John Joseph Travolta was born on February 18, 1954 in Englewood, New Jersey, U.S. Happy 70 to the legend who evolved from greaser to a brilliant character actor (Pulp Fiction, Urban Cowboy, Face-Off and more).
– GREASE –
– PULP FICTION –
– FACE OFF –
18 February 2024
Californian daydreamers GRANDADDY, now centred more than ever
around singer-songwriter Jason Lytle gave birth to their 6th album,
named BLU WAV.
Press info: “A prolific storyteller, Jason Lytle is inspired by the overwhelming beauty of nature to the mundane moments that spark life’s strongest memories. With the album title Blu Wav meant to be a literal mash-up of “bluegrass” and “new wave”, the new collection has a distinct feel, a uniform vibe, and a somewhat unexpected sound.”
The Guardian (English newspaper): “Lytle’s crestfallen songs – sung in plaintive sigh suggesting Brian Wilson channelling Charlie Brown’s existential angst – are a seductive
joy, and getting lost in his soft-focus happy-sadness is an addictive pleasure all its own.”
Score: 4/5.
TUTV: These are records that transfer you quickly to a dreamy place of your own choice, for 44 minutes on this one. I guess Lytle wrote all songs sitting in his rocking chair on a porch under the Californian sun while reflecting on the good and the bad side of life. His near-whispering/sighing vocals have a sedated and relaxing effect. Perfect music for quiet moments, away from the daily rat race.
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ALBUM
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GRANDADDY: Instagram – Linktree
New striking strokes
18 February 2024
Press photo by Cal McIntyre
Veteran shoegazers RIDE recently announced their 7th album.
It’s titled INTERPLAY, their first since 2019, and is slated to be
released on March 29.
Following the jaunty first pop single Peace Sign we get
a second appetizer with Last Frontier. Another heavenly
pop gem.
Andy Bell (guitarist/co-singer): “This was the runt of the litter of the very first jam session
from Mark’s OX4 Studio, and I didn’t even include it on my shortlist of the best tracks. It was
our producer, Richie Kennedy, who saw the potential of the song, and we attacked this with
a vengeance at Vada studio. A complete revamp of the backing track and arrangement was needed and we took it right back to basics, more towards a pounding Joy Division feel.”
17 February 2024
Great mate.
Daily electricity to load your batteries
17 February 2024
Artist: SLEAP-E
Who: Moniker of an Italian
singer-songwriter from Bologna
New album: 8106
Her 2nd one, out 22 March
Pre-order details here
New single: NO JOKE
It follows the ace lead single Leave My But Alone
Sleap-e: “The bubbly energy of this song is the same I have when I decide to leave a situation that is limiting or harming me. For me “No Joke” is pure joy and liberation. It’s about deciding to not sacrifice yourself and your value for something meaningless. It’s perfectly in line with the soul of this album and project: the desire to explode in a raw, free, authentic way.”
TUTV: No Joke has a subtle Bosa Nova vibe. Yes, I’m serious. I always trust my ears (when they’re sober) and that’s what they hear. Of course, not its classic vibe, rather the Sleap-e wayward vibe, spiced with jingle jangle guitars, a hypnotic flow and her swinging, deadpan vocals. The final result is a striking stroke that works as a magnet. You’ll have it on repeat for several times. Definitely.
STREAM
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BUY
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Sleap-e: Instagram
17 February 2024
Mega power pop icons BLONDIE topped the UK Album Charts for the first time
45 years ago today, on 17 February 1979, with their 3rd LP, masterpiece PARALLEL
LINES. An album stuffed with pure pop pearls. It stayed in the top seat for 4 weeks.
BBC MUSIC wrote: “The most perfect example of Blondie’s grafting of sixties power pop
with new wave, Parallel Lines was one of the biggest hits of 1978/9. Supremely assured, the group was unafraid to go disco, go art, or just play fine, fine pop. After years in the business, Debbie Harry was street-wise, confident, completely in control. Thousands of teenagers were enraptured – boys wanted to be with her, girls wanted to be her. With her musical partner Chris Stein, they created intelligent pop that referenced all of their 60s favourites, while embracing the CBGBs punk scene in New York that the group had grown out of.” Full review here.
TUTV says: With ‘Parallel Lines‘ Blondie reinvented pop music in a drop-dead
gorgeous way. They had the guts, the incredible talent and the Debbie looks.
It made them global stars.
– SUNDAY GIRL –
– HEART OF GLASS –
ALBUM
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BLONDIE: Website – Instagram – All Albums
New striking strokes
17 February 2024
New York‘s dream pop darlings VAMPIRE WEEKEND are finally
returning to the scene after their 2019 album Father Of The Bride.
Their upcoming, fifth LP, is titled ONLY GOD WAS ABOVE US.
It’ll hit our ears on April 5.
And here are the first 2 tracks off the record, endearing
lullaby CAPRICORN and electrifying upper GEN-X COPS.
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VV: Instagram
Have all a great weekend (promo photo)
17 February 2024
Press photo by Tom Ham
Bristol punks IDLES have worked their
way up since 2018 with 4 splendid LPs.
And they have their brand-new number 5 out now. It’s baptized TANGK.
Joe Talbot (frontman): “I needed love. So I made it. I gave love out to the world and
it feels like magic. This is our album of gratitude and power. All love songs. All is love.”
Pitchfork: On their fifth album, the UK band enlist Nigel Godrich and Kenny Beats for a smoother, softer rock record that still fires its love songs from a cannon. There’s a subtlety
to writing about love that Talbot misses on this record—it’s a topic that’s often best gestured
at, rather than bossed around. Press materials note that the word “love” appears 29 times throughout the record, and yet the songs that speak to the feelings undergirding that powerful emotion—the exhilaration of romantic attraction, the fear of abandonment—don’t mention the topic directly at all. On TANGK, Idles seem poised to let down their ironclad armor and reveal a far more interesting and nuanced band, just as soon as Talbot is ready to relinquish his stubborn and self-defeating grasp.” Score: 6.7/10.
TUTV: It’s an album about love. Joe Talbot: “I find love fascinating and empowering” .
The weird thing is that Talbot doesn’t sound happy, or in love. On half of the songs,
his voice has a moody crooner resonance. Yes, half of the tracks are mixed-emotions lullabies.
Yes, their punk days, sonically and lyrically, are behind them. Surely, copying themselves over and over again, and pretending they’re the very same people as 6 years ago, would get boring. But I miss the fury, the moshpit haymakers and the slam dunks. Tangk is a good record with some rad highlights (Dancer, Grace, Hall & Oates and Jungle) but nothing more, nothing less.
Singles/clips: Dancer / Grace / Gift Horse
– DANCER –
– GRACE –
– GIFT HORSE –
ALBUM
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TOUR DATES 2024
More shows TBA
IDLES: Instagram – Linktree
Daily electricity that works faster than any stimulant
17 February 2024
Press photo
Philly‘s garage punks SHEER MAG launch their 4th album, titled
Playing Favorites on March 1. And they keep on throwing new tracks
off it around. The 3th one is named EAT IT AND BEAT IT, a raw rocker
that rattles and rolls all the way. Hail hail.
Sheer Mag: “‘Eat And Beat It’ is an anthem for the next generation. The legacy acts that we grew up admiring and styling ourselves after aren’t going to be around forever, and nor should they be. It’s high time for a new cohort to take over and carry the torch for rock and roll in the 21st century.”
All 4 singles
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SHEER MAG: Instagram – Facebook
Album artwork
16 February 2024
I wonder if Bernard and Hooky are still fighting in court.
