Rock
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The last thing you want to do when you’re not feeling well is fight internet trolls. But, there Paramore singer Hayley Williams was this weekend, hitting back at sexist haters who decided to criticize her for postponing four shows due to what she recently revealed was a lung infection.
“internet bros have been pressed by my proximity to rock music and all its subgenres since 2005,” she wrote in an Instagram Story according to People. “the only thing thats changed is the platform from which they spew their ignorance. don’t think for a second your fav bands – metal or punk or otherwise – endorse your weird incel ass lifestyle. so many of these bands have stood side stage at our shows and treat us with respect. why? bc they aren’t threatened by a strong woman front a great band in a completely diff genre of music.”
On Saturday, Williams gave an update on her health after the band rescheduled four shows in the U.S. due to what was originally described as an illness within the band. “We kick back up Saturday in Tulsa (!!!) after a week of misery, sadness, and bellyfuls of antibiotics and steroids,” Williams wrote, referring to the group’s July 29 concert at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. “For the record, we did not have food poisoning or a band-wide s— fest.”
On July 22, the band postponed a gig in San Francisco just hours before showtime before postponing three more shows in Seattle, Portland and Salt Lake City; all four were rescheduled for this month.
“In all seriousness, this past week has been really tough,” she added in her original post. “Nobody would know this but I started getting sick in Houston (non contagious) and muscled my way all the way through LA. Adrenaline is a wonder! But by the time the excitement and the nerves from all the LA shenanigans wore off, my body just gave out.”
Williams’ since-expired Sunday Story also included a screenshot of a tweet in which someone noted that Metallica and Iron Maiden still “manage” to play shows when they are sick, “all of which are much older than you love.”
“Neither [Metallica singer] James [Hetfield] NOR [Iron Maiden singer] Bruce [Dickinson] are gonna suck your d–k for this, LOVE,” Williams shot back. She also responded to another commenter who noted that Foo Fighters singer Dave Grohl came back on stage and performed after falling off a stage and breaking his leg in 2015.
Williams didn’t have time for that one, either. “I have a lung infection you soft s—! Not a broken limb,” she wrote to the person who called her “whiney,” noting, “One you can sing with for 2 hours, another you cant. But worry not! The shows weren’t canceled, merely postponed a week. Maybe you should come out to one of them… like Dave did.”
The latter was a reference to Paramore’s set at Bonnaroo last month during which Williams invited Grohl up to sing a cover of his band’s fan favorite “My Hero.”
Less than two weeks after the Good Vibes Festival was canceled by Malaysian authorities following The 1975 singer Matty Healy’s same-sex onstage kiss with a bandmate, the band’s envelope-pushing singer seemed to have thoughts on another rock group’s actions in the country with notoriously strict anti-LGBTQ laws. According to NME, Healy weighed in on Muse‘s […]
Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl welcomed Alanis Morissette to the band’s stage this weekend at the 2023 Fuji Rock Festival at Japan’s Naeba Ski Resort. Together, they honored the late Sinead O’Connor with a live cover of “Mandinka,” which was an early single of O’Connor’s from her debut album, The Lion and the Cobra. Explore […]
Staind returns to No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart for the first time in over a decade with “Lowest in Me,” which rises to the top spot on the Aug. 5-dated ranking.
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The song is the Aaron Lewis-fronted band’s first ruler since “Not Again,” which led for seven weeks in 2011.
Staind now boasts five No. 1s, beginning with “It’s Been Awhile,” the second-longest-leading hit in the chart’s history, at 20 weeks in 2001. (3 Doors Down‘s “Loser” is the record winner: 21 weeks at No. 1 in 2000-01.) Staind also led with “So Far Away” in 2003 and “Right Here” in 2005.
In between “Not Again” and “Lowest in Me,” Staind hit Mainstream Rock Airplay with three titles, paced by the No. 5-peaking “Eyes Wide Open” in 2012. Lewis has also charted songs solo on both Mainstream Rock Airplay and Country Airplay between 2000 and 2021.
Concurrently, “Lowest in Me” bullets at its No. 4 best on the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay survey with 4.1 million audience impressions, up 3%, July 21-27, according to Luminate. It’s tied for the band’s top-charting song on the ranking, which began in 2009, equaling the peak of “Not Again.”
In addition to its mainstream rock radio airplay, “Lowest in Me” has so far appeared on the Alternative Airplay survey for a week at No. 40 (July 29).
The most recently published multi-metric Hot Hard Rock Songs chart (dated July 29) found “Lowest in Me” at a new No. 13 high; in addition to its radio airplay, the song earned 422,000 official U.S. streams and sold 1,000 downloads in the July 14-20 tracking week.
“Lowest in Me” is the lead single from Confessions of the Fallen, Staind’s eighth studio album and first since 2011’s self-titled effort. It’s due Sept. 15.
All Aug. 5-dated Billboard airplay charts will update on Billboard.com on Tuesday, Aug. 1.
Beck and Phoenix’s collaborative single “Odyssey” hits No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult Alternative Airplay chart dated Aug. 5.
The song is Beck’s fifth No. 1 on Adult Alternative Airplay and first since “Uneventful Days,” which ruled for five weeks beginning in December 2019. He has also led with “Blue Moon” (2014), “Dreams” (2015) and “Up All Night” (2017).
In between “Uneventful Days” and “Odyssey,” Beck appeared on Adult Alternative Airplay twice, via a featured credit on Gorillaz’s “The Valley of the Pagans” (No. 17 peak, 2021) and his own “Thinking About You” (No. 5 this March).
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As for Phoenix, “Odyssey” is the band’s fourth Adult Alternative Airplay No. 1. The first three reigned in a three-in-a-row streak spanning “Identical” (2020), “Alpha Zulu” and “Tonight” featuring Ezra Koenig (both 2022).
In between “Tonight” and “Odyssey,” Phoenix placed on the chart with “After Midnight,” featuring Clairo, a No. 26 hit this May.
“Odyssey” is the first Adult Alternative Airplay No. 1 to feature more than one lead act since “Don’t Let Me Down” by Milky Chance and Jack Johnson, which ruled in July 2020.
Belying its title, “Odyssey” tops Adult Alternative Airplay in just its fifth week on the chart, the quickest coronation this year and Phoenix’s fastest flight among its four No. 1s.
Concurrently, “Odyssey” bullets at its No. 30 high on the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay survey with 1.4 million audience impressions, up 5%, July 21-27, according to Luminate. In addition to its triple A radio airplay, the song is bubbling under Alternative Airplay.
“Odyssey” is currently a standalone single helping promote the acts’ co-headlining tour, which kicks off Aug. 1 in Seattle. Phoenix released the album Alpha Zulu last year, while Beck last premiered a full-length with Hyperspace in 2019.
All Aug. 5-dated Billboard airplay charts will refresh on Billboard.com on Tuesday, Aug. 1.
Pierce the Veil hits No. 1 on a Billboard radio airplay chart for the first time, as “Emergency Contact” climbs from No. 3 to the top of the Alternative Airplay tally dated Aug. 5.
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The song reaches the summit in its 28th chart week, completing the second-longest trip to No. 1 this year, after Weezer’s “Records” took 29 weeks.
Before “Emergency Contact,” Pierce the Veil had appeared on Alternative Airplay once, with “Circles,” which peaked at No. 31 in 2016.
One other song from the band had made an airplay survey: “Pass the Nirvana” reached No. 39 on Mainstream Rock Airplay in 2022.
Prior to “Emergency Contact,” the band last boasted a Billboard song chart No. 1 with “King for a Day,” featuring Kellin Quinn. The collab led Hard Rock Streaming Songs for a week in August 2022 following its revival on user-generated content platforms such as TikTok. The act’s other No. 1, “The Divine Zero,” ruled Hard Rock Digital Song Sales for a week in 2015.
Concurrently, “Emergency Contact” vaults 17-12 on the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay survey with 2.4 million audience impressions, up 7%, July 21-27, according to Luminate.
On the most recently published multi-metric Hot Hard Rock Songs chart (dated July 29), “Emergency Contact” ranked at No. 18. In addition to its radio airplay, the song earned 492,000 official U.S. streams in the July 14-20 tracking period.
“Emergency Contact” is from The Jaws of Life, Pierce the Veil’s fifth studio album. The set debuted at No. 1 on Top Hard Rock Albums in February and has earned 112,000 equivalent album units to date.
Neal Langford, former bassist for The Shins, has died at age 50. The group’s lead singer, James Mercer, confirmed the news in a Thursday (July 27) Instagram post to the band’s official account.
“Just want to let you guys know one of the best friends I’ve ever had has passed,” Mercer captioned a black-and-white photo of Langford playing his bass on stage. “He was in several bands with me including the Shins. A very important figure in my life you could say. I mean this is the guy who talked me into getting over my shyness and up on the stage. He put me in front of the microphone!”
Mercer continued, “He was the catholic school kid who showed me how to sneak into the back of the old El Rey theatre and get a ‘free’ beer. An invaluable person! Who turned me onto Dinosaur Jr. and Interview Magazine and the Cocteau Twins and countless other piles of cool stuff. … There’s too much to the story but I loved him. And I owe him a lot. Neal Langford you were always loved and you always will be.”
NBC affiliate WITN in North Carolina reports that the musician, who was also a well-known hot air balloonist and co-owner of IBX Balloon Flight, was found him dead in Bath Creek near a private dock on July 21 by law enforcement in Beaufort County. Foul play is not suspected, and a cause of death was not revealed.
The bassist’s last update on his Instagram account came on June 23, when he shared a certificate of completion for successfully finishing a treatment program at the Walter B. Jones Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment Center in Greenville, N.C.
Langford and Mercer played together in a band called Flake — eventually renamed Flake Music — in 1992 that was based in Albuquerque, N.M. The band released one album, 1997’s When You Land Here, It’s Time to Return, that was later reissued by Sub Pop Records. The Shins was developed as a side project by Mercer and Flake Music drummer Jesse Sandoval in 1996; Langford joined the band in 1999 after Flake Music disbanded and former Shins members Dave Hernandez and Ron Skrasek left the band.
The bassist notably played on the group’s debut album Oh! Inverted World. The release — now regarded as a classic of the indie rock genre — peaked at No. 19 on Billboard‘s Top Alternative Albums chart and was later certified platinum by RIAA. The LP’s lead single, “New Slang,” was featured in the 2004 movie Garden State starring Natalie Portman.
See Mercer’s tribute post to Langford below.
As he gears up to release his new album Austin Friday (July 28), Post Malone wants to set the record straight. In his Wednesday (July 26) interview with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe, the 28-year-old singer-rapper opened up about his drug and alcohol usage, emphasizing that — while he may have gone a little wild in the earlier days of his career — it’s definitely not what it used to be.
“I mean, first off, I shouldn’t have to really justify anything to anyone, but I appreciate the concerns,” he began, sitting casually on a couch with Lowe. “But then the rumor starts that I’m doing hard drugs, which I’ve never done in my entire life.”
“Yeah, I take shrooms … I like shrooms,” explained the musician, confirming he made his last album, Twelve Carat Toothache, while taking the psychedelics. “I like shrooms. Not as much as I used to. It’s really affected my short-term memory. … Maybe it was just a stint of habitual overuse. Daily.”
“But now I take a little bar of chocolate with my buddies, a little square chocolate and just laugh and laugh and laugh,” he added. “It’s interesting because it’s improved. It has improved my view on things. Making the last record, I was so, so, so … Well, writing it, I was so, so sad. But now I’m so happy and it’s definitely improved my viewpoint on life.”
The “White Iverson” artist also gave an update on his current relationship to alcohol, which he noted is “very much” a weakness for him. “It’s very frustrating,” Post admitted. “I have a very hard time expressing myself via recording if I’m not a little f–ked up. It’s a good spot now because if I’m not recording or I’m not talking to people or if I’m not doing shows, I really do drink just to have fun. It’s having a beer with my dad or with my bud.”
Posty also acknowledged that family life with his fiancée, with whom he welcomed a daughter last year, has helped to keep him grounded. “I really love hanging out with my baby, hanging out with the lady, playing video games, and in my garage working on projects,” he told Lowe. “That’s what I love to do. And so it hasn’t been that hard, but there’s times to where you have … It’s that one drink that sets you over.”
The interview comes just a couple months after the “Circles” singer took to Instagram to deny he was using drugs, which fans speculated was the reason behind his recent weight loss. “I’m having a lot of fun performing, and have never felt healthier,” he said at the time. “i guess dad life kicked in and i decided to kick soda, and start eating better so i can be around for a long time for this little angel.”
“The difference is I don’t rage in social settings,” Post told Lowe. “It’s usually me and a buddy. And we just stay up super late until the sunrise and we’re just drinking and sitting out on the car and just hanging out listening to music. I used to go nuts, and this is significantly better. There used to be a time, especially at the beginning of our relationship, that I would just disappear and just go for a week. And I was like, oh man, that’s so sh–ty.”
Watch Post Malone’s interview with Zane Lowe above.
Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” soars in at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Alternative Songs chart dated July 29 following its first full week of streaming, sales and airplay. In the July 14-20 tracking week, “What Was I Made For?” earned 11.4 million official U.S. streams and 699,000 radio audience impressions and sold […]
A week after political punk band Anti-Flag disbanded with no explanation, the group’s singer, Justin Sane (born Justin Geever), posted a lengthy message to Instagram explaining the reasoning behind their split. Geever acknowledged in the note that he has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman, an allegation he vehemently denies.
“Recently, there have been claims of sexual assault made against me and I can tell you that these stories are categorically false,” he wrote of the anonymous allegations that Billboard has not independently verified. “I have never engaged in a sexual relationship that was not consensual, nor have I ever been approached by a woman after a sexual encounter and been told I had in any way acted without her consent or violated her in any way.”
After taking several days to “absorb the initial shock,” Geever said he decided to confront the claims; the other members of Anti-Flag posted their own statement on Geever’s Instagram as well, less than a week after the band deleted their official website and all their social media accounts with no explanation.
“Sexual assault is real and has a devasting impact on victims,” Geever continued. “I have devoted my entire adult life to standing up for these victims as well as those suffering oppression and inequality, who are victimized, demeaned, and abused. I have always been, and will always be, that person. The statements being told about me are the antithesis of what I believe and how I have conducted myself throughout my life.”
As for the band’s surprise split, Geever said they decided that under the circumstances “it would be impossible to continue,” thanking his friends, family and the fans, musicians and other bands who’ve reached out to him with support.
According to Pitchfork, some publications linked the band’s breakup last week to a podcast in which a woman alleged she was sexually assaulted by the singer of a political punk band; reportedly, neither Geever nor Anti-Flag were directly mentioned.
The second statement, attributed to members drummer Pat Thetic, guitarist Chris Head and bassist Chris “No. 2” Barker, noted that throughout the Pittsburgh-bred band’s 30-plus year career, “A core tenet of the band Anti-Flag is to listen to and believe all survivors of sexual violence and abuse. The recent allegations about Justin are in direct contradiction to that tenet. Therefore, we felt the only immediate option was to disband.”
The trio said that they have been “shocked, confused, saddened and absolutely heartbroken” from the moment the allegations emerged. “While we believe this is extremely serious, in the last 30 years we have never seen Justin be violent or aggressive toward women. This experience has shaken us to our core,” they wrote.
“We understand and apologize that this response may not have been quick enough for some people. This is new territory for all of us and it is taking time for us to process the situation,” they said. “It was a privilege for us to be in the band Anti-Flag, as we seek to find our path forward we wish healing to all survivors.”
Anti-Flag was set to kick off a now-canceled North American tour alongside The Bouncing Souls later this year; the band was in the midst of a European tour when the news of their disbandment broke.
Read Geever and the band’s statements below.
Stories about sexual assault allegations can be traumatizing for survivors of sexual assault. If you or anyone you know needs support, you can reach out to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). The organization provides free, confidential support to sexual assault victims. Call RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE) or visit the anti-sexual violence organization’s website for more information.