Month: August 2026
PAUL SIMON Released His Contested 7th Solo Album ‘GRACELAND’ Today 40 Years Ago
Significant longplayers from yesteryear
25 August 2026
Legendary singer-songwriter PAUL SIMON, who turns 85 next October, released
his 7th album, named GRACELAND, on 25 August 1986, today 40 years ago.
Organizations such as Artists United Against Apartheid criticized Simon for breaking
the cultural boycott on South Africa imposed for its policy of apartheid, while others
accused him of appropriating the music of another culture.
Simon responded that Graceland was a political statement that showcased collaboration between black and white people and raised international awareness of apartheid. Some praised him for helping popularize African music in the West.
The album became Simon‘s most successful album and his highest-charting album
in over a decade, with estimated sales of more than 16 million copies worldwide.
Rolling Stone said: “An album about isolation and redemption that
transcended ‘world music’ to become the whole world’s soundtrack.”
SINGLES
ALBUM
KEVIN PARKER Aka TAME IMPALA Announces UK/Euro Tour Dates For 2027
After touring North America this year, Tame Impala will
play a handful of shows in the UK/Europe next year.
Last year the Australian psych-pop multi-instrumentalist released his 5th LP Deadbeat.
MINISTRY – Industrial Tormentors Hate TRUMP To The Bone
Vitalizing tunes that work faster than a stream of caffeine
24 August 2026
AL JOURGENSEN, mastermind of legendary industrial metal tormentors MINISTRY,
just announced the final stand of the band after a tumultuous journey since 1981.
They bagged their 17th and final LP, named Hate To Go (Take Out Or Delivery).
It’ll hit the streets on October 30th.
Jourgensen: “I’m fucking done. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished. I’m amazed at the path that it’s taken, from With Sympathy to where we’re at today, and all points in between. It’s been quite a ride, but I’m completely at peace with the fact that it’s done. It’s time to herd goats.”
Track: WE HATE
It’s pretty self-evident that Ministry has never been a big fan of ‘Hair Mussolini’, especially now as he bombards the American people on a near daily basis with self-aggrandising AI slop. Al Jourgensen and co. therefore felt it necessary to give ‘Trumplethinskin’ a dose of his own medicine with their new single.
Fuck Trump.
TOUR 2027 EU/UK
(American dates TBA)
Summer Of 1996 – August 24th – British Synth Pop Duo EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL Break US Chart Record Today 30 Years Ago
Every day of this summer we go back to the same summer day somewhere in history
24 August 2026
English dream pop duo EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL (1982–2000,
2021–present) broke the all-time US chart stay record, today 30 years
ago, with their captivating, dancy hit Missing (more than 45 million
streams on Spotify) when it appeared on the Billboard Chart for the
55th week.
The record was previously held by the American soul pop band
The Four Seasons‘s 1975 hit December 1963 (Oh, What A Night).
EVERYTHING ABOUT THE GIRL
THE FOUR SEASONS
MYSTERY JETS – English Indie Mavericks Mesmerise With Riveting Title Track From Their Brand New Full-Length
Daily electricity to load your batteries
24 August 2026
Band: MYSTERY JETS
Who: English indie mavericks from
Eel Pie Island, Twickenham, London.
Track: A HOLE TO SEE THE SKY THROUGHT IT
The title track of their brand new LP (listen below).
The band’s seventh. Its title and cover art are borrowed, with Yoko Ono’s blessing,
from an artwork she made in the 1960s. The artwork is simple: a cream piece of
paper with a circle cutout, intended as a lookout through which to see the sky.
TUTV: A puissant psych guitar pop crackajack, riveting and sonically
seductive. It sets the mesmeric tone for their new magnifico full-length.
ALBUM
THE ROLLING STONES – 45 Anniversary Candles For ‘TATTOO YOU’ Today
Significant longplayers from yesteryear
24 August 2026
THE ROLLING STONES released their 16th LP, in the UK and their 18th in the US today
45 years ago, on 24 Augustus 1981. It topped the charts in the US, Canada, Australia and several European countries, and peaked at #2 in the UK.
Tattoo You is an album primarily composed of outtakes from previous recording
essions, some dating back a decade, with new vocals and overdubs. The Stones
put together this collection to have a new album to promote for their worldwide
American Tour 1981/European Tour 1982.
Richards: “The thing with Tattoo You wasn’t that we’d stopped writing new stuff, it was a question of time. We’d agreed we were going to go out on the road and we wanted to tour behind a record. There was no time to make a whole new album and make the start of the tour.”
The album title was originally planned to be simply Tattoo. Jagger claims to this day that even he has no clue how the ‘You’ became attached to the title. The title caused friction between the glimmer twins with Richards suspecting that Jagger had changed the title without seeking his input. The album cover had concept origination, art direction and design by Peter Corriston and illustration by Christian Piper.
The New York Times said at the time: “Remarkably, Tattoo You is something
special. None of the tracks are Chuck Berry retreads, none of them are disco, and
none of them are reggae. They are all rock-and-roll, with more than a hint of the
soul and blues influences that were so important in the band’s early work.
The new album’s lyrics are also a surprise. The Stones seem to have dropped
the studied decadence that was their most characteristic pose throughout the
70’s. The songs on Tattoo You seem to be by and about real people rather than
larger-than-life caricatures.”
SINGLE
ALBUM
Image Of The Day – PUKKELPOP 2026
Happy 65 To TEARS FOR FEARS’ Half ROLAND ORZABAL
22 August 2026
Tears For Fears press photo – Orzabal on the right
ROLAND ORZABAL formed British new pop wave band
TEARS FOR FEARS with his childhood friend Curt Smith
in 1981.
He was born in Portsmouth, England on 22 August 1961. Happy 65!
They have released 7 albums so far. The most recent
is Tipping Point from 2022. The duo is still playing live.
Let’s have a shout out for the birthday guy.
At 82 CARLY SIMON Still Is An Impactful Songstress – New Album ‘COMES IN WAVES’ Out Now
Reveries for the laziest day of the week
23 August 2026
New album artwork
At 82, American singer-songwriter shero CARLY SIMON, who became worldwide
known for her magnific hit You’re So Vain (more than 700 million streams on Spotify)
in 1972, released her 24th album, her first in 18 years, titled COMES IN WAVES last week.
A charming, romantic, and heartfelt work
with gripping stories and Simon‘s voice
still impactful.
Far Out Magazine (UK) says: “It feels like she’s never really been away. Back with a breezily effective batch of numbers that flashes a torchlight on the human condition and reveals all its absurdities and passions in equal measure, Comes the Waves will delight long-time fans and stand as a solid entry for anyone late to Simon’s unique song canon.”
STREAM
