Zappagram #30
D. H. Peligro, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Leslie Jordan died, you've got to hear Hermanos Gutiérrez, and Jerry Garcia's long lost pipe has been found...
Hey everyone,
Happy Halloween! I hope your day is more full of treats than tricks, but remember not to overdo it on the candy. They’re saying you should check all your kid’s candy for drugs, but I don’t think anyone is putting drugs in halloween candy—drugs are far too expensive.
This past week in music, as do most, saw some wins and some losses. There’s a ton to cover, so let’s jump right in…
“We are buried beneath the weight of information, which is being confused with knowledge; quantity is being confused with abundance, and wealth with happiness.”
―Tom Waits
HEAVY ROTATION
New weekly playlists highlighting great music
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WEEKLY PLAYLIST #30
The Beatles • Kimbra • Hermanos Gutiérrez • Iggy Pop • Bruce Springsteen • Buzzcocks • Umphrey’s McGee • Television • The Pretty Reckless • Durand Jones & The Indications
MASTER PLAYLIST (ALL WEEKS)
MUSIC NEWS
The latest happenings in the world of music
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D. H. Peligro, Dead Kennedys Drummer, Dies at 63
The longtime punk icon died from trauma to the head caused by an accidental fall. [Pitchfork]
Jerry Lee Lewis, Influential and Condemned Rock & Roll Pioneer, Dead at 87
"The Killer" embodied rock rebellion with songs like "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Great Balls of Fire," but drew widespread outrage for marrying his 13-year-old cousin in 1957. [RollingStone]
Nick Cave Confirms Plans to Write a New Album
The singer has confirmed that he plans to begin writing a new album at the end of this year: "It's about a man sitting down in his space and confronting a complete lack of ideas about things." [NME]
Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon Announces Wisconsin Get-Out-the-Vote Events
Vernon stated, “No one is more powerful than a citizenry that is empowered and together.” [Pitchfork]
Morrissey Announces New Album ‘Bonfire of Teenagers’
The 11-track LP features Iggy Pop, Flea, Chad Smith, and more. [Consequence]
Jane’s Addiction Cancels Upcoming Shows Due To Perry Farrell Injury
Jane’s Addiction has canceled five shows as part of its “Spirit on Fire” tour with Smashing Pumpkins, in the wake of singer Perry Farrell suffering an unspecified injury at New York’s Madison Square Garden. [Spin]
Andrew Bird Duets With Phoebe Bridgers on New Song “I Felt a Funeral, In My Brain”
The track is based on the Emily Dickinson poem of the same name. [Pitchfork]
Bowie’s Hunky Dory Era Chronicled in Upcoming Box Set “Divine Symmetry”
For the most fervent of David Bowie fans, the 12 months leading up to the legend’s 1971 masterpiece Hunky Dory will soon be documented with the expansive box set Divine Symmetry, out November 25th. [Consequence]
DJ Mighty Mouse Dead: Beloved House Producer Dies at 48
Matthew Ward died in his sleep of an aortic aneurysm. [Billboard]
Finneas Is Recovering From Surgery After ‘Demolishing’ His Collarbone in Electric Bike Crash
"I'm feeling great!" the artist wrote on Instagram, saying he's expected to recover by Billie Eilish's shows in December. [RollingStone]
Family of Tom Petty Partners With Gun Safety Group for Voting Ad
"We hope people will come together no matter what their beliefs are about guns to make sure the children in our schools are safer in America," family says. [RollingStone]
Weyes Blood Shares New Video for “Grapevine”
The single from Natalie Mering’s upcoming album, And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow, was released earlier this month. [Pitchfork]
Mötley Crüe Guitarist Mick Mars Retires from Touring
The veteran rocker will remain a member of the Crüe, but will no longer play shows with the band. [Consequence]
Radiohead’s Philip Selway Announces New Solo Album
“Check for Signs of Life” leads the Radiohead drummer’s third solo studio album, Strange Dance. [Pitchfork]
OFF TOPIC
May or may not be music-related
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Jerry Garcia’s Lost Pipe Has Been Found After 30 Years — and It Still Smells Like Weed
For decades, a major piece of counter-culture history was wedged behind a bed in Merl Saunders’ San Francisco house. The crude pipe looks like something a teen may have cobbled together at summer camp, but according to art historian Steve Cabella, it’s basically a religious object. [RollingStone]
Leslie Jordan, Beloved Actor & Comedian, Dead at 67
Jordan was declared dead at the scene of a car crash in Hollywood. [Billboard]
Dolly Parton Is Trying to Reunite Robert Plant and Jimmy Page for Her Rock Record
Parton wants them to make new recordings for her cover of their Led Zeppelin track "Stairway to Heaven." [Consequence]
Danny Elfman Scores Big
Danny Elfman is best known for two very distinct things – he was the frontman for oddball new wave band Oingo Boingo, and he has scored enough movie and TV shows to put him close to the John Williams heights. He had kept those two sides of his career very separate, until earlier this year when he performed the two weekends of the Coachella Festival and performed a set that stunned not only the people in attendance, but also the many thousands that watched it online. [LAWeekly]
How Hermanos Gutiérrez and Dan Auerbach Made a Chill-Out Album for the Ages
The Swiss sibling duo's El Bueno y El Malo sculpts surreal landscapes out of instrumental guitar music. [RollingStone]
RECOMMENDED
Interesting content elsewhere
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A Musical Mystery right here on Substack!
If you’re looking for something new & different, Challenge 69 is for you. Think serialized mystery meets High Fidelity. It’s pretty cool and I encourage you to check it out!
What is the mystifying ‘Challenge 69’ competition that has appeared online? How have its recipients been targeted? And what could its prize, heralded as ‘unique’, possibly be?
Stuart, a music obsessive with a meandering mind, decides to take up the ‘challenge’ and find out. While at first just another of his many distractions, the competition (with its ever more convoluted clues) soon starts to bring Stuart a new focus.
VIDEO SPOTLIGHT
See it to believe it
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Ryan Adams: Wrecking Ball - Live on ACL
Ryan Adams, who has a birthday coming up this week, played Austin City Limits back in 2016. This performance of “Wrecking Ball” is from that appearance and it’s well worth the watch. [via YouTube]
NEW RELEASES
Listen to these recently dropped albums
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The Beatles: Revolver (Special Edition) [listen]
The Damned: A Night of a Thousand Vampires [listen]
Dan Mangan: Being Somewhere [listen]
Dead Cross (feat. Mike Patton and Dave Lombardo): II [listen]
Guided By Voices: Scalping the Guru [listen]
Hermanos Gutiérrez: El Bueno Y El Malo [listen]
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: Changes [listen]
Trampled By Turtles: Alpenglow [listen]
UPCOMING RELEASES
These albums are coming soon
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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
NOVEMBER 25
Alex Chilton: Live In London (Encore Edition) • David Bowie: Divine Symmetry • David Crosby & The Lighthouse Band: Live at the Capitol Theatre • The Doors: Paris Blues • The Flaming Lips: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (20th Anniversary Edition) • Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band: Live at the Greek Theater 2019 • Sigur Rós: ( ) 20th Anniversary Reissue (Physical Release) • Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Live at the Fillmore (1997) • Type O Negative: Dead Again (Reissue)
ON THIS DATE
Musical happenings of historical significance
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OCTOBER 31
Birthdays: Tom Paxton (1937) • Larry Mullen Jr. (1961) • Johnny Marr (1963) • Ad-Rock a.k.a. Adam Horovitz (1966) • Adam Schlesinger (1967) • Isabella Summers of Florence and the Machine (1980) • During a gig in Seattle, Washington, Billy Idol dumped 600 dead fish in Faith No More's dressing room. They responded by walking on stage, naked during Idol's set. (1990)
NOVEMBER 1
Birthdays: Jim Steinman (1947) • David Foster (1949) • Lyle Lovett (1957) • Anthony Kiedis (1962) • The Beatles scored their 13th #1 album in the U.S. with Abbey Road. (1969)
NOVEMBER 2
Birthdays: John David Souther (1945) • Carter Beauford (1957) • kd Lang (1961) • Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie (1975) • American vocalist and guitarist Eva Cassidy, died of skin cancer aged 33. (1996)
NOVEMBER 3
Birthdays: Stuart Goddard a.k.a. Adam Ant (1954) • Courtney Barnett (1987) • James Taylor and Carly Simon were married by a judge in Simon's Manhattan apartment, beginning their eleven year marriage. (1972) • Russian inventor Leon Theremin died. (1993)
NOVEMBER 4
Birthdays: Delbert McClinton (1940) • Chris Difford of Squeeze (1954) • The Last Waltz, the movie of The Bands final concert premiered in New York. The Martin Scorsese movie also featured Joni Mitchell, Dr. John, Neil Young, Van Morrison, and Neil Diamond. (1977)
NOVEMBER 5
Birthdays: Roy Rogers (1911) • Ike Turner (1931) • Art Garfunkel (1941) • Gram Parsons (1946) • Bryan Adams (1959) • Jonny Greenwood (1971) • Ryan Adams (1974) • Link Wray died aged 76. (2005)
NOVEMBER 6
Birthdays: Adolph Sax, inventor of the saxophone (1894) • Guy Clark (1941) • Doug Sahm (1942) • Glenn Frey (1948) • Paul Brindley of The Sundays (1963) • Corey Glover of Living Colour (1964) • Michael Martin and Phil Kaufman were charged and fined $300 each for the theft of a coffin containing Gram Parsons’ body. The two men were merely carrying out Parsons’ wishes to be cremated in the desert. (1973)
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Love, peace, and harmony…
CZ 🤘🏻
Dolly Parton, Robert Plant, and Jimmy Page. WOW!!! 😂🥳💪🏼
Played pickup soccer for the first time in several weeks yesterday, I hope someone put something good in my kid's candy!!