Rock
Page: 177
“If you had asked me 50 years ago what I would be doing in a year, I wouldn’t have had an answer,” says Michael Rother over Zoom from his partner’s house in Pisa, Italy. Although he would never have imagined it when he recorded the first Neu! album, Rother will soon begin a short tour to mark the 50th anniversary of the band, which he formed with drummer Klaus Dinger. There’s also a box set of the band’s three albums and a collection of remixes. All of which, Rother says, would have been almost impossible to imagine back in 1972.
When Neu! went into the studio to record its self-titled debut album with Conny Plank, who worked on many of the era’s iconic Krautrock albums, “we were very ambitious with the intention to create a new music,” Rother says. At the time, traditional German pop sounded backward, sometimes even tainted by the country’s history, and the Anglo-American rock that was popular globally seemed obviously imported. Along with other Krautrock pioneers, Rother, who had already played in Kraftwerk, wanted to develop a new kind of pop that would be formally innovative but also accessible – think rock with Mitteleuropean characteristics.
“It was the result of very clear thinking about moving away from Anglo-American rock and pop,” Rother says. “But whether it could become influential didn’t even cross my mind. The first objective was to be happy with the result.”
He was. When Rother returned home to Düsseldorf, he played it for his mother, brother and girlfriend and realized “it sounds really good,” he remembers. “That was my memory.”
It was more than “good” — Neu! sounded revolutionary. From the first track, “Hallogallo,” the music was driven by Dinger’s propulsive drumming, which came to be called the motorik beat. Rother and Dinger, who died in 2008, freed the musical vocabulary of rock from the verse-chorus-verse form and let it soar – sometimes, as on “Hallogallo,” in a way that could also be catchy.
Neu! sold decently in what was then West Germany, and Rother and Dinger followed up with Neu! 2 in 1973 and Neu! ‘75 in, yes, 1975. The albums won a small but dedicated following in the U.K. and then the U.S. as well. Along with some other German Krautrock bands – Can and Faust, most prominently – they brought an inventive, experimental approach to psychedelic rock at a time when it was starting to feel stale.
All three Neu! albums are collected on the 50th anniversary box set, along with an album of remixes, which Rother is celebrating with a series of concerts – Oct. 26 in Berlin, Nov. 3 in London, followed by shows in Barcelona and Paris, and maybe more – with different guests in each city. Neu!, once considered somewhat obscure, is arguably as influential and important as ever.
More than other Krautrock bands, Neu! became something of a myth, partly because their albums fell out of print in the ‘80s and ‘90s as Rother and Dinger had a falling out. Dinger, who started the band La Düsseldorf after Neu!, became known as a genius who was eccentric, sometimes hard to get along with.
One day, Rother remembers, he received a fax that a new Neu! album was coming out in Japan – which he hadn’t approved. Meanwhile, the rights to the group’s original three albums were stuck in legal limbo. They were reissued in 2001 thanks to the efforts of Herbert Grönemeyer, a mainstream German rock star who runs the Grönland label. “He was told, this band is these two German guys, they fight about everything, they will never release the music,” Rother says. “But I think this spurred his determination.”
He first got Dinger and Rother to agree to include solo songs from each, plus a Neu! track, on a compilation of German rock he produced, then started asking them about reissues. “I think it took him one and a half years of meetings, talking like a psych therapist to us,” Rother says.
Rother has always been active – he joined Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius from Cluster in the band Harmonia, which released two iconic albums in the mid-1970s, then started a solo career. From 1977 to 1987, he steadily released solo albums – which sold well in the German-speaking world but barely at all outside it.
“Neu! was more popular outside Germany and my music was more popular in Germany,” Rother says. “Harmonia was ignored but my music took off like a rocket.” He pauses. “Well, the comparison with a rocket is a bit misleading. A slow-burning rocket. A tractor-rocket.”
Rother’s last two albums – the 2020 solo set Dreaming and the 2021 duet with his partner, Vittoria Maccabruni, As Long as the Light, came out on Grönland, which has also released two box sets of his solo albums. But he’s also looking forward to revisiting his history. “I feel fortunate that I met all of these musicians,” he says, “and I feel fortunate to have that history.” He pauses. “It’s 50 years,” he says. “Sounds a bit strange.”
Death Cab for Cutie tops Billboard‘s Alternative Airplay chart for the first time in a decade with “Here to Forever,” which rises to No. 1 on the tally dated Oct. 22.
The song is the Ben Gibbard-led band’s second Alternative Airplay leader, after “You Are a Tourist” notched a week on top in July 2011. The break between No. 1s marks the longest since Beck went 12 years, eight months and two weeks between the reigns of “E-Pro” in April 2005 and “Up All Night” in December 2017.
In between “Tourist” and “Forever,” Death Cab for Cutie reached Alternative Airplay six times, with three top 10s in that span, paced by the No. 2-peaking “Black Sun” in 2015.
“This kind of amazing news is something we never expect but are beyond happy to receive,” the band shared in a statement to Billboard. “A huge thank you to our stellar team at Atlantic Records for this accomplishment.”
Alternative Airplay is the second airplay chart that “Forever” has conquered in 2022. It ruled Adult Alternative Airplay for eight weeks beginning in August (and currently ranks at No. 3), having become the group’s seventh No. 1 on the survey.
On the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart, “Forever” bullets at No. 3, after reaching No. 2, with 3.7 million audience impressions, up 2%, according to Luminate.
“Forever” is the lead single from Asphalt Meadows, Death Cab for Cutie’s 10th studio album. The set debuted at No. 4 on the Top Alternative Albums chart dated Oct. 1 and has earned 27,000 equivalent album units to date.
Blink-182‘s “Edging” marks the highest debut on Billboard‘s Rock & Alternative Airplay chart in over eight years, as the band’s reunion single with Tom DeLonge starts at No. 2 on the Oct. 22-dated survey.
“Edging” earned 3.9 million audience impressions in the tracking week ending Oct. 16, according to Luminate, a sum achieved in just three days, as the song was released Oct. 14.
Just eight songs have debuted in the top two of Rock & Alternative Airplay in the chart’s 13-year history. The last was The Black Keys‘ “Fever,” which bowed at No. 2 on the tally dated April 12, 2014.
“Edging” already ties Blink-182’s top-ranking song on the list, “Bored to Death,” which peaked at No. 2 in 2016.
The new track’s strong start is sparked by its No. 12 debut on Alternative Airplay, the band’s best bow, topping “Death” and its No. 18 arrival. “Edging” logs the chart’s highest entrance since Twenty One Pilots‘ “Shy Away” started at No. 11 in April 2021.
“Edging” also begins at No. 33 on Mainstream Rock Airplay.
More chart action for “Edging” will be reflected on Oct. 29-dated rankings, reflecting the song’s first week of streams and sales and its first full week of airplay (Oct. 14-20).
“Edging” marks DeLonge’s return to Blink-182 as its guitarist and co-lead singer after departing in 2015. Alkaline Trio‘s Matt Skiba had filled in on the band’s last two albums, 2016’s California and 2019’s Nine.
Car Seat Headrest singer Will Toledo told fans on Tuesday (Oct. 18) that he is unable to embark on the band’s planned West Coast U.S. tour and an appearance at this weekend’s When We Were Young festival due to what he described as ongoing serious health issues.
“After another month of struggling to regain my health, I am currently forced to face the fact that my body lacks the basic levels of functionality necessary to leave the house most days, let along embark on a tour,” Toledo wrote in a note to fans.
Though the 30-year-old singer did not specify what is ailing him, he said as a result of his illness they’ve been forced to pull out of the all-star When We Were Young event at the Las Vegas Festival Ground (Oct. 22, 23, 29) slated to feature sets from Paramore, My Chemical Romance, AFI, Hawthorne Heights, Jimmy Eat World, Bright Eyes, The Linda Lindas, Manchester Orchestra, The Used and many more.
“We are unfortunately forced to pull out of the When We Were Young festival dates and cancel our upcoming California tour,” Toledo noted of scheduled October dates in Pioneertown, CA (Oct. 20), Los Angeles (Oct. 25), San Diego (Oct. 26) and Santa Ana (Oct. 27). Refunds for the headlining dates will be available at point of purchase.
The band also pulled out of the Frantic City Fest in New Jersey on Sept. 24 citing unspecified “continued health issues as well as a planned Sept. 2 slot at Out of Space in Evanston, Illinois due to a rebound case of the post-COVID condition “histamine intolerance,” which Toledo said involves “heavy nausea, fatigue, dizziness and a ‘buzzing’ nervous system.”
Check out Toledo’s note below.
Jack Black made a 15-year-old fan’s day by giving him the most rocking of surprises. While hosting this year’s Layla Paige and Friends Walk for TinityKids Care charity event to raise funds for a hospice program that provides end-of-life care for children in the L.A. area, Black met terminally ill superfan Abraham, whose favorite movie happens to be Black’s 2003 musical comedy School of Rock.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
After finding out that Abraham’s favorite song from the film was “The Legend of the Rent,” Black bent down, held the teen’s hand and belted out a bit of the tune, crooning, “In the end of time/ There was a man/ Who knew the road/ And the writing/ Was written on the stone.” Abraham nodded and smiled as Black not only sung the tune, but also scatted the guitar part, which the teen then repeated back to him.
Black played hapless teacher Dewey Finn in the movie, which earned him an MTV Video Music Award for best comedic performance and a Golden Globe nomination for best actor in a comedy/musical. The annual walk celebrates the life of Layla Paige, a two-year-old who died of an incurable brain disorder who received treatment at TrinityKids Care. “Not only did they take care of Layla, but provided incredible emotional support to her parents and brother Luke,” Black said in a video promoting the walk.
Black comedy rock duo, Tenacious D, are slated to rock New Year’s Eve at the Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas on Dec. 30 and 31st.
Check out the footage of the inspiring moment uploaded by Upworthy below.
First, Blink-182 reunited with Tom DeLonge, then gave us new music in the form of “Edging,” with its official music video. The skate-punk favorites give us a little more action, this time with the “alternate version” of “Edging.”
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Cole Bennett returns to direct the fun new clip, which features the trio at a circus, surrounded by adults dressed as bunnies, and cameos from Lil Tracy and Bennett himself.
Matters take a dark turn, as DeLonge, Mark Hoppus, and Travis Barker showcase their knife-throwing skills with the rabbits the hapless targets.
It’s more Monty Python than Donnie Darko, as the floppy-eared friends get taken out.
“Oh no, look at the mess we started,” sings DeLonge and Hoppus. Indeed.
Bennett, the Lyrical Lemonade chief, videographer and music video director, has worked on music videos for Juice Wrld, Jack Harlow, Lil Durk, The Kid Laroi and many more.
Blink is very much back. Just last week, the rockers announced that the group’s classic lineup would reunite for a new album, led by “Edging,” marking the first time in a decade that the three founders had been in the studio together.
DeLonge, who had previously left the group in 2014 and was replaced by Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba, tweeted that “‘Edging’ is fun, and a perfect way to remind u of the fun again. But just u f—ing wait.”
A world tour will follow. Produced by Live Nation, the global jaunt includes the trio’s first-ever performances in Latin America along with runs in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand starting March 2023 and running through February 2024.
The Australia tour announcement, LN reports, “has received an extraordinary response from fans” as three extra arena dates are added to the itinerary.
Watch the “alternate version” of “Edging” below.
Rockabilly revivalist Robert Gordon, whose albums with guitar greats Link Wray and Chris Spedding helped solidify his place in rock history and carry the genre over several decades, died Tuesday (Oct. 18) at Don Greene Hospice in New York City following a diagnosis of leukemia, according to Gordon’s friend and colleague Sam Grosso. He was 75.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Gordon’s most recent album was 2020’s Rockabilly For Life, which featured Spedding, Paul Shaffer, Albert Lee, James Williamson, Linda Gail Lewis, Kathy Valentine and others. He was slated to perform some dates in the U.S. and Canada this past summer with Spedding, Anton Fig and Tony Garnier, but was forced to cancel due to health issues related to his leukemia.
“Heartbreaking news about Robert Gordon passing away,” wrote Lou Molinaro, owner of the Hamilton, Ontario venue This Ain’t Hollywood, on Facebook. “He was like family at This Ain’t Hollywood. I will miss his ‘check one one. Uh huh’ during soundchecks. Gordie and I LOVED those moments. Wish I had one last chance to bring him back to Hamilton. Goodbye Robert.”
“Never in my wildest dreams would I ever think listening to his records as a teenager I would forge a working relationship and friendship with this rockabilly legend,” Grosso, former owner of Toronto’s Cadillac Lounge and current owner of the city’s Sam’s Place, says in an email. “So many great shows and so many wild stories. I will miss him dearly. Robert performed at the Cadillac Lounge more than any other venue [and] every show was sold out.”
Born in Bethesda, Maryland, Gordon was drawn to rock ‘n’ roll after he heard Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel” at age nine. He soon dug into the music of Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochrane and others ’50s greats and cut his first recording at 17 singing with a band called The Confidentials. His career ramped up after he relocated to New York City and joined the punk band Tuff Darts (which can be heard on the 1976 album Live At CBGBs alongside tracks by Mink DeVille, Sun Ra and others).
In 1977, Gordon cut his debut “solo” album, Robert Gordon With Link Wray, and followed with several others, including 1978’s Fresh Fish Special (with Wray), which also includes Presley’s famed background singers The Jordanaires and Bruce Springsteen, who played on Gordon’s rendition of the Springsteen-penned track “Fire.” An ad in Billboard that ran on March 11, 1978, read, in part: “Robert Gordon, the new voice of Rock and Roll, and Link Wray, the legendary guitarist, are together again! FRESH FISH SPECIAL follows their red hot first album – and it’s a killer! Bruce Springsteen wrote a song for it. Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran and Jack Scott are faithfully remembered in it.”
In 1979, Gordon released Rock Billy Boogie, which peaked at No. 106 on the Billboard 200. That was quickly followed by 1980’s Bad Boy and 1981’s Are You Gonna Be The One, which included the single “Someday, Someway,” which peaked at No. 76 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 1982, Gordon ventured into acting, co-starring in outlaw biker flick The Loveless opposite Willem Dafoe. Gordon can also be seen performing with his band in a 1981 skit for Canadian sketch comedy show SCTV, in which he’s mistaken for astronaut Gordon Cooper.
Since then, Gordon has released nearly 20 albums, including live recordings and international releases. He also continued to tour; his last live show was in February.
“RIP in my dear friend Robert Gordon,” wrote Danny B. Harvey of the 69 Cats on Facebook. “It was your music that brought me to Rockabilly and it was an honor to produce and play guitar on your final endeavor! One thing everyone that’s ever met you can agree on, is you were one of a kind and they broke the mold after you were created. Say hello to Link for us . F*ck ‘Rockabilly for Life’, ‘Rockabilly Forever’ Ok?”
In a lengthy Facebook post, musician Steve Conte began: “RIP RG. Sad news, Robert Gordon the Rockabilly icon has passed. That voice, now silenced. His take on Rockabilly Boogie, Black Slacks, Red Hot, The Way I Walk, It’s Only Make Believe and other classics won’t be heard again in venues on earth, but luckily we’ve still got the records.”
Noting that Gordon was one of his “favorite NYC singers,” Conte added that several years ago, Gordon asked him to replace the guitarist Spedding in his band. But in early September, he got a call from Gordon’s tour manager Bill Moser that Gordon had been “diagnosed with an aggressive form of Leukemia. And this was after he’d just gone through major heart surgery and was just getting over that surgery.
“I knew he was not doing well and perhaps didn’t have long so getting in touch with him was on my’ ‘to do’ list, but this morning I got the call that I missed my chance,” Conte added. “Rest In Peace Robert.”
Greta Van Fleet have been forced to postpone a trio of shows after singer Josh Kiszka ruptured his eardrum during a show in Bangor, Maine earlier this month. “It’s with a heavy heart that we must reschedule our shows this upcoming week,” the band wrote in a statement.
“During our last show in Bangor [on Oct. 8], I ruptured an eardrum and upon further evaluation I have just been advised it needs more time to fully heal than initially anticipated. I’m working closely with my team to ensure I get proper rest in order to finish out the year strong.” The group said they are working on rescheduling the dates as soon as possible.
The affected shows were slated on Tuesday(Oct. 18) in Raleigh, North Carolina, Wednesday (Oct. 19) in Greenville, South Carolina and Oct. 21 in Jacksonville, Florida. “I’m gutted to have to do this and I cannot begin to express how much I appreciate the love and support you give us every night,” Kiszka told fans. “It’s devastating me to make this announcement, but know it’s imperative in order to keep performing.” The band encouraged fans who will want to see them to hold on to their tickets, or to seek a refund at point of purchase.
According to GVF’s updated tour scheduled, their next date will be at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida on Oct. 25; at press time it was unclear if an announced Oct. 22 show in Estero, Florida at Hertz Arena is still on.
Back in March the band postponed the eight remaining dates on their Dreams in Gold tour after guitarist Jake Kiszka was hospitalized with pneumonia.
See the band’s post below.
Imagine Dragons informed fans on Monday (Oct. 17) that they’ve been forced to postpone the planned South American leg of their Mercury World tour due to a number of ailments affecting singer Dan Reynolds. “We are very sorry to share that we have to postpone our Latin American shows,” they wrote in a tweet announcing the news.
“In our 12 years as a band, we’ve never had to cancel a tour (and could count the number of shows on one hand),” they continued. “We hope you guys know how hard it is for us to postpone these dates, and we plan to make it up to you soon.” The band explained that Reynolds’ recent struggles with hemorrhaged vocal cords and a vocal nodule that have lingered since the last leg of the tour have become serious enough that his doctors have warned that hitting the road now could cause a “rupture and irreparably harm his voice.”
In addition, Reynolds is now also unexpectedly dealing with a “fairly serious” tear in the LCL (lateral collateral ligament) in his knee that will require a brace and extensive physical therapy. “We just can’t give you the show you expect and deserve right now,” they wrote.
“We will keep everyone updates as we figure out new dates, and we are so sorry for those who made travel and other plans to see us,” they concluded, saying refunds will be made available to those who can’t travel to the as-yet-unscheduled make-up dates. The South American swing was slated to kick off on Tuesday (Oct. 18) in Bogota, Colombia at Coliseo Live and include dates in Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
See the statement below.
“Once Bruce walks out on stage, the only question in my mind is: is this going to be an absolutely great show, one of the greatest shows he’s ever done or the greatest show he’s ever done? That’s the range,” says Bruce Springsteen’s longtime manager Jon Landau in a video at the new Bruce Springsteen Live! Exhibit at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
While that may be a bit (but only a little) hyperbolic, The Boss is renowned for both the high caliber and marathon duration of his concerts, and the exhibit — which officially opens Saturday (Oct. 15) and runs through April 2 — gives fans a backstage pass to five decades of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s live shows, including rare memorabilia and clothing, instruments, photographs and interactive displays. The exhibit was co-curated by the Grammy Museum and Eileen Chapman, director of the Bruce Springsteen Archives & the Center for American Music at Monmouth University.
As Springsteen and his band get ready to return to the road next year for the first time since 2017 (excluding his solo runs on Broadways in 2018 and 2021), the exhibit serves as the perfect way for fans to whet their appetite. Taking a little license with some Springsteen lyrics, here are five of the best displays/experiences at the exhibit.
“I Got This Guitar and I Learned How to Make It Talk”
The exhibit features a number of Springsteen’s guitars, but perhaps none as gloriously roadworn and famous as his 1950s Fender Esquire (the display IDs it as 1953-1954). The beat-up butterscotch beauty, well known to fans, features a Fender Telecaster body and Esquire neck and Springsteen used it on the road from 1972 until 2005. Alone in its own glass case, it feels as if it still reverberates with a thousand songs in it waiting to be played. Even those who didn’t get to see Springsteen play it live will recognize it from the album covers for Born to Run, Live 1975-95, Human Touch and Wrecking Ball.
“I Got Debts No Honest Man Can Pay”
In an undated letter from what is likely the early ‘70s, Springsteen writes a charming note to his landlord, apologizing for not paying his rent on time. Addressed to “Dear Landlordess,” and penned on a torn-out page from a spiral notebook, he adds not one, but two endearing postscripts: “P.S.: Do you like this classy writing paper?” and “P.P.S: I’m practicing my autograph. Whadya think?” In the same display case, there is a scrapbook from the ‘70s that his mom kept as her son’s career took off. It was opened to a page that included a 1972 review from Variety — one of his first — and a postcard from the road from his then-manager, Mike Appel, as a reminder that Springsteen, too, was once a struggling artist.
“I Want Pounding Drums”
For an exhibit devoted to touring, there is very little footage of Springsteen playing live, but in one of the most enjoyable displays, drummer Max Weinberg gives wannabe drummers a tutorial and then the chance to play along with a video of Springsteen performing before tens of thousands of people at a stadium gig. Fans sit at a mini-drum kit while Weinberg teaches them how to play bass drum, snare drum and hi-hat to “Born in the U.S.A.,” a song the longtime E Street Band member says is one of his favorites to play, before turning them loose to play along with the video.
“Is There Anybody Alive Out There?”
In one of the many interactive elements, fans can build their own five-song encore to a live show and see how close they come to what Springsteen played that actual night. For someone who is revered for his ability to call an “audible” and change up the set at a moment’s notice, it turns out a great deal of thought goes into the encore. In a video, Springsteen, with guitar in hand, explains how he selects the encore songs based on smooth key changes and rhythm changes as he slides from “Born to Run” into “Devil With the Blue Dress On” (usually part of what is known as “The Detroit Medley”) into “Glory Days” into “Land of Hope and Dreams.” “You want to constantly kick it up,” he says.
“A Prayer for the Souls of the Departed”
While casual fans may pass right by the displays to beloved late E Street musicians Danny “The Phantom” Federici, who died in 2008, and Clarence “The Big Man” Clemons, who died in 2011, longtime devotees will appreciate the mementos that celebrate the longtime members. Federici is feted by a display with one of his accordions, a photo of him as a young boy playing the instrument and a note from his son talking about how Federici, who was also Springsteen’s organist, began playing the accordion at 5. For Clemons, one of his saxophones is on display, but the item that will tug at hard-core fans’ heartstrings is “The Throne,” the upholstered, gold-painted armchair that Clemons had onstage with him so he could sit as he got tired in later years and where he reclined and took in his adoring fans when the rest of the band left the stage before returning for the encore. Both are gone but never forgotten.