Neck Deep have released an animated video for “I Revolve (Around You).”
Read More “Neck Deep – “I Revolve (Around You)” Video”Jason Isbell Release Another Live Album
Jason Isbell has released another live album, Live at the Georgia Theatre – Athens, GA, on Bandcamp.
Read More “Jason Isbell Release Another Live Album”Movements Announce Lyric Sheet Contest
Movements have announced a contest to give away some lyric sheets from some of their songs.
Read More “Movements Announce Lyric Sheet Contest”Charli XCX Announces New Documentary
Charli XCX will be releasing a documentary, titled 6ft Apart, about the making of her latest album. Variety reports:
“It felt only natural to document myself making this album,” Charli says of the film. “I don’t think I’ve ever made music in such a unique situation: being so logistically far apart from my collaborators, but going through exactly the same thing, writing songs about my relationship with my boyfriend sitting in the next room, and being so connected to my fans in such an intense and creative way, it felt quite overwhelming and heartwarming all at the same time. So I wanted to film it all.
P.O.S. Stepping Away From Music
P.O.S. has issued an apology after various allegations were made against him. You can read his full statement below.
Read More “P.O.S. Stepping Away From Music”Rise Against Release Expanded Edition of ‘The Black Market’
Rise Against have released an expanded edition of The Black Market to all streaming services. It includes three b-sides.
Read More “Rise Against Release Expanded Edition of ‘The Black Market’”Only Sibling – “Native” Video
Only Sibling has released a video for “Native.”
Read More “Only Sibling – “Native” Video”MxPx – “Fever Dream” Video
MxPx has shared a video for the new song “Fever Dream.”
Read More “MxPx – “Fever Dream” Video”Hayley Williams Covers Bjork
Hayley Williams has shared a cover of Bjork’s “Unison.”
Read More “Hayley Williams Covers Bjork”Point North – “Personal”
Point North have shared the new song “Personal.”
Read More “Point North – “Personal””Hangtime – “When We Were Young” Video
Hangtime have released a video for “When We Were Young.”
Read More “Hangtime – “When We Were Young” Video”Back to 2011 (Re-Ranking the Best of Lists)
I used to think about the idea of ‘re-living’ a year. The mental game of knowing what you know now, and seeing what differences you could make in your life with various changes and the superpower of hindsight. After 2020, I don’t think about that much anymore; there are years that should be burned and the ground they’re buried within salted and forgotten. 2011 is a year like that for me; a year I’d spend years getting over.
As I look over the AbsolutePunk staff list from 2011, I’m reminded most of all these little dramatic moments this year inspired. Blink-182 finally released their reunion album, Neighborhoods, and it was instantly polarizing. Was it a great return? Was it garbage? Did the band desperately need an outside producer? Should they be forced to all be in a room writing together? It was virtually instant drama, swift speculation, and all of the excess noise seemed to hum louder than any real discussion of the music itself. And that wouldn’t be the only polarizing release this year. Thrice released Major/Minor, the only album of theirs I don’t unequivocally love, and would soon after take a hiatus. Thursday released No Devolución, a record many thought was a departure from their core sound (but one I’ve long championed as their best work), and then would also take a hiatus. Manchester Orchestra would release Simple Math, and to this day, I can’t tell you what the consensus around that album is. Is it loved? Hated? I feel like I’ve read every single take about that album and still don’t know how it’s thought of within the Manchester Orchestra fanbase. Patrick Stump went solo with Soul Punk, and arguments of selling out and comparisons to Fall Out Boy were inevitable. And then there were The Dangerous Summer at peak Drama Summer. They were one of the buzziest, most talked about, and most adored within our community bands. But those assholes just couldn’t seem to get out of their own way. War Paint is an undeniable album, but I look at my list from 2011, and I have it all the way down at number twenty-eight. I just couldn’t divorce the antics from the music and was so sick of their shit.
Read More “Back to 2011 (Re-Ranking the Best of Lists)”Why Music Still Matters
It’s easy at a time like this to start viewing music as trivial, as inessential, as disposable; as something we can cancel and forget. The last few months have been tough. They’ve delayed tours, eliminated annual festivals from the calendar, and left artists unable even to play bars for half-attentive audiences—let alone arenas for hordes of fans. They’ve cleared concert halls, halted opera and symphony seasons, and shut the lights down on Broadway. They’ve made album release days feel almost frivolous, because how can we spend our days talking about or digesting new music when the world seems to be falling apart around us? They’ve caused music writers in my Twitter feed to ponder out loud whether their jobs have meaning or relevance at a time like this. Amazon indirectly labeled books and music as inessential by calling a temporary halt to shipments of physical media like vinyl and CDs.
And yet, in other ways, the past four months have underlined why music matters so much. People in countries like Italy and Spain were quarantined and locked down, unable to interact with one another or even leave their homes. They found solace, connection, and communal emotion by playing or singing together from their balconies. We’ve perhaps never been so cognizant of the physical distances between us. I certainly can’t recall another situation where keeping apart from others was not just a personal choice but a mandate. And yet, music has been forging invisible bridges across those gaps in the air, allowing hearts and voices and melodies to join even in a year where “social distancing” has become a part of our collective vocabulary.
Read More “Why Music Still Matters”Tim McIlrath on New Podcast
Tim McIlrath of Rise Against is on the latest episode of the Chris Demakes a Podcast. (Overcast link.)
Grayscale Announce New EP
Grayscale will release the new EP, Live From The Barber Shop Studios, on July 29th. Today they’ve shared the video for the re-worked version of “Baby Blue.”
Read More “Grayscale Announce New EP”