Rock

Stop me if you know you’ve heard this one before. Despite the end-times detente between long-battling brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher of Oasis that recently led to their announcement of a 2025 UK tour, some things in the music feud world never change.
Case in point: the Smiths. The legendary British purveyors of sorrowful rock broke up acrimoniously in 1987, and based on their latest alleged loggerheads it seems certain that they are never, ever getting back together. Not even to re-release their old music, according to lead lamenter Morrissey.

In a post on his official blog on Wednesday (Sept. 11) titled “Smiths Not OK,” the 65-year-old singer claimed that his ex-bandmate and chief nemesis, former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, has “blocked” the release of a planned greatest hits compilation. “The proposed greatest hits album by The Smiths entitled Smiths Rule OK! has been blocked by J Marr,” he wrote, in a post featuring a classic pic of the four-man Manchester band and what he said was a new cover image of their 1983 debut single, “Hand in Glove.”

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Morrissey said that the single and hits comp were slated for release this year worldwide by Warner Records along with a deluxe box set of the band’s 1984 self-titled debut album, which featured such beloved tales of woeful misery as “Reel Around the Fountain,” “Miserable Lie,” “Still Ill” and “What Difference Does it Make?” The singer said the 40th anniversary edition of the album was to be packaged with a new 7-inch of the single “This Charming Man” as well.

“Warner approached Morrissey and [graphic designer] Darren Evans to assemble artwork for all four releases, all of which were rejected and halted out of hand by J Marr,” Morrissey wrote. At press time it did not appear that band composer Marr — whose iconic jangly, ringing guitar tone was as crucial to the band’s sound as Morrissey’s laconic, sad-eyed vocals and lyrics — had responded to the singer’s claims and a spokesperson for Marr had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment.

During their brief, but highly impactful tenure, The Smiths released just four full-length studio albums, all of which featured songs that have become alt rock landmarks, including “That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore,” “Meat Is Murder,” “Bigmouth Strikes Again,” “The Boy With the Thorn in His Side,” “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out,” “Girlfriend in a Coma,” “Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me” and, of course, “Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before.”

Morrissey paid loving tribute to late bassist Andy Rourke — with whom he and Marr had also feuded with over the band’s royalties — in May 2023 after Rourke’s death at 59 from pancreatic cancer. “Sometimes one of the most radical things you can do is to speak clearly. When someone dies, out come the usual blandishments… as if their death is there to be used. I’m not prepared to do this with Andy,” the singer wrote at the time.

Last month, Morrissey posted a note claiming that in June of this year AEG Entertainment made a “lucrative offer” to both Morrissey and Marr to reunite for a Smith’s world tour in 2025, to which he claimed he said yes while Marr “ignored the offer.” In keeping with the sniping acrimony between the former bandmates, the misanthropic singer added that while he “undertakes a largely sold out tour of the USA in November, Marr continues to tour as a special guest to New Order.”

For the record, Marr is slated to kick off a headlining North American tour with opener James on Sept. 17 at the Paramount Theatre in Denver that will run through an Oct. 18 gig at the Palace Theatre in St. Paul, MN.

While the Gallaghers have miraculously managed to set aside their sibling rivalry for a run of shows most fans never thought would happen, the alleged greatest hits snit suggests the animosity between Marr and Morrissey will continue apace after nearly 40 years of public barbs and insults, blocking a much-desired get back from one of the most influential and beloved British indie rock bands of all time.

Chester Bennington‘s son is currently at odds with some of Linkin Park‘s fanbase, with the 28-year-old recently alleging that people have been “cruel, unusual and aggressive” to him following his criticism of the band’s reunion.
In a slew of videos posted to Instagram Stories on Monday (Sept. 9), Jaime opened up about wanting to attend Linkin Park’s fast-approaching comeback show in Los Angeles, in spite of his qualms with the group’s new vocalist Emily Armstrong. However, he claims his late father’s former bandmates didn’t offer him a ticket — and even if they had, he wouldn’t feel safe in the crowd.

“I haven’t heard anything back from the band themselves, which is not unexpected,” Jaime says in the clips. “They didn’t come to me with this announcement, they didn’t ask me how I felt.”

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“There are a lot of people who do not like me,” he continued. “There are a lot of people saying some real awful sh– right now to me. To be honest, I don’t think I’d feel safe going to the show under general admission … I don’t know who would take it upon themselves to respond to me in an aggressive manner. The audience themselves could actually be unsafe for me.”

Jaime’s comments come shortly after he lobbed criticism at Linkin Park for tapping Armstrong as the band’s new co-vocalist, accusing Mike Shinoda of “quietly erasing my father’s life and legacy in real time.”

“You betrayed the trust loaned to you by decades of fans and supporting human beings including myself,” he added at the time, slamming Armstrong’s past connection to Scientology and support of convicted rapist Danny Masterson. “We trusted you to be the bigger, better person. To be the change. Because you promised us that was your intention. Now you’re just senile and tone deaf.”

In response to the backlash, the Dead Sara co-founder issued a statement on Sept. 6 distancing herself from the That ’70s Show star. “Several years ago, I was asked to support someone I considered a friend at a court appearance and went to one early hearing as an observer,” she said. “Soon after, I realized I shouldn’t have. I have never spoken with him since. To say it as clearly as possible: I do not condone abuse or violence against women, and I empathize with the victims of these crimes.”

All of the commotion follows the band’s announcement that Linkin Park would be returning in 2024 after a seven-year hiatus sparked by the death of Chester in 2017. In addition to the lineup changes, the rockers will be releasing a new album, From Zero, on Nov. 15, and embarking on a massive tour starting with six arena shows kicking off Wednesday (Sept. 11) at the Kia Forum.

But much like Linkin Park’s fanbase, Jaime has conflicted feelings about the band’s new direction. “I want to go [to the concert],” he said on his Story. “There are reasons that I might not be allowed into the venue, which I can’t talk about right now, but unless I’m told explicitly, ‘You can’t go for this reason,’ I do want to go.”

“So many of these Linkin Park fans who will be attending have been cruel, unusual and aggressive,” he added. “You’re telling me to kill myself, you’re telling me that I’m awful, you’re telling me that my father doesn’t appreciate me … What are you talking about? You didn’t give a f–k when he died. If you did, you would understand what the problem is. You would understand why this is all wrong.”

How long has it been since The Cure released new music? The last time we had fresh tunes from the goth rock godheads President Biden was just about to begin his first stint… as Vice President. So, a lifetime.
But fans of the long-running Robert Smith-fronted grand ministers of mope took heart this week when a small tweak to the band’s social media feeds renewed hope that the long-awaited follow-up to 2008’s 4:13 Dream album could be inching closer to reality. Eagle-eyed followers noted that the band swapped out their official logo for a new one featuring their name in white inside a black circle.

It was a small change, but when you’ve been waiting this long, anything feels just like manna from heaven. Take a peek at the comments on the Cure’s official Facebook page reacting to the tiny tweak for evidence. “A sign of things to come!!!!,” wrote one fan, accompanied by other excited reactions, including: “Here we go folks!,” “Come on, new album. I want to hear the studio version of those new songs you played in Leeds 2022,” “Album announcement? [prayer hands, black heart emoji],” “Please be planning on a tour, I got into your music this year and you’re already one of my top 5 favorite bands,” “Wrap it up & ship it out!” and “Please be real.”

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Though there was no official announcement about the Cure’s 14th studio album at press time, the logo update had followers excited that the LP they’ve been waiting for — reportedly titled Songs of a Lost World — could be on the horizon. The comment referring to Leeds referenced the time two years ago when the group debuted three new songs on tour, “A Fragile Thing,” “I Can Never Say Goodbye” and “Another Happy Birthday.”

Their hopes were further boosted when guitarist Reeves Gabrels posted the new logo on his Instagram, with a reminder to go to the Cure’s official website to sign up for news, with the caption featuring the hashtag #songsofalostworld.

In the meantime, fans will have to make do with the upcoming release of live versions of two of those new songs on the live 12″ Novembre: Live in France 2022, due out on Oct. 1. The double A-side 12″ LP will have in concert versions of “And Nothing Is Forever” and “I Can Never Say Goodbye,” pressed on Eco-vinyl through Naked Record Club, with net profits headed to Brian Eno’s Earth Percent climate charity. Dreamy ballad “And Nothing Is Forever” was recorded at Montpellier Sud de France Arena on Nov. 8, 2022, while “I Never Can Say Goodbye” was laid down in Toulouse at Zénith on Nov. 13, 2022 on the French leg of the group’s 2022 Shows of a Lost World tour.

Longtime keyboardist Roger O’Donnell recently revealed that he was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of lymphoma in Sept. 2023. “In September last year I was diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive form of lymphoma. I had ignored the symptoms for a few months but finally went, and after surgery, the result of the biopsy was devastating,” O’Donnell wrote on X as part of Blood Cancer Awareness Month in a bid to urge fans to prioritize their health and get tested early.