Rock
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Linkin Park is counting down to something big. On Saturday (Aug. 24), the rock band shared a mysterious 100-hour countdown timer on its social media accounts, with a link to the group’s official website.
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At press time, LinkinPark.com featured a YouTube livestream with the same timer and an accompanying live chat filled with fan speculation — much of it anticipating the announcement of a new vocalist to replace late lead singer Chester Bennington, who died by suicide in July 2017 at the age of 41.
“I hope they announce the new singer, LP deserves to continue [with their legacy,” one user wrote in the chat. Another fan asked, “If LP has a new singer and it’s female, who do you want it to be?”
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Linkin Park’s countdown timer is scheduled to end on Wednesday, Aug. 28.
Earlier this year, several sources close to Linkin Park told Billboard that the band’s three surviving members were mulling a possible 2025 reunion tour and considering hiring a female vocalist to succeed Bennington. In late April, booking agency WME was taking offers for a potential Linkin Park tour along with headlining festival dates featuring LP’s Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson and Dave Farrell, the sources said. The band had not indicated who would sing on behalf of Bennington, but one source told Billboard that LP was hoping to find a female vocalist to front the reunited group.
Fueling speculation at the time, Orgy’s Jay Gordon said he had heard rumors about a Linkin Park reunion while appearing on Wired in the Empire on KCAL 96.7.
“Very, very cool guys and obviously a great band,” Gordon said. “They’ve been around a long time and they’re still going for it,” he said. “It’s going to be tough without Chester, but we’ll see. I hear they got a girl singer now. That’s what I heard.”
Gordon later issued a statement saying his comments had been taken out of context. “With regards to this linkin park singer thing. I know nothing about any of that,” he wrote.
As previously reported, Shinoda was asked about a possible reunion around the April release of Papercuts (Singles Collection: 2000-2023).
“Rumors always go around. People always ask what’s next for the band, and the best answer I can ever give anybody is when there’s something to tell you, we will tell you,” Shinoda told Revolver magazine. When there’s an announcement to be made, it will be on LinkinPark.com. If you’re hearing it from somebody else, you can trust that information as much as you want to trust it.”
Linkin Park is one of the most successful rock groups from the 2000s, having sold more than 29.4 million albums in the United States, according to Luminate. The band has charted 24 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including three top 10 hits: “In the End” in 2003, “What I’ve Done” in 2007 and “New Divide” in 2009.
See Linkin Park’s countdown post on YouTube here and Instagram below.
Slipknot‘s Sid Wilson is on the mend after being involved in a fire accident.
On Friday (Aug. 23), the 47-year-old heavy metal DJ revealed in a pair of videos on social media that he suffered “serious burns” on his face and arms after trying to stoke a bonfire on the Iowa farm he shares with girlfriend Kelly Osbourne.
“My face is burnt and my cheeks,” Wilson said in a clip from his hospital bed. “I had an explosion in my face.”
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After giving a close-up of his injuries, which included charred eyebrows, a blistered lip and burn marks on his arms, the musician assured fans that he was recovering from the incident, despite having a shaky hand while recording the clip on his cell phone.
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“I’m going to be OK, but I did have some serious burns in my face and my arms,” Wilson said, adding that doctors were also taking X-rays of his chest.
Slipknot shared a statement about the accident on the masked metal band’s official Instagram account.
“Our brother Sid Wilson was in an accident today and sustained burns across his body,” the group wrote on Instagram Friday. “He’s recovering with his family and will still join us on stage at Rocklahoma next weekend. He thanks everyone for the well wishes, and will see you all soon.”
Slipknot is scheduled to headline the closing night of Rocklahoma on Sept. 1. The three-day event takes place in Pryor, Okla. The masked group has U.S. tour dates on the books through October.
Wilson’s band members weren’t the only ones who had something to say about the fire explosion. Kelly Osbourne, who shares a young son with the DJ/keyboardist, also had a few choice words about her boyfriend putting himself in harm’s way.
“This is why you don’t f— with burn piles,” Osbourne said in a video from the hospital, posted to her Instagram Story. “He literally set himself on fire and exploded everything.”
The “Papa Don’t Preach” singer first met Wilson in 1999, when Slipknot toured with Ozzfest, the traveling hard-rock music festival founded by her parents. The lovebirds went Instagram official in February 2022.
See Wilson’s updates from his hospital bed on Instagram below.
Alex Gaskarth is celebrating 20 years with his band, All Time Low, with the release of The Forever Sessions, Vol. 1, featuring re-recorded versions of some of their biggest hits. The rocker sat down with Billboard‘s Rania Aniftos to discuss the inspiration behind the project. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest […]
If there’s one thing Mötley Crüe mastered in their hair metal heyday it was fighting for the right to party. But on the veteran band’s new single, they steal a page from another famously hard-partying crew from the 1980s: the Beastie Boys. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and […]
The heavy metal Prince of Darkness is just an old softie after all. While he’s made a reputation for singing dark songs about dark subjects for more than half a century, deep down Ozzy Osbourne is a sweet-hearted mushball. Especially when it comes to his beloved fur baby Rocky. The hard rock icon had a […]
Dear Doug,
When I got the call in June to join you at my local NY deli, Russ & Daughters, to riff for an hour on Big Oil, music and copyright in a tiny Secret Service swarmed kitchen I wanted to grab a bagel! Who knew that within weeks Kamala’s trajectory would change, and soon you’ll hopefully become America’s 1st First Gentleman. Congratulations Doug!
Learning you had been playing “You Get What You Give” hundreds of times since 2020 as your campaign “walk on song” touched me deeply — particularly when you told me you had selected the song merely as a music fan, not even being aware of the Biden family’s emotional connection to the song via Beau.
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Needless to say, we were thrilled to get your personal invite to once again play our song live (as we did in January 2021 for the Biden inauguration), this time at the DNC just before Kamala’s introduction accepting the VP nomination. Of course, Kamala suddenly had bigger fish to fry becoming the presidential candidate, but thanks for blasting the record as your “walk-on” song at the DNC instead!
I’m writing this letter to you to send out an S.O.S. to all the artists and music people across America that the clock is truly ticking for us to save our democracy.
The time is clearly NOW for all to jump in and use whatever influence for the greater good and endorse the candidate who doesn’t “weirdly” (love that Coach Walz!) advocate taking away women’s rights and everyone’s freedoms. Or brags he’ll cancel America’s Presidential election in 2028!?
In that spirit, if we can talk music a moment, we are releasing the first New Radicals music in 25 years to rally the cause of democracy and encourage all artists to get out the vote. This isn’t some “comeback”; this is us doing our small part to support the fight for freedom!
As a musical gift to you, Doug, and our other fans, we’re releasing our version of “Murder On The Dancefloor,” plus our version of the Oscar-nominated hit, “Lost Stars,” from John Carney’s biggest music film Begin Again. It’s co-written by New Radical Danielle Brisebois who gave the world “Unwritten” and our film and Keira Knightley’s character’s songs their powerful female POV.
Listen to the New Radicals’ “Lost Stars” here and listen to “Murder On the Dancefloor” here.
Interestingly, we even learned through our mutual friends that Begin Again is headed to Broadway. We’re honored that co-star Adam Levine’s friends in Train are adapting what Adam declared the “perfect song,” and hoping Train adds more for Carney’s Broadway follow-up to Once!
Many people may not know that “Murder On The Dancefloor” was nearly our debut single, but then debuted as Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s bawdy hit which went Top 10 globally twice (this year from that dancing naked end scene in the often sadly “true to life” Saltburn).
When we spoke in NY, it was clear that you’re a family man of conscience who cares about his country and its people. It’s what makes Kamala and you true “new radicals” of the best kind. And anyone knowing Hall & Oates covered our “Someday We’ll Know” or king of critics, Robert Christgau, gave our album an “A” is pretty cool in my book!
In an era where a third of “Pizzagate” Republicans believe Taylor Swift is a Democrat Psy Op (who knew!?), it will be a breath of fresh air when the Harris administration passes critical things for the middle class. Like funding family and “frenemy” Village Troll mental health care in the states it’s most needed, or limits overpriced prescriptions that often “cost” more than a teacher’s salary.
For the record, New Radicals turn down every request from drug companies or anyone asking to change our lyrics (never!) and our publishers support that by saying “no problem.” We’d never morally support any type of industry that might contribute to an opioid epidemic that has already killed a million Americans.
Doug, I wonder what song these Silicon Valley jingle masseuses will try diseasing next, “Celebrex Sadness”? Well just a month past our July 12th, 25th anniversary — to any FDA Big banker Pharma’s out there…come around we’ll STILL kick your ass in!
We’re grateful our music is still inspiring some young “new radical” athletes and musicians who are jumping in too. Like BRAT Charli XCX who loves Kamala’s politics (and we beyond love Charli’s “1999” New Radicals video homage!), or Travis Kelce who tweeted “I’ve got the Dreamers Disease!”, which choked me up because that just means fighting for what you believe!!
In closing, Doug, sadly violence from toxic politics, BPD “biz con abuse bros” and Covid isolation has catalyzed much of today’s mental health crises leading to conspiratorial family criminality. But if anyone can heal or “prosecute” that, President Kamala Harris can — starting with RFK and Donald J Trump! Sorry, I had to sneak in a joke.
Democracy is at stake, not just in the USA but also in much of the world watching closely. With grieving artistic flourish for my own beloved Korean War vet Dad who tragically wrongfully passed mid-May, and my immobile, fragile Mom in memory care in Florida—don’t let the darkness shake down the light from the mothers and grandsons we’ll lose in the fight. Save democracy for the next generation and vote with your soul!
And to any DJs or TikTokers out there around the world, always feel free to play and use these songs to support and celebrate women’s, minority and LGBTQ+ rights and the spirit of freedom thriving and surviving around the globe!
Doug, Kamala—You got the Music in you. Go Lions!! Gregg
P.S. Doug, Since Broadway’s next to our favorite deli, if you’re in New York when Begin Again opens let’s grab that bagel and walk over with Adam and Train, Keira and John, Kamala and Danielle to all sing “Lost Stars” together!
P.P.S. VOTE!!!
“Lost Stars,” out on Flatiron Records, pre-save is here; “Murder On The Dancefloor” pre-save is here. Both are out on DSPs at midnight ET tonight.
From the blues to jazz to rock to folk to country, the guitar is probably the most pivotal instrument of the 20th century, serving as a centerpiece for a variety of genres that changed the course of culture in America and around the world.
In honor of the stringed instrument that has amped up audiences for centuries, we present Billboard’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitars of All Time.
No, that’s not a typo. This is not a list of 100 guitarists – though each item on this list is associated with a particular guitar slinger. And it’s not a list of guitar brands or companies. This is a list of actual guitars, played by great guitarists. It puts the shine on guitars throughout modern history that have been a part of the evolution of popular music. Instead of focusing on guitar playing style, we’re looking at the instrument itself as handled by various luminaries across everything from bluegrass to heavy metal.
What is “the greatest”? Iconic, influential, inventive, famous, game changing? Unusual, oddball, beautiful, even whimsical? Just plain cool? It’s all of that and more. Some of the guitars that follow are standard models with minimal modifications; others are one-of-a-kind pieces that have been endlessly tinkered with. Some are technical and auditory wonders; others have been beaten to hell over the years by overzealous owners. But all are important to the guitar’s history and ongoing evolution.
This was a big undertaking that we didn’t want to do alone. We invited a panel of ace guitarists across a variety of genres, as well as journalists and experts, to peruse a lengthy list of guitars, compiled by Billboard, and vote on them. We invited our voters to submit their own picks. After tallying their responses, we sent it back to the voting panel, solicited additional feedback and incorporated that into a final list of the 100 Greatest Guitars of All Time.
In addition to a few voters who wished to remain anonymous, the voting panel included: Duane Betts, Nick Bowcott of Sweetwater, Carl Broemel of My Morning Jacket, Larry Campbell, Joanna Connor, Michael Doyle of Guitar Center, Alejandro Escovedo, Pete Evick of Bret Michaels Band, Damian Fanelli of Guitar World, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, Slim Gambill of Lady A, Kirk Hammett of Metallica, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Myles Kennedy of Alter Bridge and Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr, Dave Mason, Scott Metzger, Bob Mould, Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick, Orianthi, Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Joe Satriani, Chris Scapelliti of Guitar Player, Peter Stroud of Sheryl Crow’s band, Matthew Sweet, Mark Tremonti of Creed and Alter Bridge, Seth Walker, Erika Wennerstrom of Heartless Bastards, Jack White, Andy Wood and Oliver Wood.
This week, we’re rolling out the first half of the list (guitars 100-51), and next week, we’ll unveil the full 100 (for now, the image above will serve as a hint).
This list is far from exhaustive. There are so many legendary guitars that even a list of 100 fails to encompass all of them. Regardless, we hope what follows spurs some excitement, debate, discovery and even, perhaps, someone to pick up a guitar and start playing.
100. Johnny Thunders – ca. 1959 Les Paul Junior TV Model
We learned a lot about Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz during his speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Wednesday night (August 21). The former high school football coach, Army National Guard veteran and social studies teacher fired up the packed crowd at the United Center with a rousing address about his midwestern values and loving family while accepting the party’s nomination for Vice President alongside current VP and presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
And, in keeping with his reputation as a “dad rock” guy who has raged against the machine for not yet inducting Warren Zevon into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and whose picks at his favorite Minneapolis record store Electric Fetus last year included vinyl classics by Genesis, the Moody Blues and Steve Winwood, he entered and exited the stage to some solid meat-and-potatoes rock.
In fact, a spokesperson for Neil Young confirmed to Billboard on Thursday (August 22) that the Gov. got a personal sign-off from the 78-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Famer to cap his emotional speech with Young’s blistering 1989 anthem “Rockin’ in the Free World.” The song from Young’s Freedom album took a sledgehammer to then-Republican President George H. W. Bush’s signature phrase “thousands points of light” with lyrics lamenting a lack of urgency about climate change and missing conservative compassion for homeless Americans amid what Young deemed empty promises to “keep hope alive.”
The official stamp of approval from Young is in contrast to his complaint that Walz and Harris’ White House rival, former one-term Republican President Donald Trump, had not sought approval to play the song during his first run for office in 2015, an action that led Young to consider suing Trump. In 2020, Young did sue Trump for copyright infringement for playing “Rockin’” and “Devil’s Sidewalk” at rallies, with Young saying that in “good conscience” he could not allow his music to be used by the divisive former reality TV star.
After Trump lost his second bid for office, Young dismissed the copyright case.
In a post on his Archives site earlier this week, Young noted that he was closely watching the DNC — not on network or cable TV but on C-Span, where he said there are “no smarmy talking heads… No slant” — in a missive that included a reprint of artist Shepard Fairey’s “FORWARD” poster for the Harris campaign.
Walz took the stage to John Mellencamp’s 1985 homage to his midwestern upbringing, “Small Town. At press time a spokesperson for the Indiana-bred rocker had not confirmed that Mellencamp had given his personal approval for the use of the song.
Young is on a long list of artists who have either sued, threatened to sue or complained about Trump using their music during his rallies. That roster recently added the estate of late soul icon Isaac Hayes and Beyoncé’s label, which issued a cease-and-desist order to convicted felon Trump’s campaign this week over his spokesperson’s unauthorized use of her anthem “Freedom” — the official Harris/Walz theme song , personally approved by Queen Bey — in a social media post; that post has since been taken down.
Trump has long used the music of popular artists over their public objections, drawing complaints about the twice-impeached former commander-in-chief’s unauthorized playing of songs at his rallies from artists including the Rolling Stones, Adele, Rihanna and the late Sinead O’Connor, among many others.
Imagine Dragons’ drummer, Daniel Platzman, officially announced on Wednesday (Aug. 21) that he is leaving the band to focus on his film composing career. “After an incredible journey of over a decade, I will be departing the amazing band that is Imagine Dragons,” Platzman shared in a press statement. “I wanted to share my deepest […]
Not sure if you’ve noticed, but “here’s the thing” has become an overused thing. The old expression is suddenly the go-to for anyone from influencers to politicians to news correspondents trying to make a point. “Here’s the thing,” like “at the end of the day” or “wait, whaaat? before it, has become a hackneyed verbal tic. But here’s the thing: “Here’s The Thing” also happens to be the title of a strong contender for Greatest Song of 2024. It’s the rip-snorting third single from Romance, the glorious fourth album from Fontaines D.C., out Friday (Aug. 23), on which the Irish post-punk band breaks with its past in almost every way.
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“I think change was just generally a very enticing thing for us,” says Grian Chatten, Fontaines’ poet-cum-frontman, who in only a half a decade has become one of the most compelling figures in rock. “We wanted to really indulge in something new, and we didn’t want to risk it being only a half-step. And I think the more changes there were around us, the better.”
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It’s early May, and I am sitting on the patio of a hotel in Brooklyn with Chatten — who is sporting a city-appropriate Yankees jersey and wraparound shades — after he suggests we talk outdoors so he can smoke a couple roll-your-owns over the hour. The band is in town to do a one-off underplay gig to jump start the record’s cycle, and to play the television debut of “Starburster,” the LP’s biting, driving first single, on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Launching into an animated mid-morning chat, the singer is palpably pumped to be starting up the Fontaines engines once again – maybe more so than in years, as this time the band is riding on a very different vehicle. Yes, Conor Curley and Carlos O’Connell’s alternately chime-y and crunchy guitars are still there; bassist Conor Deegan III and drummer Tom Coll have lost none of their drive; and Chatten is still there with his supple voice, wordplay and can’t-look-away presence.
But everything about Romance feels breathlessly bolder, eclectic and carpe diem, caution to the wind and all that. They’ve changed producers (James Ford, in place of Dan Carey), labels (XL Recordings, rather than longtime home Partisan), and aesthetics, with a series of arresting music videos underscoring the new era.
“There’s an element that feels maybe a little like playing a character,” Chatten concedes. “But with this record and everything around it, we’re drawing a lot from the inspirations we had when we were really young. For me, it was always very theatrical bands like The Cure. It was a very complex and very rich world. Almost Tim Burton-esque. And I think that drawing from that is something that feels genuine, but it also has the fun that comes with playing a role.”
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Shaking things up, no matter the risk, felt like an imperative in 2023 to Fontaines D.C. While the band had made leftward moves over three albums — from the spitfire of their 2019 debut Dogrel through a dreamier A Hero’s Death in 2020 and toward something more internal on 2022’s Skinty Fia — there’s nothing gradual about the creative leap taken on Romance. “We always think that we’re pushing the boat out, or taking some new turn, with each record,” Chatten explains. “And I think probably the reality is that it was a lot less of a turn than we thought. But this time, I feel good about it being a full f–kin’ turn.”
Surely the most significant change on Romance was bringing on James Ford as producer. Post-punk A-lister Dan Carey had become synonymous with Fontaines over the band’s first three LP’s; he helmed Chatten’s debut solo LP, 2023’s warts-and-all thriller Chaos For the Fly; and Chatten admits Carey was disappointed by news of the split. But the band had been suggested Ford as a collaborator several times, and after a studio session intended to record only one song ended up yielding two and a half, the die was cast. “It just worked really well,” Chatten says. “It was just such a fluid and easy process that it just made sense.”
Ford’s production resume includes nearly 50 albums in 20 years by the likes of Foals, Klaxons, Blur, Gorillaz and Depeche Mode. But he is most indelibly associated with Arctic Monkeys, and Ford’s facility with bands “expanding” their sound is evidenced on the Monkeys’ recent LPs. Soon after coming off the road opening for Arctic Monkeys last fall, Fontaines D.C. went into the studio with Ford, and there are places on Romance that are signatures of the producer, including the string-filled drama of centerpiece “In The Modern World.”
As it happens, Monkeys frontman Turner was one of the boldfaced names in attendance when, two nights after my interview with Chatten, Fontaines D.C. played to a packed-out Warsaw Ballroom in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, delivering a set that included a handful of Romance tracks. Watching Chatten command a stage with more confidence than ever – certainly more than in Fontaines’ early days – it reminded me of the way that Turner, too, was initially an onstage introvert and very much grew into (or adopted) a rakish onstage swagger over the years. Chatten doesn’t dispute the comparison.
“In my experience, it can be frustrating to be reading yourself saying the same answers over and over again in interviews in that reserved way,” he offers. “And I feel like I’ve been doing that a lot over the past couple of years where it got to be a habit. I just got bored with what I was saying. So, you know, to allow a little bit of a character in, maybe, to change the way you present yourself, it makes it more interesting for yourself. So I totally relate to him leaning into that. And in terms of the singing thing, I think I just like my voice more now than I used to. I think I was probably quite uncomfortable with it, but I like it more now.”
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Chatten uses that voice in more varied ways than ever on Romance – bright and melodic, droll and sardonic, dreamy and reflective, desperate and urgent. It’s all in service of a record that does have a specific thesis, expressed in the last line of the title track: “Maybe romance is a place for me, and you.” The tracks “Desire” and “In The Modern World” first gave Chatten the idea for the album title; a touchstone that inspired the latter song was the 1988 cyberpunk anime classic Akira.
“I think I really wanted to write a song that felt like the romance that blossoms in that film,” he explains. “That dystopian, everything crashing around you, and drifting further and further away apparently from a sense of humanity. But still therein blossoms a relationship, a romance. A romance that is necessary to cling onto something, and not give up hope in a world like that. I really related to that. Especially these days, you know?”
He’s quick to add, though, that it’s a form of denial as well. “I’ve always been interested in the argument, or the perspective, of seeing delusion and romance as one and the same,” he says. “And I think the place of romance that I spoke about, in the title track, it’s that place, it’s that refuge. And I think there’s a denial, maybe, involved. You’re dressing your life up in this romantic way. And I think there’s a line to blur between madness and this denial, which is necessary in order to get on. The world is absolutely f–ked, and it’s difficult to know which way to turn.”
Though Chatten tends not to write too on-the-nose about his own life experiences, they are woven throughout the new LP. The sweeping “In The Modern World,” which was written during a sabbatical to Los Angeles, opens with the line “I feel alive” then alternates calling it “the city that you like” and “the city you despise.” The first word that comes to my mind about the song, and the whole album, is “cinematic,” though I tell Chatten I hate to be reductive. “That’s okay!” he assures me with a laugh. “It is! You can reduce the record!” “I find it interesting,” he adds of the City of Angels. “And that’s as close as I get to saying I really like a place: I find it interesting and it intrigues me and stimulates me creatively. Which L.A. can do, at least in short bursts. I think I wrote that maybe with something like the ghost of Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard, or maybe Lana Del Rey’s voice was ringing around in my head as well. I don’t know, but maybe it’s a song to Lana Del Rey?” He chuckles. “I don’t know.”
In marked contrast to that song’s grandeur is “Horseness Is the Whatness,” a sweet late album gem with a fractured lump-in-the-throat innocence, which asks plaintively, “Will someone / Find out what the word is / That makes the world go round / ‘Cause I thought it was love.” The track’s childlike quality is no accident, Chatten says, explaining that it was written by Fontaines guitarist Carlos O’Connell, an occasional guest lyricist.
“I think that’s the second time someone’s said that to me!” Chatten says when I express affection for the song. “It’s Carlos’ line, and I’m really glad his lyrics are getting that kind of attention, ‘cause I think they’re incredible. And it’s a really vulnerable song in that way, which I think partly comes from him having a child and seeing the world through their eyes.”
Chatten has no kids of his own, but he is nearly six years into a relationship, and says of his girlfriend, who manages bands and sang on Chatten’s solo LP, “We’re good,” though by his own admission he can be “a lot” to deal with. The singer has spoken candidly in the past about serious struggles with anxiety that intensified in 2022 as Fontaines D.C. toured Skinty Fia. That album’s harrowing “Nabokov” remains emotionally challenging to perform live, while “Starburster,” the first single from Romance, was inspired by a devastating panic attack that the singer experienced in London’s St. Pancras Station during a period when such episodes were frequent.
“I was having like three, four a day around that time,” he recalls. “It got really out of hand for a while. And I got a handle on it when I got my ADHD diagnosis. Things gradually became a bit easier. And the upshot, I think, is that I’ve become a better friend and a better partner to my missus, and a better son to my folks. And if I have 10 minutes now between trains, I’ll give someone a ring and ask them how they are. Because – I’ve always wanted to know, but I’ve always had my head up my ass, do you know what I mean? So that’s the real benefit for me. Now being in a better place, I get to extend my concern to other people.”
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Still, being in a long-term relationship seems to have surprised even him. Two tracks on Romance, “Bug” and “Death Kink,” seem to refer to what a challenging partner he can be. The latter tune opens with “When you came into my life I was lost / And you took that shine to me at what a cost.” “I can be a bit of a freight train, in a way that I can be unchangeable,” he admits. “I’m very rigid in what I like and what I don’t like. And I think that song ‘Bug’ is somebody who doesn’t yield, or is just leaving a trail of destruction, and that is how I feel sometimes. But we’ve been together five and a half years, and we’re incredible happy. We’re in a really good place. But I am inclined to be independent, just generally speaking, but it just so happens that I fell in love. So it’s difficult for me to divert from the path.”
Chatten is remarkably open-hearted throughout our chat. He’s a touch acerbic and is not above some good-natured teasing of a journalist he’s just met. But for the most part, he’s warm, thoughtful and seemingly principled. “I’m a sensitive little soul,” he says by way of explaining why he can’t marinate in the awful news that the world dishes out daily. In other words, to me at least, he’s quintessentially Irish, giving something not unlike the vibes I got when I twice talked to the late great Sinéad O’Connor. We lost O’Connor in July 2023, just months before the passing of another Irish legend, Shane MacGowan. Both artists were fierce, suffer-no-fools forces of nature who lived their lives at 11, and MacGowan was one of Chatten’s longtime heroes.
“We were in the middle of recording the album when Shane died,” he recalls. “And I had to f–king take a break. I was really, deeply affected by it. Partly because he enhanced my relationship with my family! You know, he connected me to my Irishness maybe in a way that I wouldn’t have been able to do without him.” As for Sinéad, “I was a big fan,” he says. “I feel like she gave an awful lot more than what was required of her, in her life. And I really respect and admire that. It means a lot. My mom is a massive Sinéad O’Connor fan, and many is the time that she had a few glasses of wine, and she would try and sing one of her tunes. In a quiet room of largely polite people!”
Romance feels destined to propel Fontaines D.C. to yet another level of attention and acclaim: the band’s fall North American tour will play mostly 1500-3000 capacity rooms, followed by European dates that includes arenas. More significantly, it’s an explosion of lush, bold new colors. Hopefully the Fontaines day ones, rowdy as some may be, will be open to the expansion. If some still long for the ragged punk of early favorites like “Liberty Belle” or “Boys In the Better Land,” those songs are out there. “I mean, if somebody wants to listen to ‘Boys In the Better Land’ for the rest of their life,” Chatten says with a shrug. “Then I envy their ability to find something that interests them for so long!”
Whatever comes next, he doesn’t plan on making the same music at 50 that he made when he was half that age. “I wouldn’t be comfortable doing it, and I probably wouldn’t be that interested in listening to it,” he flatly states. “I accessed that part of myself very thoroughly around the time that we wrote it, so I don’t know if I will be hungry to access that kind of thing, in the same way, ever again. But who knows? I am skeptical about the idea of going into grandiosity and wider themes and deeper into yourself, and then snapping back into social commentary that’s like a snappy 4-4 punk beat. I’m not sure it’s an artist’s right to do that after going so deep. So I think, stay basic for as long as you can, and then maybe get more complicated.”