Zappagram #49
Ticketmaster is (still) a dumpster fire, My Morning Jacket announce 2023 tour, and Courtney Love calls out the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame...
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Hey everyone,
As winter draws to a close, the world of music is heating up; thanks, in no small part, to the dumpster fire that is Ticketmaster. Gather ‘round kids! Warm your hands by the flames while I tell the tale of how buying concert tickets used to not be a ridiculous (and ridiculously expensive) royal pain in the ass.
I do miss live music, but not enough to sell a vital organ just to attend a concert in 2023. I can’t remember the last live show I saw—I think it was Cat Power in the fall of 2019—but because of the never-ending pandemic, I’ve grown quite used to attending live shows via YouTube from the comfort of my own living room. Until this Ticketmaster shitshow gets sorted out, I’ll probably stick with that.
Besides, concessions at home are infinitely cheaper, the bathrooms are clean, and I don’t have some group of drunken douchebags shouting behind me.
I’ll talk more about the Ticketmaster nonsense on this week’s episode of Zappagram. Speaking of, are you subscribed to the podcast yet? Here’s a collection of handy dandy links. If you like the show, please leave a review on your streaming platform of choice.
Okay, enough shameless self-promotion.
Ground control to reader. Take your protein pills. Put your helmet on.
This music newsletter ain’t gonna read itself.
“Life is funny. If you don't laugh, you're in trouble.”
—Taylor Hawkins
ROCK THE VOTE
:: MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD
- - -
WEEKLY PLAYLIST #49
:: NEW MUSIC EVERY WEEK
Featuring: The White Stripes, Foo Fighters, The Replacements, Portugal. The Man, Velocihamster, M83, Chartreuse, Spoon, Hozier, Boygenius, Kiss The Tiger, Stephen Sanchez, Hazel English, Madison McFerrin, Runnner, Elliott Smith
MASTER PLAYLIST (ALL WEEKS)
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MUSIC NEWS
:: WHAT’S GOING ON
Journalist Apologizes for Calling Meg White “Terrible” After Backlash
”Petty, obnoxious, just plain wrong.” [NME]
Metallica Purchase Their Own Pressing Plant After Selling Tons of Vinyl
The band has acquired the majority interest in Furnace Record Pressing in Virginia. [Consequence]
Sir Brian May: Queen Guitarist Knighted by King of England
The Queen guitarist was recognized for his contributions to "music and charity." [Consequence]
Yo La Tengo Protest Tennessee’s Drag Law at Nashville Show
The veteran indie-rock outfit played the first of a two-night stint at the Basement East last Monday. [RollingStone]
Courtney Love Slams Rock Hall’s ‘Sexist Gatekeeping’ in Scathing Op-Ed
Hole singer says this year's nominations are "the annual reminder of just how extraordinary a woman must be to make it into the ol’ boys club." [RollingStone]
Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker Has Undergone Surgery for a Fractured Hip
"Tried to run a half marathon on what turned out to be an existing stress fracture. Whoops." [Billboard]
Bandcamp Workers Form Union: ‘It’s Not Enough to Get Small Wins Alone’
"We began working here as an extension of our own love for independent music, and believe that a site ... that purports to offer an ethical and fair alternative to the streaming economy should reflect its mission internally.” [RollingStone]
My Morning Jacket Announce 2023 Tour Dates
lncluding festival appearances at Bonnaroo, Primavera Sound, and more. [Consequence]
A Bunch of Top Music Advocates Want to Ensure AI Doesn’t Replace Your Favorite Artist
A new coalition called the Human Artistry Campaign includes powerful trade groups like the RIAA and Recording Academy. [Rolling Stone]
Lenny Kravitz Tapped As iHeartRadio Music Awards Host
It’ll be a night full of celebs as Taylor Swift is receiving the 2023 iHeartRadio Innovator Award and performers like LL COOL J, P!NK, Kelly Clarkson, Keith Urban and Coldplay have all signed on for the show as well. [iHeart]
Teenager Arrested For Attacking Def Leppard’s Rick Allen Outside Florida Hotel
The incident occurred over the weekend while Def Leppard was in Fort Lauderdale for a show with Motley Crue. [Spin]
Jim Gordon, Eric Clapton Drummer Convicted of Murdering Mother, Dead at 77
"Layla" co-writer, Traffic drummer and Wrecking Crew member would later develop schizophrenia and spend last 40 years in prison. [RollingStone]
Parliament-Funkadelic’s Clarence “Fuzzy” Haskins Dies at 81
The vocalist and on-stage party-starter was an original Parliaments member who played in George Clinton’s ever morphing outfit until the late 1970s. [Pitchfork]
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OTHER NEWS
:: MAY OR MAY NOT BE MUSIC-RELATED
Mojo Nixon Became a Cult Hero Singing About Anarchy, Sex, and Elvis. At 65, He Still Won’t Shut Up
"If I don’t run a few people off, I haven’t done my job," says the motormouthed songwriter, whose unlikely career is recounted in the documentary The Mojo Manifesto: The Life and Times of Mojo Nixon. [RollingStone]
Lance Reddick, ‘The Wire’ and ‘John Wick’ Star, Dies at 60
The actor was found dead at his Studio City home in Los Angeles Friday morning. He died of natural causes at the age of 60. [Variety]
What the Hell Happened With the Cure’s Tickets This Week?
The Cure's on-sale this week showed the holistic problems the fractured ticketing business faces, from fees on the primary market to scalping on the secondary side. [Rolli ngStone]
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Z-REX
:: ZAPPA’S RECOMMENDATIONS
+ In an article from 2018 titled, “Meg White Is The 21st Century's Loudest Introvert” Talia Schlanger writing for NPR states that, “…one night, Jack asked Meg to play a simple beat for something he was working on, and shortly after, they started a band that would change rock history. I hate to feed into the sexist trope that a woman's worth is framed by a man's story, or that woman's primary purpose is to fill a void for a man. But this is not a trope or an assumption. This is the real origin story of The White Stripes, and to ignore it would be to miss an opportunity to credit Meg for the amount of work she did in forming the backbone of 21st century rock.”
+ Off Camera with Sam Jones is a show that features conversations with the most iconic, curious, interesting artists of our time. This short 2 minute clip of Dave Grohl giving advice to aspiring musicians is worth the watch, and it showcases the quality of these interviews. Other great conversations in this series include talks with Aimee Mann, Matt Berninger of The National, Jackson Browne, Andrew Bird, Jason Isbell, and John Doe of X.
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NEW RELEASES
:: RECENTLY DROPPED MUSIC
100 gecs: 10,000 gecs [listen]
Black Honey: A Fistful of Peaches [listen]
Hozier: Eat Your Young [listen]
M83: Fantasy [listen]
U2: Songs of Surrender [listen]
Unknown Mortal Orchestra: V [listen]
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RELEASE RADAR
:: UPCOMING RELEASES
- MAR 24 -
Depeche Mode: Memento Mori
Elton John: Honky Château (50th Anniversary Edition)
Lana Del Rey: Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
Nickel Creek: Celebrants
Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon (Live at Wembley 1974)
Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon (50th Anniversary)
Sharon Van Etten: Tramp (Anniversary Edition)
- MAR 31 -
Boygenius: The Record
Crazy Horse: All Roads Lead Home
The Hold Steady: The Price of Progress
The New Pornographers: Continue As a Guest
The White Stripes: Elephant (Deluxe)
APR 7 -
Blondshell: Blondshell
Devon Gilfillian: Love You Anyway
Groundlift: “Bottleneck” (single)
Matthew Logan Vasquez: As All Get Out
Mudhoney: Plastic Eternity
Oracle Sisters: Hydranism
Thomas Bangalter: Mythologies
- APR 14 -
Feist: Multitudes
GoGo Penguin: Everything is Going To be OK
Kiersten Blue: “Thriving” (single)
Metallica: 72 Seasons
Natalie Merchant: Keep Your Courage
The Tallest Man on Earth: Henry St.
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ON THIS DATE
:: MUSICAL HAPPENINGS OF HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
- MAR 20 -
Birthdays: Lee 'Scratch' Perry (1936) • Jimmie Vaughan (1951) • Slim Jim Phantom of The Stray Cats (1961) • Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand (1972) • Chester Bennington of Linkin Park (1976) • John Lennon married Yoko Ono in Gibraltar. (1969) • Kenny Rogers died, aged 81. (2020)
- MAR 21 -
Birthdays: Solomon Burke (1940) • Eddie Money (1949) • Roger Hodgson of Supertramp (1950) • Leo Fender, the inventor of The Telecaster and Stratocaster guitars died from Parkinson's disease. (1991)
- MAR 22 -
Birthdays: George Benson (1943) • Andrew Lloyd Webber (1948) • Susanne Sulley, singer, The Human League (1963) • Bob Dylan released his fifth studio album Bringing It All Back Home. (1965) • Pink Floyd's “Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)” started a four-week run at #1 on the U.S. singles chart. (1980) • Dave Grohl leapt to the defense of a teenage heavy metal band from Cornwall, England, after their city council said they were too loud. The Black Leaves of Envy were told they would have to stop practicing in a family garage after noise complaints from neighbors. Grohl penned an open letter to the council after the band contacted him, asking Cornwall Council to “reconsider the restrictions.” (2016)
- MAR 23 -
Birthdays: Ric Ocasek of The Cars (1944) • Chaka Khan (1953) • Damon Albarn (1968) • Producer, Ariel Rechtshaid (1979) • Billy Joel married model Christie Brinkley on a boat moored alongside the Statue Of Liberty. (1985)
- MAR 24 -
Birthdays: Carol Kaye (1935) • Nick Lowe (1949) • Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers (1964) • Pasemaster Mace of De La Soul (1970) • Ethel Cain (1998) • During a Lou Reed show in Buffalo, New York, a fan jumped on stage and bit Lou on the ass. (1973)
- MAR 25 -
Birthdays: Aretha Franklin (1942) • Elton John (1947) • Buzz Osborne of The Melvins (1964) • Jeff Healey & Drummer Frank Ferrer (1966) • Buck Owens died, aged 76. (2006) • Taylor Hawkins died, aged 50. (2022)
- MAR 26 -
Birthdays: Diana Ross (1944) • Steven Tyler (1948) • Teddy Pendergrass (1950) • James Iha (1968) • Rapper, producer, and record executive Eazy-E died of AIDS in Los Angeles, aged 30. (1995)
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Until next week…
CZ 🤘🏻
"We asked for Mojo Nixon
They said he don't work here
We said if you don't got Mojo Nixon then your store could use some fixin'"
Also: Maybe a hot take, but I absolutely do not get 100 gecs.
Great to see Hazel English on the playlist!!
Lana Del Rey--THIS WEEK!-- feels like I've been waiting forever! How are you feeling, Chris?