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Just months after his shocking death at 61, legendary producer/engineer/band leader Steve Albini will be honored with a global celebration of his noisy legacy. Touch and Go Records announced on Thursday (July 18) that it is turning what would have been Albini’s 62nd birthday on Monday (July 22) into a chance to share memories about […]
When Argentine musicians Gustavo Cerati, Zeta Bosio and Charly Alberti released their debut album as Soda Stereo 40 years ago, regional success was the ceiling for most Latin rock bands. In the early ‘80s, most Latin American rockers didn’t tour outside of their home country, much less play Anglo-style arena rock to tens of thousands of fans.
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Until Soda Stereo.
The band’s eponymous debut album, released on Aug. 27, 1984, on Discos CBS, laid the groundwork for Sodamania — a passion characterized by hordes of screaming fans wherever the trio went, not unlike the frenzy surrounding the band’s Liverpudlian idols, The Beatles. On the strength of their sophisticated songcraft and high-energy live shows, Soda Stereo’s fame spread throughout Latin America; tours would take them as far north as Mexico and even into the U.S., where the band was the first Latin rock act to headline a tour in the country.
For many Latin rock fans, their first concert experience was seeing Soda Stereo live. “Back in the early ‘80s, we had a huge musical void in Latin America,” recalls Miguel Gálvez, a former radio journalist in Mexico who launched a petition to get Soda Stereo inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
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“A heavily growing segment of young people, between 15 to 25 years old, was uninterested in what Latin music had to offer — but totally into the music coming from the English-speaking world with bands like U2, The Cure, Depeche Mode and The Police.”
That “void,” he says, was also a result of Latin music at the time not reflecting the reality of millions of young Latin Americans “who were breaking up with old traditions and paradigms” as dictatorships in Argentina and Chile were beginning to crumble. Soda Stereo emerged at an auspicious moment, and the band’s first album even took note of the generational shift underway in the outro of the song “Dietético”: “El regimen se acabó, se acabó!” (the regime is over) Cerati exclaimed. Democracy had returned to his country the prior year, following the collapse of Argentina’s military dictatorship, and the times were changing. “With Soda Stereo,” Gálvez continues, “we discovered that great rock was possible in our own language, with lyrics closer to our own reality. Soda Stereo became the band that made us proud to be Latino.”
By the time the group broke up in 1997, it had produced seven studio albums, sold millions of units and headlined tours that were drawing audiences of more than 100,000 — an unheard-of level of success for a Latin rock group, at least back then. And as a testament to the group’s enduring appeal, Gálvez’s Rock Hall petition has collected more than 36,000 signatures from 67 countries.
Cerati — Soda Stereo’s charismatic frontman, guitarist and principal songwriter — died in 2014 at age 55 of respiratory failure, after suffering a stroke that left him hospitalized in 2010. To mark the band’s 40th anniversary, Billboard caught up with bassist Bosio and drummer Alberti, who not only went deep on four highlights from the group’s discography but revealed that previously unreleased music is on the way.
“About the songs, it was very particular — because, as a matter of fact, the songs would come out from the three of us together,” Alberti says. “We composed and made song bases all the time, we rehearsed all week long, including Saturdays and Sundays, and the song bases were coming from those rehearsals. And Gustavo would add the melody and the lyrics to those bases to finish the songs.”
There’s A Previously Unreleased Song Coming Soon
Alberti confirms the forthcoming release of a song that he declines to name (for the moment) but says it is the first song that the members of Soda Stereo wrote together. “The lyrics talk about a kid who stares at the sky … a very youthful lyric, very naive. But, well, it was the first thing we did.” Alberti found the track on a tape that also included a longer version, with different lyrics, of “Por Qué No Puedo Ser del Jet Set?” — the first song on the first album, in which the singer asks why he can’t be part of the jet-set lifestyle.
As for the new, previously unreleased song, Alberti continues: “The audio is quite good. The most we’re going to do is a little mastering, but the idea is not to do another mix or split the tracks, because I think it would lose the essence of what it means. It’s important that people understand how we started, how the band sounded in that moment — obviously, arrange it to a more current sound, but not much more.”
“Trátame Suavemente” (from Soda Stereo, 1984)
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One of Soda Stereo’s most enduring love songs, “Trátame Suavemente” was at first a faster-paced dance song — and not suggestive of romantic love at all.
“In those days, we went to see a lot of bands, and one of our favorites was Los Encargados,” says Bosio. “They were like a rock-techno band … Richard Coleman was part of that group, and there was also Daniel Melero (the composer of ‘Trátame Suavemente’). We were big fans of them, and we became very close friends.
“We made a slow version of ‘Trátame Suavemente’ because the original one was more dance-oriented. Our version and our vision put the song into a melodic setting, like a love song. But originally, the lyrics were inspired by the Malvinas (Falklands) War. (The singer) is talking to the general, not a girl. We made it into a love song.”
“Cuando Pase El Temblor” (from Nada Personal, 1985)
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From Soda Stereo’s second album, “Cuando Pase El Temblor” — in which the narrator asks to be awoken after a (presumably romantic) tremor passes — would eventually take on outsized significance across Latin America. In Chile, Galvez explains, fans there imagined the “tremor” referred to the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
Fans in Peru and Mexico, meanwhile, interpreted the song as a lament over a literal tremor from an earthquake, all of which helped turn the song into, as Bosio put it, the group’s first genuine anthem.
“We rented a house outside of Buenos Aires, and we went there a couple of months in winter. This song was born in that situation,” said Bosio. “We supposed that we were comfortable to rehearse in that place, but the explosion of the band … we worked a lot. All the days of the week. We didn’t have time to rehearse, because of the success. So, we didn’t have much time, but one day when I went to the supermarket to buy food, and I came back, I found Charly and Gustavo playing this kind of folkloric rhythm — trying to do an adaptation with the drum and bass drum. So I took the bass and began to play.”
“Luna Roja” (from Dynamo, 1992)
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Like The Beatles they idolized, Soda Stereo’s members were musical chameleons. Their songs veered from new wave to post-punk, shoegaze and symphonic pop. Dynamo, Soda Stereo’s shoegaze record, was the band’s least commercial release but produced several concert staples, like “En Remolinos,” “Fue” and “Luna Roja.”
“The whole concept of (Dynamo) was that we were changing again,” explains Bosio. “The next step was always a challenge for us. What are we doing now? We were getting very into Massive Attack and a lot of things happening in the British scene at the time. The Jesus and Mary Chain. A lot of distortion, and in distortion you can a lot of times find harmonies and different things, very psychedelic. So we got into that with a lot of passion.”
Bosio explains that the creation of a song like “Luna Roja,” with its evocative imagery of a red moon over a black sea, was made possible because “we became an organism that could think together. Like when the brain tells the finger to move, and the finger moves. We were like that, without even talking! We made songs, and we just knew when the chorus has to come. Nobody told us. And it never happened with a band for me again, a thing like this, this kind of feeling. Playing, all floating together.”
“Ella Usó Mi Cabeza Como un Revólver” (from Sueño Stereo, 1995)
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Soda Stereo’s final album found the group at the height of its songcraft. It was also jam-packed with Beatles references. The bass line on “Paseando Por Roma” is reminiscent of Paul McCartney’s in “Taxman,” while the brass-heavy chorus invites a comparison to “Got to Get You Into My Life.”
“Ella Usó Mi Cabeza Como un Revólver,” meanwhile, has a chord structure and backing reminiscent of “I Am the Walrus.” And the song, which laments a woman who used the narrator’s head like a revolver, even has a Beatles album in the title.
“That song was the last song of the record,” explains Bosio. “We had all the record done, but we didn’t feel like we had a hit. We said, ‘Well, let’s make one.’ So we began to work the last two rehearsals on the hit. We said, ‘If it doesn’t happen, we’ll still have good songs — but it needs a hit.’ We began to play almost together, and it comes, almost like water. All the notes — and when we listened to it, we began to imagine something like The Moody Blues, with an orchestra. I couldn’t believe it. But it was like, let’s do a hit.”
“There are phrases like ‘Ella usó mi Cabeza como un Revolver,’ which is something I mentioned to Gustavo once, when I told him about a girlfriend I had who triggered me very intelligently with a very interesting cerebral game. I told Gustavo a very similar phrase,” says Alberti. “Gustavo knew how to take that and develop the idea.”
Jack Black responded to the backlash spurred by an off-color joke by his longtime Tenacious D musical partner Kyle Gass on Tuesday morning (July 16) by apologizing and announcing an indefinite hold on all future creative plans for the comedic rock duo.
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“I was blindsided by what was said at the show on Sunday,” Black wrote of the off-color joke Gass made during the duo’s show on Sunday at the ICC Sydney Theatre in Sydney, Australia. During the gig, Gass was presented with a birthday cake and said, “don’t miss Trump next time” when Black asked him to “make a wish.” The poor taste quip came less than 48 hours after a lone gunman nicked the former president’s ear in an assassination attempt that resulted in the death of an audience member at a rally in Butler, PA and serious injuries to two other attendees.
The immediate response from tour producer Frontier Touring was to postpone a planned Tuesday night (July 16) show at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre in the wake of significant backlash from conservative politicians and talking heads, including an Australian senator demanding that the pair be deported immediately.
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“I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form,” Black continued about the comment Gass said in a separate statement was improvised and inappropriate, noting that the incident has caused the Kung Fu Panda star to reconsider the group’s future endeavors. “After much reflection, I no longer feel it is appropriate to continue the Tenacious D tour, and all future creative plans are on hold. I am grateful to the fans for their support and understanding.”
In addition to tonight’s scotched show in Newcastle, Tenacious D’s sold out Spicy Meatball tour shows on July 18 (Brisbane), July 20 (Melbourne), July 22 (Adelaide), July 24 (Wellington) and July 26 (Auckland) have also been called off. In June, the duo announced five North American gigs booked for October in Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania as part of what they were calling the Rock D Vote tour in advance of November’s presidential election; at press time it was not clear if those sold out dates have also been cancelled.
In a parallel statement, Gass also apologized for his off-color remark, writing, “The line I improvised onstage Sunday night in Sydney was highly inappropriate, dangerous and a terrible mistake. I don’t condone violence of any kind, in any form, against anyone. What happened was a tragedy, and I’m incredibly sorry for my severe lack of judgement. I profoundly apologize to those I’ve let down and truly regret any pain I’ve caused.”
Trump appeared in Milwaukee for the first night of the Republican National Convention on Monday night (July 15) with a white bandage on his right ear over the spot where the gunman’s bullet struck after announcing Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his vice presidential pick in a bid to re-take the White House.
See Black and Gass’ statements below.
On QUIT!!, HARDY’s new rock album released Friday (July 15) via Big Loud Rock, several of the characters are, to put it mildly, not quite right in the head. “Jim Bob” is a disillusioned pill-popping veteran who “has a breakdown every 45 seconds,” according to the singer-songwriter, while the protagonist on “Psycho” becomes unhinged at the thought of his girlfriend leaving him.
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But HARDY warns not to confuse the characters working out their demons in his songs with their creator. “I’m a pretty tame, surprisingly soft-spoken dude,” he says. That may be, but he’s far from soft-spoken on Quit!!, on which he shows he can unleash a rock-and-roll howl worthy of the best heavy metal singer.
In addition to the songs featuring fictional characters, a number of the tunes are deeply autobiographical, including the title track, which relays the true story of how a patron wrote the word “quit” on a napkin and put it in HARDY’s tip jar while he was playing a bar more than 10 years ago. That insult fueled HARDY’s ambition and put a chip on his shoulder that still drives him today.
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“Feeling like you have something to prove to somebody always I think is important— at least for me for my creative spirit,” he says. “Complacency kills.”
The album also tells the upbeat tale of how he met his wife, Caleigh, on “WHYBMWL,” which stands for “where have you been my whole life,” and the set closer, the deeply romantic (yet fatalistic “Six Feet Under (Caleigh’s Song).”
“I surprised her with ‘Six Feet Under’ and didn’t play her that until my entire record was done and and she like lost it, which was the reaction that I needed,” he says. “I wanted so bad to make her cry. [Laughs.] I mean it was so special, and it was just such an emotional time for us. I’m so thankful that she loves it as much as she does.”
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HARDY came to Nashville more than a decade ago to be a country songwriter and had considerable success, penning hits for artists like Florida Georgia Line, Morgan Wallen and Blake Shelton, before releasing his first album, 2020’s A Rock, which included the multiple ACM and CMA Award winner’s first Billboard Country Airplay No. 1, “One Beer” (featuring Lauren Alaina and Devin Dawson).
He followed with 2023’s The Mockingbird & The Crow, whose tracks were half country and half rock, and established his rock bona fides by topping Billboard’s Top Rock Albums chart and with singles “Jack,” the title track and “Sold Out” all reaching the top 5 of Billboard’s Hot Hard Rock Songs chart.
Over the last several years, HARDY, who was named BMI’s 2022 country songwriter of the year, has become one of Nashville’s most reliable and successful writers He credits his way with words to having “a knack for English and the rules of the English language ever since [I] was a kid,” he says. “I was terrible at math. I was okay in science, but only because I thought it was neat … when it came to using your words, I swear to God, it was just from birth, or God-given, or whatever you want to call it.”
Despite the outsider status that many of the album’s character inhabit, HARDY says his experience in Nashville has felt embracing, even as he has toggled back and forth between rock and country, landing on more than a dozen different Billboard charts.
He’s encountered no naysayers discouraging him from following his wandering musical muse, HARDY says. “Not one time,” he says. “I’ve got to say being in [Nashville] for 14 or 15 years, I’ve heard the creative horror stories or people being held back and I give all of the props in the world to Big Loud and to [his publisher] Relative Music Group for never, not one time ever, holding me back.”
Even on a song like “Orphan,” which sounds like a treatise against the country music industry as HARDY sings that he feels like “somebody left me in a basket on the front steps/screaming bloody murder at the church door … the orphan of this country music town,” he stresses he is fighting an “internal battle,” not an external one. “I have not been oppressed in any way. Let’s put it that way,” he says.
The exception is his first publishing deal early in his career, which left a grudge that he can conveniently draw upon to this day over his predilection for drawing on redneck themes in his music (After all, this is someone whose first single in 2019 was titled “Rednecker.”)
“Some of the people that I was working with told me verbatim, ‘This song is good, but that redneck s–t ain’t my jam and it’s gonna be hard for me to pitch those kinds of songs,’” he says. “That lit such a huge fire under me. I think to this day that chip on my shoulder is just constantly coming out because I’m like, ‘I’m gonna prove to you that this redneck s–t works.’ There are a ton of people who grew up like me and want to hear that stuff. There’re a few moments early on in my songwriting career that I felt like maybe I believed in myself more than anybody else did. But some of the stuff is just so deeply cut that it’s just there’s no like healing from it.”
Though his rock songs may sound more visceral and raw because of the intense, defiant delivery, Hardy says country songs allow him to tap more into his emotions.
“There’s more poetry in country,” he says. “I think there’s more demons in country than come out in rock. The country stuff is actually where I get more emotion out into the world with songs like ‘Wait in the Truck,’ ‘Give Heaven Some Hell,’ that kind of thing.”
He’s also pleased that fans seem to accept all sides of his artistry, even though he admits he avoids reading the comments on social media and other posts about him: “I don’t really go in too deep and try to dig into the comments or the articles or anything, because I just am afraid of the one bad comment, and I try to keep that negative energy out of my life. But the reception seems like it’s been pretty good so far.”
HARDY didn’t worry about cohesion when creating the album. “I know it’s a little all over the place sonically,” he says. “At the end of the day, I just wrote a bunch of rock songs that I love and love the sound of.”
And songs that he thought would appeal to his fans — especially in concert, including “Jim Bob.” “I wanted a song that everybody in the crowd would be like, ‘This is who I am, I want to go get drunk and shoot my pistol in the sky and all that kind of s–t,’” he explains. “But I don’t pop Percocet and I didn’t damage my knee in the war and s–t like that. I’ve stuck pretty true to who I am and the best way to do that was to make that song about somebody else.”
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In a career that tolerates, if not encourages, “Jim Bob”-type indulgences, HARDY works to keep himself in check, especially since, as he has previously mentioned, alcohol issues run in his extended family. “Every so often [I] kind of take a look and [am] like, ‘What am I doing? How much am I doing? Let’s maybe back off, take a break.’ You just gotta be aware,” he says. “You can’t let it take control of you too much. Sometimes you can be too late, or you can get in a mess, so just keeping myself in check every now and then.”
The album features high profile guests including Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, who plays on the ‘90s pop-punk-inspired “Good Girl Phase,” as well as Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst on “Soul4Sale.”
HARDY met Smith through Nickelback lead singer Chad Kroeger at this year’s Super Bowl — Nickelback and HARDY share producer Joey Moi — and in a playful tribute to Nickelback, HARDY wrote Quitt!! song “Rockstar,” which name drops the band, while paying tribute to its 2005 hit of the same name.
“I didn’t have that on my Bingo card,” HARDY jokes of getting to work with musical inspirations like Kroeger and Durst. “To meet people that like who truly influenced the s–t out of me growing up and then to become friends with them, it’s a very cool thing.”
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The rocker who tops his wish list to share a stage and a scream with is Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl. “I don’t even know if he even knows I exist, but he would be cool. Alex Terrible from Slaughter to Prevail, he’s a pretty big deal right now. That’s a big one too. But Dave Grohl is definitely No. 1.”
While music is keeping him very busy, HARDY convincingly plays an institutionalized, straight-jacketed mental patient in the “Psycho” video, and says acting is something he would also like to pursue as time allows. “I was actually surprisingly comfortable in that video, which is kind of dark and disturbing,” he admits with a laugh. “I think the further away from myself that I can act, the more comfortable I am doing it. It’s really hard to act like yourself, in my opinion … But I love acting.”
In a milestone moment, HARDY will headline his first stadium gig Sept. 12 in Starkville, Mississippi, 45 minutes from his hometown of Philadelphia, Mississippi.
“It won’t really hit me until I get out there and it’s full of people hopefully,” he says. “It will be really emotional. There’s always a little part of me that’s like, ‘How did I get here?’ But I’m truly ready for this one and I’m truly looking forward to it.”
Sting will make his debut on the stage of the Bourbon & Beyond festival in Louisville, KY in September when the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and 17-time Grammy-winner slips into the headlining slot just vacated by Neil Young. The fest announced on Monday (July 15) that the former Police frontman and solo star will perform with his new power rock trio, STING 3.0, on Thursday night of the four-day fest slated to take place on the Highland Festival Grounds at Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville from September 19-22.
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The trio — which features guitarist Dominic Miller and drummer Chris Maas — will top night one of this year’s gathering, where they’ll be joined by Beck, Matchbox Twenty, Fleet Foxes, Maren Morris, Koe Wetzel, Lyle Lovett, the Wallflowers, Arlo Parks and many more.
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Young and longtime backing band Crazy Horse dropped off the roster for the sixth edition of B&B last month when the veteran group paused their Love Earth tour following an undisclosed illness within their touring party. In a statement, Young said the group’s first outing in a decade had been a great experience, but when a “couple of us got sick after Detroit’s Pine Knob, we had to stop,” it read. “We are still not fully recovered, so sadly our great tour will have a big unplanned break.” At press time no additional information was available on when, or if, the group will return to the road.
“While we will miss Neil Young at Bourbon this year, we’re excited to welcome a music legend, Sting, to the Bourbon & Beyond lineup. We’ve been trying to bring Sting to Bourbon for you since 2018 and it’s an incredible honor to have him join us for what will undoubtedly be our biggest and most unforgettable year ever,” said Danny Wimmer Presents founder Danny Wimmer in a statement about Sting replacing Young.
The second night of this year’s B&B will feature headliners Dave Matthews Band — along with Tedeschi Trucks Band, Black Pumas, the Head and the Heart, Melissa Etheridge and JJ Grey & Mofro — while Zach Bryan will do the honors on night three alongside Whiskey Myers, Cody Jinks, Young the Giant, Teddy Swims, Kaleo and more. Night four will be toplined by Tyler Childers, with My Morning Jacket, The National, The War on Drugs, Beach Boys, Mt. Joy and Sunny Day Real Estate performing as well.
Check out Sting announcing his addition to the B&B roster below.
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Nine Inch Nails and Dr. Martens are collaborating on a new collection in honor of the 30th anniversary of band’s multi-platinum sophomore album, The Downward Spiral.
First teased on July 8 and officially revealed on Monday (July 15), the upcoming footwear collection features artwork from the Grammy-nominated album and a design inspired by NIN’s unforgettable live performances.
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“This collaboration just makes so much sense,” John Crawford, the band’s creative director, said in a statement. “Not just because of the countless fans I’ve seen wearing Dr. Martens at NIN concerts over the years (myself included), but because NIN and Dr. Martens are both known for rejecting convention and expectation in favor of innovation, with their distinctive ability to transcend genres and styles in a way that unique to each person who experiences them. The goal was always to make this collection feel as authentically Nine Inch Nails as possible, and I believe through close collaboration with the team at Doc’s we’ve succeeded in that.”
Dr. Martens X Nine Inch Nails | The Downward Spiral Collection
Dr Martens
The collection includes a 10-eye 1490 boot that is inspired by the band’s cornstarch pre-show ritual. The lace-up boot is made from textured black and white Backhand leather and includes an ankle zipper on the side.
The eight-eye 1460 collab features artist Russell Mills’ album art as well as other references to the album. It also boasts a commando tread sole and multiple fastening options, including a branded ankle zipper.
For those looking for a shoe rather than a boot, the collection includes 1461 three-eyed piece that features The Downward Spiral‘s “crystal teeth” artwork and the name of the album printed in a subtle gloss.
Dr. Martens X Nine Inch Nails | The Downward Spiral Collection
Courtesy of Dr. Martens
The fourth piece of footwear in the collection is one fans won’t be able to purchase, though a few lucky ones will be gifted a pair. The 1490 10-eye boot features all-black leather that is embossed with the album’s artwork. According to the press release, the boot is “a fitting tribute to the unique bond shared by the band and those who have supported them for decades.”
Crawford participated in a Reddit AMA discussing the “inspiration and design choices behind the collaboration.” The AMA was held from 8 to 9 a.m. PT on July 15; fans were able to submit questions ahead of time for a chance to win one of five pairs of the fan-exclusive boot.
Dr. Martens X NIN Collaboration: Reddit AMA with John Crawfordbyu/Leviathant innin
The Nine Inch Nails x Dr. Martens collection drops on Friday, July 19, at drmartens.com and select retailers. Until then, fans can click here to sign up to be first in line to get notified when the collection arrives, and hit the Reddit AMA for more details on the giveaway.
The Downward Spiral, released in 1994, became a pivotal album for Trent Reznor, the band’s mastermind. The critically acclaimed LP debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart and went on to sell nearly four million copies.
Atticus Ross, who joined NIN in the early 2000s and with Reznor has become an Oscar-winning scoring duo, teased that he was “excited” to work on a new album. “I think we’re in a place now where we kind of have an idea,” he told GQ in April, as Ross and Reznor discussed their new multimedia company — With Teeth — and hinted at upcoming projects. NIN’s music is currently featured in the new season of The Bear.
Harry Styles, Stevie Nicks and thousands of people at London’s BST Hyde Park gave the most touching birthday salute to the late Christine McVie Friday (July 12).
In honor of her friend — who would’ve turned 81 that day — the Fleetwood Mac frontwoman invited the “As It Was” pop star to join her on stage for an emotional duet of her 1975 masterpiece “Landslide.” “I asked Harry to do this,” she told the crowd at the festival. “It’s always heavy to ask someone to come and sing the song with you when you’re singing about your best friend that died so suddenly and so sadly.”
“What I want you to know is that Christine was Harry’s girl, she was my girl, she was your girl,” Nicks continued as Styles, wearing a songbird pin on his lapel, nodded solemnly. “She was from here. And she loved all of us. And today was her birthday.”
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The pair performed the ballad while making sustained eye contact, the “Edge of Seventeen” musician taking the lead as the One Direction alum sang harmony. “And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills,” their intertwining voices belted. “Well, the landslide will bring it down.”
The tribute comes over a year and a half after McVie died at the age of 71 in November 2022, having suffered a stroke with her secondary cause of death being listed as cancer. “She was truly one-of-a-kind, special and talented beyond measure,” wrote Fleetwood Mac in a joint statement at the time. “She was the best musician anyone could have in their band and the best friend anyone could have in their life. We were so lucky to have a life with her.”
Nicks has been open about her grief since losing her bandmate, telling Vulture last fall that she doesn’t anticipate full-band activities continuing in McVie’s absence. “She was like my soul mate, my musical soul mate, and my best friend that I spent more time with than any of my other best friends outside of Fleetwood Mac,” she told the publication. “Christine was my best friend… Who am I going to look over to on the right and have them not be there behind that Hammond organ? When she died, I figured we really can’t go any further with this. There’s no reason to.”
Styles also previously honored McVie on his own by singing “Songbird” at his December 2022 concert in Chile. He and Nicks have performed together several times in the past, including at his 2019 One Night Only show at Los Angeles’ The Forum.
Watch Styles and Nicks perform “Landslide” in McVie’s honor below.
Radiohead off-shoot group The Smile was forced to cancel its European tour last week after guitarist Jonny Greenwood was hospitalized for a serious infection. “A few days ago, Jonny became seriously ill from an infection that needed emergency hospital treatment, some of it in intensive care,” read a statement from the group on Friday about […]
Coldplay premiered a new song for some lucky fans in Italy.
The British band, led by charismatic frontman Chris Martin, debuted the unreleased track “Good Feelings” during its concert at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico on Friday (July 12).
“We fell in love in the summer/I remember baby, we felt the sun shine through/And we were born for each other,” Martin sings on the upbeat tune. “All the good feelings, for one another/As we danced to the radio.”
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Coldplay fans have been familiar with “Good Feelings” for a couple years now. A Max Martin-produced version of the song was rumored to have been intended for the band’s 2021 album, Music of the Spheres, as a collaboration with the Chainsmokers, according to Rolling Stone.
The new rendition of “Good Feelings” will likely appear on Coldplay’s forthcoming tenth album, Moon Music, featuring vocals by Nigerian singer Ayra Starr.
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In June, Coldplay shared the new Martin-produced single “Feelslikeimfallinginlove,” which will appear on Moon Music. On it, Martin sings: “It feels like I’m falling in love/ You’re throwing me a lifeline/ Oh, not for the first time/ I know I’m not alone.”
Moon Music is scheduled for release on Oct. 4. Martin has been teasing the new set for more than a year. In January 2023, he told the Toronto City News that the band was nearing completion of what he then promised was the second LP in the Music of the Spheres series. He remarked “that won’t come out for a bit,” though he teased that the band “might” start rolling out some of the new songs live that year.
Coldplay’s current global tour is in support of Spheres, launching on March 18, 2022, in Costa Rica. The years-long trek is currently slated to wrap up with the second of two shows at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand, on Nov. 16.
Watch Coldplay debut “Good Feelings” in Rome here.