Zappagram #29
Joni Mitchell to play first full-length show in 23 years, Lana Del Rey's laptop was stolen, Bono apologizes (again) for the free music
Hey everyone,
I wanted to tell you about a really cool service called The Sample which curates articles from hundreds of blogs and newsletters and sends you the ones that match your interests. My friend Kevin Alexander (who runs On Repeat, another great music newsletter here on Substack) first told me about The Sample and I found a lot of great content by signing up. It’s totally free!
I encourage you to check it out!
This week was a big one in the world of music. Let’s dive in and get you all caught up…
“Rock and roll is a nuclear blast of reality in a mundane world where no one is allowed to be magnificent.”
―Kim Fowley
HEAVY ROTATION
New weekly playlists highlighting great music
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WEEKLY PLAYLIST #29
Smut • Warhaus • Mandrake Handshake • Siouxsie and the Banshees • Bibio • My Morning Jacket • Archers of Loaf • The Beths • Blanco White • Noah Kahan
MASTER PLAYLIST (ALL WEEKS)
MUSIC NEWS
The latest happenings in the world of music
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Joni Mitchell to Play First Headline Show in 23 Years
Mitchell will return to the stage to play Washington’s Gorge Amphitheatre next June, according to her friend Brandi Carlile. [Pitchfork]
Carly Simon ‘Filled With Sorrow’ After Sisters Die One Day Apart
"Their loss will be long and haunting," singer says in statement after the deaths of Joanna and Lucy Simon. [RollingStone]
Radiohead’s Thom Yorke Skewers UK Government as Prime Minister Resigns: “Enough of This Shit”
Paraphrasing “No Surprises,” Yorke compared Liz Truss’ rightwing Conservative Party to “cats in a bag tearing themselves to pieces while the country suffers.” [Pitchfork]
Mike Patton Discusses Battling Alcoholism During the Pandemic
Faith No More frontman Mike Patton spoke about his mental health struggles and his battle with alcoholism during the pandemic. [NME]
Lana Del Rey’s Computer Containing 200-Page Book and New Music Stolen from Her Car: ‘I’m Worried About It’
"The one time I left my backpack inside my car, someone broke all of the windows and took it," the singer explained of the incident she says occurred a few months ago. [RollingStone]
Taylor Swift Releases 7 New Songs Just Hours After New Album Midnights
The “3am tracks” are “songs [Swift] wrote on the journey” to Midnights, including three with Aaron Dessner. [Pitchfork]
Iggy Pop Inks With Andrew Watt’s Gold Tooth Label For New Album
First single ‘Frenzy’ will be released Oct. 28. [Spin]
Phoebe Bridgers to Play Sally in ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ London Show
Danny Elfman will be reprising his singing role as the pumpkin king Jack Skellington. [Billboard]
Slash Says “Epic” New Guns N’ Roses Songs Are Coming
The guitarist also hopes the band will make a brand new record together sooner rather than later. [NME]
Bono Again Apologizes for U2’s iTunes Stunt: ‘I Take Full Responsibility’
"As one social media wisecracker put it... 'The free U2 album is overpriced,'" singer writes in memoir of backlash to Songs of Innocence giveaway. [RollingStone]
John Cale Announces Album, Shares Video for New Song With Weyes Blood
“Story of Blood” is the latest single from the Velvet Underground co-founder. [Pitchfork]
Kimbra Sets New Album, Signs With Inertia Music
A Reckoning is due in early 2023. [Billboard]
OFF TOPIC
May or may not be music-related
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Wait, John Lennon Singing ‘Yellow Submarine’? Hear Wild ‘Revolver’ Outtake
Demo from Super Deluxe Edition has never been bootlegged or even rumored, not even among the most hardcore Beatles geeks. [RollingStone]
Jack Black Rocks Terminally Ill Teen‘s World With ’The Legend of the Rent’ Performance
Young patient Abraham's favorite movie is "School of Rock." [Billboard]
Björk and Greta Thunberg in Conversation: “We Have to Take Turns in Holding the Torch”
Björk and Greta Thunberg have appeared in conversation on New Statesman’s World Review podcast in which they speak about climate change, greenwashing, politics, and more. [NME]
Weezer Announce ‘Weezerween’ Pumpkin Carving Contest With Very Special Prize
The pun-loving band announced a challenge on Thursday (Oct. 20) for superfans who are also crafty with a carving kit. [Billboard]
Santigold on Why Musicians Are Burning Out Like Never Before
The artist opens up about the economic and mental-health challenges plaguing those who make music for a living — and how it led to her canceling her tour. [RollingStone]
In Rare Interview XTC’s Andy Partridge Says He No Longer Writes Songs But Would Welcome A Kate Bush-Style Comeback
XTC’s Andy Partridge is one of those legendary figures beloved by basically everyone who’s familiar with his work, even if that number is smaller than it probably deserves to be. Maybe someday he’ll have his due, but not with some kind of Blackstar-esque late-life masterpiece. [Stereogum]
VIDEO SPOTLIGHT
See it to believe it
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A Brief History of Rock and Roll in 100 Riffs
Alex Chadwick plays 100 famous guitar riffs in one take giving you a chronological history of rock n' roll. [via YouTube]
NEW RELEASES
Listen to these recently dropped albums
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a-ha: True North [listen]
Abby Sage: The Florist EP [listen]
Arctic Monkeys: The Car [listen]
Bibio: BIB10 [listen]
Frankie Cosmos: Inner World Peace [listen]
My Morning Jacket: MMJ LIVE VOL. 2: CHICAGO 2021 [listen]
Simple Minds: Direction of the Heart [listen]
Siouxsie and the Banshees: All Souls [listen]
Sloan: Steady [listen]
Taylor Swift: Midnights [listen]
Tegan and Sara: Crybaby [listen]
Young The Giant: American Bollywood [listen]
UPCOMING RELEASES
These albums are coming soon
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OCTOBER 28
The Beatles: Revolver (Special Edition) • The Damned: A Night of a Thousand Vampires • Dan Mangan: Being Somewhere • Dead Cross (feat. Mike Patton and Dave Lombardo): II • Garbage: Anthology • Guided By Voices: Scalping the Guru • INXS: Shabooh Shoobah (Deluxe Edition) • King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: Changes • Trampled By Turtles: Alpenglow
NOVEMBER 4
Billy Joel: Live at Yankee Stadium • Dean Fertita (of Queens of the Stone Age): Tropical Gothclub • Dermot Kennedy: Sonder • First Aid Kit: Palomino • Jason Collett (of Broken Social Scene): Head Full of Water • John Mellencamp: Scarecrow (Deluxe) • The Lone Bellow: Love Songs for Losers • Phoenix: Alpha Zulu • PJ Harvey: B-Sides, Demos and Rarities • The Police: Ghost In the Machine (Vinyl Reissue) • The Pretty Reckless: Other Worlds • Rayland Baxter: If I Were A Butterfly • Spoon: Lucifer on the Moon • Steely Dan: Can’t Buy A Thrill (Reissue) • William Fitzsimmons: Covers, Vol. 1
NOVEMBER 11
Bruce Springsteen: Only the Strong Survive • Fitz and The Tantrums: Let Yourself Free • Groove Armada: GA25 • Guns N’ Roses: Use Your Illusion I & II (Box Set) • Larkin Poe: Blood Harmony • Phantogram: Eyelid Movies (Expanded Edition) • Sharon Van Etten: We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong (Deluxe Edition) • Smut: How the Light Felt • Warhaus: Ha Ha Heartbreak
NOVEMBER 15
The Smashing Pumpkins: ATUM – Act 1
NOVEMBER 18
The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969 • Mandrake Handshake: The Triple Point of Water EP • Neil Young & Crazy Horse: World Record • Queen: The Miracle Collector’s Edition • Röyksopp: Profound Mysteries III • Vince Guaraldi: Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus (Deluxe Edition) • Weyes Blood: And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow • Willie Nelson: Live at Budokan
ON THIS DATE
Musical happenings of historical significance
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OCTOBER 24
Birthday: Bill Wyman (1936) • Fats Domino died aged 89 at his home in Harvey, Louisiana. (2017)
OCTOBER 25
Birthdays: Richard Lloyd of Television (1951) • Chad Smith (1962) • Katy Perry (1984) • John Peel died in Cuzco, Peru of a heart attack, aged 65. He was BBC’s longest-serving radio DJ and the first DJ to introduce the Ramones, The Smiths, Rod Stewart, Blur, the Sex Pistols, T Rex and others to the masses. He founded Dandelion Records in 1969, and was also known for his ‘Peel Sessions’, releases of live radio sessions. (2004) • Jack Bruce, best known as one third of Cream, died of liver disease aged 71. (2014)
OCTOBER 26
Birthdays: Mahalia Jackson (1911) • Bootsy Collins (1951) • Keith Strickland of The B-52’s. (1953) • Natalie Merchant (1963) • Keith Urban (1967) • Legendary rock concert promoter Bill Graham was killed when the helicopter he was in struck the top of a Pacific Gas and Electric transmission tower near Sears Point, northwest of Vallejo and exploded. (1991)
OCTOBER 27
Birthdays: Garry Tallent (1949) • Simon Le Bon (1958) • Scott Weiland (1967) • Lou Reed died at the age of 71. (2013)
OCTOBER 28
Birthdays: Desmond Child (1953) • Stephen Morris of Joy Division (1957) • Ben Harper (1969) • The live-action movie KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park, was shown on NBC in the U.S. (1978)
OCTOBER 29
Birthdays: Peter Green (1946) • Roger O'Donnell, of The Cure (1955) • Peter Timmins of Cowboy Junkies (1965) • Duane Allman was killed when he lost control of his motorcycle in Macon, Georgia. (1971)
OCTOBER 30
Birthdays: Grace Slick and Eddie Holland (1939) • Timothy B Schmit (1947) • Gavin Rossdale (1967) • Jim Morrison of The Doors was fined and sentenced to six months in jail after being found guilty of exposing himself during a gig in Miami. (1970)
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Love, peace, and harmony…
CZ 🤘🏻
Zappagram #29
Thanks for linking to the Andy Partridge piece (although it was a summary of the Guardian article, maybe that would have been a better selection?). Also see you're tracking the new release by Sloan, one of Canada's finest recording and performing acts.
Loved the Rock Chronology via guitar vid! However much he may have wanted to, he had to omit songs by Yes, ELP, Genesis, or any generally keyboard-focused songs! Perhaps another vid...but, his was an enormous undertaking!🎼🎶🎵🎸🎸🎸Thanks!