Veteran alt-rockers YO LA TENGO from New Jersey just announced a new EP called SLEEPLESS NIGHT, with covers of five of their favorite songs. One of Bob Dylan, The Flying Machine, The Delmore Brothers, Ronnie Lane, and The Byrds and one new track of their own.
The covers were all initially released as part of a limited-edition catalog for a Los Angeles Country Museum Of Art retrospective of the Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara who assisted the band to choose the five covers.
You can hear here their take on THE BYRDS‘ ballad I WASN’T BORN TO FOLLOW, co-written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, which was part of the soundtrack of the classic movie Easy Rider…
Young superstar BILLIE EILISH shared a live session she did for NPR’s famous Tiny Desk Concert Series which (due to that nasty
coronavirus) was recorded at her home.
She performed a couple of songs with Finneas, her
beloved brother and musical partner in beautiful crimes.
“Obviously we are not actually at Tiny Desk, because this is a cardboard cutout of it. But it’s still real – it’s just not in-person real.” said Billie between songs. She also said everyone should have at least one person in their lives that will make you feel you’re never alone like her brother is for her. She also talked about the pandemic crisis: “We’ll be OK one day. Maybe not right now. I think that’s what’s making me hold on.”
If you still think Eilish is just a hype, take a seat, open your mind and ears and watch this…
Watch London based bohemians FAT WHITE FAMILY, one of the best bands of the
21st century – FACT! – playing Feet, the standout lead single from their standout,
third album SERFS UP! at Glastonbury Festival in 2019.
Who: Formed in 2018, bonding over a joint interest in psychedelic horror films,
with Panos Cosmatos’ cult classic ‘Mandy‘ being a particular favourite, Heavy Salad
loved the idea of being in a band like a psychedelic cult, albeit a cult with no rules.
Pick: IT’S OK TO BLEED – new single from upcoming debut album ‘Cult Casual‘
out 25th September. The song is “about being at peace with yourself and accepting
that you can’t be strong all the time, it’s also about compassion for others and looking
out for those who need help. It’s about the little things you can do to make a difference
to someone’s life an recognizing that it’s ok to let it out sometimes.”
Score: If you have ties with Sheffield’s outlaws The Moonlandingz who have in turn
ties with Fat White Family, one of the best ‘fuck you I won’t do what you tell me’ bands
the UK saw these past two decades there’s a big chance this colorful combo moves
in mysterious ways too. And they do.
Seemingly inspired by soul-gospel-anthem Lord Can You Hear Me by Jason Pierce’s symphonic psych orchestra Spiritualized they invite you for a trippy, mantra-like chant
that will set your free. Light a joint, steal your grandparents’ hippie outfits and join Heavy Salad up there, eight miles high and dream of better times ahead…
Who: Welsh singer-songwriter and his band. He fronted country pranksters The Broken Family Band throughout the 2000s before calling time at the height of their success. He operated since with multiple name changes and a series of albums ranging from DIY indie rock, intimate folk, experiments in Krautrock and politically-charged widescreen pop. Adams lives in East London now.
The Making Of: “I love making records but sometimes time, money, or people – including me – fuck up my enjoyment of the process. So this time I kept saying to myself ‘keep it light’ whenever I was making decisions. I did a big chunk of the writing on holiday in the South of France last year. We were staying in this big, rambling house that had a kind of turret room that was cut
off from everything. I’d go up there in the mornings and sit on the floor and feel like a proper artist while everyone else was eating croissants. I wanted to make a super personal, light-hearted and upbeat record. We had a running joke about how we were making an album
called ‘Keep it Light’ that is full of songs about racists and panic attacks and existential angst” says Steven Adams looking back.
Keyline: “I know I sound like a wanker saying this
but this is the best record I’ve ever made.”
Key references: Billy Bragg, Richard Thompson,
James Dean Bradfield, The National, Mike Scott and The Waterboys
Key tracks: Bring On The Naps / Oh Dear / My Brother, The Racist /
Jonny / Mr Sunshine
Americana band THE PINKERTON RAID from Durham, NC joins the rising outcry against
the disgusting, brutal way the police treat anti-racist protesters who come out in the street to condemn the recent killings of black people by law enforcement.
The band shared a striking video clip for their 2018 song JEFFERSON DAVIS HIGHWAY. That way they want to honor Southern activists like Superwoman Bree Newsome, the anti-racist defenders of Charlottesville, VA, and the people of Durham, NC, who kindled a movement, helping to take down a Confederate monument in an act of civil disobedience in their hometown back in 2017. But it’s also a tribute to all victims of cowardly police brutality.
Many of us outside the US look at the most powerful country on this planet (also the most dangerous one. Never forget that America is the one and only country so far who dropped THE bomb, actually two, killing 250.000 civilians) as a giant Hollywood movie.
Glam and glitter distraction. Entertainment for all people who dream the American dream. But the recent, awful events we all witnessed, confronts us again with the horrific reality of America‘s deep-rooted racism, endorsed directly and indirectly, without any shame, by that evil moron in the White House. Being born in the USA doesn’t mean automatically that the authorities will treat you like any fellow American citizen. It’s the color of your skin that determines whether you are a real American. That’s the USA 2020. Back to the ugly past!
Therefore, it’s tremendously important that as many artists – whatever their art is – as possible continue to raise their voice for equality, tolerance, humanity, and unity in the United States of America (and of course, in the whole wide world). THE PINKERTON RAID‘s contribution is a highly touching one. Confronting, gripping and soul-stirring. Let’s hum, whistle, sing, and scream along and cross our fingers for a much-needed change.
The video, by Chapel Hill filmmaker Ye Tun, celebrates the activists “who were fighting to remove the memorials to white supremacy. Most of the video footage came from the people’s uprising after the senseless murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.” says the band’s singer-songwriter Jesse James DeConto.
