blow away the competition as much as what Dijon has accomplished here, and the widespread critical acclaim of Baby is 100% justified. Dijon offers a mesmerizing combination of experimental hip-hop, rap, soul and R&B, in one of this year’s best albums to date.
Read More “Dijon – Baby”New Armor For Sleep Coming
Ben from Armor For Sleep talked with DJ Rossstar and mentioned new music is on the horizon.
Read More “New Armor For Sleep Coming”Atom Willard on New Podcast
Atom Willard of Alkaline Trio is the latest guest on The Wasting Time Podcast.
Foxy Shazam Announce New Album
Foxy Shazam will release Box of Magic on October 6th. Today they’ve released “Magic.”
Read More “Foxy Shazam Announce New Album”Young the Giant Release New EP
Young the Giant have released In the Open Volume One to all streaming platforms.
The Annual State of Chorus.fm
I try and do an update once a year where I kind of check-in on the current state of the website. Last year told a similar story to the year before, costs had increased, ad revenue had decreased, and supporter revenue was solid and growing.
The past year is not that much different. Ad revenue is what it is and the new normal. It’s at least steady now. And membership revenue is the reason we are able to keep publishing. In almost every week supporting revenue is 2x-3x ad revenue.
The website’s costs have remained flat this year. I was able to put off upgrading any of the servers last year, but the forum server’s hard drive space is creeping upward (we’re now around 65% full, mostly from image attachments). In the next year I’ll probably need to offload some of these images to a secondary storage solution. Which will probably have an additional monthly cost.
Below are the last 52 weeks of revenue for the website—ad revenue in blue, supporter revenue in green. The big green spikes you see are the main recurring annual renewals each year. One is right around when I write this post each year, another is around the time when the website first launched, and the others are around the end of the year and previous site update posts.
Read More “The Annual State of Chorus.fm”Josh Ramsay Talks “Call Me Maybe”
Josh Ramsay of Marianas Trench breaks down writing and producing “Call Me Maybe” with Carly Rae Jepsen.
Read More “Josh Ramsay Talks “Call Me Maybe””Bandcamp’s Update on Tariffs
Bandcamp has updated their policy page with how tariffs will impact their customers. From an email sent out today:
Significant changes are coming to global tariffs (import taxes imposed by a government) that may impact how packages enter the United States.
In practice, this means fees may be applied to some types of merchandise on US-bound shipments, and some Bandcamp sellers may choose to temporarily pause shipments to the US.
Also, several international postal carriers are temporarily suspending delivery to the US. These restrictions do not come from the artists or labels but from global carriers.
Will Smith’s Concert Crowds, AI, and Where We’re Headed
Andy Baio has the best break down of the Will Smith AI(?)-crowd controversy I’ve seen:
This minute-long clip of a Will Smith concert is blowing up online for all the wrong reasons, with people accusing him of using AI to generate fake crowds filled with fake fans carrying fake signs. The story’s blown up a bit, with coverage in Rolling Stone, NME, The Independent, and Consequence of Sound.
[…]
But here’s where things get complicated.
The crowds are real. Every person you see in the video above started out as real footage of real fans, pulled from video of multiple Will Smith concerts during his recent European tour.