As mentioned before, Fang Island’s second album Major will be in stores July 24th. “Asunder” and “Sisterly” have given us promising teases of the new music, and now “Seek It Out” verifies that, yes, this album will surely rock.
Last night my mighty Rangers earned a nail-biting win against the A’s, where both teams went through their pitching staff pretty heavily and threw a combined 300 pitches. It was Joe Nathan who saved a pretty hectic 9th inning. Thank God Feldman’s done for a while, because I don’t want to see him throw. No, instead I’ve got my eyes set on our stars (the remaining ones not on the DL, anyway), Matt Harrison and Yu Darvish. Justin Grimm will make his third start on Saturday, and hopefully I’ll see him throw like he did the first time around. Texas has been a little snake-bitten as of late, with Lewis, Uehara, Ogando, and Moreland all on the DL and Holland working through rehab starts. And yet they keep coming up with wins and remain the team with the best record in MLB. Hopefully they can keep up the good work in the Texas heat this weekend, because I’m watching them play Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Let’s go Rangers!
November 13th is the date for Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors, the new album from Outkast legend Big Boi, a short wait compared to what we had to endure before hearing his excellent solo debut a couple years ago, Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty. Remember how awesome that album was? I surely do: “Shutterbug” was hands down my favorite track of 2010. And “Gossip,” the first leak from the new album, gives promising hints at a Dirty South-sized follow-up. Maybe we’ll see this player at the mother of all parties in November, Fun Fun Fun Fest? Don’t rule it out.
A week from today, Donald Glover (aka Troy Barnes, but for our purposes here, aka Childish Gambino) drops a 4th of July mixtape, Royalty. Hopefully this track, first premiered on Sway In the Morning on Sirius XM Radio, which still exists, apparently,…..will be on it. It’s called “One Up,” it’s hella swag, as the kids would say, and you can hear it here.
Head over to NPR’s All Songs Considered page to get a taste of the new highly-anticipated album from the Avett Brothers. The Rick Rubin-produced effort, The Carpenter, will be released September 11th. And if this track is any indication, the Brothers are up to their usual, crooning, good ol’ country fried tricks.
Look for the boys at Whitewater Amphitheater out in New Braumfels on July 28th; they’ll also be performing this year’s ACL Fest in October.
Nowadays there’s a lot to talk about in Green Day Land, and if you think I’m just gonna keep quiet about it, well….you don’t know me. First of all, I’m never quiet about anything. Secondly, Green Day news makes me giddy like a school girl. So if you read this post aloud, make sure you inflect your voice to the likeness of a screeching hyena at a One Direction concert. Because that’s how I FEEL, man….
So the album cover above is Uno!, to be release September 25th. Here’s the trailer:
Rolling Stone recently interviewed the band, and Billie Joe talked about the new sound and the three albums.
People ask me all the time. Even my son asked me, “Dad, would you ever go back to playing songs like from [1994’s] Dookie and [1992’s] Kerplunk?” I love those records. I love the punk stuff I grew up on. But there are so many bands who make the mistake – “We’re going back, old-school.” Well, that’s all you’re doing. You already did it. So we’re changing the guitar sound. We’re not going with the big Marshall-amp thing. We wanted something punchier, more power pop – somewhere between AC/DC and the early Beatles.
“The first one is power pop. The second is more garage-y, Nuggets-type rock. And the third is supposed to be epic. In the first album, you’re getting in the mood to party. On ¡Dos!, you’re at the party, and on the third album, you’re cleaning up the mess.”
So for you kids that hated the last two over-the-top albums, but maybe thought Foxboro Hot Tubs is okay, it sounds like the new stuff might be more up your alley! Yay! Then we’ll have something to talk about! Then I’ll drag you to a Green Day show in Houston with me!
The first single is called “Oh Love,” which will drop into your eardrums July 16th, the day after Breaking Bad premieres. Listen to a poor-sounding version recorded in the alley behind Red 7 back in November.
After Uno! is, of course, Dos! That one’s coming November 13th. Here’s the album cover:
And here’s the trailer:
Tre! is the final release in the trilogy, seeing release January 15th, and you can imagine what the album cover will look like, as well as the trailer. Neither have been released, but you can bet when it happens, I’ll be all over that like something that’s typically all over something!
The picture above is a repurposed MIA/BMW logo USB necklace, which the artist plans to release on July 6th. What’s on the USB necklace? Other than behind the scenes photos from the “Bad Girls” video shoot, a remix EP of the track, with new versions from Danja, Leo Justi, and the one presented here from Switch, featuring Rye Rye and Missy Elliott. Azealia Banks also drops rhymes on the remix EP.
Listen to the track here.
“Longevity” is the second taste from Fragrant World, which drops August 21st. The track comes with its own promotional “video vignette,” which you can watch below.
As mentioned previously, that’s the album cover for Purity Ring’s much-anticipated debut LP Shrines, which will see release via Last Gang on July 24th. Take a listen to the newest leaked track, “Fineshrines” below. It’s typical Purity Ring fare, sweet, melodic, slightly foreboding synth pop, and that is aces in my book.
